Chosen One Gone Wrong (Villains & Monsters #1)

Chapter Ten

Hey babes, a little trigger warning for this chapter. It does mention abuse. For those who want to skip it, scroll when you see, "Her mother glared down at her," and stop at "Daija?" Love you guys. <3 -Rae

Daija tucked her hand behind her head, sighing quietly as she stared at the ceiling. As always, she laid down on the grey couch that was way too comfortable to be normal, breathing in the faint scent of lavender while she admired the way the morning sun brought a magnificent glow to the room with beige colored walls and plants in every corner.

Keeping up with her weekly appointments wasn't a problem. (Unless she's held captive by narcissistic heroes.) But talking during them was becoming a problem, since most of the stuff she wanted to talk about had to remain a secret.

"You seem a little distracted this morning, Daija." A gentle voice broke the silence.

She turned her head to the right, giving her therapist that was sitting across the room a small smile. "Sorry, Lani."

Kalani, -- or Lani for short -- a curvy woman with tan skin, short brown hair and deep blue eyes had been working with her since she was seventeen. It took a while to warm up to her, but now at twenty years-old, she didn't mind having someone to talk to that didn't have any ties to any of the people she knew.

"No worries. I bet things are weird, with semester finals and those crazy riots."

The riots have been the main topic of everyone's conversation in Kunross this morning. She even had to send a message to her aunt to be careful.

"They are wild, aren't they?"

"Mhm," Lani scoffed, "did you know that they're calling this guy the 'Firebringer'?"

Daija didn't even try to hold back her laugh. "Are you serious? Wow," She shook her head, thrilled to know that Simon would more than likely be upset he didn't get a cool name.

"But, what were you thinking about just now?"

"Well," She started as she turned her head back so she was looking at the ceiling again, deciding to just tell her the truth, "actually, I was thinking about my mom. I've been wondering how she'd react if I were to just knock on her door one day."

Lani's eyes filled with sadness, and she sighed softly. "Daija, you don't owe her anything."

"I know, I just..." She couldn't finish her sentence because she didn't even know where she was going with it. Ever since she re-read that entry in her journal yesterday evening, the memory of the night she wrote it as a fifteen year-old replayed in her head on a loop.

---

Her mother glared down at her, the vicious insults dripping from her tongue like venom, "You're pathetic and I hate you."

Why was she angry at her right now? What happened? Did she step out of line? What did she do?

Warm blood welled up on her bottom lip, and she was more than certain her cheek was bruised. On the ground and breathing heavily, Daija could barely think past the pain. "Mom, please, I'm sorry..." She sobbed, no longer able to stop the tears.

Sorry for what? She didn't know. The quicker she apologized to her, the quicker she would leave her bedroom and leave her alone.

"It should've been you," Her mom continued, relentless, "it should have been you that died that night and not him. I loved him and now he's gone and I have to deal with you!!"

"I know!" She cried even harder at the mention of her father. She wanted nothing more than to see him again.

Her tears seemed to make her mother angrier. She braced when she stepped closer, waiting for another hit, waiting for more insults, waiting for more pain. The room was silent, save for her faint, fearful whimpering.