𝖆𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖘𝖆𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖒 | d.f. | book two

💡 persephone17 💡

5:26 pm

"i'm persephone alia richards. 20 years old. born october 31- yes on halloween. i think it's fitting for me. parents malia richards and david richards. they had me in their forties! when most of your patience is diminishing, they had a baby. well not had, like they wanted to have me, but accidentally had. they loved to tell me how much of an accident i was. my parents never taught me growing up. didn't teach me to speak, didn't teach me to walk, didn't teach me anything!"

"same here," soraya says, "georgia and your parents might've gotten along."

"i fully believe that," i nod. "i was super into books when i was younger, and into learning a lot in school. my parents hated that. they were very verbally abusive when i was young. they called me stupid, and dumb, and told me that i was never going anywhere.

when i went to middle school, i remember on my first day of seventh grade my mom slapped the shit out of me at the bus stop. apparently i gave her attitude and she didn't like it. same day, i got into this small group of kids that were skipping in the bathroom. it was crazy because guys were in the bathroom- not to be creeps, but to hide with their friends. they offered me a cigarette and that's how i got on smoking mj and smoking cigarettes.

we only hung out for a few months before i started to disconnect from them. but their energy of not giving a fuck really stuck with me. i only wanted to graduate school and get the fuck away from my parents."

"amen," soraya says.

"the physical abuse started in eighth grade and only amped as the years progressed. they'd push me out of their way, my dad would whoop me with his belt randomly and for no reason, my mom would punch me in my arm or back for no reason. it was insane. i really don't know how i endured it all. it almost feels like a fuck ton ago."

"yeah," alex agrees, "it does."

"my mothers presence feels gone for years. almost like i've grieved over years," ray says.

"is that normal?" juniper asks.

"nah, that's just trauma," matt says.

"fuck man. what the hell has been happening?" alex questions.

"i don't know. but we keep moving i guess," ray says, "continue seph."

"okay, well, before juniper, i brought my previous girlfriend over, marie, and my parents flipped. they embarrassed me so much that marie broke up with me and started rumors about me and my family." juniper squeezes my hand softly. "so people steered clear of me. my parents would beat me and taunt me for being a lesbian. they were extremely homophobic, and it got so bad that i started enjoying school more than my actual home.

when i got to high school and met juniper, they tried everything in their willpower to not make it happen. they couldn't accept juniper or her and i being something. it didn't make sense in their minds. they put bars on the outside of my room and put a lock on my door. said i needed to think about the shit i've done and didn't let me eat for three days, i missed two days of school because of it. i had to find and ration the little snacks that i had in my backpack and under my pillow."

"what the fuck?! bars seph? starving you?!" ray questions.

"you had to survive on how much?" alex asks.

"i had a beef jerky stick, small bag of chips and small bag of cookies from the vending machine in my backpack. under my pillow i had smarties, a kiss, and two jolly ranchers. i don't know how i remember that so well but on the first day- because i thought they'd let me out- i ate all of my jerky and candy, so i only had chips and cookies to ration for the next two days."

"damn seph your parents are fucking insane," matt says.

"i honestly would go through it a million times if i meant that i would meet juniper and fall in love with her. i didn't- and don't-  care about anything else except this girl right here and i's future. i'd do anything for her," i smile, kissing her hand, "but, that's me. everything else is basically what juniper told you."

"damn, our lives were really depressing," alex says.

"yeah, i wondered when it would stop. then one day, it did. so, i guess i win," i smile.

"at one point..." ray trails off, looking down at her lap, "at one point, i wanted to count the days until my mom changed. i got up to 512 days before giving up."

"shit," matt curses.

"yeah... hope," ray nods.

"hope is good for us," juniper smiles, "we need it."

"it's all we had," alex says.

"it's all we have. even now," juniper says. "i have hope that we'll get dominic and apple, and we'll know what to do next. even if we don't know what to do at all."

"that means we have a huge responsibility ahead of us," ray says, looking between june and alex.

"i know," juniper says. "but maybe that's what we're supposed to do."

"something big is coming," ray stresses, "and that's going to be our responsibility to handle."

"i know ray," alex says, "we're not superhuman by chance. i doubt that."

"what are you guys talking about?" matt questions.

"nothing. don't worry about it," ray dismisses, "you're next. what's your story odd one out?"