DURABLE (completed)

Walked Into Hell

Aria's weak cry pulled me awake. My eyes flew open and I quickly snatched my goddaughter from the hands of her snoring mother. Glancing out the window, I was surprised to see the familiar gas tank near Logan airport. We would be landing in Boston in just a few minutes.

That explained why Aria was fussy. Her ears were probably popping from all the pressure. Rocking her back and forth proved to be soothing for both of us and I lost myself in playing peek-a-boo and listening to her cute giggles. Before I knew it, the wheels touched down and a feeling of foreboding swelled over me.

I was willingly stepping back into the lion's den and I had no idea if I would be able to escape again. I looked over at Tianna who was still snoring. She must be exhausted after the last few days. Running my hands down her shoulder I gently shook her awake.

I slapped myself, mentally, as I realized that I had yet to ask her if she was injured or even if she needed to go to the hospital to be checked out.

"T, T, are you okay? I've been so selfishly concerned about myself I forgot to ask you how you're doing."

Chuckling at my guilty expression, Tianna's eyes roved over me and her baby before leaning forward and kissing Aria on the forehead.

"Only you would feel guilty about taking care of yourself first and I am fine, trust me. This is not the first time..."

The look of despair on my face reminded her that I wasn't privy to the intimate details of her life. She blew out a gust of air and stopped herself from continuing. "Let's wait until we are checked into the hotel to talk about this."

Nodding my head in a daze at her words, I almost missed when the seat belt sign went off indicating that it was time to deplane.

We made short business of retrieving our things and getting out of the airport. Throughout the whole process I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that I was being watched.

Shaking my head, I chalked my paranoia up to being in Boston again and quickly ordered a car from one of the ride sharing apps. It was a twenty-minute drive from the airport to the hotel in downtown Boston and I spent the entire ride stiff as a board while memories of my former life bombarded me.

For the first time in years, my siblings ran across my mind. I wonder how they turned out. The youngest and I were six years apart, making her roughly fifteen years old, so she should still be living at home. I had missed five years of their life. I wonder if they still hated me and how they would feel about me coming back...

With a small groan, I shook those thoughts out of my head. It didn't matter. I needed my parents and convincing them to help me was my biggest worry. The relationship between my siblings and I could wait.

Some Time Later

As soon as Tianna and I got to the hotel we had a long discussion about her home life and I let her in on the rest of the horrific details of my past. It was liberating to finally share everything about myself with someone.

For Tianna, sharing her story was cathartic. I had never seen her cry so much as the sordid details of her marriage came pouring out. There were instances that I felt like she was still hiding some things from me but I nodded and hugged her regardless.

My friend had endured a lot and I had no right to judge her. All that mattered is that she wanted a change and as soon as my parents fixed whatever was wrong with me, I would help her divorce that ass and get her settled somewhere far away from all the drama.

When we were finished, we settled in to eat brunch and I reached for my laptop. Before leaving Arizona yesterday, I had tracked down my parents' email and sent them a message. After all this time, they still worked at the largest genetics lab in Boston.