Passionfruit | Issues Alternative Version

II.X

Demi found that when she couldn't sleep at night, it was much easier to fall asleep at random times during the day. Like when she forced Max to sit next to her on the couch and watch the ID channel and she ended up nodding off with her head resting on his shoulder. Or when she finished taking her dogs for a walk and after giving them some much deserved treats, she felt herself begin to fall asleep at the end of her bed. Or now, when she had decided to take a bath to try to calm herself down while Max went downstairs to retrieve their takeout, and she could feel her eyelids get heavy, and that breathlessness that came along with being so tired, and she could feel herself sinking deeper into that water that had been colored blue thanks to a bath bomb that had been sent to her in a Lush PR packagae.

She was just so tired, but she couldn't find peace at night when everything was shrouded in darkness, when images of the man that had invaded her privacy in the worse way flashed through her mind, when she was so convinced that he was there in her apartment, staring at her as she slept, making a move to remove the blanket that she buried herself under to take advantage of her in the worst way possible. No. It was too scary sleeping at night, even with Max and Sugar there to protect her. Even when she lived in an apartment building where you had to be buzzed in twice before you even reached the elevators. Even when Max constantly assured her that she was safe. She could never find peace, and she had worked very hard to make sure that her lack of peace didn't effect anyone else around her. That's why she was alone. That's why she had broken up with Trey. That's why she hadn't answered Kris's texts.

"DEMETRIA DEVONNE LOVATO!" Demi didn't realize that she had sunken so low in the water until someone was pulling her up, and she sputtered out what she had accidentally inhaled as a towel was thrown at her chest, and she weakly caught it. Opening her eyes, she rolled them - hard - when she saw who was standing in front of her: Dianna.

"Demetria Devonne Lovato, are you kidding me right now?" Dianna's face was red. She was angry. She looked like she could breathe fire out of her nostrils at any moment, and there was never a time that Demi thought that her mother hated her. Dianna was harsh, and she was a fire breathing stage mom who pushed her daughter past her own limits, but hate? Nope. Not until now. Under her glare, Demi felt the same way she felt as a child. Small. Impotent. Out of control.

"How'd you get in here?" Demi asked as she wrapped the fluffy towel around her body and held it as tight as possible.

"Max," she simply stated as Demi moved around her into her bedroom. Batman and Robin didn't know Dianna, so of course they got a little defensive, Batman barking at her and jumping at her feet to make sure that she didn't get too close to Demi. And Demi didn't even stop them.

"How I got in shouldn't matter, Demetria. I am your mother! And your family hasn't heard from you in months! Shut me out, I don't care, and i stopped caring a long time ago. But Madison? Eddie? I am done with you treating them like shit! The world does not revolve around you, Demetria!" Dianna ranted, but Demi was trying to block her out.

She hated when Dianna yelled at her. It brought back disturbing memories of a childhood where she was the major breadwinner and she was reminded of it everytime she whined about the job that she had to do. And it wasn't just during her pageant days. It was through her brief stunt as a product of Disney, until she freed herself from Dianna's reign. But even then, she still felt that pressure on her chest, and sometimes she felt like it never truly went away.

"I need you to get out of my apartment," she croaked after she had gotten herself dressed. She moved out of her bedroom out to the living room where Max was. She shot him a look and he mouthed "sorry" but she didn't really blame him. Dianna could raise hell and get her way when she wanted to. Where did she think that Demi got it from?