Hate Is A Strong Word

08: a visit from the father

Still Mavis. Yep. I need some inspiration.

My thinking session was interrupted by the loud growling of my stomach. Standing up from my beanbag, I head downstairs for the kitchen to find a very interesting image.

Calli. Talking to my brothers looking very tired.

I glare at her, and sensing lasers going through her head, Calli turns to face me, eyes widening. "Uh, M-Mavis-" She stutters.

I cut her off with a screech and launch myself towards her. "YOU B-" Two strong arms clamp around me as I start kicking. "LET GO OF ME JAX OR I'LL-" I freeze mid-air, realizing that if my overly protective brothers found out I went to a party, my ass would be grounded for at least two months. "I need to talk to Calli," I state calmly.

Jax cautiously lets go of me, putting his hands up in surrender slowly. I unhesitatingly grab Calli's hand and drag her outside to the pool house, passing a bucket of balloons along the way, and slamming the door behind me. 

Wait, what was a bucket doing there?

"You literally just left me there!" I yelled at Calli.

"I'm sorry," Calli started, but I so graciously cut her off. She was going to get an earful.

"Don't 'I'm sorry' me! I rarely ever go to parties, and you just leave me, inside AIDEN'S HOUSE. MY FREAKING MORTAL ENEMY. DO YOU EVEN WANT TO KNOW WHAT I HAD TO GO THROUGH?! THE PEER PRESSURE WAS UNBELIEVABLE AND-" I abruptly stop when I see Calli staring at her shoes in shame.

"I'm sorry," She whispered.

I sigh and run my hands through my hair, untangling it. "Your excuse? And this better be good." I asked her.

"Ben had another attack," Calli said, a small tear slipping through.

As quick as my rage had flared, it disappeared. "Oh." I wrap my arms around Calli as she sobs her heart out. "It's ok, let it all out." I squeeze her tightly.

Ben was her adopted younger brother who suffered from Anxiety, Down Syndrome, and severe PTSD. Calli had first met him when she lived with her convict father while living in a bad neighborhood. She found him starving on the side of the road refusing to go home. 

Unsure of what to do, Calli had brought him to my house, in panic, begging for us to take Ben in. After Zack investigated, we found out that Ben was a missing person who had disappeared (ran from home) after he watched his abusive father beat his mother to death.

We agreed to take him in for some time, but the adoption process was paused when Calli's grandmother fought Calli's dad for custody. She won, and after little to no persuasion, adopted Ben as well.

It didn't help that Ben had a photographic memory, as he often woke up screaming at night from the nightmares-- more like vivid memory-- of how his mother died. He also had severe panic attacks in fear that he was reliving the worst part of his life. The night of Aiden's party must have been one of them.

. . .

After Calli finished crying, Jax took the opportunity to barge in and throw a paint-filled balloon at us.

I gasped and stood frozen in shock before turning to him. "We were having a heart to heart moment before your ugly ass barged him. What do you have to say about that?"

Jax shrugged cheekily and tossed another paint-ballon in his hand. "That I think that I have more to throw at you." He stepped aside to reveal a huge bucket of balloons.

I could feel the grin splitting across my face as Calli nods at me. "Oh, it's on."

. . .

Once we ran out of balloons, Calli, Jax, and I collapsed on the floor of the pool house, panting and covered in colorful paint.

"We... win," Said Calli in between breathes. "Ha."

Our chuckles turn into full-on laughter as we examine the mess we made.

Our laughs were cut off when a very calm voice split through. "You monkeys," Said Zack as he stood by the door. "You stupid monkeys."

"You rude grinch," I say back. "Would you like to join us?"

"Can't." Replied Zach. "Dad's coming over."

I sit up abruptly and turn to face Zack in pure shock.

"What?!"

. . .

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I finished all 8 seasons of Arrow. (#OlicityForever)