Chapter Text
Why do they not like me..? I thought as I lay there at the bottom of the basement stairs. My foster sister, Lana, pushed me down as I was trying to walk up. Mrs. Rein called me to clean the kitchen. That's my foster mother. Mr. Rein is the foster father. I don't really know my real parents. They threw me away before I could even start to remember their faces and voices. I've been told that they didn't want me, and gave me up. That's why I'm here. I look up the stairs, and I see Lana walking away, giggling to herself. I slowly stood up, maintaining my balance. My ankle hurts, and so does my wrist. I make my way up the stairs, and limp my way to the kitchen, where I'm met with a look of disappointment from Mrs. Rein. "Why didn't you come when I called you?" she asked, sounding irritated. "My apologies, ma'am. I was pushed down the stairs trying to get here." I said. "Pushed? Or did you just trip over your own leg?" she asked. "I was pushed." "By who?" I looked her dead in the eyes. "Lana, ma'am. Lana shoved me down the stairs while I was trying to come up to get here. I watched her walk away while giggling to herself. She knows what will happen if I don't come when called. She was waiting for me to get in her reach." I said, still maintaining eye contact. I grab hold of the counter as my leg gives out on me, though unlucky enough I used the hand with the hurting wrist. I shut my eyes tight for a second due to the pain, then look at her again. She was silent. She sat down, and tapped the chair beside her. "Sit." I limped over and sat in the chair. She was just about to speak when Lana came running in. "Mom! Mom, the freak just hit me-" she saw me sitting there. "Uh-" Her mother looked at her. "So it is true. You've been lying to me and your father, haven't you Lana? You just want to get her in trouble for shit that didn't even happen because you hate that she's here, right?" she sounded pissed. Lana just stood there. Tears started rolling down her face as she turned and ran off back to her room.
"Amira.." she sighed. "I'm sorry for everything. I didn't know she was lying all these years. We put you through so much. God..you're just a kid.." she said. I just looked at her. "It's okay, Mrs. Rein. My real parents didn't want me, so I wasn't expecting much." I said. "You can leave. I'll get to work." I said, standing up. I started limping around, trying to clean. Mrs. Rein sighed, stood up, and walked away.
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After I was done cleaning, I limped back to the basement, shutting the door the best I could. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, my leg gave out again and I fell onto the cold hard floor. I lay there, just staring at the wall. I eventually got up, and made my way to the corner where I have my things, even some medical supplies that I managed to find down here. I opened the container, and pulled out some painkillers, and bandages. I took the medication with some water, and then started wrapping my wrist and ankle with the bandages. Once I was done, I put everything away and closed the container. I stand up, and grab my cane from the wall that I got from the hospital a couple years ago when my knee messed up after I tripped up the stairs one day. Time had passed since I came back down here from cleaning. I heard Mr. Rein calling for me, so as fast as I could, I made my way to and up the basement stairs. As I walked into the living room, Mr. Rein was sitting there, an empty glass of ice in his hand. "What did you need, Sir?" I asked. He motioned for me to come over and sit down, and I did, laying the cane against the couch. "What is it that you called me for, Sir?" I asked again. He looked at me for a moment. He gently took hold of my bandaged wrist, and lightly pressed the glass against it. It was cold, but it felt nice. "She told me everything, and I wanted to apologize." he said, a small smile appearing on his face. "No need to apologize.." I said. He pointed at my ankle and patted his leg. I carefully lifted my leg and put my ankle on his, in which he moved the glass to my ankle. "You know..we could take you to the hospital for your injuries, if you'd like. Or we could just take care of them here." he said. "Here is fine. The doctors might get suspicious if they see most of my injuries." I said, moving my leg away. Mr. Rein sat the glass down on the side table, and looked at me. "You're right. So, in that case.." he said, standing up. "You hungry?" I shook my head. "No, Sir." His smile faded into a look of worry, something I've never seen on his face before. Not towards me, anyway. "Okay..well, I'm going to go get medical supplies so we can do something about your injuries. Take it easy, okay?" he said. I nodded, and he walked off. Putting his coat on, he walked out the door and closed it behind him. I just sat there on the couch, wondering what I could do.
That's when Lana walked in, black streaks on her face from her makeup, eyes red. She sniffled and looked at me. "You. You ruined everything. You're taking my parents away from me. The only people that actually cared about me, are starting to care about a stupid freak more than their own biological daughter." I just looked at her. I could tell something was up with her. "Lana, come. Sit. I have a question to ask you." I said, patting a spot beside me. She hesitated for a moment, but she walked over and sat down. She was surprised when I took a gentle hold of her hand. Didn't even try to pull away. I looked her dead in the eyes. "What's going on at school?" I asked in a stern, but calm voice. She sat there for a moment. "I.." a tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it with her sleeve. "I..I'm being bullied by the other kids..they don't like me..and I don't know why.." she said, her voice shaking. "What are they saying? What are they doing to you?" I questioned. "They.." she cleared her throat. "They're calling me names, throwing things at me, and sometimes get physical. They push me into the lockers, shove me to the floor, throw paper balls and pencils at me during class. They also call me weird, a try-hard for trying to fit in, worthless. They tell me that I'll never amount to anything, and that I wont have anyone in the future. That I'll be alone. The worst part is, the teachers and other staff do nothing about it. They do nothing about the gossip and bullying. I've tried to tell the principle, but one of the kids threatened me. They said that they would make me regret even being born if I told anyone.." she said. I sat there for a moment. I then pulled her into a gentle hug. I heard her whisper 'I'm so sorry'. I let go and she sat back. "Lana.." I said. Lana looked at me. "Yes..?" I sighed in frustration. "I'm coming to school with you. Tomorrow is Monday, correct? Your father is getting medical supplies, so I'll be okay enough for tomorrow." She looked surprised, then scared. "No! Nonono, you can't! Do you have any idea what they'll do to you?!" she said. "I don't care what they do to me. I can protect myself. I'm coming to protect you, Lana. Trust me. I'll do whatever is necessary to make this stop. At least one of us needs to be okay." I said.
That's when Mr. Rein came through the door. He put his coat on the hanger by the door. He saw Lana and me sitting on the couch. "I have the medical supplies..Lana, what are you doing here?" he asked, putting a bag on the coffee table. I looked at him with a dead face. "I'm going to school with Lana. She's being bullied, and I need to protect her." I said. "Wha..um. Okay then. I'll uh..I'll run it by Veronica, and we'll see what we can do." he said. "I'm going, starting tomorrow." I said. "I'll let the school know as well then." he said. He called Mrs. Rein, Veronica, first. She accepted. He called the school, and they accepted too. He put his phone away. "You should be good to go now." he said. I said thanks and grabbed the bag. Lana stood up, and got me up. Her emotion seemed to change instantly. She carefully pulled me into her room, sat me on the bed, and closed the door. She opened her closet. "So..Amira..what do you want to wear? You can get anything from here. Just take a shower first." she said. I nodded, and went into the bathroom.
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I walked into her room, wearing my previous clothes. I moved to the bed, and sat down. My ankle was hurting a lot. Lana pulled out some black boots, black ripped jeans, and a blue shirt from her closet. She handed them to me. "Though this might be your style.." she said. I looked at her. "You put them on. You look uncomfortable in what you normally wear. I personally think it doesn't suit you." I got up, and got myself to the closet with my cane. I looked for something while she changed. After I pulled out a red shirt, blue jeans and some sneakers, I turned back around. She seemed more happy in those. "Told you. Lana, listen. You don't need to fit in. Just be you." I said. She looked away so I could change, and then helped me get the sneakers on. "You look great, Amira!" she said with a smile. I felt a small sense of happiness, something I wasn't familiar with. I liked it though. Warm. I looked at the bedside clock. It was getting late. Lana, again, helped me get the sneakers off. She gave me a spare thing of sleep clothes, and let me change into them. She changed as well, and then she helped me with my ankle and wrist. That's when the smell of food came into the room. I panicked a bit, and tried to rush out. Lana took hold of me. "Don't worry, it's going to be okay." she said. She helped me get to the kitchen. As we entered the room, there stood Veronica. All she did was smile as we came in. She didn't look mad at all. The two of us sat down at the small table. I looked down and stayed silent. "Frensin, is everything ready to go?" Veronica asked as her husband entered the room. He nodded. Maybe things are changing, but you can't be too sure.
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Everyone ate, and ignoring the pain, I cleaned everything up, denying any help. Once I was done, I went down into the basement and over to where my 'bed' is. I carefully lay down, and fall asleep not long after.
I wake up in the middle of the forest. It's foggy, cold, dark. I call out for Lana, anyone. But nobody responded. I look at my wrist, nothing. Like it was never hurt. I'm dreaming. I'm dressed as if i'm going hiking in the snow. I stand up, and start walking forwards, my head on a swivel. I walked and walked, just more and more of the forest. I felt lost. I started running. On and on I went. I eventually made it out, and ended up in a field. It looked weird. The grass was an ash color, and it started storming. No rain, just lightning, and quiet thunder. The wind started to pick up. I spot someone, and run over to them. As I approach them, I get blown back by some strange wind. "Ughh..hello? Can you explain what this dream is? I've never had this one before..I'm a bit scared.." I said, standing back up. The black figure just stayed still. "This..is no dream. This, my dear, is your consciousness. You're not what you seem. You're strong, dangerous. Lethal, even. You're not one to mess with. What these words mean..only you will find out when the time comes, my dear. For now, think back on this. Tell nobody. Find out the truth. Set things right. Make a difference. Be the hero, or be the villain. Only you can decide your own fate. Soon, everything will unfold right in front of you. You will see what this all means. Only time can tell when that moment will arrive. Be patient. It will do you good. Now, wake up. Get out of this place. Do the right thing." they said. That's when I woke up. It was morning. It was Monday.
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