TW for DV
The weight of all her childhood memories hung idly in the air. With each muffled cry, each flinch, there was story being retoled in silence. Young and around 9 years old, Halia stands motionless, unable to move like her feet were glued to the floor. The smell of stale food had permeated the air, the kitchen tiles were cracked and they were unaware of Halia’s presence in the room. Her foster parents had been arguing back and forth loudly and the commotion had seemlessly flowed through to each crevice of their home. A home never once filled with joy or love, but home to Halia. Admist it all, objects started being thrown, books, knives, plates. The sound of metals clashing and breaking glass made her ears ring. Every yell, every scream, had deeply saddened her. She was never the main target, but she was aimed for, marked by the shards of broken cups at her feet. That night, she had left and she never looked back.
In the middle of it all, a hand, warm and soft had covered hers as she collected herself. A presence had been beside her, and she believed that person had a beautiful soul. “Saige? Thank you”, she sniffled with a faint smile. Tears were wiped from her face by Saige and she felt a newfound resilience blossom inside of her. Halia was more than her past, she was strong, her memories had been there to deter her but she knew better. She sighed as she glanced around the room, Nathaniel was here too but he directed his attention towards the chairs and locked door. He was well equipped with lock picking tools, the same kind she carried in her bag. She had known him from previous classes but they didn’t speak much during the years. Apparently they both had lock picking tools in their bags almost all of the time, leading Halia to believe that they were more similar than she thought, their personalities were strikingly different after all . . .
“I’m sorry, Halia. Please believe me when I say I didn’t mean to startle you- if everything had gone perfectly, none of you would’ve ever known”
She took in his words and stared anxiously at the escafil device. “It’s ok Erek, I just don’t know what to say”, her voice trailed off. She had no choice but to believe him, she saw his true form right before her eyes. This was real.
“Berenson & Co”, she repeated. It certainly rung a bell but she had no idea why they’d do this. Erek made it clear that he didn’t know what they wanted either. She was hesitant but, she was also curious. Jamie had crept over to Saige and Halia, asking permission to touch the device. She was taken aback by the immediate action but decided to stay quiet. Unknowingly, she had been reaching out to touch the device too.
@Bexs Saige
@phnx Erek
@Tellyg47 Nate (Mentioned)
@Ouijaloveletters Jamie (Mentioned)