𝕁𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕒 𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕜

34. Fool

"Thea, oh my god, are you alright?" Melissa pulled the shaken girl into an empty hospital room, looking around to make sure no one saw.

"I-I don't know." Thea stammered, looking at the her blood that continued to spill from her arms.

Melissa saw the state of the girl and knew she wouldn't get any answers so decided to try to calm her down instead.
"The cuts aren't that deep so the won't need stitches, and the pain medication that you've been on thins your blood—that's why it's bleeding so much."

She began with cleaning and disinfecting her injuries, making an effort to try to make small talk with her but it was no use, even though the shock had past, Thea was still heartbroken, even if she didn't realise it. All she knew was that it hurt like hell.

"Thea?" Melissa asked softly, reading from Thea's phone. "Alex is calling."

Thea nodded, picking up the phone as Melissa left to give her some privacy.

"I know you said you'd be back later because you're studying , but it's eight o'clock." Alex said, sounding slightly annoyed with himself for calling.

"I'm at the hospital, I'm fine I just—"

"What happened? Is you're science partner a monster or something!" Alex said, the sound of his hand slamming against the kitchen counter was audible over the phone.

"I lied, okay?" Thea sighed her voice breaking not out of fear but out of exhaustion.

"Then where were you?" He said slowly as a rage built inside of him.

"With Theo."

Dial tone was the only response she got from Alex.

»»———— ☾✩☽ ————««

The car drive may have been silent but Thea could feel the anger radiating of off Alex, but who it was for? Thea could only guess.

Thea's mum was standing out on the porch staring down at the girl as she walked up the entrance stairs, waiting for her to walk in the house.

The three sat quietly at the dining table for a moment as Thea stared at her hands rested in her lap.

"Where were you?" Lauren asked through a clenched jaw, clearly already having some form of an answer.
"With a boy?"

"Yes." Thea whispered, just loud enough for them to hear.

"Who?" Her voice lowered but still controlling her anger so she can get answers first.

"Theo." She answered with a shaky voice, still looking down. "The one who walked me home and visited me in the hospital a few months ago."

"The older one?" Lauren continued to question the girl. Thea thought at first that she wanted confirmation, but soon realised it was just to point out her own childish stupidity.

"You know the answer, why do you keep asking?" Thea said, only this time she was
loud—not yelling but she was easily heard.

"Fine. I'll ask a real question." Lauren chucked, slightly amused by Thea's attitude.
"What could you possibly be doing with a boy two years older than you? I don't have an answer for that!"

"Seriously?" Thea finally looked up but it was at Alex, the man sitting next to her mum.

"Answer your mother." Alex ordered sternly, he knew that the situation was more complicated than Lauren knew, but when it came down to it, Thea still lied to them so she could hang out with a boy.

"This is unbelievable! Like holy shit, I'm not a slut!" Thea let out a aspirated laugh, dumbfounded by the reaction her mother was having to the whole ordeal.

"I'm not saying you are, you've been through a lot, Thea. I don't blame you for seeking out unhealthy coping mechanisms, but it's my job to stop you!" Lauren explained in a cry, her body tensing in order to further suppress her desire for an outburst.

"No, your job is to take care of me, and you've done a pretty shit job, I mean, look at me! I'm practically losing it over here!" Thea's voice began to break as slammed her hands down onto the table in order for her to stand up.

"Your mother did the best she could! You know how horrible it was to have that man as a father? Imagine what it would be like to marry him!" Alex unintentionally mirrored Thea's body language, standing with a rigid back and hands on the table, only difference was that Alex was doing it to sever the building tension between Thea and her mother.

"Bud out, Alex!" Thea growled, glaring up at him, looking almost animalistic.
"I was a child! I had no say in anything that happened around me! I was pushed and shoved—forced into every horrible moment in my life!" Thea spat, pointing down at her mother repeatedly as the throat thickened and body began to ache.
"Everything that happened to you was your choice! And everything that happened to me was your fault!"

Lauren pinched the bridge of her nose while looking down to push away her tears.

Alex was about to fire back for Lauren when she pressed the back of her hand to his core, signalling for him to calm down.

"I didn't have sex with him." Thea said in a small voice, her mothers hurt expression drowning out her anger in a ocean guilt.

"Then why were you there?" Lauren questioned, a disbelieving look a her face.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Thea sniffled, looking away as she dragged her palm across her cheek, putting her bandaged forearms in sight as she wiped away tears.

"I know personally what it's like, I was going through something like this around the time I got pregnant." Lauren explained, her gaze softening toward her daughter.

"You have no idea what I'm going through." Thea's lips quivered from trying not to cry.
"I saw my fathers mauled dead body, I was attacked multiple times and kidnapped.
And you? You were just a nineteen year old whore, sleeping with two or more guys around the same time. We are not the same." Thea said bitterly before turning around, headed for the front door.

"Thea!" Lauren barked.

"What?" She groaned, not bothering to turn back to face her but still giving her mother one last chance to apologise.

"I love you, But one day you will learn that you are just a selfish little girl who needs serious help, and when you do, you will come running back to me. Until then, don't come home." Lauren sighed dryly.

Her body slumped, Crossed arms, with shoulders pulled together and hands that began to rub over her arms slowly. "Okay."
A pang hit Thea's heart as she walked out the door, it was small but that didn't change how much it hurt.
But the only thing that filled Thea mind was a memory, one that hasn't happened yet.
One of Lauren's slashed throat.
She knew what was coming, yet she didn't know how to stop it, or if she even could.