Tw; mentioning of abuse, alcohol and death.
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The university halls where bustling with students as they begin heading to their next classes of the day. Shuri and Okoye had made their way past the groups of teens, leaving through the heavy metal doors leading outside of the dormitory accommodation.
"Any moment now, Okoye. They'll come following behind us."
"Are you certain princess? I fear we might have gotten a little carried away with scaring them." Just as Shuri faced her to disagree, her ears perked up as they heard the sounds of rushed footsteps and heavy gasps.
"Wait! Wait. We'll come."
Shuri spun to see a worried looking Riri, once again dragging her best friend by the arm as they caught up with the two.
Originally, Khai had tried to convince her friend that the two women where 'full of shit' but after hearing her own words pass her lips, she was unconvinced herself.
"We need to go after them before they leave us here." Riri spoke as she began to walk towards the door. she didn't here footsteps or a word of agreement after her so she turned.
"Row.."
"Are you kidding? We're just going to leave and follow these two strangers to god knows where? I mean I know she's a princess and they're royals and whatever the shit but i'm still unsure about this whole thing. This doesn't seem weird to you? Seems weird to me-"
"You're such a nervous rambler, you know that? Let's go."
"Riri-"
Khai couldn't finish before her friend was pulling her out the door and down the halls behind her. Was she absolutely shitting herself right now? Of course. Was she going to let anyone but Riri know that? No fucking way.
By the time they made it outside and behind the two women, Khai had managed to pull herself together, keeping her mouth shut as Riri called out to them.
"What did i tell you" Shuri tried to fight off a smile as Okoye rolled her eyes, shaking her head before continuing her walk to the car.
"Hurry up."
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Khai was lost in thought, looking out of the tinted window as the small conversation brewing between Shuri and Riri faded in the distance.
Khai never liked to talk about her relationship with anxiety, only Riri knew about her panic attacks as to her witnessing it first hand a few months into living with the girl. To say she was stressed with trying to understand how to deal with khai in that state was an understatement. She ended up panicking a little with the girl before grabbing out her bong, mason jar and lighter from under her bed, slowly lifting it to Khai's lips as the tears flowed down her flushed cheeks.
"Hey, you're okay. Everything's okay. part your lips for me and inhale into this, it'll help you relax. ready? That's it."
"Now hold it for one, two, three. You're doing so good. Okay slowly blow it out, perfect."
Khai's shallow breaths began to calm as she softly massaged her chest just below her throat, a comforting action she did to soothe herself. Coughing a little from the toxins entering her lungs for the first time, she focused on her breathing as Riri rubbed her back.
It was why she could be quite vulgar with her words sometimes, covering her anxiety with anger or annoyance. She felt embarrassed when the heart palpitations began, her palms becoming clammy as she focused on her breathing to intensely. Nausea washing over her as she tried to keep her hands from shaking. It would just appear out of no where, at the most stupid and unnecessary times. Even before she went to sleep most nights she would pick at her lips till they bled, or silently cry as she tried to calm her nerves. She hadn't a clue on how to control her feelings and it ate her alive. The day Riri introduced her to weed was the best day of her life. The feeling of heavy weight lifting from her limbs as she sunk back her shoulders, feeling her heart beat ease to a softer rhythm.
She presumed she was the way she was due to her childhood, she didn't exactly hit the jackpot with her parents. Her father, a cruel man who only ever cared for himself.
He had never laid a hand on his daughter, but he didn't have to. His abuse came from his tongue, the controlling, manipulative man that he was never had to do more than just run his mouth. He abused both Khai and her mother for years, wiring his daughters little brain in to believing the way she was being treated was normal.
Once she was old enough to understand what was actually happening to herself and her mother, she came to the conclusion that he never wanted a child in the first place. It was the only explanation for him ruining her younger self with all the hatred and regret he held within himself, pouring it all out on to her.
He had packed his bags and left without a word the day after her 15th birthday. She hadn't heard from him since, but it gave her the time she needed to fully process the trauma she had gone through all those years ago.
Her mother passed a few months after her eighteenth birthday, fighting a battle she was never going to win. From ingesting multiple bottles of wine a day, to taking all the pills left in her home. Her body had just given up and Khai was heartbroken to come home and find her mother laying lifeless on the couch after a difficult shift at the restaurant one summer evening.
A nudge from her right brought her back from her thoughts.
"Hey you okay? You kinda just spaced out."
Khai forced a smile onto her lips as she nodded to Riri. "Yeah, fine. Where are we going?"
"We're stopping off at Riri's garage to collect her laptop, is there anything you need to grab as well?"
She looked to Shuri through the rear view mirror, the princess's eyes shifting between Khai and the road in front. She shook her head, searching her brain for anything she may need but coming up empty.
"Don't think so. No." She gave a soft smile, Shuri reciprocating her actions whilst swallowing down the slight tinge of butterflies swirling in her stomach. What was up with her today? She swore she was never like this before.
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hello! this chapter was more of a look into khai's past, so you can get to know her a little better! next chapter will contain all of the khuri content <3
thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed 💋
