How we met... (Helluvaboss)

|My Past|

(This is a flashback to when Mariah was a teenager, to avoid confusion)

Mariah was currently in her room, humming to herself as she watered her house plants. Her father could be heard screaming in the background, throwing things around...and causing things to crash with loud thuds. This was normal behavior for Wyvern, when he was upset.

Mariah's bedroom was the safest place for her to go. She could hear her father's angry ramblings - and the occasional things that broke as he threw them through the room.
She looked at the house plants by the window, watering them carefully as she hummed along to a song. She always tended to her houseplants - they were her escape, her refuge, her little sanctuary. A small corner of the world that she could call her own.
Her father always hated the plants. It was one of the only things that they ever argued about.

Wyvern could be heard stumbling throughout the house, shouting orders to his goons - clearly very intoxicated, as he was currently chugging down even more booze.

Mariah's expression filled with dread, as she continued looking at her plants. - Her father's shouting was getting louder, as his footsteps drew closer to her room.

She knew what was coming next - she'd been here a million times before.The sound of his boots clicking on the smooth, white floor, suddenly stopped. As Wyvern was now leaning against her door frame, giving Mariah a hateful scowl.

Mariah's expression fell. She tried to swallow her fear, as she looked at her father. "What is it, Dad...?" She asks, her tone soft.

Mariah's dad is silent for a moment. He glares at her for what seems like an eternity. - His scowl is dark and scary, and it fills Mariah with dread. He finally speaks in a raspy and gravelly voice, clearly drunk.
"I- I told you to ge- get rid of those damn pl- plants."

Rocking back and forth slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest, he spoke. "T- Thought we ta- talked about t- this, eh?"
His words came out in slurred mumbles, as his gaze remained.

Mariah stares back at her father, a slight tremble in her voice as she swallows her fear. "Dad...I...but...I like my plants..." Her heart begins to race, each breath coming faster and faster. "...they're harmless, Dad..." She pauses in between her soft speaking. There's an edge of hesitation in her voice as she speaks, as she tries to stay calm. But it's not working. Not a single bit, as her father looms over her...

He stumbled over to one of her many shelves where she neatly kept lush, green and purple flowers and vining greenery. And without an ounce of hesitation, he immediately poured his ale Into the soil of her flora.

Mariah's hands fly out in terror as she tries to stop him. "No!! Please, Dad! You can't just- I-!" She gasps, eyes wide. "All of my work...!"
Mariah's plants are her life. They keep her sane in the midst of the chaos, giving her a small corner of paradise to call her own. She was proud of the flowers she could grow.

As soon as Mariah grabbed his arm, Wyvern would immediately backhand her cheek...causing her to land on the ground with a loud crash. "Yo- you think you c- can disrespect m- me, eh?" His voice continued to slurr.

Mariah falls onto the floor, her cheek red from where her father just smacked her. She holds back tears in her eyes. Her plants are dying, she has to see the one thing that she has been working on for months to be ripped from her, and then when she stands up against him - she is hit in return.
She looks at her father, eyes full of both sadness and fear. "I'm...sorry..." She whispers.

"Tch, pathetic."
He shook his head, stumbling out of the room.

Mariah lies still on the floor. Her cheek red from where her father just hit her. Her plants were dying. Her efforts meant nothing, as she was put down by the one that she was trying to reason with. A tear forms in her eye, as she looks at her flowers and greenery. The once vibrant leaves fade to a dull gray. The once green stems of her plants slowly turn black, as if burnt by fire. The beauty that she was proud of had been snuffed out. Just like that.