Captured (A Modern Medusa Story)

CHAPTER 38: AVERISTA♥️

I turned a page in Helene's diary and ran my hands across the brailled text.
It appeared as though it had been meticulously punched in, hinting at a covert intention for a secret someone. Scanning my eyes on it felt like an intrusion, but one that I took pleasure in embarking . . .

'Sometimes things don't go by plan.
Sometimes accidents happen. Shit happens. And you have to let it. You can't stop it. I couldn't stop it.
And sometimes the person you once thought loved you back can betray you.

I let it happen, because I wasn't in control. The universe was. The scripts dictated that everything had to go according to the author's plan. I could resist, but no . . . Goddess knew what that man could do to my daughter if I resisted. Sometimes all you have to do is accept the consequences, give up, and move on. And that's what I did. Step down, give out the control, and let whatever evil plans he had in his deranged mind to take charge.

But if I could do something, I would.
If I could turn back the time and learn about a way out of this, then I would.
They say the cure of a disease lies at the source of it. Maybe that was true, but who cared anymore? As much as I wanted to kill for a glance at my daughter, I didn't think it was worth it for her. Nobody wanted a monster for a mother–'

A horn honked loudly from outside, startling me out of my skin and reminding that Dativa was here to pick me up for class like she promised. I was supposed to be getting ready, not reading. Shutting down the braille files, I frantically scurried  from place to place. I pulled a hoodie over my t-shirt, cargos over my underpants, and boots over my bare feet. I clasped my backpack and ventured out, my braids billowing in the breeze.

Dativa watched me as I trudged down the lawn towards her car. She maintained her stare as I slipped in, closed the door, uttered a greeting, and even after I fastened my seat belt. What in the gorgon's name was wrong with her?

"You look . . . " Her gaze intensified, making me somehow uncomfortable.

"What?" Her scrutiny made me a little nervous.

"Different." She finished, smirking. "Something good happened? Mind sharing the details with your bestie?"

I saw this coming. Because the triplets had told me the same thing right after I got back home from Phoebe's. That I looked different.
Seemed different.

Of course. Of course.

Dativa raised a brow at me as she drove, eyeing me in suspicion, but with a furtive undertone that clearly showed she could guess what went by before I hopped into her car.

My face burnt and I glanced away from her. I stared out the window, trying to find interest in the trees and buildings flying past. But my stomach kept churning, like someone lit a tiny fire inside of it. I thought of waving to kill it off, but thoughts of Phoebe pushed more wood into the scorching blaze, making it blow up even more. Fuck.

I turned, hoping my best friend was minding her own business, only to find her looking straight at me. We're going to end up dead if she didn't focus on the damn road.

"Nothing happened." I looked away again, hoping she'd shrug it off. It took her a while, but she did. I knew she was playing the patience card and high-key waiting for me to spill the tea already.

The car stopped at a parking lot close to the lecture room where we were going to attend our class. I stepped out first, almost running back in immediately when the icy air stung needles through my skin.

"Did you finish your assignment?" Dativa casually asked as she locked the car.
I almost tripped at her question.

"What? What assignment?" Confusion and fear coated my words.