Doomed

chapter 1

"These people must be more insane than me if they actually want me," I grumbled, staring out the window at the cracked road and the white lines painted on it. I didn't want to look at the woods we were passing by, afraid I would see something leering at me from inside of them like I did in my nightmares and visions.

"You're not insane, Onyx," my social worker, Annie, said, her voice soft and sympathetic. I winced at the use of my full name. No one but my mother had truly called me that up until she passed away, then suddenly everyone was referring to me as it. I opted to remain silent when they called me it, deciding it was easier just to go along with it. Luckily, in the psych ward, the nurses called me by sugary sweet nicknames instead of my actual one.

At this point, it was just Annie who called me by it, but I was too nice to correct her. She had done a lot for me in the past few months, and she was one of the few who was nice enough to pretend I wasn't a lunatic. There weren't many people left who regarded me like I was normal, but she did, and I appreciated that.

"Whatever," I said, leaning my head back against the seat, sighing. "They're still not right in the head if they agreed to taking me in. No one wants the girl who's had several psychotic breaks and witnessed her family getting murdered, but can't remember it." I paused then added in a whisper, "Not even my own dad wants me."

"Your dad is a fool," Annie's voice was charged with anger as it always was when we spoke of my dad. She had hated him from the moment that she found out he had abandoned my family. When we were alone, she had informed me that she thought he was a coward, and that was when I had decided I liked her. She'd been fighting for me since day one and had been the only person I could rely on since my life got messy.

I appreciated her more than she really knew.

I looked at her, my lips drawing down into a frown. Her sun kissed blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail and her eyes with laugh lines around them were concentrated on the road. Her lips were drawn tight, the only way to tell she was worried about me, and her thumbs were drumming against the side of the steering wheel.

I swallowed hard before asking, quietly, "You'll check in on me, right?"

Her eyes darted over to me for but a moment, yet I was able to catch them softening at my words.

"Of course," she said, her voice still soft. I'd heard it hard before, sharp enough to cut through rooms and make people wince, but she had never used that tone on me. She had always spoke to me as if I was her own child; it made me feel loved. "Onyx, I'm not going to just abandon you. And you're going to be okay. I hope you know that."

I managed to shoot her a weak, but thankful smile before turning my attention back to the cracks in the road. I had my head rested against the glass, and every time we went over a bump, my head smacked against the window, but I barely flinched. The throbbing against my skull hurt less than the constant emotional pain that was stabbing at my chest.

When we pulled into the gravel drive, I lifted my head again, observing the house we were closing in on. I sat up straighter in my seat, my eyes shooting up at the sight of a wood and brick house that was rather big. I hadn't expected something like this. And even though the house was really nice, the woods surrounded it, caused me to wince. That part of living there was not going to be fun, but as soon as they knew how psycho I was, I was sure they wouldn't keep me long.

"Annie..." I breathed out, my breath catching in my throat and cutting me off. It was better I didn't express my concerns, anyways.

"Don't worry, sweetie," Annie chirped, her lips spreading into a comforting smile. "They'll love you."

"Doubtful..." I whispered to myself as she got out of the car. I took a deep breath before climbing out of the car too, wrapping my arms around myself. My teeth sank into my bottom lip as I continued to observe the house, forcing myself to keep my eyes away from the tree line that was taunting me. "Do they have any other foster children?"