Bleed, Patch, And Keep Moving - An Apex Legends Story

Chapter 86 - Strong And Confident

**Warning if you are sensitive to physical abuse or attempted rape scenes then this chapter is not for you.**

Everything was so beautiful on Olympus. The trees were brightly colored hues or greens and pinks. Psamathe was known as the metropolitan of the Outlands. It was the smallest of all of the planets but it housed the wealthiest of patrons. Anyone who had money lived on Psamathe and everyone else wanted to live there. That wasn't the case for Ajay and Octavio. They grew up together and they promised to someday leave "this shit show behind."

Ajay peered out her window as she listened to her music through her ear buds. Her gaze shifted to a plain box in her lap. She flipped through some pictures of her and her best friend Octavio. Her heart skipped a beat the further along that she went through the pictures. Her face turned a shade of red as she looked over her favorite picture of them at one of her parent's galas. He was dressed up in a fancy black suit and she was in a long black dress. It was the first time that they had ever got dressed up and went out together. Afterwards they almost... her thoughts were interrupted as a stream for Octavio's show popped up on her phone.

Ajay smiled and watched the stream. It was the only way she could see him anymore. She tucked the pictures back into the box next to his butterfly knife and put the lid on the box. She stood up and walked over to her bed. She slid the box into her backpack and zipped it up. She sat down on her bed next to her backpack and suitcase and watched his stream. He was fast as he did his stunts on the obstacle course. The course was similar to one called The Gauntlet. Octavio competed in The Gauntlet every week to try and beat the record which was currently 12 seconds.

The stream finished and Ajay made it to her feet. She pinned her hair up into two buns on top of her head. She often referred to them as space buns because Octavio said 'They were out of this world.' She threw on a hoodie and slipped on her favorite pair of boots. Her backpack was heavy on her shoulders when she got it on. Ajay made sure her D.O.C. drone was tucked away in the front pocket. The drone was just a prototype at this point but she enjoyed working on it. She grabbed her suitcase and headed down the long staircase. Her fingertips grazed the handle of the front door but she was abruptly stopped by a familiar voice.

"Ajay Che! Where are you going?" Her body was tense when she heard the voice of her mother, Cherisse Che. Then she heard her father step in, not too far behind, "What is going on here?" Darion Che's voice could fill any room. Ajay turned around, her face was emotionless. "I'm leaving." Her parents stood only a few feet from her, "You're still chasing this silly idea?" Cherisse's voice was mocking as she spoke.

Ajay rolled her eyes, "It's not an idea. This is somethin I gotta do." Cherisse crossed her arms over her chest, "You're chasing after that Silva boy again aren't you?" Ajay looked down at the floor. "That boy will make our family look bad. It's time to grow up and be responsible. You need to think about what is best for our family." Darion's vibrated throughout the large foyer.

Ajay clutched her the straps of her backpack tightly. She adjusted her grasp as she felt uneasy, "That's not why I'm leaving." She didn't offer any more information because she really didn't want to have this argument with her parents. Cherisse smirked, "Then you don't need to go anywhere." Darion nodded, "It would be bad publicity if you left."

Anger washed over Ajay's face, "I am not staying." Cherisse moved closer to her only daughter and spoke to her, inches from her face, "I don't think you have much choice in the matter." Ajay looked her mother straight in the eyes, "I am going to be late getting to my ride. The Frontier Corporation needs me." Darion laughed, "They don't need you." Ajay continued to stare at her mother, "They wouldn't if you weren't profiting from this damn war."

It felt like lightning struck her as Cherisse's right hand hit Ajay's left cheek. Cherisse hit Ajay as hard as she could, "Don't you dare speak to us like that!" Ajay held her face for a moment as she looked down at the white marble title below her. Drops of the blood began to hit the tile. She watched the blood fall down and tried not to cry. For moment the only thing that Ajay could heat was the sound of her own blood hitting the tile below her. The ringing in her left ear was sharp as sound returned to it. She spit some blood out of her mouth before she looked at her mother.