Love Torment (Old Version)

Eight

A FEW WEEKS LATER

"If you love waking up in the morning"

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I laid on my back stiffly. Eyes trained on the ceiling above me. I tried to blink away the tears that came from the unbearable pain of the reminder.

Breathe.

In.

Out.

In...

"Veéta, your aunt wishes to see you before her departure."

I didn't move.

I was laying on my bed, unmoving. Not by choice.  A sick version of muscle memory, reminding me of the time a branch stuck itself right through me, completely paralyzing me. It just about missed all the major organs and making a boatload of doctors marvel at my ability to recover in an entirety.

The reminder came every so often. It clenched my heart tightly. It paralyzed me. It made sure to let me feel pain in the worst way.

All I could do was breathe and it would pass...

"Veéta!" The voice exclaimed in a sharper tone.

With a few more breaths, I could feel it all fade away. I gave myself a few more seconds before I went back into action. I sat up and gave the woman who was standing in my room uninvitedly a  look.

"Katie, you really need this vacation." I rasped out in a groggy voice. With narrowed eyes, I caught sight of the redhead in a tight business suit. Her hair was tied into a bun and not a wrinkle in sight from her clothes.

I could barely open my eyes which meant that the sun wasn't up yet. It was way too early for what that lady was doing to me.

"It's not a vacation. It's a very urgent business trip and if you are to behave in such a manner in your aunt's absence-" Katie was in the middle of saying.

Saying a speech I'd had been hearing from the very moment my aunt told me she'd be gone a week ago. I felt absolutely offended that they thought I, AN ANGEL, would do anything to even remotely go against my aunt's wishes.

Besides, my aunt was only to be gone for one week. The same week of the last week of holiday before school opened again. What a mouthful.

"Scratch that, you need to meet somebody..." I said as I plonked my feet onto the dark wooden floor of my room.

"You are to see your aunt immediately." She just said to me, giving me an unimpressed look.

Katie was my aunt's PA but also took the role of my personal soul sucker. She gave me a pointed look and took her time to turn around and stride out of my room.

The smile on my face that I presented for Katie dropped. I felt like dropping on my bed. I wished the ever-lasting sadness would take a break.

Ten whole years and I was yet to feel a drop of absolute comfort. Not a day in my life had a smile last long enough to call it happiness. I had gotten incredibly great at faking it. People didn't need to read into me as if I was an open book. Nobody needed to know my pain and my struggle.

WITHOUT therapy, could someone ever get over that?

At my own slow pace, I started walking out of my room to head to my aunt's office. Compared to my previous living arrangements, my room was MASSIVE. My aunt was loaded. She sent me straight to a fancy private school when she took me in three years ago.

My life in a nutshell.

After the attack. After everything settled down the best it could, my uncle Jerah took me in. He was my father's brother. My parents barely fraternized with family but I had met him a couple of times prior.