𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘅𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 , 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝗈𝗇𝖾

p r o l o g u e

|IT'S OKAY|

The human mind is the darkest place to reside in. It replays our worst mistakes and darkest memories, pushing us into the void of nothingness; one would feel disconnected from themselves. Your worst fears sometimes turn out to be the harsh reality and all of us have to go through all of them. Alone.

And it was all I needed as the scene which happened around an hour ago repeated itself in the back of my mind.

Walking straight past the deep blue lockers, my eyes were fixated on the pale blue tiled floor as I swarmed past the crowds of talkative fools, who sneered at the mere look of me. Ahead of me stood a swarm of students, laughing and jeering at something in front of them. All of them stood around a locker.

My locker.

My heartbeat immediately shot up with the terror lingering in the back of my mind. Something's wrong but that's not you, I thought as I took careful steps towards the locker.

The crowd dramatically parted as they spotted me and I tried to calm myself but the deed was done. I was the prey and they were the hunters. The scene in front of me was unexplainable. On the door of my locker was graffiti.

"WEIRDO," it said.

Painted in seven colours of the rainbow, the locker was a glittery mess. Streamers fell out of the locker as Charles Smith, the huge soccer goalkeeper, pulled open the locker's door. All the pictures within my locker, of me with my fathers have been torn apart, crossing their faces with a bold permanent marker.

"Know your place, weirdo!" someone shouted from behind me while others shouted back in agreement.

My eyes wandered around the locker, trying to pinpoint someone who isn't as cruel as those who were around me. All my hopes were tied to Claire, desperately waiting for her to appear out of thin air.

Charles sneered at my face, his laughs taunting me.

"A weirdo is a weirdo. And all weirdos stay together."

"Kaia honey, it's okay. You can just tell us, sweetie. I'll-we'll make sure that no one disturbs you ever again," Dad pleaded from outside the door as I sat in front of the door, blocking it so that it wouldn't open. I could feel them trying to push the door open but I didn't move an inch. It was enough to pull me out of my stance but I held my ground, not budging by an inch.

I want to trust you, but I can't; came a timid voice from the back of my mind though I couldn't get words out of my mouth.

"Kaia, you are our brave daughter and we love you so much. Claire told us what happened honey. We know that you must be very angry with us-" Pa started guilt evident in his strong voice but he was cut short by dad.

"Kaia, please. Just talk to us, sweetie."

The desperation was evident in dad's voice and it was heartbreaking. They stopped knocking at the door but they still haven't walked away. They stood right outside the door motionlessly waiting for me to come out. But deep down I knew that I wouldn't be able to look them in their eyes the same ever again.

And I was too ashamed to do so. Too ashamed for I let the harsh words get the best of me. These words made me question my whole sanity.