Wretched Roses √

Chapter 88-Always

Leona's POV

*talk about abusive parents and grief*

I was just about to dig into my salad when my phone rang. Excusing myself and apologizing to my co-worker, I went to answer the phone. The sniffling in the background instantly concerned me.

"Freya?" I said worriedly.

"I need you."

Not questioning it I said, "I'll be there. Are you at home?"

She hummed and I heard a sob that broke my heart. Hoping to cheer her up, I touched the bond bracelet and I could almost hear her smile. She sent a vibration to me back, my lips quirked up.

"I love you, beautiful. Give me twenty minutes."

"You don't need to come-"

"See you in a few."

"I love you," I heard her say, voice gentle and low before I hung up.

Heading back to inside the restaurant, I explained the situation to my co-worker and she agreed to cover for me. I thanked her and then I was on my way.

The drive took fifteen minutes and then I was jogging up the stairs up to our apartment. Our door was open so I simply opened it and walked inside. She wasn't in the living room so I called out her name.

"In the kitchen," she shouted back.

I made my way to the kitchen and knitted my eyebrows together when I saw the shattered glass on the floor. What happened here? I didn't dwell on it and checked to see where Freya was. It didn't take long for me to spot her sitting on the kitchen floor behind one of the counters. Carefully avoiding the glass, I kneeled down beside her and gasped when I saw her tear-stained face and hands covered in blood and pieces of glass.

"My god," I murmured, grabbing her hand to inspect it. "Let's wash this up and get the glass removed. How did this happen?"

"I don't know, maybe when I threw the glass or when I was picking it up."

"You picked it up with your hands? Why?"

She shook her head in exhaustion. "I don't know, I wasn't thinking straight."

"You never are," I joked, hoping to lighten her mood up and hopefully get a laugh out of her.

It worked, she chuckled quietly, laughter mingling with sniffles. I took a hold of her arm and pulled her to the sink. After treating the wound, she sat down on our bed.

"Where is Joey?" I asked her.

"With Noelle."

"Why? Talk to me, Freya."

Inhaling, she began speaking. "Dad was here. He wouldn't stop persisting in talking so I gave in and let him in. I knew things most likely wouldn't get pretty so I asked Noelle to watch over Joey for a while. Long story short, we argued, I found out he was drunk and eventually managed to get him to leave. He tried apologizing but I don't know, it just felt like he was diminishing everything I went through. It's just, I don't want a relationship with him."

I pulled her into my side, rubbing her back soothingly. It wasn't fair of her dad to not only show up drunk, demanding her to speak with her but also stepping over her boundaries.

"You're allowed to not want that. It's up to you, no one can force you to forgive him."

"Yes but it's like, will forgiving him help me move on? I thought I had but at the same time, I don't know. It feels like there's this pressure to forgive them all, to get closure, or whatever. Is it bad that I haven't? That I don't want to? Do I have to forgive them in order to move on?"