ɢʜᴏꜱᴛꜱ | ᴅ. ɢʀᴀʏꜱᴏɴ

chapter 22

22. old news

•—✽—✽—✽—•

months later

MONTHS AFTER RACHEL HAD THROWN A brick at a cop car and almost got killed causing her, Dick, and Paige to flee Detroit—allowing them to meet Kory, Gar, and Jason, and fight an intergalactic being that was also Rachel's dad—they packed their bags and moved to San Francisco. Specifically, they moved to the Titans Tower where Dick hoped they could bring the Titans back even if it was with a new team.

Now, onto the present.

When Paige trained alone, it was almost like an art form. Her moves were swift and coordinated. Nothing was out of place, not even a hair on her head stuck out. It felt as if you were watching a choreographed contemporary dance. She was very agile, always being light on her feet and quick to dodge and block.

As much as she was a strong fighter, she was also extremely graceful when she fought. Maybe it was her thirteen years of gymnastics or five years of dance, but whatever it was, it definitely paid off.

Dick had suggested trying the blindfold method of training in order to help heighten her other senses when fighting. After learning about it, she never stopped using it and actually enjoyed fighting without needing to look.

Jason had been leaning against the doorway, watching as she fought alone using two katana swords. She was fast and sharp. If you blinked you would miss three different movements. "I know you're there," Paige said without bothering to stop her training, or even take off her blindfold.

"How do you do that?" the boy asked, amazed at how she knew where he was without having to look.

"Do what?"

"Fight without seeing."

"Well, it's easier if no one's fighting back, for starters," she said, placing the swords back on the rack as she grabbed her water bottle. "But it's more of a general control thing. Don't focus on pure adrenaline, it'll make you sloppy and cause you to make more mistakes."

"You say that like you haven't made mistakes."

"I have, shitheel, that's why I'm telling you."

As they walked towards the elevator, the boy's curiosity spiked. "Like what? What mistakes have you made?"

"A lot." Jason gave her a look that told her that her answer wasn't good enough for him. "Alright, let's see...When I was around your age, I trusted someone that I shouldn't have."

"What happened?"

"It was this guy I met. I'll spare you the details but in the end, I had to run away for my own safety." He gave her a sympathetic look, quickly piecing everything together.

"Does that not scare you still? That he might come back?"

Paige paused in thought. That part of her past hadn't really crossed her mind again until now. "No. I learned how to defend myself."

"Guess you weren't always a badass," he pointed out causing her to chuckle as she shook her head.

"No, I guess not."

✄ ✄ ✄

Chicago, Illinois — 2010

"Hey, Paige! Can you come down for a sec, I wanna talk to you," the twenty-two-year-old woman heard his voice say from downstairs.

Wiping her face, she cleared her throat. "Coming!" She paused for a split second, looking at herself in the bedroom mirror. Her mascara was drawn down her cheeks, following the trails that were left behind by tears. A soft red color covered her cheekbone as it developed into a bruise.

"What's wrong?" She asked, hesitantly, once she walked into the kitchen. "Daniel, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry..." the man said, scanning her face. "I'm sorry for hurting you."

"It's okay, it-it was my fault." Paige rushed over closer to the man, trying to comfort him in whatever way possible. Even if she didn't believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. "I shouldn't have dropped the plates I'm sorry. But, we can get new ones—"

"No, we can't!" Daniel yelled, causing Paige to back up until her legs hit the counter. "Those were my mother's china, you can't just replace the set."

"Okay, well... then we won't replace them. Daniel, they're just plates."

"They were the last thing left of my mom. And you had to go and break them," he sneered, his voice dangerously low.

As he approached her, Paige slowly backed up until she was in a full-on sprint. Reaching the door, she was undoing the locks when he grabbed her, pulling her back until she hit the ground, hitting her head on the wooden floor.

She flailed her arms around as he dragged her away from the door. "Let go of me!" As he went through a doorway, she grabbed onto both walls causing him to have to tug. Throwing her leg up, Paige had managed to kick him in the nose, causing him to let go as he brought his hands up to his face.

"You broke my nose, you bitch!"

"Good!" the woman yelled back as she got up. She watched as his gaze snapped back towards her, anger and resentment in his eyes. He disappeared behind the wall, quickly returning with a knife in hand. Her eyes opened wide as panic settled in.

She had managed to run and lock herself in the bathroom as he continued to bang on the door. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she backed up against the furthest wall. "Open the door!" he yelled. Even though he couldn't see it, Paige shook her head. "Open the fucking door!"

Looking over towards the window, Paige opened the blinds before quietly opening the glass window. She continued to hear banging as she climbed through. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Her heart dropped before she started running through the backyard, desperately trying to escape. He had managed to catch up, tackling her roughly to the ground. As she tried to fight her way out, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. Her eyes focused on the knife blade that was now covered in her blood. Bringing her gaze down, her eyes were drawn toward the wound that was causing blood to stain her shirt.

As he lifted up his arm to stab her again, she grabbed it, biting his hand in the process. The knife had escaped his grasp, giving Paige the opening that she needed. Pushing him off of her, she crawled towards the knife, managing to grab it as he dragged her by her legs.

Kicking his knee, he had fallen back onto her allowing Paige to use the knife on him. She stabbed him three times before pushing him off of her. Getting up, she stared at the knife in her hand before dropping it. "I'm gonna kill you!" he yelled as she started to run away again. "You hear me? You can't run from me, Paige! I'll find you, and when I do, you're dead."

Paige didn't know how long she had been running until her body had given out on her. She had lost a lot of blood and was just tired. Tired of everything. Lying on the ground, she looked up at the sky. It was dark and all that was visible were the small stars that twinkled against the vast darkness. As much as she wanted to stay there, she knew that she couldn't. With whatever strength was left in her, Paige got up and ran.

She ran and never looked back.