Luring Lyra | Creepypasta Fanmade Spin-off [COMPLETED]

6.

Warning: physical abuse

~

Strip off the weight of mortality and check it at the door
I'll show you the worst in me
(What I've become)
Blow out the candles, I need not a wish for I am everything
Now crawl to my boot and lick
(Kneel before me)
I'mma have my cake and fucking eat you too

Lyra woke up to her phone blaring the song 'Necessary Evil' by Motionless in White, one of the bands she listened to. Stumbling out of bed, she slipped into her uniform and went to the bathroom to splash some water on her face to wake her up. As she looked in the grimy mirror, she could see a beast of rage staring back at her. She had forgotten neither Nico's visit nor seeing the bruises on her mother's neck.

When was it all going to end? Lyra was more than willing to end it herself if she had to, but she didn't know how.

Lyra glared at herself in the mirror, her hands forming fists. She had the urge to slam one of them straight into the glass.

"Goddamnit, woman, is this how you treat your hung over husband!?"

Lyra was startled from her thoughts as she heard her father's yelling wafting down the hall from the kitchen. Six in the morning, and already he was screaming at his family? Then again, it wasn't surprising: Frank had a short fuse no matter the time of day or night.

"Ah, shit!" Lyra hissed under her breath.

Quick as a whip, Lyra grabbed her trusty baseball bat from where it stood in the corner of her bedroom and ran down the hall to the front of the house. Frank was standing in the living room in an undershirt and boxers, looking ready to strike as he glared at his horrified wife. Connie was standing up straight, but there was no mistaking the fear in her hazel eyes.

"I told you, make your own breakfast!" Connie snapped. "Or are you so much of a Neanderthal that you can't do it yourself!?"

Lyra couldn't help but feel a hint of pride, but she was distracted by the way Frank's fingers were twitching, as if he wanted to wrap them around Connie's neck like he had done the night before. Just as he lunged at her, Lyra came swinging with her bat, getting him right in the gut and making him stagger backward. Lyra positioned herself in front of her mother, ready to defend her. Her head was pounding.

"Fuckin' slut!" Frank roared at his daughter, his arms wrapped around his stomach like he was going to throw up. "You weak little whore, hit me again!"

Lyra felt as though she had been slapped in the face. Still, fueled by anger, she gathered the courage to yell back.

"Didn't you hear what the lady said!?" Lyra shouted.

"Lyra - "

"Mom, go!" Lyra ordered, cutting Connie off. Just as she turned to face her father again, she felt as though she had been hit in the jaw with a rock.

~

"Fuckin' asshole made me late," Lyra cursed under her breath as she drove her way to Anderson's. It had taken a while, but finally, Frank had gone out to the backyard to calm himself down. Lyra had wanted to stay to keep Connie and Toby safe, but her mother had put her foot down, saying firmly that Lyra wasn't going to miss her shift and that was final. Either way, Lyra was half an hour late by the time she arrived, but she had managed to apply her signature thick black eyeliner and brown lipstick in the car.

As Lyra entered the gas station with an ice pack held to the side of her face, she could feel Maxine's eyes on her.

"Woah, you okay?" Maxine asked with concern. "What happened?"

"I fell," Lyra muttered, her default cover story for whenever someone asked about a new cut or bruise.

Maxine didn't look convinced, but she let it go as Lyra took her place behind her desk and shoved her backpack and lunchbox onto the shelf under the counter.

Anger bubbled in Lyra's gut all morning, but nevertheless, the hours went by relatively smoothly. She didn't crack a single smile, her frown never leaving her face, but nobody commented on it. And if they wanted to, they could sense that it would be better if they left Lyra alone. Eventually, her jaw stopped stinging, and she stored her icepack in the freezer in the office. But it still left an ugly bruise.

Ding ding!

"Hi, baby,"

Lyra looked up from her phone, and she almost smiled when she saw Winona making her way to the desk. Trailing behind Winona was one of her sisters, ten-year-old Braelynn, who was occupied by an iPad she was playing on.

"Hey, cutie," Lyra replied, and she winked.

"Hi, Lyra!" Braelynn piped up.

Winona's smile wavered when she saw the bruise on Lyra's jaw.

"Was it your dad again?" she guessed, keeping her voice low so nobody else, not even Braelynn, could hear.

Lyra's heart sank, and Winona reached over the counter to caress the side of Lyra's face. She was of course being gentle, but it still hurt to the touch.

"Could be worse," Lyra said at last, dismissing her partner's concerns. "How's Troy doing?"

"He's alright," Winona answered, withdrawing her hand. "Grumpy, but alright."

"Better than nothing, I guess," Lyra admitted.

Winona nodded in agreement. That's when Maxine entered the room once again.

"Oh, hey there," she said with a smile. "Winona, am I right?"

"Yes, ma'am," Winona responded with a friendly smile.

"Yeah, and I'm Braelynn!" Braelynn added.

"I'm just here to check on my girl." Winona said.

"Well, I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to buy something while you're here." Maxine said.

"Yeah, I'm not on break yet," Lyra added, as much as it pained her to admit it. At this point, she was desperate to go home and flop into bed.

Winona sighed with annoyance, but agreed nonetheless.

"Buy me a Beanie Boo, Winny!" Braelynn cried, shaking her older sister's arm.

"Fine, go pick one out," Winona grumbled.

"Yay!" Braelynn squealed, and she ran off to the mini stuffed animal display one can always find at a stationary store.

Another hour went by. Finally, it was time for Lyra's lunch break, and she left the building to eat outside. She hadn't had time to eat breakfast, so she was starving, and a simple cheese and pickle sandwich on whole wheat bread had never tasted so good.

As Lyra puffed on a cigarette after scarfing down her sandwich, something taped to the window from the inside caught her eye. As she approached it, she felt that familiar sense of sadness when she saw that it was a missing poster. But it wasn't just any missing poster:

MISSING
Liu Woods
Adolescent around 17-19 years of age
Last seen at Sacred Heart Hospital in
Glengrave, Michigan
If found, dial 9-1-1

Lyra swallowed hard as she looked at the picture, at the pale skin, the longish, dark brown hair, and the tired green eyes bordered with black eyeliner. Once her lunch break was finished and she had gone back inside, the first thing she did was ask Maxine if she could print out some more flyers to put up around town.