Bitter Revenge

Chapter 6

Warning!

"I'll ask for the last time, what were you planning on doing?!" I growled at my victim for the night. This is not a healthy way to cope with my stress and anger. But who cares? I'm doing the world a favor for getting rid of these scum. "You're crazy girl!!" He said, true fear in his brown eyes. It was the same guy from the club, the one that was going to hurt the blue-haired girl. I grabbed the collar of his shirt and banged my forehead against his, causing blood to start trickling down his face.

I sighed, exasperated by his stubbornness. I took multiple deep breaths, grounding myself and my wayward emotions. I calmly forced my way into his head, being careful to not spill my headspace, emotions, and memories into his. Then I stared into his eyes, now calm rather than scared. "What were you planning to do with that girl from the club?" I forced the command into his head, ready to hear the worst of the worst to come out of his mouth. "I wanted to speak with her about a misunderstanding we had earlier this week." When he stopped, I just stared for a little while. Seriously? "What happened earlier this week?" I again forced the command into his head, confused as hell. "A female friend of mine came onto me and my girlfriend got mad at me, then left without letting me explain. A buddy of mine saw her at the club and so, I went to try to explain myself to her." Shit, I totally misunderstood the situation. "Why were you violent with her?" He didn't have to grip her wrist like that. "It was to assure she'd listen to me without running off. I also have anger issues caused by my childhood household." I frowned deeply, ah crap. I meddled in a situation I shouldn't have. I sighed, thinking over my previous actions. He still doesn't smell that good, he's definitely done some shit. But I couldn't get in between an ongoing relationship. "Forget about all of this. After getting kicked out of the club, you went home and slept. Now go home and sleep." I untied his hands and let him walk out after I wiped the blood off his forehead.

I felt a migraine coming on as I walked out of the factory, and made it back to Devil's Corner way faster than usual. Worming into people's heads isn't great for my own head. I walked into Devil's Corner to see Cris sitting on the counter of the bar, her legs and arms crossed. Oh shit, I'm in trouble. "Care to explain why you're walking back into this house at 3 in the morning?" I walked closer, rubbing my temple to get the migraine to subside. "Sorry, I was out." Obviously. She gasped loudly and hopped off happily, "You didn't happen to be with a certain redhead were you?!" A red tint bloomed onto my cheeks, realizing what Cris was implying. "No. She left forever ago." I quickly informed her, but she smiled like Satan himself and poked my side. "Uh huh. But you disappeared right around that time too." I couldn't just tell her that I was holding some guy captive. "Look, I've got a migraine. I'm going to sleep, night." I walked off, while she giggled behind me as if she knew something I didn't. I just knocked out for the night, hoping to wake up feeling better.

***

I coughed, blowing the smoke away from my face. "Can you please not smoke in the house Mother?" I inhaled the horrible smell of tobacco and cancer, before coughing again. "Quit your whining, a little cigarette never killed anyone." She walked over to the kitchen, where I stood in front of the fridge, and pressed the hot stick into the back of my arm. I hissed from the sting and immediately rubbed the burned area, wiping the dust of tobacco. "You're a big girl now, 10 right? You should make dinner for daddy and me." She pinched my cheek, hoping to convince me. I swiped her hand away, annoyed. "First of all, I'm 13. Second of all, why would I make dinner? That's like, the one responsibility that's yours and yours alone. I do everything else! I clean the entire house, I take me and Violet to school, I help her with homework plus do my homework on my own, and-" A loud slap resonated in the kitchen, then came the stinging feeling on my cheek. Shock froze me.

"First of all, do not speak to me that way. And second of all, I don't give a damn. If dinner ain't ready by the time your father is home, then you're in for it." She growled before she stormed out of the kitchen. I growled and got to work, frustrated. "Don't get mad Nona, at least you get to practice your cooking skills right?" Violet smiled from the island, though I could see the worry behind her eyes. I smiled to relieve her worries, "Yeah I guess you're right. Are you craving anything?" I washed my hands, pulling up the sleeves of my jacket. "Oh! Chicken with rice!" I laughed, still feeling the sting of the slap. My sister's favorite meal. "Chicken with rice it is."

Just as I finished up dinner, Father arrived home. Violet had set up the table with the mats and chopsticks. The man of the house grew up in Japan, so he runs the house in a Japanese mixed with American style. No shoes indoors, we typically eat using wooden chopsticks, respect the man of the household, etc. "Hey girls, what's for dinner?" He smiled, sitting down at the head of the table and rubbing his hands together. "Chicken with rice, and a side of salad." My dad was the kinder of the two, but he can be a scary man when he wants to be. "Akui! You will not believe what happened earlier!" My mother wailed as if someone ripped her heart out. "Sena. What happened?" I served the food for everyone, then sat down and waited for my mother to sit so I could eat. "Our eldest daughter had the audacity to talk back to me! She was so mean! I told her she was being disrespectful to you by what she was saying, but she kept going." I gripped the tip of my jacket, holding my tongue. If it was just my mother, I would've called out her crap. But with Father here? Fear held me captive.

"Fiona. Go to your room. You should know better than to disrespect me." My jaw fell, my stomach growling. "But Father-" He slammed his fist on the table, making me and Violet flinch. "Are you talking back to me?" He growled, making my heart drop. "Of course not Father. I'm sorry." I stood up and went to my room, starving still. The rest of the night was a blur, but I remember a belt being involved- a common practice at the time.

***

My eyes cracked open, tired and rough. I sat up in my bed, cracking a wide yawn. Stupid dream. I slept horrible thanks to you. I walked into the bathroom for my morning routine, the memory of cigarettes being put out on me replaying in my head. The marks are no longer on my body, during my transformation into a vampire it healed a lot of small scars. But a few stayed, like my eye/eyebrow scar, the one on my neck, and some on my back. Work felt long, probably because I didn't have coffee. Then an unexpected email popped up on my screen. I opened to see it was from Stella, waking me up real quick.

"Hey Fiona, I'm writing unprofessionally by the way. I just wanted to reach out. My boss wants an interview 2.0. But the drive there is gruesome. So please let me know if Cristina agrees to the idea before I leave." Simple email, but I can't blame her. I noticed that at the bottom of the email was a phone number. I bit my lip to try and contain my smile as I saved her phone number. I skipped around the club looking for Cris, only to find her sleeping like there was no tomorrow. I groaned and decided I was in the mood for a prank. I pulled the blanket back to lay down next to her, which instantly stirred her. She turned her head to look at who was in bed with her, only to find me laying there. "Top of the morning boo." Her eyes widened and she jumped off the bed, slipping on the covers and falling onto her back. I leaned my cheek on my hand, chuckling down at her. "Please tell me you were not the girl I brought here last night." She sat up and looked at me mortified, all I could do was laugh. "You wish. But unfortunately for you, no. But I needed to wake you up." She pouted before standing up and laying back down, throwing the blanket over herself. "Out with it before I fire you." I rolled my eyes, giggling a bit. "Bunny's Burrow wants another interview. Do I accept it?" She nodded and yawned, shooing me out the room.

I called Stella's number as I walked back to my office, on the second ring she answered. "Stella speaking, how may I help you?" I giggled at her professionalism. "I won't hold you up, Cris accepted the interview." I could hear a small groan in the background that made me a bit surprised as I slumped down into my office chair. "Not looking forward to coming back so soon, Strawberry?" I joked, using the color of her hair for a nickname, then pulled my glasses back on to look over some other emails. "It's not that, I'm not looking forward to the three hour drive over there- wait, Strawberry? Anyway, the interview will take place on Wednesday at around 9 a.m., sound good?" I made a quick note on a sticky note of that as an idea lit a light bulb over my head. "How about I chauffeur you here and back?" I was met with silence, even I was shocked that I was offering to go out of my way to help her. What is it about you Stella?