"it's over, redhill."
彡 a tale as old as the times, yet with a little twist. the redhills and the parks haven't been in good terms for as long as hera can remember, a mutual loathing taking over the two families long before their children were born...
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"but lana~" "i'm sorry hera."
the raven haired exhales in despair & throws her body on a chair, rubbing a hand over her eyes. "you're the only one i can trust to bits svetlana, you're my last hope ─ our last hope."
the tall girl crosses her arms over her chest and purses her lips, shaking her head as if saying that, however hard she tries, she won't give in to hera's pleas.
"i'm sorry, i barely have the time to do the stuff i'm supposed to. being your father's secretary will only add to the burden." she starts making her way to the door, giving hera a soft tap on the shoulder as she passes. "i'm sorry."
and hera knows that she's genuinely sorry. aside from having spent a good five years together, svetlana is one of the most hardworking women in their company, something that her father acknowledged quickly, making her the head of three departments. hera knows that, if it weren't for that, she would have accepted the position the moment it was announced that's it's vacant.
as the red haired woman walks out of the room, hera is left alone. the static silence that's taken over makes the air feel thick and it's like it's weighing on her. in an attempt to ease the feeling, she takes a deep breath and stands by the window, basking in the view.
the burning red & orange hues of the sunset paint the skyscrapers in their alluring colors, their windows shining under the dying light. as the sun dives behind the tall buildings, hera wishes for it to stop and just wait there for a bit, to let its glory last a little more.
but as the moments pass, the golden disk vanishes little by little, and now the sky's turning darker... and darker. a melancholic blue's taking over, with hues of purple & lilac here and there.
the streetlights light up. there's a very strange sense of comfort in the hustle & bustle of the city, she thinks ─ who would feel comfortable listening to the pained honks, the sirens of hasty ambulances trying to make it on time & the yelling of angry people anyway?
it's a reminder that she's alive.
and in that, she finds serenity.
after watching her mother fall dead in the arms of her trembling father, hera came to the realization that life's just a game. chaos can find you in the purest and simplest of moments, when you least expect it; it's the crazy driving of a drunk man, it's the food poisoning, it's the serial killer who took interest in you.
it's the bullet shot by a madman.
to this day, sixteen years later, it's a mystery ─ who held the weapon that took away the life of precious laura redhill?
no one knows ─ no one bothered to know; james was dead inside, jake & hera were young & two parents went deranged upon the news of their only child being murdered. who could care more than the family of hers?
hera takes a sharp breath, gasping for air. her cheeks are wet & a big glob of water lands on her hand. she brings a hand up & wipes the teardrops off her face and chin, turning around to leave the room as soon as possible.
it's sunday, and the only ones staying in are her, jake, loyd & svetlana. loyd is too busy in his office ─ luckily ─ & svetlana's nowhere to be seen. jake is here though, so that should be fine.
she leaves a sticky note on the door to let him know that she's leaving earlier & sprints down the rows of desks. she abruptly opens the door & walks out, slamming it with force behind her.
minutes later, she's driving in her car, destination set to wherever. there are plenty of places she goes to when she feels like blowing off some steam, but today's been pretty hectic and alcohol won't help at all, nor will hooking up.
there's a place somewhere outside the city, an extremely old and abandoned building her father discovered years ago, now used for business ─ it's been at least three years since they had last stepped foot in there though, so there is no need to worry about someone intruding her privacy.
hera has been there at least five times since she got her own license, faintly remembering the route at first. since it's quite far away from her house, it's not on her most popular picks to have her alone time, but when she does go there, it's just her and her mind ─ one troubled, racing mind; it's as if there's no point in being alone at all.
the fifty minute drive there comes to an end ─ minus the ten minutes she spent in that little convenience store, where a guy attempted to rob it & she had to step in, else the cashier would be dead ─ now she had free stuff secured for the rest of the year, that'll probably go to waste. the five cans of beer on the passenger seat were a gift though, & how could she deny a gift?
she puts the cans inside her bag and gets out of the car, slamming the door shut and locking it. the cold night air messes her hair, slapping her face & leaving her jaw numb ─ if anything, she's enjoying it.
she walks up the little hill before her, her eyes meeting the old, two─storey warehouse that's accompanied her in some of her most complicated nights. she slides her backpack through her shoulder and climbs up the creaking ladder.
her hands are dirty the moment she reaches the roof ─ but that's the least of concern she'll show compared to seconds later.
she looks up and, with terror written all over her face, she realizes that she is not alone; someone's seated at the edge, hands resting on their sides and head leaning on their chest.
her breath is caught up in her throat, along with the scream that she almost let out. the stranger brings their right hand up and it hovers in front of their face for a couple of seconds. a cloud of smoke appears & dissolves into the air and their hand goes to rest back on their side.
hera stands there, pondering with the thought of either leaving or talking to the person ─ & kindly asking for them to leave her and her place alone. but then again, this place isn't hers, & this person has most certainly no idea of what this place's used for.
she makes her final decision, turning around & putting one leg out to climb down the ladder. as she takes the first step, she tries her hardest to be quiet, even holding her breath till she turns blue.
