Broken Souls

25

CW: Abuse

Walking back into the mansion, Sol hugged the first person she saw, which happened to be Niklaus. He instantly wrapped his arms around her as she buried her head in his chest. "What did they do?" His fierce gaze move to Kai, expecting an explanation. Deciding to leave it the story to Solène, Kai held his hands up in surrender.

"Nothing," the witch hummed. "I just missed you all." This, although not the main reason, was still true. She still didn't want to share her attack with the boys, worrying them for no reason. "They said they'll help us with Esther. Don't be surprised when your mother's coffin goes missing." She lightly teased, finally pulling from Nik's chest. "Let's all talk," she gave the hybrid a reassuring smile when she saw his worried expression.

Gathering everyone in the living room, Sol filled them in on the Scooby gang's decision to help. When she was finished, she cleared her throat and wrung her hands together. Trying to keep the atmosphere light, her tone became playful. "I figured since we're all dealing with each other's family drama, it's only fair I share my own. My original family drama. This body doesn't have any family, so..." Her gaze dropped into her lap as her family looked at her, all showing worry for her.

A dry laugh left her throat. "Life was okay, at first, when I was growing up. Then, my father got sick. My mother was devastated, and quickly turned to drinking away her sorrows. I was left to take care of my father growing up, watching him slowly wither right before my eyes. By the time I was fourteen, I could handle my father's IV bags and switching out the needle. My father could hand me a medicine bottle and I could fill the syringe before administering it through all the tubes." Her eyes watered while images of her father filled her mind. The times she'd lay on the bed next to him and tell him stories of whatever she was thinking about that day. Feeding him and laughing whenever he'd make a joke about her being a good mother to him.

"By the time I was seventeen, I had been taking care of everyone for quite some time. I was cleaning up after my wasted mother, doing whatever the nurse would do when she wasn't there for my father, taking care of myself and my school work. I was really stressed," a bitter laugh escaped, her lips beginning to quiver.

"My father could see it, too. Neither of said anything, but we both knew. I also knew he had no control over it. He wasn't able to walk to the bathroom on his own. There was nothing he could do about my mom. I didn't resent him for it. I was only angry at my mother for giving up so easily, and then making me feel like the burden. Like it was my fault she was losing her husband."

Sol took a shaky breath, still not feeling brave enough to look up to anybody. This was her family, she had no reason to feel ashamed, scared, or judged, but she knew that she'd break down if she looked at them. Her story would be impossible to finish if she let herself look at them.

"When I was nineteen, we knew it was only a matter of time before my father... The doctors could only make him comfortable at that point. They didn't know what was wrong, just that his body was failing him. We wouldn't have had anymore money for treatments either way. My mother was drinking away her paychecks, on the verge of getting fired. I was only making minimum wage as a cashier at a small store down the street. I couldn't go to college with the grades I had in school because I had no time to complete the homework and I was exhausted during exams.

The night of my father's birthday, after we'd spent the day just talking and laughing, it was time to give him the medicine to help with the pain and to sleep. As he always did, he gave me the medicine. I filled the syringes like I always did. His doses never really changed, just small increases the longer he'd lived with the illness.

I went to bed and woke up the next morning to my mother screaming. When I found her in my father's room, she was crying over his dead body. She screamed at me, said that I had killed him, it was my fault he was dead. Next thing I know, I'm against the wall with my own mothers' hand around my throat. She wanted to kill me. I fought back. I scratched, I grabbed, and finally, I pushed. I pushed and she... she fell down our staircase. I saw her just lying there. She didn't move." Sol's voice cracked, and she shoved her face into her hands to hide the tears finally escaping her eyes.

"I called the police, told them what had happened. They found a letter one my father's nightstand. He'd switched his medicine bottle labels before I gave it to him. He wanted to die, and he used me to overdose on his morphine. The cops, they didn't even know what to do with me. They hadn't seen anything like it. My mother's death was accidental, self-defense as she tried to kill me, but my father... Eventually they let me go, but I couldn't escape the looks, the reminders of what had happened. No onewould let me forget what happened that day, and everyone seemed to have their own opinions about it all. Some people believed I had killed them both, forced my father to write that letter before killing him and making my mother's death look like self defense.

After awhile, it all just became so exhausting. Trying to survive on my small paycheck and the looks and whispers. No one would talk to me, they avoided me like I was the plague. I didn't want to leave my house anymore, or even my bed. I was just so tired."Her voice was so weak, she was surprised she could still talk. "So I made everything stop, and when I woke up... I was here. Still living in a small apartment with no family, no money. The only difference was no one knew who I was. And then Nik sat down at my bar." Finally, she raised her head to look at the hybrid. Her hear twisted at the distraught faces before her.

"Don't do that," her eyes scanned them all quickly. "I didn't want to make you sad."

"Of course we're sad, darling. You were in pain. You experienced all this pain and you held it all in." Kol was the first to move towards her, having felt he'd done similar things before.

"Anybody would be sad to hear such things," Rebekah started. "You should've shared it with us sooner. You don't have to carry things on your own anymore. Aren't you the one who called us family?" Arms crossed over her chest, the blond turned to the side as she tried not to pout. It upset her Sol hadn't shared her pain earlier. They could've been there for her sooner had she done so. She wouldn't have had to suffer on her own for so long.

"You are family, Beks. That's why I'm sharing now." Sol was quick to reassure the blond.

"And we appreciate you sharing something that's troubled you so much, my dear." Finn moved to take her hand in his, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles.

The rest of the Mikaelsons, and Kai, found themself at a los for words, having little experience with good communication. Her soulmates wanted nothing more than to scoop her up and hold her for hours until the pain of her past no longer remained. They felt helpless, knowing their was nothing they could physically do for her. They could only hope that their support and affections, paired with time, would heal her wounds.