MELANTHA, on hold

t e n

MELANTHA ALARIE
!! trigger warning, mentions of physical abuse and suicide.

I STAND with my back turned towards the mirror, my head slightly tilted so that I can look at the huge bumpy scars on my skin. Most of them are made with a belt, some are cigarette burns and others are random objects that I can barely remember.

whenever my mom lost her belt or was nowhere near it she would just reach for the closest thing and beat me black and blue with it. My mother was lovely but turned into a completely different person after my father's death, the day he died— she did too.

And alcohol became her escape, as if she couldn't breathe without it and when she had nothing of it left, she'd hurt me and blamed it all on me.

my dad committed suicide.

The thing with darkness manipulation is that it'll mentally drain you, the shadows slowly eat you up and you'll have to get used to it and knowing you're constantly watched takes awhile to get used to, and I guess he never really did. But it seems off, my father was a happy man and he always helped me with my ability.

. . .how come I got used to it and he didn't? I never even read his letter, I couldn't. But it's at home so either way I won't be able to read it even if I wanted to.

I sigh as I tightly grip my shirt until I let it fall down my back, the scars now hidden underneath the material. My eyes widen as I spot Inara in the mirror.

her face is blank as she watches me, "what are you doing here?" I nervously squeeze the words out ofmy mouth,
"me and Antheia were supposed to get Boba but she chose class over me." Inara answers with a annoyed tone.

I understandably nod as I fiddle with the skin around my nails,
"want to come with me?" She questiones, it almost sounds painful to ask as her voice is laced with pity.

"If you don't say yes I'll literally strangle you." She huffs and i laugh with a small nod.
"Yes. I'll go with you." I continue as she keeps her blank expression steady and I walk out the door right behind her.

"where the hell are we getting Boba from?" I ask as we make our way outside the building, the cold wind hitting my exposed thighs beneath my uniform skirt. "there's a small town a few miles away from here, we'll just call a taxi when we're outside the walls." She notes with a small shrug, keeping her hands in her pockets.

"so we're climbing over?" I ask and she glances at me, "fucking obviously." She mumbles and my lips twitch into a smirk at her attitude. I can't help but wonder why she's not questioning my scars, maybe she didn't see them?

After walking trough a small wooded area we finally make it to the big brick walls, I get ready to climb but just as I step forward Inara raises her hand and the wall breaks apart, making a clear opening.

God bless telekinesis.

"No climbing then?" I say as I glance at her, I see the small twitch barely noticeable on her lips. "Ladies first." I sing as Inara walks past me.

-

I followed Inara as the taxi arrived outside the Boba shop, the town is small and mostly elderly people are roaming around. Shops are lined up on each side of the street.