Tessa's Home

Five

Tessa

Beans on a shirt. That was my first ever purchase in over four years.

It has the words 'Bean Better' on the front and a huge shit emoji on the back, with a frown instead of a small smile.

It's fucking classic.

Actually, I'm wearing it right now, with a long-sleeved white shirt underneath to keep me warm. They're paired with some loose black jeans with holes in them and pink and white checkered shoes.

I ran to the bathroom to get changed after I bought all of it.

A bit mismatched, but so is my life.

I've also bought countless other clothes. Hoodies, more jeans, sweats, pj's, tights, long sleeve shirts, patterned and plain, short sleeve shirts, tank-tops, dresses, high heels, a few more pairs of shoes, underwear to hold all my goods, jewellery, too.

God, I'm spoiled, aren't I? It's nice, though, being spoiled. I haven't had so much fun in what feels like centuries.

It's really putting my mind at ease.

Now I'm in the book store with Hugh, and we can't stop talking. About our fav books and genres and which book boys we find the hottest and which main character we find the most annoying and the most badass.

We've suggested hundreds to each other and bought dozens to take home.

Every now and then, when I was good and obedient and respectful, mostly because I was tired of fighting, Viper would reward me with books.

They were old, used, ripped and beaten books. But they had words.

And everyday at the exact right time, when the sun shone through the cracks in the ceiling of my cell, I'd read and read, until the light went away and I couldn't see the words anymore without straining my eyes.

Most of them were boring as shit. Non-fiction or about some old man fighting a disease I'd never heard about. Adult books. Not for little girls and barely teenagers.

But, every now and then, I'd get a gem.

A romance, or a fantasy, and they'd be the light of my day. Noon, which I think is the time the sun shone into my cell, was my favourite time of the day.

Because instead of sitting and listening to the faint sound of water drops and old, classical music through the walls, I'd get to escape into another world through words.

Until now, that's how I'd escaped Viper and his horrid ways.

Books were my one and only actual, real past-time for my entire captivity. The only normal thing I did my entire time there was read.

So, naturally, I'm obsessed with books. And, thankfully, so is Hugh.

"Okay, I guess we shouldn't keep the others waiting too long, hey?" Hugh chuckles, handling all of our bags of heavy books despite my attempts to take one or two.

But he's not even breaking a sweat. Not even with dozens of books weighing on his poor shoulders.

Just how strong are my brother's?

When I was younger, none of them could beat dad in an arm wrestle. I wonder if that's still the case.

Seems unlikely, doesn't it?

"God, finally!" Tyler groans, standing up from his spot on the ground as soon as he sees us come out of the book store. "How many books do you need?"

"You wouldn't understand, meat for brains." Hugh says, flicking Tyler on the head once Mavok has grabbed a few bags from him to help lessen the load. He turns to me. "Tessie, we have one more stop, unless you want to go somewhere else first."