Scandal

Chapter 9

Warnings: a little tiny bit of smut, talk abt domestic violence, mentions of suicide, fat shaming

Word count: 9794

"Amaya, princess I think you should lose some weight ever since you started college it's like I don't know" said my boyfriend to me sitting next to me on my bed

"What do you mean lose weight? I think I look okay" I say starting to feel a bit insecure"

"Amaya, I've seen you eat... I just feel like you should look more like your sister or even better Elena" he tells me putting a hand on my thigh

"Are you seriously comparing me to Elena gilbert.."

"I'm not comparing you I'm just saying-"

"Well Maybe you shouldn't cheat? Yeah you think I forgot about catching you with that girl last week!" I tell him starting to raise my voice

"Well maybe I wouldn't have to cheat if you didn't look like I don't know.. a cow?"

"Well then maybe we should break up cause clearly!-"

Suddenly a sharp pain spread through my face
He slapped me

"Listen Amaya" he grabs my shoulders "don't you dare finish that sentence cause we both know that without me you would be a mess to how about you shut the fuck up and do what I tell you"

He shoves me to the ground

"I mean gosh!"

Tears start the form in my eyes
As they fall I think about what I did to deserve this

"And now she's crying...fuck"

Amayaa
Amayaa
Woo-who sleeping beauty

I jolt awake with a gasp.

Tempering my erratic breathing, I register my surroundings. The car ceiling, then the windshield–the shine of the headlights expose a dirt trail leading to a massive gate where's a break in the tree line. Not the endless highway that I remembered from...what felt like minutes ago.

The nightmare, a flashback from a few weeks before I got stuck here

"What were you dreaming about?... you look traumatized" he laughs

I startle at Kai's voice, sharply darting my eyes to the witch in the driver's seat. There's barely any light to reveal much of his expression; night had fallen since we'd spent the whole day driving. Only the curious angle of his head is clear.

"One of those weird, senseless nightmares," I lie. "Like, the kind you forget the second your eyes open."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Kai responds with a noncommittal hum that I'm not sure how to decipher. Growing antsy under the weight of his gaze, I turn back to the windshield.

"No" I state

He nods respecting my choice

"We made it to Portland?" I ask hesitantly. "Or are we just breaking for the night?"

"End of the line for the Amaya and Kai cross-country extravaganza," he says with feigned enthusiasm, pushing his door open. "Made it while you were in dreamland."

I get out of the car slowly, mindful of my sore limbs, and squint ahead at the path, trying to make out the large structure in the greater distance.

"Are we at the Gemini compound?" I wonder after a second, recalling that the headquarters was meant to be our first order of business.

"Nope, that's for tomorrow." Kai props his elbow on top of the car, studying the structure from afar. "We're at my house."

I blink rapidly, as a line from the newspaper toggles free in my memory.