No Regrets

Chapter 13

     Gaia smiled slightly and stared at my green eyes. "Why did you do it," questioning the sin that Liam did and not why I killed him.

     A little distraught at how directly she asked this, I shifted in my seat and cleared my throat, "Liam was abusive, both physically and verbally on my mom. He verbally abused me at times." It was weird talking to someone about this other than mother and my therapist from years ago. I never told my friends about Liam's abuse; I instead told them that he abandoned us when I was five and we've been happy ever since. I didn't like talking about it because it sent me to a dark place, but telling Gaia this, it didn't feel that way. It felt relieving, because I knew there would be no judgement.

    "I remember how a lot of the times, I would, while trying to get sleep, hear my mom crying. She cried silently but her shaky breaths and exhales would wake me as a child. I would walk into the bathroom and see her crying, eyes red, and cleaning the part she had been hit, bruised, or cut at. Seeing this, I would ask if she was okay and when she responded that she was, I would give her a hug. Telling her that everything would be fine and that I loved her." I smiled warmly, recollecting the times I would help mother feel a bit better after the nightmare she just suffered through. From a young age I understood her pain, and I knew how to comfort her, at least the best I could at that age. Sometimes, it made me wonder if my support was one of her strengths she gained to leave Liam.

     "When I was five, my mom decided that she had had enough with Liam, and we left the house. I never saw him until just yesterday. Seeing him brought me a lot of hurt and rage I had not felt in a long time, and I lost control. Stabbing him repeatedly brought me joy and tears, like we had finally been freed from Liam's grasp. We were no longer tied to him." 

     Gaia's smile had become wider, and her shiny white teeth were showing. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly, "Gods, I love our job!" Her eyes showed excitement and a clear lust of murder. She then moved on with our conversation, "How was life with just you and your mom?" 

     "After leaving Liam, mom and I began living in her friend's apartment. She let us stay there for just a few weeks while my mom found a place for us to live." I began, trying my best to recall as much as possible. "She bought a condo and found my dog, Arlo, the first few days we were there. He was a stray and I wanted him. I think my mom only allowed me to have a dog because he would be a good support system to me, the thing that brought me joy in a new and changed world."

      I sighed with gratitude, warmth of the joy my baby brought to me, "Life was good with her and Arlo. She worked her ass off to provide and for that I will always be grateful." 

      Gaia awed and added, "I'm sure it was amazing to avenge your mother."

     I nodded smiling sadly. I missed my mom, and I knew that I would never see her. But trying to move on from the past is something I also do not want to do. "How about you," I asked her, wanting to stop talking about my family, "How's your family?"

     "I should tell you that that us demons are only allowed to have one child every sixteen years. Until that child graduates, only one is allowed. And me and my family... well, I have nine-teen siblings."

      "Woah! Your parents love having kids!"

     She nodded, "I'm the tenth child and they still have not stopped." She scrunched her turned-up nose, "I think Hades should stop them at this point. They have kids and because we don't see each other, I've never met all my siblings. Just three of them." 

     Surprised at how she had not met all of them, I questioned, "Are we not allowed to see family?"

     "Not really. Work keeps us busy and the only day we get to see our parents and siblings is during 'Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες.' Where once a year, on September 21st we all join to battle for a vacation day."