...𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋, 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 || gameknight999

CHAPTER TWELVE

YOU AIN'T HOMELESS, BUT YOU'RE HEARTLESS!

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Angel couldn't believe what she was seeing. Lydia and Joseph Abrams, her mother and father, were standing before her. She was rooted to the spot, unable to move despite every nerve in her body screaming for her to run.

"It's a miracle..." Joseph murmured, stepping forward. He looked as if he were about to cry. "Our prodigal son, reunited with us once more..."

Angel shook her head, desperately trying to maintain her composure. "That's- what the fuck..." She had no idea what to say. This couldn't be happening. "How- what are you doing here? Why are you- Why are you here?"

Lydia moved closer. "A true saint from the Lord found us," she said. "A disciple named Nero Shein discovered our wrongful accusations... he knew what we were trying to do, Angel! He understood us, and freed us from prison!"

Angel didn't know which was worse - the fact that the very officer that she had spoken with mere moments ago was the one that had brought her parents to her, or that they were still speaking of what happened as if they were in the right, as if they weren't the cause of everything bad that had happened in her life.

"And..." Angel's voice shook slightly as she clenched her hands into fists. "And what... what exactly are you doing here?"

Her gaze didn't leave them for a second, afraid that if she looked away, they would pounce, dragging her back into a family that she now knew was loveless, criticizing everything about her, from the music she listened to to the way she dressed, grabbing her and holding her down with hands that were meant to nurture and guide-

"The almighty Lord gave us another chance," Joseph said. "He knew that we were doing what was right in His eyes, and He has given us another chance at being a family again. This must be His way of showing us how a change has blossomed in your heart - you must be steering from your sinful ways!"

"Like what?" Angel snapped, forcing herself to muster up as much courage as she could. "Wearing clothing that makes me happy? I don't see that being banned in the Ten Commandments, but you know what is banned?" She took a step forward. "Fucking murder, that's what."

Lydia's eyes flashed dangerously. "Do the Commandments not also say to honor your father and mother?" she asked, tilting her head. Angel knew that look, and the icy hand gripping at her insides tightened. She couldn't get shouted at, not again, not now, when she was only running on the front she had put up for everyone else. "You know why we did what we did. I would've thought that you could be a little more grateful for what your father and I tried to do for you."

"For me?" Angel exclaimed. "Every bad thing that's ever happened to me is because of you! Do you have any idea of the trauma you put on me, your child?!"

"If you would have allowed us to complete our plan, you wouldn't have any of that," Joseph told her. "You would have been purified of the Devil's temptations. That Satanic music, those awful clothes, that wretched attitude-"

"It isn't a sin to express myself the way I want to!" Angel's breathing was growing shallow. They were so convinced that they were right that it was pointless to fight them, but she had to. "It isn't a fucking sin to do something I enjoy!"

"Deuteronomy 22:5," Lydia spoke up. "'A man must not wear women's clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this'! It is a sin! As our son, we feel-"

"I don't want to be your son!" Angel shouted, her nails digging so deeply into her palms that her hands trembled, stinging with pain that she could barely feel. "At first, I wanted to be your daughter, but now, after I've lived a life without you where I can be myself, I don't want to be your child at all!"