Temptress

2|Real Me

Sereia's POV

I kicked my heels off as I closed the door of my two-story suburban house.

I then picked up the final box which I hadn't unpacked as I walked up the stairs.

I'd gone from living in the slumps to living in the riches.

Unfortunately, I had to leave my father behind. He had gone too far.

He had gotten so drunk a couple of months ago that he hit me.

He'd never done that before.

The father that raised me would've never gotten physical, not even if I said something to piss him off.

To make things even worse, the Harrington Group needed to know where I lived. Apparently, they only wanted people who lived in lavish neighbourhoods to have authority in their company.

I took out the candles and body washes which were in the box before organizing them neatly in the bathroom.

I was finally finished unpacking the junk that I had brought with me.

I pulled off my jacket, then my skirt, before tying back my hair.

I took off my bra too.

Now I felt comfortable.

I grabbed my laptop before sitting down on the ground and leaning my back against the frame of my bed.

When I turned it on, I was immediately met with a photo of Violet and I when we were younger.

She was ten, I was six.

The smile on her face back then was so bright, it blinded me sometimes.

Oh, the things I would do just to see my sister's smile again, or my dad's, or my mom's.

Or mine.

My real smile.

Like the one in the photo.

I went online and began searching for things to do in this city that don't involve clubbing or bars.

I can't stay in this house by myself. I'll be consumed with guilt and my thoughts.

I'll do things that I shouldn't be doing until I eventually pass out.

I clicked on the first volunteer work I could find and immediately signed up.

My old neighbourhood had a soup kitchen. I would go there and help out when I didn't need to study or work the three jobs I juggled.

Overworking myself kept me occupied for a while, but not all the time.

At night, I would be constantly tortured by guilt.

Why was I the only one not affected in this family?

My sister killed herself, my father became an alcoholic, and my mother became a crackhead. Their lives were ruined and mine wasn't.

So yes, guilt consumed me.

I wish it was me who burdened their pain so they wouldn't have to go through so much suffering.

I don't deserve the life I have. I've done nothing good that makes me any better than them.

I held my head as I tried to remove these thoughts from my head but I couldn't.

They've been here since Violet's death and have never left.

I ran to the closet where I hid the box.

Then, I slowly opened the lid to reveal all the heroin I had bought.