Fight for them.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴇɴ

Elara's heart raced as she watched the gray-haired woman walk away, her stomach twisting into knots. Suddenly, the air around her changed, sharpened into a too-familiar, suffocating pressure. She was back in that horrible apartment. The sterile, cold scent of antiseptic filled her lungs. The dull hum of the machines droned on in the background like a reminder of everything that had been done to her.

Her mother's voice cut through the air, sharp and icy. "Elara! Get In Here!"

Elara's feet moved before she could think, dragging her toward the sound. Her chest tightened as dread wrapped around her like chains, pulling her down, down into the prison of her past. She stepped into the kitchen, and there she was, her mother. Standing with her arms crossed, lips twisted into a cruel sneer, eyes cold and judgmental.

"You really thought you could hide from me?" Her mother's voice dripped with venom, the words laced with pure hatred.

Elara's mouth felt dry. "I-I wasn't hiding," she whispered, her voice weak, trembling.

"Don't you dare lie to me!" Elara felt the familiar sting as fingers wrapped around her wrist, digging in hard enough to bruise. "You think you're smart, don't you? Think you're better than me?!" Her mother's voice rose with a manic edge. "You're nothing, Elara. Absolutely nothing." 

Elara's knees felt weak as her mother's words hit like a hammer, smashing the fragile shell of confidence she had tried to build for herself.

"I own you," her mother hissed, yanking Elara closer, her grip like iron. "You can't escape me. You leave, and you'll be alone. No one will help you. No one will ever want you."

"A-" Elara barely managed to get the word out before the slap came, hard and fast, leaving a searing sting across her cheek. She stumbled back, the world spinning for a second as her face burned from the impact.

"Don't even say that Adria's name." Her mother's voice was a venomous snarl. "You think she wants you? You think she'll win over me?"

Elara kept her eyes down, heart pounding, biting back the hot tears that threatened to spill. Her cheek throbbed, flushed with pain, but she remained silent, knowing anything she said would only make things worse.

Lila, her mother, moved closer, her breath cold against Elara's skin. "And if she does... if that pathetic woman manages to take you away, I'll be back," she whispered, her voice a low, menacing promise. "Some way or the other, Elara. Don't you doubt that for a second."

Elara swallowed hard, the fear coiling tighter around her chest as her mother's words sank in. There was no escape, not really. Even if she got away, her mother would always be there—looming, threatening, a shadow she couldn't outrun.

With a violent gasp, she shot up in bed. Her heart was hammering, her entire body trembling. The room was pitch dark but familiar—her room. Her safe place. Not the apartment. Not that cold prison from her past.

But the suffocating weight of her mother's words clung to her, even now, wrapping around her like invisible chains.

One way or another i'll be back.

A soft knock came at the door, pulling Elara from the swirling remnants of her nightmare. "El?" Hunter's voice, small and tentative, broke through the fog of fear still clinging to her.
She hadn't even realized she was trembling until the words came out, too tight and forced to be believable. "I'm fine."

"El?" Hunter stepped into the room, squinting through the dim light as he approached the bed. His movements were slow, as if he wasn't entirely awake himself. "What's wrong?

"I'm fine," she interrupted, her tone firmer this time, but the crack in her voice gave her away. "Just a dream," she muttered, rubbing her hands over her face, as if trying to scrub away the lingering dread.