Daughter of Athena

Chapter 2

Julianne sagged against the door-frame. Sapphire began to cry, and Amethyst went absolutely still. Little Phoenix didn't understand, but she was picking up on the mood around her and begin to hiccup, the thing that toddlers do before they bawl. I absentmindedly picked her up, put her on my lap, and rocked her gently. "Shhh, shh it's okay sweetie, everyone is just surprised... They haven't seen me in a very long time." She stared up at me, her teary eyes slowly clearing.

"Ahem." I heard a deep voice clear its throat. I looked at the stairs and my dad was staring at me. I put Phoenix down and she ran to Sapphire and began patting her face, trying to get her to stop crying. My dad was speechless, he looked like he didn't believe it but was watching everyone else.

My voice broke. "Daddy." I ran to him and he squeezed me disbelievingly. Amethyst abruptly stood and walked out of the room. I heard the door upstairs slam and Julianne took the empty chair, burying her face in her hands. I slowly released my dad and he looked me over. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. I looked at Sapphire and she was glaring back at me.

I tried to go over to her to give her a hug, but she yelled "You left me! You left me alone with everything!" and ran upstairs, sobbing. I stood there, staring at the spot she'd vacated, until Phoenix tugged on my pant leg. I looked down at her, and she mumbled that she wanted to sleep. My stepmother lifted her up and took her upstairs to bed, I guess, and then my dad guided me to the couch.

"3 years, Ivory! What the hell were you thinking? We were sick with worry. We gave up searching 6 months ago. No trace of you anywhere. The neighbors, the police, even the damn FBI was looking for you! Why did you leave- Why are you here? We thought you were dead. Dead! Do you know how bad it was for us to wake up in the morning and Amethyst was freaking out, saying you were gone? No, you don't! Ivory Constance Levesque, you ripped our hearts out. Do you-"

"Andrew, that's enough. We can deal with this later. Right now, we just need to take in that our baby is home." Julianne had come back into the room after putting Phoenix to sleep and was speaking gently to my father, who was shaking. Neither one could take their eyes off me, and I was growing uncomfortable. Yes, it was my family, but I left for a reason. I was destroying it and it needed fixing, so I left.

I guess when I'm faced with an unfamiliar situation, I run. It's what I do best. So, that's what I did. I sprang off the couch and fled upstairs, running the worn yet new path that I recalled so well. The door to my old room was still closed from where I had left it, or from where the FBI had left it after searching my room. I opened it, and was met with a musky scent. I rushed inside and stood in the middle of the room. The walls were still purple, my pencils and homework were still on the desk. I saw two of everything, through my 15 year old eyes and through my 12 year old memories. I began to cry, overwhelmed at the amount of stress I'd been holding while making the decision to come back. I laid on my childhood bed and grabbed all the stuffed animals I'd acquired over the years. I began to make a mountain of them, and hid my face among them. It was something I'd do when my stepmother would be drunk, it made me feel secure, as if no one could hurt me. I was sobbing endlessly at the amount of hurt I realized that I had caused my family. The only plus side of the situation was that it seemed Julianne had stopped drinking. Maybe my leaving shocked her into reality? I stayed in that cocoon of warmth until my tears stopped.

A soft knock on the door brought me out of my haze of thoughts, and I said something like "Come in." I sat up and brought my knees to my chest, sinking into the corner of my bed and the wall. Amethyst walked over and sighed.

"I need to show you something." She turned toward the door and walked into the hall. I hurried to keep up, scared. She pushed her door open and waited for me to come inside. She walked to the far wall and beckoned for me to follow. I stood next to her and my jaw fell. Across the room, on the opposite wall, there were hundreds of Sharpie marks. The entire wall was covered with straight, tidy tallies. I opened my mouth to ask why, but she was already talking, staring straight ahead. "3 years, 2 months, 3 weeks, and 4 days. One mark for each day. 1182 days you were missing. Every day I wrote another mark. Every day. I never gave up hope that you were alive. 1182 marks. 1182 days of abstinence." She pushed up her sleeves and bared her arms to me. The scars were so faded you wouldn't see them unless you were really looking. "1182 days I haven't cut myself. 1182 days ago, I vowed to never harm myself or anyone else again. 1182 days ago, mom and dad found out about them. 1182 days ago, I told them why you'd left. They tell me it isn't my fault, that I couldn't be the reason you 'disappeared'. I know you left because you thought you were tearing the family apart. It wasn't you. I cut myself because of my school life, Ivy. It wasn't you! Why would you think that? For God's sake, it wasn't you. The family was already at seams. It wasn't you!" She was shuddering and I was sobbing, my 19 year old sister falling apart in front of me. Amy was always the strongest out of all of us, and I was watching her break down because I made the stupid decision to run away. God, I was an idiot. Still am.

Sapphire, with puffy eyes, peeked into Amethyst's door and her eyes widened when she saw our shaking sister. Without a word, she ran to Amethyst and enveloped her in a hug, holding her until Amy's shudders subsided.

I watched my 9 year old sister take care of a woman 10 years older than her, and realized that I had no part in this life that I'd abandoned. I shouldn't have come back. My family could have had closure, but no, I had to come back and make everyone feel the raw pain. I backed out of the room and went back downstairs. "Mo- Julianne, can I take a shower please?" I needed to do something to get my mind off my mistakes.

"Of course! Towels are in-"

"The closet at the end of the hall, second-from-the-top shelf," I smiled sadly. "I remember."
***

The water was hot, too hot, but I was too busy thinking to care. I mean, why am I so weak? Why did I think running was the answer?
I don't know the answers to those questions, and that scares me.

Taking a deep breath, I turned the water off, wincing at the cool air outside of the shower. I went into my old room and opened the closet to find clothes. The thing is, 3 years ago the clothes that fit me, well, they fit me. Now I'm taller, I'm skinnier, and I don't exactly fit in a training bra. I walked into Amy's room in a towel with my long blonde hair falling down to my waist. She raised her eyebrows at me from her perch on the window seat and I blushed a deep crimson. "Yes?"

"Did you by chance, keep any of your clothes from when you were- my age?" Amethyst let out a short, surprised laugh and said, "That was 4 years ago, I don't have anything. We donated it to charity because", here her face flashed a pained expression, "we didn't think you'd need them." I nodded and started to walk out, and her voice stopped me. "I think, it's time to go shopping. You don't exactly fit any clothes from when you were 12. And by the way, how the hell do you have better boobs than me?" I laughed nervously and backed out of the room to find my ragged clothes, not wanting to stay in that room any longer. Amy's laughter followed me out of the room. "We leave in an hour!"

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A/N: So, this is the first story that I'm considering leaving up on Wattpad. I love reading other's books, and I get inspired by them, so why not try my hand at it? I don't expect a lot of activity on this book, because it's just one of a billion fanfiction attempts. However, if you are here, why not:

Comment!

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I don't expect sharing or following, but if you want to do that too go right on ahead! I don't mind. Well, anyways, peace out for now.
-Dakota A.

WAIT! This chapter is dedicated to xVan_rl_bx for a cover they made, I absolutely LOVE IT. When I figure out how to put it up on top, I will! Anyways, if you want to make a cover for me, pm me and I'll tell you where to send it. Thanks, guys!

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