Chrysalis

Chapter 7

Notes: I'm back! Sorry for taking so long, I had troubles writing a chapter for another fic and I can't multitask. Anyway, thanks a lot for the likes – and especially, thank you so, so much for the comments! Your support really means a lot to me.

Things to know before reading this chapter: when I write entire dialogues in italics, it means the characters are talking in a language that isn't English – in this case, French. I understand French if it's spoken slowly, but I can't speak it, and seeing the mess people make when they use online translators for Italian (no, seriously. Sometimes I can't understand the meaning until I read the English 'translation', and I'm Italian) I didn't want to do the same.

As this is a continuation of the last chapter, there are references to child abuse.

Disclaimer: The cover art for this chapter is a work of ノリノリなマヨネーズ (pixiv member ID=1439116)

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Chapter Seven

The sky was dark, an almost full moon gleaming timidly behind the thinning clouds. The storm had finally quieted down, and the cold breeze carried the fresh smell of wet grass.

Maggie was sitting against the wall, her arms and legs folded against her throbbing stomach. Her sore body was shaken by strong tremors. She couldn't tell how much time had passed – the only thing she knew was that Steve had no intention of letting her back in. She had tried ringing the bell and knocking at the door until her hands had started hurting, sobbing as she begged for forgiveness, but only silence had answered her pleas.

Maggie pressed her thighs closer to her body, trying simultaneously to soothe another painful cramp that had gripped her stomach and retain the last spark of warmth.

The finally ceased rain had been accompanied by a strong wind that had made it fall almost horizontally, nullifying any refuge the porch might have offered. Maggie was utterly drenched. The wet, heavy fabric of her clothes was stuck to her body, making the cold seep from her skin to her bones, her hair was still dripping on her back and forehead, her bare feet were so icy that she could hardly feel them anymore.

Maggie knew that she couldn't just stay outside: while it wasn't excessively cold yet, it wasn't warm enough to sleep there, even less considering how wet she was.

At the same time, there was nothing else she could do. Steve had made his intentions far too clear, he wasn't going to let her inside until the following morning, and she knew that he wasn't going back on his word.

Of course, Maggie knew that she was probably exaggerating: she wasn't going to die because of a night spent outside. She was surely going to get sick, however, and it probably wasn't going to be just a slight cold... it wouldn't be pleasant. Was that the punishment Steve had intended to dish out to her? She had disobeyed and lied to him, after all...

Maggie buried her head against her knees, whimpering at an intense jolt of pain in her stomach.

I didn't want to disobey Steve, just to spend some more time with Alfred and the others...

Alfred. What was he going to think? He was so nice and attentive that he was probably going to notice Maggie's absence the following Monday... Maggie knew with absolute certainty that he would be furious, there was no way he would understand Steve's motivations.

A cough shook her body, reverberating painfully against her bruised ribcage. Maggie realized that her teeth were chattering.

Will I truly last until tomorrow morning?