𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏'𝒔 𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒚 ✪ 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔

08| reborn

WARNING: This chapter does include circumstances and language that are meant for readers who are 18 or older. Circumstances involving depression are addressed in this chapter. Please read at your own discretion.

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FOREWORD: Do you agree with Devina that it's easier to just ignore the situation? Or is she just being dramatic?
xx

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"GET UP."

She was the last person I expected to be at my bedside, more or less at a time like this. I lazily glanced over at my bedside table to check the time. It read 4:36AM in a glowing purple hue. In an effort to stop myself from being snappy with her, I just looked her way, and rolled over, curling up underneath my blanket as if she hadn't been there at all staring at me through the darkness.

"No," I replied defiantly, closing my eyes like a child might. It was my new favorite word, given the amount of times a day I found myself muttering it.

"You have laid here in this bed for exactly two weeks, five days and 36 hours. The King and Princess may continue to cater to this misery you've drowned yourself in, but I refuse to see a person I consider a friend of mine in so pathetic a state," She hissed at me, and with less than a fraction of her strength she ripped my covers from my body - stripping me entirely of my one source of comfort. I sat up, immediately infuriated by her misguided sense of being a "devoted friend."

"What the hell!" I shouted, now awaken with clear rage. Okoye stared back at me, refusing to back down. Being a warrior gave her the advantage.

"Get. Up," she repeated, more firmly this time while my blanket laid at her feet.

After a long standoff, I finally rose to my feet, a scowl on my face the entire time. I bit down on the inside of my lip hard, waiting for the next thing she would say to me. I held my tongue, though it became a challenge the longer I found my eyes glued to her stiff form.

"Get cleaned up, and suit up. Meet me in the hall of the ancestors. And if you're not there in the next thirty minutes I will return and drag you there myself. Understood?" She commanded me, before she turned and exited my room, closing the door behind her just as quietly as she entered. I groaned loudly, feeling my body ache from being in the same position for such a long time.

Despite my hatred of being forced awake, I knew deep down that she was more than right. I had laid in bed for long enough, and every day that went by, I grew more and more depressed - ignoring my husband's daily calls hadn't helped, but he didn't give up on me. He still called, still texted, still committed himself to me even after everything I'd selfishly done to him. I didn't deserve him, I thought, remembering my time in the afterlife. I remembered Peggy's beauty, and her resilience. She was strong - something I hadn't been. Even in the afterlife she was devoted to him, and I got a second chance, and I couldn't even get that right.

Why would he even want me?

I was nothing compared to her.

I sighed, stepping into my bathroom, refusing to turn on the light as I flossed and brushed my teeth. Memories flooded my mind all at once, forcing me to lean my hands against the sink.

I took a deep breath, reaching deep down inside of me to find the will power to flip the switch on. My reflection stared back at me unapologetically. I could barely recognize the woman staring back at me.

Once I was done analyzing all of the minor things that had changed about my appearance, I stepped into the shower, turning up the temperature for the first time in weeks. I took a deep breath in as I stood underneath the head, allowing the water to warm my entire body. I had nearly forgotten what it felt like to take a normal shower, not one where I sat shivering against the tile floors.