Apollo and Daphne

Chapter 3

Do you ever get that feeling that you want to bury yourself in a pit, and put back all the dirt to cover yourself and never come out? Do you ever get the wringing in your throat and the silent, deafening screams echoing in your head?

Or maybe, you have considered taking a bunch of random pills and drown in your own blood bath?

That's what I've been feeling ever since I got home from school.

God, school.

School has never been great, but I never expected it to be worse than what had happened to me a while ago.

I don't even want to remember it.

"Daph, come down. It's time for dinner."

I could faintly hear my mother call for me as I buried my head into my pillow. I wanted to suffocate—maybe die—and not worry about what tomorrow will bring anymore.

I wanted to be free. I wanted to live my life freely and not be judged anymore.

I wanted to be the most beautiful angel in heaven and other angels would like me in an instant, like in the movies.

But, unfortunately...

"Daphne." I still have people down here that actually care for me, truly.

"Y-yeah?" I groaned as the burns on my skin stung like venom. My mother opened the door with the master key, then showed the tub of cool ethyl and two ice packs that she was holding. I sighed and sat up.

"Mo-om," I croaked out in pain. The itchy feeling of the burn, and the pain itself made me want to dive in a hole and never come out. It was all so overwhelming, that I couldn't even make myself drop a tear.

Shocked was an understatement.

My parents were infuriated when they got news from the Student Council, but... my dad was the scariest.

When Dad knew about what had happened to me, as soon as he heard that I was hurt, he raced to school and searched for me and brought me to the hospital. Mom told me that Dad went straight to Mr. Darwin for a complaint, and said whatever he wanted to say about my classmates, the Student Council, the students and the school.

Everything crappy, every bad thing that you could think of, my Dad has already vented it out to the HCI owner.

He was one of the board of directors, so basically, he can do anything.

He even threatened Mr. Darwin, and wanted his own son to personally protect me in exchange for the pain I had invited in my life. And by his son, I meant the unknown son of Jacob Darwin—not the Student Council president.

When Dad got to the hospital after his outrage, he took care of his only daughter like I was still his little five-year-old Daph-Daph. I mean, I liked the attention, but what he said to Mr. Darwin was uncalled for, and unneeded.

I don't need any man to protect me. I can protect myself.

But, he insisted. And since he's my dad, I let him, because he's my—well—Dad.

"Daph," he called as soon as he got in my room. He was holding a bunch of paperbags from Target, and a plastic bag from Watsons. I smiled, but took it back as my burns stung. I whined.

"This is going to hurt a little, okay?" Dad warned as he pulled out some familiar pills that he uses to cure my wounds when I was a kid. And dang, it hurt like hell.

I whimpered in silence as Dad twisted the green and red capsules open, pouring the powder out of the soluble caps and mixed the dirty white dusts together. He pulled out a clean cotton ball and dabbed it onto the powder, then drowned it into the ethyl solution that Mom brought with her.

I was already crying before I felt physical pain.

'Loser.' I screamed at myself mentally.

And when Dad had dabbed it onto my arm, I felt coldness travel through my body, and all my organs felt numb.

"Ouch."

*****

"It's your choice, honey," Mom stated as she stirred her honey tea in her medium-sized cup.

I shook my head and sighed. "To be honest, Mom..."

She looked at me, expectantly, and dropped her tea cup onto the counter. She nodded her head slightly for me to continue.

"...I actually like HCI."

Yeah, big surprise, huh?

It was no question. I really liked the way the Student Council accepted me with open arms, the cafeteria personnel being good with me, and even the owner, Mr. Darwin, smiles at me when I greeted him.

I liked all the little good things, despite the bad ones spewing and slapping me on the face.

But, I had to stop letting myself get hurt for the things I had no control over. And yet, I didn't want to leave either. I was having an internal battle between leaving and staying, and they're both great contenders.

They were both fighters, which sucked. I couldn't choose.

"So, do you want to stay?" Mom asked after she sipped her tea.

'Do I really want to?'

I sighed deeply, and smiled slightly.

I still haven't stated my choice.

*****

SHE'LL MEET OUR LOVELY APOLLO SOON! YAY!