[NOW TRADITIONALLY PUBLISHED WORLDWIDE]
"A life of happiness would be hell on earth."
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When Grace finally decided to end her life, the last thing she expected was to meet a stranger simply gazing at the stars, dangling his feet over the edge of the...
[The chapter can be triggering for some audiences. Proceed with caution. Contains self-harming thoughts and details regarding sexual assault.]
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Grace took a deep breath to calm herself down before she unlocked the door and entered the house.
She cautiously took a step inside and peered throughout their untidy living room, which was inconveniently littered with discarded beer bottles, broken crockery, and empty food wrappers.
When she heard nothing or saw no one, she released a breath she wasn't aware she was holding.
He's not here.
She let a small smile play on her lips, perhaps the very first one the entire day, and quickly traced her steps towards her make-shift bedroom.
Well, make-shift because it could hardly be considered a bedroom. A bed frame was her excuse for a bed, and the room was originally an attic. With no closet to keep her clothes in, her clothes were always bundled together in a corner of her 'room.'
So much for adulthood.
She jingled the doorknob and stepped into her safe haven and hurriedly locked the door behind her.
Tonight I'll be okay.
That was exactly what she thought. But of course, she was deeply mistaken.
Because the moment she turned around and faced her room, there stood Greg; in all his drunken glory.
Greg was Grace's mother's boyfriend of two years. And about 16 days back he had moved in with her. It was safe to say, that the life Grace used to call bad had been worse after his arrival.
Her mother was aware of what Greg did to her. Maybe she hadn't witnessed shit firsthand yet, but Grace was sure that the bruises that appeared on her body every day were something she couldn't ignore even if she wanted.
And what hurt more than those bruises was that she did nothing for her daughter.
Things had changed for the first time when four years back Grace had happily arrived home after school only to come face to face to her mother's broken face as she told her that Grace's father had died in a car accident and the accident had been so vicious that his body was left unidentifiable and unfeasible.
That night was the first time her mother had befriended alcohol, and now they were the best of friends. That night was the first time her mother had pushed Grace away, and now they were barely family. That night was the first time Grace's life had taken a turn for the worst, and now she couldn't think of anything better than killing herself.
Greg stumbled towards Grace's frozen body and slurred, "It's one in the damn morning. Where were you?"
She wanted to tell him that she was busy waitressing at the bar so she could earn money to pay rent for the roof he was currently standing under.
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