Gacha Story (Mature Readers Only)

Livia

It was not so long ago when Arya had her hair dyed after what had happened to her when she discovered she was light and dark. Her pink and white hair was now dark blonde, and she even wore brown eye contacts to cover up the black and white, but she was not going back to mint green.

She looked more like Dreamer now, who had brown eyes too. She was not too sure whether she liked Dreamer anymore, as she often got into arguments with Livia. However, Arya liked Skylar, so it was difficult to not get along with Skylar's parents, Dreamer and Byron.

Arya would have taken Livia's appearance, her favourite parent by far, but she wanted people to know that Livia was not her biological mother, in order to prove that adopted mothers could be better.

"Is it cruel," Livia was asking, tears falling from her eyes, "that I want her to suffer too?"

Arya held her mother's hand tightly, unable to let go. "It's not," she told her. "You're hurting and you're in pain... it's only natural for you to want someone else to share that pain with you. I know it's not the same, but I want to suffer for you."

Their fingers were entwining, hand in hand, fitting perfectly together. "No... I - I can't do that to you, Arya. Not to you. Especially... you've been through too much. You don't deserve this at all. To see my like this. To burden you."

"You'll never be a burden," Arya said firmly. "You're my mother."

"What about your siblings? They're all gone because of me. Everything's broken now. I'm sorry, Arya."

"Why," she said. "You don't have a right to apologise, okay? You've always been there for me!"

"Wouldn't it have been better if it wasn't me... but someone else?"

She frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"If someone replaced me... if someone else was your mother..."

"I would have killed them along time ago before I could ever see them suffer," Arya replied, her own eyes tearing up. However, she did not really want to cry, as she still had her contact lenses in. "I would have I them because they wouldn't have done the things that you did for me. I wouldn't have been able to stay with someone that isn't you. It wouldn't feel right."

"But now, look what I've done. I've torn the family apart," Livia replied dryly, cheeks pink and wet.

"You aren't the one to blame for it. She's toxic. You know about all the things she lied about and just everything she's done."

"Still... I - I know Killian hates me for it."

"No, he doesn't," Arya insisted. "He hates her. She's the one who took Robin away. And Yassy wasn't your fault either -"

"Why don't I just join them?" Livia asked, voice broken and damaged, devoid of hope. "Wouldn't you all be just fine if I disappeared too? What reason do I have to stay?"

"No, no, no," Arya replied, her grip tightening on her mother's hand. "Just... Let me give you a reason to stay. You were there to take away the pain I felt, so I want to be here to do that for you now. You had to tolerate me ever since I was four, and I... I was the most messed up child ever. It wasn't easy for you, but you stayed with me. You stayed when other people in my life had left me. You're the one who kept me alive throughout these years. I took your love for granted and I didn't notice your own suffering because I was looking at me. But now... now I can see you clearly for once and I'm here. I'm not going to ignore you, I'm not going to let your hurt slip past. I want to make things easier for you, like you've always done for me. So please... don't go... please... just stay. You might not be able to see the good in yourself but I can see the good in you. If I could give you my eyes so that you could see it, I would."

Livia smiled, but there were still tears in her red eyes. "Ha," she forced a laugh. "Maybe I should wear my glasses! Everyone knows my eyesight is trash! But thank you. I - I don't really know what to say... you - you're the best daughter I could ever have..."

"Don't let robin hear you!" Arya laughed.

Her voice quietened instantly. "And... Ashy took her away from me..."

"Mum... mum stop!" Arya begged, big brown eyes glistening. "Please! You can't leave me! You - if you did, I -"

Livia pulled her into a hug, sobbing quietly into her arms. "I - I'll never leave... because I have you. And... I can't leave you with Vann Melon, not with the wedding soon..."

"The hen-do..." Arya murmured. "What... what is going to happen?"

"I wish I knew," she whispered. "Just... just think about Crystal. I promise it'll be okay. I'll never let him take you away from me. Never. I'll keep fighting for you."

"If you ever get out of reach... I think I'd give up too. I'd run away from him and never come back."

"Arya," Livia said firmly. "You've got Shadow."

"I guess... I love him so much. We've been through so much together. Even after the break-up, we only got stronger."

"Yeah, you're lucky. Look what happened after me and Ashy had our first break-up. It's so sweet - Shadow and you are rare. Don't lose something like that because of Vann Melon. I won't ever let that happen, and neither will Shadow. He'll keep fighting for you and that just proves how strong your love is. I wish mine was like that..."

Arya laughed shortly. "Having no love is better than having whatever Crystal has."

Livia smiled at her. "That is very true." She sighed. "I promise I'll talk to Crystal during the hen-do - everything will turn out fine, okay? You don't need to worry. Just... just try to have a good time. Roxy, Lily, Nia and Taliana would be there."

She nodded. "I'll try... but I can't promise I'll be happy knowing what the party is for."

Livia pulled out of the hug, her eyes still glistening as Arya looked at her.

"You... you're not going to leave right. It's Ashy who should leave. And she's gone... she's not hanging around any of us anymore. You... mum, you stay."

"I'll stay at least until I know you're safe," she answered flatly. "I can't let him win."