𝑪𝑶𝑳𝑫 𝑻𝑹𝑼𝑻𝑯 || 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑶 𝑴𝑨𝑳𝑭𝑶𝒀

ii

...Where is that girl?...

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Back Home:

ALEXANDER MARGAUX WOKE UP... from his extremely long nap. His eyes still swollen shut from being asleep for so long, and the vodka that he had been drinking the entire morning had left an awful, dry taste in his mouth. As he dropped his feet off the couch, he noticed a half drunk bottle of his favorite beer sitting on the ledge of the coffee table, nearly falling off. He grabbed the bottle and took a large swig to wake himself up and called out for Kiernan.

'Girl! Where are you?' He yelled loud, with a raspy tone as if he needed to clear his throat; this was actually just how he spoke. It was probably from all the cigarettes and alcohol, but he did not care much about his appearance to begin with, let alone his health.

The angry man threw his beer bottle, that was not completely empty, straight at the small CRT television that they had for years. That is, until now, because there was no way the tv would turn back on after its collision with the large glass bottle.

Alexander roamed around the whole house searching for Kiernan, or maybe for some clues to where she was. Then, he remembered that he sent her to get them dinner and he knew that she would be back.

The man sat down and relaxed back into the couch, drifting off into yet another deep sleep as he waited for his young daughter to get back with his meal for the night. He soon realized that she had been gone for far too long and he thought maybe something happened to her.

The man walked to the door, grabbing the knitted beanie that his wife had made for him, and stepped out of the door in hopes of seeing his daughter walk up the stone pathway with the dinner she had agreed to bring home with her. But, there was still no sign of her. He walked around the entire house and noticed that her bedroom window was wide open. This was not odd seeing as she would sneak out multiple times a month; she usually came back eventually, but this time had been longer than any other. The black scarf that she got from her grandmother had been lying on the ground, right below her window, and his mind drifted off to the time he caught her stuck in the window as her scarf was caught on the latch. She definitely got punished for that; just as she had every other time she snuck away. Her father could never understand why she came back every time when all he did was make her life a living hell. Of course he was thankful for her return, but he couldn't let her get away with her disobedience; it wasn't in his nature. See, Alexander Margaux was the definition of toxic masculinity; he was not always like this though.

The man was the happiest when he was with Alice, Kiernan's mother. She made him the best version of himself and he was left in awe with how much she loved him despite all of his flaws. He tried his best to surprise her every day. Being a good person brought him so much pleasure when he could have someone as special as Alice to love him. She believed that nobody was born evil, and with that thought, he knew that he could be better for her. She drove him to be the greatest person he could. Unfortunately, Alice's ability to see the best in others was not always the best thing. And, inevitably, this led her to her untimely demise. But, she did not leave with the thought of dread for her daughter because she had the most amazing husband to look over her sweet Kiernan when she left. Little did she know, her 'amazing husband' would grow to despise the child after she was gone.

Alexander did everything in his power to make sure his daughter was unhappy, just as he was after her mother was ripped away from him far too soon.

How could he love the girl when it was her fault that his one true love was gone?

The now overly emotional man knew a place where his disobedient daughter might be and he decided to set off to go find her. It would not be that easy for her to escape her father's clutches.

As he makes his way down the street to the small, retro themed cafe where his daughter usually runs off to, he notices that there is hardly anyone in there. Although, one girl does catch his attention with her long, extremely blonde hair. When he walks up to the cafe, he is very cautious of the tall curb because he has seen countless amounts of people trip over it in the times he has visited the small eating establishment. The man furrowed his brow after finding something along the lining of the curb. It was something that belonged to his daughter. It was a beautiful sterling silver bracelet with small diamond charms delicately placed along the entire chain of it; her grandmother had also bought her the bracelet for one of her birthdays. They were somewhat close when the girl's father would allow it; unfortunately, that was not often.

He leaned over to pick up the bracelet and examined it thoroughly.

'So she was here.' He thought to himself. His temper grew quickly as if he were hunting her down, literally. The bracelet was tightened in his grip.

The man furiously stormed into the cafe and walked with the heaviest steps straight towards the white-haired girl, recognizing her from the last time he found Kiernan. He was giving off a very unwelcoming feeling as he strode closer to the girl; her face stayed neutral and she knew who he was immediately.

'I believe you know my-' He did not finish his sentence when he noticed what she had been wearing. It was a school uniform that caught his eye immediately as he had seen it before. The girl's expression became worried as she inched closer to the window on the inside of the booth where she was sitting.

'She isn't here. I don't know where she is.' The girl tried to say confidently, but still gave off a tone of anxiety. He leaned closer to her, examining her outfit. It was the Hogwarts crest. But how did he know it? Possibly from when he met Alice for the first time, except her robes were not brimmed with a bright blue color like the girl's. Or, perhaps it was the thousands of letters that piled up in his bedroom closet that were addressed to Kiernan. He should have known that, even after hiding the world from her, it would find her anyways. That was the last thing he wanted but he feared it was too late.

He grabbed the girl's arm, a little too roughly, and stared into her eyes while the stench of alcohol was still prominent in his breath. The frightened girl's eyes started to tear up as the man's eyes turned crazy stricken.

'You're one of them, aren't you? Is Kiernan there?' His face became way too close to hers and she was repulsed by the scent of alcohol and cigarettes that lingered around his entire being.

'I- I don't know what you are talking about.' The poor girl started to cry in fear and then, finally, somebody came to the booth to help her. It was the nice old woman who had helped gather Kiernan's belongings from the filthy concrete where she had tripped. The woman looked at the pair with concern.

'Is there something you need from her? Because you can find it somewhere else, unless you want me to call the police.' The woman said as she pulled her cellphone out of her apron pocket and waved it in his face. He finally released the girl from his grip and stormed out of the diner with a large frown on his face just like the way he had entered it.

The defeated man walked back home with the realization that Hogwarts had finally found his daughter. Took them long enough. His angry manner quickly turned into a state of sadness as he realized that he would be alone; there was no way Kiernan would come back to visit him for holidays or birthdays, but the most unsettling thing to him was that he had no idea whether or not he would ever see her again. He deserved to be alone, he knew that, but he never thought she would leave him for good.

That night, he slept in her room as he cuddled one of the only stuffed animals that she left behind. It was one that he had given her. 'Of course she didn't care to be sentimental with gifts from me' he thought to himself as he stared up at the ceiling where the girl had created constellations with small, glowing stars that she bought with the birthday money she got from her grandparents.

Tears filled the man's eyes and he did not care to hold them back anymore. He gripped the stuffed animal tighter than he had ever hugged his, now absent, child and he let out rough sobs. He no longer had the ability to contain himself. Although he did not act like he cared about his daughter, quite the opposite actually, she was the only piece of Alice he had left. Now, he had nothing.

Karma's a bitch. 

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