Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Hopeless

Kalea stared blankly at the dark sky that had been shedding tears for a long time. The wind was blowing quite hard plus the occasional lightning, making her take a deep breath. She should have gone home quickly so she wouldn’t get into trouble. However, fate said otherwise, she had even waited for about an hour and a half in the area around the campus, waiting for the sky to stop its tears. It was possible that she broke through the rain, but she forgot to bring her little red umbrella and finally gave up the intention.

“Lea? Not home yet?” Kalea turned to the source of the voice. She nodded in response to the question of the burgundy haired girl who had just called out to her. “Just finished assessing student assignments?” she continued.

“At the same time, waiting for the rain that never stops, and you, why aren’t you home yet?” Now Kalea asked.

“There was group work at the library. Hey, instead of waiting, it’s better to go home with me! My driver will be here soon,” said Aluna, pulling Kalea’s arm to stand up. Kalea shook her head quickly. She didn’t want to bother her friend from high school.

“No need, Luna. I-”

“If the reason is that you don’t want to bother me, I don’t want to hear! Come on, Lea, how many years have we been friends? Just relax with me,” Aluna cut quickly and correctly about Kalea’s intention earlier. Kalea couldn’t help but accept it, she also didn’t really want to argue about trivial matters with Aluna, who was very stubborn.

Before long, the luxurious black Mercy car stopped right in front of the two of them, Aluna turned to Kalea and smiled with the intention of getting into the car. The car was running again through the city streets, not forgetting the heavy rain that still had no signs of stopping.

During the trip, no one spoke, they were busy with their respective activities. Kalea realized something after she had been absentmindedly staring out the car window, she should have stopped at the mini market first to buy the things her mother wanted, but the mini market was far too late. Kalea squeezed her skirt tightly, she guessed the fate she would experience when she got home.

.....

“Lea? Lea!”

“Y-yes?”

“Lea ... this has arrived at your house,” said Aluna. Kalea looked outside and yeah, she had arrived right in front of her alley.

“Thank you, Luna,” she said with a smile that was returned by the girl with burgundy hair.

“See you tomorrow!” Aluna waved her hand, and now the car was running again, leaving Kalea alone on a dark and lonely street. The rain was not as heavy as before, only the remnants of small drizzles were left. Kalea started walking toward her house even though she was scared, she hoped that when she got home, her mother was fast asleep, so there wouldn’t be a fight between them.

However, today Kalea had bad luck, her mother was in the living room as if waiting for her beloved son’s return. Kalea swallowed hard, her hands clutching her backpack, slightly unprepared for what would happen next.

Freya stubbed out her cigarette, and even threw the cigarette butt at her daughter, “Where have you been?”

“I-it was raining really hard, so I was waiting for it to stop, Mom ....” Kalea answered quietly.

“Whatever, where’s my alcohol?” asked Freya while busy playing with her phone, but Kalea didn’t move from her place. Since there was no movement, she turned to look at her daughter in surprise, “Where’s the alcohol, Kalea?” she asked again, still trying to be patient. However, still. Kalea did not answer or give what she wanted.

Freya’s brows dipped even more sharply, emotions could not be contained. She grabbed the plate closest to her side and threw it against the wall.

Prang!!

Kalea was suddenly shocked, looking at the broken plates scattered everywhere.

“Are you deaf? Can’t you hear what I just said?!” snapped Freya.

“S-sorry, Mom, I’m sorry ....” Kalea lowered her head even deeper, her heart pounding wildly. She was really afraid of her mother.

“Where’s my alcohol?! You want to die coming home without alcohol, huh?!” Freya approached Kalea and grabbed the child’s hair without mercy. Kalea could only wince in pain, unable to fight back. Her finger grabbed Freya’s arm to let go of her pluck, but instead of letting go, her mother’s tug grew even more violent, even pushing her head against the wall. Blood started pouring from Kaela’s forehead, and at that moment Freya just let go of the tug.

“Sorry, mom ... I didn’t have time to go to the mini market because the rain was really heavy ....” Kalea held her forehead, trying to keep her voice from sounding like she wanted to cry. Because if Freya found out she was crying, her mother would be even more emotional. Kalea also lied a little about herself, forgetting to buy alcohol because she was afraid her mother’s actions might get worse.

“Do I really care? You go to that store right now and get some alcohol for me or you will really die this time!” Freya dragged her child out of the house with the heart to even fall to the ground, but she didn’t care and went back into the house, leaving her child in a poor condition.

Kalea was silent, still in her position. She looked down at the ground, which was still wet from the rain. Blood was pouring back on the back of her hand, she didn’t understand why she could be treated like this, especially since the culprit was her own biological mother.

This time it’s not blood that’s dripping, but drops of water that fall from the sky. It looks like it’s going to rain again. Kalea got up from her seat and walked with limp steps while holding back the pain in her forehead, towards the mini market, which was quite far from her house.

After about thirty minutes, she finally arrived and immediately rushed to take the intended item and gave it to the cashier to be paid, she also bought some medicine to treat her wound.

A middle-aged woman patted Kalea’s shoulder gently. “Are you all right, Dear?” she asked with a worried look because she saw that Kalea’s appearance was really messed up. Kalea’s shirt and skirt were wet with dirt, her hair was disheveled, and her forehead was still stained with blood from the impact with her mother. Kalea knows that her current condition attracts the attention of many people.

Kalea shook her head slowly, looking down, not daring to look at the woman. After paying for her groceries, she immediately left the mini market.

***

“Damn it, just buying alcohol for so long!” Freya cursed as she took the first bottle she was about to take a sip. “Why did you only buy two? You knew this would run out in an instant!” Freya kicked her son’s leg hard.

“T-the money won’t be enough for our daily needs, Mom. My salary hasn’t come out yet, so I can only buy two bottles”

“Fuck it, I don’t care! Why don’t you take advantage of your pretty face that looks like that damn man, huh? You can work as a prostitute to make quick money!”

Kalea’s heart seemed to pinch when she heard Freya’s words, not expecting her own mother to tell her to sell her body to many men.

“You’re gone! I don’t want to see that damn face for long!” Get rid of Freya.

Before long, Kalea left her mother for the room.

Arriving at the room, she couldn’t hold back her tears anymore, everything just came out. Luckily, it was raining heavily again, her mother wouldn’t hear her heart-rending cry because she would be outdone by the sound of the rain from outside. Today’s incident was so painful for Kalea that sometimes the thought of ending her life occurred. However, she could not imagine if her mother lived alone. However, Kalea still loves Freya.

Because she knew, Freya was like this for a reason.