Chapter Two: Cutting Words

***

(Trigger warning: Depictions of abuse, mention of slut-shaming)

The school day passed by mercifully quickly.

Perhaps it was the energy in the air, crackling with the anticipation of prom from the senior class, the students eager to dance, drink punch that would inevitably be spiked despite the chaperones—perhaps because the chaperones were so lax in watching over the punch—and just have a good time with their friends. Maybe despite her pessimistic outlook on today, Dani had found it surprisingly not that terrible, or maybe just the average terrible it always was—same classes she either concentrated on or didn't, same teachers who could hardly care about their students, same classmates who more or less held the same views on education as Dani did. Just like any other day.

Whatever the reason, Dani was still glad when the last bell rung, heralding the end of the day and she left the building until she, and the rest of her peers, would come back later on tonight for prom.

Getting into her car, Dani considered going straight back home, but remembered her mom was there, probably drunker than usual due to what happened this morning.

"Screw that," Dani muttered and started her car, driving it out of the parking lot and down the street, toward the woods along the strip of road that went into Sunnyvale.

Once she was on the familiar road, some of the tension leaked out of Dani. Parking on the shoulder, she stepped out and leaned against the hood, closing her eyes, listening to the calming sound of birdsong and the rustle of wind through leaves. Dani smiled, feeling more relaxed. She loved to come here, to destress about everything—her mom, school, how she would never leave Shadyside not even when she was dead—and just take in the simple tranquility of the woods. 

Dani sighed, inhaling the crisp smell of the forest and... cigarette smoke?

Dani opened her eyes, taken out of her reverie as the cigarette smell lingered, dirtying the clean air of the woods.

She didn't smoke. And that meant she wasn't as alone as she thought.

Someone else was here.

Sliding off the hood, Dani looked at the woods, the peaceful sight now turned ominous. She had a baseball bat in her backseat. If she could just get to it...

"Oh! Sorry! Didn't see you there."

Dani looked at the woods, and was bamboozled at who she saw walking out, cigarette in her fingers, smoke puffing out from pink-glossed lips pulled into a friendly smile.

Tabitha Patterson.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Dani asked, shocked at seeing the most popular girl at school at the same stretch of road and woods that she was, that she assumed was just her own calm spot. 

"Same reason as you, I guess. Destress," Tabitha answered, taking in a drag of her cigarette and blowing out cloudy grey smoke.

Dani eyed it. "Didn't know you smoke."

"What? Oh, yeah. I try not to, but like I said, it's to destress. It's a bad habit, I know, but it's my outlet," Tabitha explained, flicking ash onto the road. She smiled, but it turned into a wince at seeing Dani's expression. "Oh. I must have scared you. Sorry. I didn't mean to. I didn't know anyone else was here."

"Me either," Dani muttered. Looking at the popular girl, dressed in a fleecy white cardigan over her cheerleading uniform, her blonde hair bouncing in its ponytail, Dani asked, "How did you find this spot?"

"I saw it on the bus when we were coming back from a game against Sunnyvale. It looked pretty nice, so I came here in the daytime. Now, I come here just to appreciate the nature or get away from... everything," Tabitha answered, looking at the woods as she smoked.

Dani frowned. "I didn't know Tabitha Patterson had anything to stress about."

Tabitha laughed. "Yeah, I know. I know I shouldn't because of my family, but that in itself is a reason to stress. All the expectations..."

Dani grimaced, thinking of her mother. "Family. Yeah, that's a good reason."

Tabitha smiled, before it dropped as she pushed some strands of hair away from her face. "It's also everything over prom queen."

Dani glanced at her. That was surprising. "What, Ms. Valedictorian and Cheer Captain is worried about being voted queen?"

"Yeah," Tabitha confirmed, missing the sarcasm in Dani's words and flooring the other girl. "All the campaigning and worrying whether I'm gonna get the crown or not, and if it's really worth it or something I want and not just expected of me because I'm popular or because of my parents... it's exhausting. I mean, I'd like to win, but I rather win without feeling stressed and like I expected to win it and be surprised people genuinely wanted me to be queen."

Tabitha looked up at the sky. "You must think I'm really shallow, having so much worry and conflict over just a crown."

"I don't think you're shallow," Dani said. At the raised eyebrow Tabitha gave her, Dani amended, "Okay, maybe a little. But your worry does sound genuine, and I don't blame you for wanting a break—I would too, even if it was for something I want. And you'd be surprised at how many people would want to vote you for queen."

Tabitha smiled. "Thanks."

Tilting her head, she added, "I know your friend Julie is being voted for queen. If she or anyone else wins, I'm glad they won. They deserve it. I just hope that, if Julie wins, it's because people would like her to be queen, not because of pity votes for her due to her accident. That is a shallow reason to win the crown."

Dani blinked at her. "Damn."

"What?"

"You're... nice. Like, genuinely nice. I thought nice cheerleaders and popular girls were a myth," Dani remarked.

Tabitha laughed. "Well, I try to not to be what people expect me to be."

Dani smiled. "Well, you're winning there."

Tabitha returned it, before she flicked her cigarette onto the road, crushing it with her sneaker, and said, "I have to go now. But thanks, for listening and saying that. Think I needed to hear that."

"Always up for free advice," Dani snarked, making Tabitha laugh again. She waved and headed off to where Dani could now see a powder-blue car was waiting, before the blonde froze, staring at the woods.

"You okay, Tabitha?" Dani asked.

Tabitha blinked, shaking her head, before giving her a strained smile. "Yeah. Just thought I heard something. I didn't get much sleep last night, and today's stress just added to it. I'm fine now. See you later tonight!"

"See you," Dani replied back, watching as Tabitha drove away before getting into her own car and driving back into Shadyside—back to her mother's house.

Leaving the stretch of road and the interaction with Tabitha Patterson behind her.

***

Dani stared at herself in the mirror, at the dress she was wearing.

The dress that she had bought from a thrift shop had thin spaghetti straps, leaving her arms bare. The skirt hung down to just below her knees, the shape of it making her look tall and slender instead of her usual 5'5 height. The waistline sat below her chest and was square instead of dipping in a V like some of the other dresses Dani had seen, and it was a yellow colour so pale it looked white in certain lighting, and instead of making her tanned skin sallow, it seemed to make her glow. She wore heeled flats and her eyes were rimmed in dark eyeliner and her lips had a thin amount of peach lipstick, some of her hair pinned back by two false diamond clips while the rest fell in waves around her shoulders.

She looked beautiful. She felt beautiful.

She couldn't wait to see the look on Mitch's face when she saw her.

Grinning, Dani grabbed her purse with her corsage for Mitch inside and headed out of her bedroom, down the stairs and toward the front door where Colin would be any moment now to pick her up, everything inside her thrumming with excitement for prom, for hanging out with her friends, for the chance to sneak away with Mitch and—

"Where are you going, Danielle?"

Dani froze, then turned with gritted teeth toward her mother.

Her mother was dressed for once, in a white shirt stained yellow and a pencil skirt. A can of beer was in her hands, already half drunk—Dani would bet money she couldn't afford to spend that another was in the kitchen. Her bloodshot eyes were narrowed, mouth pursed. "What are you wearing, Danielle?"

"My prom dress. You know, for prom. Tonight. Colin's picking me up. Ring any bells?" Dani said, bitter sarcasm leaking into her words.

Her mother's eyes narrowed further. "You're not going out in a dress like that. Not on my watch."

"Well, that's not up to you to decide, Mom. I didn't buy it for your approval, I bought it because I liked it and I felt good in it," Dani fired back.

Her mother laughed harshly, staggering toward her. "You think you're so high and mighty, Danielle. Buying things without my permission—that car, that dress. But news flash, Danielle—I am still your mother, and you will not leave this house dressed like a slut. Find something else more appropriate to wear."

"No," Dani snarled.

"No?" her mother repeated coldly.

"No, I won't, and I'm leaving now. Colin's waiting for me," Dani spat, grabbing the door handle.

Before she could open it, her mother grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into the foyer, her grip painfully strong.

"How dare you speak like that to me! I am your mother!" her mother yelled.

"Let go of me!" Dani yelled, trying to keep the fear out of her voice as she struggled. "You're hurting me! Let me go!"

"Good. Maybe that will get through your ungrateful, spoiled head!" her mother shouted, throwing her against the wall.

Dani collided with it, her back barking in pain. She panted, scrambling to sit up as her mother threw the beer can at her head. Dani ducked, staring at her mother as she scowled at her with hate burning in her face, swaying slightly.

"You will do as I say, you will obey me as your mother," her mother snarled.

"Fuck you," Dani growled.

Like a snake, her mother grabbed a fistful of Dani's hair, yanking her head back as she let out a yelp of pain, pulling Dani to her feet by her hair. Her mother's face was contorted in rage, her bloodshot eyes crazed.

"You little brat! You do not speak that way to me! You will not speak like that to me!" her mother roared, letting her go only to slap her across the face. Dani staggered back, holding her stinging cheek as she stared at her mother in terror, hate and rage, mixing like a poisonous cocktail as her mother loomed above her, face still contorted.

"I am your mother, Danielle. I gave life to you, I have fed and clothed you, I gave up my hopes, my dreams, my future, my only chance to get out of this fucking town, everything, to care for you," her mother snarled. "Don't you know how lucky you are, that I kept you? I could have left you on the streets, or left you in the orphanage or in foster care and not think twice about you as I went to live the life I deserve. But I didn't. I kept you because I love you, because I wanted you, no matter how easy it would be to give you up. I sacrificed so much for you, and the least you can do is be fucking grateful."

"And what about how much I sacrificed!" Dani screamed, getting to her feet, hot tears welling in her eyes, rage and terror and hate spilling out, the cancerous boil lanced with every venomous word she spat. "You never cared for me—you gave up the moment you thought I could take care of myself, where I had to take care of myself! You quit your job when I was six because you spent most of the money on your beer and missed so many shifts because you were so drunk you'd passed out or refused to come in! And then you complain and whine about the life you deserve that you gave up for me when I gave up my childhood to take care of you and keep the house!"

"Watch your tone! You have no idea what it's like to be your mother! No idea!" her mother yelled.

"I was a child!" Dani screamed. "I was six! I had to clean up after you, had to hold back your hair when you vomited in the toilet after a week-long bender of yours and wash you and force you to eat and drink water when you were so drunk you could barely stand let alone do it yourself, get you your beers and take them out and go to the store to get you more! I had to learn to cook and do the laundry and the chores and get the groceries while you sat on that couch drinking! I had to pay off our bills and debts the moment I could get a job so we couldn't lose the house and go on the streets! I had to take your screams and lectures and all those fucking beer cans because if I left then you'd be dead and I would fail as a daughter to you! I had to do so much, work so hard, that I was barely able to do my homework and my assignments and avoid failing out of school and my driver's test, and only because I had my friends helping me! I had to do everything, take care of you and me, give up my childhood, since I was fucking six years old!"

Tears spilled down and Dani rubbed them away, smearing her eyeliner. "I was a child, and you were my mother. You were supposed to take care of me, not the other way around."

Shaking her head, Dani gave her red-faced mother a cruel, bitter smile. "Well, I'm done. I'm going to fucking prom in the dress I like, with the friends who are more family to me than you ever have been, and then I'm only coming back to grab my shit and I'm gone. I'm going to Zoe's and I'm fucking staying there until I can leave this town and you behind. You can take care of yourself now. I am done."

Storming to the door, Dani opened it as her mother shouted, "Danielle, don't you dare walk away! I am your mother! Your flesh and blood! You can't live on your own without me!"

Dani turned back, hate in her face for the woman who gave birth to her, the woman who made her life miserable and stole her childhood. The mother she hated and loved at once, who hated and loved her as well. A twisted mirror of hate and love and bitter, corrosive fury, reflecting each other.

"I've been living on my own since I was six because of you," Dani hissed. "And you may have given birth to me, but you are not my mother. Not in the way I needed you. You never were."

She slammed it closed behind her, storming down the steps, willing the tears away, her chest hot and tangled and yet loose at once, like something poisonous that had been leaching the life from her had been released, all the anger at her mother finally let loose.

On the street was Colin's car, with him, Julie, Zoe and Mitch inside, looking at her in concern.

"Hey," Dani croaked as she stumbled into the backseat, sitting between Zoe and Mitch.

"Dani, are you okay? We heard the end of the argument you and mom had," Julie asked, looking at her in concern.

"I'm fine. It was a long time coming," Dani answered, leaning back. "Colin, start the car and get us out of here. Please."

As she did, Mitch grabbed her wrist, horror and fury in her face at seeing the bruise. "She hurt you? Colin, don't start the car. I'm gonna fucking kill Dani's mom."

"Colin, you fucking start the car already. Mitch, I'm fine. I'm... I'm okay," Dani said, her voice breaking halfway. Her girlfriend still looked murderous, so she held her face gently. "I'm fine. I'm going to be fine. But I'm never going back there again. I am done with her."

Mitch didn't look convinced, but she didn't leap out of the car to kill Dani's mother. Slumping back, Dani looked at Zoe and asked, "Can... can I stay at your place for a couple days, please?"

"Of course. Stay as long as you need with us," Zoe murmured, holding Dani comfortingly as Colin started the car and drove away, knuckles white.

Opening her purse, Dani pulled out the purple corsage flower inside and gave it to Mitch. "Here's your corsage, Mitch. I'm sorry I didn't give it to you earlier."

Mitch accepted it, looking at Dani. "I'm more worried about you right now, babe."

"I'm okay, babe. I will be," Dani assured, brushing her knuckles. She looked at Mitch, wearing a purple dress with sheer sleeves wrapped around her shoulders, leaving them bare,  the skirt falling just a bit below her knees, accompanied by her usual pair of beat-up Doc Martens. If Dani knew her girlfriend, a pair of short leggings was underneath her skirt. Her thick, wavy hair fell naturally around her face and down her shoulders, and her eyes were shadowed by black eyeliner and dark eyeshadow, lips a slash of red in the semi-darkness. She looked absolutely beautiful, the corsage matching perfectly with her dress.

"You look beautiful," Dani murmured.

"So do you," Mitch replied, before she dug into her purse, and pulled out a corsage flower. "Here's yours."

Dani took it, seeing it was a white flower, with smaller pink ones surrounding it. It matched her dress beautifully.

"Thank you," Dani said, kissing her girlfriend before tying the corsage on Mitch's wrist. As Mitch tied Dani's on, Zoe tugged her mussed hair and murmured, "Let me help with your hair and cover up that mark on your cheek."

"Thank you, Zoe," Dani replied, letting her friend smooth and tug on her hair until it was almost the same as before. When she was done, Zoe pulled out her blush and brush, brushing blush across Dani's cheeks and covering up the angry red mark Dani knew was there from her mother's slap. After she was done, Zoe sat back while Dani leaned against Mitch, fingers interweaved together.

As they got closer to the gym, the mood soon lightened as Zoe requested for music and Colin obliged, putting in the group's mixtape. As Take On Me started playing, Dani grinned and joined in belting out the lyrics to the song and the rest of the songs, forgetting about her mother, about how deep inside Dani feared she was seeing her own future in her mother's face during their fight, forgetting even her doubts over tonight, that it would be fun and nothing bad would happen. That it would be as nice as this moment in the car, singing to the songs on their mixtape together.

But nice things never last for long. Not for Shadysiders.

***

Yeah, this... was a lot

I loved writing Dani and Tabitha interacting! I originally wasn't planning on it (so it's gonna look weird with the plot 😅) but it just felt right that they'd interact before it all goes to shit... and yeah, Tabitha is a slightly oblivious but good and nice person, who didn't deserve to be cursed into becoming a murderer 😭 (not like ANY of the killers deserved it, tho)

And yeah, Dani and her mother. Writing that scene HURT and had my blood boil while writing it, but it was cathartic to write Dani let loose all of that at her mother and walk out of that toxic household and not come back. But yeah, it hurt to write ( wanted to give her a hug so badly) :(

And now, we're heading to prom! Brace yourselves—it's gonna get bloody >:)

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!