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SHE STOOD IN THE FREEZING COLD, the sky was fogged up and gloomy. Her sneakers were planted in the muddy soil and her innocent brown eyes stared up at the rumbling clouds. She blinked away raindrops to clear her vision as they mixed with the tears that fell from her cheeks.

The weather was fitting to her emotions.

Her lips trembled and her hand fell over the smooth marble stone in front of her. She traced over the engraved name.

Carlos Verano

"Papa." the 12-year-old whispered, "Why'd you leave?"

The sounds of honking and traffic came from the highway behind her and she knew Sally would be there soon. Percy was coming home today from Yancy Academy and Sally made plans to pick her up after work to go see him before their trip to Montauk. It was hard sneaking away from her stepmom but Lucia was willing to do that and more for Percy.

She was selfishly ecstatic when she heard her best friend got kicked out of the academy. It meant he could spend time with her again. And oh how she missed spending time with him

Percy and she had always been close until he was sent away to his newest boarding school. Although they sent handwritten letters to each other as much as they could and Lucia visited him and Grover whenever she could sneak out all day on a weekend—it was still never the same. Now that he was finally coming back she'd make sure she would never be separated from him again; even if it meant that she'd have to drop out of her current school to follow him.

A shiver fell through her spine as thunder rumbled overhead. Lucia kept staring at her father's headstone. A frown fell on her lips, she'd been visiting his headstone every day since she was six, and not once did the pain ever dull.

She pulled her sweater over her as the cold water fell on her warm skin. She hated the cold...

She softly placed the bouquet she held down on her dad's grave: Purple Hyacinths. She never knew why but they seemed to always have been his favorite. He would always say they were special because they were tragically beautiful. He said an old friend taught him that, but to Lucia's knowledge, his only friend was his eight-string guitar.

"Lucia!"

Lucia jumped, she turned and came face to face to see her stepmother and unfortunate legal guardian storming towards her. Red high heels were wrapped in plastic bags as she trudged through the mud and tried not to trip over.

Lucia was tempted to run away and test her abilities to run in them but before she could move the beast already had her claws sunk into her arm.

"You're coming with me!" Agatha bared her teeth

Lucia tried to step away before she felt the nails sink deeper into her arm and whimpered at the familiar pain "Let go of me."

"Who do you think you are? just running off like that. you belong to me don't you forget it. I'm the only reason you aren't starving on the street."

Her hand fell across Lucia's cheek—Lucia let out a small gasp from the impact

"That's for disobeying me you little brat. Let's go. I need you to clean the bathrooms before the meeting with the new record company."

Lucia pushed her away causing Agatha to stumble back. "I'm not going anywhere with you I'm going to see Percy."

"That little delinquent you have a crush on" Agatha scoffed "Is that why you're acting this way? forget it. he won't ever like you, no one will look at you. you're a disgusting little girl. Be good and come or else."

Lucia's cheeks felt hot. The cold from before faded away as she felt pure heat pumping through her veins. "I don't have a crush on him!"

"I don't have time for you! Get in the car before you don't eat tonight! " Agatha screamed in rage. her face formed into a familiar expression, one Lucia had cowered away from since her dad's funeral. When her stepmother formed into a soul-sucking life-draining monster.

"No." Lucia stood her ground "I want to see Percy. Sally is going to pick me up, I'll be home early. Please. Please just let me see him."

Lucia felt another sting on her cheek.

"You want to see a stupid boy that could care less abo—"

"He does!" Lucia screamed, her hands balled into fists. She wasn't usually the confrontational type or one to defend herself. She was kind first, a people pleaser no matter how bad it could hurt her, but after such a bad year she so desperately wanted to see the one person who made her life a little brighter. so she let the hot head in her come out.

"Percy cares about me. I'm going to see him whether you let me or not I don't care what you want to do. I'm going! threaten me all you want anything would be better than living with a tone-deaf foul breathed monster like you!"

Another slap followed, along with a hair pull that made her hit the ground. Lucia kicked and screamed, trying to pull the french tipped claws out of her curls.

"I'm going to make you regret that" Her stepmother threatened as she stepped through the graveyard dragging the child through the mud "You'll regret ever being born I swear it to you."

"LET ME GO!!" Lucia screamed at the top of her lungs, louder than she ever had. Agatha stumbled for a second, flinching at the intensity of the scream. Her grasp went loose amid the cry. She hissed and held on tighter making her way to the Volkswagen parked at the gate of the isolated graveyard.

Lucia was forced to look up at the sky once again as the searing pain in her scalp accelerated. Sunlight seeped from the clouds directly onto her, she felt comfort in that.

Help me, please

She thought,

It hurts please help me

Lucia didn't know who she was begging to. She just knew she was begging for anyone and anything to come help her. She was too weak, too pathetic to help herself.

When they reached the car, Agatha threw her onto the ground. Lucia rolled over to be on her side before she felt a strong kick to her ribs.

"Get up."

Sally where are you please come now

"What do you not know how to use your ears?" She laughed before crouching down "Get up."

Please come now

Agatha's hand flew down and before Lucia knew it she had a handful of her hair and was dragging her inside the car. Lucia cried for her to stop. She fought back by smacking her hands above her. A familiar but useless attempt at escape.

That's when she saw him. A silhouette of a boy, standing where her father's grave was. The silhouette was glowing gold and he was looking straight at them. He looked like a young boy—about 18—with wavy blonde hair, freckles, and blue eyes.

"Help me," She whispered, she didn't know why...what could this kid do for her? He probably couldn't even hear her from where he was standing. Yet, every part of her told her to plead for a way out of these torturing hands.

Agatha pushed her into the passenger seat but Lucia pushed back "GET OFF ME"

Agatha flinched before she gained her composure again and went to hit Lucia

Lucia was prepared this time and grabbed at her wrist to prevent it from making contact with her cheek.

However, Agatha was relentless in submitting the 12-year-old to her.

Lucia struggled but she did everything she could to stop Agatha from closing the door and keeping her in the passenger seat. She was determined to keep her plans with Sally, She didn't care.

Her gaze fell on the boy again whose eyes never left the situation. She was fuming at his uselessness. If you're gonna stand and be a creep at least get me some damn help!

Lucia's emotions were building up rapidly and she felt her vision begin to blur. Gold light was all she saw as it surrounded her and before she knew it she heard an explosion. Her body was flung and her ears were ringing.

When she gained clarity she blinked and realized she was lying on the muddy grass. When she looked around her, she gasped.

There stood Agatha's Volkswagen in complete and utter flames. She lay a few feet away, a heap on the ground. The only sign of life was the rise and fall of her chest.

Lucia's gaze then fell toward her father's grave.

And no one was there.

Suddenly, a warmth filled her body and swallowed it whole. She didn't know what was going on but she felt comfortable. She felt nice and calm. Like she needed a really really good nap.

Before she fell out of consciousness her gaze fell to the sky, it was bright and sunny.

The rain had ceased, there was only sunlight...

"Thank you," she whispered before sleep consumed her