3. Anevae

Across the house, I could hear Poppa yelling at Momma in their bedroom. When Poppa came home from work that day, Momma had been telling Eiri and me a story about Caellaias.

He was fuming when he heard what she was talking about and wouldn't let it go. Poppa had been scolding Momma for over an hour, and while I couldn't hear everything he was saying to her that day, his main argument was always that Momma shouldn't be telling us these stories.

That day, I'd had enough of hearing him yell at her. Momma didn't deserve to be yelled at because she told us stories to entertain us. We asked for them, and it was her way of connecting with us—something Poppa rarely did. He was always busy with work, and when he came home, he frequently disappeared into his office.

At the time, I couldn't have been more than ten years old; Eiri was eight and still scared of Poppa when he became irate. As I stomped across the house, she followed, begging me to leave our parents alone. I didn't listen. I was tired of it. I walked up to my parent's bedroom door and pounded on it as hard as I could.

I heard shuffling come from inside, and the door flew open. Poppa looked furious at the interruption. "Can't you tell your mother and I are having a conversation, Anevae? Leave us."

Puffing out my chest, I stood tall and glared directly into his eyes, yelling, "Momma doesn't deserve to be yelled at like this! She's just trying to entertain us and spend time with us. I sure can't say the same for you!"

Poppa reached out and backhanded me. He grabbed my arm before I could hit the floor, pulling me back to my feet. "Lily, you will do what I tell you or suffer the consequences. Leave. Us. Now." Taking a step back, he slammed the door, nearly hitting me in the face, and all I could do was stand in shock.

Poppa had never struck me before. I wasn't sure why he had done it then, but tears welled up in my eyes. I refused to let them fall. Turning, I stumbled back to my bedroom, passing a concerned Eiri in the process. When I reached my door, I turned to look at her and just shook my head. I didn't want to talk to her about it, so I just slammed my door closed.

As I collapsed onto my bed, I heard heavy footsteps approaching. My door flew open, and Poppa barreled in, gripping my chin tightly. "You brought this upon yourself. If you slam that door again, you will not enjoy your punishment. I expect you to be in the living room in ten minutes minus the damn attitude." He released my chin and stomped out, shutting the door behind him.

I took a few deep breaths as tears began to fall down my cheeks. I was stuck between being upset and furious at how Poppa was acting. He'd never treated Eiri or me like that before. I lay there for what felt like an eternity when a soft knock sounded on the door.

"Go away!" I shouted, lying back on my bed as I began to sob harder than before. I knew it wasn't Poppa; he would have just barged through the door without knocking again.

The door opened, and I looked to see who had come in. When I realized it was Momma, I sat up. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the skin around them was red and puffy—she'd been crying too. I lowered my head so Momma couldn't look at my face in its entirety. I was sure there was a red mark on my cheek from where Poppa had backhanded me. I wasn't sure she'd seen him hit me, but she may have heard it. Even still, I didn't want her to see the mark it may have left because I knew she'd be upset.

Momma closed the door behind her and came to join me on my bed. As she sat, she grasped my hand and held onto it. "Lily, I'm very sorry you had to see Poppa like that. He doesn't like me talking about Caellaias for a good reason, but sometimes, I can't keep myself from it. One day, you may understand, but today is not that day." Reaching over with her free hand, she caressed my cheek, urging me to look at her.

I winced in pain as she touched the spot where Poppa struck me. She frowned at my reaction and urged me to look at her. As she took in the state of my face, fury flashed in her eyes, and I could swear they began to glow. Then, she was on her feet, rushing out of my room.

"Roarc!" Momma screamed as she yanked the door open and barreled down the hallway. "You will NOT make it a habit to hit our daughters! Need I remind you what I am capable of? If you touch one of them again, I will make you wish you were dead, setting you ablaze from the inside out. You can take your anger out on me all you would like, but I will NOT let you harm them."

I hurried into the hallway behind her and halted in shock at the sight before me. Momma was right in front of Poppa with her finger in his face, scolding him. He was at least seven inches taller and had at least seventy pounds on her, but that didn't stop her.

Running up between my parents, I looked between them. Placing a hand on each of their chests, I tried to shove them apart. "Stop it! You're scaring Eiri!"

Poppa grasped my hand from his chest and wrenched it away before getting in my face again. "Leave. Us. Lily! This is not your battle to fight." When his eyes met mine, his blue irises were rimmed with a vibrant red—something I'd never seen before.

He snarled and shoved me away, then grabbed Momma by the arm and pulled her back toward their bedroom. They yelled back and forth all along the way, and when they reached their room, he slammed the door shut, cutting us off from their conversation again.

The painful memory faded, and I wiped away my tears. I took another deep breath and turned on my metalcore playlist to distract me. The music helped soothe my nerves and ease my mind as I drove.

About twenty minutes later, as I drove up the road to my home, I noticed the cabin Eiri had mentioned earlier that day. I couldn't see many details in the dark. The smaller one-story structure appeared to be darker than mine. Lights were on in one of the windows facing the road, which likely meant someone was home. I resolved to set aside time to visit my new neighbor after I got settled. I wanted to introduce myself and hoped they could tell me more about the area. Having someone close to interact with would be great, too.

A small, standing mailbox marked the narrow driveway to my house. I lowered my music so I could concentrate as I turned, keeping alert for any animals lurking.

Once parked, I opened the door and felt the crisp mountain air envelop me. With it being late spring, the temperatures had just started rising, but the night air was still chilly. I looked forward to seeing the snow that would accumulate in the winter, untainted by the dirty streets of a big city. However, I didn't look forward to clearing the snow when it came time to go to town. I wasn't sure how much the area got. Thankfully, I had several months to go before I had to think about it. I just hoped the all-wheel drive on my car would make getting to and from town easier.

I trotted up the steps, opened the front door, and fumbled for the light switch in the dark. Once the light illuminated the room, I kicked my shoes off. I looked around for a place to hang my jacket as I shoved my keys into one of the pockets. When I realized my over-the-door hooks were still packed away, I yanked the jacket off and threw it over the back of the couch. Being a creature of habit, I liked to be able to find things, even if my organization was a little chaotic. It didn't always make sense to everyone else, but it made sense to me, and that was what mattered the most.

It was late, and I'd had a long, exhausting day. Even still, there was so much to do around the house. I sighed and started turning off the lights. I'd done enough for the day.

Once upstairs, I pushed the door to my room open and basked in the soft moonlight pouring in through the window. I found my sheets while we were unloading and set them at the foot of my bed. The clean scent of the black sheets hit my nose as I spread the soft fabric over the mattress. After a few moments of digging through boxes, I found my comforter.

When I finished making my bed, I completed my nightly routine of brushing my teeth, washing my face, and applying moisturizer. My blue eyes stared back at me, bloodshot with deep, dark circles under them. They often changed colors like the varying shades of denim, and on this day, they appeared light and ice-like. My lips were red and chapped from worrying my snakebite piercings and chewing the skin around them, a nervous habit I couldn't seem to break.

I stepped back into my bedroom and grabbed my phone charger and pajamas from my duffel bag. I changed into my night clothes, then opened the window to let in the cool night air. I scrolled through my notifications, searching for anything that needed my immediate attention, but everything there could wait, save for replying to Momma and Eiri's ‘goodnight' texts. Finally, I plugged my phone in, turned off the light, and sank into the cool sheets, allowing the crisp mountain air to soothe me to sleep.