CHAPTER 8
Karina forced her eyes open against the glaring light of the sun. Trissa was still huddled up next to her, snoring slightly. She giggled and sat up just as someone knocked on the door and stuck her head in. It was Aunt Marissa with a surprising message, "Karina ear, you shoud get dressed quickly. There's someone here to see you." Karina noted that she didn't exactly look very happy when she mentioned that someone. She did as she was told and wondered who it was. Perhaps it was Remus. Shrugging to herself, she walked out to the living room, shutting the door softly so as not to wake Trissa up. In actual fact, Trissa was long awake, and she knew who exactly that someone was. Afterall, she was the one who had invited him. she shut her eyes against the nagging feeling of guilt in her heart and tried to go back to sleep.
Outside, Karina was half staring and half glaring at the all too familiar figure sitting on the couch, holding a willowy blonde with silvery blue eyes' hand. She could recognise the tousled black hair and sea green eyes so identical to her own anywhere. The figure spoke, his voice wary, "Good morning K... Karina darling." Karina visibly flinched. He virtually never called her by her name, much less "darling". He continued, "this is Joanna Williams, my fiancee. Ah... we would like... er, love to invite you to live with us instead. Afterall, I should have rightful custody of you, being your father and all."
"You are not fit to be any dad of mine. I don't have a father. Neither do I have a blonde step-mothe. I only remember being raised by the most beautiful mother in the world who had brown curls and gray eyes and the sweetest baby brother of all. Still, i do remember this constant guest of our house who happened to cause.... their.... DEATHS!" Karina shot back obstinately, eyeballing Joanna. She leaned back on the wall and crossed her arms over her chest and added casually, "Not a bad catch Mr. Stern. Soon-to-be Mrs. Stern, may i wish you good luck andyou better hope Mr. Stern doesn't cause your death like he did my mum." George Stern's hands clenche into fists as he half-rose from his seat and pointed a quivering finger at Karina.
"You watch what that stinking mouth of yours spouts, wretch! You're growing more and more to be like your bitch of a mum. I saw you with some punk guy yesterday, acting like a SLUT, you were, especially in the restaurant! Your Aunt Marissa isn't watching you properly at all. Don't worry, my lawyer will easily win custody over you and I shall make sure you're disciplined properly, not like some SLUT!" Karina stopped herself from cringing at her father's harsh, scathing words.
"Well, I rather be like mum than a horrid *censored* like you! You probably paid this stupid blonde bitch a hell lot of money to even talk to you. You're too ugly to be true. So, what did he pay you? A 15 carat diamond? An apartment? A ferrari? Oh, are you leaving already? Do stay for breakfast why don't you? God riddance then, if you really insist on going!" Karina snapped back, waving at the two retreating people. Karina knew what she said was not true. Her fathr was not ugly. In fact, in his early thirties, he was considered rather good-looking and in his youth, quite a number of girls fell for him. Joanna turned to throw the furious girl a haughty look and received a roll of the other party's eye and a certain finger pointed at her in return.
Karina waited till they left, her eyes broing into the gleaming black Jaguar which they got into in the driveway. She turned around and saw Trissa standing there, smiling pleasantly. She pushed past her and sped up into her room where Trissa had left to wash up and shower. She banged the door shut and curled up on the pile of blankets and cushions just as the angry tears began to flow. Her took a deep shaky breath, and wiped the tears away.
"Wretch... Bitch... Slut..." These words rang in her ears, each one slicing straight into her heart like a knife through butter. She felt like screaming. Screaming out loud. She clambered up and flipped on the stereo on maximum volume and screamed her lungs out. Her skin tingled slightly. She went over to the desk and drew out from the drawer a long midnight blue box. She opened it and smiled at the sight of the gleaming silver letter opener lying in plush indigo velvet. She stroked it's smooth surface and marveled at it's shine. She had found it in an old value shop down the road and since it seemed new and unused, she purchased it. It looked so nice, so new, so pretty, so desirable, so painful, yet so good against her skin. Touching it gently with her fingertips, Karina slid her fingers under it and took it out of the box, holding it to the light. She bit her lip till there was blood, not that she even noticed, and made a few quick incisions next to her old wound, making sure not to reopen it.
She cleaned the edge of the letter opener and slipped it back into the box and replacing it in the drawer. Sitting back on the bed, she stared at the cuts spilling ruby nectar. This time, Karina felt no pain, she just felt good. Very very good. There was a sudden knocking on the door over the wails of Avril Lavinge on the stereo. Karina started and turned down the volume. Trissa's voice floated in, inviting her to go to the mall with the gang. She looked down at her arm and hollered back that she would meet them there. She made herself clean up the wounds and dressed herself in a black turtle neck with sleeves that hung all the way to her white nails and a black denim miniskirt. Pulling her white ankle boots on and grabbing ehr purse, she went out into the living room where despite what she said, Trissa was waiting for her.
Trissa's jaw fell open when her eyes landed on Karina, "Babe, what's with the sleeves? It's melting tar out there!" Karina studied Trissa's pink tank top and pastel purple hot shorts and shrugged sheepishly. She did not mention anything about wanting to cover the fresh red scars on her arm. She bit her lip in pain as her cousin unknowingly slipped her arm into her left arm, causing the wool fibres of the sweater to sting the cuts. All she could do was bear with the pain as Trissa dragged her out the door good-naturedly.
A/N: Well, that was chapter 8 and i hope u enjoyed it! :)
