Thread: Toxic (Ms Catailia & CharmSnake)

Life had gone the way you would expect for someone like her. It was all a blur and she just struggled to keep up. From that first time she drank in junior high, to the time she lost her virginity shortly after, straight to the time she started smoking weed in high school and ending at the time she been raped while high on ecstasy, which had not been anything like the name claimed. People would say she deserved it, she set herself up for it, but why did it have to be her fault? Sure, she liked to party and she wasn't nearly using her brain in the right capacity when she made decisions, but was it really her fault that a man raped her and left her beaten half to death in an alley? She didn't want to become that victim again, she didn't want to see her life, pathetic as it was, flash before her eyes again. So she came home. Not technically home. Her family was no longer living in the small town. They had packed up and shipped off years earlier, shortly after she graduated, and had never even told her where they went. Her father had been a raging abusive alcoholic so she hadn't really cared when he spat at her how she was a disappointment the day she ran off to New York. It was all a little fuzzy. They had both been drunk that day. It had been seven months since she came back to town. She had looked like a mess. Busted lip, broken arm, two broken ribs... The day she stepped off that bus and walked over to her friend Kelsey, they both cried. Kelsey cried over Lena's condition, Lena cried over seeing someone who truly cared about her. She had forgotten that existed. People had stared and for a while, she had become the talk of the town. She remembered feeling relieved when Josh showed up, because finally people stopped gossiping about her. By then she was basically recovered, and no longer going through withdrawals. With Kelsey's help she had managed to get clean. So when she was walking down the street that day she couldn't help but smile when she saw him. Lena had known in high school that Josh had an interest in her. He would always say sweet things like he wanted to save her. She was never particularly mean to him, she just never really gave him a chance. He was a sweet but scrawny kid and he had no place getting involved with the mess that she had been. She told herself she ignored him to keep him safe, but in all honesty, she was afraid of his concern for her. She had no idea how to accept it. Things were different now, she had grown up, she was sober, she was moving forward with her life. Maybe he was worth giving a chance now, maybe she was worth it. Not that he would still even have feelings for her, but the least they could be is friends, right? Her black heels clicked against the sidewalk as she made her way towards him, a smile gracing her red painted lips. She felt excited to see him. She had been meaning to drop by and say hello when she heard he was back, but it never seemed like the right time. Now, now was the right time. Hey Josh, she said as she grew closer to him, raising one hand in a slight wave. Her other was holding some posters advertizing roommates wanted. She stopped before him, barely level with him even in her heels. He was average, but she was short. Her crimson hair cascaded down her shoulders in gentle curls, ending atop her well rounded C cup breasts. She wore a black tank top that was cut low, fitting nicely to her hourglass figure. Black jeans hugging tightly to her slender legs. Her body was littered with tattoos, but nothing too big or cliche. Two quotes on either arm, one on the left side of her chest, a grouping of stars on her right hand between her thumb and forefinger, and more that couldn't be seen at the moment. They all had meaning, they all stood for a memory that helped her survive. Her forest green eyes, brought out with a light layer of dark eyeliner, were no longer clouded with intoxication as she looked at him. He looked like a mess. She could see it in the way he carried himself, hidden in his hoodie and sunglasses. She recognized it because she had seen it for so many years when she looked in the mirror. She had heard about his troubles, the gossip making it sound terrible, but she wasn't exactly sure what was true or not and she didn't gossip herself. She could see though, that maybe he had had a rough time after all. Its been a while, she said, wanting to say he looked good but not being able to bring herself to. I had heard you were back but I haven't really had a chance to come by your house and say hello. I've been a bit busy myself. She held up the flyers for him to see. She had been looking for months for a place to live, her deadline at Kelsey's coming up quicker than she had expected. So far no one would give her a chance, all knowing what a party girl she used to be. She barely had convinced the supermarket to hire her, she couldn't possibly expect anyone to want to live with her. The town made it clear what they all thought of her. And of him. The golden child, the one who went off and made something of himself. Everyone had been so impressed by him and now here he was, miserable and back home. She had heard his wife cheated on him for an employee in his company. She had taken everything he had and he had to come home to his mom passing. She couldn't imagine the pain he was feeling. She felt badly for him, but what could she possibly say to make it all better. There was nothing. Going to a party? She asked with a smile, gesturing to his bags. Small talk wasn't easy for her. Not when you felt like everyone in town was staring and starting to gossip already.