10 Chapter Ten -

Rain was pouring heavily.

Staring at it from underneath a shed, he leaned against a wall and folded his arms. The ache in his soul was immense…he had been burning for a long time, hurting for decades. The scars brewing in his heart had turned him into such an indistinguishable mess, that the path to recovery seemed impossible, or maybe he didn't want to recover.

There was no recovery for people like him.

The world had always failed him, people had destroyed him, and where did that leave his soul? Nowhere but in personal flames of torture. He had been adamant on avenging…avenging who, what…he wasn't sure, but he wanted everyone to pay…except her-the only whisperer that soothed the pain in his soul. He had found such relatable pain floating in her heart that he knew that she would understand the pain…what it felt like to have a completely different mind. But it hadn't been her, at first.

While chasing after a society-approved girl, only to have her get engaged with a rich golden-boy, he had noticed a teary girl hurting so badly in blatant clenches of loneliness as sheer pair. No one had seen her pain, only ignoring her as she kept hidden behind curtains to attend the engagement part, but he had. He knew that he and this girl were aching…so disillusioned by the society's norms, and that is when sheer obsession grew. He had always been an extremist; someone who grew invested in his flair of emotions. That is just how his brain worked…or maybe it was the result of how badly his mental state had been damaged, but that is just how he was with his interests nowadays; completely obsessed, insane and possessive.

There were a few who were able to comprehend the tangled corners of his mind. In fact, when little, his stepfather would shut him in their basement for days whenever he got sent home from school on the basis of either rebelling or not cooperating in class. The teachers recommended that he needed intense sessions of therapy because he acted so differently from other students, never working or socialising with other students, but no one could comprehend that his mind just eyed the world a bit…differently. Everything was just so loud, bright and intense. Hard work for others had always been the simplest tasks for him. He was easily bored, easily distracted by detailed observations; the deep curiosity.

The alarm bells rang for his family when his first journal was caught. His mother was deeply concerned by his sadistic thoughts, dreamt plots of deadly crimes…it had ended up in him receiving weeks of beatings and threats. The scars left behind by that torture had made sure to make him temporary suppress that side of his soul…that dark part of his mind, only for that side to ferociously spring out years later.

Today, this was the real him.

He wasn't scared, anymore. Listening to how his obsession previously screamed for help, while being trapped with his pets, he had given an odd sense of sadistic strength. He had cherished the pleas…the scenario of vulnerability…this was truly him. No boundaries in the way of enjoying his psycho games; he was a sick man. He had accepted that a long time ago…back when he actually loved being thrown into a basement by his stepfather, back when he secretly traced his scars to reopen the wounds. Agony was peace and comfort for him.

A sudden loud thud from inside the house was quick to make his sharp emotions focus on the noise twirling inside his house, yet he didn't even move a muscle. In fact, the noise inside the house actually warmed his soul and coax a smirk from his heart. His dear stepsister was simply teaching his to-be-wife how to cook.

Sid could finally see the sun shining from behind the dark clouds.

***

I had been brought into a small wooden house, with only one elderly woman residing in it. That woman had to be wheel-chaired around and seemed to be completely ignoring my presence. I guess she was probably in her late 90s and didn't have enough senses to truly comprehend what was going on around her. I felt my heart pang for her. Who was she?

Tania had made sure to have me make breakfast for my own self, instead of serving me food. She claimed she wasn't my helper, and I actually had no issues with making food for my own self. It's just that I had no ideas about how to cook. Known for burning down kitchens by simply standing inside them, I wasn't what many called good with kitchen utensils.

Tangled between throwing a massive tantrum over not wanting to do anything remotely related to Sid and trying to blend in before sneakily escaping, it had taken one stern fist raise from Tania to have me start fidgeting with the kitchen utensils. I had no idea how abusive any of these people could get. It was best I tried to remain mellow before using even a single sign of opportunity to escape from my prison.

The house had only two bedrooms with joint bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. It had no first floor, no basement…no luxury to display its wealth; a simply old house probably meant for aiding in carrying out illegal crimes, like…kidnapping. Also, there were no houses, buildings, situated near this place, being surrounded only by huge fields of crops and thick bushes, that going out and looking for help seemed futile. I had to wait for an opportunity.

My fingers actually burnt as the stove's sneakily managed to reach me, and my clumsy nature made the utensils drop. Tania was a cold teacher. She was scolding, taunting and berating my lack of skills. I could feel tears brimming in my eyes.

After being chased by a psychopath, I had dreamt of a prince and got a dragon instead. My heart felt so crushed and broken. Despite the latest discoveries, Jamie had always been a gentleman; he would stutter when nervous, act super confident when trying to get over his nerves. I had never spoken with him, never interacted, but during all of my family gathering and talks of our engagement, I had picked up information and quirks. I felt like I was about to live a fairy tale, until the arrival of Helen. She had everything I didn't; a high achiever meant to always be adored. I, on the other hand, was well-versed with how it felt like to be hated and unwanted. It felt quite low at times.

Huffing as tears started falling down my cheeks, I shivered as the clouds roared outside. Peering out of the kitchen's window, which was situated just above its sink, I winced in loneliness. The dark sky was supporting my tears. It felt so depressing, so trapped and painful, thinking about all those who were living their fairy tale, yet I knew that was only me being ungrateful. One should always think of those who are living in conditions below them.

A sudden loud thunder had me jump in fear. I had always feared loud noises…My soul broke further just thinking about how thunder was now roaring inside my heart, too. I had no idea about what the future could bring along.

After making a few slices of French bread and stacking it up on a white plate which was placed in the middle of the kitchen aisle, I was ordered to wash the frying pan before having my food. I had always been so impatient when it came to food…never ever letting anyone stop me from enjoying my meal times, yet here I had been so restricted…so controlled. Thankfully, Sid wasn't here, or who knows what I was capable of doing. One scathing remake from him, and I was sure that my patience would run out. His obsession…no one asked for him to be obsessed!

Washing the pan with ice cold water, I winched as Tania spoke from behind me. She was leaning against the kitchen aisle, playing with the kitchen knife. I didn't dare provoke her, only sobbing tears in silence.

"You know he didn't choose you, at first,"

"What?" I turned around, sniffling up my tears and wiping my hands with a random handkerchief.

"It was some other girl he had been stalking before growing obsessed with you,��� she continued, throwing the sharp knife in the air and momentarily meeting my gaze. "In fact, I believe he is just distracting himself now. He is not right in the head, so is probably just doing this all out of boredom. Just don't get attached during whatever game he is trying to play. He will try to manipulate your mind, and once bored, he will flee, understood?"

Huh?

So, I wasn't his first choice? I don't know why that crushed so much. I had never been anyone's first choice. Even if I ever was, I was quickly replaced. This was just a harsh reminder of how I could never be accepted or wanted, even by messed up minds. Attached? That psychopath was to live on top of my hate list forever.

Starting to bite my thumbnails, I slowly nodded and gave her a bitter smile. "Clearly, and thank you for your concern, but you don't need to worry about me. My mind has gone through enough to know that not many can be trusted. Rest assured, I know how manipulative, cunning and disloyal people can be. I never had any false hopes."

"Good." She simply shrugged, putting the knife away and grabbing a slice of French toast. Chewing on it, she walked out of the kitchen while ordering me to start eating my food. I was left standing in my broken state. It actually pierced seeing how cold and heartless how many people could be. Tania's words had stung so badly. She had reminded me that, once again, I was just a replacement, even now the emotions hadn't been real. This stone-cold girl truly did belong to Sid's gang.

The sun seemed to now peer out of the shadows and shine behind me, leaving me engulfed in my own dark shadows…my very own misery; all alone and completely shattered.