'Til the Need Seeps In

I sat in the court, my head in my hands, my eyes wide and staring at the floor. As the prosecution cheered and hugged, I tried taking this all in. How could this even be possible? Domestic negligence? That's not even a real offense!

I could hear Mike screaming in the background, he was sitting somewhere behind me and he was shouted obscene things. I got up and we were escorted out. My lawyer apologized and patted my back once. I'd gone to law school as well and he was amazing, but this judge, this case, this ridiculous case, I lost.

I decided to call my parents and after three rings, my father picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi Daddy. It's Holly. I lost. I lost everything"

"You lost everything?"

"Yeah Dad. Everything"

"We're legally divorcing you as our daughter"

"What Dad?"

"That'll be Mister Wells. He's taking your money and mine. No child of mine would lose a case as stupid as this one"

"But Dad-"

"You should have made him sign a pre-nup. That's what smart kids would do"

"How was I supposed to-"

"Goodbye"

I ran my hand over my face. Great. Fucking great.

First I get beat up, then I lose all my money, and now my parents are divorcing me. Can this get any worse?

Mike threw his arm over my shoulder and led me to his car. I had come with Mike, for I didn't particularly feel like driving.

"Dude, that case was ridic. Seriously. Let's just go back to your place and figure out how much he's taking"

I nodded.

"How can this even happen?"

"Yeah I know! Domestic negligence? That's not even real! The man is over eighteen, he can manage to feed himself! Christ," Mike screamed, stopping short.

We jerked in our seats and Mike cursed loudly, gripping the steering wheel with one hand and flipping off the man who had cut in front of us without signaling.

"People are just crazy these days. It's like they all have a death wish or something"

I nodded, the shock of most of my money and estate going to Adam.

"Fuckin'!" Mike shouted.

We were all really tense about the situation already, and the lack of ability to drive in this city was making matters worse. The guy in front of us had was taking his sweet time to go and had sped off just in time for us to get stuck on at red light.

"I just can't get over this. This is suckier than ever. How could anybody ever even believe a stupid ass claim like that? And even more so how could he take so much? You can't possibly take so much from a person! You've worked really hard for everything you've got! Like, sure you're old money, but a lot of your cash comes from your hard work! Like, I don't even get it! He takes all of your hard earned cash AND your parent's hard earned cash! That's utterly ridiculous. And your parents! Where do they even come off?!

Can they even do that?"

"Yeah. They can"

"That's stupid. So they like legally disowned you?"

"Well, yeah"

"What the hell? How could you do that to your own kid? Your fuckin' birthed and raised the child. How can you disown it?"

I nodded as Mike raved on. The light turned green and Mike accelerated.

"Like seriously, I'm not a really loving guy, but I love you to bits and I just can't let this happen to you"

I turned to look at him, and saw the car speeding at us.

"MIKE!" I screamed, my voice drowned out by the sound of screeching tires, shattering glass and crunching metal. We spun wildly out of control and my vision went dark.

When I woke up, I was in the hospital. Again.

"What happened?" I groaned, knowing somebody would be there.

"You were in an accident"

"An accident?" I asked, looking at the nurse who was supposed to be on watch.

"Yes. A car sped through a red light and hit your car full speed, full contact"

"Mike! Is Mike okay?" I asked, almost yelling.

"I'm sorry, but he didn't make it. You're lucky to be alive yourself"

"FUCK!"

After some tests, some signed checks and a good night's sleep I walked out of the hospital. It was already night again and as soon as I stepped foot out from under the awning, it began to pour. With nowhere to go, I just began to walk. Walking to nowhere.

What if everything was her fault, that hallucination? There was no way that any of those things could happen to me. I've never done anything bad! What could karma work on? I'd never done anything wrong in my life. I was never a bad person, I donated to charities, I made clothing lines with 100% proceeds to end World Hunger. I've housed orphans until they've found foster parents. What have I ever done wrong?

I walked in the pouring rain, the wind blowing hard against me. I walked for miles, my cuts and bruises burning from the harsh wind. I was so immersed with my own problems that I never even noticed the darkened streets. I had unknowingly wandered into a sketchy part of the city and I looked a little out of place.

I sighed audibly.

Suddenly, my mouth was covered and I was dragged into an alley. Fearing for my life, I began struggling and screaming, causing the strong arms to hold me tighter. The gang of teenage boys beat me up. Kicking my face, stomach and punching at my face. They ripped off my necklace and stole my purse. They left me crumpled in the dirty alley, penniless and crying.

I sobbed harshly as my broken arm throbbed. I looked up into the gloomy sky and let the rain fall against my face.

"I'll always be around to make sure bad things happen"

I sobbed loudly.

"Celeste Ultio! You win! I accept your job offer!" I screamed into the sky.

I shut my eyes tightly and waited for something to happen, the pain to go away, the rain to stop. But nothing happened. I could hear the heeled footsteps of somebody approaching and called for help with my meager voice.

The person walked into the alley and I could hear the rain bouncing off the umbrella. Soon, I could feel the rain stop and the pitter patter of rain was louder.

"You'll really love being a goddess Holly!"