A Light in the Dark Part Thirty-Five: Anger and Revelations!

Lily:

My mother’s gray hair had been twisted into a severe bun, fear mixing with rage in my eyes. Holding a burning hot poker in her gloved hands, she forced me to strap my ankles to the floor. Laying my cheek on the bed, my fifteen year old reflection greeted my quivering eyes. Fresh bruises and cuts covered my cheeks, Matty having called several times to ask how I was doing. Holding my arm pale side up, her wicked laughter tumbled from her lips the moment she pressed the hot metal to my arm. Screaming into the bed, another bad day at work had her letting it all out on me. Stopping hours later, her hot alcohol breath bathed my face as she undid the straps holding me to the floor. Stumbling to my feet, violent sobs wracked my body. Tripping into the bathroom, the sink caught my fall. Cold tile met my forehead, ruby flooding the grout. Every attempt to get up failed, all the light leaving my eyes. Feeling around for the tub, a whimper poured from my lips. Dragging myself over to the tub, every muscle protested as I crawled into it. Using my toes to turn on the cold water, the relief on my new burns had me crying harder. 

“Could you come home, Dad? I need you!” I begged with harder sobs, the endless sea of tears joining the swirl in the drain. “I hate Mom. I hate her!” Using the wall of the shower to rise to my feet, the knob squealed as I turned off the water. Staggering into my room, my soaking wet blood clothes hit the bathroom floor, my shaking hand tugging a borrowed sweatshirt from Matty. The hem floated around my knees, a search around my room had me holding my nearly empty medical kit. Ripping out the gauze, a single hum had me working through the raw agony of wrapping up the fresh burns. Pulling my sleeve down, my feet slid into my worn boots. Opening my door cautiously, my mother was nowhere to be seen. Sneaking down the stairs, her evil ass was passed out on the couch. Creeping out the front door, my father would be home tomorrow so she couldn’t punish me. Sprinting down the street to Matty’s house, I needed a safe place to sleep. Creeping around his backyard, the fence groaned as I climbed over it. Noting the ladder he always kept against the back of the house, he always said that his house was my home. Every rung clanged with every climb closer to his window, my knock causing him to hit the floor. Opening his window, horror rounded his eyes at the clear head wound I had. Thankfully, the fall in the bathroom would prove to be a partially valid excuse tonight. Yanking me in, my body landed on his. Scarlet painted our cheeks, my wet hair hitting his face. Rolling me underneath him, his fingers wiped away the tears flowing from my eyes. Torn between shouting out my feelings and surviving,surviving won in a heartbeat. Helping me to his bed, his bare feet bounded into the bathroom. Coming out with a first aid kit, his steady hands went to work patching me up. 

“Why must you be so clumsy?” He teased lightly, his bright smile not hiding his concern. “Why haven’t you been in school?” Bowing my head in shame, he didn’t need to know. Coughing a bit, ruby painted my palm. Wiping it on his sweatshirt, his sharp eyes caught it. Lifting up the hem of my sweatshirt, his lips pressed into a thin line. Tracing the bruises, his arms buried me into a bear hug. 

A loud boom had me sitting up in my bed, God shifting uncomfortably next to me. Shooting him a death glare, his fingers fiddled with his flowing robes. Swinging my feet over the edge of the bed, a shove had him outside my bedroom door. Throwing on a silky black robe on the way out, my magical wards didn’t seem to keep the scums out. Tapping my foot incessantly, a sincere apology had me fury fading a bit. 

“I may have gone a little overboard.” He admitted with the biggest nervous grin, my temper flaring with how casually he had just spoken. “I need you to get your mother into Hell. Her soul corrupted in Heaven and now she is tearing it apart.” A fit of wicked laughter tumbled from my lips, the jerk was reaping what he sowed. Turning my back to him, he didn’t deserve my help. Grabbing my wrist, the sharp slap of me hitting his hand away left us both stunned. 

“Why would I help you? Most of the time I would but you condemned me like the biggest dick in the world.” I barked vehemently as I spun on my heels. “Deal with it yourself.” Getting on his knees, his palms pressed together. A warm breeze blew our hair up, Matty coming out to see what the commotion was about. Placing a pile of clean clothes into my palms, he dropped the case holding my scythe on top with an annoyed huff. Why the hell was he taking his side in all of this fucked up mess!

“Clear our names and let her come back to the meetings if you want her help. If you don’t want to do that, then she is going back to bed with me.” He growled through gritted teeth, my breath hitching at his bare chest. “You need to stop letting your temper get the best of you. Even if you hate the person, you probably should help. What do you both say?” Running his hand through his wild hair, his fury filled eyes flitted between us. God cleared his throat, a golden scroll floating down in front of him. Signing his name, a weight lifted off of my chest. Our crimes had been struck out, my hand hovering in front of his face. Curling his fingers around mine graciously, one tug had him on his feet. Excusing myself to get dressed, the jet black dress hugged my hourglass figure. The dress still fit despite my hips and chest being a bit larger, my shaking hands had me hooking my case around my shoulders. Taking a deep breath, Matty embraced me from behind. Grazing the top of my head with his lips, his massage of my shoulders did little to ease my fraying nerves. 

“Sorry for losing it, Lily. I tend to be cranky when I wake up to a rude amount of noise.” He whispered sweetly into my ear, his hands sliding down to my hips. “Come back so we can play.” Mumbling a grumpy okay, his hand lingered on my shoulder as long as it could. Joining God’s side, an intense silence hung between us. Snapping his fingers, we were up in Heaven. Scanning the destroyed buildings around a torn field, this was nothing to write home about. Flashing him an annoyed smirk, her rotting stench was everywhere. Spinning on my heels to face him, no warmth came to my face. Time to bite back with a few harsh words.

“This is nothing to brag about. “ I taunted bitingly, the top of my dress snagging with my case as I folded my arms across my chest. “Leave me alone to do my damn job, you freaking asshole.” His hand raised in the air, my hand catching it before it hit me. Dropping his wrist, silence was what I chose. Screw him. Following the trail of squirming maggots, the raging fury coursing through me broke into a new level of terror. My mother was my mark, the one who tortured me every chance she got. Pausing in front of the decaying version of our house, thick smoke curled out of the chimney. Welcome to my personal hell, I grumbled to myself. Kicking open the door, nausea sank like a rock in my stomach at the foul stench in the air. Mold covered every inch of the wall, the spores reeking of The Dark One. Several bottles of bloody alcohol lined the kitchen counter, the pile of dead angels giving me mixed emotions. Floorboards groaned over my head, another corpse of an angel bouncing down the stairs with a series of thumps. Rolling to my feet, my eyes met the crazed milky eyes of my mother. Her gray skin hung off of her yellowed cheek bone, one strand of greasy hair remaining on her head. Grinning ear to ear, hot vomit flew up my throat at her chewing the maggots like they were pieces of candy. Spilling my dinner onto the floor, a glowing poker aided me in getting over the initial nausea. Ripping my scythe from its case, jet black ribbons swirled around me. Wishing that Lucifer was here, the chance of that was rather slim. Charging at me with a gritty battle cry, the involuntary response of my complex post-traumatic stress disorder had me paralyzed in my current spot. Attempting to lift up my scythe, a steady stream of curse words flooded from my lips the moment her hot poker sank into my chest. Narrowly missing my heart, the sight of it had every breath growing shorter. Remembering Matty’s smile, my breathing slowed back down to the normal rate. Snatching her waist, a sadistic grin had fear showing in her cloudy eyes for the first time. Little did she know that I could now open a portal into Hell, the screams causing her to shriek shrilly in my ear. Hopping into the portal, my hair floated up as we zoomed into Hell. Noting a pool of magma along a smooth marble path, her fingers dug into my tender flesh the moment I let go. Unfolding my wings, feathers drifted aimlessly. Staring up, my heart broke at the sight of the father who raised me sobbing next to the portal. Panic twisted my features, his skin rotting in front of me. Leaping down to attack me, his glasses shattered on the path. Landing on my back, his fingers dug into my side. Shaking him off, violent sobs wracked my body. The hole sealed shut, all the breath leaving my body at her dropping into the bubbling magma with a cocky grin. Floating down to my father’s body, a swift ruffle had my wings folding back up. Popping to his feet, his hand picked up the poker. The sight of him charging at me shattered my composure, my hero growing up was now my enemy. Pushing off the pathway, the adrenaline wore off. Feeling the lack of breath for the first time, my mother had punctured one of my lungs. Mouthing a healing spell, the tissue of my lung weaved itself back together. Sucking in a full breath, his soul popping up in front of me had me falling on my ass. A flurry of dark feathers danced aimlessly in the air, Lucifer and Michael standing in front of me with their blades. Golden ribbons mixed with black ribbons, the ground quaking with their power up. Curling into a ball, my hands cupped my ears. Every breath grew shorter, my heart seeming seconds from pounding out of my chest. My father shouted for them to move, the poker bouncing off of his palm. Glancing over at each other a couple of times, his monologue dawned an eerie silence.

“You deserve every ounce of pain you got from my wife, my dear.” He gloated with a sadistic grin, my claws digging into the pathway. Louder sobs rattled my body, my mental composure slipping. Knocking them out with a single swing, his filthy dress shoes clicked over to me. Standing over me, his head cocked to the left as he sat down on my stomach. Running the hot poker along my cheek, an ugly burn puffed to life. 

“Hate to tell you about my dark secret this way but I can’t hold it in anymore.” He commented nonchalantly, raising the poker over my leg. “I told her to abuse you while I was gone. I despise that you are his child and not mine. How can I love what isn’t mine!” Slamming the poker into my leg, a tortured scream burst from my lips. Stabbing my leg over and over again, the fact that our lovely memories were all lies had me giving up. Inky blood dripped off his chin, my fingers gripping my scythe tighter. Pinning my arm down, the hot poker hovered over my heart. Begging for him to stop, the pleas fell on deaf ears. Gold and black ribbons danced over his head, the energy building. Aiming their blades for his neck, his body decayed to ash. The thick pieces of ash hit my face, the poker hitting the pathway. Lucifer kicked the damn thing into the magma, his arms scooping me up. Burying my head into his shoulders, the agony of it all hit me at once. Clinging to his ruby velvet suit jacket, nothing could make me feel better. Screaming into his chest until the tears stopped, his wings unfolded. Pushing off the pathway, an agonizing silence hung between us. Entering his castle, he set me down in the nearest chair to work on my leg. Getting to work on the wounds, his hand hovered over each one. Refusing to look at him, I didn’t deserve his love and respect. Remembering more of my favorite memories with the bastard who raised me, I buried my face into my palms. No one loved me, no one. Finishing with the last wound, his hand cupped my cheek. Kissing my forehead, nothing warm washed over me. Where did the light go? Where did the shadows come from? Seconds from drowning in a sea of broken anger, his next words didn't help in the slightest.

“If she let me take you I would have in a heartbeat.” He promised me with a broken smile, Uncle Mike excusing himself. “I am sorry that he pretended to love you.” Wiping away my never ending flow of tears, my heart wanted to be satisfied with him being my father. Anger boiled in my veins, my hands slapping his hands away. Popping to my feet, my claws extended from my fingernails as I began to pace back and forth. 

“Then why didn’t you do it!” I roared furiously, hurt dimming his eyes. “Everything about my childhood was a lie. You were my real fucking father and the one who raised me didn’t love me at all. He didn’t want the blood on his fucking hands. Screw all of y-” Matty covered my mouth before I could say anything else, his chest pressing into my back. Gazing lovingly in my direction, his lips pecked my cheek adorably.    

“Your bitchy mother sent him away and he couldn’t get near you. Don’t blame him. Look at what he has done for you. Screw your douchebag father. He spent half of his time at the bar complaining about how much he hated you.” He admitted with a pensive grimace, his arms spinning me around to face him. “Forgive for not telling you but I didn’t find out until a couple months before he died. I am so sorry.” Laying my head on his chest, the soft cotton of his shirt felt like Heaven against my wet cheek. How could I be mad at him? Yanking him down by his collar, my lips pressed against his hungrily. Getting lost in the moment, our hearts beat to the same song. Releasing him from my spell, the sound of our children had me perking up. Plucking Maddy from the sling on his back, Selene bounced up to Lucifer. Scooping her up with a big smile, their laughter twinkled in the air. Mouthing a silent apology, his warm smile had my fraying nerves relaxing. Suggesting that we go watch a movie, our footfalls echoed into his living room. Collapsing onto the couch next to him, Selene wiggled her way in between the two of us. 

“Sorry for losing my cool on you.” I apologized sincerely, his hand rubbing my shoulder. Nothing needed to be said, his hand picking up the remote. Putting on a kid’s movie, our matching tired smiles had us chuckling underneath our breath. Laying my head on Matty’s shoulder, his arms pulled me into the cuddle I needed. Smiling to myself, my parents may have been pieces of shit but I had sure had the greatest family a demon could ask for. Matty kissed the top of Maddy’s and my head. 

“Do you remember that night you showed up when you were fifteen? I remember how stunning you looked in my sweatshirt.” He whispered as not to disturb Lucifer’s grandfather time. “Gosh, it was nice to lay next to you and hold you all night. My heart prayed that it would never end. Do you remember what we talked about?” Chewing on my lip, that conversation had me blushing. How could a teenage girl forget what her crush had said in the light of his aura?

“You promised to marry me if we had no one by thirty.” I laughed blithely, a bit more light returning to my eyes. “Looks like you came through. When haven’t you?” Lifting up my chin with his finger, his passionate kiss had me basking in the warmth of his love. No matter what came my way, my real family will always be there to smother me in honest love.