Nereyda was surprised how little she cried. Sure she sobbed a little, but it was anger she felt not sadness and the scotch fueled that white hot fury growing in her. She needed to face him, to scream at him till he listened.
She got to her feet, moving a little rocky to the door and unlocking it. She had it half open when she froze, the sound noise hitting her like a brick. Crashing, smashing, shattering noises only a few rooms down. And the wailing. There was no denying further down the hall Nya was crying loudly.
Her hands turned into fists as she shook, anger burning through her like quicksilver. It burnt away at the scotch, helping her walk confidently and quickly to the office door slamming it open with one fist.
"Stop!" she growled, her voice low and seething, the remnants of her tears only her reddened eyes.
It took her eyes seconds to take in the damage of the room, the extent of his hissy fit. Most of the books they had been collecting were torn to shreds, and the desk was now just fire kindling. Her eyes moved to two things she held important: their picture, and the statue of an angel and a demon embracing that she had found while visiting what had once been China. The picture lay at her feet, the glass completely shattered. She bent low, holding back the fresh wave of tears as she pulled the picture from the frame, her fingers shaking. It was one of the Polaroid photos she had taken, this one on their wedding day when the two had slipped off alone and said their vows for no one to hear but them. She then searched for the statue, unable to step into the room but catching sight of a broken wing and then the body of it lying in pieces in the corner.
Shaking with rage and crushing sadness she looked up at him, gripping the Polaroid to her chest.
"I've spent a century chasing you," her voice remained steady, her eyes steeling themselves, "And for the first time I can't forgive what you've just done. I've seen towns annihilated by you, I've seen enough blood and guts and whores with you to last me ten lifetimes. But this..."
Her arm swept the room and ended pointing at the statue, "This is a knife in my heart. Now I need to go comfort
my daughter, as the perfect image of her father has just been shattered."
She turned on her heel and stormed away, trying to keep her shoulders from shaking as tears began rolling again. But she was a mother now, and she had to put her pain away, hide it just long enough to soothe Nya.
"Baby girl?" Reyn reached the door, knocking on it lightly, "Can I come in?"
Nya lay in bed with a beanie holding most of her hair as she cried and a giant sweater that swam on her body, one she had stolen from her father years ago when she had been cold one night. It hugged her now, trying to comfort her as the chaos continued outside. She could hear her mother, the words between them doing nothing good to Nya's little world. God, had she caused this? She had never seen her parents actually fight, not once in her lifetime.
The knock on her door startled her and Nya rose, moving to unlock it. She practically fell in her mothers arms, wanting that comfort so badly. Reyn moved them to the bed, letting Nya lie back down as she pulled her head into her mothers lap and Reyn stroked her hair.
"I did this," Nya hiccuped, "Mom I'm so sorry. Please don't fight. I didn't think I'd cause this."
Reyn shook her head, "You caused nothing sweetheart. This is between me and your father."
It was all she could say, and Nya could hear it. If her mother tried to explain more she'd break into tears and scare Nya further.
Instead she looked down and kissed her daughters temple, "I want you to pack some clothes and sleep at either Xael's or Phoenix's okay? I'm sure Dakota will let you hang out, or if you like you can have a girls night with Nix and Kyli. I just don't want you home baby."
Nya stared crying again, "Mom please tell me you two will be alright."
Her silence was heart breaking. Nya finally rose, doing as she was asked and packing clothes for a couple days. It was obvious her mother knew nothing of the contract or the night before, otherwise she'd know Dakota probably wanted nothing to do with Nya or anyone else, and Kyli was hurt. But there was no use adding more problems. Nix would still let Nya stay over.
"You can come too mom," Nya whispered, hugging her mom hard, a whisper of fear for her mothers safety snaking through her. It wasn't right to believe her father would ever stoop so low, but she'd also never seen him so cold and cruel.
Reyn led her daughter downstairs to the front door, both of them trying to ignore Eli's presence in the house even as Nya could feel her mother start to shake.
"Don't come home till I get you," Reyn kissed her cheek, "Not even if your father comes, you hear me? I'll come grab you when all this is over. Nolan is staying with Ash and Brax for a week so don't worry about him either."
"Mom...please," Nya whispered holding her hand, "You're scaring me. Is...
he going to stop?"
The look in her mother's eyes was sad, noting Nya's lack of saying 'father' or 'dad'. She was unable to with the beast that was him upstairs; that just...it wasn't her father, not the dad she had grown up with.
"Go Nya," her mother ordered, pushing her outside, "We'll be fine."
The door shut and Nya stood for seconds before bolting down the path, running as fast as she could to get far away and closer to Nix and Kyli's house. As she approached she noticed the crowd in the clearing, seeing the fleeing bodies of Kayden and Dominik as they disappeared. Nya was shaking so hard it was impossible not to notice and Colton and Jay were the first to turn and see her as she pulled up.
She wiped away a stray tear and tried to look calm, even as she shook.
"I just-" her voice shook so she coughed, trying to steady it, "I'm sleeping at Nix's and Kyli's tonight."
