Anita looked back on the only home she had ever known, anger stripping her reason as the cold clarity of the night wrapped around her. The lights in the windows of the square mansion pierced throughout the starry darkness. Tears pricked the back of her eyes.
Just for this one moment.
She leaned down, wrapping her arms around the velvet coated warmth of her horse-burying her face in his black mane.
"Your daughter's a freak!"
"I'm not a freak!" Anita defended. She should have known this would have happened. She looked to her mother for help-a lost cause. Her mother's honey colored eyes stared at her unemotionally. For a moment, her mother's eyes tightened, the beginnings of tears shining faintly. With renewed hope, Anita tried again.
"Mom, please, tell him-
"A witch! A sorcerer! You evil creature! You did it on purpose! You've always hated us, you vile-
"I don't even know how I did it!" Anita shouted at her stepfather's cold, hatred filled expression. The seventeen year old's stressed emotions flew wildly through her, too powerful for her to control. Her mother for once, tightened her grip on the man's arm, some of the old determined fire blazing through her gold framed face.
"Dear-she's just a child-she couldn't have possibly-
The man turned to the woman, enragement shocking his body language. Coldly, soundly, he raised his hand, and a resounding slap echoed through the air as palm met cheek. Anita froze, and then anger surged through her.
"Don't hurt her!"
The air rippled. Water shot through the air unbidden from the faucet, pelleting Anita's stepfather in the face like a shotgun shell. His eyes hidden under soaked hair, she knew she was in trouble. Dread knotted her stomach.
The wind drowned out her sobs, and she rose once again in the saddle, her determined expression echoing the one her mother had once held strongly. The straps of her backpack hugged her shoulders tightly, though her thick coat offered some padding.
Anita took a deep breath, turning her mind towards the task at hand. Her hands; tightened into fists, relaxed, the reins loosening. The tense posture of her mount notice-ably released, and he blew out air. She reached down and rubbed his silver neck.
"Easy Taka. Let's get going."
Anita lowered herself into the hot tub, the searing hot water and smell of chlorine effectively sealing her worried thoughts. For some reason, though her and Taka had galloped for three long hours, her mind had not been rattled from the night's events. Usually, even the deepest sadness would disappear the moment the rhythm of her horse's hooves began. Knowing she didn't want to spend the night pointlessly crying, once she got into the city, she had gone straight to the most expensive hotel she could find. Luckily, the hotel had their own carriage rides, which meant they had a place for their horses on the property. With a few calls and a few rather large bills exchanged, she had Taka in the biggest stall available. After making sure it was well bedded, she had rubbed him down thoroughly-the poor guy had after all just galloped for three hours straight. She had given him his grain and some hay from the stable's supply, made sure his stall was locked tight with a padlock (could never be too careful), and bid him goodnight.
She stared at the clock above the hot tub-it was eleven thirty at night. She was glad for the peace and quiet of the evening. And yet…
Anita rummaged through her things, picking the most important things of all to bring. She tried to think through the fog of shock that was threatening to consume her as she packed. Her resistance crumbled when the door to her room was flung open, slamming against the wall. The tears started crashing down her cheeks silently, and a blackened, dark emotion welled up for the first time as she looked up to meet the man's dark eyes. He was smiling. He had won this battle. For a moment, she fumbled to find the word for the emotion she felt as she glared at the man's smirk. Oh. Right. Hatred.
Deep and black, this emotion roared in the back of her mind, bringing up every single thing her young mind blamed him for. No friends. The many nights spent crying alone at her bedside. And most of all…
"You." The word tore out of her lips. Her windows swung open, the wind whistling dangerously. Her stepfather raised an eyebrow. She took a step forward, the wind blowing her hair towards him.
"You destroyed her."
Nonchalantly, the man replied, "I didn't destroy your mother. I merely put her in her place. You, obviously, have to learn the same. When you come back begging to be let in, I shall do so. But only after you have learned your lesson."
The wind tore the covers off the bed, throwing them against the wall. The paintings on the wall flew forward, narrowly missing the man's face, which now tightened slightly, a flash of fear in his eyes.
"Lesson? LESSON?" the words reared themselves out of her mouth, ugly with anger. The words, furious and flameful, burned the back of her lips, just raring to be let out. But it was pointless. The wind stopped, seemingly sensing her defeat. Nothing she could say or do would get through to him. And her mother…her mother would never leave his side. But it wasn't over yet. Anita glared hatefully at the man, whose shoulders were held tensely above their normal position.
"Oh. I won't be coming back." She picked up her backpack and swept out the door past him, daring him to hit her. To give her a reason. She glanced back, staring into the man's black eyes with a cold ice that both chilled and thrilled her.
"And if I do-it'll be to kill you."
Anita sank deeper into the water-up to her chin. She scolded herself for thinking of such things-the anger and sadness was still blazing in the back of her mind, pricking her eyes with teases of tears. She had a lot to be thankful for, really. She didn't have to listen to that man anymore. With a decided blink of her eyes, Anita turned her attention to the serene water of the hot tub, scanning the lime green walls around it for a geyser button. If only she could control her newfound abilities-if she could call them that, that is-she wouldn't need a geyser button. Speaking of which, did she even want to learn how to tap into them on purpose? It would be cool, but surely there would be drawbacks. And she didn't want to end up on some scientist's experimentation table. She sighed. Maybe she was a freak.
She found the geyser button. Unfortunately, it was ten feet away from the hot tub. Disappointed, she pulled herself out of the hot tub, feeling the water drip off her hair and swimsuit. The warm air wrapped around her, feeling almost like an embrace. Her bare feet gripped the slippery surface of the tile floor as she made her way to the button. At the exact moment she reached it, the door swung open, revealing a tall, brown haired guy. Anita almost sighed again. She preferred to be alone, and that opportunity had just been blown away. Irritated, she stepped over to the bench where her towel had been placed, picked it up, and headed towards the door. She felt his eyes on her. It was creepy.
"What's a lovely young lady like yourself doing up so late?"
"Buzz off pervert." She growled. She felt the air embracing her form snap from her, flinging itself at the guy like a rubber band. The guy's towel was ripped from his hands and landed twenty feet behind him. How she knew this she didn't know-her back was turned to him. She wrapped her towel around herself and swept out the door.
Nervousness crept into her as she hurried into the elevator, fingering her room key. Could she not be angry without endangering someone now? The air returned to her, embracing her once more.