Dear diary: why...
Why do they hate me?
Why don't I fight back?
Why do I act like such a creep? (Why...)
Why won't he date me?
Why did I hit him?
Why do I cry myself to sleep? (Why...)
Somebody hug me!
Somebody fix me!
Somebody save me!
Send me a sign, God!
Give me some hope here!
Something to live for!

-Beautiful; performed by Katie Ladner, Alice Lee, Jessica Keenan Wynn, Barrett Wilbert Weed & Elle McLemore in the performance, Heathers: The Musical

"It's not your fault. You know that, right?" Elisa's eyes flickered to her mother, Marjorie Martínez. Both were battered and bloodied, having been taken to the hospital by one of their neighbors. Elisa's father, Adrien Rodriguez, had paid them a visit for the first time in four years. Needless to say, it didn't end well. Adrien had a habit of visiting his ex-wife and daughter when it was convenient for him; which usually meant when he needed a place to stay and money for whatever he needed. Marjorie always complained about how much she hated Adrien's manipulative behavior, how she couldn't stand her ex-husband using her and their daughter as an excuse to get some kind of personal gain. But Elisa noticed how each and every time Adrien appeared with some kind of elaborate story, some kind of tragic tale of despair, Marjorie would let him in. She'd let him stay for as long as he wanted and give him whatever money she had in her purse. But once Adrien hit the road, Marjorie would throw a tantrum and start ranting on how she hated being used and abused by Adrien Rodriguez.

Each and every time, Elisa had to calm her mother down.

The relationship between Marjorie and Adrien was less than perfect. Obviously. The two married young when Marjorie fell pregnant at eighteen. Marjorie ended up dropping out of school to raise her and Adrien's son, Julian. A year and a half after Julian came Mary Katherine, then three years later came Elisa. Unfortunately, with each child came a problem in Adrien's and Marjorie's marriage. Not long after Julian's birth, Adrien developed a serious drinking problem. Marjorie was aware that her then-husband liked the occasional drink, but having to raise a child at such a young age seemed to push Adrien over the edge. After Mary Katherine's birth, Adrien started spending less and less time at home. By the time Elisa came around, things became violent. The strain in the marriage led to Adrien and Marjorie fighting often, something their three children had become accustomed to. Shouting matches, insulting and belittling each other, things breaking and smashing against the wall.

Julian did his best to protect his sisters, to keep his parents' fighting as far from them as possible. Mary Katherine helped when she could, but Julian was adamant that he should be the one protecting them. It was his duty as their big brother.

Elisa remembered the police being called on multiple occasions because of the fighting. Sometimes Adrien would get arrested, other times Marjorie would get arrested. Sometimes they'd both get arrested. More than once did Elisa and her siblings have to go live with relatives because of their parents. Then Marjorie finally filed for divorce and eventually gained sole custody of her children. Adrien moved out without so much as a goodbye. The first few months after the divorce, things were looking nicely. Marjorie was working towards her GED, Julian was starting high school in the fall, Mary Katherine was entering her final year of middle school, and Elisa was actually able to invite friends over. That was something none of the Martínez children had done before, thanks to their parents. Without Adrien, the kids were able to bring as many friends over as they wanted, and Marjorie was OK with that.

Sadly, after about six months with no contact with him, Adrien started weasling his way back into their lives. Julian tried convincing his mother to cut all ties with him, but Marjorie didn't have it in her to do so. Part of her still cared for Adrien, despite everything that happened. Because of her willingness to bring him back, that put a strain on the relationship between her and her children. Eventually, Julian got tired of it all and moved out to live with his grandparents in New Jersey. Mary Katherine had called some cousins who lived nearby and requested she live with them. She didn't want to be bothered with switching schools the way Julian had. With both her older siblings out of the picture, that meant Elisa had to deal with whatever problems came with her parents' toxic relationship.

The fighting between Marjorie and Adrien still occurred, and more than once Marjorie would get the shit beaten out of her because of Adrien's outbursts. It also didn't help that Marjorie still kept a lot of her ex-husband's favorite alcohol around so that he could get wasted. Alcohol added to Adrien's violent tendencies, which meant the beatings would more severe. For a couple years, however, Adrien's attention never went to Elisa, which she was thankful for. But once she was in middle school, Elisa grew tired of hearing her mother getting beat whenever her father sauntered back to the apartment. Elisa tried to intervene, but her father lashed out on her instead. Adrien broke Elisa's nose, cracked a few bones, and caused a lot of bruising. The cops were called again and Elisa was put into protective care for the rest of that year. Marjorie eventually got Elisa back and managed to convince authorities that she was a wonderful mother and she wouldn't let Adrien anywhere in their apartment again. Of course, Elisa knew better.

"Sometimes I wish I'd left like Jules and Mary did," Elisa said, looking at her mother. The look on the fourteen year old's face was nearly expressionless. "Then I wouldn't have to deal with this."

The look on Marjorie's face would've broken Elisa's heart, but she was in too much pain to really care. Adrien's beating had been especially brutal, and it meant that Elisa would have to spend a good amount of time in the hospital getting examined.

"Elle, I know this isn't healthy. . . .," Marjorie started.

"Don't give me that crap." The young girl's voice was mumbled, but the bitterness was still evident. "You say that over and over again but you still bring him in. You're full of shit, you know that?"

"Don't you dare. . . ."

"What?" Elisa's gaze went back to her mother's, her brown eyes glittering with anger. "He's not even supposed to be with us anymore but you keep bringing him in. Then you throw some big temper tantrum whenever he leaves. He beats the shit out of us and you still won't do anything about it. I'm tired of this. Why do you think Jules and Mary left?"

Marjorie looked at her youngest daughter for a long while. It was true, Adrien wasn't supposed to be in their lives anymore, but Marjorie just couldn't help herself. But at the same time, she didn't expect Elisa to understand so well. Hell, Marjorie still had difficulties understanding it all sometimes. She couldn't understand why she felt so compelled to let Adrien back in every single time he showed up. She tried chalking it up as part of her still caring for him, but it just didn't seem to be reasonable! Why would she still care for someone who treated his family so badly? It was a question that Marjorie just couldn't make herself answer. But Elisa. . . .she seemed to have some kind of grasp on everything. Or somethings.

"You're right," Marjorie said. "I've made things difficult for you and your siblings. I haven't been a good mother. There are going to be some big changes, I promise."

~o.o.o.o~

Thinking back to that day always had Elisa remembering all the things that did end up changing her life. As it would turn out, Marjorie's promise for "big changes" would happen, but it would turn out for the better for Elisa. Because of the severity of Adrien's beatings on mother and daughter, child protective services had been called and Elisa had been temporarily taken out of Marjorie's custody until things were sorted out. That was Elisa's opportunity. She told the workers everything. Every little detail. They listened intently, taking notes and asking questions. Elisa made sure to answer them with as much detail as possible, and that was when a conclusion was made. Once their wounds had healed, there would be a court date in place for Marjorie's parental rights to be permanently revoked.

As for Julian and Mary Katherine, the family members they resided in would be contacted, but Elisa couldn't say for sure if they'd undergo the same procedures she would.

But as time went on in that hospital room, Elisa felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She was going to be free of the toxicity of her mother and father. She would be able to start over somewhere else with someone new. She'd finally get the chance to start over, just like Julian and Mary Katherine had. It was finally Elisa's time.

Marjorie had been less than pleased with everything that went on. She fought day in and day out to keep custody and rights over her youngest daughter, but eventually lost. After their physical wounds had healed and they appeared in court, and with plenty of evidence piled up, Marjorie's parental rights were taken away and Elisa was sent to live with relatives. It was a new beginning, and Elisa Martínez was going to enjoy every single moment.

Unfortunately, though, neither Julian nor Mary Katherine appeared in court. They refused to do any legal action, and while Elisa could possibly understand why they did what they did, part of her still wondered why? Why didn't they want to fight against their mother? Why wouldn't they want to do something? Was moving out really the only thing that was important to them?

Those questions rattled on in Elisa's head from time to time, but she learned to not let them bother her. Her siblings made their choices and they were content with them. After the court hearings, Elisa was sent to live with her cousin, Alma Menendez, in Brooklyn. Alma had been given guardianship over Elisa until her eighteenth birthday. It was a relief on the young girl's part; she was finally able to relax in a newer, better environment. But there was also the fact that she had little to no knowledge on who Alma was. Elisa's cousin, from what she'd been told, was from Marjorie's side of the family and she had been pretty close to the Martínez family up until the divorce. After Adrien and Marjorie divorced, Alma wasn't able to come visit very often. One of those reasons being that Alma had recently given birth to her first child. For Elisa, however, she couldn't say that she had any kind of relationship with her cousin beforehand. Alma's visits were limited, considering she lived in Brooklyn and Elisa's family lived in Manhattan. Julian's and Mary Katherine's relationship with their cousin was well established, but Elisa just couldn't form that kind of bond in the beginning.

But once it was stated that she'd be living with Alma in Brooklyn, Elisa knew that she'd at least be able to have some kind of relationship with her.

And that's how Elisa ended up where she is today.

(A/N):

A chapter that's long overdue, I get it. I didn't intend for it to take this long for the chapter to come up, but school and work has been a total bitch. Hopefully my next updates won't take as long. Other than that, how'd you guys like the chapter? Was it good? Was it bad? Was it meh? Did I put in too much information or not enough? I'd just like to know your thoughts on all of this right now.

Disclaimer: This story takes place before CA:CW, so I guess it's like an origin story for Peter and my OC. Since this is a kind of origin story, Peter doesn't have his spidey powers yet. As for my OC, she'll have powers of her own, but I'll go into detail on it later on. Also, nothing in the MCU belongs to me. I own my OCs and the subplots I put in.

While I'm a bit late to the party thus far, how many of you guys saw the INFINITY WAR trailer? It looks pretty good and I really can't wait to see it. I've already heard a lot of people theorizing on who's going to die, too. My bet's on Cap, Iron Man, Vision, or Thor. What do you guys think?

Leave a thought on what I should improve on.

Thanks.

Aiden St. Felix