The world was silent. Autumn was evident as leaves flew wherever the cool breeze took them. The ambivalent sky was bright blue with sparse clouds. Soft, pacing steps could be heard on the pavement. A woman in all black was currently treading down the sidewalk. There was a kind of anticipation of dread in her emphatic eyes as her dark blonde hair was being blown gently by the wind. She was making her way to where she spent most of her days- Riddle Manor. Alyssa Rose was only a fragment of the person that she used to be. And it was Tom's fault. She knew it. She finally admitted it to herself. Something was beginning to give...
The children were almost grown. In fact, Maxi (lol to those who know what it is) was bringing back a friend from school. He talked about her incessantly. She couldn't for the life of her remember the girl's name, no matter how many times he repeated it. Camille had turned out to be the female version of Tom, though she had become bitter about his treatment of her mother and resented him greatly for it. She took great pains to be kind and to treat others with fairness.
Flashback
Camie had gotten up early on Christmas morning to wake up her mother. Father was away on one of his trips, as usual. She was about to wake her up when she noticed something odd. There was a bruise on her cheek. What happened to Mummy?
When her father came home, she snuck into their room and hid. They assumed that she was playing with her new toys. What she saw when they came in surprised her. Daddy was attacking Mummy and she was crying. Camie knew that was wrong because Mummy always said that it was wrong to hit. Daddy was wrong.
End of Flashback
Brenda had been having a good life. She still had hopes that Jack would fall in love with her one day. He avoided her like the plague. Lately, he had ceased to avoid her that much. Jack even talked to her on his own volition. Yet, she still spent the majority of her time playing quiditch or spending time with Ben in secret. Brenda couldn't figure out why Ben was being so different all of a sudden. They were now in their seventh year and he had started acting as if she were fragile. She kept telling him that she wasn't, but then he'd blush. Does he like me? Nah.
Ben was in love- with his best friend. He hadn't realized it at first, but then she got prettier. Of course, she was the only girl that the was really friends with, but that didn't matter. He only hoped that they would become more than that. Brenda would get weirded out when he got her things but he wanted to lavish her with everything he knew that she should have. His angel should have only the best. Ben was determined to dazzle her and marry her. That was the only thing he wanted and it consumed him. Her lips. Her scent. Her touch. Though he never verbalized it, he was jealous of O'Conner. The thug had her attention, his most treasured prize, but did not realize the gem he had. It was he, not Jack, that was perfect with her. If only she could see that.