*Warning for child abuse and violence but... you guys should be able to handle it. Also, less Leyna and more Hylla/Reyna sisterly relationship. Hope that's okay! This AU, I've decided, is slow burn for our favourite couple.
60. Progress
It happens the day after Hylla screams her heart out and Reyna loses all shred of hope for her father.
He'd found out about the boy Hylla had been seeing.
Reyna had watched in stunned silence as he'd backhanded Hylla across the face, leaving the oldest daughter with her hand pressed to her burning cheek.
She met Reyna's eyes, who was staring in horror, and something hardened in the older girl's.
"Reyna," Hylla had said, so eerily calm that Reyna had been afraid of her own sister and of what she might do to their dad. "Leave."
Reyna's frozen shock broke and she stepped forward, reaching for her sisters cheek, wanting to help…
Their father sneered. "Trying to stop her from seeing you cry?" He spat. "Can't show any weakness, can you? Just like your no good slut of a mother-"
"Reyna, get out!" Hylla yelled, staring down their father.
Reyna looked back and forth between the both of them and left.
She didn't know what else to do.
She grabbed the old beat up IPod that Hylla had given her for her birthday and unwound the headphones from around it before sticking them in her ears and turning the music on.
She hears screaming so she turns up the volume.
She hears a crash, something breaking and then a thwack before deadly silence fills the air, so she turns the volume louder after crawling into bed and curling up in a loose ball.
She closes her eyes and tries to not listen.
oooOOOooo
Reyna wakes up to Hylla sleeping behind her. She must have come to bed early this morning because Reyna had been awake until at least 2 am and hadn't seen her.
She wakes up minutes before the alarm and slips out of bed, getting ready quietly. She learned to be quiet in the mornings or else their dad will wake up, no matter how much alcohol he had the night before.
Neither of them want that.
She finds him on the couch in the living room and pulls up the thin blanket he sleeps with. He doesn't stir.
She almost takes the bottle out of his hand, but doesn't, afraid that will disturb him.
Hylla follows minutes later and Reyna studiously avoids looking at the dark blotch on her cheek.
Hylla gives her an uncharacteristic hug before the leave for school that day and Reyna can't help but lean on her, even though Hylla's the one who needs the support.
"Do you love him?" Reyna asks.
Hylla nods and they both ignore the wetness that falls on Reyna's neck.
Reyna kisses her cheek. "I'm sorry," she whispers.
Hylla nods again and then pulls away. Reyna turns and they walk out of the house, heading to school.
At school, life is different.
It's been weeks since Leo came to this area but since he has he's made a point of trying to talk to her.
She stays away as much as she can, and she knows today she should do the same, or try harder, because of what happened with Hylla.
(She sees Hylla's boyfriend, Todd, a couple of times throughout the day. And even though Todd knows about their father, they breakup that day. They both look miserable for months after.)
Hylla says nothing about it.
Leo slides into the desk in front of her in math. "Hey."
Usually she'd ignore him, but she thinks about their father and the screams and breaking glass from last night, and she realizes she doesn't want to.
She smiles instead.
And it's not much, but it's progress.