CHAPTER FIVE
~Tessa~
"Daddy…? What's going on?"
Seven-year-old Tessa didn't understand why her father was tossing so much into a suitcase, but she could tell he wasn't happy. He wasn't smiling like usual. By contrast, he looked a mix of irritated and tired.
"We're leaving, Tessabear."
"But why?" To her, everything was fine. Her and her parents were happy, weren't they? Yes, they spent more of their time shouting than being a familial unit, but at the end of the day, they still took care of her. They were still a family.
Her father's rushed and annoyed movements quickly ceased, and he brought his gaze back to her. He got on one knee to be at her height, his words delicate. That was the first time she'd seen pure sadness in anyone's eyes, and that was the moment when Tessa had learned everything was most certainly not fine.
"Daddy and Mommy… aren't getting along very well right now. So you and I are going away for a bit," he explained, carefully tucking her hair behind her ear as he spoke. "We'll go get ice cream, and then we'll go see your Aunt Georgie and Frisk. How does that sound?"
"Oh, okay! Can Grillby come with us?" she asked innocently, holding out her teddy bear so it was in his face. The stuffed toy was orange, and it held a red heart by its stomach that said "love you." Normally, it would've been something that made her father laugh, but he only smiled that day.
"Of course he can, sweetie."
"And we'll be back soon?" Tessa didn't want to leave her mother all alone. The thought of her being all alone in their house without anyone around to play with her, or give her hugs, or eat dinner with her made her upset.
"We will," he promised after a moment of not responding at all. Holding his words near and dear, Tessa let herself forget about her home to focus on going to get a treat. They didn't get to do that often. She held onto his hand as they left the house, squeezing it before they got settled into the car.
She'd believed him, and she patiently waited for the day they would be reunited again.
That was the first time Tessa had ever been lied to.
"Tessa!"
As soon as the door opened, she was met with a hug from her cousin. Frisk was a few months older than her, and when it came to appearances, they differed significantly, so much so that it wasn't easy to tell that they were related. Both of them had the same colored hair, which was dark brown, but Tessa's skin was very pale, whereas Frisk's was darker. Frisk had brown—no, _red_ eyes—and Tessa's were cyan. Nonetheless, the amount of time they spent with one another told everyone they were close.
"Frisk! Do you wanna play? I brought Grillby along," she told him proudly, showing him the bear. It wasn't the first time he'd seen her favorite toy, but her dad often forgot his name, so she was used to reminding everyone what it was.
"…not going well," she heard her father trying to whisper from the kitchen with her aunt. They were talking about something she couldn't fully understand from the few words she had heard. "…let her stay?"
"Of course! He can play with all my action figures!" Frisk responded with a laugh as he marched towards his room, leading them away from the whispering and away from whatever was making the atmosphere so depressing. "Mommy says we'll be together for a while. We can have cousin sleepovers every night!"
"Every night?" she gasped, impressed by the news. The most time in a row that she'd gotten to stay with her cousin was a week, and that's was for a special vacation.
"Every night! So we get to have fun for now, and lots of it!"
Tessa giggled as they reached the room, carefully maneuvering around the toys scattered all over Frisk's floor.
Life was so simple for her back then.
Tessa couldn't remember how long she'd spent living with Frisk and her aunt and uncle, but it had been a very, very long time. She hadn't seen her mother in months. Not until one day, her father had driven with her to a strange place with several houses smashed together, right next to each other as one unit.
He held her hand as they headed to the end house's front door. All she had was her backpack, Grillby, and her dad.
"Okay, Tessabear. You're going to be staying with your mom for the week, and then I'll come pick you up on Sunday."
This news was the furthest thing from what Tessa expected. "…what? I don't wanna stay with Mommy. I wanna stay with you." Mommy hadn't been by her side for a while, and the topic of her always seemed to make her dad uncomfortable. "Why can't we all be together again?"
Her father sighed. A deep, long sigh. "Tessa, things aren't going to be the same as they used to be. Mommy and Daddy…aren't going to live together ever again. It'll take some getting used to, but this is how things have to be."
Liar. Liar. Liar. Tessa's world may as well have stopped spinning. He'd promised her that they would be back together soon. He'd promised her that if she stayed patient, things would be normal again. How was her family supposed to ever be whole if her mom and dad weren't together?
"You promised," was the only thing she uttered, squeezing Grillby for comfort.
"I know. Daddy was wrong," he murmured, pushing back some hair behind her ear like he always did. "Be good, and try your best to be patient. It won't be so bad after the first few weeks."
"Promise?" Tessa asked, hoping for him to be right this time.
Like last time, there was a period of silence before he answered. "I promise."
After kissing her on the top of her head, Tessa's father retreated to his car. She knocked on the door slowly and waited for an answer, and she stood as tall as she could.
Her mother had answered, but instead of being showered in kisses or even given a "I missed you," she was met with a glare.
"Who is it?" A man asked from behind her. Someone Tessa didn't recognize.
"It's my daughter," she called back, then looked down pitifully at her. "Well, are you just going to stand there? Come inside."
The young brunette cautiously stepped in and gazed up at them both. As if her teddy bear could protect her, she cuddled him closer.
"My name is Tessa," she said softly, her hands suddenly becoming very clammy. She'd never been a fan of introductions, much less great at introducing herself to whoever this guy was.
"Doesn't look too much like you, aside from her hair." He'd clearly ignored her greeting in favor of telling her mother his thoughts.
"I know. She takes after her father." Instead of sounding affectionate or even the slightest bit like she cared to see her after so long, her mother turned away from her. "Do what you want, just don't bother us."
Be good, and do your best to be patient. It won't be so bad after the first few weeks. Tessa reminded herself of what her father had said, heading for the stairs to go explore where she wouldn't get in anyone else's way. Things were far from perfect, but surely they would improve with time.
Unfortunately enough, for the second time in her life, Tessa had been lied to.
In two years, Tessa came to the realization that the world was very, very cruel.
Despite her desperate attempts to see the best in her mother, the nine-year-old had no positive interactions with her after her parents' split. When it came to caring for her, she did the bare minimum; Tessa never starved, but just because her physical needs were met didn't necessarily mean her emotional ones were.
She simply dealt with her feelings by reminding herself it wasn't Mom's fault, nor was it Dad's, because Daddy told her that sometimes marriage just didn't work out. Mom just handled everything in her own way, and that's didn't mean she didn't care for her. She was just stressed, right?
The day came in which she'd returned to her mother's house for the week. While she was with her dad, her new sister was born, and she'd been extremely excited by her arrival. Unfortunately, Tessa's appearance at the house did far from please anyone.
"Tessa's here," her step-father called back into the house with a sigh when he'd opened the door. The sound of a baby wailing echoed through the house, which made the girl intrigued. She excitedly ran toward the carrier in the living room where the newborn was, but her mother stepped between her and the child quickly.
"You'll make things worse for Olivia. Stay back," she scolded. Tessa took a few steps backwards as she was told, folding and unfolding her hands anxiously.
"I wanted to say hi," she stated meekly. She didn't often try to justify her own actions, just obeyed without question. It was never worth making her mom angry with her, but when it came to her new sister, she would've liked to at least look at her up close.
"Say hi and what? Make her crying louder? I thought I told you to stay out of our way and to never say stupid things. Go to your room if you're going to give me attitude."
Why are you always a meanie? You didn't used to be a meanie… Whatever she said always seemed to be the wrong thing. When was the last time she'd even smiled at her?
Does she even love me? Tessa had tried to ignore the way she'd been treated for the past two years, but she may as well have been walking in circles. Everything led back to the fact that her mother would never see her in the same light.
Maybe that's my fault, she thought, choosing to listen to the intrusive thought as she glumly headed for the stairs to get to her room. Daddy had always said sometimes marriage didn't work, but they used to be happy just fine. They were together before she was born, and they'd only gotten divorced after she'd come into the picture. Maybe I ruined everything.
"Hey, Tessa, do you have a ride?" One of her classmates asked at the end of the school day when she was in seventh grade. She sat on a bench in the pick-up area with her backpack resting on her lap, and before the question was posed, had her gaze pointed toward the sky. It was gray, and it appeared likely that it would start to rain soon. "I can ask my mom to take you home, if you want!"
"I do. Thank you, though," she answered quietly, lying through her teeth. She knew perfectly well that she would be walking back to her mother's place. She did every single day when she stayed with her mom. Still, she'd sit there for thirty minutes every time, hoping that she would be remembered for once. She wanted to convince herself that her mom loved her deep down, and that she missed her when she wasn't around. She would get worried if she never came home, right?
The storm moving west started off as a drizzle. She didn't mind it for the first few minutes, but the more it picked up, the closer she got to finally leaving the school. By the time it started to thunder, her clothing was drenched, so she brought herself to start walking. So long as she crossed through the park, it would only take her about ten minutes to get there.
Tessa did most things slowly; that included walking, even if it was in a thunderstorm. Most people were home, doing their best not to be out and about when it was raining. She preferred having no one to stare at her while she headed back to her mom's townhouse.
Surprisingly enough, there was someone outside in the horrible weather aside from her, and he sat against the trunk of the huge oak tree by the path that ran through the park. She couldn't make out any of his features in her peripheral vision, but she could at least tell he was there.
"Hey, over here!"
If it weren't for the fact that the person had called for her, she would've ignored his presence and continued to take her route back to the townhouse. She debated just pretending that she hadn't heard him entirely, but when he called for her again, guilt got the better of her. Hesitantly, she turned to see a teen of her age sitting there, half soaked from the storm himself.
"A girl like you has to be crazy to be out in this weather."
He's pretty forward. Tessa only gazed at him, not moving from her spot on the path. She couldn't figure out what he had to gain from talking to her.
"Come closer, it'll give you shelter from the rain."
Though she didn't find herself eager to talk to this person, she still decided to step out onto the grass and toward him. She recognized him a little better when she saw him up close; he was in the grade above her, and she often passed him on the way to math class.
"You're interesting. My mother always told me I was a lunatic for staying out in the rain, but I guess I'm not alone."
"What do you want?" Tessa asked simply, no malice in her voice. She didn't see him having an ulterior motive with his disposition, but she couldn't comprehend why he had called for her, either.
"Someone to talk to, I guess. Someone who doesn't know everything going on with me."
"Why?"
He chuckled dryly, putting the palm of his hand to his forehead. A part of her wanted to feel intimidated by his behavior, but the rest of her couldn't really bring herself to care. "Let's just say life isn't easy right now, and I don't want anyone's pity."
"Well, so long as you aren't going to pity me, I won't pity you," she said slowly, lowering herself to the ground next to him. She supposed that in a weird way, his reasoning for being there made one-hundred-percent sense to her. Even if she disliked conversing in general, sometimes it was for the best to be with someone that knew nothing about you.
"You struck me as someone who wouldn't." She couldn't now see that his eyes were red, as though he'd been crying just before they started to talk to one another. He stuck out his hand, giving her a smile. It wasn't a smile of pleasure, or one that said "nice to meet you." It was a smile of misery, one that she wore herself all the time. "Aiden, I go to Maple Brook."
She gently shook his hand, wondering when the last time she'd actually introduced herself to someone had been. "My name's Tessa. I go there too."
"So, Tessa, what are you doing out here?"
She contemplated what to say before actually giving him a response. "I was trying to get back to my mother's house. I sort of lost track of time after school, so I only left a couple of minutes ago." That wasn't entirely why she wasn't back yet. A part of her was hoping she would be picked up, but a part of her was also just trying to delay getting back there, too. "What about you?"
"I was just enjoying the weather. Someone I used to know always loved the rain." Though it was cryptic, she could tell by his eyes that he was telling her the truth. He really was just sitting there in the rain, admiring it for someone else.
"What happened to them?" she questioned quietly, not to pry, but because he clearly cared deeply about this person if he was by himself in the park in the middle of a storm.
"I lost her," he replied without letting his expression drop to anything but emptiness. "But that's how it goes. I can't spend my entire life focused on it, or I'll lose myself, too."
Tessa looked at the branches above them as he spoke. She wished she could face everything with that same attitude, but it wasn't as simple as not focusing on it. No matter which parent had custody of her, life ended up as hell. She didn't know how long they sat there, but the rain eventually died down.
"I should get back to going home." The word was foreign to her, but she still forced herself to speak it. That was the only way she would be able to recognize that she needed to get back there.
"I should do the same," the teen agreed, getting up and stretching. "Any chance we'll meet again?"
"I hope," she muttered, then let herself say something to him just a little louder. "If you mean it, I'll be at school on Monday twenty minutes before the first bell. I wait in the lobby."
"Guess I'll be meeting you there," Aiden decided, and once they'd nodded to each other once more, he began to step in the opposite direction from her to go his own way home.
Tessa pushed herself to keep going to the townhouse, but she felt dread deep down. Somehow, she was sure she'd get yelled at for not being back yet.
"Tessa! I've been waiting for you," her mother swung open the front door before she could even reach the steps. She rushed down to her, and the brunette seemed extremely overwhelmed by how worried she'd sounded. Maybe she did think about her when she wasn't home.
"You have?" She did her best not to sound too puzzled by the change in behavior. Maybe things have-
"Randal and I have errands to run. We'll be back tomorrow. You need to look after Olivia."
Stupid. Stupid. Of course she just wanted something from me. Tessa went silent for a minute as she beat herself up over thinking her mom meant anything by it. However, the one thing that stuck out to her was that her mom had mentioned not being back until tomorrow. That was her way of saying that she was going to the bar.
"You shouldn't be drinking." Again, she didn't like saying anything to directly oppose her or her step-father, but her mom was seven months pregnant. It was irresponsible for her to care so little about her unborn son right now when she'd spent so long using him as a scapegoat to not do anything.
Her mother scoffed, her face scrunching up in disgust at the comment. "I can do what I want. When you talk back to me, you sound exactly like your father. Just do as I tell you instead of being so insensitive."
Before Tessa even had the chance to say anything, she'd already walked past her and had gotten into the car. You need to look after Olivia.
The brat terrorized her at every turn, and they most certainly weren't the best of friends as Tessa had always wanted, but she wasn't going to let a four-year-old go neglected.
Do as you're told. One day, things will get better.
"Dad…?"
Tessa came into their home late that Sunday evening using the key she had, though a majority of the time, her dad got to the door before she could even pull it out. All she was faced with was an empty house, which made her shiver slightly. It was only on occasion that he wasn't home to see her, but it was more upsetting now than ever.
Unlike her mother's house, her home with her dad was extremely tidy. Everything was perfectly organized when she returned, even if she'd left it a mess (unintentionally, that was). It only made it all the more eerie to cross the living room and over to the kitchen. A note on the fridge was the only greeting she got, which was what she'd expected to see at this point. Her eyes always burned when she tried to read, and the words were always falling off of the page, but she could usually make out what was written with time.
Sorry, kiddo, the note began, with a short explanation following, second job's keeping me out late today. I don't know when I'll be home. I know it's no fun coming back to an empty house, and I wish it didn't have to be this way. She'd gotten used to not seeing him often, but she never blamed him. He was just doing his best, and she couldn't be upset with him for that. I promise things won't be like this forever. We just have to wait.
Tessa breathed in, then exhaled slowly. She tried to be optimistic, but both worlds she lived in sucked in their own respects.
We just have to wait.
As always, Tessa faced her life with the same virtue; patience.
"Merry Christmas!"
Things hadn't changed much for Tessa in terms of her home life over the next couple of years, but she'd made several improvements socially. She never bothered to give her cousin any of the details, but that was mostly because she would prefer to spend her time with him catching up on everything else. All she'd informed him was that she had friends at Maple Oak, and that seemed to satisfy him. Now the pair got to reunite for the holidays, and she'd been working efficiently to give him the best gift she could.
"Merry Christmas," Tessa greeted with a smile, a very real one for once. She got to be with her father for Christmas that year, meaning they went to see her aunt, uncle, and Frisk. Ironically enough, they were on her mother's side of the family, not her father's, but they had gone no contact with her mother a very long time ago.
"Gift time?" Frisk asked enthusiastically, already trying to hold his present out to her.
With no reason not to exchange their gifts, Tessa swapped his with hers, and on the count of three, they opened them.
"Woooooah," her cousin gasped, pulling out a blue sweater with a purple stripe down the center. "It's just like yours! Did you make it for me?"
"Yeah," she laughed lightly, happy to see him so happy. She moved some tissue paper away from the center of the gift to see a red ribbon. She didn't understand it, but she was sure he'd have a very interesting explanation for a ribbon.
"You're always wearing your hair up, so I thought it would be cool with a bow or something! You could tie it around your ponytail," Frisk explained sheepishly, sounding ashamed by the idea. "I know it's not half as much effort as your sweater, but—"
"It's great, Frisk. I love it," she reassured as she picked it up. Maybe he didn't think it meant all that much, but it was something she could wear every single day, and it at least made her look a little less boring. "Thank you."
Months passed without change. The cycle was the same, vicious and unrelenting. Even with being constantly at rock bottom, Tessa kept living.
"What's this Mount Ebott project about?" she asked the group of three that she'd entered the library with.
The first one to reply was Emily; they'd met two years ago, and she was the most easily enthused. The brunette was fairly sure that if she ever got the chance to meet Frisk, they'd get along great.
"Legend has it, a kid climbed up the mountain and fell into the Underground years and years ago. It sounds so cool!"
The next person to reply was Harmony, a ballerina she'd met two years ago as well; she was good friends with Emily, and she'd started to walk home with Tessa when she could. Her companionship was appreciated, and at least school ended up being better than any time at home.
"It could be a myth," she added after Emily's answer, gentle in nature, but also clear in her skepticism.
The last person alongside them was Ethan, a friend of both Emily's and Harmony's; she liked him decently enough, but was pretty sure he only tagged along for their sake rather than hers. Plus, she was pretty sure Harmony had a crush on him.
"Aw, come on, Harm, you're such a downer sometimes." He punched her in the arm lightly, and she shot back a reply in defense before Tessa's next question came. She and Frisk had talked about the Underground years ago, but not to enough of an extent that she remembered much.
"So they went up the mountain and never came back down? How do we know they fell Underground?"
Ethan's response was to ramble about somerhing, but all Tessa got from it was that there was no guarantee. Then, of course, Harmony argued back and forth with him, which gave her a chance to head over to the bookshelf and look for any sort of book that would give her more information.
"The Tale of the Underground: A Human's Perspective."
It took about a minute of staring for her to read the title on the spine of one of the books, but once she understood, she slipped it off of the shelf to do her own research.
The Underground…could something like that really exist?
"Aiden? Could you help me read this?"
The boy in question rarely said no to her when she needed help, and when it came to reading, it was always either him or his younger brother that she asked for help from.
"Of course. What's it about?"
She showed off the cover as an answer, and Aiden grinned. "A fairytale, huh? Sure, I'll read it for ya."
She sat down next to him at the lunch table and passed him the book, which he flung open to the first few pages. It took him a while to read it, but he summarized each page. The first couple were nothing of interest, but the third caught her attention.
"…it says here that humans and monsters had a war a reaaaaaallly long time ago. In fact, this war was started by the monsters, who didn't want to live as equals with humans anymore. They fought for control over the humans, but lost, so they were sealed by a magic barrier in a place known as the Underground."
A…war?
"This place would remain untouched for decades. However, in time, a human child supposedly climbed the mountain and disappeared. This kid never returned to the surface, which begs the question as to whether or not they even fell Underground to begin with. The alternative is that they could never return home after falling—"
The bell rang, interrupting Aiden. He gave a good-natured smile and closed the book up. "Well, guess that's it for now. Good thing it's just fiction, otherwise we'd have a real mystery on our hands."
Just as things were getting interesting. As she said her goodbye to Aiden and they went their separate ways, the thought of monsterkind wouldn't leave her. Did they really want control over humans? Or were they ostracized by humans and just wanted their freedom…?
On the night of Tessa's sixteen birthday, she stopped tolerating the frequent emotional abuse from her mother and ran away. No one cares for me there. At best, she was a babysitter for her younger siblings, and it wasn't like they liked her. All Olivia did was try to get her in trouble, and as the baby, Brody was worshipped wherever he walked.
She didn't know where she was headed. For a while, she was stumbling around in the rain with no real direction. Her dad probably wouldn't be home, not to mention he lived a ways away, and she couldn't imagine she was welcome anywhere else.
Was there anyone that wouldn't be annoyed at her appearance so late in the day? Frisk's family was away on vacation, so that was no good, Ethan's parents definitely wouldn't want her at their place, and Harmony had dance. That left Emily, who was at her brothers' football game, and the Tringalis, who…seemed to be the only other option.
Despite how little she wanted to bother Aiden and Ivan, she found herself ringing their doorbell and shamefully waiting for an answer that night. She fidgeted with her sleeves and saw the door swing inwards to reveal Mrs. Tringali standing before her.
"Tessa? What are you doing here, honey? Shouldn't you be at home? It's your birthday!" She pulled her inside without allowing an explanation. She'd always been good to Tessa, even though their interactions were limited; she tagged along with Aiden often, but staying at their home was…not something she did often. All of her clothes were dripping wet, so the rug was covered in water. She took off her shoes and put the pair next to Aiden's tennis shoes.
"Oh, I'm sure I can fetch something for you... please wait here. Ivan, Aiden, please come keep our guest entertained!"
"I'm playing video games!" Aiden whined from his room. Shuffling could be heard from upstairs as Ivan walked down the steps. He was wearing one of his turtleneck sweaters and some worn black pants. He had bags under his eyes. It seemed as if he had just been woken up, despite it being seven at night.
"Tessa? Uh, hi—happy birthday, by the way—what are you doing here?" Ivan was the most awkward boy Tessa knew, and he certainly wasn't good with trying to make conversation. Luckily, he wasn't alone, as his brother stepped down the stairs a few moments later.
"Thanks. Um... My mother and step-father forgot it was my birthday, so I figured I would be welcomed here..." Tessa mumbled it, even hiding her face a little so they could see how embarrassed she was that she randomly showed up. "Dad lives too far of a walking distance and everyone else was busy and I—"
"Hey, no big deal. You're always welcome here!" Aiden assured, throwing his arm around her. He didn't even seem to care that she was cold to the touch. "Sorry that your birthday's been less than great, but…we can do whatever you want here!"
"Thanks," was all she could manage, too many thoughts racing through her head. There were about a million things she wanted to say to him and Ivan, but she didn't want to worry them, so that was what she settled for.
"Yeah. I'm sure Mom wouldn't be opposed to us ordering food for you," Aiden's younger brother added, and though she tried to protest, he'd already disappeared back up the stairs.
They're so good to me… but what have I even done to deserve this? All I do is cause issues everywhere I go…
"You can stay in my room, and I'll sleep on the couch. No objections," Aiden told her with his signature smile, and soon enough, Mrs. Tringali stepped back down the stairs with a change of clothes in her arms.
T̴̥͙͗́̔̈́́̽͠ḫ̵̨̡͇̥̪̰͂̊̽ḁ̴͚͓̳̘̍͊̏̆͂ṱ̸̳͛̉͛̈́̚ ̴̡̟̞͖̱̯̜̈́̀ͅṉ̷̞̰͍͖̜̃̈́̈́ī̶͖̳͖̈̐̂̋͋g̵̣̪̈̋̎̎͜h̵͓͙̓̃̌t̷̥̫̳͎͎͊̍͜,̴̪̖͗̽͂͌͒ ̷̰̹͈̞̱̙͉̿ͅṮ̵͊e̴͓͌̊s̴̟̖͇͊s̴̖͈̗̼̣̹̺̩͆͐͘a̸̳͇͚̠͕͂͊͗̆̈͘͠ͅ ̵̦̻̼̘̉̿̚ͅĺ̶̩̒͊͌ë̵̹̬̺́͂̀͊̀͌̚͘ḟ̶̡͇̲̱͐͠͠t̶̡̼̝̦̋ ̶̣̜̔̋̃̋͘t̶̫̜̣̾̅̋̅̑͑̏͘h̵̨̺̱̟̰̺͛̃̊̾͆e̶̥̖̪̱̗͆͂̌͠ ̵̱̭̳̜̬̜̼̟̍̅̓̏̆̈ḃ̷̛̺̯̈́̌͒́͛͗r̷̰͓͈̝̙̀͘̕ő̶͕̭̺̣t̸̜͕̲̻͍̬̫͗͑̌̂̚h̶̟̫̤̰̋ḙ̵̢͔̺̻͍͋̍̇͜͝r̷̙͋͐͘ş̸̢̡̲̲͛̈̅̈̚͜͝ ̸̘͍̯̓̈́ȉ̵̘̯̗͎̖͜ǹ̷̩̫͎͕͎͋͝ ̴̡̲͖̤͙͉̲̆͊͠s̶̱̜̰͇̣̏̈́ẹ̷̢̛̛̮͕̥͌͆͐̑͘ạ̷̳͎͇͝ŗ̴̹̮̹̗͆̂̀̋͝ć̵̢̟̘̘̉̏̽̋ͅḩ̷͈̹͔̯̻͉̌̊͜ ̴̳̮̓̿̓͛̊͘ò̵̧͙̰̆̐̾̊̐f̵͚͝ ̸̛̻̋͒͋́̀̍̐Ṁ̷̡̮̼̜̘̺͚̇͗̌͘͘ȍ̵̱̤͐̔̏̑͠u̴͚͆͊̎́́̔́̽ñ̸̟̂͘̕͠t̶̡̡̟̪̎̾̄̇̍͐ ̸̜̦̣̉͗͐͗̚E̶̹͓͔̾̍̏͌̑͒̀̉b̷̢̡͉̠͇͚̼̻͆́̓̅̀̿̎̀o̴͓̿̉ͅt̷̨̧̲͉̹̋̆̇̂̆̕t̷̢̡̘̣̭̺̮̱̎͋͊̔̈́.̴̳̃͂̿̀̄
That night, for the first time in years, Tessa slept soundly.
A few days later, when custody finally returned to her father, the Tringalis took Tessa over to his house in the morning. She'd been asked several times if she would be okay, and upon her insistence, she'd been left alone to unlock the door to the house. Weirdly enough, her mind was at ease after spending the weekend with them, and she was in a much better mood than usual.
As soon as she walked in, her heart dropped at the sight of the living room. The house was a wreck. Trash littered the ground, and nothing was in order as usual.
"Dad?" she called, running into the kitchen. There he was slumped over his paperwork, snoring softly. She instantly shut up at seeing he was asleep, but tried to look over what he was working on. All the words jumped out at her, and she could feel a headache coming on straight away.
EVICTION.
That word burned in her mind as soon as she made it out, and she backed away as she tried to make sense of it. The happiness she'd felt the past few days dissipated, and she slowly sank to the ground.
Even with how much he's been working, he's still not making enough?
No matter how positively she tried to think, she couldn't stop her heart from racing. This was it. Her father was screwed. How were they going to afford to live anywhere if they couldn't sustain the little place they lived now? How was she going to keep bouncing back and forth between her mom and dad? Would everyone find out he was unfit to care for her? Would he lose custody?
It's me. I'm the common denominator. Mom's yelling, Dad's two jobs…it's all because of me, she realized, tears pricking her eyes. She couldn't breathe anymore. This entire time…had she been the issue? Was this why everyone around her always seemed so irritated?
"However, in time, a human child supposedly climbed the mountain and disappeared. This kid never returned to the surface, which begs the question as to whether or not they even fell Underground to begin with."
Tessa rose to her feet. At first, the idea sounded really stupid. The book was fiction. There was no Underground.
Then it became more sound the more she thought about it. What if there was an Underground? What if monsters were real? Was there any possibility that they would be better to her than the world? It had turned its back on her again and again.
What if the Underground exists?
Tessa acted impulsively that day. She left behind everything at home, left out the front door, and headed for Mount Ebott.
Should I really do this?
With some effort, Tessa had reached the top of the mountain. A cave in the side of it led to a narrow passageway, which then led to a hole. A hole she couldn't even see the bottom of.
Will Dad be okay? she thought uncertainly. Without her as a financial burden, surely he would have a better chance at living in such a prejudice world. At the very least, he could move into somewhere smaller and more affordable.
Will my friends be okay? came next. She could be rational about this one most of all. Aiden and Ivan had each other, regardless of whether or not she was in the picture. As for Emily, Ethan, and Harmony, it was the same deal. They had each other, and they would be fine without her. At the end of the day, their worlds wouldn't stop spinning without her in it.
Will Frisk be okay? was another question she had to ask herself. It was more difficult to be reasonable about it than her friends. She didn't know about his other friends from his private school, and therefore couldn't say for sure he would have anyone else. But Frisk had a bright personality, and he could light up the room just by walking in, so there was no doubt that he could find someone else.
What if there's no Underground?
The final question stumped her for a while, and it sank in that she really had no clue what would happen if there was nothing there. It became less of a "what if there's no Underground" and more of a "what if I die?"
The world won't care if I'm gone anyway.
Closing her eyes, Tessa stepped off of the edge and began to fall down the hole. She supposed that whatever happened next didn't matter anymore, and there was a very good chance she'd die. All she could think of were the few people who loved her. They would never see her again, but she hoped they would move on.
I'm sorry, everyone.