What Happens in the Dark...

Breaking Inside

**Serenity POV**

This week has officially kicked my ass. Like a punch to the face with a brick. Between moving to a completely different part of the state, dealing with the heavy and hurtful emotions of said move, starting a new internship...and then these godforsaken nightmares, I am like an extra off of The Walking Dead. 

Lin has been an absolute angel. I never realized how much she held me together every single time I fell apart. When I first moved in with her and her family, I stayed in the room they had given me. 

10 years prior

"Where are they? Where is Mommy and Daddy?" I cried, using the names I only called them when I was afraid. Lin and her parents looked at me, absolute sadness emanating from all of them. "WHERE?" I screamed. A nurse came in and asked if I would like to see my Mom, and then lifted me into a wheelchair. She takes me down several hallways and to the IC unit. Why is Mommy here, I am ok, why does she have to be so far away? Don't they know we need each other?

"Why is she so far away?" I ask the nurse. She merely sighs and turns me into a room where my whole world crumbles to nothing in front of me. My Mom is lying, motionless on the bed. Machines and tubes and wires are all over her. I may be 10, but I can see that she is no longer there. The machines are what is keeping her alive. Why would the Moon Goddess allow this? She was supposed to care for all her children. If this was her idea of taking care of us, then the Moon Goddess was officially the worst mother ever. I found the strength to stand up, holding on to the rails of the bed. Her beautiful face still had some minor cuts and scratches, but she looked fine. I shake her "Momma, please wake up. I need you so much. I can't do this without you. I don't know where Daddy is. I can't lose both of you. I love you so much." I sat back down in the wheelchair and clung to her hand, begging for her and the Moon Goddess to do something. Suddenly, Moms whole body tensed up and starts convulsing, the monitors start screaming a warning. Nurses and doctors run in, pushing me out of the way. 

Then, like right out of a movie, a hear that excruciating sound...the flat-line note. 

I can't breathe, my vision blurs, and the only thing I can manage is to scream as I feel part of my soul shatter.

A week later we held their funeral. One larger casket to accommodate both their bodies. I was told that it was because they were 'mates,' meaning that their relationship was written by the Goddess herself. I know Momma died of a broken heart because Daddy died at the scene of the accident. I wasn't enough for her to try and survive. The day I buried them I also buried any hopes, dreams, or notions of every wanting or letting myself have that kind of love. I would NEVER leave my loved ones the way she left me.

It took Lin almost 3 months to get me to leave the room, and then another to leave the house. She was so patient and I could see that she was going to be a wonderful mother someday. Nothing like mine. Lin would put her children first. On one of the days we had left the house, we ran into someone who knew Renee. She looked at me and kneeled down to come face to face with me. "Oh my, you certainly are a beautiful girl. You have your father's eyes and smile, and your mother's nose, hair, and tiny fea-"

"I look NOTHING like Her!" I spat at the lady, "I am my daddy's child. I look just like him and you don't know what you are talking about!" and then I kicked her in her shin and ran away to hide in the teddy bear tower(a storage used in stores that is made of PVC pipes and bungee cords to keep toys within the confines of the PVC cage). Lin came to find me after about 30 minutes, clutching and sobbing into a giant stuffed panda.

"Ser, can I come in with you? I won't talk. I just want to be near you." I somehow muttered a yes and she climbed in and held me and the panda. She was true to her word and never spoke, she just held my small body and let me cry. I still have that panda to this day. It has held a lot of my tears and secrets over these ten years. I made sure that from that day forward, no one deserved my tears. I would only cry at home in my room with Sir Po the Brave (my name for the stuffed panda).

"Ser, are you going to be ok? You look like someone stole me? You know, how people say that someone sad looks like someone stole their best friend...come on. Nothing?" Lin looked at me expectantly.

"If someone tried to steal you, they would bring you back before they even made it to the hideout since your such an ass." I mutter with a smile. She laughs. "Okay, but try and have a good day. Maybe we can go out for pizza for dinner?" she asks hopefully.

"maybe. I will see you at 4:30 pm, ok?" 

"As you wish!" She yells as she drives away, quoting my favorite movie. 

I turn and make my way into the building thanking the heavens it was finally Friday. I walk in and greet Sgt. Blake and Uncle Ravi. 

"Serenity, may I speak with you in my office please?" Uncle Ravi called out before I got too far away. "Of course Chief, how may I help you? Is everything ok?" He steps aside and gestures for me to walk in first. We both have a seat and he smiles at me, but my stomach is a wreck.

"Is this about my performance? I can work harder. I know how important to get the information onto a digital syst-" Uncle Ravi held up his hand to stop me.

"Serenity, Mr. Stolivic is impressed with your work so much that he has decided to put you on the payroll at Halo Moon Incorporated. Your official title is Archive Specialist. He will be sending you to various places throughout town, and other Halo Moon businesses to do exactly what you are doing now...which is an amazing job. He would have liked to be here himself, but he had pressing matters at his home to deal with."

"Is his family ok?" I asked, concerned, but also trying to find out if there is a Mrs. Stolivic.

"Oh, nothing as serious as that. Just some personal matters that he had to attend to. So do you accept the employment offer? Did I mention it comes with a hiring bonus? Mr. Stolivic is so impressed with your work, he wanted to show his gratitude." I am completely floored. I was curious how I was going to pay rent and all my other bills while trying to finish my internship and then finding a job on top of that. "Wait! Is this still going to count towards my internship? I need that to graduate."

"Yes, this will still count towards your internship, now here is some paperwork you need to fill out. Standard new hire paperwork. Luckily, you filled most of the packet out when you were looking for your internship, so you have three pages to read and sign," he shows me what pages need my attention, and then hands me an envelope,"ok. We are all set here. Congratulations on your new job, and I hope you enjoy your weekend."

"I will make sure to do something fun, Uncle Ravi...I mean Chief." I chuckle at my mistake.

"Good! You deserve some fun. All I ask is that you make sure to stay close to Lin until you get to know the area better. I know that this is an island, but those woods can be awfully deceiving. People get lost, and I really don't want to have to explain to our local Search and Rescue how the Chiefs niece got lost." He looks at me with a fatherly tone.

I hold my fingers up in the Girl Scouts hand sign and promise to be good and not get lost. 

After our discussion, I head to the elevator. Once inside, I open the envelope and lose my breath at the amount of the bonus. I immediately text Lin and tell her 'gurl, we are going celebrating after work. Have I got news for you!"