Chapter Two: Regrets.

She was all drenched by the rain by the time she got home. The pain in her chest that still felt like it was squeezing tightly, numbing the one from her feet that had been walking for an hour in the rain.

"Now she stood in front of that same house, the first home she'd ever known until she walked out of it like it was nothing, just a few months ago. She realize now that it had been a bad decision, the worst she had made all her life, no doubt. How would she face her uncle now that she was proof that all those words he'd said were no lie. Coming back home after going to live with a man after the first date, carrying his child, how depreciating"

-A Few Months Ago-

It was quite obvious that she and the guy, Liam had hit it off, at least at the last few seconds of their first meeting. She was a bit giddy when they spoke again after school, thankfully biting back an overly excited 'Yes' when he'd asked if he could see her outside of the school setting the next day, being a weekend.

She was excited to say the least, trying not to get too ahead of herself, but it was her first 'kind of a date'. They'd agreed to meet at a diner, Suga's, which was just a few blocks away from school and she knew it wasn't that big of a deal, but she still wanted to look her best, Liam was handsome, and he had a nice smile, it was safe to say she developed a crush in a small space of time, blame it on how good he was with words, making her blush with every compliment he sneaked in their conversation and the amount of attention he'd given in that small period of time, different than the predatory, uncomfortable one she'd been used to getting.

Checking herself out in the full length mirror, she nodded at how she looked, after three hours of rummaging through her wardrobe and almost screaming about having nothing to wear, she was finally satisfied with the ripped jeans she had on, paired with a white body suit and a jean jacket pulled over it, the black Vans on her feet finishing the look. She looked at herself from every possible angle, admiring her choice of dressing before she heard the loud voice from downstairs that had a frown etching unto her face.

"Divine! Divine, where are you" she heard the voice call, before it muttered in a not very low voice, "is she even at home at all"

She allowed him call her a few more times, cursing under her breath that he was home before she was replying loudly.

"I'm here!" She replied, rushing out of her room and skipping a few stairs as she hurried down to where he was stood.

She probably should've expected the look on his face when he finally caught sight of her, scanning her from head to toe before speaking. "What are you wearing"

"It's just some clothes. I have to go meet a- a friend" she stuttered, never being a good liar.

"Oh? So you've grown wings now, is that it?" He said with a brow raised, "You think you can now leave this house in broad daylight to go be a wh*re, huh? Like your pr*stit*te of a mother?" He chewed out, pulling hard at the jacket she wore, the action pulling her towards the man but he was quick to push her backwards. She blinked at his harsh words, pulling the jacket over her shoulder again.

"Uncle, I am no whore….and don't talk about my mother like that. I just want to go meet with my friends" She defended but that only seemed to anger him more, the ringing in her ear that followed her words, a clear proof of his anger.

"You think you can talk back to me now, you little sl*t!?" he barked as she held unto her cheek that now stung, tears brimming in her eyes.

"F*ck you!" She finally yelled out, the suppressed anger finally seeping through the seams as she glared at her uncle who looked taken aback at the outburst. "Seriously, fuck you! And your wife and everything that makes you think it's okay to treat me this way when you're staying in my father's house and living off his wealth ! What exactly have I done to be treated this way! Was it my fault that I lost my parents? Why do you hate me so much! Everyday I've had to spend living with you has been one kind of torture or another! I hate it here and I refuse to keep living like this" She cried, not at all expecting a reply as she turned back around, still holding unto her cheek as she ran back upstairs.

She got back to her room, the heap of clothes on the bed making it easy for her as she grabbed a carry on and stuffed an array of randomly selected clothes in it, tears streaming down her face.

When she walked back down, the older man was still rooted in his spot, right where she'd left him, the surprise morphing into newly found anger when he saw the bag she was holding as she walked past him and made her way to the door.

"If you go through that door, I want you to know that you're never to come back to his house" He gritted out and she chuckled bitterly.

"Like I said earlier, I've had enough. I am eighteen now and I graduate high school soon, I should be able to live my life the way I want. I'd rather live under a bridge then continue to put up with this" She ended, slamming the door after her as she finally walked out of the house.

It was now 20 minutes past the time they'd agreed to meet, and yes, Divine had thought about just not showing up as she probably looked a mess right now and couldn't go to him with that bag. After walking aimlessly for a bit though, she decided against it. Liam had done nothing to be stood up and she could use some positive interaction right now, so with a final nod of determination, she fixed her face and started the march toward the diner.

When she got there, she peaked into the place, easily finding Liam, sitting alone in the not very crowded diner, looking around uneasily every once in a while. 'What a gentleman' she thought to herself, before finding a place to hide her bag, somewhere next to the trash cans.

"Hi" She said, Liam immediately turning around with wide eyes, before she walked in front of him and took her seat.

"Oh, Hey, I thought you weren't gonna come and I got stood up" He immediately joked lightheartedly and she forced a smile.

"I'm sorry for wasting your time, I had a prior engagement that took a bit more time than I'd expected" she lies and he nodded in understanding.

"That's fine, you're here now." He picked the menu off the table, looking up at her again. "Anything you'd like?"

"I'm not picky" she replied with a smile and he hummed.

"Most people would say their favorite foods, but I guess you don't have one" He said and that seemed to make her think, she'd never really liked any food to the point of tagging it a favourite. She just ate whatever she could get. She eats to survive.

By the time she snapped out of her thoughts, the waiter she hadn't realized he had hailed was walking back to get their orders.

They fell into a light hearted conversation afterwards, the waiter walked back into with two burgers and cokes and they ate between Liam sharing funny stories and Divine's laughter filling the air. He was easy to talk to, proving to be good company, if the way she'd lost track of time was anything to go by.

"Woah, it's dark already?" Liam said, his palms rubbing up his thighs as he looked out the window, her eyes widening as she followed his line of sight.

"What time is it?" She asked and he raised his wrist to his face.

"Uhhhh….. six thirty" he read and she was almost jumping out of her seat.

"I have to go!" She hurriedly stood up, Liam getting on his feet in alert too.

"Hey, calm down, why are you in such a hurry? I can drop you home if you'd like" He offered and in that moment, it felt like she'd been doused in cold water, the realisation washing over her.

"I- I don't have a home to go back to" She muttered and his eyes widened.

"Huh?" He asked and her eyes were already filling with tears when she spoke.

"I rebelled against my uncle and well, I can't go back home anymore" she sniffed and Liam stepped closer to her, his eyes widening.

"Oh? You can stay with me then!" He suggested, clearing his throat when his excitement seemed too evident. "I mean, it's not a big house, but you can get the bedroom and I can sleep in the living room, how's that?"

She couldn't believe what she was hearing, yes, she was rather impulsive when she left home with nothing at all planned, but this was all too sudden.

"What? No I can't do that, I- I just met you" She reasoned and he shook his head.

"I promise no harm will come to you, I'm not a creep" He said and she panicked, thinking he got the wrong idea.

"No I don't mean that, I don't want to be an added burden to you or inconvenience you in any way, we're still strangers to some extent" she said and he dramatically held unto his chest.

"You hurt me with your words, Dee, you're no longer a stranger to me, I promise you won't be a burden"

They went back and forth for a few more minutes and Liam was so convincing, that at the end of the day, she found herself being ushered into his car as he tossed her bag to the back seat, rounding the car to get into the driver's side.

Relaxing into the comfy seat, Divine thought to herself, 'what's the worst that could happen' it's not like she hadn't been through a whole lot in her few years of life already.

".."

Little did she know that the worst was yet to come,Liam the perfect man, with everything good.

he was a sweet talker to say the least, everything he says just made sense at that time, I could have seen the red flags but I choose to be blinded by my feelings, these feelings that I thought were real, was all a mirage and here I am going back to the very place I would never go back to.