Chapter 534: Regret & Sorrow
Mina could not open her eyes and she could not move because she was strapped down to whatever surface she was laying on. She could make out the sounds of beeping, and the shouts of Luna Lee. The woman was screaming for someone to find out what happened to her brother, and Mina's stomach flipped; she had missed.
Mina did not mean to shoot President Lee. She hated the man, but she had tried to kill him by pushing him into a rusted and sharp pipe, and he responded by pulling her into safety and wrapping her leg. There was panic in his eyes that told her that he was not the one who planned for her to be shot, and thinking about her loved ones, she let go of her hatred.
When Mina pulled the trigger, she was doing so with the knowledge that she would die, and her last act would have been to save President Lee. She had hoped that the man would be grateful enough to let her family and friends be, but she had missed. Regret and sorrow tormented Mina as darkness took her again.
----
Mina stared at her reflection. She smiled at how gorgeous she looked and Sadie kissed her cheeks, telling her that she was the second prettiest girl in the world. Mina laughed at her sister, knowing that Sadie believed she was the prettiest girl in the world, it was just that not everyone could see it. She smoothed the fabric of the dress, admiring herself. She had worn the dress in the past, but it never fit so perfectly. The red fabric hugged her chest and flowed out like an upside-down teacup. The black shoes she had on her feet were a gift from Troy, and she loved the way they went with everything she wore.
Mina followed her sister out of the room, they were going to a dance at school, and it was the first time Mina wanted to go. She had become less awkward and had made 'friends' with many of the people she tutored or did homework for. Sadie was always popular, but she was extra excited because this year she had a date, and she wanted to show Troy off to the whole school.
The girls stepped into the kitchen, expecting praise, but got exactly the opposite. Mina heard her mother's words, and she looked down at herself. Their father soon joined them in the kitchen, and while he was normally the more lenient parent, he became someone else. He grabbed Mina by the arm and dragged her back to her room, locking the door behind him. Mina could hear Sadie talking, but her father was silent.
Later that night, Mina heard Sadie return. She heard her sister lean against her door and tell her about all the things the school changed about the dance. Mina found herself imagining the event, and she asked her sister if she had fun. Sadie of course denied it, telling her that it was mostly boring without her weird sister to spice things up.
Mina laughed too loudly, and both girls scrambled to their feet as they heard someone approaching. Her door was opened and without words, her father went straight into her closet and pulled everything out, giving it to Sadie to take to her room.
"Daddy?" Mina questioned. "Are you sending me away?" Her father looked at her, and for just a second his gaze softened.
"You have outgrown your clothing. Your mother is giving you her old things." Mina glanced at Sadie, whose eyes were narrowed at their father. She only forced out a smile when she realized that she had been caught.
That evening, Mina's mother entered her room, and sat next to her in the bed, pulling her into a warm hug that Mina loved to get because they were so rare. She explained to her daughter that she was drawing negative attention to herself by dressing in fitted clothing. Mina tried to explain that she had no other dresses, but her mother warned her that it was not an excuse.
"Anyway, Sadie's friends are older, and you shouldn't associate yourself with boys." Mina's brow furrowed, the only 'boys' she associated with outside of school were Troy and Ren. Seeing her daughter's confusion, Anne lied. "Your father and I heard that some boys in town were planning to do something bad to you tonight. We should have told you sooner, but you normally never want to go to the dance." Mina shuddered and hugged her mother tightly.
"I didn't know," she whispered.
"I know, that is why you have to stay away from men and boys, and no fitted clothing in the future," Mina nodded and was rewarded with yet another rare gift; a kiss. She settled into her bed and closed her eyes.
----
Mina was sitting in a grass field, she had a ton of work to get done, but her sister insisted that she got out of the house. Since her parents had placed the fear of men into her, Mina had been staying home and had dropped nearly all her male tutoring clients. She still needed the money, so when she was not entertaining children and families at the Yuliana resort, she was doing homework for those too lazy to do it.
Ren was sitting beside her, and he sighed loudly. Mina looked up at the man, her face morphing in pity. She opened her bag and pulled out the food she had cooked, it was meant for her, but Ren loved her cooking just as much as her sister did. She cleared her throat and handed it to the man flashing him a warm smile.
"You really are the nicest girl in the world," he said, making Mina blush. She went back to work and the man sighed again. She followed his gaze and saw Sadie and Troy locked in a kiss.
"Sorry Ren," Mina said, and the man chuckled.
"You say that so often that people are going to think it's my name." Mina giggled as she kept repeating 'sorry Ren,' omitting the space in between until she got bored. Ren shook his head at her, taking a spoonful of what she had given him to eat before looking back up at her in surprise. "Does Sadie know how to cook like this?" he asked, and Mina shook her head.
"So-Ren, Sadie doesn't cook." The man snorted at what Mina had done with his name.
"I like that name. It's like a mix of my name and Sadie's." Mina stiffened and stared up at the man, sensing the trouble that her parents often warned her came with boys. She wondered why they had not given Sadie the same talks, and she felt herself become uncomfortable. "I don't know what she sees in him. You two don't know, but he is the weakest in our family."
"What does your family do?" Mina asked innocently. She knew that Ren and Troy came from money, it was apparent in the way they vacationed, but she did not know where the money came from.
"Can you keep a secret?" Ren asked, making Mina nod her head. "They kill people." She chuckled, going back to her work, unable to detect the seriousness in Ren's words.
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Mina was at work when her mother's friend rushed into the room screaming, all she heard was, bridge, Sadie, car. She did not even wait as she hopped on a bike and pedaled away as quickly as she could. Mina pushed through the gathered crowd ignoring the stares she was getting. She saw an officer talking to her parents, holding a car tag in his hands. She clasped her hands over her mouth when she heard the man say they would have to leave the bodies in the water until spring. She ran to her parents, hoping that it was not true, hoping that they would ease her pain and worry, but instead, her mother could only ask why she was not with her sister.