CHAPTER THREE

Sun tanned kisses hit my skin and the sun beam lit up my room. I felt so weak but I couldn't lay idly on my bed all day so I gave myself a mental countdown from three and shot my eyes open thereafter. Posters on my grey wall caught my eye and I realized I was already home back in my room. Flashbacks of my conversation with Lilith and Lucerne replayed in my head like a long movie on speed mode. Was it real? Or just another one of my mental scenes. I pushed my blanket aside and holy cow, I was nude. The transparent potion Lilith had poured already dried and it had formed a mark like an extra-long tear strain. The scar was still there which meant one thing everything was real? Well, yeah but also, I wasn't psychotic. I could see people from downworld both dead and alive which explains why I sometimes see mum and I was able to see Lilith and the other guy. I paced from side to side connecting the invisible dots of my life. Blake crept to the surface chuckling

"Babe, I never thought this day will come"

"Neither did I. The twins summoned her, she didn't really figure anything out" Cole added. Kerim literally crept to the surface, a hint of rage in her voice

"One, she figured out she isn't psychotic and two you two should let her think in peace"

"And two, you two" Cole said chuckling. Kerim let out a groan whilst Nadir crept to the surface

"Jo, we only have thirty minutes or we're late"

School, I totally forgot. I rushed into the bathroom and after a five second shower, I dressed in whatever my hand touched first. Twenty minutes. I packed a few slices of toast into my bag before running to school since I'd misplaced my bike keys.

My sneakers made a screeching sound as I stopped in front of the school building. As if on cue, the bell rung and history being my first class I walked in settling at the front corner near the wall. Cedric walked in and tossed me one of his charming smile but I just looked away. He'd charmed me since I walked into the school two years ago and then a new girl showed up and the asshole completely forgot about me. My hair kept getting in my face since I hadn't really packed it well earlier today but I was quite thankful I didn't have to see the douches handsome face. I bit my bottom lip in order to reprimand myself and put my hair behind my ear. I expected it to fall but it felt so secured in a sort of low ponytail. Weird huh?

"Thank me later" he said and I turned to the wall resting my head on the cold surface. A man walked in. He had thick lurks of dark brown hair alongside rich brown skin. His hazel eyes were captivating and his dressing style looked so simple yet unique.

"I'll be your sub teacher for this class as Mr. Velandisquiez had an emergency back in his home town. I'm Dan-tae, Nick Dan-tae. We'll go right into the presentation and since I don't have the groups, I'll pair randomly according to this name list." This man is mad, he's a psycho." I bit my bottom lip until my blood rested on my dry tongue moistening it. Poor lip. I can't count the number of times I've bitten it. Groans escaped from the mouths of nearly four dozens of students, a.k.a untamed brats. I dozed off nearly the whole time until I was drawn to reality at the mention of my name

"Juno Black and Cedric Rodrigo" Collective gasps and murmurs erupted from the mouth of the brats. Unfortunately, my mouth betrayed me and I let out one. I walked to the front my history book in my trembling hands and my heart in Cedric's.

Breathe in

Hold

Breathe out.

I repeated this routine and opened my mouth to speak but only a low screech was let out

"Cat got your tongue dear Joey?" Savannah asked sarcastically as the class erupted in laughter to which I merely rolled my eyes. As if my non chalant attitude hurt her, she proceeded to say

"Or you were busy screaming someone's name last night your throats unsurprisingly became sore and you lost your voice" She stated with a dull sweetness and a wicked grin. An eerie silence fell over us and after clenching and unclenching my fists, I did something they all doubted I could do for one year. I spoke.

"I am Juno Black and my partner here is Cedric Rodrigo. We stand before you here in respect to the history assignment we were given. I'll speak on the Greek goddess of depression, Oizys and he'll speak on-"

"Poseidon" I smirked and went on.

"Well, not to be rude but many I've ignorantly limited their research to the popular Greek and roman gods, mostly Zeus, Hades, Athene, Hera, and lastly Aphrodite and I see our dear sub teacher, Mr. Nick is quite bored. However, I bring to you Oizys, a goddess who is recognized as Miseria by the romans and Oizys by the Greek. She is the goddess of misery, grief, anxiety, misfortune and depression. Oizys is the daughter of the goddess Nyx and the twin of Momus according to Hesiod. But Cicero, a roman writer claims that Oizys and Momus were fathered by Erebus." My throat became itchy from too much talking but I needed to pass. So after a deep breathe, I went on "Her other sisters included Philotes and Nemesis and her twin brothers, Somnia and Mors according to Pseudo- Hyugnis. The siblings of Oizys were all death spirits, she can be associated with Nyx, Nemesis, Apate and Geras. This is however only a brief of my project and if you're curious or you wish to add something to your IQ dear Cassy you can go through the written work." I'll leave it with Mr. Nick. I concluded while Cedric said his brief presentation and then the bell went. I packed my books hurriedly. My throat was itchy, the air was so toxic I could hardly breathe and the hairs on my neck were upright and while Cedric was presenting I was too tense to even listen so I had zoned out.

"Hold on Black." Nick said and I rolled my eye turning back. The whole class was empty except for Nick, Cedric and I who was probably trying to start small conversation after class. Even if I did want to shove my selective mutism aside, he had hurt me, not once or twice but a million times, broke me into several pieces, literally took control of my life by bringing Charlotte in and pushed me away leaving me staring at my burning ruins so no matter what, I couldn't even get along with this guy. I nodded my head towards Nick as he commended my presentation both the oral and written aspect. Well, the mental anguish worth it.

"Jo" a voice begun and I blamed myself for being subject to that voice, for not being able to shut it, for still hoping to hear those two letters from his lips. I turned back slowly, my heart beating so fast it was hard to decipher if it was the aftermath of speaking or the side effect of his presence. Sometimes though, I did want to rip the damn heart out of my chest.

"Do you have time after school?" I clutched the hem of my shirt surging all my emotions into the shirt to which it reacted with a crumpled appearance. Poor shirt. Trembling slightly, I picked the nearest paper and pen then wrote

"Everyone has time after school. Duh!" He simply sighed and wrote something on the paper tossing it to the side table before walking away. For a moment, I stared at his retreating figure before scurrying towards the table in curiosity. Nothing more than that, I guess. My eyes nearly popped out at the douches response.

"You make it so hard. You caused problems, went mute, suddenly spoke, went mute again and avoided me. If you're mental, I know a doctor. Here's my number so contact me if I should book a session for you." My morale where was it, where was the once confident girl? In her grave? I'd promised myself not to cry but did Cedric really have to be such an asshole?

The day went by as it normally would, uneventful. Boring and tiring. I received a text from my dad telling me to come to a nearby café after school so I walked right there after completing my assignments in the library. Opening the door, cool air hit my skin which calmed my nerves surprisingly. I made my way to the back of the café sitting on a table when dad entered with two people, a teen and a young woman. I would have waved but he spotted me immediately so I just sat there while he went to place an order on the counter before making his way towards me. Once they sat, I waved my hands towards them, a friendly and casual wave. The teen smiled, well smirked his eyes scanning my body in a pervert manner while the other lady smiled. Dad just sat putting his glasses on the round table.

"So, Juno how are you doing?" I grabbed my phone and texted.

"I'm fine. Do you mind introducing this people anytime soon?" He raised an eyebrow up and I did the same. I'd done a lot of talking for a day which should have helped boost my emotional and mental wellbeing but I got insulted for it so why should I talk? Dad cleared his throat to get attention which he no doubt got.

"Juno, say hello to Mandy and her son, Roman." I waved once again with a smile my eyes scanning the people sitting opposite. Mandy had well moisturized blonde hair with its end curly. Her eyes were light blue and her skin was pale. She was beautiful but nothing about her fascinated me so I merely directed gaze to Roman. He had messy blonde hair, pink lips and darker blue eyes. His shirt hugged his body quite well and after a few seconds, my gaze lingered to dad for more information about these people and after a slight nod, he added. "This lady Mandy is your new step mum and Roman is her son. She's a great cook so I'm certain you'll love her. And Roman will be great company." I smiled but it was hard to. Dad was replacing mum because he was certain I'll like the new replacement. The table was filled with dirty chatter of Mandy and dad confessing their love to each other which pissed me off and I was glad when Ro asked dad if we could go on a walk like siblings bonding.

"We didn't even get to drink our coffee" Ro stated with a slight chuckle which I returned. We walked in silence for a few minutes until he decided to speak, letting out his deep voice. "So tell me about yourself" I mentally rolled my eyes at this statement and grabbed his phone from his pocket. He seemed shocked at first but I ignored him and input my number.

R: hey Juno

J: It's Jo. So in response to your question, I'm a girl who likes writing, reading and singing. Call me a nerd, I don't give a f

R: Lol. I play guitar, video games and I'm a little bit of a bad boy buh don't tell mum that

J: Sure. So since when has Mandy and dad been you know?

R: Three months. But why are we texting not talking?

I knew he'd ask but I didn't really want to talk about it so after a sigh I typed in caps

J: SELECTIVE MUTISM

He merely nodded and we both stayed quiet till we reached home. Surprisingly, dad was home which was so unusual but I decided not to say anything and made my way upstairs to my room. I could smell pasta and fried chicken but I wasn't hungry. I wasn't comfortable with Mandy yet and even though I'd chatted Roman and we'd learned a few things about each other, I still felt something wasn't right. Like dad was effortlessly replacing mum and accepting them makes me part of the whole process. I let out frequent troubled sighs before opening my drawer and staring at mum's picture. She looked so happy, like the angel she is. Her eyes radiated great joy and her aura was glorious. Her blonde hair was packed in a high ponytail with its tip in perfect curls. Mandy was blonde too which made her more of a replacement but I was brunettepp0. I let out a troubled sigh looking at the pic.

"Mum, dad found a new wife. Her name is Mandy. She's blonde and dad says she's a great cook. She also seems quite nice but all this doesn't seem right. It seems like dad is replacing you." After a few minutes of random yet weighty phrases, I wiped my face and changed to my pjs as Mandy set a table for four. Dad had this grin on his face all this while and I really wanted to slap it off maybe the slap will put some sense into him instead. I clenched my fists under the table as we ate in silence until dad had to use his strong deep voice to break it.

"Juno, we're moving to a much bigger apartment in a week. That's great right?" I smiled the widest yet probably the fakest smile my little lips could produce and my insensitive dad seemed to be satisfied by the result so I bowed my head and ate so fast while he chatted with Mandy about something.

I got up from the table and washed my plate before bowing to Mandy as a thanks while she spoke to dad. I doubt she even noticed. I made my way up the stairs hitting the bed and falling asleep almost immediately.