Mona munched on her bread patty while staring at the wall like someone glued her eyes open. Her foot shook as she restrained herself with sweat dripping down her face. She stared at the wall. Her feet kicked as she was determined to distract her mind away from the lighter rattling in her pocket. But her hands tingled and twitched as a deep, burning desire filled her to take one quick stiff.

Maybe one little puff wouldn't hurt.

Her fingers danced together as she breathed in more heavily. Her tightened chest heaved with her legs crossing one another repeatedly. Her deep mumbling revealed her distress to keep her hands from traveling down her pockets.

It would only be a little one... then I'll restart tomorrow.

Her hand began travelling down her grassy top like a lizard. Each one step closer made her heart beat with disturbance.

Just one... just one...

Right now, that's all her mind could think about. It was like she was in a trance and that she was a fly being drawn towards light, like it was the only thing in her mind and it's what she needed.

She grabbed the lighter and was about to pull out a cigarette when Rina came pattering over with her little feet.

"Mommy," she spoke quietly and fiddled with the straps of her overalls. "Can I have burgers for my friends..."

"Sure you can honey." Mona pushed the plate towards her and she stuffed one inside her cheeks like a chipmunk, with the rest going into her arms. She ran off to the other side of the room, and Mona watched her with a smile and put her lighter back. If giving that up meant that she could continue seeing the smiles on her children's faces then that's all it took for her.

Her quiet moment didn't last long when Electra came walking up to her, making an irritated sigh leave her mouth.

"Hey Mona, why did you have to go after Pamela's family like that?" Electra asked in the most sweetest tone. "I mean, I thought it was a pretty cool idea but it seemed a bit too mean."

Mona shrugged and didn't look at her. "Meh, she'll get over it. I got over Xavier's death just fine."

"Really Mona? Did you really get over it?" Electra looked down at her with a tight smirk, and her hands on her hips like a witch.

"Electra, out of all the people in this world, you have no right to judge me," Mona said and brushed a strand away from her face. "Xavier told me all that you did to try and destroy Mariana's relationship and its just as bad."

"I know but I feel like your slightly worse than me."

"I know." Mona smiled wickedly at her. She placed her feet, that were on table with a satisfactory stamp. "That's how I got the job done well and not take ages like you did." She dragged out her words like it was a finger pointing at Electra.

Electra clenched her teeth and her body froze at the obvious and embarrassing indirect. "It's not my fault it took so long, Mariana is practically glued to Micah."

"Yeah I know." Mona smirked. There was a drop of amusement that dripped at the end of her sentence. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for that one, she does seem pretty clingy." She started picking the dirt under her nails and then glanced over at Raidan and Axel, who stood near a window.

"It is cute though." Mona chuckled quietly to herself while she continued to look at her son who had something in his hand.

"So you press this button to take a picture," Raidan said as he showed Axel his polaroid camera. He pushed up his blue glasses up the ridge of his nose and sniffed harshly. Axel tiptoed but wobbled unsteadily because of his bleeding knees under his pants.

Raidan lowered it so he could see better, but Axel struggled keeping his blood-shot eyes open as he kept blinking because of the constant water build-up. He rubbed them while whining because the bruises around pained every time he pressed on them.

"Do you wanna have a go?"

"O—Okay," Axel muttered and he took the camera. He fiddled with and started pressing everywhere except the right button.

"It's this one," Raidan said and pressed the button. The camera snapped and then a blank picture slowly rolled out. He took it, and Axel kept looking over to see.

"There you go." Raidan gave it to him, and Axel held it in his hand.

"Why no image?" Axel pouted and started sulking.

"We need to wait for it to appear." He took it and then rushed to the counter to place it down. Axel went after it but kept limping, so Raidan went and picked him up.

Mona chuckled and then picked up another burger. "Anyway, what's done is done, and there's nothing we can do to change that." She took a bite.

Electra smirked and sat down. "You know, if I never knew you, I would never think you're capable of something like this because you don't seem like it."

"Well, I wasn't always like this. Like I told you before, I was quite shy as a teenager and didn't know how to talk to others as my dad home-schooled me. So the first time I was around others was when I started middle school when we moved to the US."

"So I didn't really know to talk to others. And when I got picked one time, Xavier helped me stand up for myself, and that's why I don't really have any remorse when I hurt people."

"Obviously Xavier helped you," Electra said while rolling her eyes. Her head also circulated and ended it with a smirk.

"Yep. He told me what I should do so the next day, I went to the person, and punched and stomped on their face. Then I ripped a tooth out so there was a hole in her mouth," she said with fiery in her voice. Electra kept her jaw from dropping as she gulped out of here.

"Then I kneaded the person in the stomach, and she just started crying around in pain like a baby," Mona said, with a mocking undertone coming out of her twisted smile.

"Dang that must've really hurt," Electra said but covered her mouth as she tried not to laugh.

"It did. I made sure of it," Mona said with her straight face. She got up because she wanted to rest for a while. Besides, a headache was creeping at the back and her limbs felt weak.

She made her way over to the couch while coughing out excessively. Her throat dried and burned with each scratchy cough. She curled up and made herself comfortable on the couch. The last thing she saw was the wooden carvings across the ceiling, rippling in her eyes. She smiled when hearing raindrops pattering outside against a window like a distant echo in her ears and the small fire cracks of a fireplace from long ago.

She was sat on a table while Xavier was helping her do her Math homework. There was a small lamp in the corner. The veiled sun lit up the wall behind with a hazy glow. It gazed onto their warm cheeks and made them feel cozy.

"Thanks for helping me tonight, I wasn't sure what to do," Mona said as she wrote down the answers. The toasty flames of the fireplace sizzled in the background, making her feel safe.

"No problem. As I said, you can always come to me if you need help." Xavier smiled in his gown. He sat in his grand chair and joined his grubby, thick and hairy hands together. He was like an enormous bear statue while she looked tiny.

Mona grinned and leaned back into the chair. She kicked her legs comfortably while writing more numbers before taking a break. She grabbed a cup and drank the soup that Xavier had poured into it.

"Mhm, this is so yummy," she said and as the thick liquid coated her insides with warmth.

"Thanks Xavier," she mumbled before taking another sip.

"I'm glad you like it buttercup." Xavier smiled with a small spark of mischief in his blue eyes.

Mona placed her cup down and wiped her mouth. She looked at her homework and then her mood suddenly changed into a sullen one.

"Actually, something happened to me at school today, can I talk to you about it?"

"Sure darling," Xavier said and leaned onto his rumbling beer belly over the table. "What's wrong?"

"Well there's this person that I've been friends with but she's not really that nice," Mona explained while fiddling with her pen." Sometimes she makes fun of the gap in my teeth, she makes fun of my accent, and today she told me to roll up my skirt. I didn't want to, but she kept bugging me so I just did it but I felt so uncomfortable afterwards."

"I'm sorry you went through that buttercup. Peer pressure can be really dangerous; but those that make fun of your appearance and force you to do things you don't want to are not your real friends."

"I know! But I don't have any other friends," she exclaimed out in frustration. Her head then sunk into the pillow of her arms. "And I don't wanna be alone."

"I know its hard. But you will feel a lot better if you leave her, and besides, you can always come to me after school to hang out."

"Yeah... I could do that," Mona muffled into her arms while thinking.

"So tomorrow, next time you see your little friend you give her a piece of your mind. Don't show any mercy, because people like that don't deserve any." He winked and nudged her. She started laughing as did he and went back to writing.

"I guess so." Her laugh died into a small chuckle. "Thanks for your help."

"It's okay honey. If you want, you can sleep over tonight and I can drop you off for good luck."

"Alright!"

"Good girl, do you need a hug for extra reassurance?"

"Um sure." Mona got up and skipped towards him with her cheery face. She climbed onto his knees, so she could reach. She placed her hands on his shoulders tightly to balance herself and hugged him tightly.

Mona smiled while daydreaming, but it stained her with bitterness and anger that made her body burn with fury.