Kapitel 26: Freedom!

"No daughter of mine is going to therapy."

We all turned our heads to the uninvited guest in the room. I watched with numbed horror as my mother set her bag down on the nearest chair to her. She is all dressed up. She doesn't look different, with no sign of remorse or anything.

"You have some nerve coming here, Leah!" Levi spat in anger as he stood protectively in front of me. A prickling sensation shot up my spine when her icy grey eyes settled on my face.

"I'm her mother. Of course, I'll be here." She exclaimed, her eyes not leaving mine. I could feel my hands shake and beads of sweat trickling from my forehead. Suddenly, a large pair of hands enveloped mine, sending a wave of relief all over my body. I looked up at Aiden, whose expression held indifference except for his clenched jaw as he stared at the woman I call my mother.

Levi let out a dry laugh as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You call yourself a mother? You have some audacity to come here a day after you put her in the hospital and claim she's your daughter."

"Don't you dare, Levi. Don't you act like you are her father or like you know anything about the bond I share with her. You're nothing but a substitute father to her. She will always love her father and not you." My eyes become moist as I hold back my tears. I can't believe I have such a heartless person as my mother. I couldn't see Levi's expression, but I could tell his shoulders were tense.

"I may not be her parent, but I think I've been more of a parent to her than you have ever been." Her nose flared as she clenched her fists at her sides. She turned to the doctor, who has been watching the situation with interest.

"I want you to discharge my daughter. We are leaving."

"Never! I'm not letting you take her anywhere." Levi insisted. Aiden slowly ran his thumb on my fingers, trying to calm me down. But I am nowhere near calm. I can't be alone with this woman.

"What the hell is your problem, Levi? She is my daughter. Mine. You have no say in this, and I'm taking her with me." I felt a sudden stab of terror in my gut as I tried to imagine how life with her will destroy me. My eyes glistened with tears as I began shaking my head frantically.

"No, please! Don't make me go with her. Please." I said, my voice shrill with horror. Aiden wrapped his arm around me, trying to calm me down. She turned to me, her eyes softening a little when she saw the tears on my face.

"Athena, honey! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. I hope you know that I didn't mean it." She cooed as she tried to touch my hair. I recoiled from her touch, moving closer to Aiden. "Honey! We will be going to Paris. You remember you always wanted to go there when you were 8. We can go there together now."

That was when I thought you were sane, I thought to myself. I shook my head again as I hid my face at Aiden's side. She tugged on the roots of her hair in frustration.

"Okay! Maybe you're taking all of this too far, Athena. I said everything out of anger. I didn't mean it."

"No, you meant it. Y- You said you w- wanted me dead." Aiden's arm seemed to tighten around me after I said that.

"I am sorry. But..."

"Enough." Levi's voice boomed around the room, making me jump a little. He turned to my mother. "I think you have to go now, Leah. Go wherever you want. When you put your shit together, you can come back. But for now, leave."

"She's my daughter. I have to..."

"Enough with the 'she's my daughter' bullshit. Leave before I am forced to call the cops. Let's not make this a legal issue cause I think you know who will win the case."

"I'm her biological mother. No judge will give my daughter to you." She scoffed and folded her arms to her chest as if to reassure herself.

"You sure about that? Cause all you do is abuse and take advantage of her." Levi exclaimed. "I may not be her biological father, but I will fight tooth and nail to protect her. Now, leave."

She looked expectantly at me as if asking me to say something to defend her. There's only so much I can endure. I need to start living for me, and as long as she's right here, that is not going to happen. She scoffed in disbelief before leaving the room.

I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. Levi turned to me with a small smile on his face. He's the only one that knows how badly I needed this. I jumped in his arms, sobbing silently in his chest.

"Thank you!"

"Of course. I'll always protect you." He whispered into my hair. I nodded before laying down on my bed. My eyes found Aiden, who was already staring at me.

"I know what you're thinking. But it's not your fault." He nodded, squeezing my hand. The doctor cleared his throat, making us turn to him.

"I'm sorry to intrude, but I think that woman is psychologically unstable. And don't get me wrong, but I think she needs help." I turned to Levi in confusion, but he only smiled.

"I'll go get some food. You make sure you get some rest, okay?" I nodded as I snuggled into the pillow, letting out a breath of relief. He turned to the doctor, tilting his head towards the door as if telling him to come out.

I didn't know I was this tired until I closed my eyes. I tried to push what the doctor said to the back of my mind. I don't want to care anymore. I just want to enjoy my new found freedom, I thought to myself as sleep found me minutes later.

**_**_**

Ari stared at me like I've suddenly grown two heads. She must've thought I had gone crazy. Sometimes, I feel like I have.

"You are the weirdest, stupidest, most moronic person I have ever let myself be friends with." She sighed heavily after a long pause, with a look on her face that told me that she'd had enough of my idiotic tendencies. I couldn't blame her for that.

I replied with an eye roll, stuffing my face with the donuts Levi got me. It's so refreshing to eat all the junks I want without my mother on my neck. "Come on. You just can't admit how brilliantly genius of a best friend I am."

"There's nothing genius in this!" She exclaimed. I laughed as I watched her run her hands through her hair in frustration. She came in an hour ago with Ash after Levi told them I was at the hospital.

After telling them what happened and assuring them that I'm fine, they were relieved, mostly because my mom is out of the picture for now. Ari's phone had been blowing up with notifications, making me remember that I had to ask her who she was always texting. Right now, Ari is telling me of her undying crush on Nolan Reed. And me being the best friend I am, gave her the best plan to win him over.

"Come on, Thea! I just honestly cannot see the logic in your 'genius plan'. Ash, help me out here." She glanced at Ash, who is sat at the corner of the room.

"They finally noticed me." He threw his hands in the air as he came closer to us. "Okay, one! Thea. That is a shitty plan. Why would you ask her to talk to Aiden?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Sounds right to me. Aiden is the only one that knows his best friend." Ash rolled his eyes before looking back at Ari.

"When did you even start liking a boy, and we didn't know?" Ash asked.

"Well, I didn't think much of it before. It was just an 'oh, that guy looks cute' kind of thing. Then after I saw him with Aiden beside Thea's locker and hearing him talk, I guess I actually like him. Then, I went from thinking about him to stalking his social platforms."

"Girl, you're going to make me throw up." I gagged.

"Yeah, me too." Ari rolled her eyes as she scrolled through her phone. She giggled as she scrolled through. Ash and I looked at each other before looking back at her.

"Dang! She's crazy." He muttered under his breath as I nodded in agreement, passing him one of my donuts.

It's nice being here with my friends with no worries about anything or anyone.

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