As I step through the threshold, I am struck by the ever-present smell of weed in the house. Mom's friends must be visiting. I silently creep up to my room all of a sudden. CREEK. The loudest sound ever erupts from the step.

I ran up to my room and locked the door before anybody could talk to me first. "Leia, is that you?" My mom yells in a sweet voice up at me. "Come on down sweetie, I have someone who I want you to meet!" I wonder who it could be. Maybe another boyfriend uses her and she stays with him as a distraction. Or maybe it could be a new drug dealer. Who knows? Could it be someone tha... My thoughts were interrupted by Antonia, my stepmom, yelling up to me, in a less sweet voice, "You better hurry up. My patience isn't unlimited!"

From hearing that, I set all my stuff down and hastily made my way to the living room. As soon as I reach the main floor, I see my mother sitting, basically on the lap, of a scruffy-looking man with a  weary face and bloodshot eyes. As I make my way toward them, the man looks up at me with a lustful glint in his eyes. What a perv!

My mom introduces the man to me and says that his name is Michael. Just like dad. I think to myself, remembering all the wonderful times I spent with my father. He stands up and pendulously walks towards me. "Now that you know my name, a pretty little girl like yourself should introduce herself to me." He says to me in a feeble voice. I raise my hand to meet his contorted fingers and warily shake his hand. "Leia," I say to the man in a kind voice.

He must be AT LEAST 20 years older than Antonia. She is 40 years old and Michael looks like he is in his 70s. He looks so fragile that I bet even the smallest fall could break a bone. Why is he a drug dealer if he's so fragile? Don't they beat people up when they don't have enough money? I am interrupted by my thoughts by Michael leaning in my ear and whispering, "I'll have some fun with you later." That caused a shiver to go down my spine. As he left my side to return to my mom, he does a quick squeeze to one of my ass cheeks. This man is a certified wanker, and possibly also a sex offender.

Once he returns to his seat, I ask my stepmom, "Was that all? I have a lot of homework to do." "Yes, I think that's everything. Dinner will be ready in 45 minutes." Antonia tells me. I head upstairs and call Luna to tell her the news. The entire call I am holding back tears because of Antonia's utter disregard for my late father's memory. Luna senses the weariness in my voice and asks me, " Are you gonna be okay? Do I have to come over there and beat someone up, because I will, just say the word?" "I think I'll be okay, I just needed to tell somebody. I need to get homework done now though. I'll see you tomorrow?" I said to her, "See you then," Luna responded.

Later that night, we had a very uneventful dinner. Then I headed back to my room to finish homework and get to bed. I fell asleep soon after while watching TikToks on my phone for a while.

It is the day before my birthday today. Nothing eventful has happened over the past week. I mean, I met Michael, and other than that, all I had was more homework than should be legal. All I could think about this week though was Michael's hands on my butt and the chill that went down my spine when he whispered in my ear. That man is such a pervert. I don't think I'll ever be able to erase that memory from my mind.

I went to my first class, which is English (ewww), but at least Asher is in the same class and he keeps me company. He and I talk for a few minutes before the teacher starts class. I try to pay attention but all I can think about is the grimy fingers that touched me a week ago. Asher taps my shoulder, breaking me out of my memory, and asks if I'm okay. I tell him, "Yeah, I'm fine, I guess I just spaced out for a bit." "I think you were 'spacing out' for more than just a bit. Class is over now." Asher tells me, causing me to look around the classroom at all the other students standing up, acquiring all their books, and leaving. I quickly grab my stuff and follow Asher out of the classroom and down the steps to my next class.

It is currently lunch. The other 2 classes I had this morning went about the same as English. I tried hard to focus, but it was just too difficult and my mind kept wandering back to that night. "Are you okay?" Luna asks, joining me in the lunch line. "I'm fine, I just have a lot on my mind right now," I assure her. Luna asks, "Does it have anything to do with your birthday tomorrow? I've told you before, I have everything handled and I want you to enjoy your party, but there has been a minor setback, the party will start an hour later than expected because we need to go to the Royal parade to celebrate the Prince's 16th birthday. That must be weird to share the exact same birthday as the second-in-line prince." I tell her, "At first I was jealous because, at school, I always wanted to have people talk about my birthday and wish me 'Happy Birthdays' but over time, I've learned to be happy for him. It actually works in my favor though because I don't like being the center of attention."

After that discussion in the line, Luna and I got our food and sat down with Harper and Asher and talked until lunch was over and we had to get to our next class.

The rest of my classes flew by. After talking with my friends, Michael was no longer the only thing on my mind. I'm glad that Luna distracted me with the discussion of my birthday. Without it, I would probably be head down on the desk, almost having a panic attack right now.

After my last class, I race out to the parking lot to meet up with the others and we head home. After about 10 minutes of Ariana Grande (contributed by Asher, per usual), Luna halts to a stop outside of my house. I grab my bag and Luna tells me to call her later if I need to talk and if my stepmom does anything to me, make sure to tell her and Antonia will be dealt with.

Nothing eventful happened that night. I just finished homework while listening to music and went to bed around 10, so I wasn't cranky in the morning.

Word Count: 1,203

Author's note: I'm finally going to start writing longer chapters now that the mc has been completely introduced. The next chapter will be really eventful, this was kinda boring, and near the end was kinda a filler. (Sorry about that). I may start doing a question at the end of each chapter. Whether that just be a normal question or a mental health check in... idk yet. Ig we'll find out soon.