Does it Get Better? PV Taros Quintero

Interacting with: @Taros Quintero Mentioning: N/A Date: September 2026

Word Count: 597

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Broken. That was how Avery felt now. The spark that was once upon a time bright within her was snuffed out. The joy of life forgotten with the passing of time. She had lost much that summer. The summer that destroyed her. And now here she was in shambles. Dealing with the mess her past self left behind. Why did life have to be so hard? Why did hitting your breaking point have to hurt so much? Avery did not know the answers to her questions. She was just a shell. A shell of the girl she once was. The lioness could not handle the prying eyes of the library or the great hall. She knew people were curious, but it was too much looking at the sympathy reflected in their eyes. She did not want pity. No. She wanted the pain to go away. To finally disappear. But the lioness knew all too well that life was not that simple. It was complex. Interwoven with the best of times and the worst. And right now? Well, right now was the worst of times. Avery had chosen the least populated area to finally get some air. The grounds. It was the only place where she could finally be free from the eyes. The eyes that held the sorrow. The pain. The sympathy for what she was going through. Though no one could understand this pain. Her pain. It was personal. Like a piece of her had died alongside her grandfather as he took his last breaths before her eyes. The thought alone caused the tears to rise again. The memory of the day still crystal clear in the lioness’ mind. All her grandfather had wanted to do that day was bring her and Dylan into the woods to visit whatever new creature or plant he had found or learned of. But life had too many sickening twists to allow that. Instead, her world collapsed as her grandfather died right before her eyes. It was her worst nightmare come to life. Did her mother even know her own father was dead? Did she even care? Did she regret the last words of anger she had spoken towards him? Probably not. Anger at her mother boiled within Avery as hot tears streamed down her cheeks. How could her mother do this? Avery had lost years spending time with her grandfather all because of one day. One day that caused a long held grudge to explode into nasty words she wished her mother now regretted. It was clear there was no regret in her mother’s mind. Clearly she had meant every word as she did not even care to notice her father had died and her one and only daughter was falling apart because of it. Even her father had dumped her the moment work called. He had promised to return before the end of the summer, but he never did. Like always. Avery fell into the rough stone wall. The harsh stone digging into her hands. She pushed them harder into it. The physical pain was keeping her grounded. Reminding her of where she was and keeping her from being consumed by the darkness that lingered nearby. Too close for comfort. Sobs escaped the lioness’ lips as she finally let herself go. Let the grief envelope her like the hug of a close friend. Yet grief was not a friend. It was a reminder of her pain and why she could barely get out of bed every morning. She was hitting her breaking point. And it was a nightmare.

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