Adira Cinderfell was always treated like a little kid, regardless of the fact that she's 23.
Another family gathering, another dozen warnings to aunts and uncles about her triggers and fears.
As if she couldn't speak for herself.
She opens the doors, pretending to not be full of dread.
Her sister greets her first.
Great, Alyvia was worse than her parents about the warnings.
"Hi Adira! Oh, sorry, was I too loud, I know it triggers you."
"No, Alyvia, your volume is not the issue."
Alyvia leaves to rant about her vulnerabilities and triggers to cousins and nephews.
Her parents are already at it.
She sits down alone at the kids' table, knowing that's where they'll seat her anyways.
Michael, her little cousin looks at her confused and says "Addi, why aren't you at the big kid table?"
Adira smiles and says "Wanted to sit with you, Mike!" It isn't a lie, Michael is one of the few people who are kind to her.
Her sister stands up and says "I just want to thank everyone for accommodating my sister, we all know she struggles."
The frick??
Her jaw clenched, but she stayed silent.
Alyvia looked her right in the eyes while saying it, she knew it stung.
* * *
After they eat, Adira slips out, wanting to drive home in the rain and stare at a wall of her cheap apartment.
She powers on the car and speeds off, ignoring texts from parents and Alyvia asking if she paid a cab because she supposedly is too young to drive, even though she's older than her sister.
Can't they just accept I'm an adult??
She pulls over into the driveway, and gets in the elevator, slumping against the wall as she watches the numbers go up above the door.
The ding of the elevator opening is pushed to the pack of her mind.
Adira plops onto her bed, staring at the same spot on her wall she can't get off, the one she stares at nearly every day when her family mistreats her.
Well, they could've been more considerate.
The voice plays in her head.
Not her voice, a professional woman's voice.
[VULNERABILITY]: 73.4% (Weak, pathetic)
[ANGER]: 82.7% (Infuriated)
[FOCUS]: 62.6% (Not very)
[STRENGTH]: 12.7% (Pittiful)
"The fu-" She catches herself, she doesn't like cussing.
A soft chuckle plays.
Adira Cinderfell. I'm Victoria Chestnut, part of the HHA. We flip lives from we turn the worthless into the willful.
Adira looks skeptical "Wait, so where are you??"
Victoria says Well, I'm obviously not in your head, just my voice. My whereabouts don't matter. You need to be fixed, and we will work you up to the top.