2. Branded (1/1)

notes: please if you read, review. i love reviews, they really help me, and most any fic writer, thrive.

anded

christina 'borrowed' a series of cars from wherever it was she'd stopped walking along that road out of point pleasant all the way to allentown, pennsylvania. she had to get away, and she'd contemplated going back to new york, but then she couldn't figure why. sure it was familiar to her, but other than that, she didn't think there was anything for her in new york. she didn't want to be seen or found by anyone who might have known her. right now, she just wanted to be anonymous while she figured out what the hell she was going to do next. that was why she picked some cheap little motel to stay in, nothing fancy, nothing that was too much of anything. she wanted someplace quiet where she could figure out where she was going.

standing in the little bathroom, the mirror wasn't quite as glimmering as it could have been, but it all seemed clean enough. it was clear enough christina could see that mark on her eye. she stared at it, cursed it even. why her, why did she have to have this mark? why couldn't she just be like everyone else? she had just wanted to be a normal teenage girl, with friends and a boyfriend and the love of a family. even without all that, she still felt like she needed some kind of answers and explanations of who she was before she just laid waste to all of humanity. she wasn't even sure how to go about doing that, so she needed to understand more about herself, about who she was meant to be, and if she still had any choice in the matter. right now, that mark felt like the

and of the devil, she supposed that was kind of what it was. but father tomas had still been sure that she had goodness in her, a pure heart. though as christina found, that 'good' woman who'd given birth to her, had not been so forgiving or willing to believe there was any good within her. but maybe it was still true.

her hand

ushed the skin of her chest over her heart. it still beat, her skin was still warm, it all still felt human. even she had trouble telling sometimes there was anything different about herself, though she'd always felt a little out of place growing up. christina had never quite been like all the other kids, and she supposed she understood why now, because she wasn't. but was she really ready to em

ace the darkness, to forget everything human about herself? she wasn't sure she could, staring in the mirror, she felt very human, very alone and scared of what might happen next. she was still very much part a human being, and she didn't want to simply be

anded because of who her father was. she was a person, she had a choice in life. and maybe she couldn't go back and undo what had been done in point pleasant, though she wished she could now. but she could still think about her next move and try not to make the same mistakes. there was a lot of world out there, with a lot of people. she could try again, knowing better now how to be careful.

christina was an emotional being, that had been the cause of many accidents, ever since she was young. though she never really put things together until high school. but, if she could just understand who she was, and what the possibilities were, perhaps she could better control her reactions. she didn't really want to hurt people. she jumped when she heard a knock.

"maid service!" a voice came from the other side of the door.

"no thank you!" christina shouted, feeling her blood pressure rise before she took a few

eaths to calm herself down. she was afraid now though, afraid to see or speak to anyone. afraid that if anyone rubbed her the wrong way, she might strike out and kill them before she stopped to think about what she was really doing. that was why she needed to be alone for right now. she didn't know how long she would need alone, she would just have to see.

she looked into the mirror again at herself. "i will not be controlled, i will not give in." she hoped she could convince herself of that so deeply, that she could avoid any potential accidents with people who might upset her.