Post by Raven on May 6, 2017 14:43:37 GMT -5
Francis Foster hadn’t particularly wanted anything to do with a child when he was informed that he would, nonetheless, be getting one. Had any of the other girls called, Francis told himself that he would have changed his number and moved. Whatever might have been different if it hadn’t been Willa’s shaking voice on the other end of a telephone line saying something about peeing and two blue lines, Francis ended up as an emergency contact. He wasn’t in the room when his daughter was born, and he wouldn’t even get to hold her that night as she was taken for a short stay in the NICU, but he did sign the birth certificate. Then, after a few days of minimal contact, Francis returned to the position of emergency contact, trying to push out the little face he had seen. He figured that was where he would stay - a number on a paper, wiring some woman monthly payments and otherwise living his life unimpeded. It was what he told himself he wanted.
Just three weeks later, however, Francis was called by the police and told that Willa Taylor had tried to drown their baby in the bathtub. He was given a tiny life that had almost been snuffed out before she even had a chance, and he was also told that despite it having been months, Willa had yet to name their daughter, that she had dropped off the face of the Earth before she’d turned up in that motel with the bathwater overflowing. Francis named the little girl Dianna - after the Roman huntress. He obtained full custody without any issue, seeing as Willa had tried to kill their daughter, and waived child support, maintaining that he would choose when he felt it was safe for Willa to visit the little girl. Considering the circumstances, ‘at all’ was seen as perhaps dangerously generous, but Francis didn’t cut Willa entirely out of their lives.
In the first couple years, Francis and Dianna lived alone in an apartment on the edge of one of the cities. Willa visited occasionally, and when she did she was often doting on the little girl she’d given birth to, giving no sign that she had once tried to take her little girl's life. Dianna, of course, had no memory of the incident. After almost four years with no issues, and many assurances that she was clean, Willa was permitted to move in with them. The changes in the home were gradual - and perhaps that was why Francis didn't notice and take steps to stop them. He got more tense, Willa got more demanding, and Dianna grew more and more tense as the young girl tried to keep up with her parents rules and quirks. She started school a year later, though, and having some space did help her - at first. She made friends and she did well in school while there wasn't much to school work. She told no one about her parents first of many shouting matches when she was seven, feeling guiltily that she had started it by finding Mommy's pretty pills. It ended when Francis left the house angrily, and Willa broke something, pacing around before the ecstasy kicked in and she ended up rolling around on the couch for hours. When Francis came back, he ignored Willa entirely, made Dianna dinner, and sent her to bed after telling her to never touch anything like those pills again.
The yelling wasn't common then, but by the time Dianna entered middle school, they were. It made it very hard for her to complete homework, and her grades started to suffer, as did her mental state. The one bright side was the nights she and her best friend, Erin, would spend at Erin's grandparents, away from both of their insane mothers. The pair were in high school when Dianna first used her ability, sending off a mental blast of energy when her mother - no doubt high - tried to attack her, claiming that she was a monster as she saw whatever the drugs had put in her mind. As Willa hit the wall behind her, Dianna's eyes bulged, and she left her house as quickly as she could, worried that her mom would tell the government what her daughter had done. Not knowing what else to do, Dianna went to Erin, who confessed that she, to, had developed an ability. The two went on the run together, Dianna's biggest regret being that she hadn't gotten to tell her father what was happening. They made it on their own for a while, promising they would break the other out if they got caught, that it would be them against the government forever.
When Erin was caught, it seemed, plans changed. Soon enough, Dianna's closest friend was the one trying to catch her.
Just three weeks later, however, Francis was called by the police and told that Willa Taylor had tried to drown their baby in the bathtub. He was given a tiny life that had almost been snuffed out before she even had a chance, and he was also told that despite it having been months, Willa had yet to name their daughter, that she had dropped off the face of the Earth before she’d turned up in that motel with the bathwater overflowing. Francis named the little girl Dianna - after the Roman huntress. He obtained full custody without any issue, seeing as Willa had tried to kill their daughter, and waived child support, maintaining that he would choose when he felt it was safe for Willa to visit the little girl. Considering the circumstances, ‘at all’ was seen as perhaps dangerously generous, but Francis didn’t cut Willa entirely out of their lives.
In the first couple years, Francis and Dianna lived alone in an apartment on the edge of one of the cities. Willa visited occasionally, and when she did she was often doting on the little girl she’d given birth to, giving no sign that she had once tried to take her little girl's life. Dianna, of course, had no memory of the incident. After almost four years with no issues, and many assurances that she was clean, Willa was permitted to move in with them. The changes in the home were gradual - and perhaps that was why Francis didn't notice and take steps to stop them. He got more tense, Willa got more demanding, and Dianna grew more and more tense as the young girl tried to keep up with her parents rules and quirks. She started school a year later, though, and having some space did help her - at first. She made friends and she did well in school while there wasn't much to school work. She told no one about her parents first of many shouting matches when she was seven, feeling guiltily that she had started it by finding Mommy's pretty pills. It ended when Francis left the house angrily, and Willa broke something, pacing around before the ecstasy kicked in and she ended up rolling around on the couch for hours. When Francis came back, he ignored Willa entirely, made Dianna dinner, and sent her to bed after telling her to never touch anything like those pills again.
The yelling wasn't common then, but by the time Dianna entered middle school, they were. It made it very hard for her to complete homework, and her grades started to suffer, as did her mental state. The one bright side was the nights she and her best friend, Erin, would spend at Erin's grandparents, away from both of their insane mothers. The pair were in high school when Dianna first used her ability, sending off a mental blast of energy when her mother - no doubt high - tried to attack her, claiming that she was a monster as she saw whatever the drugs had put in her mind. As Willa hit the wall behind her, Dianna's eyes bulged, and she left her house as quickly as she could, worried that her mom would tell the government what her daughter had done. Not knowing what else to do, Dianna went to Erin, who confessed that she, to, had developed an ability. The two went on the run together, Dianna's biggest regret being that she hadn't gotten to tell her father what was happening. They made it on their own for a while, promising they would break the other out if they got caught, that it would be them against the government forever.
When Erin was caught, it seemed, plans changed. Soon enough, Dianna's closest friend was the one trying to catch her.