No Midnight Mercy ☾ (gxg)

19-in the still of the night

The coarse strap of Gen's heavy backpack ached Eden's hand as she held it.

They waited outside the small little house down in the suburbs after Gen obnoxiously rang the doorbell too many times. They could hear footsteps behind the door before it opened, revealing Heather Duncan behind it with that warm, welcoming smile already plastered on her face.

"Girls!" she greeted, wiping her hand on the white apron she wore over her pastel pink blouse and khakis. Her blonde hair was halfway up, and she had a bit of pink eyeshadow covering her lids. "Come in, come in!" She opened the door wider where Oliver could be seen standing up from the couch in the living room.

Gen stepped in with all her belongings in her hands except for the backpack that Eden carried. "Thank you so much, Ms. Duncan," Gen breathed, for the first time in her life sounding burdened down. She was usually always sarcastic and snide even in the darkest times, but the purple circles under her eyes and her lips kept in a straight line showed that she did not have much energy to ward off the darkness anymore.

"Oh, no problem, sweetie," Heather softly spoke as she closed the door, noticing Gen's unusual behavior. She looked over to Eden and matched her worried look.

Even Oliver looked at Gen carefully, unsure of how to approach the girl who was not herself. "Here, let me take those up to the spare bedroom." He took the bags from her hands, and her shoulders immediately slumped in relief once the weight was gone. She followed Oliver up the staircase, slugging behind.

"How has she been?" Heather asked Eden quietly, turning her back to the staircase.

Eden remembered the wreck that Gen had been in when she had came home that morning. Her obsessive mother had apparently took another visit to Eden's apartment while she was gone at Cecilia's, and it hadn't gone down very well. Gen had almost let her mother convince her to go back home, for she was packing her things to return to her abusive household when Eden had came home. Thankfully, she was able to make a quick call to Heather before she did. It wasn't that Eden didn't want Gen to stay with her anymore, but she needed to get away from that side of town and away from her mother. Oliver's house had more room and more people for Gen to be around. Additionally, the girl could eat homecooked meals for the first time in her life instead of Eden bringing home pizza every night after work.

"She's okay, I guess," Eden sighed. "She's just frustrated with everything, you know."

"Right," Heather nodded, glancing back up the staircase and clicking her tongue. She turned back to Eden and reached her hand out, placing it on her shoulder. "And as for you... If you ever get lonely in that apartment, you're welcome to come here any time, alright?"

The blonde smiled and nodded, feeling Ms. Duncan squeeze her shoulder with a grin.

"Alright. I just finished making dinner, so go on and get seated at the table." She turned and wiped her hands on her apron again, making her way into the kitchen through the swinging doors.

Eden smiled, looking around the cozy living room. Gen, Oliver, and Heather were the only sense of family she knew. They were her lifeline. Trailing her finger along the signature green couch, she took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar Duncan household scent. She wanted to stay, but she felt detached somehow, like she was destined to stay in the four walls of her studio apartment forever, bound to her grocery store job and her few community college classes that were getting her nowhere.

Then she thought of that woman who represented what she wanted more in life. She wanted love, passion, safety. She wanted steadiness and assurance—and Cecilia was finally the one who gave it all to her.