𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞

i; my local pharmacists.

"dani!"

dani woke with a start. jolting awake, she opened her eyes and turned to look out her window. the sun peeked over the horizon, casting the sky a variety of orange, yellow, and blue.
she rubbed her eyes as her door burst open "daniella! get up!" her mother urged as she tied her hair into a bun, "i have to go to work and you need to make breakfast, so hurry!" she rushed as she practically sprinted out of dani's room.

dani groaned loudly, closing her eyes as she dug her head back into her pillow "why!?" she called out to her mother.
"because—!" her mother walked past her room "i need to be at work early today and i dont want you guys going to school starving! so hurry we both dont wanna be late. also maria is sending simon over tonight to drop off a lasagna!" dani could hear the rustle of her moms bag, her keys jingling in her hands as she rushed to leave.
dani turned to lay on her side, watching her door absentmindedly. her mother rushed into the room, giving dani a kiss on her forehead "i love you, have a good day at school." she whispered, rubbing her daughters hair before she turned to leave.
"and don't forget you have a shift at the book store today!"

"love you too mom." dani told her mother, watching as her mom rushed to her brothers room. dani sat up, listening as the front door opened and slammed shut behind her mother's departure.
she always hated mornings, rushed goodbyes and getting ready for school never went well. something always seemed to happen every morning, and this one was no different.

dani begrudgingly stood up from her bed, groaning softly as she stretched her limbs. she blinked for a moment before reaching under her pillow and snatching her cigarette box, opening it to grab one before she laid it back in its hiding spot.
dani shook her head as she lit the cancerous stick, placing it between her lips and taking a large inhale while she started to walk down toward the kitchen to where her mother laid out all the ingredients she would need for breakfast.
she was in no hurry to make the food, it wasn't like she cared if she were late to school. it wasn't like school taught them anything important, and her school wasn't exactly the best in town.

she was born and raised in shadyside, the towns reputation wasn't ideal and everyone outside the town wanted to stray far away from it.
their town was like a plague, swallowing everything good in sight before shitting it back up bloodied and mangled. not a person in shadyside was protected from the "witches curse".

although dani didn't believe the witches curse was real, she felt there was something larger at play, like a gas leak being hidden by politicians.
after all a happy innocent person doesn't turn into a merciless serial killer overnight.

an hour passed, with the sun now fully risen and shining in the bright blue sky—breakfast was done. dani sighed, wiping away her sweat with her forearm.
she placed her brothers plate in his designated seat before she walked back upstairs to his room, walking past the picture frames of her deceased relatives. all pictured with wide smiles and happy expressions, their figures frozen in time and framed onto the wall.
dani spared a glance at the pictures, managing to produce a soft smile toward her dad. his picture seemed to shine brighter than the rest, however dani just thought that was a result of her actually remembering him as opposed to her aunt and uncle, whose pictures sat perfectly still above her fathers.