A thousand bad times - Post Malone

Four

Holi wakes to the sun filtering through a crack in the heavy bedroom curtains. Her body has never felt so warm, she is wrapped in what can only be described as a  cacoon. It makes her feel safe, warm, and even a little content even though her neck is painful. she realizes that she is not on the floor but back on the bed. confusion sets in. Mac is not a small boy, but he is certainly not strong enough to get her back on the bed without waking her and she does not remember climbing back onto the bed last night. She lifts her head to see how Mac and Bell are doing but her heart drops when she sees they are not in the bed.

she unwraps herself from the cacoon and stumbles out of the bed, checking the bathroom they are not in there either. She hates the feeling of not knowing where they are and immediately her mind goes to a dark place. how can it not, she comes from a dark place...her siblings come from a dark place. She is their protector and if they are not here with her then that would mean they are exposed, out in the open and anything can happen.

It's not a normal reaction, she is well aware of that, but when you have seen both your siblings on the brink of death for various reasons it's very difficult to keep your thoughts happy.

by the time she bursts out of the bedroom, her chest is burning and fear has tears threatening to spill down her flushed cheeks. she is sprinting down the passage towards what she hopes is the kitchen, lounge, or just any room that Austin is hopefully in. The thought makes her step falter for a second, why would she be trying to locate Austin when Bell and Mac are in trouble.

She knows the answer without having to dwell on it too much. Austin makes her feel safe and if anything she just knows he could fix anything. It scares her, she has never had anyone she can count on and she was good with that, it was a choice on her part. What is not a choice though is how she has become attached to Austin...it scares her.

by the time she has run down the long passage and reached the indoor waterfall she is practically sprinting and trying with all her willpower not to start shouting out her sibling's names. The thoughts running through her mind now are just evil and her whole body is shaking.

but then she hears Bell's sweet little giggle and she stops dead in her tracks. What the hell! It sounds like it is coming from the kitchen so she walks gingerly in that direction and hides behind a pillar while peering into the kitchen. The sight before her has her body shaking again, but now for a whole different reason.

Mac is standing, looking like a normal teen with washed hair and new clothing, he is holding Bell who is still in her Lobster pj's. She is kicking her little legs and clapping her hands. They both have bright faces and smiles that make Holi's heart squeeze. They are watching Austin who is busy cooking something.

"Again, again!" Bell squeals between her giggles. Austin turns and tickles her belly playfully causing her to only giggle louder and kick her legs harder, "Ok Bell," Austin says, with a soft smile on his face as he looks at her, "but this is the last time. Sir Charles might pop if we feed him too much."

"Pop!" Bell squeals.

Austin leans over and picks up a blueberry then calls sir Charles over to him. He was on the other side of the kitchen island and comes bouncing and wobble running very excitedly towards Austin then spinning round and round until Austin bends down and rolls the blueberry across the kitchen floor.

Sir Charles goes insane he starts bounding after the blueberry, barking and snapping at it until it stops then he dives on it and gobbles it up. He looks like a cartoon character. Bell has completely lost any composure she had earlier and she falls apart laughing in Mac's arms. Holi can immediately feel the hot tears on her cheeks. that happy full belly laugh that Bell has just expelled is new, Holi has never heard her laugh like that before.