An Attic filled with Birds [Completed]

22. Run...

Felix
It's still nagging me. Everything is. But Bailey is in the center of it all. His campaign, claiming me and my family are bad people who don't care about anyone. Him on the interview. Him in those pictures with my dad and mom. His hands on them.

This guy is getting under my skin like no one else has ever been.

It's dark in our hotel room, and not only my thoughts are keeping me awake. Damien's snoring is another factor... That's not the point, though.

I pick up my phone from the night stand next to me. I get blinded by its light when I turn it on. A little past 2 AM.

I unlock my phone and search for Edward Bailey. A bunch of things regarding his campaign come up, as well as his website. There's even a fan website counting the amount of times he has mentioned his leather notebook. With pictures.

That notebook. I hate it. It probably has all the answers. His precious little notebook. His beautiful, awful, poop-colored, leather notebook.

I go to his website. Different tabs on top of the web page lead to different things like his accomplishments and biography. The guy has merchandise. Are you kidding me? People don't actually buy those things, right? He's acting like he's a pop star.

I can't help myself, and tap on the biography tab. The page recalls his many university studies. Apparently he has a PhD in astrophysics and applied mathematics. Like he hasn't anything else to do.

It also mentions he got his notebook from his father when he passed away when Bailey was still a child. Rumors say half of it is filled with notes about different types of birds that could be seen from his balcony on his villa in the south. Bailey gave the notebook a different purpose, though, when he received it.

I go back to the homepage. Campaign slogans yell in my face. A vote for Bailey is profit daily! Everyone equal is a happy sequel! Anti-royal is pro-people!

Ugh. That last one didn't even rhyme. It's terrible.

I go back once more to look at the search results. I go to images. His annoying face greets me from all sorts of angles. His notebook shows up on a lot of them too.

That notebook. That brown, leather notebook. What did he say again in that interview a few days ago? On television?

He said they had already formed ideas for the next campaign season. If I could get my hands on those... we could beat him to it. We could prepare answers for all the questions we'll get regarding that campaign. We can be prepared. We can solve issues he wants to highlight, and he'll have to scrap them.

Which could be the end for him. Or at least a win on our side, and not his. Which is better than where we're at right now.

I type 'Edward Bailey address'. Apparently it's public information. And close.

❖

Nora
I should not have drunk so much soda before going to bed. Now I have to get out of my warm bed to go to the cold bathroom. I count to three in my head.

One...

Two...

Three!

I don't get up. Getting out of bed in the middle of the night is already difficult enough, but when it's cold? It's the worst. I look up to the ceiling and listen to the sounds around me.

It's a little windy outside. Damien and Felix seem to be breathing in unison. A little creepy, but alright. I guess that's what happens when you spend many nights in the same room.