Somewhere

Chapter 2

Mallory woke up in an unfamiliar room, and she felt her breathing quicken as her eyes adjusted to the blinding white light coming through the window.

It was snowing.

She sat up with a jolt, forcing herself to calm down as she realized that she wasn't in an unfamiliar room. This was her room now— Cecelia's room, that is.

Cecelia rubbed her eyes and breathed in the fresh cold air she could already feel seeping through the window. Mallory shuddered.

Today was probably a shopping day, she thought as her feet hit the ground. She stood and stretched, already dreading the process of hopping from store to store in the freezing cold. It seemed as if the storm cloud she had seen yesterday had broken overnight, covering Davenport in a thicker layer of snow than yesterday, if that was possible. Marie watched as the little flurries hit her window ever so softly, and she let a small smile slip through her teeth. Maybe Cecelia really would like the snow.

She took her time getting ready, being careful to dress for the cold weather, and eventually looked at her phone to discover that it was already ten o'clock. Her mother had let her sleep in for a while, which was unusual for her. If she had to guess, it was probably because she had been scouting out different places online where they could restock on all the items they had left behind.

Marie begrudgingly made her way to the kitchen, stretching her sore limbs as she went. Her neck felt funny, she thought, wondering if she had slept on it in a weird way.

Her mother was sitting at their newly assembled kitchen table jotting something down on a notepad. She always had one close by, which was a result of her growing disdain for touchscreen phones and their note apps. She had always used a small flip phone instead, claiming that it was much easier to steal someone's personal information if it was all located in one, tiny device. No one could steal her information if she didn't have a smartphone to let them steal it from, she said. The only thing Marie ever saw her use a phone for was work, or occasionally when they moved to a new city. So, naturally, she always had a notepad in hand.

"Morning," she mumbled, hoping to slink past her mother to get something to eat.

"I made breakfast," she replied, not looking up front her dutiful notetaking. Marie looked at the counter, suddenly spotting the toast and eggs her mother had set aside for her.

She mumbled a quick thanks and made to grab the eggs and run back up to her room, but her mother's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Come and sit with me."

Marie sat down.

"How did you sleep?" She continued, still not looking up from her notepad.

"Pretty good," Marie replied, her mouth now full of toast. "You?"

Her mother shrugged, "I stayed up too late again. I was looking for places selling clothes made for human beings. It seems like everywhere is trying to clothe some kind of yeti."

She could sense the negativity building in her mother's tone.

"I'm sure we'll find something, Mom. No one will care if we dress like yetis, and you'll be wearing your scrubs most of the time anyways," she tried to reassure her. Her mother let out an exasperated sigh at that, but Marie continued before she could interrupt with something else disheartening, "When do you start working by the way?"

Her pen stalled.

"Tomorrow."

Marie waited a moment, knowing that she wasn't quite done speaking by the characteristic downturn of her mouth and her pursed lips.