A Home of Mothers

Glasses

I follow the man whose glasses never seem to clear until he reaches the restrooms- smartly split into a man's room and a woman's room- and that's when I realize I'm doing just that- trailing a grown adult to a bathroom for no good reason. But as luck would have it I end up hiding a bit longer, because as I'm about to turn away, Olivia and Tuxedo walk by, deep in conversation. Scared out of my mind, I duck under a fold-up table, the nearest shelter. I realize after a moment that it's a snack table, and that they're heading right towards it.

Over the ramblings of the crowd and the dripping of my sodden clothes, I begin to hear their conversation and I'm suddenly glad for my hiding spot.

"...we can't let our parent's stories govern our lives, Livvie, and you know it. No matter what you feel, no matter wh-"

That was Tuxedo, but I lose his words to the murmur of the crowd as he quiets his voice. I realize that a security guard has walked up, based on the polished-black shoes. My hiding spot, I decide, is no longer a good one. And something's nagging at the back of my mind, something I've forgotten.

Clop. Clop. Clop. The black shoes leave, and Tuxedo's hushed whisper returns back to something I can hear.

"...have you heard from aunt Jackie? Uncle Richard? We need to know more before we-"

A man's coughs drown out any more of his words, and after I stifle a groan, he leaves. When the conversation returns it's Olivia.

"No, I haven't. But that girl... It wasn't a coincidence, Sep. She went to the well, and my body went psycho. You saw."

Sep. Tuxedo boy. I play with the names in my head- Tuxedo boy, Sep, but even though the name seems to fit okay with his mannerisms, I have no idea what it stands for. Okay. Tuxedo boy equals Sep. Olivia is the barmaid. Fedora- I have no idea. And the guy with the foggy glasses-

The men's bathroom door swings open, and I realize I've been thinking for quite a bit of time. To my relief it's Glasses, brown hair and foggy glasses, but to my remorse Olivia and Tuxedo Sep have left. Glancing out from under the table and into the crowd- a blur of lights and colors with stumbling adults, flashing lights, and a staircase in the corner- I make sure no guards are nearby and continue trailing the man without a name.

Glasses. What should I call him?

For a while, the man just seems to walk, not in any particular direction. He keeps glancing around, but I don't make the connection that he's seen me until I walk headfirst into the chest of a guard, black clothes and all. As Glasses escapes into the crowd, I gulp, looking up at the bald man's face. He's one of the guards that was talking to my dad, and I recognize him as the one who laughed along. He stares down at me, amused.

"Now what do we have here?" he asks, looking me up and down, and then his eyes go wide. "Hey, I know you! Your father's been looking all over!"

Before I know it he's escorting me to the middle of the room, and panic takes over. I can't let him take me to Father! Then I'll never figure any of this out, the people, the knots, the branch-

I double over, coughing and hacking, but the guard doesn't stop for a moment, roughly tugging me up and walking me forwards. "Come on."

Have to escape. Have to-

An idea occurs to me, and mustering my courage, I act it out.

"NO!" I scream, "HELP!" and the man lets go in surprise and in bewilderment as suddenly angry glares swivel to him, I squirm away, escaping into the crowd once again. I hear snippets- "poor young woman!" and "not his age," but then I'm far away. I duck into a corner, but then a furious Sep-with-a-Tuxedo pulls me out of the way, swearing, hurrying me up the turn of the stairs. I consider screaming again, but we catch eyes for a moment and something stops me from resisting.

"What on earth were you doing?" he fumes when we're out of sight, "Hiding under that table, then bringing so much attention to yourself? When I told you to go, I meant go!"

I stare at him, totally lost. What? What does he mean? And then it dawns on me. "You saw me under the table?" I ask meekly.

He sighs, anger fading. "No, no, that's not the problem. Look. I'm sorry. I should have told you to go at the beginning, but I didn't know for sure if it was you. But now I do, and you need to get back home before Olivia or someone worse realizes I'm talking to you."

I back away. "Look, crazy boy, I have no idea what you're talking about. But I need to figure this out."

He frowns, then turns away. "Don't bring any more attention to yourself. Avoid the man with foggy glasses, avoid Livvie, avoid anybody but the man who seems drunk and isn't and the man with the fedora. When you want to go home, talk to Fedora in his car. When you need help, talk to the man who seems drunk but isn't. You know who he is."

I nod. The man in the corner from when I ran with Olivia.

He stares at me once more, this time pleadingly. "Please. I know this all means a lot to you, but for your father's and sister's sake, please go home. I won't stop you, but I can beg you. The less you learn, the less they'll want to... Just hurry." And then he walks up the stairs, leaving me staring. When he turns around the corner, I know that even if I follow, I won't find him, just like I didn't find Olivia. Just like I know that there's so much more to this than I thought.

I walk back down the stairs, coughing roughly as I hit the bottom. The world swirls, and I hold back my bile.

Just wait. I can't handle a memory right now.

"Hey, punk, don't you dare go and try that again," a voice says, and before I look up I know who it is.

The bald security guard puts a firm hand on my shoulder, and steers me towards the center.

{UPDATE} Something was super messed up with this chapter- I couldn't read it, when I edited it the formatting was wierd- But now it's back! Hope you like!

(Old)

Sorry this chapter's sorta jumbly and short, but I like it how it is, so maybe I'll look it over later?

Anyways, thanks for reading, and if you like it, please feel free to vote or comment why you didn't!

Thanks!

-Draconissolutus