Hades Ain't Got Nothing on Us

Ch. 18 - Third Wheel

Rob reclined peacefully on the couch with his guitar. The night before on Mulholland, surreal and perilous as it was, inspired him to write all evening. In the mid-morning sunlight, he was polishing off another finished work when he heard frantic stumbling on the upstairs floorboards.

"Allison?" he called.

"Shut the curtains!"

Her response pushed her voice to the boundary between whisper and scream. She hastily tiptoed down the staircase.

Rob hurdled to the open window facing the street. Vagrants were common residents of their neighborhood, but they did not typically stroll to their front door.

This girl was especially pitiful. She was loitering on the street, beneath the power line where a pair of sneakers hung from their laces, weathered by the winter rains, then faded by the powerful summer sun. From her build, Rob deduced she was no older than any of their classmates. Her worn sneakers gave her the appearance of a nomad, and her ratty sweatshirt the livery of a day laborer. With her head down, eyes fixated on the paint splatters on her ripped jeans, she looked like a walking head of messy, long hair.

Her eccentric behavior was disturbing. Every few steps, she stopped to alternate between talking to herself and mussing her hair on purpose. Unclean as he found her appearance, Rob found it hard to criticize, since he had made a calculated effort that day not to look groomed himself.

A few seconds after footfalls landed on the porch, the young drifter spoke.

"Is anyone home?"

Rob and Allison were shocked to recognize her voice.

Allison darted from the landing to let Sephy into their house, as if that would make up for the harsh assumption she'd made of her. She greeted her with the same warm hug she always gave Sephy since she decided to stay with her brother.

Despite her appearance, Sephy continued to smell of fresh flowers. That did not prevent Allison's earring from getting caught in her knotted hair.

"Sorry."

Rob watched a cloud of fine dust disperse from Sephy's hair as Allison carefully untangled herself from it. The lock which had captured Allison's stud was distinctly shinier after that, with the same gleam that usually characterized her entire mane. It was like she washed her hair with ash. Since she had no imperfections to hide, Sephy never wore cosmetics, but for the first time, her skin looked dry. Overnight, her eyebrows grew full and unplucked.

Sephy had used her powers to make herself unattractive. Her best efforts, though admirable, were futile in Rob's opinion. She was always the most beautiful girl he'd seen, more lovely in her present state than anyone. Even on Anna's best day, she lacked the radiant smile Sephy was trying to suppress at the sight of Rob.

Once freed, Allison also took a closer look at Sephy's make-under.

"Laundry day?" she asked jokingly.

"No, just dressed for a casual day, with a casual friend."

If this was Sephy's interpretation of casual wear, then she must have considered every other day of the year a black tie affair.

"I don't mean to be rude. It's unexpected, how you look today. I almost didn't recognize you. You always look so put together, is all I'm saying. Right, Rob?"

When she leaned backwards to look at her brother, she was nearly thrown forward into Sephy's arms by the shock of his appearance. Rob was equally disheveled. She had been so wrapped up in tracking the lurking vagabond outside their house that she didn't realize there was one inside too.