WEIGHT OF THE WORLD ↠ Mazikeen [2]

08 | AVAILABLE

                     IT HAD BEEN A LONG NIGHT – Izzy was convinced that was the only reason she had managed to pass out once she and Mazikeen had made it home and into bed. Still, she had no shield from the nightmares, and so, it was no surprise to her that she jolted awake in the early morning hours from a horrible vision of being back in Michael's captivity. It was constant and never-ending, and she was beginning to feel utterly drained from never getting any rest.

                     With a sigh, she looked over to her side only to find Mazikeen's half of the bed empty and cold, but she was hardly surprised. She was still struggling with Lilith, Izzy knew and understood that – it had barely been a day, after all – and if there was anything that Maze liked to do about her problems, then it was to face them head-on. She punched her way out of things and blew off steam when it piled up enough, so no doubt, she was out finding trouble or creating it. Izzy didn't feel the need to intervene; she had made it known she was there for her, and Maze was good at reaching out when she wanted the support. Whatever she did, legal or illegal... it was her way of processing things.

                     Izzy climbed out of bed and swiftly got dressed before heading into the kitchen, where Elaine was just putting away a pile of plates. "Oh, good morning!" she greeted her niece, "you're up early." With a suppressed smile, Isadora simply nodded and returned the words without going into the details about how terrible sleep had been lately; nonexistent, even.

                     "I'm just about to head out, actually, but I was doin' the dishes. Sort of to say thanks for lettin' me stay with y'all", Elaine grinned while closing the cupboard and wiping her hands off as a sign of finishing the job.

                     "Oh!" Izzy was taken aback but managed a fresh smile. "Thank you, Auntie", she murmured, glancing at the cupboards with a wave of discomfort washing over her. Were the dishes done right, though? Were they in the correct order? Had Elaine scrubbed them thoroughly?

                     Swallowing, Izzy tried to snap out of her thoughts only to notice her aunt had headed for the front door, tugging on her trench coat and her boots, rambling on about Linda and how they were meeting for lunch. Any other time, Isadora would have made a cheeky joke and wondered about what was going on between the two women, but right now, all she wanted to do was go over the dishes one by one, and to do that, she needed Elaine to leave – quickly.

                     "Have a good time! Say hi to Linda for me", Izzy pleaded, and with a wide smile directed at her, Elaine nodded and then grabbed the door handle.

                     Within seconds, she was gone, and as soon as the door was shut, Izzy yanked the cupboards open.

///

                     THE ALWAYS PUNCTUAL HOLT WAS LATE. She never was, and it was enough to alert Dan and the rest of the gang, even when she finally showed up with rushed apologies and all smiles to reassure that she was fine, just overslept. Funny, how the dark circles under her eyes worked to disprove that claim, but no one dared to mention it – it was clear she didn't want to talk about it, and they had let her know they were there for her when she was ready. And so, they were all smiles back at her, pointing out how happy they were to see her.