Faithless

Chapter 11

School was canceled the next day, following the discovery of Darren's dead body. I was already awake when Dahlia came into my room to let me know, and I remained in bed, staring at the ceiling for longer than I thought I did. I couldn't erase Avery's face from my mind and I couldn't help but worry that she told someone what happened. Though I trusted her, it was hard for me to imagine an outcome where she didn't end up spilling the beans.

Quietly, I sat up in my bed, staring at my hands. They looked just the same as they were; there was no way you could tell that they'd been ripped apart and then put back together. I slowly opened and closed my hands, looking for something different. Some imperfection. Something that seemed off, but there was nothing. And that was the thing that felt off. Knowing what really lied underneath my own skin and staring at an unassuming mask that hid everything did not sit right with me. The absence of an uncanny valley was the uncanny valley.

I stood up, stretching my body in every way I thought to. Everything was in its place. I was me. And with that, I figured it was time to pay a visit to Avery's house. I pulled on a pair of black ripped jeans and wore a black hoodie over a long sleeved AC/DC shirt. All of the band shirts I owned were shirts that Jared once bought for me. I never listened to a single one of those bands, and the record player sitting on my bookshelf was left untouched. The record I'd bought the day I'd gone to the music store with Hannah had remained unplayed. It was still sitting in the bag with the receipt as well. And while I considered listening to it, I couldn't without thinking about Hannah.

I grabbed my coat and walked downstairs. The house was quiet, the only sound was the news playing on the television in the living room. It didn't surprise me all that much. The circumstances were far too dreary for a bright morning with Dahlia cooking pancakes and Daisy going to watch cartoons. I left without saying anything, and walked out into the cold air.

When police cruisers drove by, I held back my inclination to jump out of sight. No one was suspecting me. As far as they knew, I was just another teenager. Harmless. Innocent. But no matter how much I told myself this, it always felt like they were watching me.

Standing on Avery's front doorstep, I almost considered turning around and just walking away. My head hung in defeat as I forced myself to deliver three heavy knocks on her front door. It took a few minutes before the door swung open and Avery stood on the other side. A blanket covered in colorful southwestern patterns was wrapped around her shoulders and she wore loose gray sweatpants. Her dark hair was tied up behind her head and she stared at me with eyes that had not gotten any rest.

She let out a long sigh and turned back into her house. "Come in." I walked in and shut the door behind me. Before I could say anything, she continued, "I'll let you in my room, just... be quiet. I don't want to wake up my dad. He likes to sleep through the morning."

"Yeah, sure."

She watched me for another moment before leading me through her house. The front room was the living room and branched off into a straight hallway. In the middle of the hallway, a metal cross hung on the wall in such an imposing way. At the end of the hallway there were two doors. One directly ahead, and one off to the left. The one directly ahead was closed, and the one on the left was the room that Avery led me into. She closed the door as we walked inside.

Avery's bedroom was smaller than mine. Her bed sat horizontally against the wall, with the head on the opposite corner from the door. A wide window was above her bed, covered with white sheer curtains. Her bedsheets were white with light purple patterns across it and the pillows matched. Beside the head of her bed was a dresser with stacks of books on top of it. She sat down on the floor next to her bed where an acoustic guitar lay alongside an opened spiral notebook.