I'll Keep You Safe - Wenclair

Chapter 8: Carnival (Woooo!)

It was finally upon them. The weekend they had both been dreading, for separate reasons.

Enid dreaded the insults and the snide remarks.

Wednesday dreaded the affection and the caring.

Parent's weekend.

Both girls silently wondered if they could trade parents for the day. Wednesday would much rather be insulted all day than showered with affection. The opposite was true for Enid.

Indeed, they were polar opposites. Absolutely not one thing in common. Except, perhaps, a mutual hatred for parents weekend.

In some ways, Enid resented Wednesday for taking her parents for granted. They supported her in her efforts, however darkly they displayed the support. It was all Enid had ever wished for.

She would never say it out loud, though.

Her head jerked up out of her book when she heard a knock on the door. She hoped for the arrival of Wednesday's parents, maybe she could make a good impression on them and they'd take her in and love her forever.

Maybe she was the slightest bit delusional.

She was greeted by a grey-scale family when she opened the door. Her heart burst with hope. Maybe they'd love her.

"Hey! I'm Enid," she said, holding her hand out for Gomez and Pugsley to shake. "Wednesday just quickly went for a shower, but she shouldn't be too long."

She was surprised when the only one to take her hand was Morticia. Even more so when Pugsley crushed her in a hug, followed by Gomez.

They were already so much different to what she had expected. She figured Wednesday's aversion to touch was a product of the environment in which she was raised. It seems it was just a part of her personality.

"Enid," Morticia said, giving a soft smile to the werewolf. "We've heard so much about you."

"No they haven't," a monotone voice interjected from behind them. Enid didn't understand how her heart could soar and drop at the same time. Wednesday had returned, but saying those words. "We haven't spoken since I arrived here. They just remember you from my first day."

Gomez and Morticia didn't respond.

Hey! At least she didn't deny the possibility of her talking about me! Enid thought, feeding into delusions once again. Her heart returned to its regular space in her chest.

Morticia shook her head slightly, recovering from the awkwardness. "When are your parents arriving, Enid?"

"Um, soon! I can't wait to see them. I've missed them so much."

Deep brown eyes bore into her side, as if to peel the truth out of her skin.

Enid had never even told Wednesday about her parents. Not properly.

*****

Wednesday feared she might kill someone. Her parents were staring adoringly into each others' eyes, practically on the verge of making out in the courtyard of her school. And her brother was giggling - actually giggling - with the only member of the beekeeping club. Wednesday had only interacted with Eugene a few times, but in those few she had deduced that he was not that funny. Neither was Pugsley.

She sat at the head of the table, watching Enid slump as her family talked.

Enid didn't slump. She didn't sigh and place her head in her hands. Sure, her eyes always flitted around the room when she was talking, but they never seemed like any thoughts existed behind them. They never held this much weight. Why did she lie to Wednesday, and her family?