Twin Souls: The Story Behind The Broken Roses

Chapter Seven: July 17, 2014

Penny Elmwood

Rain had always been Penny's favorite weather to be in. She liked how it would sound when it pounded on her roof, she liked how the thunder would shake her walls and she liked standing outside and watching the lightning... At least at home.

She hated how the roof leaked here, how the door would slightly open and close in the rain, and how it seemed that even their flashlights would flicker, despite never being attached to any sort of electricity... It was almost scary. Scarier still, considering the fact that Tegan had left an hour ago to use the bathroom and still hadn't come back... Who knows what could happen in the woods on a 'dark and stormy night'? Penny hoped nothing, Tegan was sweet but she didn't seem like much of a fighter...

"Tegan's been gone a while..." Emma mumbled, looking over at the doorway with some concern. Esme sighed and waved her off, flicking through another page in the book she'd definitely stolen from someone else... God, Penny wasn't sure she'd seen Esme do anything that was good for herself the entire time she'd been here, it was almost refreshing.

"She'll be back, don't worry." She responded, not seeming worried. Penny rested her head on her hand as she looked down at her side profile, at the way that her hair fell slightly in front of her face when she read... She moved her lips along with the words and her fingers along the page, like she'd lose her place if she didn't. Normally, Penny would find that ridiculous, but it was kind of cute when Esme did it... A lot of things about Esme were cute to her, even if they weren't when she thought about other people.

This was becoming a problem. Ever since Esme had carried her to the infirmary, she'd felt... Different around her. Giggly, excited, like her heart was racing even when it wasn't... She was laughing a little too loud at her jokes, she kept finding excuses to brush hands with Esme just to see if she was maybe reacting the same way... But she hadn't yet. It almost felt like Esme felt nothing at all, like she was content to sit in a place where she never had to have a cohesive thought ever again in her entire life... It was weird. She knew Esme wasn't cold and unfeeling, but she was really good at seeming like she was.

"You guys, do you want to know what I found in the dumpster behind the dining hall?" They all looked up at the same time to see a soaking wet Tegan holding something behind her back. Emma sighed and stood up and Penny watched her dig through her bag until she found dry clothes to hand to Tegan, who hadn't noticed yet.

"Uh... Trash?" Esme asked, and Tegan gave her a look, the smile on her face falling for a moment... Damn... Alright...

"Shut the fuck up..." There was a long pause. She had found trash, right? "And yes." Cool... Why was it relevant? Emma sighed and took a step back, sitting down on her bunk as she put the dry clothes for Tegan beside her... Honestly, Penny would've thrown them at her.

"What else did you find?" Emma asked, and Tegan smiled again, pulling out a glass bottle with about a third of its contents left... Penny squinted in the low light... Vodka?

"This." She sounded proud of herself, which was... Good? Esme stood up and cleared her throat, walking over to examine it before she grimaced and shook her head as she passed it back to Tegan.

"That's a terrible brand, it tastes like gasoline." How could she possibly know that off the label alone? How did she know that at all? Tegan shrugged at her and unscrewed the lid, giving Esme a look.

"Hey, beggars can't be choosers." Esme nodded at that, like it made sense. Emma stood up to join them a moment later, and then all eyes were on her. Penny shifted around, avoiding their gaze at first before she shook her head... It was sweet that they wanted to include her, but she didn't want to be in on this.