Unlovable | Wednesday Addams

8

Evelyn looked up from her clean sweep of dart wins to see Wednesday and Tyler running through the crowd. She turned to Arnold on the ledge, Lilian's request momentarily forgotten.

"Follow them. I'll try to keep up."

Arnold squeaked in affirmation and jumped up, catching the wind and gliding toward the forest. Evelyn forced her way as quickly as she could through the crowd, shoving people out of the way left and right with barely an apology. For some reason, she had a horrible feeling that Wednesday was in trouble. And she couldn't help but feel concerned.

Leaves crunched under her feet as she entered the forest, breathing heavily and running in the direction where she heard roaring. She sprang into the clearing to see Rowan screaming while a monster mutilated his body.

She stared in horror for a second, assessing the scene. Wednesday was at the base of a tree, a massive monster was ripping into Rowan and she hadn't been noticed yet. In a moment of loss of logic, she began to gather magic out of the air. The monster turned at the sudden change in atmosphere. It just stared at her before roaring and swiped Rowan's body one more time before it ran off into the wilderness. Evelyn's knees wobbled as her adrenaline began to fade.

"Oh my—" she could barely hold back her gag. She stumbled toward the fallen boy and fell to her knees beside him, her jeans soaking up his blood. With shaking hands, she pressed her fingers against his neck, feeling for a pulse despite knowing full well that she wouldn't find one. She hung her head and gently closed his eyes. Arnold slowly crawled up to her and pressed his paw against her knee. He stared up at her with wide innocent eyes, too speechless to think. Evelyn's hands were frozen over Rowan's face.

"He tried to kill me," Wednesday's monotonous voice said behind her, cutting through the sombre air. Evelyn swallowed her bile and looked angrily at the girl.

"He's...He's dead. I-I have to tell someone," Evelyn finally withdrew her hand and stood up on legs that still felt ready to collapse at any moment.

"I'll come with you," Wednesday offered, to which the other girl could only nod. Evelyn didn't wait for her, just ran as fast as she could out of there and into the first person she saw—Bianca. She threw her arms around her friend as she trembled.

"Evelyn! What happened? What did you do to her?" Bianca demanded, holding up her friend with some difficulty. "Why are you covered in blood?"

"Get help. Rowan has been attacked in the forest," Wednesday ordered.

"Rowan's been what?!"

"He's dead," Evelyn wailed, clutching onto Bianca. "There wasn't a heartbeat. I saw a monster out there and it tore—it tore—" Evelyn couldn't go on and let Bianca put her down on the ground.

"I'll get help." Bianca ran off toward the Festival while Evelyn remained where she was, holding Arnold against her tightly.

"Get up," Wednesday said coldly, looking at her like she were something disgusting.

"Rowan just died! I know you have a fetish for dead people so I don't expect you to understand the horror," Evelyn said, causing Arnold to move to her head and wave his little fist at her.

Wednesday narrowed her eyes at him. "Stop."

Arnold squeaked in fear and ran into Evelyn's pocket. Evelyn glared at Wednesday.

"Come on, let's go back up to Nevermore," Wednesday said, slightly softer. Evelyn's gaze turned to the forest.

"You go first. I'm going to stay awhile."

"Evelyn. We are going up to Nevermore," Wednesday ordered more insistently. "You saw the monster out there. It isn't safe."

"But Rowan..." Evelyn muttered, letting Wednesday grab her by the arm and march her up towards the school. The walk felt a lot like a haze to her, the walls blurring past as Rowan's lifeless eyes stared back at her. She could only vaguely make out the black blob as Wednesday as they walked the familiar path back to Nevermore.

"We're here," Wednesday announced, opening the door to a random bathroom for the still-dazed Evelyn.

"I noticed," Evelyn snarked back. She, in fact, hadn't noticed. She ignored Wednesday and went to the sink, turning on the water to wash off the blood. The water warmed slowly, giving Evelyn time to mull over what had happened a mere hour ago. Tears began to trail down her cheeks, ruining her mascara. She closed her eyes, trying to get a handle of herself. She opened them to see Wednesday in the reflection of the mirror, just watching her.

Wednesday came over beside her, as Evelyn stared back blankly. "It's like you're seeing a dead body for the first time."

"News flash, Wednesday: It is," Evelyn groaned, scrubbing her hands hard under the piping hot water.

Wednesday's stared at the side of Evelyn's face. "You're the daughter of Aphrodite."

"Of course, you figured that out," Evelyn muttered, sniffling as she scrubbed beneath her nails. "I can still see his eyes."

Wednesday silently stood beside her. Evelyn turned her head to stare into Wednesday's eyes.

"I shouldn't have followed you," Evelyn admitted, taking the cotton pad Arnold offered her to wipe off her ruined makeup.

"So why did you?" Wednesday's eyes carefully assessed her body language.

"I didn't think that someone would die," Evelyn frowned. "Why were you following Rowan anyway?"

"I don't have to tell you anything," Wednesday replied and proceeded to leave the bathroom quickly.

Evelyn turned back to the sink and braced herself on the sink, shutting her eyes as she tried to get a hold of herself. Rowan's frozen, shocked look was now etched into her mind, so fresh and clear. Her knees were now cold and crusted over from his blood. "Fine, Wednesday. Have it your way."