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CHAPTER TWO.
AFTERMATH
CYNTHIA ARCHER lay sprawled on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She'd changed her wall colour every year and this year it was a light baby pink. As she stared at it, she felt obligated to change it once more, to something darker. Her attention to interior design changed as her bed dipped and Stu's face hovered over hers, "Cyn... you have to get up."
"Why? Why can't I just stay here?" Cynthia asked as she pushed herself up to lean against the headboard. She looked at him in exhaustion, "How'd you get past the millions of reporters outside?"
The moment Billy brought her home the night before, they swarmed around her house. Cynthia was sure they were living in their vans, waiting to get a glimpse of her. However, they were unlucky as she had stayed away from the windows. They were still there, acting like vultures.
"Billy let me come through the back," Stu sighed, his usual joking demeanour gone. Billy was no doubt downstairs, attempting to make her something to eat and failing. "Come on, baby, we've got school."
"I don't think I can go. I can't sit there knowing she's dead," Cynthia sank into her bedsheets, pulling her duvet over her head to hide away from the world.
Stu pulled it back, brushing the hair away from her face, "You have to Cyn, life has to go on."
She knew he was right and sighed. She stood from her bed and padded across to her window. Stu's eyes shamelessly followed her exposed legs before moving up her body to her face. Her angular jaw was set in anger as she peaked at the news reporters outside. Her hazel eyes shone with a glare at the group disturbing her peace.
She turned to back to him and he snapped from his staring and his wandering thoughts. He laid back on her bed, hands under his head as he watched her move toward her closet. Cynthia threw various clothes toward the bed.
Billy came up a bit later and handed her a plate of toast with scrambled eggs on the side. She smiled at him gratefully and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He flopped beside Stu and both watched as she moved around her room with a focused stare. Cynthia was quite used to their behaviour when they were in her room, but this time felt different. Like they were waiting for her to break and hop into the bed beside them and stay all day.
However, that didn't happen.
An hour later, she was dressed and staring at the school in front of her from Stu's parked car. He looked at her worriedly, "You ready?"
Cynthia nodded and stepped out of the jeep. She kept her head down as she approached, but someone caught sight of her and yelled out, "There she is!"
