House of Goths

Chapter 9

Usually, Saturday mornings around the house were Becky's favourite times of the week. Today, though, things weren't quite so pleasant for her. Instead of hopping out of bed and happily making her way into the kitchen to sip coffee and sift through flyers with her housemates, Becky waited until she was sure they had vacated the house before emerging from her bedroom.

In fact, she spent the entire long weekend, hiding out in her room, reading her books, concentrating on her studies rather than be anywhere near her inhospitable housemates.

No turkey dinner for her, she thought with a despondent sigh as she stared up at the ceiling. The saddest part was, hoping to make herself feel better, she had called her grandmother, only to be informed that the dear old lady's health had taken a nasty turn. The nurse on call also warned Becky to prepare herself for the worst.

Suddenly realizing that Granny might not make it, Becky was on the verge of an emotional meltdown. If Granny died, not only would she miss her terribly, Becky also realized that she would be all alone in the world.

***

"What exactly did you do to upset Becky?" Crispin asked from his horizontal position on the couch.

"Only what had to be done," Kell said with a sigh of resignation.

"Not that I care, but perhaps you shouldn't have led her on in the first place," Crispin said with a disapproving scowl.

"Why do you care?" Kell growled back.

"Like I said, I don't care. You see, at least, I've never pretended to like the girl. You, on the other hand, led her to believe that she meant something to you. Only to stomp on her little heart. Cruel bastard..."

"Shut the fuck up, Crisp. What's done is done. She'll get over it. If not, she can leave. Isn't that what you really want?"

"Well, not anymore," Crispin said, sitting up indignantly. "The cheeky little dormouse has grown on me."

"Oh, I get it. You were only pretending not to like her," Kell challenged.

"I don't like her," Crispin said, his voice climbing an entire octave. "I just don't need to be rid of her quite so much."

***

Halfway through the following week, Becky still hadn't received any good news regarding Gran's health. In fact, the attending nurse had informed Becky that she should plan to visit her grandmother very soon just in case.

That could only mean one thing. Granny was dying and there was nothing Becky could do about it. She was getting desperate. She hadn't spoken about her situation to anyone. She'd been tempted to approach Dorian, but she just didn't think she could. The last thing she wanted was to be bothersome.

Deciding to take matters into her own hands, she spoke to her professors and warned them that she would be leaving for a few days. Given the circumstances, they were all quite accommodating. At least, she wouldn't have to worry about missing classes.

Thursday afternoon, she purchased her train tickets with every intention of leaving for Toronto on the weekend.

Friday night, while the Goths were out, performing in a local college bar, Becky quietly packed her suitcase. She then dragged it down the steps and placed it by the front door. In the morning, she would simply call for a taxi and leave.

She then got ready for bed. She hoped to fall asleep quickly so that she would wake up feeling refreshed and ready for the long journey.

Unfortunately, her frazzled nerves got the best of her. Becky spent the early hours of the evening, tossing and turning, getting herself even more upset. Soul destroying feelings of loneliness overtook her. Could she do this on her own? Would she even make it to the train station without losing her mind?