wally's lament.

[ 23 ]

⫸ Oh my GAWD how in the world did so many new people start reading this so fast??? I'm amazed omg... happy reading lovelies!

⫸——⫷

The next day, you spent a long time packing up your minimal items and moving them from the motel to your new home.

You did not work, thankfully, so you knew that you would have a lot of time to settle in to the freshly purchased house. You still had payments to make to continue paying it off, but you did not have to worry about that right now. Instead, you had to worry about overcoming your anxiety about settling down.

You were standing in your new house at the moment, all of your belongings splayed over the living room. It was furnished, as Francine had explained to you yesterday. That was a good thing; not needing to buy any furniture saved you a lot of time and money.

The house was a cute place with yellow painted drywall and lots of fresh green and blue accents. The kitchen, which contained beautiful marble counters and a very new looking fridge, sat right next to the dining room, which was across from the living room. In between the dining room and the living room sat a set of birch wood stairs, which lead up to three tiny rooms. One had a bed and nothing else, the other was evidently a bathroom, and the last one had a small desk. The desk was empty.

You took a moment to walk around the house. As you did so, your eyes scanning for any misshapen door hinges or splotches of mold, you also debated how you could decorate and remodel the place to make it feel more like home. Sure, that would require some shopping (and more money spent), but that was okay. You needed this place to feel like home, for your own mental health, or else you would go running back to your home town in tears.

You moved the majority of your items, including your books, clothes, and remaining cash up to your bedroom. It took a little bit to organize everything, and when you were done, you flopped down on the bed and heaved a sigh.

You did not have any plans for today, but you desperately wanted to call your family. You still did not know how they were, or if they had seen the news article about you. If you called them on their old phone numbers, the calls might not go through. You did not know if they took that precaution, but it would not hurt to try and call them anyways.

Eventually, laying in your new bed with your thoughts, you drifted off into a semi-peaceful slumber.

⫸——⫷

When you woke up from your nap, it was 5 P.M..

You rose from the bed, momentarily stunned because you had no idea where you were. Then you remembered buying the new house, and your heart settled heavily in your chest. This was your new bedroom, of course.

Downstairs, someone or something was knocking. The sound must have woken you up. You got to your feet and bustled downstairs. The front door, thankfully, had a little peephole just like your motel's front door had. Looking through it, you found Francine, the real estate agent, with a plate of something in her hands. You were glad to see that it was just Francine — you did not know if you were ready to handle seeing anyone else at the moment.

You opened the door for her and let her inside. "Good evening, young one," she said. You saw that the plate in her hands was holding a dozen cupcakes, covered in plastic wrap. "How are you liking the house? Any troubles that I should fix before you get settled in?"