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Chapter three, 𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵
There were two places you could find Birdie Alastair lounging about.One— her room. Birdie's room was her sanctuary, a place where she could retreat from the world and find solace in her own thoughts. Despite the familiarity of her room, there was a time when Birdie's living arrangements changed. At the age of eleven, the facility decided to assign her a roommate. Which obviously didn't go well, since the other girl came running out of that room, crying while blood dripped from her nose.
Two— leaning against a pillar that gave her the perfect view of the streets outside of eichen house. Birdie had discovered this spot not long after she arrived. It was an unassuming place, just a stretch of wall near a pillar that gave her a perfect view of the world outside. She would lean against it, arms crossed over her chest, and watch the cars as they drove by.
There was something soothing about it. The steady flow of traffic, the way the cars sped up or slowed down depending on the time of day, and the occasional blare of a horn or screech of tires. It was a small taste of normalcy, something she could latch onto when the weight of her abilities threatened to crush her.
Birdie knew every car that passed by. The shiny, well-maintained sedans of the visitors, the battered old trucks of the staff, and even the delivery vans that came at the same time every day. She had memorized the routes, the faces of the drivers, and the patterns they followed without fail. In a place where everything felt out of control, this was her anchor.
No one besides the staff bothered Birdie— even as a child. They were too afraid.
It wasn't just the incident with the girl, though that certainly played a part. The story had spread like wildfire through the facility, twisted and exaggerated until Birdie became a figure of fear among the other residents. Whispers followed her wherever she went, soft murmurs that trailed off the moment she turned her head.
"She's the one who made that girl bleed..."
"Don't look her in the eye..."
"Stay away from her, or she'll hurt you too..."
Birdie heard it all. She pretended she didn't, but the words sank in, settling in the pit of her stomach like stones. She wasn't a monster— she didn't want to hurt anyone. But the visions were part of her, and no matter how hard she tried to suppress them, they always found a way to break free.
