decisions (n.)
a conclusion or resolution reached after consideration.
CHECKMATE #4
"world-changing decisions are hard to make, but learning you have to sacrifice is even harder."
Life has gone back to normal in the Adelaide Woods five years after t...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
track #05 in zoey skye sinclair
enhypen // mixed up
HOURS AFTER Cadence collapses to the ground, never to see light again, I sit on the couch zoning out. Her body's been transported to the coroner's for keeping, so when everything's over she, Anson, and Ava can have a proper funeral that we all know they deserve. Tristan called them over as soon as James left.
Currently, everything in the house has been offset. One of Cadence's pictures has been lugged onto the top shelf of the fireplace, and I stare at it from where I sit, watching her look over us and the burning flames, lapping over each other; mourning the loss of someone who could trust me more than anyone else.
Cadence's death still hasn't set in for me – it's like an illusion, an imagined picture my brain has painted for us. It's like waiting for her to come home from school – only to realize she'll never be coming back. But now it's only at the 3:30 phase (school lets out at 3:00). The worry hasn't come – once the clock inches towards five, that's when we'll start worrying. But even then, we'll convince ourselves she's at school working on some extra assignments; hanging out with her friends; or even at the library reading. It isn't until the next morning and her bed is still tidy that we know.
***
"Are you sure the offer still stands?" Laine asks, lugging two suitcases full of things into the house, one of which immediately falls onto the floor, making a huge noise that startles me. "Oh my gosh," she groans before picking it up.
Gwyneth emerges from the staircase. "Yeah," she says, hoisting Laine's other bag off of the floor. "Oh, this is heavy."
"Yeah, the offer still stands. That is if you want to. I guess having another person in the house would be nice, after all. Maybe help us move on," Gwyneth returns to the line of conversation, already pulling the suitcase up the stairs towards Cadence's old room, which has since been totally cleared.
Laine grunts, doing the same with the other one. "If I wasn't okay with it, do you think I'd be here lugging a super-heavy suitcase up you guys' fancy staircase?" she jokes, but continues doing so nonetheless.
Gwyneth scoffs from the 3rd floor, where it's evident that the suitcase has been opened. "What the heck is this?" she yells. Laine immediately quickens her speed, running as fast as she can (with the heavy suitcase) to meet Gwyneth.
"Are you okay?" I turn to Kun, who hasn't talked at all since Cadence's body was taken away.
"No," he returns boredly. "I just can't believe Laine's moving in here just like that. It's like Cady's life didn't mean anything."
