Wait and Ache

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"i wait and ache. i think i have been healing" - sylvia plath




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Nita knew she fucked up.

She hit a foster parent, one that she didn’t really get along with as it is, which was basically a guarantee that she’d be in a new foster home by the following night.

After crying herself to sleep, Nita woke up Sunday morning to the smell of pancakes and the sound of laughter from her sister and Freen.

For a second she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d dreamt about the whole incident from the previous night.

When it occurred to her that it wasn’t a dream, Nita made up her mind that she wasn’t going to leave her room until P'Beer came to collect her. She quietly packed her bag, avoiding any creaking floorboards that could tell Freen from downstairs that she was awake.

Nita set her packed duffle by the door and sat on her now made bed, her sketchpad opened on her lap as she drew all of the ugly things she felt eating away at her insides.

Hours passed as she sat alone in her room. She could hear Emily and Freen go about their day, sounding almost normal aside from Emily being less excitable due to her flu.

Several Disney movies could be heard starting and ending from the master bedroom after lunchtime, a sign that
the two had hunkered down for a movie watching spree.

Nita began to wonder how cruel Freen could be for making Emily believe that they were staying with her still. She was waiting for the foster mom to break the news to the little girl and for her cries to echo through the house.

Nothing.

Nita managed to draw until her hand was cramping, and read an entire book before she realized that the sun had gone down outside and the day had come to an end.

No P'Beer.

Maybe Freen was waiting to do it when Nita left the room.

Around 1am, when Nita was sure both Freen and Emily were asleep, and when her hunger got the best of her, the teen snuck out of her room and crept down to the kitchen. She riffled through cabinets and eventually scrounged up a small stash of dry foods that would last her a few days in case Freen decided to stop feeding her.

She grabbed a few bottles of water as well and then returned to her room, where she ate a handful of peanuts and chugged two of her waters.

The teen fell asleep, once again worrying about what tomorrow had in store for her.




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Freen got up on Monday to find that Emily was still running a slight fever.

She had kept her food down yesterday, but had some diarrhea and nausea, which Freen knew would be a big no-no to send a child to school with.

She also knew that Nita was unlikely to be in the mood to attend class after hiding in her room the whole day without eating anything.

Deciding to let the girls sleep in, Freen went about doing some of the household chores before she stepped into the shower. While under the stream of hot water, Freen didn’t hear Nita leave her room, nor did she hear the front door opening and closing.

In fact, Freen was oblivious to Nita's disappearance for a good hour before her phone rang with the school ID.

The foster mom answered, already prepared to hear the secretary inquire about the girls’ whereabouts.

And Then There Was You (FreenxBecky)Where stories live. Discover now