PERVERSE - Apply Fic

25

In the early hours of the morning in the thirty-first of October, the streets of Chelster are filled with ghosts. Most of them are real now, and only some are figurative.

Este having been there before, guides Ajay to the spot where they returned. In the dark, without even the light of the moon slipping through the gaps in the thinning leaves, Este does not find him. Death took Jayce with finality, a lecture she was not afforded.

Then again, a death so banal is fitting for him. The shot got his lung, and he was dead within seconds. He didn't even croak out a last word to get as she smirked at him from above.

They are not the last to get back to the motel, their shoes muddy and their bodies warmer than when they left.

By then, most others have returned. Leo hogs the bathroom, starting at Miku's reflection in the mirror. Not even now, knowing that they are in Hell after Clare's revelation, does she cease her torment. There is a reason Leo is tattooed with a dragon and not a phoenix; fire was never meant to bring about his rebirth.

While Clare lies in bed next to Kaia, pretending to sleep, so does Kaia. She didn't eat any of the fries that she was supposed to share with Barry earlier. Now, her stomach is just as hungry, but she feels no more faint. She is not ravenous. Lying in bed, she is just as tired. When the sun rises, she suspects she will feel the same as she does now.

Clare still doesn't speak to her. All Clare's words were given to Leo. Telling him only Leo worse, and Clare hadn't imagined that possible.

After she returns, Lydia shoves a few loonies into a vending machine and chugs back a coke. Tucked into the wall on the opposite side of the vending machine, she holds the empty can in her hand and listens for a sound. The sweet sticky syrup soaks into the inside of her throat. What would her father say if he saw her drinking this? Would he despise her more than he hated her album? What would her old co-workers think? Her producer? And Barry, if they came down from their room and saw her, they'd be certain this new Lydia is not the old one.

Barry is upstairs, and no matter how much they brush his teeth, they still taste vinegar. They only put on one packet out of the three Kaia offered, but their tongue feels slimy still. At least, somehow, Kaia is tolerable. It still beats Audrey, who rocks in the bed they share and whispers to themselves.

In the room over, Fallon sleeps. It is easy enough for Fallon to lie still when she is upset. It is easier to dream and wake up with a pounding chest than to remember what she saw through the crack in the door. What she told Nico about while they unpacked the groceries without Lydia's help.

Nico doesn't sleep. They look over at the bed that contains Ajay but not Leo. Could they tell Leo? What good could come from it? Perhaps Ajay, although Leo would only feel more isolated if Nico kept more things from him. Even with Fallon's soft snores, their bed feels so cold.

Ashamed to think it, but Nico wonders if Leo is warmer because he's been burned before or if Leo just feels like a hearth naturally.

The coldest bed of all belongs to Eva. It is nice, having cold pillows and money and no mother in sight. Of course, it would be better if Ambrose was there, lying next to her. Maybe it would feel even colder. Lying with him is like resting in a coffin. Snug.

The day begins before he is back. Through the thin blinds their rooms ignite in light. It is impossible to sleep through the brightness. In this half life, it is impossible to rest.

Eva borrows Lydia early to sell the jewelry to the pawn shop. The pair walk together in the cold, Lydia taking deep breaths of the icy air before finally chain smoking with Eva.