Arcane Sequence: 1994: Never Stop Running... (WLW)

Part Two: Chapter Twelve: Islamorada Island, Florida, December 1998

This chapter contains dark themes.

Kirah despondently stared down at the meal on her plate, without appetite despite the large feast she'd labored over all afternoon in the kitchen, and listened to the ticking of the clock along the fireplace mantle in the other room. The music playing from the nearby stereo serenaded the dining room from its shelf across the room and she lifted her head, glancing at the only other person in the room. Little Tucker, though he wasn't quite as small as he once was, stared back at her through an arched brow as he picked at his food with his fork.

He peered back down at his plate and sighed before taking another bite. He'd grown more and more saddened each day, worrying her to no end with his latest wave of depression. As it wasn't the first, Kirah had noted just how his face grew rather crestfallen, as if the entire world around him was crumbling before him and there was nothing to do to stop it. Kirah couldn't blame him.

Over the last four years, while Tucker had grown to the age of twelve and shot up several feet, she knew his shoulders had only gotten heavier with each passing day spent without the one person whom could bring a smile to both of their faces. In fact, Kirah couldn't recall the last time she genuinely smiled, running her fingers through her hair after setting her fork aside. Just as she had, the door to the mansion they knew as home for the last four years opened, the sound making Tucker jump up from his seat.

He rushed past Kirah and out of the room, ducking his head as he literally ran to the stairs around the corner. She listened as he took more than one at a time and the echo drifted further away as he journeyed toward his room. The whole house was just so quiet aside from the deep baritone tones of Saul accompanied by another's that sent a chill up her spine as she cautiously awaited the inevitable.

"...Over to the other side. I think the men will enjoy it more." Saul finished as he walked around the entryway to the dining room and over to the table without sparing her a single glance.

He needn't as her eyes were drawn to her greatest foe who smiled at her as she made her way into the room. "I'll take that under advisement." Nadia walked over to her and tilted her head down, raising her eyebrows. "Are you not eating after you did such good work, beautiful?" Kirah cringed as she always did at the overfamiliar tone in her voice and turned her head away, only to have it grabbed. As Nadia turned her to face her and knelt down beside her, she saw her face fall into a grimace that made her shiver at its hidden meaning. "Where's the kid? Already ran off?"

Kirah jerked her face out of her grasp and gazed away again. "He was just tired after a long day."

"Same ol' story, 'ey?" Nadia pulled the chair beside her out, angling it toward her before sitting down. She caught Kirah's gaze and maintained it with that same raised eyebrow, leaning forward. She took hold of the arm rests on Kirah's chair and yanked her closer, sending a resounding screech along the floor. "My birthday is tomorrow. Are you ready for the party?"

"Must I really be there?"

"What did I say?" Nadia reached out and ran her finger along her cheek, making her leap to her feet in an instant as she slapped it away.

Seeing and almost feeling the anger coming off of her it was so thick, Kirah stepped away from her chair as Nadia rose to her feet. She followed, but Kirah wasn't in the mood and Saul's chuckling from behind her as he ate only made her more mad. This wasn't her life. This wasn't how it was meant to be or look like or... It just wasn't right. Not without her...

Kirah scurried back until her buttocks hit the counter behind her, then thought better of her retreat, making a break for the stairs. As she arrived at their steps she checked over her shoulder and spotted Nadia still watching her from the kitchen, though she turned and walked back into the dining room out of sight. With a sigh of relief, Kirah began ascending the stairs as she became lost in her thoughts again.