𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 | 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐳

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞

 Despite going to sleep at a proper time, Cherry feels like she was hit by a semi-truck. She rubs her eyes roughly as she awakens. She forces her eyes to open despite the harsh lighting. She grabs the blankets, pulling them off her, before sitting on the bed. She looks over and sees Sean sleeping soundly on the floor. She smiles softly at him, admiring how soft his features are in his sleep. The bit of drool coming out of his mouth makes her bite back a laugh. The fastening of her heart makes her look away, and she isn't sure why. Her attention turns to the end table, spotting Daniel's Etch-a-Sketch. In his scraggly handwriting, he wrote on it, 'I AM AT THE NEIGHBORS.' 

"Oh fuck!" she groans, finally noticing Daniel's absence. She grabs her jeans off the floor and steps over Sean, tripping and stubbing her toe in the process. "Shit! Shit! Fuck you fucker!" she exclaims, leaning against the wall while waiting for the pain to subside. Her pain seems to have awakened Sean, who lets out a yawn, his eyes slowly opening.

"What happened?" He sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Daniel went to the neighbor's house," she says, rubbing the pain away in her toe.

"Shit. He never listens!" he sighs. He grabs his jeans before tossing his blanket off him. "Where's Claire and Stephen?"

"It's Sunday. So church, I'm guessing." He looks up at her, watching as she pulls her jeans on as well.

"Good, we got a few hours to ourselves." He watches her eyes widen a bit at his sly words, and he tries to bite back a smile. "Let's get Daniel first." He passes her his hoodie before leaving the room. She takes a moment to follow him, pulling the hoodie over her head before the two walk out of the house and towards the neighbors.

"Do you think I'm too soft on him?" he questions aloud, glancing at Cherry. She stares at their feet, watching how they drag through the snow.

"No. I'm pretty sure I'm the good cop, and you're the bad cop here."

"I just wonder if we're doing this right." He watches her open and close her mouth, giving herself a moment to think.

"I think you're doing the best you can, and you know that. You're doing good." She pauses before adding, "Besides, I'd tell you if you weren't."

"You know you do just as much as I do, you know that?" He bumps his shoulder against her's gently. She tries to bite back a smile. "I'm serious. You've helped me a lot."

"Not really." Before he's able to respond, they're at the front door. She twists the doorknob, finding it unlocked. She walks in slowly, Sean right behind her. The two take a moment to take in the scene before them; Chris is 'levitating' his toys while Daniel watches. Cherry can only sigh in annoyance while Sean moves to speak.

"Daniel?!" The toys drop to the ground immediately. "What is going on here?!"

"Sean! Wait, don't freak out. I can explain!"

"Wait! Let me tell him," Chris says. Cherry hides her face behind her hand, a tired sigh escaping her lips. "Guys, I know it sounds crazy, but... I have a superpower." The teens look at each other—Sean with a look of annoyance and Cherry with a look of questionable confusion—before looking back at the boys. "You saw me yesterday. I know you did. I was flying! I can move things, objects, with my mind!"

Both of the teens' expressions turn into tired disappointment, which Daniel tries to ignore by looking anywhere but them.

"A superpower. Really?" The sarcasm drips from Sean's words.

"Yes!"

"Great. And you don't realize what that implies? Everyone can see you from the outside!"

"You could get in real trouble," Cherry adds on. "Your dad could get in big trouble too. This is dangerous. You understand?"