Faith Will Save You (Dolores O'Riordan fanfic)

ONE

The clock was ticking, same as it always did, every twenty-four hours, three-hundred and sixty-five days a year. The clock, an illusion established from the basis of scientific discoveries, was ticking at it's normal rate and never stopping for a second. The world around was spinning and changing at such a degree every single second that passed by, and yet, in Sophie's own world, factored by the thoughts swimming relentlessly in her mind, time stood completely still.

Sophie hated this world she was currently living in. The air smelled of uncertainty. The UK government was becoming more of a joke by the day as coronavirus was consistently lingering in the air, searching for its next victim of prey, with no current sign of dissipation.
What's more? Going outside was how Sophie had always managed to escape from her home life; she would always take leisurely mental health strolls as part of her routine when things got ugly in the house. Sometimes, she would also ride her bike or meet with friends. At least, she considered them to be friends, but she always got the vibe that her "friends" treated her as more of an acquaintance that they had to tolerate as opposed to an actual friend. Acceptance was something Sophie had never been blessed with. The more she noticed how different she was to others, both visually and behaviour-wise, the more she realised she was not accepted by others. This only worsened her perception of herself, over time.

But now, going outside was just not an option in the year of 2020. The UK Prime Minister had recently issued a statement about staying at home and protecting the National Health Service, not to drive anywhere unless absolutely necessary (which Sophie did not have to worry about because she was far too young to drive anyway).  By governmental decree, she was only allowed a half-hour walk every day, which wasn't nearly enough time as what she needed.

Alas, she was stuck at home, her prison cell, cooped up in her room with her laptop open. School really wasn't the same with lessons being taught online. She wasn't exactly spiralling academically, but she felt like she wasn't really learning anything from just staring blankly at a screen for hours on end until the blue light gave her insomnia every night. Not to mention that her WiFi connection was terrible.

When the lesson ended, she shut down her latop, sighing to herself before lying down momentarily on her bed. Her brain was completely fried. Utterly exhausted, she merely stared straight at the bedroom wall opposite her, eyes unfocused. She finally had free time to herself, something she was looking forward to all day, yet she could not find it in her heart to be motivated or interested in doing things that she usually found joy in.

Lost in the thoughts swimming around in the black depths of her mind, she didn't immediately register her father calling her.

"SOPHIE!!!!"

Ugh. Him. Sophie groaned quietly from her bedroom in response. A feeling of dread overwhelmed her. Whatever she had done wrong, she knew she'd be in for it, she could tell from the tone of his voice. It was no question or statement, but a thunderous demand for her presence downstairs.

Swearing under her breath, Sophie reluctantly heaved her body from the comfort of her bed and opened her bedroom door.

"What is it?" she mumbled wearily as she made her way downstairs, not exactly looking forward to the confrontation that she knew was about to occur. "What have I done now?"

"THIS!" her father bellowed, his face as red as tomato. His facial features displayed nothing short of profound fury. Sophie stared at him, bewildered, before her eyes followed to where his quivering finger was pointing, and it was then that she realised that their family dog, Theo, had defecated on his girlfriend's new pure white carpet that completely coated her office room downstairs.

"Well... that is...unfortunate," Sophie began nervously. "I'm sorry to Irene, but I don't see what this has to do with me."

Her father's eyes flashed dangerously, flames dancing behind his eyes.
"Me and Irene were both at work all day today, as we had no choice, given our jobs. YOU were in charge of the dog. It was YOUR responsibility to make sure the menace didn't shit everywhere!"