Obscuria

Chapter Three - From Which The Ember Emerged

(Misty)

From upstairs, my ears pick up the sound of Grandma's footsteps sauntering into the kitchen. The first sign that she's about to make us dinner. Honestly, I should've guessed that Everly wasn't going to pick me up and take me to hers. I don't know why, but I just hoped she would come. No matter how unlikely it was - even though she couldn't have the slightest idea where I live - I just clung to this odd, hopeless hope that she would arrive. Somehow.

Cooped up in my new room and turning up the volume of my comfort playlist, I pop my earbuds back in. A couple of long minutes pass and then there's the smell of... What is that? Vegetables, I think. What a disappointment.

I mean, I don't hate vegetables. I really don't. It's just that they taste kind of bland compared to the really good stuff. Pizza; spaghetti. You know, Italian food. It's something I just can't resist, even if I try.

Again, no hate for vegetables. They're just inherently inferior.

Swimming in the music that fills my ears, I allow my mind to wander the ocean of my thoughts. Although, wander might be the wrong word. Overthink would probably fit better.

What will all of those students think of me after that huge meltdown? What if they all ignore me out of fear? Will they avoid me? Do they think I'm dangerous or something?

I have too much experience with this sort of thing. I don't know what's wrong with me but I just get so emotional for the tiniest of reasons. I get attached to people so easily and my heavy heart is crushed when I find out the connection wasn't real, and then I just can't stop myself. I lash out and cry and panic and things just-

Am I dangerous?

One of my earbuds falls out as I try to force myself not to cry. On my bedsheets, I take note of a purple anemone flower that I didn't notice before: likely a gift that Alex left for me, but it could just be a figment of my imagination. I reach out for it and touch it. A real flower, it seems. Its petals are silky and delicate in my hand and it carries the musky scent of leaves.

Hm. Weird.

Mitski's Nobody comes to an end and leaves Bonfire in its place. With the drastic change in mood, I realise I'm just freaking myself out again. It's not like I choose to. It's just something that happens.

I close my eyes and exhale heavily, trying to calm myself as I listen to the song that reminds me so much of my favourite show. Even just thinking about it makes me smile with glee. Maybe I should watch it after dinner. A couple of minutes into the song, however, Dad walks in.

He says something I don't understand, muffled by the music.

"What?" I say like an old deaf lady, pulling out an earbud.

"I said there's a girl at the door," Dad tells me, smirking. "You didn't tell me you'd found a new girlfriend already. This is worse than what happened with Lily."

"She's not my girlfriend," I comment. But inside, my heart practically skips a beat. Everly's picking me up?

I try to tell myself I'm stupid for believing it, that I'm jumping to conclusions, but I still can't help this feeling at the front of my mind that it's her. With all the weirdness that's been going on lately, it's not the least credible thing. Maybe she had a reason not to ask for my address this morning. Maybe she really did already know: she could have seen me leaving the Manor just this morning.

Oh, Christ Almighty. Everly!

"I'll get the door then," I giggle, not really able to help it. I rush down a couple of flights of stairs and down to the front door, practically with lightning speed. It has to be her it has to be her it has to be-