bloodbound

chapter 2

Arielle Thorne
"you call it being negative, I call it being realistic"

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The morning came too soon, sunlight filtering through the gauzy curtains of my new room, casting a soft, golden light over the boxes still left unopened. I blinked against the brightness, disoriented for a moment by the unfamiliarity of it all—the way the room smelled like old wood and the distant scent of pine from outside. My back ached from sleeping on the half-made bed, and for a brief second, I wished I could go back to our old life, back to where things made sense.

But I couldn't. This was our life now.

I swung my legs out of bed, the wooden floor cold against my feet. The house was quiet, except for the occasional creak that seemed to echo in the vast hallways. I could hear the faint sound of birds chirping from the trees outside, but it did nothing to ease the knot that twisted in my stomach.

I pulled on some old jeans and a sweatshirt, tying my hair up in a loose ponytail before padding down the stairs. The front door was slightly open, the morning breeze carrying the faint scent of dew and damp earth into the foyer. I could see Azalea's shoes by the door, one half-on, the other tipped over beside them. She was probably outside, exploring before breakfast.

"Azalea!" I called, pushing the door open wider and stepping onto the porch. The air was cooler than I expected, and the fog still clung to the ground, swirling around the roots of the trees like something alive.

There she was, crouched on the ground, her small fingers poking at something beneath the bushes. She was still in her pajamas, the ones with the faded stars on them, completely oblivious to the chill in the air.

"Azalea, what are you doing?" I called, my voice still scratchy from sleep.

She looked up at me, her gray eyes wide with excitement. "Look, Ari! There's a cat! I think it lives here."

I sighed, relieved it wasn't something more dangerous. The woods surrounding the house felt endless, the kind of place where you could lose yourself, and a part of me worried about what might actually be lurking out there.

"Come inside," I said, my tone softening as I walked over to her. "You'll catch a cold out here like that."

Azalea looked at me with the defiant sparkle she always had when she thought she was right, but eventually, she nodded, standing up and brushing the dirt off her knees. She gave the cat one last look before heading inside, her bare feet pattering across the porch as she went in.

I lingered on the steps for a moment longer, watching the fog curl through the trees like tendrils of smoke. There was something about this place—something I couldn't quite put my finger on. It was beautiful, yes, but also...off. Maybe it was just because everything was new, or maybe it was the weight of everything we'd left behind. But the longer I stood there, the heavier that feeling became, like the forest itself was watching me.

"Breakfast is ready!" Mom's voice called from the kitchen, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I turned and went back inside, closing the door behind me, shutting out the eerie silence of the woods. The house still felt hollow, like it hadn't quite accepted us yet. I hoped that with time, it would.

In the kitchen, Mom was already up, bustling around the stove with a distracted energy that had become all too familiar over the past few months. She was frying eggs, but her mind was somewhere else. It always was.

"Smells good," I said, forcing a smile as I grabbed a plate and sat down at the worn wooden table.

Azalea had already found her seat, her legs swinging beneath the table, her face bright with the excitement of her discovery. "Mom, there's a cat outside! I think it belongs to the house!"