IN WHICH after a friendship blow up, Talia Anderson chooses one friend over the other and realizes she either has to stay an ousted kook or learn to live life like a pogue. Problem one, she's a kook through and through. Problem two, pogue king John...
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❝weep for yourself, my man you'll never be what is in your heart weep, little lion man you're not as brave as you were at the start❞
-little lion man, mumford & sons
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chapter sixteen, WHAT HAPPENED ON THE TARMAC
Laurel Anderson unlocked her teenage daughter's bedroom door to check on her. Not in a motherly way, of course, but to make sure she was still exactly where she'd left the girl.
Talia was on the bed, her legs curled up as she started motionless at the wall, her mind zoning out as her body numbed. "Get up," Laurel ordered from the doorway, the woman's eyes landed on the smashed snow globe on the floor, and a scoff left her lips.
"Talia, get your ass up" This time, Talia lifted her head weakly to look at the woman, a bitter taste flooding the inside of her mouth as her teeth bit down on her cheek, blood coating her tongue.
The woman's stare burned through her skin, heating the girl's insides as it deepened. Talia felt empty, and the effort it took to move was almost too much for her. "Talia-" It was a warning, and she knew what came after it, yet still could only force her body to do the bare minimum.
Laurel was losing patience, and the girl in front of her knew she was running out of time before her mother snapped. It didn't matter what Talia wanted, if she didn't listen, it would only create chaos, and the girl truly didn't know if she could handle any more.
"get dressed, you're coming with me to work." Laurel moved and allowed the door to shut after she spoke, not sparing another glance at her daughter, more specifically, what she had done to her. Laurel worried about the mark on her face but had managed to chat about her daughter's return home and how she must have gotten into a fight earlier with some colleagues, so she figured she was in the clear.
"And put some makeup on." Just for safe measures.
Talia obeyed, not having enough energy to fight it. Besides, it would only be worse if she did. Her eyes stared forward, empty, as she applied makeup. She winced at each dab from the beauty blender against the now bruising mark that spread over her cheekbone.
She tried not to take long while still covering the majority of her face, she made sure her hair was down and had posed different ways in the mirror to make sure it had the least visibility possible. Once finished, Talia smoothed out her clothing and moved to her door.
She took a deep breath in before rolling her shoulders back and exiting the room. The doorknob twisted somewhat mockingly in her hand, unlike the locked handle hours prior.
"ready?" Laurel called impatiently from the front door, her uniform pressed and perfect. Talia couldn't manage to get the words from her throat, so she settled for a nod. Laurel shook her head before opening the front door and looking back to make sure her daughter was following.
