𝒞ℋℰℛℛ𝒴 𝒦ℐ𝒮𝒮ℰ𝒮, 𝒞𝒪ℒℬ𝒴 ℳ𝒜𝒟𝒟ℰ𝒩

|25| 𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐞𝐬 & 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧-𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫

☡

𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐊𝐄 𝐔𝐏 feeling like gravity tripled overnight.

Her whole body was heavy, slow, dragging itself through the hallway like she had just run a marathon in her sleep. Her hair was a wild cloud around her face, her hoodie half-zipped, and she was pretty sure one sock was missing. She didn't care enough to look for it.

All she wanted was water... then maybe food... then maybe thirty more hours of sleep.

She trudged down the stairs, rubbing her face with both hands. She could hear voices below—frustrated, sharp ones—and she winced. She was in no mood for drama this early.

When she reached the bottom step, she blinked blearily at the sight in the kitchen.

Amy and Hartley stood shoulder-to-shoulder, watching Eva absolutely meltdown on the floor in front of the sink. Eva was surrounded by broken sprayer hoses, damp towels, and what looked like a scorch mark on the cabinet door.

"Come on! Whoo! Get back in there, you stupid thing!" Eva shouted, wrestling the sink sprayer like it personally insulted her. "Retract! Retract!"

Aveline stopped halfway into the room, staring blankly at the chaos with no emotional reaction at all—just tired acceptance. "Oh good," she muttered, voice scratchy. "Violence. That's what I wanted to wake up to."

Eva didn't hear her. She yanked the sprayer one more time, snapped it clean off, and threw it across the kitchen. "That's it. There is no plumber that can save you now."

Amy looked at her with wide eyes. "Mrs. Madden... are you okay?"

Eva wiped her forehead and for a moment had a peaceful, eerie calm. "I am now."

Hartley stepped forward slowly, like approaching a wild animal. "Are you sure? Because this is the third sprayer hose you've destroyed this week. Unless... you know... this is your plan to get us a dishwasher."

Amy crossed her arms. "If so, have at it."

Eva slammed the cabinet shut. "I'm just having trouble suppressing my villain rage lately."

From behind them, Aveline dragged out a chair and slumped into it. "Same," she mumbled. "But I don't break plumbing. I just yell at Colby."

Hartley turned toward her. "Morning, Aveline."

"It is not morning. It is suffering." She dropped her head on the table dramatically.

Eva continued pacing, waving her hands as purple sparks flickered from her fingertips. "What happened to letting it out by zapping your dad?" Amy asked. "You know, that's fun for the whole family."

"Yeah, but now he sees it coming," Eva groaned. "He started wearing rubber underwear."

Aveline's forehead lifted off the table just enough for her to squint. "I did NOT need to know that."