All For Not - Wednesday

Page 94

   My feathers ruffle and I groan, sitting up in the bundles of mismatching fabrics that had been laid out unceremoniously the night prior.

“Morning…”

Blinking tiredly I looked up and over towards the stairwell, Kent stood at the top, entering the area I'd claimed. He held two drinks, one in each hand but what was behind him distracted me from the drink. There, peaking past Kent stood my father.

“I made the barista dude at the cart make you a poison frappe, and the whipped topping has crushed rocks from the lake over the top…” Kent awkwardly gins, uncomfortable as he walks over, my fathers eyes following me as I get up. Kent's eyes glazing over me as the sheets and blankets follow my movement and crinkle under my feet, eyes flickering territorially.

Kent comes close, leaning over to whisper in my ear as he holds out the drink to me, his voice slightly raspy as he fought to not click in annoyance and appreciation, “I swear I didn't bring him here, he showed up suddenly at the bottom of the stairs, I guess he followed me but I was too distracted to catch his scent…”

My eyes soften and I look at my siren, reaching a hand up to cup his cheek, thumb pressing against his jaw and stroking it so he'd maybe stop gritting his teeth without me having to tell him to stop and relax, “It's fine…” I say softly before my eyes shift towards my father and my free hand grabs the drink.

“Are you here to lecture me?” I ask, eyes almost lifeless as I look at the man who was silently taking everything in for a short moment.

Gomez sighs, clasping his hands over his belly before stepping forward, “Lecture? No my little Dart frog…no, no.” He says, head tilting to the side gently.

“Although I am curious as to why of all the places you could be, you chose to be here…” He walks around, perusing the clock tower with a sense of familiarity as I take the drink Kent offers me.

“Reminiscing father?” I ask and he freezes before dusting his hands and suit jacket so he could right himself. He turns and looks at me, a soft smile gracing his face as he speaks, “The past is a peculiar thing isn't it my little poison dart. Actually I came to see if you were okay.”

“I'm fine… How is Pugsley?” I ask, knowing he'd seen what I'd done to my own face in the heat of anger, the way his eyes glassed over and his mouth dropped, the way his skin paled even more before terror I'd never seen covered his expression, it was all clear.

“He's worried, so is your mother, she wants to see you,” he says with a gentle tone. I sneer, turning away and gliding away towards the stairwell that leads up to the metal grated platform above us, “Does she… I suppose she's cross with me still, wishing to yell again.”

“She's only concerned, she's no longer upset, she just wishes to see you. Come back to the cottage so you two can talk,” his voice quivers slightly in the middle of his sentence and I pause, listening but not caring, “You lie,” I say looking at him, “I heard it in your voice. She's angry with me still,” my eyes narrow at him.

He swallows before wiping his face, pulling out his handkerchief to dab at his forehead as he sighs. He pockets the cloth and his attitude changes, becoming stern as he looks at me, “Now I understand a lot has happened in the past few weeks with your mother and your sister and you, but that is enough.”

My head tilts and my nose twitches, hands itching to burst as he continues, “you will come to the cottage and talk to your mother, you will sit and you will listen, because you need to.”

“And if I do not…” I state the question blandly, not fully integrating a proper sentence to question the possible consequences.

“Then your mother has decided that you'll move to a different dorm. It's out of my hands, don't take her lightly my daughter, she will have you removed from your dorm with Enid and Wednesday,” his words make laughter bubble up inside my chest, my head falling back as I giggle and cackle at the absurdity.

My father blanches, watching me as Kent's eyes flicker and take me in. My laughter slows and softens as I look up at the metal grating above me, my head turning as it lays back, I still laugh softly but my eyes catch Kent's and I see the deep interest brewing in his eyes as they darken.

Grinning, I straighten my body and look at my father, “That is no threat… Wednesday is a lying twit who only causes me injury and Enid doesn't understand what privacy is unless it is her own, neither of them want anything to do with me… So please, tell her to remove me.”

“She only says this so she doesn't need to worry about me injuring your real daughter… It's all my fault after all, is it not? Even though I wasn't the one who set the trap…” My grin slowly falls as I face my father, a dead look on my face that makes him pause.

“You look so much more like your mother everyday,” he says sighing, “you act like her too…”

“…” I begin, unimpressed, “please, do not flatter your wife when she's not in your presence,’ I say, voice blank and monotone, “do not stand here and compare me to her when you know that there is nothing that connects us...”

“I meant your real mother…” He says and I swallow, breathing softly, “I don't care for these comments either,” I say, venom on my tongue. 

“I understand Morticia and you have your differences Peach but she is the one who took you in.” He changes the subject back quickly, riling me up more than before. My gaze darkens and my talons stretch under my skin, taking over my nails with a thick rip of noise as my fingers crack and split apart, “But she didn't want to, did she… It was by your choice.” 

I watch my father freeze up under the weight of my words but I continue nonetheless, “I’ve heard you talking about it, with her, yet I still don't know why she didn't want me…”

“....” He stands there stunned, clearing his throat before looking over to Kent, “Do you mind giving my daughter and I a moment to talk?”

My eyes shift and narrow, “He is fine where he is…” I say, no room in my voice for combat. My eyes glancing back at Kent who sits off to the side randomly and licks whipped cream off his lips, indulging in his drink while he listens to and watches me distractedly.

My father gives in, sighing heavily as he looks away and wipes his mouth, “.....I want you to come to the cottage, speak with her. Before she decides to do something more drastic than change your dorm.”

“What more could she do? Threaten to remove me from Nevermore? I already know she is not able to do so, I'm court ordered here, remember...Wednesday's stunt last year made sure of it. Or will she threaten to put me back in the womb? One I'd not even come from?” I scoff, whisking around and making my way up the metal winded staircase.

I stop a few steps up and look back, feathers ruffling behind me, “I've decided to make this tower a nest of sorts, so you'll need to stay away, and keep your wife and daughter far from here…”

Looking away from my father I glance over at Kent, “Kent, come with me, now.”

He pops up from the seat of books he'd found, padding across the floor to follow me up the stairs, clicking as he stares at me, looking over my wings with a newfound interest and a dark look.