House of Goths

Chapter 32

Hours later, Becky woke up famished, having missed breakfast and apparently lunch as well. It was eerily quiet in the house and she wondered if Kelley had returned. She wanted desperately to talk to him. She hated that he'd left so angrily. It scared her when he drove off like that. What if in his altered state of mind, he got into an accident? What if he got hurt? Or worse?

Did he not realize how much he meant to her? Did he not understand how alone she already felt in the world? How dare he frighten her like this?

Unable to stay in her room any longer, Becky got up. She changed out of her pyjamas and into a comfy pair of yoga pants and a baby blue long-sleeved t-shirt. She gave her hair a quick brush and made her way towards his room to have a look. Empty...

Dorian wasn't in his room either and Crispin was probably still out with Gracie. Making her way downstairs, she searched the living room and the room where they painted, hoping perhaps that Dorian might be in their drawing. Not a soul to be found.

Heading into the kitchen, she was again reminded of the unpleasant events of that morning. One minute she was enjoying Crispin's undivided attention, which was sadly becoming less and less available to her since he'd started seeing Gracie, then in the very next minute, Kelley had literally attacked Keegan for no apparent reason.

Making herself a sandwich using the crusty Italian buns which had been set aside for her since they were her favourite, she opened the fridge and from inside the drawer marked, Becky's in Kelley's handwriting, she grabbed a few slices of roasted turkey breast and Havartti cheese that he had bought specifically at her request. Spying a thermos of coffee on the counter, she found her mug beside it and poured herself a cup. Sitting alone at the table, she looked around the kitchen and was glad that all traces of the fight had been cleared away.

She had to choke back a tear, though, when she checked the trash and found the remnants of the broken mugs in there. She finished her lunch and walked towards the back door. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Kelley's black Charger back in its proper parking space. He was safe, thank God.

They must be in the garage, she assumed. Curious, she slipped on her coat and boots. She would just have a look. It was a frosty November afternoon. Only four o'clock, and the sun was already positioned low in the sky. The shadows of the tall oak tree already stretched long across the far end of the backyard.

Nearing the carriage house door, she stopped when she heard laughter and good natured banter coming from inside. She couldn't help but frown. Now, how could that be? Weren't they still mad at each other? She recognized each of their voices, Kelley's, Dorian's, and even Keegan was in there laughing it up. Suddenly she was very annoyed that while she was upstairs, worried about the welfare of her housemates, they apparently were getting along just fine without her.

With her ear to the door, she didn't hear Crispin's approach. "Have we learned nothing about snooping, dormouse?" he asked, catching her eavesdropping.

"Huh... Crispin!" She startled, jumping at the unexpected sound of his voice. "I'm not snooping!" she claimed, turning beet red at being caught red-handed. Worse yet, she realized Crispin wasn't alone. There beside him was the very lovely Gracie, with a suspicious smirk on her face.

"More like spying," Gracie said with a knowing smile.

"It's not like that," Becky said, looking guiltily from Gracie to Crispin. How dare Gracie talk to her like that? It was bad enough that the girl was lovely in that sophisticated Gothy kind of way. With her glossy sable-black hair, framing her flawless face, Gracie was the type of female who by no fault of her own made Becky feel like a frumpy inexperienced schoolgirl.