Butterfly Keeper // h.s. au

Chapter Thirty Four

Love is complex thing. Some people think we'd be better off without it, and find themselves running from a bond that has brought countless beings hurt and pain that strikes deep in the soul. Others can spend their whole existence looking for a heart that matches theirs, throwing themselves into the ring and getting sucker punched into a knock out only to get right back up and fight for it again. Maybe you're one of those who just doesn't know what to make of love, it can bring peace and end longing, but leave you in a shattered mess of broken spirits all at once.

"Love can't feed your kids!" I once heard a woman yelling to her husband in a parking lot on a frosty January morning, and in a way that's almost true. But what that woman didn't fully grasp is that in a world as unforgiving as this, love can be all we have.

I jump up in bed at the sound of my door creaking open, eyes squinted from the sudden immersion of light and my hair looking like a birds nest. A group of hushed voices fill my senses and when I've finally managed to clear the sleep from my eyes I'm met with the maddening sight of Angela accompanied by an older looking couple. The man wears a leather jacket over his red sweater and dark wash jeans, his face clean shaven and his posture formal. His wife's stance matches his, with a touch of hesitance in the frozen position of her dainty arms. She wears a fur collared duffel coat and brown leather boots that go up to her knees, blonde hair tied back in a knot with a porcelain face that could be on the cover of Vogue.

They all look at me as if they hadn't expected me to be here with their wide eyes and fixed positions across the room from me. Even Angela seems struck with her hot pink lips slightly parted and her fists stuck at her sides. She's the first to speak though, clearing her throat and relaxing her shoulders only slightly as she proceeds to glare at me before saying, "This is... Harlot, Cara's old roommate."

"Charlotte," I immediately correct her, too exhausted to give her a glare of my own.

She rolls her eyes finishes with, "These are Cara's parents, we're packing up the last of her things."

I manage to smile weakly at them, smoothing a little of my crazy hair back as I sit up straighter in bed.

"I didn't know you guys were coming, give me a minute and I can get out of your hair,"

I immediately dread the fact that I'll have to go find somewhere to be other than this room, but I'd rather have that than the awkward scene that would be me lying in bed watching the three of them pack up Cara's things. I take my covers off slowly, the simple gesture alone making me feel exhausted to the core.

"Oh, please don't feel obligated to leave because of us, we'll only be a moment." Cara's father interjects, raising his hands in a forgiving motion.

The gesture catches me off guard, not at all expecting a polite encounter with anyone related to Cara, let alone her parents. I stammer out a few syllables but am quickly interrupted by Cara's mother this time.

"Did you tend to our daughter after her accident? I had heard rumors, and we tried to get a hold of all who had helped but it's just so hard to track down every single person." She holds her hands clasped in front of her, swallowing in a small manner and looking at me with accepting eyes.

It's definitely not what I had previously thought a conversation with these two would be like, but me and Cara did make up after all, and maybe in the end I had her pegged wrong. The woman holds a look of hopefulness in her features, warming my heart in the first bit of happy emotion I've felt in what feels like forever. I smile more genuinely at her now, reveling in the unpleasant look Angela wears at our kind exchange in conversation.