Mania

Chapter 9

                                After
                               Claire
    
     This whole whole entire thing is like a dream. I've been here for nearly a week and Easton's seems like he's from a storybook of fairytales. He's been bringing me food, washing my hair, and carrying me around. It seems superficial. I can't shake the feeling that he's hiding something, or why I've never seen his parents but I've heard them so many times. I haven't looked into my suspicions, though, because maybe I don't want this dream to end.
     Easton pokes his head through the door and says, "Me and my parents are heading out right now. Do you need anything?" I shake my head and he nods. "I'll see you later, then."
     He walks out and closes the door. I hear the rustle of coats being put on and a slight conversation. The door closes out in the front and I throw the blankets off of me. This will be my first time actually walking ever since my leg was hit. It will definitely be interesting.
     I move my good leg and the muscles that have been long dormant slowly wake up. When I moved my bad leg, a slow, sharp throb tears through my leg and I bite the side of my mouth to keep from crying. I take a shaky breath and I hop up from the bed and my good leg nearly buckles. I steady myself on his dresser and I wonder if he has any crutches in his room. Why wouldn't he? He has done basketball for the longest time, it seems almost logical to have crutches.
     I hobble out of his room feeling as clumsy as a baby deer on it's never been used before legs. I audibly sigh as I see the stairs and I sit down on my butt at the edge of the steps. I ease myself down step by step and by the time I reach the bottom of the stairs, feeling in my good leg comes back.
     I didn't know when Easton and his family came back so every single creak the house made set my nerves on edge. I don't know where to look or what to look for specifically. I pass through the living room and I make my way toward's his parents' room. Before the takeover, the only time I've ever seen his parents were at sporting events and I hardly ever went to those and when I did, I never talked to them. Our parents weren't particularly close, either, so the Rhodes could practically be strangers.
     I walk into their room and I'm taken aback by how ordinary it looks. There's baby and wedding pictures galore. I start rummaging through drawers and cabinets and I do feel a twinge of guilt, but it's better than being left in the dark.
     I open Easton's mother's jewelry box and I see a corner of a paper in the back behind pearls and gold. I pull a little on the paper and the back of the box falls forward and reveals a stack of papers.
     Now, my dream is touched by a demon and is hijacking it full throttle. The demon was hiding behind precious gems and pearls letting people be distracted by their beauty.
     I sit down on their bed with the papers and I read the first page. Then the second. Then the third. I read until the light in their room died and my mouth was dry from thirst. After all that reading, I still can't believe the Rhodes family is part of the Mania.
How could've I been so stupid? It explains everything; the warm water, the food, the warmth. I've not only in the lion's den, but I've been sleeping in it, eating their food, wearing their fur.
Numbly, I put the papers back where I found them and a picture above the jewelry box. I look closer at the wedding picture and I gasp.
"Give me a reason to not kill you."
     The man on the bridge. The man who almost killed me. He lives here and he's Easton's father.
     I've been living with my mother's plague, my father's murder, my brother's disappearance, and my little sister's abductor.
     I go out of their room as fast as I can and I limp up the stairs, the muscles in my bad leg pulling and tightening in agony. I forgot how large this house is and which room is Easton's so I take a guess and I go into a room.
     I guessed wrong, but since I've already snooped so much, one more room wouldn't hurt. The room was tidy and feminine with light purple covers, but I can't help but feeling like something bad happened in here. I finally found out where I've been getting my clothes and I notice senior pictures above the dresser. I completely forgot that Easton has an older sister. Her name is Leah, I think. She graduated with Asher.
The door opens behind me and I freeze.
"Claire? What are you doing in here?"

_______________________________________________________Bum bum buuuuuum
Hey, guys! I'd like to thank everyone for reading and voting for this! Just for the author's pleasure, but, I'd like to seem some predictions in the comments! Thanks!