The Dysfunctional

Chapter 22: What Now?

I woke up to someone's warm arms wrapped around me, and a bright shining sun peeking through our window in the tiny camper. I inhale, and the sweet scent of lavender hits me, as Finch embraces me. I heard a little creak coming from the wooden door, but I choose to ignore it, thinking it's only Sebastian, or Pazzo. However, my guess changes as soon as I hear little giggles. I scrunch my face in confusion, and look around without waking Finch. Soon enough, the little giggles turn into soft laughter. I sit up, bringing the blanket to my chest, as I am still bare. At the foot of the bed, I can see someone's little blond hairs sticking up, and it didn't take long to realize who it was. "Clark, get the hell out!" I yell, chucking a pillow, and successfully waking Finch up. "Huh? Oh, hey Clark," Finch reacts in his tired voice. "Hello Finch, and I'm sorry Stella, I just wanted to check in. It was surprising I didn't hear any noises last nigh," She replied with a devious smile on her face. "W-what are you talking about? N-nothing even happened!" I say in my own defense, but Finch joins in, and takes Clark's side this time. "Why would you be surprised Clark? It's not polite to talk with your mouth full," I turn in a death gaze, but my mouth is wide open. "Finch!" I yell, trying to hit him, but it only results in my blanket falling, revealing my chest.

I freeze in terror, as Clark only stares. "Well, someone's grown a bit," She states, unable to move, much like the rest of us. "I-I-I U-Uhh," I stutter quietly, only blushing madly. As I clear my throat, I bring the blanket back up to my chest. "Why yes, I have. But it seems as though you haven't," I finally speak, staring at Clark. Her face lights up as she throws herself on my lap. "Well, since you were so quiet last night, do tell what happened last night!" She demanded in a fun tone. My expression dropped, and my voice went monotone. I held up my hair, and she went blank. "Y-your hair is all white now? Why is that?" Tilting her head to the side as she asked. "And you're all covered up in cuts and bruises. What happened while you were gone?" Terror was in Clark's tone as she asked too many questions. "I was knocked out, and dragged to a basement. There, I was tortured and was demanded to say horrible things about myself until I thought they were true. The more I held back, the slower she would tear my nails off as the healed at the same time. After I broke out in rage, I killed Brittany by stabbing her in the stomach and jabbing her in the heart, twisting as I did so. Her father came out to ask what happened to her, so I killed him to. I stabbed him with his own addiction, and went crazy. I started to laugh at everything, and in result, I lost my sanity, and my syndrome is now complete," I finished, feeling no remorse for the current situation. "Stella, you really lost it, didn't you?" Clark said in a breathy tone. I brought my head up to meet her gaze. "Indeed I did, but now," I could feel little giggle coming up. "There's nothing we can do about it!" I started to laugh like crazy, bringing my hand to my head. "A-And, the best part is, it wasn't even a challenge! They all died for nothing!" I couldn't stop laughing, and both Clark and Finch stared at me as if this was normal. "Stella," Clark started. I began to calm down, ready to answer her question. "Hm?" I reply, a small smile still on my face. "I don't get it, why did your hair turn white?" She asked, unaffected by the crazy laughter I spread around the room. "It was a syndrome that causes your hair to turn white. It turns white out of fear, or an excessive amount of torture, causing you to go crazy. It really takes a lot of effort to start the action, let alone finish it completely," I say, now in monotone.

As we all sat silently, I decided now would be a good time to get dressed, making everyone exit the room. Throwing on a pair of shorts, I finish off with Finch's grey hoodie that smelled like him. I toss my hair in a high ponytail, as it still reached my lower back. I took a good at myself in the mirror, and noticed most of my cuts and scrapes were healed, minus the ones that traveled up my arms. I don't think anyone, other than Finch, has asked about them, and asked me to stop. I guess it's nice to know he cares. I lean in closer to the mirror, and notice the circles around my eyes grow darker. A soft knock on the door catches me off guard. "Yeah, come in," Finch walked in, a soft smile in his face. "Clark made breakfast if you wanna eat," I walked up to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I'm not too hungry right now," Trying to turn back around, he grabs my shoulders. "You have to eat, it's good for your health," He said, giving me his gentle smile.

After giving in, I walk into our kitchen and living room. "Morning Stella," Clark cheered, setting down a plate on the small booth table. "Good morning. What'd you make?" I ask, sitting down calmly. "Nothing big, just an omelet and some bacon," She replies happily. The sound of bacon makes Sebastian run into the kitchen, trying to steal Finch's food, when both Sebastian and Pazzo just ate. "Down Sebby!" I raise my voice, swatting him down. "So what do you guys want to do today?" Finch asks, mouth full of food. "I want to go back to Colorado and see what happened back there with that explosion," Clark nearly choked on her food, and Finch shook his head. "Nuh-uh, you can't go back there," He loudly exclaimed. "I-I need answers on what's going on!" I say shyly, setting my fork down. "When I woke up from in the hospital, I killed a nurse after she tried to stab me, and I walked home, grabbed some shit before my house exploded, and then I was knocked out, and then there was this huge earthquake, and then I almost got eaten by this thing, but Pazzo killed it and carried me off," I finished quickly. "Leaning my head on my arm, I continued. "And no one was home, and the only sign of life was you guys, me, Brittany, her dad, and I guess my mom, not to mention everything that tried to kill me," I heard Finch sigh, and look up, setting his fork down. "Fine, we'll head back, starting with checking out the hospital you were in," Finch ended, taking a sip from his glass. He holds his cup by the rim? I look up as he Finishes his meal, rinsing his plate off. "We'll head out tonight then, agreed?"

Clark and I look at each other. "Agreed," we say in unison.

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A/N- Hey guys! Finished chapter! Our lovely characters are ready to head back from California to Colorado! What will our characters find at the hospital? Will someone die? Will Stella kill them? We won't know until the next chapter, and the one after that! :3

Please vote and comment! I love to hear what you guys think! I'll see you all next chapter!