Misalignment | ✔

insubstantial

The next day
comes around
rather uneventfully.
When I leave for school,
my mother is nowhere
to be found,
though her car is still
parked outside.
That probably
means nothing,
as I found out
yesterday,
so I don't bother
to look for her.
I'm not quite sure
if I want to talk to her,
anyway.
Though I've calmed down
considerably
since yesterday,
the situation
still hasn't been resolved
between us,
and I certainly
don't feel any warmer
towards Stacey.

Matty again
is waiting for me
in front of the
school building;
today, however,
she's sitting on a bench
and staring across the street
rather listlessly.
The snowflakes falling
all around
catch in her hair,
turning it
more white than brown
the longer she stays still.
I can tell that
something is bothering her,
but I resolve not to
ask about it
if she doesn't
bring it up.

After all,
if I can tell
when something is wrong
with her,
the reciprocal
must also be true.
I don't want to talk
about yesterday
with her,
not yet.

So instead,
I sit down beside her
in silence,
and together we watch
the snowflakes
cascading down,
blown about by the wind
and spinning in
tireless circles.
Other than the cars
that occasionally pass by,
it's quiet -
deadly so, almost,
in a way that seems
to foreshadow something
that is to come.
Based on the events
of the previous day,
I'm not quite sure if
I want to know
what exactly
is in the future.

"One more day,"
Matty breathes at last,
so quietly that
I can barely hear her
over the sounds of
nearby traffic.
"Just a few more tests,
and then it'll all
be over..."

"Where are you going
over the break?"
I ask suddenly,
eliciting a startled look
from her.
"You don't have to
tell me who
you're going with
if you don't want to -
but you have to be going
somewhere much nicer
than here,
I'm sure."

"Warmer, too,"
Matty agrees,
looking thoughtful.
"We're going somewhere
in Florida, I think.
St. Augustine, maybe,
I forget for sure."
She smiles wistfully,
glancing away -
down the street,
I imagine,
towards where
her parents' house is.
"I would bring
my bathing suit,
but I didn't pack it
when I moved to
Aunt Margo's.
I guess I thought
the whole thing
would blow over
and I'd be back
before summer..."

"It's only been
a couple months."
I can't help but
begin to worry now.
She's starting to sound
strangely upset.
"There's still time
before summer.
Even if it
looks pretty bad now,
I'm sure your parents-"

"They've made it
very clear
that this isn't something
they'll ever be willing
to resolve,"
Matty suddenly snaps,
pain unfurling
across her features -
pain and despair
both.
"So no,
it probably won't
be fixed by the end
of the school year -
if at all."

She pauses,
catching her breath,
and then glances over
at me,
looking ashamed.
"Sorry -
I didn't mean
to blow up like that...
I don't really like
swimming, anyway,
so it's not
a big deal.
I'm sure that
there's more to do
in Florida
than swimming,
anyway..."

When she stands,
it's rather abrupt
and makes it seem as if
she might topple over
at any second.
I watch her
for a moment,
considering.
I used to imagine her
to be so strong
and independent
and isolated from
the problems of the world
around her.

As with
so many other things,
though,
I was wrong -
she's no less vulnerable
than I myself am.
Maybe she's even more
prone to damage
for her reserved
and laid back
personality.
Right now,
I can believe that -
it looks as though
she's about to
shatter,
or burst at the seams,
or maybe both.

"Come on,"
I tell her at last,
getting to my feet
as well.
"School starts soon -
we'll be late
if we don't get going."

She regards me
for a moment -
and I can't help but feel
as though she's
looking through me
at some other issue
rather than into
my eyes.
"Yeah,"
she finally agrees,
her voice
no more substantial than
a puff of the
wintry wind
surrounding us.
"Yeah,
you're right..."

I'm not sure
how much of her mind
is still conscious
of my presence as we
turn to head inside,
leaving behind the snow
and cold
of the world beyond.
Somehow, I think
most of it has
gone on behind us,
stuck down the street
with the rest of her
intolerant family.

×

Aaaaahaha never mind, here's an update... I found a bit of motivation (as well as time) to finish this chapter. I'm still killing myself trying to figure out how to wrap things up, though.

Speaking of - I'm thinking only two or three more chapters. It depends on where this all ends up going - I can never really predict the length of the things I write in advance. So like, maybe four chapters max. I dunno.

If you guys liked this chapter, I would love if you would vote and leave me feedback! It'd be much appreciated c: