Clothed in our grief

Chapter Thirty Eight

It's been a month since all of that went down. It's been a month since the attack on your mother. It's been a month since you were kidnapped by some lunatic named Scorn. It's been a month since police started patrolling near your home. It's been a month since you had your encounter with Robin. It's been a month since you formed that odd alliance with him. It's been a month since Lea showed up at your home.

Which is a problem, because she said something about having no intention of going back to Portland anytime soon. This is a problem because her legal guardians are going to call the police once Lea's alibi comes to turn. Her alibi? She's with Melissa's family while they're going on their rod trip. The thing is? Lea didn't tell Melissa he was using her as a get-out-of-jail-free card. So until Lea's foster parents start to realize something's up, Lea's trying to figure out how she can become an emancipated adult.

Your mother knows she's here, she's more than happy to give Lea a place to stay. She's annoyed that Lea came here, in fact she's pretty damn pissed. But all the drugs your mother is being given so she isn't aware of how much pain she's in? You wonder if she even knows what it means that Lea's here.

Lea's been sleeping wherever she passes out. In the garage, after maybe using the punching bags in there. Something she says helps distract her and pass the time, since you're going off to school everyday aside from the weekend. Another issue? Lea hasn't gone to school in a month. Mason knows about all o this, and now? All of Lea's friends have been told what's going on, instead of thinking she just up and died.

You've seen Lea asleep in the kitchen, with a blanket and a pillow in front of an open fridge. Yes, it's concerning. But are you going to question it? Not yet, only when it becomes a problem. You've seen her asleep on your mothers bed, seen her asleep on the couch, seen her asleep on your own bed. You've seen her dump a ton of blankets in the tub and call that a good resting place.

She has a laptop, and she actually helps your step dad pay for rent. He questions it, and refuses half the time. He likes Lea, says she's a smart girl. Well, she'd have to be to be able to get from Portland to Gotham all on her own without any real adult supervision. Your step dad is really fond of some of your friends, but he has a level of concern when it comes to Lea. Such as where the hell did she get nearly five hundred thousand dollars from, and why is she spending so much time in the garage? The two of you, plus your cousin Julian, have found it best not to question her too much.

She's been doing a lot of paperwork, printing a lot of things off of her laptop. Connecting it to the printer, obviously. You're just going off on a limb and assuming it's from her emancipation plan. But she always snatches the paperwork out of your hand whenever you go to get it for her. She glares at you whenever you ask to look at it.

She keeps finding weird bags around the house. They're tiny leather brown bags that smell really bad. Like rotten eggs. Lea opened one, and a bunch of bird bones and yellow powder came out. Some bags have really unique looking stones and crystals in them, some have bones and fine powder.

There was also that time where Lea had to move the rug because she lost an ear ring, and a large circle with a bunch of smaller stranger designs was inside it. There was a star right in the middle of it, each five points connecting to the circle. Somebody painted a pentagram on the floor under the rug. It freaked both o you out, so you decided not to tell your step dad about it and then continued to scrub it all away. Washing the paint out of the floor.

Damian helped with the finances to get the bookstore back in shop after it closed down for a while. You honestly didn't know how to repay him after that. He was so eager to help, but said he was only doing it because he enjoyed coming here. But he kept coming by every week to check up on you, came by every week to the cafe right before your shift would end. The two of you would just sit there and talk. And along with seeing him every day at school? It was...nice.