Two Of Us

Chapter Five // BEFORE

I was correct. My father was long gone by the time my alarm woke me up at nine in the morning. I slipped into my clothes I'd laid out the night before and groggily made my way back into the bathroom. I glanced at the toilet with a little bit of a sinking feeling, but I ignored it (or at least tried to). Instead I giggled to myself with the sudden glee that overtook me when I remembered that I'd see Samuel, the light of my life and fire of my loins, this morning. Samuel Finch Setter, I was coming for you.

My house was overtaken with rain. I could hear it outside and smell it throughout the house, as I think my dad had probably opened some windows before he left. I made a quick mental note to myself to close them before I left, but wasted no time plugging in my curling iron and turning on some music as I got ready.

With all of my might, I was trying to ignore the thought of having to see my sister today. I wanted to remember Juliette with the sun behind her, the light of Christ bursting out from inside of her, just as I always had seen her before. The idea of seeing her chest quake with each breath she drew in from the tubes that would connect her nostrils to machinery made me sick to my stomach, so I replaced with wondering what Samuel was going to wear or do today. Everything that he was possessed my brain so easy and kept me prisoner in my own mind that it was easy to forget about Juliette's mistake.

I wrapped my hair around the barrel and dreamt of him. He was a thing of dreams, after all. It didn't matter what he did. He could so much as simply move his hand into my space and I'd be completely enamored. Mon amour Samuel. I'd probably impress Laramie's parents, especially her dad, with the fact that I learned their language. Against myself I grinned a little bit. I had to be happy right now, because I knew that I would fall into a neverending sadness the second I started my descent down I-15.

I checked the time before starting on my makeup. I threw on a quick natural-looking smoky eye and about a million coats of mascara before finally calling it good. I brushed my teeth. If I ate anything today, it wouldn't stay down. My stomach churned from nervousness anyways. I could grab something on my way out of town if I absolutely had to.

Before leaving the house, I shut all of the windows and locked all of the doors. I was always a little more anxious than my parents about someone breaking into the house. When I was a little girl, our local police station used to show commercials on TV asking for tips on cold cases. They'd scarred my mind a little bit, seeing as one of them had gotten through an unlocked door in her house, so whenever I was home alone I took it upon myself to take all of the precautions it took to make sure I wouldn't die in some horrific stabbing.

Off of our little dish that sat in the living room, I grabbed the keys to my Mazda and kissed my home goodbye for however long it would take me to complete this journey. On my way out it occurred to me that I may need a change of clothes, given that we didn't know how long we'd be in Logan, but I figured if I absolutely needed to I could run to the store and get something.

And back down Foxmore I made my way. Today was much rainier than yesterday, so I drove with my brights on. I'd be a little bit early, and I was sure that Laramie's family would try to get me to eat some form of breakfast, but that was okay. I'd eat if it was from them.

I parked in their driveway and made my way up the front steps. They, on the other hand, never locked their doors, so I just walked right in. "I'm home!" I jokingly laughed.

Laramie's mother, who looked like an older carbon copy of her daughter, made her way down the stairs. "Hey, Aria. She's upstairs. Sam isn't here yet."