The Black Swan

Chapter 6

Emma's POV
I woke up around two a.m. and ran to the bathroom. I reached the toilet just in time before I puked.

After I was done, I brushed my teeth and and washed my face. I groaned and crawled back into bed.

That was so random, I never puke for no reason. I'm not sick, and I'm not bulimic, so why did I throw up?

I have a sickening feeling in the pit of my belly. I got up and walked down the dark hallways to the kitchen.

I opened the fridge and looked at all the different sodas. Ginger Ale or Sprite? Ginger Ale is better.

I drank about half of the twenty ounce bottle and set it on the counter.

It's pitch black outside, and it's a new moon. The only light is the one coming from my phone.

I'm awake now. There is no way I'm going back to bed. I'm just that kind of person.

I walk down the long forgotten hallway. My family calls it that because it's a hallway full of portraits of our deceased relatives.

I turn on the dim lights and start walking and examining all the pictures.

Each painting had a description of the person.

Albert Nolan ~ died at age 52; father to James and David Nolan; husband of Ruth Nolan

My grandfather died when I was four. The only thing I remember about him is that he was silent. Always silent. He had a heart attack. He looks almost angry in this picture.

Ruth Nolan ~ died at age 42; mother to James and David Nolan

My father always said that she was sweet. I never got to meet her. She was poisoned. She had a warm smile in this picture, I think I would've liked her.

Kathryn Nolan ~ died at age 22; wife of James Nolan

My Aunt Kathryn looked sad. She died when I was three, along with my uncle. They were found dead laying next to each other.

James Nolan ~ died at age 22; son of Ruth and Albert Nolan; brother of David Nolan; and husband of Kathryn Nolan

James had a stern, cold face. He was my father's twin, but they were polar opposites. I remember him being very distant and closed off from the family.

Or maybe that was just me. I never really fit in.

Next was my mother's side of the family.

Leopold Blanchard ~ died at age 36; father of Mary Margaret Nolan; and husband of Eva Blanchard

I never met my maternal grandfather, but my mom told me she was always a Daddy's girl. Kind of like me.

Eva Blanchard ~ died at age 32; mother of Mary Margaret Nolan; and wife of Leopold Blanchard

She had a sweet face, but I can't help but feel that she was a bitch. Is it wrong to talk about dead people like that?

Well that's my family. No extended family after that.

It was now about three a.m., but like I said I'm not tired.

I make my way to my personal studio and turn on the lights. I sit down in the middle of the hard wood floor.

"Aren't you gonna talk now? Drive me crazy? Make me cry? Scare me?" I said out loud. The lights flicked off for a second and I gasped.

When they flicked back on, I wasn't in the studio anymore. I was in a place that was pure black. Everywhere I looked I was met by darkness.