Shimmer

I.

[AUDREY]
I trudged up the stairs, thinking of nothing. I've been doing a lot of that lately. The steps creaked under my weight, but they held. I lugged my suitcase up after me. This house must've been built ages ago. I knocked on the door, thinking for a second that it might fall off the hinges.

A small, blonde haired girl opened the door. I'd never heard or seen her before. Maybe my mother had a new husband.

"Hello." She said.

I nodded at her. "I'm looking for Elena Kempe." She switched back to her maiden name when she walked out on me and my dad. I still don't know why she left, but I don't care now. I don't care much about anything anymore.

The girl opened the door wider and moved aside to let me in. "She's in the kitten," she said, which I translated to She's in the kitchen.

Silently, I moved past her and walked straight into the kitchen. She was sitting at the small, round dining table and flipping through a Vogue magazine. Dozens of beer cans littered the kitchen, from the floor to the cabinets to the table itself.

She looked up as I walked in. Immediately she stood up and staggered over to me. She was either drunk or had a leg problem, or both. "Audrey, I am so sorry." She reached out to hug me, but I stepped out of her reach.

"My room?" I said numbly. Her face was unreadable.

"Eden, show her to one of the rooms upstairs." She said to the girl who greeted me at the door. She was hovering in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Okay, Miss Kempe," Eden said. So I guess Elena wasn't married. Eden grabbed my sleeve and led me out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and infront of three different doorways. "Pick your favorite one." She said, but pointed to one door. "That one's my favorite."

I nodded, opening the door to her favorite room. It was decently sized, but had too many windows and thus was too bright. I turned around, and checked the other two rooms. One was tiny and had no windows, and the other was as big as the first and just as bright. I returned to the dark room, more like a cave, and sat my suitcase  the bed.
Eden stood in the doorway, watching me. I looked at her quizzically.
"Are you gonna stay for 'while?" she asked.
I didn't really know yet, but she looked so hopeful. "Yes."
She smiled, her face so bright and so full of life I was jealous for a second. "I live down the road, but daddy is always yelling, so I stay here a lot," she paused, pondering what she'd say next. "I keep an eye on Miss Kempe. I make sure she eats and sleeps and showers."
So my mom still couldn't take care of anyone, not even herself. She walked out on me and my dad when I was six. She couldn't take it anymore, she said. She never specified what was driving her so crazy. My dad raised me, insisting that I didn't need a mother and I didn't.
Until he died.
Until he was murdered.
Until I held him while he bled out in my arms.
Eden snapped her fingers in front of my eyes. "Are you in there?"
"Yes," I replied. I couldn't stay in this house anymore. "I'm going for a walk." As I moved to walk past her, she asked, "May I come?"
I could say no and break the child's heart, or I could just walk with her. I nodded, and we walked downstairs and out the door together.
She pointed out everything that was even remotely remarkable. A broken mailbox, a giant apple tree, even a dog peeing on a fence. I guess this is the best I can get in this small town.
On our way back to the house, there was a boy outside the neighboring house. He was sitting on the stoop of his house, just staring at the "scenery".
"Hey, Eden," He said as we got closer. "Who's your friend?"
She beamed. "This is Audrey Kempe. She is Miss Kempe's daughter." I didn't feel like correcting my last name, so I didn't.
He hopped down the stairs, walked up to me, and stuck out his hand. "I'm Crew Jarquinn."
I shook it, and noticed my hand was shaking. I hadn't had human contact in awhile.
He noticed, and took his hand back. "I guess I will see you at school, Audrey."
I nodded, and he nodded back. Then he smirked and walked back to his house and went inside. What a strange boy.