THE THING IN THE WOODS

SURVIVOR

Nichole gets out of bed a little later than usual, her nightmares have finally faded, but she’s still shocked by the way her dad treated her, he was insane and she was so angry after leaving the basement that she couldn’t help mourning when she got into her room. Now she sees the things from her dad’s point of view and understands why he freaked that way when Blake drove her home, it’s true, she lost her mom but he lost her too, his lover, his soul mate, so he can’t just say nothing when she tells him that she’s studying with Ash and suddenly comes home from the woods that are being searched looking for god-knows-what insane animal and accompanied by a complete stranger who is a guy by the way, it’s true Nichole hasn’t seen her dad act that way before, but now she knows that maybe she overreacted a little too, and she must made it up for him.

When gets out of the shower the bacon’s smell make her stomach to growl, damn it her dad woke up early, now she feels worst, Nichole and her dad doesn’t have many rules, but after her mom died she cooks and her dad cleans, but now… Her dad it’s being waking up earlier than usual, he has his job and all that but… doing this, cooking for her when he knows it’s her job, it’s like he’s telling I don’t trust you, you’re not the same or even worst I’m so disappointed with you.

She’s urged to face him before he leaves and at least offer him and apology, so she dress up so quickly that when she heads the door notices she’s still wearing her slippers, another two minutes lost. She walk down the stairs and enters the kitchen, the countertops has been cleaned as the marble table, the floor is shiny and her breakfast awaits, she takes a toast, where’s her dad? Has he already gone? No, she didn’t heard the car, but yeah he’s probably too angry to consider taking her school that morning, she takes a bite and perceives a shadow from the corner of her eye, behind the window she finds her dad’s back lurched onto his car as he draw circles with a cloth on the paint. She leaves her breakfast and walks outside, the sun hit her eyes as fast as she puts and foot outside, a sunny day she can’t believe she’s actually seeing the sun in Windswood, maybe that’s the reason her dad is washing the car instead of taking it to a car wash, Nichole walks through the yard as her dad cleans the fenders and then she notices it, that’s not his car.

“Dad?” She murmurs. He stops and turns toward her, her mouth wobbling, his screams are still on her head. He says nothing when their eyes met, but she can see it now, that he’s not angry anymore, she approaches as he shoves his hands in his pockets, takes something from them and threw it to her, Nichole spots a tiny object flying toward her glinting because of the sunrays and she catches it, cold metal they are car keys.

“Dad…” She starts but her voice fades.

“It’s yours” He says with a grin, and Nichole is having a hard time to connect her ideas, wasn’t he mad at her? The last time she checked he was so angry that she thought his temple’s vein might explode.

“But… why?” She asks shocked.

“It’s true, I’ve been a little unfair with you, you have your license and we can afford it” He assures reaching her, Nichole hesitates but then step forward and let her dad embrace her, while she looks straight at the car, it was a black sonic, shining because of the sun and the sprays of water, it was a sonic black as her hair and her eyes, it was so perfect, it was her car.

“It’s is second hand” Her dad says, he’s probably looking at her face.