Behind the Glasses || a.i.

Chapter 25

 I wake the following week to a knock on the door. I groan, sitting up, dragging myself out of the warm comfort of the blankets. When I stand, I hear a whine come from the bed, causing me to jump out of my skin. “Where are you going?” I look at Ashton, curled up on top of the covers, wearing the clothes he wore yesterday. His right arm is flopped over his face, hiding it from me.

 “Someone is at the door. I’ll be right back,” I say.

 I walk down the hall, raking my hair into a ponytail with my fingers, wrapping it in the elastic around my wrist to keep it in place. I fix my clothes, before I open the portal to the hall. Luke stands there with Sierra, Diana, and – Daniel. Sierra half smiles at me, dressed in jeans and a sweater. Luke’s nose had a bandage on it, and I smile internally, knowing he saw a doctor. Meanwhile, Diana stands there, wearing shorts and a black t-shirt, arms crossed underneath her chest. Daniel leans against the opposite wall, not making eye contact. “Hello?” I greet them.

 “I needed to tell you something,” Sierra states.

 “So you brought whoever you found on the streets?” I joke. She huffs. “Come on in.” The words fall from my lips like I am unsure of whether or not I want them in my home. Sierra lead, Luke following directly behind, then Diana. I glare at Daniel. “I think it would be best if you-”

 “I know,” he says roughly, being brusque about it.

 I shut the door, turning to the crowd in my living room. “What’s up?”

 “Ignore Diana, and Luke is here for moral support,” Sierra explains.

 “Moral support?”

 “I want to talk to you about Ms. Farce,” she exhales.

 My eyes widen. “No, she can’t be-”

 “She’s not dead,” Luke assures me.

 My breathing calms down, and I watch Sierra’s eye. “It’s not good, is it?”

 “She was found wandering the streets last night,” she starts.

 “By who?”

 “The police,” she clarifies. “Officer Adrien asked her how she was doing, and she told him she was trying to find her husband.”

 “But he’s dead,” I tell her.

 “I know. He knew that, too, so he tried to explain, and she refused to believe him. She told him that she knew he was somewhere, that he had just come back from Canada.”

 The last time he came home from Canada was two years ago, a month before he died. “Was she sleepwalking?”

 “Trinity, they want to put her in a Senior home,” she explains. “She is confused, and they had a doctor check, and they think it’s _____.”

 “No,” I blurt. “They can’t do that to her.”

 “It would be better for her,” she says.

 “No, Sierra, she’s fine,” I nearly yell. “She’s going to be fine. She’s just going through something.”

 “Trinity-”

 “No!” I protest. “I won’t let it happen!”

 “Trinity, please don’t be difficult.”

 “I’m not being difficult.”

 “I understand you love her, but-”

 “Sierra, she’s like a mother to me!”