Living Dolls

28Irene

When Heide woke up from her long nap, Ernest had already fallen into a nap of his own. Of course. Well, at least Kyle and I just finished our final game for the day.

Just half an hour ago, he was slumping more and more and more until eventually, he was asleep with his head leaning on my shoulder. Or, well, it was beginning to lean against Carmen's own head before she shoved him towards me, but he didn't deter from his nap. Which was good, because his nap was going to be interrupted right now.

Her nap seemed to be a more productive one, given that it was an hour and a half long. Sitting up and yawning, she brightened up instantly at seeing Carmen, and then a little more at the oblivious, sleeping Ernest, and she was more than happy to instantly bound over to him, and before I could tell her to stop, she was slapping the back of her hand to his cheek, which left him burying his face deeper against my neck, and flustered, I tried shoving him away.

As he lifted his face off my shoulder, I watched him wipe at his eyes with the back of his hand, and my eyes drifted to the bottom of his face, remaining uncovered. His stubble was getting heavier as the days went by, and he had to be dumb if he thought I didn't notice.

"You need to shave," I ordered blankly, and he lowered his hand to give me a bewildered look.

Carmen had the gall to defend him, "He doesn't need to shave."

"It's getting like how it used to be." Heide reached over to grab his sleeve to try pulling him up, even though he had just woken up. "Before Irene came and told you she thinks face hair is ugly!"

"I didn't-!" My face flushed, and I already heard Kyle and Carmen's quiet giggling. "I didn't say it like that!"

She wasn't listening, but then again, Ernest was hardly listening either. He let her pull him up to his feet, leading him towards the stair hall.

"He shouldn't be shaving anyway, don't you know what holiday it is this month? He's not supposed to shave for the entire month!"

Ernest actually forced himself to a halt, Heide stopping with him.

She told me about this before, but now Ernest was hearing it, which got me crying out, "This again - that's a fake holiday, Carmen! You're making it up."

"I'm not, it's a real thing and you just didn't see everyone go crazy about it."
"No, no. Ernest, go! She's making stuff up." I whined, and Heide started pulling him, and he followed again. Accomplished, I was just starting to let out a sigh of relief before I realized. "Wait." I turned back to them, "Where are you going?"

Heide answered, still dragging him along, "To take everything out of the storage room!"

"What?"

She didn't answer me, and Ernest, even with the multiple wakeup calls, was probably too groggy to even try. Carmen, though, sunk further back in her seat with her arms over her chest, "Ernest said he didn't know either, just that she wanted to empty it and he promised he'd help."

"Huh? Then where are they putting all the storage? What for?" I asked, and Carmen only shrugged. I sighed, grabbing the collar of my coat and wiping at the drool Ernest's wakeup caused. "Honestly..."

It didn't take long for Ernest and Heide to come back out, heading to the front door, the former holding two full boxes of items and the latter one.

Turning my head around, I asked, "What's this little project for?"

Ernest stopped in his tracks, Heide almost running into him. "Huh? I don't know." He scowled back at Heide, "Crazy over here wanted to take everything out, but won't tell me why."

Heide retorted, "I won't tell myself, either!"

Carmen reacted before me, not even turning around, "That's dumb, Heide."

"We're putting them out back next to the sink for now. We'll be done soon." Ernest said, moving forward again to the door, and Heide quickly followed.

Kyle and I watched as they went out the door, Carmen barely giving an annoyed glance. "It'd be way easier for them if they could just use the back door." Kyle mumbled, and we looked back towards the stair hall.

"What back door? It doesn't open!" Carmen huffed, and I was reminded of how absolutely livid she got, at all of us, when she first tried to open it months ago.

Kyle cringed, "Well, Heide says it used to."

"What happened?"

"Something like, Julien wanted her to stay inside all day as some punishment, blocked the front door, she got out through the back, he got mad, and just glued it shut." He admitted it was a stupid decision, but he was "too mad" at the time to think about it. He was able to think enough to take out a hot glue gun, though.

Carmen scoffed, "What a cock."

I agreed in a sense, but I didn't agree with her language. I was just about to tell her to watch it, but then I both remembered something and got a better idea. "Carmen," I started, and she narrowed her eyes at me. "Why were you trying to fake being sick?"

She goes red instantly, "I... I wasn't..."

"You wouldn't let me check your temperature, and you look fine right now-"

"I just-! I already told Ernest-"

"Tell me, then."

"He can tell you!"

"No, he's busy-"

The door opened, and Ernest and Heide were back in, going to the storage room to get more stuff.

"Ernest!" I turned and called him, and he stopped. Heide, this time, actually ran right into his back, but he didn't deter, blinking at me. "What happened with Carmen?"

He flinched, "Huh? Oh, yeah..." And looked at said girl. When I looked too, she was glaring at him, shaking her head. When I looked back at Ernest, he seemed uncomfortable. "Well, uhh..." I had to glare just as much at him, and that seemed to get him quickly, because he instantly said, "Homesick. She said she was homesick."

Carmen clenched her teeth, "Son of a-!" But he didn't listen, he just rushed quickly to the storage while covering his face, and it took a moment for Heide to follow.

While she was still looking over the couch at where he'd gone, seething, I turned back around and stared at her. "What's the problem in telling me that? It's normal."

"No," She turned back and glared at me, "It's not-!"

"It's not normal to miss home right now?"

"W-Wha-? No! Not like that!" Her face was getting red, and I noticed she was staring over at Kyle. When I looked back, I found he was shrugging. "It's just...!" She groaned, lowering her head down and putting her hands over it.

"What's wrong, then? What were you feeling, really? It had to be more than homesickness if you're so scared of telling us."

"Homesick, Irene! I shouldn't have to spell it out!"

"It'll help if we knew exactly what you're thinking about then, that way we could-!"

"Oh, come on!" She rose her head again, turning towards me to glare, "You're the last person who should be giving me that."

I twitched, "And why is that?" The same time, Kyle cautiously says the girl's name, but she ignores him.

"You never talk about it on your own, we always have to ask to get you talking about things! Makes me wanna ask about your-"

"Well, that's what I'm doing with you right now, right?" I had to struggle as to not raise my voice, "I'm asking, and you still don't wanna answer."

There. Finally. That shocked, embarrassed look of hers. Always made me so happy to see that face.

"So, I'll ask again..." I say slowly, and she gets redder. Perfect. "What were you so sad about?"

"It... It was just an empty feeling!" She choked out, "And I was hurt because of dumbass Jules! So hell if I know... And plus!" She rose her head again, crying out, "I'm back downstairs, aren't I?" I looked down, troubled. "Isn't that what matters!?"

"You're right." I calmly said, looking back at her, to find another one of those stunned looks on her face. "Thanks for coming downstairs for us."

I didn't think she could possibly get any redder, but she was doing it. Turning away then with puffed cheeks, she closed her eyes and nodded. Quickly, then, with her cheeks still puffed, she reached over for the stack of cards, "Kyle, come here, kings quarters."

Kyle hesitates, looking at me nervously, before deciding and going towards her, "Corners, Carmen."

I fiddled with my fingers, looking down again.

That... Was something, at least? She took a distraction but at least acknowledged me on some level. Yeah, I sighed, it was good enough. For now.

She gave me another quick, grumpy glance before setting up the cards.

Homesick, huh? Obviously she was homesick, it was just... I don't know. She didn't talk much about, you know, home.

But then again, I didn't have much room to talk.

My hand cradled my wrist, and my heart suddenly felt so heavy.

I didn't have room to talk.

Which is why I didn't.

I watch as Kyle and Carmen play a game of kings corners, mostly watching Carmen's cards since they were visible to me.

Carmen was always one to bring up hypocrisies when cornered like that, she was both sharp and immature like that. But, I wanted to say such a thing, I really did. I guess I had to work on it first before going to her for the same thing?

It wasn't my place, though. It was frustrating to be at fault no matter what. Things were already so draining and bad, I couldn't add more onto this full, toppling plate. I was just starting to do that with Ernest, and even what little I gave him made my heart ache.

So, doing it, all the time? I couldn't handle it.

Behind me, I heard Ernest and Heide head out of the storage room with some more boxes, but suddenly I heard boxes drop. Before I could even turn around to see what happened, Ernest scared the living hell out of me by leaning over the couch, face right next to mine, quickly asking, "Are you hungry?"

It took me a second to settle down. Even Carmen and Kyle stopped their game, flinching and looking back at him. He was really starting to pop in everyone's faces much like Heide lately, and if I had to choose, it was creepier when he did it. "You're hungry." And I was willing to bet he dropped everything the second his stomach growled.

"I am." No shame. "But, it's okay if we start lunch if you're hungry."

"Ernest," Looking over his cards, Kyle sneered, "We can hear you, we know you're hungry."

He ignored Kyle's remark and Heide's whine right behind him. "So, are you hungry? Then I can say I'm hungry with a clear conscious..." He's gotten spoiled this past month, didn't he? We used to barely have two meals a day and he already wanted to have the second and definitely a third later in the day. We didn't have enough food, and we were letting out rations go more and more and...

And now that he mentioned it, we were hungry. "Yeah."

He nods quick, wide eyes lighting up, "Couple more boxes." And finally joins the whining Heide, picking up the boxes he left and taking them back out with her.

I couldn't help but smile, not at him, but at myself, for letting such a small little thing lift the slightest of weight off my shoulders. Now I just needed that times a hundred.

Well... Despite everything, I like to think I was making progress. I mean. With Ernest, at least a little bit. And even like what Carmen said, at least I answered the questions they asked me, I let some discussion or story flow from them. A little bit with just a little someone, a little bit when asked, that was progress. I just, well, thought it wasn't all that much I wanted to share here...

I could do things like that after, when everyone is safe and when everyone is happy, the way it's supposed to be.

... Just how long until after, though?

When will I get another after?

Everything is still moving, the minutes go by and by, turning into hours. After Ernest and Heide do two more transfer trips, we have a small, quick lunch consisting of apples, bananas, and peanut butter sandwiches. Carmen and Kyle go back to playing some rounds, Ernest and Heide go back to taking out all the boxes save for all the crafts in the drawers and the junk box. Heide is convinced to take a break, and we play some games together.

Just a little while longer.

Three rounds of Uno are played, and then two rounds of Pictionary, with lots of leisure time in between, and then we have dinner with cucumber salad. After some more leisure time, we go back to playing a game of taboo, and then some more and more lounging after that.

A little while longer...

Why not? I've waited all my life for so many afters.

... I couldn't help but notice something, though. I was fine waiting and bearing with it, I always was.

But a certain someone, I couldn't tell if they agreed or not, because they were kicking an awful lot today.