Wickless

Exhausted

     Dee Dee laid on the ground, her eyes upward to the sky. The trees swayed, their leaves dancing along with the wind of the evening. Her lip was busted, nose had been broken but a simple spell had fixed it. Then there was the onset of a black eye she felt. The pain and numbness she felt was was unbearable. During the time she laid where she was, she had overcome to blackness. Going in and out of consciousness all because of a sparring match with Jefro. She hadn't expected so much the week prior to spring break. She hadn't expected so much when coming to Oz to begin with. If Dee Dee had known her life would be torn between two girls who cared for her. Two girls who needed her in different ways, she probably would have remained in Kansas, continued to romance Clara, and waited until graduation to begin her dream of becoming a wife and mom. No, apparently it wasn't in the cards for her. And for the first time in a long time, she felt loneliness. Her friends couldn't know, her parents couldn't yet- Dee Dee looked down at her slippers. One was off and the other was cast to the side near a tree. The shoes belonged to her great grandmother. She sat up with the strength she had, moaning a bit when her ribs popped. Still, she got to her feet and limped to her shoe. With three taps, she disappeared from Oz.

       While in the restroom, the tissues began to pile up. The tub, toilet, and trash cans were filling with white wads covered in red, dry liquid. The lid on the toilet was down. Dee Dee had to use the plunger on it before she could sit on the lid. A couple of knocks came on the door from her grandma. Her words were easy and her grandma was easily persuaded. Dee Dee went back to trying to fix her lip. She dabbed it with peroxide and balled the tissue up. Dee Dee got up and looked into the mirror. Her hands leaned on the sink's edge leaving bloody finger prints. Black and blue-her eye was making Dee Dee unrecognizable. Just as she was about to place her finger on it, her phone sounded off. Since she got back, she had been contacting her friends and even exchanged a few messages with Clara. Dee Dee sighed knowing talking to Clara wasn't the wisest idea, but after the sparring sessions she had with Jefro, she was spent. Oz, magic, Adina, Princess, flying monkeys-it was time for a break.

       The door to her room was open just a jar. She went in to place her ruby red shoes under her bed, but...they were gone. Her eyes narrowed and she searched underneath the bed. In the closet, under her studying desk, even outside her window but it didn't matter where she looked, the heels were gone. She ran to her door and opened it all the way. Her voice ranged out for her mother because she knew her mother was the one who often went into her room, and moved things around. Dorothy the Third hadn't responded so Dee Dee ran down the stairs. She peered into the kitchen and met her father.

        "Where's Ma?" She asked him.

         He looked up from cleaning the dishes, drying them with a fresh green dish towel. "In the attic, honey."

       He thought her mother was in the attic. Come to find out, she was in the front yard with the chickens.

       Her mother did a double take. How she hadn't noticed how badly bruised her daughter was, was beyond her. She ran to Dee Dee, and lifted up her chin by using the tips of her fingers. "Dee Dee, who did this to you?"

        Dee Dee took her head away and stepped back. When her mother reached out for her once more, Dee Dee pushed her mother's hand away. A gesture she never thought she'd do. Her back was turned as she heard her mother call out to her father. Only a few seconds later, she heard her father's foot steps coming out the front door. She heard the screeching her mother who pointed at her battered fast face. All she could do was roll her eyes. It was simple really-all she wanted to do was find her shoes and they were in the attic.

        The teenager brushed past her parents back into the house. Not before her mother grabbed her by the arm though and spun her around. "Dorothy the Fourth, who did this to you?" Her mother asked again.