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"HAVE YOU...SEEN ANYTHING?"
Amanda snapped out of whatever usual daze she was stuck in; her eyes refocused on Beverly opposite her, who had an unlit cigarette held between her two fingers. The lighter Beverly was using looked like a bit of a struggle to take out of her pocket, but once the flame had ignited and burned the end of the paper stick, it slipped back into her pocket more easily. There was a small crackling at the end of the cigarette whilst it set alight but then the sound died out and the girls were put into silence once more, staring out at the streets of Derry from where they sat on the descending fire escape.
After Beverly had shown Amanda her blood-covered bathroom and Amanda had freaked out a little mentally, the two of them called the rest of the boys Amanda had become acquainted with. More like Beverly called them and Amanda sat awkwardly on her couch, playing with the sleeves of her jacket; she thought that Beverly would be best in calling them as if Amanda did it, there would be no one coming. They were more likely to respond to the redheads call. Now, they were just waiting on them.
The sun gazed down on them harshly like they were ants under a magnifying glass, it made Amanda warmer, like Beverly had said earlier. But she didn't want to remove her jacket - it had been a feat trying to excuse her cut head, she couldn't imagine trying to explain the bruises on her arms that had yet to fade. Heat clouded Amanda's head and disorientated her, almost making her ask Beverly to repeat the question, but she didn't because she heard it loud and clear, she just didn't know how to answer it. Of course a bloody bathroom was scary, but how would she react when she learned of the clown Amanda had witnessed.
"Yeah." She answered shortly, picking at the black paint that covered the fire escape railing and peeling a little bit off to reveal the silver metal underneath. Beverly was silent for a moment, taking a puff out of her cigarette and waiting for the girl to explain herself. Then she remembered what Amanda had said before, Ask no questions and you'll be told no lies. So she let it be.
"How long do you reckon they'll be?" The redhead changed the conversation topic, but that didn't get any more out of Amanda than the bloody bathroom had. There was only a shrug of her shoulders as she looked out at the surrounding landscape of Derry, a stupid time for stupid people. Beverly watched her curiously. "You smoke?"
Amanda shook her head from side to side slowly. She didn't, but sometimes it felt like she did. With the clouds of smoke constantly diffusing from the living room to her own room, from the garden through her window, the constant lingering of ash and cigarette butts she was forced to clean up. She had never ever gotten her hands on a lit one, some times she reckoned she didn't ever want to, but Beverly was offering it to her with a small smile on her face. So kind that Amanda felt compelled to take it, reaching out to grab the cigarette between two fingers.
Beverly watched her as she lifted it up to her lips, inhaled like she had seen her family do many times before, then took it away from her lips and let the smoke float out of her mouth in a dense fog. Amanda took a moment to hold her grimace at the taste, but then a second later raised it up to her lips once more and inhaled again, blowing out for a second time and letting it float away into the humidity of the day. Not trusting herself with it any longer, she passed it back to Beverly who grinned.
