Silver Lining

CHAPTER FIVE

Enoch and I sipped our tea win silence until the bell rang, calling everyone down for dinner.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be down in a minute." I forced a smile onto my face to try and rid the look of worry from his. I wasn't okay, and I wasn't sure when I was going to be, but nobody else needed to know that. I was seventeen years old, I almost felt embarrassed to be missing my brother as much as I already was.

I could still speak to him, I could still write to him. But things would never be the same as they had been before. Even when our parents abandoned us on Miss Peregrine's doorstep, I had never felt so alone as I did watching Abe walk down that path and away from me. Away from all of us.

I ran a brush quickly through my hair and tweaked at the collar of my dress before I headed down for dinner. The dining room seemed to grow quieter as I walked in and hurried to my seat, keeping my head down to avoid the pity-filled stares of the rest of my housemates.

Even Miss Peregrine was quiet over the course of our meal, absent-mindedly poking her vegetables around her plate. No one seemed eager to start a conversation and I was thankful for that, however awkward the atmosphere had become. I didn't have the energy to engage in any social graces.

One by one we all left the table, deciding to skip listening to the radio in favour of an early night. Emma wrapped an arm around my shoulders and Olive interlocked her gloved fingers with mine as they walked me up to my room. Emma's face was paler than it normally was, the bags deep under her eyes. I had no doubt that she had been crying but it wasn't something I wished to bring up. We were all dealing with Abe leaving in our own way.

"We'll see you in the morning," Olive's voice was light as she pasted a smile onto her face, squeezing my hand tightly before dropping it.

I bade them goodnight before closing the door tightly behind me, but I didn't want to sleep. I wanted to forget about everything.

I crossed to the basin in the center of the room and conjured up the image of the pub. It was a quiet night for once, there hadn't been any brawls so far. The Bartender was still in a good mood as he served the regular patrons, the drink sloshing over the edge of the glass and onto the wooden bar top as he slid the drinks down to those who had ordered.

At this, I got an idea.

I dug through my wardrobe for a pair of heels and pooled what makeup I had in my possession onto my vanity table. I dabbed a little bit of red lipstick onto my lips with my ring finger and lined my eyes lightly with kohl. I took the little braid holding the hair back from the front of my face out and let my light hair hang in waves around my shoulders. I slipped my heels on and checked my appearance in the mirror on the front of my wardrobe.

My heels made me a little taller and the makeup helped to make me look older. I hopefully wouldn't have much trouble ordering a drink in the pub. I slipped my purse into the pocket of my coat, peaking my head out around the door to check if anyone was still up.

I held my heels in my hands as I passed Enoch's door, the strip of light emanating from underneath it the only sign that he was still awake. Miss Peregrine was sitting in her study, silently flipping through a few old journals as I passed. I hoped that it would take her a while to notice my absence but I didn't count on it as I crept across the grass and out into the town.

The nightlife in town was as I had seen and expected; there was next to none. Young families were already wrapped up in bed hoping for some peace and quiet once they had gotten their kids to sleep, old couples quietly read in their front rooms. The only sign of life was from the lit pub at the end of the street, the front door lying open as visitors came and gone, much more unsteady on their feet than they had been when they first arrived.