Free to Feel [Temporarily (??) Discontinued]

Chapter 20

Catherine turned the phone off and closed her eyes, pleading to the skies to keep her eyesight and not to go blind. Her head was hurting a little due to staring at those tiny letters for such a long time. No, hell no, working from her laptop was way easier and better and more convenient. She wasn't even sure she'd understood the topic of the article she'd just finished writing, even though she had read the original material three times and her task wasn't even that difficult, just to rewrite the given text, make it more interesting to read and a little less formal... Maybe she was just too tired. Maybe she was just bored.

She still remembered those days when she was so enthusiastic about writing some article that she would stay up all night, drinking cup of coffe after cup of coffee and typing away. Where was all that enthusiasm now? Where had it gone? How long had it been since she was actually able to enjoy what she was doing? And, most importantly, how much longer would she last without getting fired since her writing was getting worse? She knew exactly just how important it was to keep her work good as there were so many promising journalists who were waiting for every opportunity to overtake her place. But... She just couldn't focus on her work now. With Heather and her family and everything, it was getting more and more difficult for her to return to work every day.

Those thoughts made her feel sick. She scowled and stood up, looking around and rubbing her temples. Did her parents have any painkillers? Perhaps she could just take a pill, see how everyone was doing and how Maya and Sam were adapting to the new environment.

Cat stood up and walked up to the door, grinning when the plank under her foot creaked. It did so for as long as she could remember, and so she'd learnt to step over it at nights so that not to wake anyone up. She closed the door behind herself and frowned at how quiet it was. Weirdly quiet. Where were Nick and John and why couldn't she hear them? Had something happened?

Or maybe they were just outside? The woman rolled her eyes with a grin, of course they were outside, it was snowy, their favourite type of weather! She shook her head and walked downstairs and paused.

Heather lay on the couch and, by the looks of it, he was sleeping. Only she had never seen him sleep like this before, usually he either curled in a ball when he was in his dog bed or pulled his knees up to his chest when he slept with her, but now he was sleeping with his body almost straight. His knees weren't bent, his back wasn't curled, he just... He lay on his back, his chest rising and falling, his mouth slightly open as he breathed deeply.

"That's weird, right?" There came a familiar voice. Catherine turned around and raised an eyebrow at Raven. The girl was sitting in the kitchen on the table, her feet dangling a few inches above the floor. Oh? She had never sat like that back home, not even during her most rebellious phases. Even better, she was obviously munching on some sweet cereals as if it was no big deal.

"What's weird?" Cat asked when she walked into th kitchen and frowned when she saw the fabric on the table and Dad's sewing kit nearby. Had he left his sewing? But... Why? He loved this stuff, why had he left? Where... Where was he? And where was Mom? Maya and Sam were gone as well, and John and Nick... She raked her thoughts trying to remember if her parents had mentioned leaving, but nothing rang the bell.

"He never naps during the day." Raven nodded at her father and gave a small shrug, reaching up to grab another handful of cereal when the woman pulled the pack away. "Hey! I was eating!"

"You shouldn't eat sweets before lunch." Catherine shook her head and rolled her eyes when the girl tensed up as if to say something offencive. "Because it you get too much sugar in your blood you won't feel hungry even though your body will need some actual food."

The kid scoffed and muttered something, playing around with her knife. Cat smiled and placed the cereal back in in the cupboard, then looked around. It was time for lunch, but where was everyone?