LORRAINE I paused staring at the car for a moment longer than necessary. I wasn't expecting her to be here. She stared at me, exasperated as I tried to convince myself that Chloe was really in the driveway waiting for me. I blinked. “If you're just going to keep on staring at me then I guess I'm just going to have to drive past you. Since you don't want to get into the car like a normal person” She rolled her eyes so hard that I was convinced that it would enter back into her eyes. I closed my eyes and I was finally able to snap out of my shock. “I'm sorry” I mutter as I hurried to the passenger seat of the car and I hurriedly scrambled in. I was tempted to pinch myself. How could I even convince myself that this was real? How could I come to terms with the fact that I wouldn't have to walk under the sun today? All I felt was relief. All I felt was uncertainty and a burst of excitement because it was so foreign, having to see someone care about me. Maybe Chloe won't think too muc
LORRAINE“You can't keep running away from him forever. You know that right?” Chloe lifted her head from her book and raised an eyebrow at me knowingly. I wanted to act like I was oblivious and I wanted to pretend like she didn't know what I was talking about but a part of me knew that she was right. We both knew what she was talking about. I couldn't keep avoiding Josh forever. Eventually, I'll have to find a way to develop the backbone to tell him off. I closed my eyes and for a moment, the idea of confiscating myself within the darkness seemed alluring. If I had a way to make it happen, I would have done it a long time ago. I forced myself to open my eyes and face reality. The reality of what was happening to me. As I opened my eyes. Chloe's confused expression came into view and I swallowed nervously. If things continue to keep being awkward between us. She's going to think that I'm a fucking weirdo. “In as much as I want to argue with you. I have a feeling that you might be
LORRAINEThe room was shrouded with silence as I watched them eat. I stood in a corner with my hands folded behind my back. I rushed forward to refill their cup each time it was empty. Josh's hands mistakenly brushed my fingers and as I caught the wicked mischief in his gaze, something told me that it wasn't by mistake. None of them found it necessary to make conversation or break the silence. If I hadn't been tending to them for a long time, it would certainly come off as awkward but it would seem that they were comfortable with the silence. “Mum, Dad” Chloe broke the silence, and all the attention focused on her as she spoke. “I don't think I want to be homeschooled anymore. I applied to Werewolf High and I got accepted” she said as she shot the both of them a look. “Wait what?” Josh sounded almost breathless. If I wasn't imagining things, I would have been convinced that the color drained from her face immediately when she said it. “You're kidding right?” He said again and sh
LORRAINE“You've got to be kidding me. What on earth do you even think you're doing?” Josh shot her a look of irritation. For a moment, I could have sworn that he shifted his glare over to me and I bent my head almost immediately as I pretended to be more intrigued with my fingers than with what was happening. “Don't buy into my conversation, Josh. Can't you handle laying off from the attention for once and not interrupt me ?” She raised an eyebrow at him. For a moment, he seemed at a loss for words. I would admit that it was a sight to enjoy. The image of him being so speechless would be forever imprinted into my memory and I'm not certain that I would be getting rid of it anytime soon.“Don't talk to your brother like that” Luna's brows furrowed and I could see the panic dancing into her eyes as she stared at her Chloe. All of them panicked at the sudden change. All of them except me. I was intrigued as I observed her from the corner. Something about her had changed and I couldn't
LORRAINE“Stay” My hand paused at the doorway as I was about to leave the room. The silence was comfortable and Chloe had laid against the bed saying nothing. The sadness remained in her eyes and she clutched her blanket tightly. I didn't miss the way her knuckles were pale. “Stay. Josh might even be lurking for you in the hallways anyway. Why risk it?” She said as I realized that there was a high possibility that she might be right. He always likes to feel like he has the upper hand and he might be looking for a way to drive the point across. He couldn't achieve that with Chloe. Not the way that he would like. But he could do that with me. I was the vulnerable one. But there was no way she was offering for me to stay in her room, was she?She looked at me expectantly, waiting for an answer. Her eyes were empty of the sternness that they usually held. They were sad and they were empty and a huge part of me wanted to do everything possible to make it go away. Maybe I would stay like
LORRAINEI could hear the soft breathing of Chloe as she slept. I wondered if they knew that I was spending the night here. If they ever found out, there was a high possibility that Chloe's parents were going to throw a fit. I closed my eyes and sighed. I was exhausted, I could feel my exhaustion but somehow it was impossible to drift off into sleep. My eyes scanned around the dimly lighted room. I adjusted my head on the pillow and my eyes fluttered closed for a moment. I closed my eyes and sighed. I was still unused to this luxury. I was still unused to this treatment. I was very conscious about the soft sofa beneath my back. I knew that I should get some rest. It was obvious that I was tired and I was beyond exhausted and somehow the sleep wouldn't come. I considered walking towards the balcony and remaining there for a few minutes. It wouldn't hurt to admire and take in the scenery of the place. As soon as the thought brushed through my mind, I instantly decided against it, almost
LORRAINE I began to rethink my decision to accept Chloe's offer to let her lend me her clothes. The color of the sweater was too bright. It was a bright pink that was a beautiful contrast to the complexion of my skin. This was one of the few times that I didn't feel like complete garbage and yet I was scared about the attention that I was bound to receive. “You keep looking around like you stole something that you shouldn't have” Chloe muttered with a small smile on her face as we walked through the empty corridor. She had insisted that she knew another way out of the manor. I was about to question how she even knew these places. But for someone that sneaks out a lot. I'm certain she knows a lot of escape routes. “Well I'm wearing your clothes, aren't I? Of course, I'm nervous” I whispered. I was afraid of being too loud. We were going to get into a lot of trouble if anyone saw me going through this route. Me specifically, because no one could care less about me so there was a high
LORRAINEI swallowed nervously as I looked around. Chloe's face gave nothing away. Her expression remained impassive. I on the other hand was a nervous wreck and I could do absolutely nothing about it. I tried to stop my hands from shaking but I couldn't seem to get it to stop. Josh stormed towards us from the other end of the hallway. The look on his face was enough proof that he didn't approve of Chloe being seen with me. I swallowed nervously and when I tried to pull my hand away from hers, she tightened her grip, closing her eyes around mine. “What on earth do you think you're doing?” Josh growled as he came face to face with Chloe. I avoided his gaze and found the ground to be interesting to look at.“Oh wow. Hello to you brother. Fancy seeing you there” she drawled. Her voice dripped with icy sarcasm and I found it slightly amusing as the irritation in his eyes intensified. “First you insist on abandoning homeschool and then you come and try to ruin me socially,” he said. Sh