A Short Story : A Story?

In bed, the pitch-black mane of Anne Marie tousled over the crispy-white pillow case was the only visible sign of her body lying motionless under a plain light green sheet in the misty darkness of the room. Staring at the ceiling with her eyes lost in an apparent invisible abyss ahead, her mind seemed as well fully immersed in a faraway time of the past in her life.

"Ava... Ava." I hear my name being called and I groan at the intrusion of my sleep. I turn over to my side and bring the blankets up, covering my face completely from the morning sun.

Seconds had seemed to pass like minutes and minutes like hours. They were addicted, or in love. Neither had been able to distinguish which. He'd spent the days doing everything in his power to find a distraction, pouring himself into his work nine-to-five and then letting a drink, or ten, settle him in the evening. They had tried tirelessly to find a balance but somehow couldn't tune themselves to vibrate on the same frequency. They stood close, cramped up in a corner by clubbers completely oblivious to the energy flowing between them. His surprise to see her was shadowed by the fire in his stomach, he couldn't take his eyes away from her lips, his own tingling with longing for their

An immense pressure bore in her head as she slowly awoke from her midday slumber, her daydreams slowly fading away from her mind. Reality sunk in, and she found herself awake. Dim light shone through the windows and it pierced her eyes, worse than a thousand needles ever could. Her mental screams sounded that of countless condemned souls, shrieking for life

Another monotonous day passed by, and thoughts of Piper and her stepfather were glued to Emmeline's mind. She hadn't slept in what felt like forever, both good and bad memories of her family playing on a loop inside of her head. Emmeline missed her sister so much that her chest ached. At times, she felt that she was never going to be able to move on.

Moving away from the glass, she began to rummage through her minimal luggage in search of something more ideal to travel in. She, eventually, settled for a simple white blouse, a waist-high brown skirt, and matching boots. After dressing, she rolled her unruly curls into a simple updo which formed a halo around her head despite the cold. Once she felt composed and properly arranged, she repacked her luggage and closed the brown cases before slipping into her fur coat and exiting the room.

The mother stomped her feet with a smug look on her face all the way to Ava’s bed as she got on her knees to look underneath the so called monstrous bed. Her head went underneath the bed as Ava was waiting in excitement for her mother to finally understand why she's been so scared of the monsters underneath her bed. The mother's head flew up from underneath with a content look on her face.

Sitting in the stained backseat of a worn-out taxicab, Pearl adjusted her black satin gloves trying to remove the sullen feeling that still lingered on her from the living room she left moments ago. As she opened her compacted mirror, to re-powder her face her eyes differed to the shrinking image of the house she got acquaintance with over the last couple of months. She couldn’t help but play the time she spent at Olive’s over in her mind.

That ten minutes of missed sleep became her reality. That dream that made no sense became her nightly companion… and it showed. Visible on her features, carved into those creases and worn under her eyes like purple badges of horror. Testament to the way in which her life was slowly circling down that drain of her own psychosis.

Enid tried to smile at her parents. Her world was grey like a gloomy rainy day. Quiet, yet dangerous. Enid shut her eyelids and imagined what it would be like if colours filled her life again. Suddenly, the lumpy and sweaty hospital bed became softer. Enid sank down in it and dreamt—wonderful things, she dreamt!

It was all body now, my muscle memory. Sometimes I let myself indulge in the soft weavings hung on the wall or the paintings from centuries ago, I even ran my fingers on them too. I wandered aimlessly through the manor, seeing it for the beauty that it was created to be. Why had I never stopped to really look at it? I really didn’t know. Above laid a wide gleaming window of the sky with golden streaks slashing the brilliant blue and soft clouds, the corners of the large foyer were intricately carved into blossoms of roses and daisy buds. Walking from room to room with my head tipped back, looking at how each chandelier, each set of four walls were different. Slowly, I started to forget. I lost track of time the way your gripping fist would falter after holding onto something tightly for too long. Gradually, unhurriedly and then all at once.

Now, there was a novel concept to consider. After all this time, after all the arguments she had with herself over whether or not to seek them out, she was with them. Albeit, it wasn’t planned, but nonetheless, here she was.

She slowly raised from her bed, stretching her stiff muscles while walking towards her bathroom. Once she was dressed for the morning, images began to fill her head of her dream that were forgotten moments ago. That’s when the pulling sensation started, the haunting eyes evoked unknown deja vu. Her feelings were a mess, she didn’t know how she felt about them.

The rough cotton rubbed an itch against her delicate skin. Dylan had asked Silas for her own room despite him explaining only a basic one was available. Still, she’d expected better.

She crawled into bed, the day's events swirling around in her head with the help of a little Crown to top it all off. As she lay on her side, she stared silently in the dark and the closed door, listening intently to the silence in the house. Had he already gone to sleep so quickly? She didn't even check to make sure he had everything he needed. Maybe she should get up to and see if he had enough blankets and the like for the night. That's what she was going with.