The Restoration Project

4.02 - Lovely

A loud clap woke Lovely from her sleep. She instinctively reached for Holy Holly, which rested against the night-stand beside her. She released it when a quick flash illuminated the window, followed by another bout of rolling thunder. It wasn't raining yet, but the storm was closing in. The still-dark sky made it difficult to tell if it was morning or night.

She lay back down, but something didn't feel right. The bed beside her was empty. Marybelle should have been there.

"Missing her already?" Kyle asked, sitting at her feet.

Lovely ignored him. The sheets were pulled up on the other side of the bed and there was no sign Marybelle had spent the night at all. The disappointment turned to curiosity when something clanged on the other side of the door.

She slipped out of bed, careful to step over the pile of Wheels' clothes in the corner. The room smelled of patchouli and dirty socks. It was a wonder she managed to sleep through it. The door to the bedroom creaked as she pulled it open.

"Oh, good, you're up," Wheels said, standing in front of the stove in the kitchen. The scent of fried eggs wafted through the doorway—they had a chicken guy, too.

"Thanks for letting me sleep in your room," Lovely said.

"Wouldn't make a pregnant lady sleep on the couch," Wheels called over his shoulder as he continued to prepare breakfast.

Lovely's stomach gurgled as she scanned the room, spotting the sheets Wheels used lying in a rumpled heap at one side of the couch. Behind her, the door to Tiara's room remained closed while the door beside it hung open, revealing the empty bathroom.

"Where's Marybelle?" she asked after failing to spot the one person she wanted to see.

As if to answer her, the front door opened and Marybelle slipped inside. She was carrying a basket in front of her. "There isn't much out there yet, most of these are stunted," she explained, and then noticed Lovely and smiled. "You're awake."

"Ahh, great!" Wheels proclaimed and abandoned his station in the kitchen to retrieve the basket. 

"Fresh sprouts!"

"Sprouts?" Lovely mouthed to Marybelle.

"Dandelions, mostly," Marybelle explained. "Wheels does great things with them."

Lovely nodded. She had not figured out a way to do great things with dandelion sprouts yet.

"How'd you sleep?" Marybelle asked, walking over to the couch and kicking the bundle of sheets aside.

"OK, I guess," Lovely replied.

"It would've been better if you were in your own bed," Kyle chimed in. He appeared on the opposite couch, staring down Marybelle.

"Yeah, Wheel's room has a smell to it, don't it?" Marybelle commented.

"I'm right here!" Wheels called from the kitchen.

Lovely giggled and nodded, mouthing, "It does!"

"Your place doesn't smell," Kyle pointed out. Lovely glared at him.

"Is everything all right?" Marybelle asked, narrowing her eyes and following Lovely's gaze to the empty couch.

"Yeah, fine," Lovely replied, even though it wasn't. She needed Kyle to stop popping up everywhere.

"Good, because we have a big day ahead of us," Marybelle said. "And the weather doesn't look too accommodating."

Lovely scrunched her forehead.

"I spoke with Wheels this morning," Marybelle continued. "We're going to bring you to the North."

"No way, nuh uh, not now," Kyle said, appearing by the door to the cabin. "You're too far along! That much travel would not be good for the baby. Leave now and don't look back."