The Butterfly Girl: A Star is Born

#55 Not Okay

[Sophia]

I sat there for a while, not really thinking about anything. But the sun felt nice on my beaten legs, that's one thing I knew. Later, Teri asked me if I could share the details on the attack, and I was comfortable enough to tell her as much as I could remember. But... I'm not the most articulate person. In fact, I'm not sure how well she was able to pick up on my side of the story because of how much I stuttered and tried to describe my experience. It's like she didn't understand me at all. At least, that's what I thought. It's really hard for me to turn my thoughts into words. Another reason why I don't talk much.
After I finished, the Twins offered to show Teri the area where the attack happened, however she didn't have enough time to stay with us as she only came over for a quick hello. But she promised tomorrow she would find more time to help. And soon she returned back to whence she came.

I stared off into the distance for a while before finally standing up. I turned away and started walking away from the tree house.
"Sophie, where are you going?" the Twins asked. I didn't turn my head.
"I'm just going back to the house." I said.
"But Apollo's still out there. We should go search for him!" they insisted. I paused.
"Yeah, but it's getting late. We should head back before it gets dark." I said and continued walking.
"But Apollo's still out there!" Flyboy started.
"He might not survive until tomorrow." Fleetfoot added. I didn't give a response.
"We have to go find him!" they yelled together.
But I knew there wouldn't be anything to find. We already tried that and we couldn't find anything. But I know Apollo's strong. I thought it'd be best if we go back and rest before heading back out there. I understood that the Twins were trying to do the right thing, but I didn't know what the right approach was. I couldn't think of what we should do next. Or what we could do. I knew Apollo would survive, I believed that. But right now, I couldn't think about anything else.

It wasn't until later that night. I couldn't sleep. Or rather, I couldn't stay asleep. I couldn't keep my eyes shut. Eventually, I gave up. I decided to go downstairs to grab a snack and then head back upstairs and see how long I could stay awake. But when I reached the end of the stairs and I looked out into the living room, I found no one there. Just a dark, empty room. It took me a moment to realize this.
They know they're allowed to sleep on the couch, right?
I went back upstairs to see if they were hiding anywhere else, but I couldn't find them. At this point I was a little concerned. They still couldn't be out there, especially not at this hour. Could they?

I went back upstairs and slipped into a pair of flip-flops and fixed my blanket around my shoulders like a cape and headed outside. The air was cold, but I'm glad it wasn't windy. But it was also cloudy, and no moon could be seen. It was a dark night and not even my vision could go this far. As soon as I stepped into the trees, I got a sense of uneasiness. I've never walked into the forest at night before. Of course, I've flown over it. Up into the night sky, only when I couldn't sleep and wanted some air. But this time...
The deeper I ascended into the forest, the more I realized my heart was beginning to race and I hoped nothing would pop out and surprise me. I wrapped my blanket tighter around me and stepped carefully. Soon, I made it to the tree house and started searching. I looked around the area to see if they were still hanging around anywhere. Then I climbed up into the tree house and peeked inside, hoping that's where they were. Unfortunately, no one was there. And at this point, I was a little worried now. But I didn't know where else to look. I doubted that they went all the way into the forest, still searching for clues. Especially that far in...

Then I had a thought. And I hoped that it would be the last place I'd find them. I began walking into the trees. Carefully stepping over rocks, my sandals crunching against the early autumn leaves. The longer I walked, the more I began to assume the worst.
Maybe I shouldn't have gone off like that. I should've stayed at the tree house and waited for them to come back. Or maybe I should have gone with them to look for Apollo. Leaving them alone probably was not the best choice...
I bet while I was gone, that creature came back and took them away too. The worst part about that was that I could see it, visually. I reminded myself to stop and instead reminded myself to breathe. The leaves crunching beneath me were beginning to sound ominous. It was then I reached my destination. I carefully walked over to the shrubs and knelt down carefully, making sure my blanket didn't touch the ground. The little Moonflower glowed brightly on the ground. It didn't look as faint as it did before. That was a good sign. It must be doing well.

I looked around the area, still knelt down by the Moonflower. The trees were so tight together that not a speck of light shone through the leaves, and only the glow of the Moonflower held the light. Yet still, the Twins were still nowhere to be found. I was worried now. I wondered if I should go back and hope that they're okay or go out and search for them.

"He's okay."
"Huh?" I stood up and turned my head. Looking.

I swear I thought I heard someone...
I kept looking.
I saw nothing.

And out of uncertainty I began to walk forward. Away from the flower and closer into the darkness. And I continued to walk for some time. I didn't know what I was doing, nor where I was going. I looked around. But there really wasn't anything interesting to look at. It was just dark and cold, and I couldn't really see in great detail. I didn't want to leave the Twins out here, even if I didn't know where they were. I didn't want to call out to them or else I might draw attention to myself. I eventually convinced myself to turn back. The dry grass and crunchy leaves were the only things I could hear besides quiet. I felt like I was being observed. I get that feeling a lot, practically everyday. It's not unusual, but this time... it didn't feel right.

I felt like I sensed something. But I couldn't locate where it was coming from. Everything looks different in the dark, almost unrecognizable. And the lack of moonlight didn't make it any better. However, I was able to find my way back to the tree house and I did one last check to make sure they weren't there. Afterwards, I went back to the house, back up to my room, and tried sleeping again.

And then I woke up again. And this time it wasn't my racing thoughts that shook me. I realized I was being shaken vigorously awake and when I sat up, I saw two faces looking at me. It took me a moment to process whose faces they were. I was a little delirious at first, but then I realized.
"Oh, finally you're back! I thought you guys were in trouble or something."
"We went out to see if we could find Apollo." they explained.
"But it's dangerous to go out at night, why'd you stay out there?"
"We couldn't give up." Flyboy said.
"We wanted to see if you wanted to come with us." Fleetfoot added. I brushed my hair out of my face.
"But it's still dark out." I said.
"Yeah, but Apollo's still out there. You can't just stay home and hope he'll come back."
"We have to go out there and find him before something happens to him. You can't just give up like that!"
I sighed, "Okay, okay, you're right. I know, I just- I don't know what to do... but can we wait until tomorrow?"
"No, we have to go find him now!" they insisted.
I wasn't really sure what I could say to make them change their minds, but it was late and I was really tired. And I was worried about Apollo as much as they were, but I didn't want to get into anymore trouble or else one of us might lose a limb. Or maybe more...
"...If you let me sleep I'll, uh... make you breakfast?"
The Twins stared at me for a moment.
"...Okay."