Dakota's Suite

Hello, Margaret

After Daphne retreated to her bedroom with her douche of a husband, I tended to the rest of the dishes and had even went the extra mile to dispose what remained of the sad excuse she called for a meal. After I handled the chores in the kitchen, I took a pack of my cancer sticks and had snuck up to the roof for some peace and quiet.

It had been several hours since I had climbed out here. The only source of light I had was the ember at the end of my cig, along with the starry night sky, the distant moon pitifully gazed back down at me. I laid with my arm that cushioned the back of my head. This had been the safest area for years. Whenever Hannah wasn't around to keep me company, I preferred to be alone, in complete silence.

Just another day in paradise.

I appreciated Hannah for trying to include me with the rest of the family. She was still under the impression that my mother and I had a normal relationship, Allen had been apathetic, he never honestly cared for whether I was in the room or not. The twat I have for a step-brother obviously could give two rat shits about me. A part of me just wanted to take Hannah and get far away from this family and to just start over, she'd be in school and I'd pick up another job, she can pursue her dream job in being a lawyer while I could support her in the sidelines, be there to punch the faces of the boys that would break her heart, teach her to drive, she'd have more of a shot out there that way. But I knew that deep down, Daphne would try her damnest to take me down in court had I ever tried to leave with the child she actually (somewhat) loved with me. Especially when they made her look good.

"I'm convinced that you'll age faster every time you smoke those."

A chipper voice had broke the silence. I shifted my head to the right to see the lid of the hatch lifted, Hannah's head popped from underneath with a wistful smile plastered on her face. "Want some company?"

"I don't mind." I said while I sat up. She climbed up onto the roof. I watched as she walked closer to my side of the roof, making sure that she wouldn't lose her balance. She crouched down beside me, her arms wrapped around her knees and her chin rested atop of them. I held the box of cigs towards her, raising an eyebrow. "Want one?" I joked.

She scrunched her nose and held up a hand as she stuck out her tongue. "No thanks, they smell gross and they're not even lit."

Keep that sentiment Hannah.

"How'd you know I was up here?" I asked, the cancer stick in the corner of my mouth lit up once again as I inhaled.

As a cloud of smoke escaped my lips she simply laughed. "I know you. You've always liked being at higher places."

I smirked. "In more ways than one!"

She gave me a good-natured eye roll. "What a way to show that you're a pothead, Dakota."

"What about you?" I turned to face her. "Aren't you afraid of falling?"

"Not when my over-protective brother is sitting next to me!" She chirped confidently with an elbow nudge to my arm. She looked away from me and looked up at the stars. "And I've been doing gymnastics for five years, falling is the least of my worries."

"Fair enough." I agreed.

There had been a moment of silence after that. Another silence I had been comfortable with for the longest time. I traced all the constellations I could find with my eyes as I further relaxed with ever inhale I made with the cancer stick. We just sat there and took in the night sky.  I knew something had been on her mind, but I figured it would be best had she decided when she wanted to confide about that.

Finally, she broke the silence again. "Hey 'Kota?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about Bryant..." She apologized sincerely.

"Don't be sorry, you can't control how that peice of shit acts." I shrugged with a small smile. "Thus the feeling is mutual with the hatred."

It had been my turn to nudge her in the arm. "Also, nice move back there, kicking him underneath the table." I added with a laugh.

She giggled along with me. "Thanks, he pissed me off back there." She let out a heavy exhale. "I just wish..."

"They'd treat me better." I finished her sentence for her. She turned to face me. Her eyes had glistened as if she were to burst into tears at any second. But it doesn't happen. At least, she was trying her hardest not to.

I reached out to pat her on the shoulder. "It's okay Hannah, if they don't want to like me, they don't have to."

"What is with those two? Allen and Bryant? I never understood why they never made an effort to get to know you, the way I know you." She confided remorsefully. "You're literally the sweetest person I know."

"Me? The sweetest?" I repeated. "Hannah I was banned from a bar about a month ago for beating the shit out of a drunk guy who threw a bottle at me."

She snorted. "So?? He started it."

"It took four bouncers to drag me out of there, I also kicked down and destroyed a lot of shit there too." I added with an eyebrow raise. "But I appreciate that."

"Well with that known, I know that you aren't afraid to pick a fight if you need to, and if I need someone to have my back, I know you will!" She chirped with a sniffle.

There had been a thud that interrupted the moment, we both stopped and peered down below at our yard. I looked over further on my side to find our next door neighbor, Margaret Wilson, in a long white nightgown, her wispy grey hair had continued to butt her head against the wooden fence that separated our yard from her own.

There were dark stains on her dress, her hands also scratched along the wood. Everything about this very situation was just uncanny and weird. It was as if she was brain dead with her actions.

"Dakota..." Hannah called out to me but I never seemed to break my gaze off of Margaret.

At that moment, Margaret raised her head slowly, her head turned upward and to her right, as if she was gazing at the stars too. Her mouth opened and closed as her head shifted further towards us, as if she was blindly searching for something.

"Dakota..." Hannah called out for me again but somehow I fail to respond.

Margaret finally held a gaze onto me, her mouth continued to open and close momentarily. Within a second she shifted herself further down the fence, closer to the house, her arms outstretched as she literally dragged her body against the fence. Her hands were mangled, as if she was grasping to reach us, her entire face had started to scrunch with a gurgled snarl. I felt my blood run cold as I realized that she only started to finally move with some direction only because she saw us.

"Dakota." Hannah's voice had been firm, along with her grip along my arm. Her eyes were wide with pure terror, lips formed in a trembling grimace, her entire face had paled.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Didn't Bryant say that Margaret died last week?"