this love is good, this love is bad [wenclair]

chapter 2

Beginning of summer break
Wednesday's point of view

A knock on the car window woke me up.

So I did fall asleep after all.

Father was standing outside, smiling brightly and gesturing for me to open the door, because as per usual I had locked it from the inside. A sort of reflex I had developed by watching way too many murder documentaries.
However, Thing was way quicker than me to unlock the door, pulled on the handle and got out. I took my bag and did the same.
"Ah! My little rain cloud! We missed—"
"Don't", I interrupted him because he was going for a hug.
"Well, we're happy you're back."
I walked over to the car's trunk where Lurch was unloading my luggage.
"Where is Pugsley?" I asked as I grabbed one of my suitcases.
I know the emotional mess my brother is. He normally would've been there.
"... At a friend's."
I squinted my eyes in suspicion. "And Mother?"
"Uh..."
"Where are they really?"
"Well, right now the manor is being searched so-"
"Where are they?" I asked for the second time as we headed to the manor's front door. "Come on, Father, why would you even lie?"
"At cousin Itt's."
"And for what reason?"
"You know how high Uncle Fester is on the wanted list, right?"
I nodded.
"People told the police they saw him come here, so there are constantly two officers present because they think he'll eventually come back and over day the manor is being searched. They're hoping to find some of the things he stole. You know how Tish feels about police people so—"
"No need to explain," I started, "I guess I have to pack my bags for the summer, then."
"Yes. But maybe sleep a bit first. Do you want to eat something maybe?"
"I'll eat tomorrow morning before leaving."
"Well, we don't have plane tickets yet so the chances we're leaving tomorrow are—"
"I'm packing anyway so that doesn't matter."

My room hadn't changed. It was just a bit dustier, which made me like it even more. In the recess of an old arrow-loop, there was still my collection of porcelain dolls all piled up. It was kind of similar to Enid's plushie collection, only she would probably find mine, quote, cReEpY. Which made me think of the fact that I didn't give any sign of life for a 'long' time. A handful of hours, that represents a few days in Enid's language. I took the phone out of my bag and threw myself on the bed.

*4 unread messages from Xavier Thorpe*
*10 unread messages from Enid Sinclair*

I opened hers first because I really didn't want Xavier to awkwardly flirt over text with me. The guy really couldn't take a hint to save his life.

I. Am. Not. Interested.

4:02 PM
E: Xavier says hi
6:52 PM
E: Heyyy
E: Sir. Sir! Sir, are u there?
8:45 PM
E: Ik it's kinda late but let me know when u get home pls 🙃
9:12 PM
E: Ugh I hate family reunions
E: It hasn't even been a day and I'm so done with my mother
9:30 PM
E: Xavier asked me to ask you to respond to his messages
E: He literally won't stop spamming me so PLEASE TEXT HIM BACK
10:13 PM
E: I'm going to sleep
E: Sweet dreams Wednesday

1:56 AM
W: i'm home.

Three dots. I sighed but was still glad she was online.

You're supposed to be asleep, Enid.

E: I was worried
E: I saw that it rains a lot on the roads you take

That must've been why I fell asleep. Rain was such a soothing noise, especially combined with thunder.
But wait.

W: how do you know?
W: did you trace my route?

E: Well
E: Your house was easy to find on Google and then I just used Maps

*10% battery left*

W: wait.
W: my phone is almost out of battery.

I got up. Looking for the charger was the easy part, finding a socket was the hard one. I quickly came to the conclusion that there were none in my room, so I checked in Pugsley's. None. Next I checked the attic. I hadn't been there in a while but vividly remembered that one night Debbie used the electric chairs. And I was right. I plugged my phone in and it started to charge.

W: i'm back.

No answer. She probably fell asleep.

W: good night.
W: or morning since it's 2AM.
W: whatever.

After the hell of a nap I had in the car, I wasn't tired.

You should answer Xavier.

I opened our conversation. Which was one sided. Just like in real life. He was a nice guy. I just wasn't interested in anything romantic. Especially after Tyler. Plus Xavier wasn't my type.

3:00 PM
X: hey hey hey
X: hope you get home safe x
3:34 PM
X: i know ur online, enid is giggling nonstop next to me
3:50 PM
X: pls don't ignore me :')

2:01 AM
W: hi.

That was my socializing for the day. I left my phone there and went back to my room.

• FIRST POSTED: 12/27/2022
• EDITED (1st time): 07/26/2023