stay, Inez ~ xavier thorpe

family

I had forgotten what it felt like to be loved.
For a place to call home, or a smile of absolute happiness.
Now I remember, unable to stop smiling.
I couldn't sleep all night, my heart racing to get to know my family.
The words sound funny in my head.
I have a family.

Before sunrise, I begin to get ready, taking a warm shower and putting on my makeup.
I wanted to look pretty when hanging out with my new found relatives.

Walking to Wednesday's dorm, I catch Ajax sneaking out the door.
"Ajax?" I ask.
He turns around, looking very scared.
"Oh good. It's just you. I thought you were Thornhill or something." He says, relieved.
"Just me? Don't think I've forgotten about what you did to Enid. How could you stand her up like that? She was so upset she cried in my lap for hours." I raise my voice.
Just then, strand of pink hair pops out the door frame, followed by the rest of the blonde.
"Inez! Why are you yelling? We might get caught." She whispers.
I stand there, confused.
"We? Enid did you already forget about how he stood you up and then took another girl to the dance?" I ask, annoyed.
Ajax begins to scratch the back of his neck nervously.
"About that. Don't tell anyone this, but I kind of stoned myself in the bathroom that day, and I was too embarrassed to admit it." Ajax says, making me smile.
"Wait. You can remember? Like remember everything?" Enid asks excitedly.
"Unfortunately." I say, smiling.
She squeals before letting me into her dorm.
"Wednesday's still asleep. Don't wake her up. She isn't a morning person." Enid says, stepping out the door with Ajax.
I wander around the room, tip toeing to ensure my silent steps.
Sitting down at Wednesdays desk, I notice a couple of papers shoved in her backpack.
From the look of them, I could tell they were drawings.
I didn't know Wednesday was an artist.
Pulling them out, my face drops.
I had only seen the topic of the drawing a couple times, each time leaving me in the hospital.
"Oh. Your here. Hello." Wednesday says, sitting directly up.
Her facial expression changes after noticing what was in my hands.
"Why do you have drawings of it? What the fuck Wednesday." I say, creeped out.
The drawings are so lifelike, as if the monster was standing in front of you.
"Listen. You should know that Xavier is most likely the monster." She says, walking towards me.
I scoff.
"He's been too close to the crime scenes every time, and he drew those." She says, trying to take the drawings out of my hands.
I tighten my grip on the papers, annoyed.
"How long have you had these?" I ask.
"Before the dance." She says, stepping away from me.
Of course she was keeping secrets. What's new?
I storm out of her dorm to find Xavier, running into Enid and Ajax on the way out.
"Where are you going?" Enid asks, confused.
"Talk to you later." I say, already out the door.

Finally, I find Xavier, out on the road for a run.
When he sees me, he pulls out his AirPods and puts them in his pocket, jogging to meet me.
"Inez! Hi. Listen about the-" I cut him off before he could finish.
"How do you know what it looks like you psycho?" I yell, shoving the drawings in his face.
"Wait what? You know I have dreams about stuff in the future." He says.
"Seriously Xavier. What the hell?" I say, standing my ground.
"I have dreams about it, then I draw it, now your looking at two of the drawings." He says shortly.
"Then why didn't you tell me about this sooner? Why were you keeping this a secret?" I ask, still not believing him.
"Well last time I checked we weren't really on speaking terms but okay." He says, now getting annoyed by my tone.
"Yep. That's really convenient that for you." I say, angrily.
"You can't actually think Im the monster? You think I would hurt you Inez?" He says, hurt.
"Your other dreams were about normal stuff, like if Miss Thornhill was going to give us homework the next day. They didn't show the exact place where I found Eugene running from a monster." I say, still defensive.
"Oh my god Inez. She's getting into your head. I would never hurt you." He says, leaning down to look directly into my eyes.
"Who?" I cross my arms, stepping further away from him.
His face twitches, upset by my distrust with him right now.
"Wednesday. She thinks that I'm the monster. That doesn't even make sense. You know I'm psychic." He says, annoyed.
"Okay whatever. The evidence still points to you. Stay away from me and my sister." I say, walking away quickly.
"Sister?" He asks, confused.
"Wednesday." I say before walking back into the dorms.
I could almost sense his jaw drop, shocked.

I'm not going to waste my time with Xavier or the monster. They've both hurt me enough.
Today was the last day we had with our family's, so I wanted to make it count. I checked my hair and makeup in the bathroom before going to find my brother.
That has a ring to it.
My brother.
I wonder if he likes to play catch. Or maybe draw? Or if he just likes to hang out?
Whatever he likes I will like today, I want to get the most out of the last few hours I have with my family.
"Daughter. How did you sleep?" The man says.
I stand still. What do I call him? What do I call my mother?
"Slept like a baby." I smile, making the family give me an odd look.
"You definitely take after your father. Mi amor." The woman says, kissing the man.
I smile. What do I call them?
"Morning sister. Can I call you that?" The short boy stands beside me.
"Of course." I smile.
"You may call us mother and father, if you please." The woman looks up hopefully.
"I would love that." I say, making my mother's face light up.
"Long time no see. Where did you go this morning?" Wednesday appears behind me, making me flinch.
"I had something to take care of before the day started. I wanted no distractions today." I smile.
Wednesday gives me a look, before we leave to the table of food.
There are many selections, all for different types of outcasts.
Luckily, they had some meals that were normal, like pancakes and waffles.
I love waffles.
I stack up two waffles, drowning them in syrup, before joining my family at one of the tables.
I could feel Xavier's eyes on me as I chat with the Addams, whispering to Ajax.
Wednesday moves to sit closer to me, whispering something in my ear as I eat.
"Someone has a few stalkers. Your lucky, that's on my bucket list." She says, looking around, pointing out how everyone is giving us weird looks.
"What are they looking at?" Pugsley asks, confused by the stares.
"They're just jealous they can't be a part of our family too." I comfort the boy.
He smiles, eating out of a bowl.
I give him a weird look, making him speak up.
"Want some? Wednesday's doctor let me take the whole bowl of candy yesterday. I saved the last few pieces for you." He smiles, holding out the bowl.
"Uhm, Pugsley, that's potpourri..." I say, taking the bowl out of his hands, concerned.
"How many of these did you eat?" I ask.
"The rest of the bowl. What's wrong?" He asks, sad that I wasn't happy by his gift.
"It's not candy. It's decoration. Like dried flowers and stuff." I say, still looking concerned.
"Oh he'll be fine. I've poisoned him many times, it never works." Wednesday says, monotony.
I don't know how I'm supposed to react to that.
"Oh." I say.
Just then, Principal Weems walks to the front of the quad, clapping to draw attention to herself.
"Hello families. I hope that this Parents Weekend was a success for you all. Unfortunately, our time with our families must end soon, so start your goodbyes. You can always call them, and of course, you will see them soon, at the end of the semester. I will be in my office for the rest of the day if you have any inquiries." The woman smiles.

"Well my little storm clouds, this is goodbye." My father says.
Pugsley pulls Wednesday and I into a hug, looking sad.
"I'll miss you two." He says.
Funny. I've only known him for a day.
"Go to the car. I need a chat with my girls." Mother says, motioning the boys away.
"Yes?" Wednesday says, annoyed.
"Don't be afraid to call me every once and a while on your crystal ball. And I wanted you two to take this back to your principal. Me and your father had a fun trip down memory lane." She says, holding out an old yearbook.
Ew.
I grab it with a smile, as the woman looks at us both, taking a step closer.
Thinking she would give us a hug, I prepared myself, holding my arms out. Instead, she just kissed our cheeks, making me feel really embarrassed.
I wave to the car as it becomes smaller, disappearing off the school property.
It was just Wednesday and I now.