CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER | j. byers

v. | dig dug

chapter v. | dig dug
"your timeline's wrong, dipshit"
(implied self harm!)
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        IT WAS DARK WHEN THE TRIO ARRIVED AT A MOTEL. They were on their way to Illinois, where they were going to talk to Murray Bauman, the private investigator that the Hollands had hired to find Barb. Nancy and Jonathan walked into the reception while Cassie stayed outside, finishing off her second cigarette. 

        Cassie needed a moment away from them to process the last few hours. She had never thought that she would return to that lab, much less return to one of those observation rooms. Her gut churned at the thought of her old room being used to experiment on creatures from the Upside Down.

        She was embarrassed. So embarrassed that both Jonathan and Nancy had to see her tumble into herself. She couldn't really describe what happened. She didn't mean to revert back to her pre-teen self, the version of her that would whimper at the sight of an observation room. She didn't mean to revert back to her scared demeanour, who knew that she had been playing up too much and was now going to get punished. It was this natural instinct, she supposed. But that didn't wash away the feeling of awkwardness after breaking down in front of Nancy.

        Cassie sighed as she threw the cigarette down on the ground and stomped on it. The girl slung her overnight bag over her shoulder and began walking into the reception. She opened the door to hear the receptionist say, "You want a single or a double?"

        "Double," Cassie answered from behind the pair. The two spun around to face her, surprised she had followed in so quickly.

        The three were escorted to a room with two double beds and a small bathroom. Cassie sighed before chucking her overnight bag onto one of the beds. Nancy did the same and Jonathan quietly insisted that she took the first shower of the night. The girl quickly gathered her clothes before scampering over to the bathroom.

        Cassie opened her bag and began to slowly find her pyjamas. Jonathan crept up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, resting his chin on her shoulder. Cassie sniffled at the warm and tight embrace, tears already threatening to spill out of her eyes once again. Jonathan's hands rubbed her forearms softly and lovingly.

        "It's okay, Cass," he whispered in her ear.

        The girl let out a rogue sob before taking a series of shallow breaths, attempting to make them deeper. Jonathan pulled her closer to his chest.

        "Shh," he hushed quietly, his hands not stopping. "It's okay, Cass. I've got you, I've got you."

        Cassie sniffled some more, willing herself not to cry. She had shed too many tears in the past week than she would care to admit and she was not going to cry again.

        "I'm fine," she struggled out, shrugging Jonathan's arms off of her. She continued to unpack her bag. Jonathan sat next to her bag and looked up at her.

        "You wanna talk about it?" he asked her meekly. 

        She didn't look at him and merely gave him a 'mm-mm' as she shook her head. Cassie grabbed her sweatpants and hoodie out of her bag, placing them on the bed. She began shaking her jacket off her shoulders before the sleeve got caught on her shirt. She shook her arm more, getting frustrated. Seeing her frustration, Jonathan got up and helped her take the jacket off.

        "I've got it, I've got it," he whispered, pulling the jacket off. He sat back down, folding the jacket and putting it on his lap.

        Cassie pulled her shirt off, leaving her in her blush pink singlet that she wore under everything. As she went to grab her hoodie, Jonathan took note of the red scratch marks that overlayed the tattoo, blending in with the already existing scars. Cassie pulled the hoodie over her head as Jonathan decided to speak up.