The Wolves in the Woods

Tie No Weights to My Ankles

You will find that it is necessary to let things go; simply for the reason that they are heavy. So let them go, let go of them. I tie no weights to my ankles.

— C. JoyBell C.

***

Alya's helper reveals some interesting details about certain people.

***

            "Well, Alya," Otis said, pulling the thermometer out of his daughter's mouth. "Good news is, your fever finally broke."

"Urgh..."

"Bad news is," he looked over his sick daughter. "It doesn't look like your cold is going away anytime soon."

Alya shivered, despite laying in bed wrapped in a cocoon of warm and heavy blankets. Her nose and eyes were red and puffy from sneezing and blowing her nose, indicated by the mountain of used tissues overflowing the trash can by her bed. Beside that was an empty bowl that was once full of her mother's homemade chicken noodle soup. Which she downed with great gusto to soothe her throat. Alya forgot how many bowls she had since coming down with this stupid cold. If only that crazy lady didn't live next door to Marinette...

"So," Otis said, wiping the thermometer clean. "Care to tell us why you came home sopping wet?" Alya glared, though the effect was mitigated by how pathetic and sad she looked. "Because we're having one final meeting with the Dupain-Cheng lawyers in a couple of days to decide what to do." He leaned on an elbow, his disappointment in her clear. Alya glanced up, panic in her eyes. "I don't know what you hoped to accomplish trying to break in, but you're extremely lucky it wasn't that other young lady you tried to assault."

Alya scrunched up her eyebrows before she remembered the "other young lady" he was talking about. A certain redhead who didn't know how or when to mind her own business. Immediately, she scowled, absently rubbing her arms under her covers.

"Whatever you had planned," Otis said, picking up everything and sparing his daughter one last look. "I hope it was worth it." With that, he turned off the lights in her room and retired to his for the night.

Alya groaned, rolling over so she was laying on her back instead of on her side. Roughly three or four days ago, she had tried approaching Marinette again. By way of trying to surprise her by showing up in her room. Which would have happened if that crazy lady who looked like she walked out of a historical drama didn't show up. Brandishing a knife and threatening her with violence if she didn't leave. In hindsight, she should've reported that lady to the police, but they were too stupid to see any criminals in plain sight. They let Liar Rossi go free. Who's to say they wouldn't have done the same to that serial killer?

Achoo! Hack!

Alya coughed again, followed by yet another sneezing fit. Stupid puddle... how was she supposed to know it would be there? At this rate, she was never going to make up with Marinette before they moved. Everyone else was too much of a coward to go through with it, and Adrien was out of the question. And Nino...

... Nino was a traitor who deserved to be forgotten. Some hero he turned out to be. Ladybug would have been disappointed, she was sure. But then again, there was that old saying of never meeting one's heroes. What possessed Ladybug to say that to her? She was just pursuing the truth like any good reporter would. She and Chat Noir belonged together! Those haters didn't know what they were talking about!

Again and again, she told herself this. Again and again, she was met with resistance everywhere she turned. She couldn't tell anyone in her family anymore. They wouldn't listen to anything she said. The Dupain-Chengs were being too dramatic. They wouldn't let her anywhere near Marinette. And again, the new class bully didn't know how to mind her own business. Grumbling, Alya tugged on the sheets and tried to go to sleep. Tomorrow would be a better opportunity to figure out how to get past that first step.