Peculiar ♡ Alma Peregrine

Chapter Six - Hide and Seek

Juliette's POV :

I peeled my eyes back, not at all surprised to see Alma passed out at the end of my bed, a book laid flat, open and faced down on her chest. She hadn't left my side once for the three days since I got home. She had been all but dragging me around the house with her, making sure I was always in her sight. If it were anyone else, I would have been upset. But it wasn't anyone else, it was Alma. The one person I felt most comfortable with. And because I hadn't been able to leave her side once, I could tell something was different with her. At first I thought it probably had something to do with us almost dying, but no. It was something else...

I was so lost in thought, just sitting in bed staring at Alma, that I hadn't realized she had actually woken up and was now watching me watch her. She smiled once and stood up, holding her hand out for me so she could pull me up. She left the room, just for the few seconds it took for me to change before waltzing right back in and holding her arm out to me. I linked mine with hers and we left the room, walking downstairs to start on breakfast. The house was quiet and slightly cold, but it was bearable enough to walk around without a sweater.

Alma insisted that I just watch her make breakfast because of my injuries, but me being me, I didn't let that happen. As long as she was refusing to let me help, I set the table, placing one plate at each seat and a cup of knives and forks in the middle. Finally, when she saw I wasn't going to give up, she decided to let me help. She slid a chopping board, a knife and a bowl of fruit over to me to cut - which I did. I liked cutting fruit. It sounds weird, but it was just so satisfying to me. After every fruit was cut into appropriate pieces and back in the bowl, I used a wooden spoon to mix them into a fruit salad. I grabbed a glass of water and drank it in one breath. I hadn't noticed how thirsty I was until the cold water was actually in my mouth.

I took my usual seat beside Alma and grabbed some food off the plates in the middle of the table. I wasn't too hungry, so I just had two fried eggs. I didn't speak much unless I was answering a question Alma asked, I mostly stared off into space, not really thinking of anything in particular. Every now and then I would chip into the conversation, but I would drop right back out of it when I got bored. It felt like breakfast dragged on for hours, and when it was done, I helped Alma with the dishes. She washed and I dried and put them away this time. After we had done that, we didn't even manage to get to the sitting room before we were stopped by Claire and Bronwyn who were going to play hide and seek with the others.

They begged and begged for us to play for no more than two minutes until we gave in.  They ran outside, turning and pausing every now and again to wait for us to catch up since we were walking at a normal pace. Everyone - except Enoch - was waiting outside for Emma to give the rule recap. There were two people in particular who needed the recap. Not naming names... but Millard would always run around with his clothes of so he was impossible to find, and Hugh would always pretend like he didn't see him whenever he found him.

"You are not allowed to use your peculiarities to hide yourself and you are not allowed to let your friends just leave after you've found them. you have to have all your clothes on at all times," she said, glancing over at Millard and Hugh. " You can't hide in Enoch's room or Miss Peregrine's study. Since Millard cheated the last time we played hide and seek he will be the seeker. We all have a minute and a half to hide, so count to ninety, Millard. You can hide by yourself or with someone else, and the last person or pair found will win. I suggest that everyone hides far away since I doubt Millard will cover his eyes. Go hide."

Everyone ran off in different directions except for the people who were running into the house. Though we all split up when we were through the door. Alma was holding my hands as we ran through the house and  eventually into her room. She thought for a second before opening the closet door and practically picking me up and placing me in. Only when she was in and we were both hiding behind the coats and dresses, did I realize how dark it was in the closet - and it was extremely cramped. We were pressed against each other, barely enough breathing room - and our faces weren't even a foot apart. I could feel her breath from where I was standing, she was so close. I could feel the warmth creeping up my face, and was suddenly glad it was so dark in the closet. I could only see the silhouette of her face, which meant she could only see the silhouette of mine. Not the pink dusting my cheeks.