Gone girl.

Four.

               [ CHAPTER FOUR ]
   [ PRESENT TIMING
             NOVEMBER 17th 1997]

Vienna Murdock was a grieving woman within a family of people who would prefer to pretend like nothing happened. Grief is a complex thing in Vienna's mind, early on within her grieving period she immediately knew this wasn't something that would just leave her. No— she knew she would carry this aching pain with her until she died.

That's what lead her to where she is right now, in a cab outside her parent's home with grief clear in her mind and pain etched on her face.

" I'll help you grab those." Thomas— Her father smiled warmly at his daughter before taking her luggage from her and heading toward the house where her mother awaited.

Vienna let her eyes roam around the halls while following behind her father, she noticed the lack of color in the now dull house. She wrapped her arms around herself seemingly trying to curl up into herself as if she was shielding away from something that would hurt her.

" Your mother's been cooking all day, if it's bad don't say anything just pretend." Thomas whispered to his daughter who let out the slightest laugh.

" Martha, guess who I found?" Thomas called out heading toward the kitchen where his wife stood slicing potatoes.

" Ah! Vienna, my dear. How have you been?" Martha raised her eyebrows in question. Martha Murdock was a very good actress in Vienna's opinion, she sort of admired it in an odd way—the way she could pass anything off and pretend.

" Hey, mum. I've been good." Vienna's heavy british accent came through her mouth. Vienna was born and raised in Oldham, United Kingdom before they up and moved to Burke when she was a kid. Her father was an American man while her mother was an English woman. " What's all the food for?" She questioned back eyeing all the food set out.

" In case you wanted to invite some old friends and such over." Martha sighed as her daughter's face fell.

" I don't talk to anyone from Burke anymore, you know that." Vienna asserted placing her nails into her palms forming crescent like shapes into her hands making her wince.