Engraved

Chapter Seven

Mori stared at the pages in her hand, flicking through them aimlessly as she had already processed the words contained in the book. Her sister hated her. She thought only poorly of her. She was insane too, speaking of such mythical things like angels, unless she meant it metaphorically. She didn't die how she was told, either. Mori was told it was a car crash, not a murder come suicide. The scenario was asking her to process too many emotions at once that her brain couldn't think of how to respond. She held the book tightly to her chest, closing her eyes tightly shut. She hoped that if she did this long enough the world around her would disappear, but it didn't. She couldn't escape her own thoughts no matter how hard she tried. She didn't think it was fair, most people can run away from their problems, but she couldn't do that. She couldn't run from herself. She didn't feel how she thought she would, if someone she loved died. She expected herself to fall to the floor, choking on her own tears. Yet, her eyes were dry. She just felt numb and cold. She felt like her stomach was caving in on itself. She dug her nails into the leather book, too distracted to pay attention to the dropping temperatures.
"I'm so sorry." Lucas whispered, sitting down cross legged beside her on the grass. She flinched, ignoring his words of sympathy. Mori hated when people apologized for things they clearly weren't the blame for.
"That's what I'll never understand about humans Daris." Dani mumbled. "They say "sorry" for things that aren't even their fault. What comfort comes from that?" Mori knew she wasn't intended to hear that, but she nodded in agreement despite that. She stood up, brushing down the uniform that she had been wearing for far too long. It began to feel dirty and gross. "Let's go back." Mori demanded, grabbing Lucas' wrist and hauling him on the ground. He arched an eyebrow at her, confused by her actions entirely. He knew Mori wasn't the best at expressing emotions, but he didn't know she was this bad. Mori stood up again, pacing quickly down the road, not giving anyone a chance to talk to her. Although, they all silently followed. She had been through a lot, so they didn't feel right in questioning her actions. The silence they fell under was a comfortable one, no one spoke, but it gave everyone a sense of peace. It was dark by now, the sky being reduced to a black abyss. The night stars twinkled brightly against the darkness, catching Mori's attention. "They say that when you die, you become a star, so you can still look down on your loved ones. Then, when you reincarnate you become a falling star, making its way back to Earth. Do you think..." She trailed off, her voice squeaking, "That she's up there? Is she looking down on me? Is she making sure I'm okay?" She broke into sobs then, the tears spilling from her eyes before she could do anything to stop them. Lucas watched in surprise at first, it was strange. He had never seen her show any signs of vulnerability, she was the strongest person he knew. To see her, with a red face and damp cheeks, was something completely foreign. He approached her quietly, not really knowing what to do or say.
"I think she is. She loves you so much. You may not of noticed yourself but, whenever she looked at you, you could tell you were everything to her." Lucas spoke softly, as the others just watched with looks of condolence, there wasn't much more other than that that they could do. They couldn't give back her mother or fix the aching pain in her heart, all they could do is be supportive, it's all anyone could do.
"I don't have a family anymore." She whimpered into her cardigans sleeve, wiping the salty tears from her eyes. She stared at her worn down shoes, watching her tears splatter on them. "It's okay," a voice called from behind them. "We're your family now."
Mori snorted, which didn't seem exactly appropriate for the situation.
"You can be acquaintances as of now, but you'll have to spend at least 17 years with me to be considered family."
"I've got the time." Annalise's voice was light.
She smiled weakly, sniffling to herself. She found comfort in knowing that she wasn't going to abandoned on her own. Even if it was with a bunch of Lucas' weird cult friends, she wasn't left with a life of complete solitude. Although she came across as a person who enjoyed her own company rather than others, she wasn't really. She didn't even think she could last an entire day without human affection. Lucas took one of her hands and the girl she knew as Valerie took the other. She looked up at her with eyes so pale they resembled a spring sky, but they were oddly relaxing and soothing to look into.
"We're here for you." Valerie's hands were slim and cold on her own, but she didn't mind it at all.
Lucas' were warm however, his were like a hot water bottle, heating up her hand, heating up her soul. Mori closed her eyes and let the pure, frosty air engulf her body for a second, and in that moment she couldn't feel a thing, in that moment she was happy. But no one could escape reality forever, the urge to vomit returned, as did the shooting pain in her chest.
"Can we go to the playground?" She asked. "There's something that I just like about it."

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Mori hummed an unknown tune to herself as she swung on the swings. Her hands numb just as they were before. She felt at peace with herself once again, the world itself disappearing around her. They all thought it was an awfully off request, but the small smile on her thinned lips seemed worth it somehow. They talked quietly amongst themselves, silently agreeing to leave her on her own, it looked like she needed it. Mori decided it would be her last trip to the playground. She no longer needed the feeling that she had an ounce of childhood left in her because it all became clear that this entire time she never really had it in the first place. She admitted that she was lying to herself just to make her conscience feel better, but it didn't benefit her at all, the only thing it made her was deluded. She wanted to accept what her life was know and everything that came with it. She was going to be living it a shack from now on, one that smelled like fermented shit. She sighed, being able to see her frosty breath before her. Lucas was watching, leaning his body weight on the swings bar.
"Why did you want to come here? It's sort of creepy." He asked, he seemed frightened. Mori chucked to herself.
"You wimp," She stated, "Is it all a little bit too spooky for you? Wow I should've known that you needed parental guidance. How irresponsible of me." He rolled his eyes at her words, but being glad inwardly that she was back to her old self so quickly, at least, it seemed like she was. He knew she was hiding her feelings. Every couple of minutes her voice would waver or her face would scrunch up in pain, but she didn't comment on her own actions, and it seemed like she would prefer if no one else did, either.
"I just like it. But I'm not going to come anymore. Maybe now it will finally be torn down, who knows?" She shrugged, she didn't really care anymore.
"I see. About what Dani said earlier-"
"He knows who did that to my house-to my mom. Doesn't he?" She felt anger burning up inside her now, the type that would induce her to snap the neck on anyone who said the wrong thing. "We think," Lucas said, rethinking his choice of words.
"We know who did this."
Mori watched him in utter shock. How? How could they know? She jumped off the swing, grabbing Lucas' collar and slamming his back against the pole. He grunted in pain, but didn't try to push against her weak force.
"Tell me!" She growled, her eyes showing nothing but hatred.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. I think this would be a better conversation to have over a cup of tea or coff-" He paused, everyone did. There was rustling in the bushes behind them, making them all stop their actions. A girl rolled out of the plants, her face dirty and so were his clothes. Her smirk was evil and her hair a dark soft blue. Mori knew undoubtedly who this girl was, but was more confused as to why she was watching her from shrubs.