Heart of Glass

Chapter 21

The sun slowly started to peak over the horizon. Rays of light streamed through the fog crawling along the ground, looking like beams of fire.

Ariel sat by the window, watching the sun rise slowly. Her suitcase was by the foot of her bed, everything neatly packed inside. Emily had stayed up with her, trying to reassure her that packing wasn't necessary, but Ariel knew she was going to be kicked out. Even if the Doc agreed to let her stay, it would be awkward. Knowing Harriet hated her for what happened to Ben, and the Doc wouldn't likely trust her again. It would be for the best if she just went home. She thought she could handle being at home. Her anxiety over her heart wasn't as bad as it used to be. She had gotten better at controlling her temper and she wrote in the journal from time to time. She could survive at home while the Doc worked on her curse here – if he would still work on finding a cure for it.

"Morning." Emily rolled over, buried under her blankets. "Did you get any sleep?"

"A little," Ariel said quietly. Her tailbone had been sore from sitting on the floor all night, but it had gone numb an hour ago and wasn't bothering her as much anymore unless she moved.

Emily climbed out of bed to use the bathroom, and Ariel looked back at her suitcase, resting her head on her knees. She wondered how Ben was doing. She'd lost count of the number of times she had wanted to go upstairs and ask if he was okay.

A claw scraped on the floor in the hallway and Lucas appeared at the doorway with Autumn. The bandage on his arm had come loose and she could see the tears in the fabric where he had tried to fix it himself.

Autumn, was leaning on his good arm. She was wearing skin tight clothing, accentuating her slight frame. She looked like she needed a good meal. She walked in, carefully lowering herself beside Ariel.

"Are you okay?" Autumn asked. "You look like you haven't slept."

"I'm fine," she tried to smile, but her mouth refused to work. "Are you okay? You look worse than me. No offense."

Autumn smiled. "I'm good. Just feeling a little brittle at the moment, forgive the pun."

Ariel saw past the levity in her voice. The leaves on her face were crinkled, crackling as she spoke. Her hair was covering half of her face, and her hand continually reached for it, as if she worried it might reveal what was hidden underneath. She looked terrible, and Ariel felt a spark of anger towards the monster who had given her such a horrible curse.

"Winter sucks," she finally said. She didn't want to show Autumn pity.

Autumn grinned, and a leaf at the corner of her mouth ripped. "It does suck."

Lucas kicked her suitcase. "I thought we told you; you aren't leaving."

"You don't know that for sure," Ariel glared at him.

"I do," he growled. "We won't let them kick you out. Autumn and I talked with Samson and Amelia this morning and they said you wouldn't be leaving."

"Last time I checked it was the Doc's name on this place and it was his kid I royally screwed over," she muttered. "Sammy and Amelia won't have much say in my case."

"You're wrong," Autumn said. "Amelia has been with this family for years. The Doc would never ignore her advice and Samson has also been with the Grimm's for many years. He's not necessarily a patient here, but rather a..." she floundered, trying to find the right word "– a carer, I think? He keeps an eye on us and I know he's helped the Doc with some cases before."

"If he's not a patient then why does he stay in one of the patient rooms?" Ariel asked.

"I think he started out here as a patient, but when nothing could be done for him, he just kind of stayed on. I know he sometimes goes down to the Summer house, but generally he's always been here, or at least he has been since I first came here."