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"They really fucked you up," Aria whispered to Dead Houseplant Number Three.
Several hours after the others had left, Aria came to the realization that these people couldn't keep anything alive. That did not bode well for her.
Dead Houseplant Number One was down in the kitchen, sitting on the counter with brown, crispy leaves. She spotted Dead Houseplant Number Two when she was searching the bathroom for painkillers. It was rotted. The stem was mush and the leaves fat and yellow. She didn't find any medication in the end, but she did find a dead fly.
The third one was the worst of the lot. It looked like somebody scorched it with a flamethrower. The sad thing sat on a table amidst scattered papers and used bowls in what appeared to be an office. Aria's gaze flickered from the plant to the stack of files. After a moment's hesitance, she sat at the desk and flipped the nearest file open.
They looked like surveillance photos. Each photograph was taken from a distance. The constant in each one of them being a white, suit-clad man Aria used to see on the news, spewing angrily about people like her before things got bad.
Aria's father used to switch the channel if he showed up on the screen while she was around. That didn't stop her from retiring to her room and listening to what was being said under the covers on the screen of her phone. She didn't know why she did that when she knew his words would only make her stomach twist.
The thought of her father made her chest ache and she wondered where they buried him after everything that happened.
"So you're a snoop," a voice said from the doorway.
Aria looked up. "I didn't mean to. Your plant is very dead and I-"
Eli's braid had come loose, locks of brown hair that had been neatly plaited back before she left now fell around her face. She pushed back a piece that fell in front of her eyes and arched a brow. "You came in because the plant isn't alive enough."
"It's not alive at all. And that's not what I meant."
"I'd be more worried if you didn't snoop, I guess. You're staying with strangers." Eli didn't smile, but there was an amused air about her. "But you could always just make us answer your questions instead of snooping, little Siren."
Aria's cheeks burned as Eli took a step back to leave. "I would-"
"And reign in your curiosity. Those aren't for your eyes."
Aria, albeit unwillingly, slid the file away once the other was out of sight while her face continued to burn hot with embarrassment.
It was rude. She was being rude. These people were allowing her to stay with them for the unforeseeable future and she was sticking her nose where it didn't belong.
Klaus stuck his head in through the door. "I'm heading out. Need anything?"
