When The Light Goes Out

Chapter - 9

Monique wasn't sure what to expect when she arrived at the address Barry had given her. It wasn't like she was expecting anythign crazy but an apartment just seemed so mundane. She ascended the staircase and paused at the door, clutching her purse strap as she lifted her fist to knock on the door just as it flew open and she was snatched inside before she had any clue what was going on. It looked like Barry because she had seen him in a hoodie before but she had never seen him wearing a pink one before.

He- she?- locked the door. His- her?- shoulders relaxed as they released the door knob. She, as Monique just went with what he, er, she was wearing, slowly turned back to her. "I know this must be super weird for you, but Barry told us you would be coming and I just couldn't wait to meet you!" Her eyes were shining. "Barry told us so much about you! I'm Jade, by the way."

Monique hesitantly shook her hand. "I-I'm Monique. He hasn't told me much about you yet, I'm afraid."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Come on, sit down, I'm being so rude. Do you want anything from the kitchen?"

"No thank you," Monique said as she followed her into the living room. It was neat, not a total mess. There were weights in a corner and books on the coffee table among a few magazines. She turned to look at the paintings on the wall. Did an alter make these too? They're beautiful. She hurried to the sofa and sat down. The sight of a needle and small bottle of clear liquid on the coffee table gave her pause. She leaned forward a little to read the label. It was insulin.

When Jade returned to the living room she groaned, grabbed the needle and bottle then went to the back room. Monique crossed her legs and hugged herself. Just because she understood did not mean that what just happened was okay. She did want to meet the other alters but that was just too unexpected. She was not prepared to see a grown man wearing a pink hoodie, speaking and acting like a teenage girl. There had to be procedure- she had to have forewarning before something like that went down.

To her relief it was Barry who came back to the living room. He looked so worried when he saw her sitting there hugging herself: completely defensive body language. "I am so sorry about that," he said as he sat on the sofa next to her. "That wasn't supposed to happen. I gave her the light so she could take her insulin shot but you got here before she finished so, yeah. Are you okay?"

Monique just stared at him for a minute then shook her head. "I just wasn't expecting that at all. It was...um, shocking." She giggled nervously as she put a hand to her forehead. "Did you say she has to do insulin shots? Isn't that for diabetes?" This was just getting more and more confusing.

Barry nodded slowly. "Yeah, she has diabetes."

"Does that mean..."

"No, I don't have diabetes. She's the only one who has it that's why she has to take shots."

Monique just shook her head. "This is just so much confusion."

Barry moved closer to her. "I know and I'm so sorry. Meeting Jade that way probably didn't make it any better. Are you sure you're okay, Mo'?"

She nodded. "I'm okay, just feeling a little dizzy."

"I'll get you some water. Just relax." Barry gently squeezed her shoulder before going to the kitchen. He returned and offered her a glass of water.

After a drink she was feeling better so Barry showed her around. There was really only the living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. The dining room was more a space than an actual room. It was also a rather busy recreational space. There was a book shelf filled with books on various topics, a canvas she was pretty sure was where the lovely paintings at the front of the house were concieved and a mannequine which she assumed to be his. There were other things mingling together as well, but Monique got a headache trying to register everything she saw.