Merryweather

Seven

CHAPTER DEDICATED TO olauret03

A single brown leaf tumbled down a nearly skeletal tree, swirling through the air as it made its voyage down to the blanket of crisp golden and scarlet leaves that lay like a carpet on the streets. The slight breeze picked up rousing a few orange and yellowing leaves from their slumber on the ground, trembling and rocking they performed a brief dance before returning to their brethren.

Penelope trudged on as if in a daze, her feet snapping the dry twigs and making crunching sounds.

Days later and she still couldn't believe that Georgie had asked her to elope with him, it felt unreal, felt like she was living a dream that didn't belong to her, and yet... Georgie had said she deserved happiness, but could she really do it? Could she leave, turn her back on everything, Penelope knew she didn't have much going for her, she didn't have any close friends and her mother didn't care what happened to her.

She lost the only person who loved her, her only friend, three years ago. When her father died she didn't think she could feel anything remotely close to love again or have that feeling reciprocated.

But then Georgie came, bringing colour into her drab life, she knew he loved her, knew she felt the same way about him, but what if they left only to be torn apart by the world out there, in a way this small town was like a globe protecting those in it from the cruel reality of big cities. Penelope knew she was scared of losing what she had with Georgie, the past few weeks felt like something out of someone else's life, she had been happy.

Well Georgie had told her to take her time and she was going to do just that.

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December arrived bringing with it an ample amount of sleet and snow, Penelope worked at the corner store and Georgie at the cafe, she still hadn't given him an answer and he didn't say anything about it either, it was like the conversation never happened still it nagged at the back of Penny's mind.

She was doing the laundry, when her mother stumbled in drunk, Penelope instinctively shied away from her as she retched on the carpet, she crinkled her nose in disgust it was only 1:00pm,

"Are you okay mother?" She asked.

Mrs. Merryweather wiped her mouth on her sleeves and glanced at her daughter "of course not, I need some money."

Penelope flushed with anger and clenched her fist, "I gave you some a day ago, there isn't anymore," she gritted.

"You tell lies girl," her mother spat.

Penelope couldn't stand the stench of vomit and alcohol and made to step around her, but her mother swung out wildly catching her squarely in the jaw.

She stumbled backwards her eyes watering in pain, her mother moved towards her again, but Penny was ready this time she caught both her wrist and wrestled her down into an old couch.

"S-stop mother," she gasped, "you'll hurt yourself."  Mrs. Merryweather struggled for a few more seconds before going limp, passed out. Penelope stood up panting, took a blanket from the basket and tucked it around her mother.

Penelope sucked in a breath and wiped a lone tear, she couldn't do it anymore, she'd tried, she had done all she could, she wasn't going to be trapped here any longer by a promise. Georgie was trying to outrun his past, the terror he'd experienced from his life, he was trying to leave this town and all his problems behind. Was it so wrong for her to do the same? She stared at her mother a little while longer and made up her mind, she couldn't put it off any more after all, it was the 31st, Georgie would be waiting.