A Complicated Wish

Part 4

Cress parked her car across the street from the mansion like building. She looked up at four stories before her. Tauri had told her to look for a Lanie Maine. She was always Tauri's favorite, and Tauri hers.

She walked into the main lobby to find it bare. She continued her journey into the house looking around the colorful paintings and the... reflection-less glass. She found it a little off putting as she stared into the backyard, and there was no reflection of even her shadow.

"Some of the old folks here think that their reflections are ghosts trying to haunt them." Cress jumped at the voice from behind her.

She turned around to see a tall women, well into her 70's at least, with bleached blond hair, and thick rimmed glasses. She looked like that one hippy teacher that every school has, but made the style work.

"Hm-" the women walked to stand next to Cress- "you look exactly like your sister, well your hair is much shorter... and so are you."

"Lanie." Cress said.

"Crescent." Lanie said right back.

"You can call me Cress."

Lanie gave her a lopsided grin. "Is your name the name super hard for everyone to pronounce?"
"No, but it's easier to-" Lanie cut her off with her hand.

"Then I shall call you by your full first name, my dear." Lanie smiled before she started walking away.

Cress stood rooted to where she stood. This was the legendary Lanie Maine? Whatever Cress was expecting, this wasn't it.

"Are you coming?" Lanie looked behind her shoulder to Cress.

"Y-yup." Cress scurried after Lanie and they continue back to the main lobby together.

"Your sister told me a lot about you," Lanie said almost accusingly. "She said that when your parents got divorced your mother got you and your father Tauri. She said that your mother would lock you in your room whenever she could."

Cress tried to keep this part of her life a secret. She was never comfortable sharing it with other people. Tauri talked about it like it was a normal thing.

Cress always told Tauri not to talk about, it was something that haunted her everywhere she went.  

When June was born, their mother ran away leaving Cress with her half sister. They were put into foster care til their father found them. He welcomed Cress back into his life like she never left and adopted the daughter of his ex wife and an unknown man without a second thought. Although Cress was only 6 when she and her sister were put into foster care, the scared of the past never seem to leave.

Cress broke from her train of thought and looked to Lanie, "She told you?"

Lanie sighed, "If I must be honest she only told that you and her were separated when you were two and then reunited when you were six. I did the research on my own."

"Oh." Cress looked down at her tangled hands.

"I'm sorry dear, I was just trying to start a conversation, I didn't mean to open old wounds." Lanie stopped and grabbed Cress by the shoulders. "This was insensitive of me."

"No it's okay." Cress let out a breathy laugh. "It was just more of a shock that opening wounds, I guess."

Lanie smiled down at Cress, "We'll I'm glad."

Before they could say anything else Mary Ryan, the "leader" as Tauri liked to call her came in. 

"Oh good, you must be Cress Darnel." Mary smiled at her as she set down a stack of paper on the desk in the corner of the room. "We just need to wait for the other volunteers and then this ball can start rolling."

Lanie pressed her hand to Cress' shoulder in a silent goodbye, and walked off to court yard.
"I thought I was the only volunteer from Satellite high?" 

"You are, but we have a volunteer from Bunker High as well." Mary looked up from the papers for a quick second to flash a smile at Cress before looking down again at the papers.

"Oh," Cress was mildly surprised, she didn't even think about other schools offering this program. "What's their name?" 

"Uh..." Mary looked through the papers some more. "Arol Dean Fredrickson."

Cress felt all the blood drain from her face.

"Hi." Cress heard the front door open. "I'm Arol Dean Fredrickson."

Cress felt her soul leave her body next. In a weird out of body experience, Cress saw herself whip around and face him, her body collapsed, and everything went black.

A/N
Slightly disturbing backstory anyone? In my head Cress' mom is an awful human being so I'm going to make sure she's awful in this too.

I also realized I never gave Arol a last name, so there ya go. 

And completely random, but like I was 12 maybe 13 when I first started writing. My first story was... yeah we don't talk about that. I deleted it within a week of writing it. It wasn't until, well when I starting really getting into The Lunar Chronicles did I start again. I have been writing Lunar Chronicles fanfictions for three years! I just find that so crazy, so much has happened since I first ever pressed that publish button all those years ago. I gained and lost friends, I had many many ups and downs with my health, my writing has become like 300% times better. I am so thankful to have the support of everyone here, even if it's just reading this crusty crap I call writing. Anyway y'all are amazing. 

*Awkward walks off stage because I know I get way too sappy way too much on here*