Featherless Bird

chapter 10

Days passed though Carolyn hardly noticed because each day was just a repeat of the last. Even the weather stayed the same and that just depressed her. Sometimes she watched the TV, and it gave her a sunken feeling in the pit of her stomach when she saw that the news reports for her were becoming rarer each passing day. They probably thought that she was dead, or had just turned crazy and had run away and faked a kidnapping. Yeah, Carolyn thought, they'd all believe that. Little Carolyn was always stuck in the clouds anyways. It was just a matter of time before she finally cracked.

Wade and her had remained in the same unsteady relationship and that day they were in one of their phases of not talking to each other. Carolyn knew that if she said one thing that crossed a line that there would be another bruise on her body, but she had no clue why Wade didn't talk back. Maybe he was just too mad at her, or maybe he was scared that she would start screaming at him again like she had one time after they had gotten in a huge argument.

Carolyn had returned to the room with all of the pictures day after day, reminiscing her old life, wondering how everyone was doing, and seeing how much she had changed. In the pictures, she always looked healthy and pretty. Now, her skin was extremely paler from the lack of sunlight, and her clothes were disgusting, probably because she almost never changed unless it was necessary or if Wade would look at her in contempt before throwing her some of his clothes.

She suddenly heard the door open and then slam shut. She rolled her eyes. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to deal with his anger; she didn’t have the patience so she would definitely get hit.

“What do we have for dinner?” he yelled as she came into the room quietly.

“Whatever you’re making.” she grumbled to herself, though it was true she hadn’t made anything. Wade sighed but started the oven and began to rummage the fridge for something.

“So, how was your day?” Carolyn asked, making cautious small talk as she put the utensils on the table.

“Boring. Same old costumers that come everyday. It’s annoying hearing seniors gossip after a while.” Carolyn shook her head in amusement, glad that he had finally overcome his silent treatment, so she decided to do the same.

“Yeah, it must suck. Back in my old village, every morning the same gang of seniors would pile up in Tim Horton’s to gossip.” Wade looked at her and smiled, glad that their conversation had gone longer than ‘how was your day.’

“What’s Tim Hortons?” he asked, looking interested but maybe he was just pretending.

“It’s like Starbucks except a million times better.”

“Ah, I get it. Now, do you want to help me make this pizza or not?” he asked. Carolyn shrugged but walked across the kitchen to stand next to him, awaiting orders.

“Alright, all you have to do is put the sauce on and the pepperoni and I’ll put the green peppers and onions.”

She nodded fervently and managed to squeeze a place in between Wade and the fridge.
They managed to make the pizza without arguing, in fact, they only laughed and threw stuff on each other. It was bizarre, completely unreal. They weren’t supposed to act like this. If someone had looked in the house at that moment, they would have thought that they were a couple. It was undeniable and when Carolyn noticed it, she became colder towards Wade.
They watched a movie as they ate their pizza. When thinking about it, Carolyn couldn’t even remember the movie. What she remembered was the taste of the half burnt pizza, and the feel of Wade’s arm around her shoulder. It made her incredibly uncomfortable at first, but she didn’t say anything or move in fear that it would anger him. But, after a while she just relaxed and put an end to her internal battle. Wade seemed to be happier with her at the end of the movie, and it made her smile. He had been so angry all the time these days; it was nice to see him smile.

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Carolyn went to bed after reading a new horror comic book that Wade had borrowed her, trying to get the thoughts of murderous monsters and creepy demons out of her mind. They were instead replaced with a dream that made absolutely no sense about a new city where if you didn't have tattoos you had to die. And Carolyn didn't have any tattoos. It was completely mental.

But then the monsters from the comic book appeared in her dreamland and sleep was not an option anymore.
Carolyn woke up, sweating and gasping from having run over half a mile because a crazy demon was chasing her. The tears started to pour, and she felt horrible. Carolyn had no idea what to do, the thought of staying alone in her room terrified her, but the new idea that she could go in Wade’s room scared her too. What if he got mad at her? What if he hit her again? The sudden cracking of the floor decided her, and she ran softly across hallway to Wade’s room.

She opened the door slowly, trying not to make it squeak as she heard tiny snores coming from inside. Carolyn bit her lip in the darkness, while she tiptoed to where Wade was sleeping. She took a deep breath before shaking him lightly, which only resulted in him groaning and turning around. The girl sighed before shaking him again, this time harder.

“Wha-?” he muttered, his eyes opening at the speed of light.

“S-sorry. I can’t sleep. I-I keep having nightmares.” Carolyn blushed madly while she hung her head down, ashamed.

“Is it because of the comic?” he asked, still groggy. She nodded timidly. “Alright, well you can sleep with me tonight. Go on, make yourself comfy.”

Carolyn slowly made her way to the other side of the bed and slipped under the covers soundlessly. She shivered because the sheets were so cold, but when Wade noticed he wrapped an arm around her, probably half-asleep as he did it, and pulled her to him.
The warmth of his body made her stop her shivering almost instantly. And with his light snores beginning again, and his arm still around her shoulders, she slowly drifted back to sleep, immune to the monsters that now only watched from the door. The young woman still didn't know that the monsters weren't at bay; she didn't realize that the only monster was sleeping next to her.
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