Fester

I didn't sleep, and I doubted Addy did either. I waited for her to come out of her room on her own time. When she did, she wasn't dazed, and plopped herself on the couch.

"Addy." She looked up. "We have to... get rid of whoever's in there." This topic felt delicate and everything I said didn't feel right.

"No." She looked back at the coffee table.

"This is dangerous, this could get us killed one day! And I know for a fact it's killing you." I searched her features. One hand drug across her face and she leaned back against the couch cushions.

We were completely silent, save for sighs of disdain.

I breathed in before continuing. "I take the photos because I want what those families had. I like looking at them and thinking 'I could've had that.'" I gave her a piece of something personal, now it was her turn.

"Now, why did you keep them?" I gave her a moment to think and added for clarification, "Why did you keep one of your parents?"

She seemed afraid of her own answer and kept her mouth shut.

"It's not safe, Addy. That person could hurt you." She breathed in deeply before speaking.

"It's my mom." Her words were broken my tearful hiccups. "She helped kill Dad, but she was bitten, and she told me to kill her, but I couldn't. I couldn't." She swiped her eyes and sighed.

My assumption about her were wrong. Maybe she wasn't quite a perfect fit for this world after all, but she was close enough.

"I could help you. You don't have to do it alone." But she'd have to do it either way. She stared at me for a moment before looking towards the floor.

She stood up and went to the pantry, and sat back down with a can of corn. She didn't take the time to put it into the fire, or start the fire at all.

"Okay." Her voice was small, and lacked conviction.

"Okay."