Sarah Anderson, Mansion.
After a quick check in the guest rooms, I found nothing more than emptiness and solitude in them. I finally returned to the master room where my friends remained waiting patiently but mostly confused. I was completely aimless and without knowing what to do, adrift. They were gone, plus the few things they had. James was gone, Damien was gone, Mathew and Sam were gone... And more importantly, Erik was gone... I sat on the edge of the bed, took my knees to my chest, and leaned forward, compressing my stomach against my legs, while supporting my feet on the bed straddle. "They're dead because of me! A-And they're gone... all of that it's my fault... It's not fair!" I sobbed; a desolate sobbing that came directly from my heart drained of all hope.
Naomi shared a confused look with Suzu, who returned her gaze in the same way. She walked over to me, a little unsure of what to do or say. "Sarah..." Naomi called out. "Who's dead? Who's gone?" She asked.
"Y-You d-d-... don't know th-them... and-and... I bet you don't r-remember them either..." I said in a voice that was barely audible.
Naomi's gaze fell upon Suzu again; Suzu shrugged her shoulders, she was as lost as Naomi was at the moment. Then, I felt the mattress next to me buckled down slightly with another bodyweight; Naomi had just sat next to me. She wrapped an arm around my back and pulled me towards her; my shoulder fitted like a puzzle piece under her armpits. And, with that same hand, she petted my head, stroking my hair softly. I felt deeply comforted by her gesture that my tears and sobbing began to slow down bit by bit. "It's not your fault, Sarah," Naomi muttered. "Accidents happens. I'm sure there was nothing you could do to prevented what happened."
Suzu sat on the opposite way from Naomi; my left side. She rubbed my arm and tried to comfort me as well. "Yeah, shit happens Anderson. People suck. The worlds suck." She was so up forward when it came to saying what she thought.
"Suzu!" Naomi yelled, in a disapproving tone.
"What?" Suzu mouthed.
Naomi eye-popped at Suzu briefly but, soon continued. "And for those you say are gone..." She began, despite not sure who exactly she was be talking about. "... they might come back tomorrow by morning. Who knows? Maybe there was an emergency and they had to leave in a hurry." Naomi suggested in order to give me peace of mind.
"A-And wouldn't leave a note?" I babbled, my heart crushed to several pieces.
"Yeah, Naomi. Do you honestly believe that?" Suzu whispered. "Maybe they got tired or something and just left... guys are such players." Then she turned to me. "You shouldn't cry for someone who doesn't deserve you... you deserve better than him, Sarah. You'll find better."
That was another knife being jab in my small, already destroyed heart. However, I didn't take it to heart. They couldn't possibly know the whole story.
Naomi widened her eyes at Suzu, again. 'Not helping' she mimicked.
Suzu raised her hands, backing away. 'I'm sorry' she mimicked in reply. 'But i mean it'
Naomi cleared her throat and continued. "Tomorrow it's a new day. We'll deal with it after a good breakfast."
Suzu nodded already drooling over a good American breakfast with bacon and eggs. "Hm~ I can't wait--!"
Naomi sighed rubbing her temples. "Do you only think of food, Suzu?"
Suzu chuckled softly as she pulled both of us closer, "Food's one of life's wonders~!"
"For real, such nonsense that comes out of that mouth..." Naomi said, her face being crushed against my shoulder.
I let out a small giggle at that new topic. "O-Only you two to lighten the mood."
They looked at me and them at each other. They started laughing in the end.
I joined them.
Naomi waved her hand in the air and whipped some of the tears that formed in her eyes from laughing so hard. "G-Guys, guys... s-stop...! I-I can't handle much longer! My stomach hurts!"
Suzu was laying down with her legs spread up and fluttering in the air, and grabbing her stomach. "Pfff... AHAHAHAHAHA!"
"S-Shhhh!" Naomi tried to hush Suzu. "It's too early in the morning! Do you want to wake up the neighbors?!" Almost couldn't contain her laughter.
Suzu stared at her friend with that characteristic emoji poker-face that we usually send while texting when others say just nonsense. "Really? Neighbors Naomi? We are in the middle of nothing!! The nearest neighbor should be at least 20 or 30 kilometers away. Pfff... such a clueless girl." And just continued doing her thing, laughing like there wasn't tomorrow.
"H-Hey! Ahah..."
Like everything, our laugh eventually came to an end. "G-Girls?" I called out and whipped some of the tears with the sleeve of my pink pajama. They both looked at me and just waited for me to continue. "Can you both stay until I fall asleep?"
Naomi smiled; that one that just seems so genuinely sweet that makes sure that you know you are loved. "Of course." She said softly and pushed the sheets a bit further back. "Lay down, Sarah." She instructed and I did as she said. "We'll be here until you sleep and when you wake up." And tucked me in.
"Yeah. Like Naomi said. There is no other place we rather be, than beside you."
I put on a fake smile to hide my pain from my beloved friends. The only reason I did it was not to worry them, however, the pain was becoming more unbearable as the second pass.
Naomi walked to the door and turned off the lights. Then she went back and, both Suzu and her, laid down next to me. They both positioned themselves on the bed so that they were facing me.
Suzu said goodnight and closed her eyes, returning to her beauty sleep.
Naomi remained with her open eyes, smiling at me. Why do I see Erik smiling at me when I look at her? In an instant, tears flowed back down my face; I rushed to hug her. Naomi immediately accepted me with open arms. I sobbed heartless into her nightgown, desperate to pour all the pain out. My breathing was ragged, my shoulders quivered and my lower lip quivered. "S-Shh..." And, once again, stroked softly my hair. "Big, majestic blackbird singing in the dead of the night... take this petit bird with broken wings and teach it how to fly..." She sang in a melodious voice.
I closed my eyes and cried myself to sleep; my eyelids were heavy, but my thoughts were heavier. Can you imagine trying to fall asleep like this? Have you ever tried to sleep with a broken heart?"--night Naomi..." Finally whispered.
"Goodnight Sarah." She replied.
~~
The world was as silent as if it ended in the night. The coolness of the early morning usually is deceptive; the sun still resolutely below the horizon and the animals still deep in sleep. I could hear pretty well the drum of rain on the window's glass so, I knew it was going to be a gloomy day. Or it was just my humor...
~~
"Stay still Sarah!" Naomi commanded (it was more like yelling but okay) while she pulled a couple of my hair strands back. She could be scary sometimes. But, not scary-scary like in the thriller or horror movies... more like 'mom scary' if you know what I mean...
"I-I'm trying...!" I growled through clenched teeth; a more few threads broke in half as that long electronic thing straightened the hair to the point. "Y-You've been taking care of my hair for almost thirty minutes now! It's more than perfect, Naomi~! Can you let go already??"
"No. Hold just a few more minutes!" She asked.
"B-But..." I tried to fight back.
"Just. A. Few. More. Minutes." She spelled leisurely.
"My butt hurts," I said bluntly.
"Stop complaining already--" Naomi snarled back at me.
"Ok! Ok! Just get over with it..." I gave up. There was indeed no 'buts' or complaining about her, she had a strong and creased personality. It was hard to win a fight with her, whichever was the subject. Damn you Naomi and 'everything must be perfect'... why did I agree to this?!
Suzu knocked on the door. "If you guys don't hurry up, we'll be late!" She was slightly jumping at the door, like an impatient child exciting to go somewhere so long expected. "And I know how much you hate being late, Naomi."
"Ready~" Proud of her work, Naomi almost sang the word in a perfectly tuned vibe. As she waved my hair forward, it fell over my shoulders like the finest silk you can buy in the most expensive fashion store. "What do you think? It favors you." She complimented me.
"It feels so light," I replied astonished while I turned my head to the left and right in front of the mirror, watching my hair spin, cutting the air as if it weighed nothing more than a feather.
"Girls! We have to go! Mr. Gagget is going to kill us if we get late!" Suzu reinforced the importance of us hurrying up.
Naomi and I looked at each other and nodded. Suzu was right. The last thing we wanted to see was our teacher mad. So, with no more delays, we grabbed our lunches from the kitchen table and exited the house in a rush. After parking the car in the first place we found, we entered the school, quickly gathered our things from our lockers, and headed to class. History was not exactly fun, but our teacher was great, he had his days like everyone else. At least it would be great if he was actually in class that day. Naomi and Suzu took their seats around me - Suzu in front of me, Naomi beside me -, before the class bell rang and the class was greeted by the dean.
"Students, you'll be having a substitute for today. Everyone meet--"
"Ms. Diana." My heart stopped. At the door with the dean was Diana, looking over the students and smirking as her eyes landed on me. She strutted to the teacher's desk ignoring (or welcoming) the whispers from the other students, before sitting on the wood and crossing her legs."Thank you, Dean. You can go now." With a wave of Diana's hand, the dean left the classroom, closed the door, and left the area. Diana smiled at us, making my stomach turn.
What was she doing here of all places?! The boys weren't around anymore so, what was she doing here?! Didn't she know? She had some up her sleeve, I could feel it.