Gen Four- Chapter Twenty One

I was out of my realm of expertise here. My skills in the creative arts were passable at best. I more preferred and was better at things like math and science. The logical stuff. Coral wished to come to the art museum though, so here we were. Appreciating something that looked interesting or beautiful was the hard part, but Coral tried to be more analytical, which had me shrugging my shoulders.

     "The vibrant lights definitely make the statues take on a weird appearance. When the beams rotate to being off, the stone is shaped to look smoother and more natural. The presence of the lights then changes them to be more...artificial, I guess? Almost like they're projections." I tried.

    "Oh, maybe you're onto something. It could be a statement to how you can't take in the world at face value. That things aren't simply skin-deep. The colored lights show the superficial, highlight the easy to see. It's when that mindset fades away that you can see the details, see the statues for what they really are."

     "Um, sure. Yeah, that sounds like good reasoning to me."

Coral nodded firmly but moved closer, studying the piece hard.

     "Or maybe..."

I smiled and took a step back, letting her ponder all she wished.

The bright colors entertained me in their own way. Shifting the angles at which I stared blended the hues into new ones. A veritable rainbow could be seen depending on how much one was willing to crane his or her neck. Thankfully, I relaxed my more muscles aching from strain right before Coral turned around and could wonder what in the world I was doing. We moved to the other end of the gallery chit-chatting on more normal topics.

     "It's already getting later into the afternoon, isn't it? We have the day, but at the same time these hours are swiftly running out," Coral noted.
     "Only two days until you and Leo leave. Time is going fast."
     "I'm trying not to be sad, but it's hard." Coral ran her finger along the glass rim of the fence. "Which means it's the best moment to talk of something more cheerful. Leo and I decided, before we leave, we want to get baby name suggestions from everyone."
     "Are you sure that's wise?" I chuckled.
    "We have the final say, of course. We just want to see if there's any creative ideas we might not come up with on our own."
     "Both you and Leo's lines have been otherwise Solid, right?"
     "Right."
   "So the baby will be red, orange, or, most likely, a mixture of both. Hmm. Carnelian can be red, orange, or reddish-orange. It's not a highly unique name though. What about...oh!"
     "Oh?"
    "You can do like Pieter's parents did. There's Morganite. I read about it once. It's a variety of beryl that usually looks pink, but it can also be orange."
   "'Morgan' would be the name? That's certainly uncommon, but I like it. Thanks, Cinnamon. I knew I'd get a good, reasonable answer out of you."
     "I can't wait to hear the other ideas."
     "I'm both curious and hesitant," Coral giggled.

She then gave me a look I found curious.

     "Since I don't have many good chances left, I hope you don't mind if I prod your story a little more. Do you know about your name? Where it came from?"
     "Ah, that..." I couldn't say I knew anymore. Grandpa and Dad had told me, but who knew how truthful the explanation actually was. "My mom picked my name before she passed. She was a twin with both her and her sister being named after flowers. Their mom, my grandmother, was also a twin with both of them being named after flowers. Since Mom couldn't recall a brown flower, she picked what she thought was cute."
     "I'm pretty sure there actually are brown variations of a lot of flowers. I believe I read about them in this old gardening book Grandmom had, although I don't remember the varieties off the top of my head. It's a little bit of a shame you weren't born with a twin sister too. The tradition could have continued."
     "Mm," I mumbled. The inside of my chest tightening like stone wouldn't permit more speech. Thankfully, Coral continued before she noticed anything off.
     "So you mom has a twin sister. Do you know a lot more about her family?"
     "I...I know enough to know who everyone is, and stuff like the fact that my Aunt Gilly passed away before I was born. My mom's family is quite big."
     "I'm sorry. I didn't know she'd died." Coral placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
     "It's fine. It's not like I know any of them."
    "You've implied they didn't want you because of what your father did to your mother, but...it seems like from that very statement there that perhaps they didn't get much of a chance. You've got your plans with Pieter. However, have you contemplated contacting your relatives?"

The tightening of my chest spread to consume my whole body. I quickly turned my head away from my companion and glued my lips together. Coral's hand simply squeezed a little tighter.

     "It's just a thought. You know I wouldn't push anything. I suppose now that I'm a mother-to-be, already feeling such love for this child, even in darker circumstances I can't imagine turning any hatred towards it. Your mother, your family...I'd like to believe they feel the same."

When I still didn't answer, Coral let the issue drop entirely. She gave me a hug, asked if I was alright, and treated me to ice cream from a nearby shop. I perked up to purposefully toss the matter aside. Our time eventually concluded from there. In the end, walking away from Coral once we reached the warehouse was difficult to do. She and Leo were were finding moments to spend with each of us alone before their big goodbye. It didn't feel real despite the looming departure.

     "Have you ever thought about baby names?"

Pieter coughed into his hamburger. He'd come up with the idea to have a nice picnic-date by a lake way out in Aspen Harbor's fringes.

     "Uh, where is that question coming from?"
     "Coral is going around asking for suggestions for her and Leo's baby before they leave."
     "Oh. You wanted to know if I'd heard and what I suggested."
    "No," I smirked. "It got me thinking about you and me and if in your grand plan for us you'd thought about a family. That includes any names you've found to like over the years."
    "The idea of having a family has briefly flashed through my mind once or twice, but it's hardly been more than that. We're fifteen. Kids would be nice, yet name contemplation has been too direct for me to go over. You?" Pieter wondered with a light blush.
     "I don't have that burning, maternal fire screaming at me I need to have children or else my life is incomplete, but I don't rebuke the idea of having some either. I'd be good with a person who doesn't want any, and I'd be good with a person who does want some. And since you do want some, again, that's a point I'll envision for the future too. Names...well, the children will have a lot of brown. You've also got some green and gray in you. I've got pink, red, green, and purple. Apparently, a number of my relatives have albinism too."
     "Really?" Pieter wondered, amazed.
     "Yup. Dad didn't talk about them much though. I don't think I even know all of their names."
    "Hmm. Anyway, names─ I didn't know you had so many colors hiding in you. It's amazing you're Solid," he laughed. "That's so many options, and I honestly don't even feel the need to match a name to the color. As long as we like it."
     "Sounds good to me," I beamed.

My stomach began to ache after a fourth hot dog, a third cookie, and yet another handful of chips. I sucked down a good gulp of orange juice hoping it would help to mush it up faster, and I cuddled eagerly upon Pieter when he stretched out on the sun-warmed planks of the dock.

     "You made some really good apple fritters. I could eat those all day," he said.
     "Thanks. It was the first time I got to use the apples that grew from the tree your dad got."
    "I..." Pieter paused, frowned lightly, sighed, and continued normally. "He was right. Those apples are still my favorite. It is kind of nice to have our own tree of them. The fact that there's too much shade and rock around our house to prevent us from planting more is annoying."

Delighted warmth danced from my heart. Pieter had so far stuck true to his word to try to give his dad a chance. He was more willing to chat with me about his house and dad, and he'd even stayed over on his own for two nights. I smiled wide and happily kissed his cheek. There remained a road of progress stretching out of sight for both of them, but they were at least moving now instead of standing motionless as before.

     "We should plan to do something fun soon," I decided, gently running my fingertips along the lines of Pieter's shirt.
     "This isn't fun for you?" Pieter asked jokingly.
    "This is lovely. I mean that it's going to be sad for a while with Leo and Coral gone. Everyone who's come and gone over the years I've liked, but they haven't meant much. It hasn't been since Jam took off that a departure has made a hole. Now it's our whole foundation taking off."
     "We'll find lots of fun things to cheer you up. Promise." Pieter kissed the top of my head.

Cuddling him closer, I soaked up the security of his presence and warmth. The latter I had to try harder with considering the sun beat upon us relentlessly. We were in summer's full wrath now, and I was going to need a break from the heat sooner rather than later. Perhaps Pieter wouldn't mind us stopping at his house to cool down in the air conditioning. I'd ask that in a bit though. He and I lay content in the silence. The moments passed effortlessly.

But, I didn't realize, only for me.

     "Okay, I'm going to need you to stop that." Pieter grinned as he caught my hand still wandering over his chest to keep it prisoner.
     "Sorry. It doesn't feel good?" I wondered, perplexed.
     "It feels too good is the problem," he smirked.
     "Oh." I fought back giggles. "I wasn't thinking like that."
     "You never seem to, and part of me envies you for that."
     "I really just...don't. Are the thoughts that bad of a distraction?"
   "Have you seriously never gotten so turned on or been that curious that you'd have to ask that?" Pieter questioned with amused amazement.
     "No?" I shrugged as much as I could from my position. "Is it that unbelievable? We are only fifteen. Those kind of matters should only just be beginning, right?"
     "I guess it's different for everyone, but these 'matters' didn't trickle in slowly for me. They came in with the full force of a speeding truck."
     "I've never been of the mindset that I need to wait until marriage, if that helps."
   "No, it doesn't!" Pieter sat up, truly laughing loud now. "It makes it worse! That just steals away one of my excuses to cool myself down."
     "My bad. Apple fritter?" I reached into the basket.
     "That does help." Pieter took the treat.

While tempted to keep teasing Pieter, I restrained myself from prompting the topic. We relaxed, chatted, dipped our feet into the water, took a little walk, and finished off most of the contents of the basket. Pieter was determined to not leave a crumb, but a nasty, gurgling burp bursting from his throat warned of what waited should he continue. We did end up stopping by his house to cool off and for some preemptive antacids. Mr. Clay got home from work right as we were leaving. I managed to get father and son to say several words to one another before Pieter and I returned to the warehouse. Neither of us left the next day. These truly were the final moments. Leo and Coral rushed all around packing, preparing, and setting us up to the best status we could be at once they left.

     "It's been a long while, hasn't it?" I mused, helping Leo clean what would now be Jessamine and Tulip's room. "I can still remember waking up in this bed with you standing over me."
    "I remember it." Leo nodded. "You never know how your day will go. It's normal, and then all of a sudden you have an unconscious little girl looking to be on the verge of death you suddenly have to scramble to fix."
     "Did I look that bad?"
    "To someone to has the mere basic medical knowledge like most of the general population, yes. I very nearly yelled at Jess and Pieter wondering what in the world they were doing bringing you here when you needed to go to a hospital instead. You probably still should have, but Coral with her better knowledge confided she was confident in taking care of you."
     "I'm glad she felt that way, and I'm glad you took the risk on me."

Leo, who'd never been one for overt sentiment, stopped working momentarily to give me a soft smile.

He finished making the bed, and I grabbed a broom to sweep. There wasn't much to do past that aside from wiping down the surfaces with a sanitizing cloth. Leo and I were left there quietly admiring and checking our work while wondering what to say to one another to take advantage of perhaps the last time we'd get to talk in private.

     "I've always wanted to ask..." I began, uncertain.
     "Yeah?"

The pull the bring out the question was the worth, for I feared my words as much as I wished to let them out. I did recall those beginning days here with perfect clarity. That included what Pieter told me. How Leo and Coral kept up with the news, and how they might have known who I really was the whole time. Nothing over the years hinted with any weight that they did, but the two were exceptional liars when they needed to be. It should be that even if they didn't known, that hadn't been able to trust them enough to tell them at the beginning that I should be able to talk about it now. However, worry after worry assaulted my thoughts. Every extra person that knew was another risk. The two might accidentally give it away. The might push me towards Mom's family, even with Coral's reassurance she wouldn't.

     "Ah, but I'd better not," I decided. "Sorry."
    Leo shook his head. "I'm not insulted you have reasons for holding it back. I just hope if it's something that's burdening you, if it's something that's hurting you by keeping it inside that you can find someone to give you whatever answer you wish."
    "Thanks, Leo." I pulled him into a big embrace he reciprocated. "You're the best foster dad, brother, whatever, I could have asked for."
     "I'm mildly fond of you too," he joked in his own Leo way, hugging tighter and patting my back.

The day ended with a weird atmosphere. The mood proved generally cheerful with everyone wanting the remaining hours to be full of good memories. Yet, at the same time, the air tinged with somberness as we all knew the goodness was a mere band-aid. The latter wasn't helped by the fact that Leo and Coral were spending their last night at their apartment. Coral needed the proper bathroom for her occasional bouts of morning sickness, but the two still had to finalizing their moving out of there. I went to bed telling myself to forget how different everything would feel after tomorrow in order to get myself to sleep at all. Rest did come, but a hand on my arm woke me up at midnight.

     "Cinnamon?" Fennel sniffled by my side.
     "Fen? What is it?" I reached to turn the light on.
     "I'm feeling sad. I don't want Leo and Coral to leave. Can I stay in your bed with you?"
     "I don't know. The beds aren't that big, so it'll probably be uncomfortable. Why don't I just cuddle with you on yours until you fall back asleep?"
     "Please? I promise I won't move much, and I'll take up as little space as possible," Fennel pleaded.
     "Oh, alright. Just for tonight," I relented.

Fennel smiled through her tears, and I had her climb to be on the right side against the wall. That way I was more easily able to curl myself around her and optimally use the space we did have.

The moment that been perpetually coming but never seemed to want to arrive did arrive. Leo and Coral were kept at their apartment most of the morning, and by the time they made it to the warehouse we all realized there wasn't a reason for them to linger long besides saying their farewell to what they'd been for us. Most everyone cried a bit. Even Pieter teared up some. The only ones who didn't were Jessamine and Leo.

     "Just remember, this is hardly a real goodbye," Leo encouraged when we gathered around their car. "We'll be checking in often with Tulip and Jess, especially in these first few weeks. We won't be able to visit easily at first with the baby, but you can bet we'll find the time to pop in now and again. If there's ever something you really need help with, let us known and we'll see what we can do to help."
     "Exactly. We're just moving. We're not leaving the family," Coral added.

I smiled despite my wet eyes. When I joined, everyone said they called this group 'family' yet didn't actually qualify each other as something so close. However, over the years, us who stayed had become a family for real.

     "There's not anything left to say," Leo turned to Coral.
     "I guess it's one last round of hugs, and they we need to head off before it gets too hard."

Instantly, half of the group attacked Leo and Coral in a massive hug. I let the two adjust before adding my embrace along with everyone else. Leo and Coral eventually had to wriggle out of the mess of arms and escape to their car. My mood sank expecting them to come back out to continue joking around, but Leo turned it on, the two put on their seat belts, and Coral turned to wave farewell until the vehicle vanished from sight as they drove away.

We all fell silent at that point. Fennel cried loudly after a moment, but I remarked on how little my emotions changed. I knew it would take a while for the effect to sink in for me. The depth of Leo and Coral's stabilizing presence wouldn't be felt until the days passed. Tulip took charged ushering everyone inside saying Leo and Coral left behind a present of cookies from a quality bakery to brighten the mood after their departure. I ate my treat slowly and appreciatively.

Then...I went about my way. I had a babysitting job that morning, and I taught class after I was done. No one aside from Pieter and Cinnamon paid much attention. Larkspur and Fennel, of course, were sad, but Ruby didn't appear distracted because of Leo and Coral. She was grimacing and over something else. I didn't press her after my classes were done. She didn't look to be in a talking mood. Ruby also bolted upstairs as soon as she could too. The others weren't long to stay either. Pieter had work, Cinnamon didn't say where she was going, and Larkspur and Fennel went to the beach to bring up their moods. I, on the other hand, lingered. There was something about standing alone in the silence that was comforting as much as it was bittersweet. I couldn't help but to let my head drift up and recall when I walked back proud after talking to Mr. and Mrs. Sun and found Leo waiting for me on the balcony.

I went to bed that night, found sleep easier than expected, got through the next day, went to bed again, and got past one more day. I woke up the same as usual, did my usual things, and struggled with nothing other than missing the two who weren't here. Unfortunately, the ache did grow as expected. My body physically burned waiting on edge for whenever Leo or Coral would walk through the door. I constantly forgot that they wouldn't, and recalling the fact hung my head low. Thus, I figured I should take Pieter up on what we talked about.

     "Cinnamon? Something up?" Pieter remarked.
    "Nothing in particular. I just gone done helping the Firs, and since I was nearby I figured I'd pick you up. I was thinking we could stop by that new frozen yogurt store and take a peek at that small fair going on in the suburbs."
     "Ah. Um..."
     "What?"
    "I appreciate that. Really. The thing is though...I, well, I got this idea for something I wanted to do. No, more accurately, something I wanted to find out. I was going to go to my dad's house to begin the research."
     "I could help you with that then. What are you trying to find out?"

Pieter went silent. His mind clearly worked through the most polite way to reject me, and I didn't feel a need to make him suffer.

     "It's okay. I understand."
    "What we talked about the other day, it put this burning curiosity in my mind. It's not that I don't want you along, but this is something that I need for myself. Sorry."
    "I really do understand, Pieter. It's fine," I smiled. "We can at least walk together to your dad's house though, right?"
     "Yeah," Pieter jumped on my compromise hard. "Yeah, Of course."

Thankfully, the walk was fairly decent in length. Pieter rambled about the new plans Mr. Sun was making for his yard to include more flowers bees liked as he wished to get himself a hive. Pieter obviously filled the quiet air with chatter to prevent me from prodding more into his research, but I wasn't going to. At least I learned some things I would have never believed before. Bee renting was apparently a thing.

I gathered Larkspur and Fennel up and took them to the park to be distracted that way. Fennel in particular enjoyed the time playing. She had problems blabbing too much of her situation or messing up our lies when left to her own devices. Leo sat her down and told her she wasn't allowed to go to the playgrounds alone unless she felt absolutely certain she could keep her tongue under control. To her credit, Fennel diligently avoided them and waited for when she had an escort.

It was us three who stopped at the frozen yogurt store. Jessamine, Tulip, and Cinnamon I knew would be out, so I got a spare cup for Ruby. It should have been Cinnamon's day to watch the warehouse, but Ruby had suddenly volunteered this morning to take on the extra shift. The reason for that and why she'd been wearing that grimace of hers got revealed when I found her on her bed. With Leo and Coral gone, there were more spaces than there were people.

     "Feeling sick?"

Ruby was curled on her side frowning at the opposite wall.

     "My damn period is being a nightmare again," she grumbled. "I've been vomiting a lot from the pain, but at least I held it in until after you all left."
     "Ruby..." I rubbed her shoulder. "That's not good. Your last period had you out of comission too, and the one before that where you threw up at the art museum was harsh as well. Maybe we need to get you better medication."
   "Tulip bought me the strongest stuff she could, and I've taken the max doses I can. It still results in this. Honestly, I've been having cramps and pains even between periods too."
     "That's definitely not good. It sounds like something you need to see a doctor over."
     "I know. Unfortunately, that's not exactly an option for me right now though, huh? I'm hoping if I just give it a bit more it'll stabilize to how it used to be before."
     "Let me know if there's anything I can do. I'm going to assume you don't want this frozen yogurt I got for you."
     "Not in the slightest. I'd be spewing everywhere with one spoonful," Ruby laughed a little.

I gave the cup to Larkspur and Fennel, who downed it without hesitation. With their wiggles run out and their moods placated by the treats, they sat for me for an additional lesson. The new computer Mr. Clay bought seriously did make learning and planning much faster, which allowed me to put more space between I went over the information myself and when I had to accurately give it to others. Classes for the younger two were naturally easier though. Pieter was the first to return hours later.

     "How'd everything go?" I asked.
    "Good. I don't think it will take long to find what I'm looking for. The problem is all the records I want access are locked behind paywalls and subscriptions. Forking over the few dollars isn't the issue, but I don't have a card to put into their websites. I'm going to have to suck it up and ask Dad if he'll let me use his," Pieter sighed.
     "Aww." I ruffled his hair.
     "'Aww', what?"
    "You're going to ask your dad's permission to use his card. Before you would always just take it and use it for the pizza, delivery, or whatever food we wanted. That's a good improvement in my book."
     "It's not, really. I'm just not such a brat anymore. I've grown up," Pieter mumbled, embarrassed.

Cinnamon was the last to return that day, which struck me as odd. I didn't notice her arrival until well after dinner where a light flickering from downstairs lured me to her studying at the desk.

     "Hey," she greeted, glancing up briefly from her reading.
     "Busy day?"

With a sigh, Cinnamon put the book down.

     "Yes. I've been at the library for most of the past few days. Tulip had a talk with me."
     "About?"
    "The changes that have happened, and the changes that need to happen. I've been so lucky never having to work with her taking care of my rent and things like that. She's still meeting up with those men, obviously─ you know that. Tulip revealed, however, that's going to have to stop sooner rather than later. She and Jess are using their identities in real, legal contracts and stuff now. All the money then men give her, it's difficult to explain where it comes from on her taxes and things like that without someone eventually catching on to the situation. This isn't one of the states that allows stuff like prostitution and what Tulip's doing."
     "That's true. That's not something to have considered before," I recognized reluctantly.
     "So Tulip's trying to find a proper job."
    "But she didn't have a good education, and she doesn't even have a GED." I put together her line of thought following Cinnamon reading and talking about being at the library.
    "Exactly. Tulip's prodded me to be more engaged with my studying and focus on what'll help me in the future instead of being stuck like she is. I talked with Pieter to do study sessions with him over what you teach us, but that's just shown me how far I am behind him. Then he told me how he failed most of the tests that judge where we should be, and..."
    "It's disheartening, I know. I think even I would barely be able to pass those tests. This'll be good in the long run though. Leo and Coral's departure have gotten us to be more serious about this, I feel. You, me, Pieter, and Ruby, we'll study like there's no tomorrow and come out with flying colors," I encouraged.

Cinnamon smiled brightly.

She and I studied a lot and talked more after that. Cinnamon revealed she wanted to started working to reduce the stress on Tulip, and I promised to recommend her to families I knew who needed babysitters. I simply didn't have the time to help everyone. Cinnamon went to bed with a less anxious mind, and I got a surge of determination to push harder still on my studies. That excitement and vigor I wished to share with Pieter, but...

He worked all day. I worked all day. We'd both gotten cheap phones after my attack, and I'd saved up my minutes and texts. He'd done the same, so that's why I frowned every couples hours checking my phone and seeing he'd replied to none of my requests to hang out later in the afternoon. Pieter didn't return to the warehouse once free. I spent the majority of my hours puttering about, bored, not wanting to miss him. He was Cinnamon this night, not coming back until the sun was nearly down.

     "I'm sorry," he apologized when I pulled him outside to talk. "I was only able to look at your messages once I was done working. I meant to reply, but I was at Dad's finally able to get access to the information I wanted. Then I did get what I wanted..."
     "Is what you found out why you look so...so not good?" I questioned.

Pieter spoke with little emotion. His stare was distant and glazed, and he moved as if an impossible weight clung to his shoulders.

     "Part of me wonders why I thought doing this would lead to anything good. At the same time, I'm determined to ride this through to the end."
     "What do you mean? If you got the information, what more is there to do?"

He didn't reply. Not right away. He merely took out his phone, checked something, and cast his gaze dully to the sea.

     "I'm going to be staying the night at Dad's."

I didn't like that answer at all. Me tugging his sleeve turned him towards me, but Pieter wouldn't look me in the eye.

     "I'll come with you. I ate already, but I'm up getting some snacks delivered. Those chocolate lava cakes we got that one time were the best," I tried.
     "I need it to be just me." The decline came.
     "I won't intrude on whatever you want to do. I'll just be nearby if you need me."
     "I don't mean for this to sound horrible, but I don't want you even nearby either."
     "But I can help."

To that, Pieter smiled so, so lightly and chuckled quietly.

    "Not so easy when you're on the other side, huh?" he teased. I shrunk and slumped recalling our reversed positions at the campsite. I wasn't getting what I wanted out of this conversation at all, but this little exchange brought a hint of energy and emotion back to Pieter's person. He smoothly gathered me close and kissed me deeply. "I'm being frustrating, I know. I will tell you everything eventually. All I can ask is that you give me the consideration I didn't give you at the campsite. Let me have some space to deal with this. Trust me?"
     "I do trust you," I confirmed.

I was hardly satisfied, but what more could I do? Pieter held and kissed me until the tension in my form relaxed, but I still didn't like it when he walked away.

Seriously, I tried my best not to turn this into something big. Trusting Pieter to take care of whatever issue that'd popped up was good. It left me more time to study. I was able to help Ruby study too despite her heavy cramps, nausea, and impossibly heavy flow. Fennel kept me up late making shadow puppets together, so falling asleep came easily. One of my jobs canceled on me the next day due to the heavy rain that flooded in stopping the parents' outdoor date. I studied more, drank gratefully the hot chocolate Jessamine brought to combat the sudden drop in temperature, and hung tight to my umbrella when I left for my next job. Pieter not answering again when I checked if he wanted to do a late lunch or if it was okay for me to come take a bath wasn't a problem. I ordered a chocolate lava cake for myself and didn't mind the tepid bath had here at the warehouse.

The rain continued all day. As did Pieter's silence. I did everything I could not to overthink the matter when darkness came, the hour grew later, and Pieter hadn't returned. He was surely spending another night with his dad.

In a freak swell of cold, the temperature dipped down even lower the next day. Banshee wind blasted rain upon the windows pushing a frigid dampness in, and Tulip madly searched for a bucket when a little drip began falling from the roof in the smaller corner bedroom. Jessamine took her chance when the storm calmed around noon to run to the library and use her card to take out two bags of books for us. They were sorely needed when the gloomy midday sun morphed to black. Only when the sun had nearly set did the darkness clear. I stood at the window watching when harsh, gunshot-like pings drenched the roof. Hail replaced rain. The assault continued for half an hour before finally fading to a soft pitter-patter. I checked my phone. Still no response from Pieter. He didn't return to the warehouse. I didn't fall asleep easily at all that night.

When I checked my phone the next morning, I could hardly hold back the worry steadily pushing out. There, still, remained no response from Pieter.