Chapter Text
As the thunderstorms drenched the world below, everything was rattled by the force. Underneath the overbearing grey storm clouds, trees convulsed from the wind, trash bins flew down the street, and drivers couldn’t see through the waves on their windshields. For most residents of Greenville, this was a very turbulent day. Whether it was the force of rain or wind, you couldn’t stand still if you tried. Many people were hunkering down in their homes. Sable was very fond of days like this. The sound of the rain hitting the window pane deeply calmed her. Sable loved falling asleep to ambient noise, so she always felt sleepy whenever it rained.
Knowing the only thing she had to do was bedrot almost made Sable happy. She used to be so adventurous, but ever since her best friend vanished Sable couldn’t feel anything anymore. Ever since she lost her, Sable felt like she was living life on autopilot. Since graduation, the only buildings she went to were her apartment and the cafe she worked at, Moonstone. She used to be so happy. She used to find adventure in every little thing. Grief makes you cling onto days long gone, but Sable knew that it wasn’t the times she missed so dearly. It was Mikaela. She didn’t like thinking about the day she went missing, and even blamed herself for it. Yet, her mind always clung to that day and always made sure to remind Sable when she was about to get a good night’s sleep. Sable couldn’t tell you if Mikaela went missing last week or decades ago, since every day since then was the same. Stumble through her shift at Moonstone while being half-awake, pretend her junk food was dinner, and get two hours of sleep that night. Her physical health was poor, and Sable looked as good as she felt. Her bony body and the dark circles underneath her eyes made her look like the zombies from Mikaela’s favorite movies. She never got the appeal of most mainstream horror, but if it made Mikaela happy she was willing to sacrifice 90 minutes of her life. Sable always preferred the darker films while Mikaela wanted to get a laugh out of it. Yet when Sable would bring up Pink Flamingos, Mikaela looked at Sable as if she just confessed to an act of terrorism. (Author’s Note: Pink Flamingos has a lot of gross scenes in it, don’t research while eating.) Since Sable was reminiscing about those times, she figured that putting on a good horror movie would be a decent way to kill time. She turned on the TV in front of her bed, and after about fifteen minutes of sifting through the mediocrity on streaming services, Sable heard a noise that would terrify her on a level no film ever could.
From the next room over, her outdated home phone blared words she always dreaded to hear: “ CALL FROM… MOM CELL! ”
“Oh, god.” Sable muttered to herself. She had already planned to avoid everything and everyone today, and her family was one of the things she was perfectly fine with ignoring. But if she didn’t pick up, she’d have to deal with an exaggeratedly pitiful and depressing voicemail. Once you get old enough, mothers have a way of guilt tripping you if they realize their power is gone. As the final rings were screeched out from that brick, Sable flopped out of bed and trudged herself to her kitchen to begrudgingly answer the phone. She winced as the phone’s microphone peaked as her mother greeted her in her typical overzealous tone.
“Hey, how’s my little sunshine doing!”
“Hi, mom.”
“You sound exhausted sweetie! Did something crazy happen last night, are you okay?”
“No… I just uh… just got out of the bed.”
“Darling, it’s almost three! Is everything okay? It’s not healthy to sleep in this late, and I always feel guilty when I miss too much of the day by lying in bed.”
“I thought you hated it when I stayed up all night, why is it an issue when I supposedly get too much sleep?”
“Graduated college, and you still talk to me like a teenager. Anyways, your father and I are worried about you.”
“Dad remembered my existence… woah.”
“Can you just listen to me Sable!”
“Christ…okay.”
“Your father and I wanted to talk to you about seeing a therapist. You’ve had your time to grieve, but you shouldn’t let someone that isn’t here tell you how to live.”
Sable looked at the phone with a disgusted scowl. If she wasn’t her mother, Sable would have said the worst insult she could think of. Why the hell did her mother think she had the right to micromanage her adult life? Sable had always earned the ire of her mother for living a life she didn’t approve of. Sable would understand it if she was a pornstar, junkie, or anything else that would send a normal mother into a coma, but she felt her mother despised her for simply having emotions. God forbid Sable grieves her missing and/or dead best friend.
“Sable, hello?” Sable totally forgot her mother was on the line, too focused on her own anger.
“Oh… uh… sorry mom, spaced out there.”
“It’s okay honey, but what do you think?”
“I uh…” Sable’s eyes darted across her kitchen while her mind was in a clamor trying to conjure up an excuse.
“Sable, are you sober right now?!” Her mom was a cheerleader in high school, but she probably could have earned scholarships in track and field with her skill to jump to conclusions.
“Yeah mom, I just don’t think I have the money for that right now. I’ve got a couple grand of student loans left before I can even think of getting a down payment on a new place, and I’m on a Barista salary here.”
“Honey, you’re still on our insurance for two more years. We’re covering it, don’t worry.”
“What about the co-pay, mom? I can’t afford to lose 50 bucks every week, my disposable income is in the cents!”
The phone went silent, and Sable’s apartment was uncomfortably quiet.
“I’ll talk to your father about it.”
“So he didn’t know. I’m not surprised.”
“You’re such a drama queen, I’m sure he’s fine with a little bit of his pension going for his child’s wellbeing.”
“It wouldn’t have been hard to bring this up to him mom, it’s like you’re trying to sweep my problems under the rug.”
“Maybe I just don’t want to be a mother to a kid who did something drastic. You know how rumors spread in a town like this.”
“So you’re not here for my issues, but your image… okay mom.”
“Sable, you cannot speak to your mother like-”
Sable hung up the phone, and took the batteries out so she wouldn’t have to hear it continuously ring. She left her cellphone rot without any battery left just to be extra safe, but she doubted her mother would care enough to call again. She left the disassembled device over the stovetop, and retreated back to her bed and binged whatever Youtube would spoonfeed her. As the night’s reach had finally claimed the sky, the thunderclouds were stained an ominous black. Sable decided to attempt to get some rest and turned off her TV. Before she flipped the light switch, her eyes surveyed the room. It was decorated with posters from the few movies the two of them agreed were great and candles used for hundreds of pagan rituals they had done over their teenage years. She strolled over to her framed photos, and reached for the one hidden behind all the family photos. It was Mikaela posing next to the Sable’s tattoo that could have been matching if she wasn’t such a chicken. She felt her lower back and let out an endearing giggle. It’s been 6 years and her parents were still blissfully unaware of the occult sigil permanently on Sable’s body. She put the picture back in its hidden spot, and let out a somber sigh. Maybe her mother was right to some degree, but Sable would rather get shot than admit that. Once she was in bed with the lights off, her eyes became fixated on the night sky. Water on the windowpane made it much easier to rest, but she wanted to appreciate the rainy view of her sleepy town before she fell victim to slumber. She looked up at the clouds, and told herself she’d do anything to talk to her again. She looked down at the streets she knew so well, and dreamed that she could walk down them again with Mikaela at her side.