COLD HEARTED ⇢ ENOCH O'CONNOR

six

Jake didn't arrive until later the next day, but it didn't affect Arabella as much as it everyone else - apart from Enoch, of course - because she spent most of the day in her room.

Some of her time was spent sleeping, some was spent drawing and some was spent just lying there and staring at the ceiling.

The only time she did go downstairs, however, was to get a cup of tea. Luckily, only Miss Peregrine was in the kitchen, so Arabella said she was sick again as an excuse.

Arabella couldn't stop thinking about what Emma said. It was true. She was lonely. She'd also always wondered what it was like to be loved - and not the kind of family or friend love. Emma was right in saying that Arabella needed that, she just didn't want to admit it.

"There you are!" Fiona said, running into Arabella's room. "It's time for our daily walk."

Arabella groaned. "I've been living in this loop for ages but I managed to forget about the stupid walk." She grumbled, getting out of bed.

Arabella forced a smile in Fiona's direction. "Tell her I'll be down in a minute."

When Arabella came down the stairs, Jake immediately realised that she wasn't wearing her usual dark makeup. Her hair was still messy, and she wore the same clothes, but even then, she looked even sadder than the day before.

Jake looked at his shoes and frowned. He wondered whether Enoch had said something to her last night, which could've also been why she didn't come out to see the reset, but he decided not to ask. Considering she was trailing along at the back of the group alone, she didn't look like she was in a talking mood. So, Jake talked to Emma instead.

"Hi." Someone said to Arabella.
Arabella snapped out of her thoughts to see Enoch walking beside her.

"I'm walking on my own, do you really think I want to talk to anyone? Especially you?" Arabella sighed.

Enoch shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm sorry about that, okay? I was in a bad mood because of Jake. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that."

Arabella sighed and turned to face him. "Well, you did. And let's be honest, you're always in a bad mood."

Arabella picked up her pace until she had caught up with Fiona, leaving Enoch to walk on his own.

***

Later that day, Emma ran into Arabella's room and told her she needed to come downstairs. At first, she disagreed. But when she heard that Miss Avocet was awake, she got up and followed her friend down stairs and into the living room.

"They found my new loop!" Miss Avocet cried. "The children! I tried to save them, but, there were so many hollows. I don't know how I escaped!"

Arabella watched as Miss Peregrine pulled Miss Avocet into a hug. "You're safe now."

Arabella sighed to herself, wondering what they felt like, since it had been so long.

"None of us are safe. They set up the machine in my loop!" Miss Avocet told Miss Peregrine.

"They put it in the cellars at Blackpool Tower, they're still there!" Olive spoke up.
"Their machine?"
"Their experiment! They intend to do it again!" Miss Avocet explained.

"This time, he's using more Ymbrynes." Enoch added, catching Arabella's attention. "He still wants to be immortal."

Miss Peregrine got up as Jake spoke up. "Do Hollows only attack Peculiars?"

"Of course not. They're monsters, Jake, they'll slaughter anything in their path."

"Well, some sheep on the island were killed." Jake said, making Miss Peregrine turned around. "You don't think they're here already, do you?"

"Have you seen anyone with white eyes?" Miss Avocet asked the tall brunette boy.

Jake thought for a moment, before shaking his head.

"I'm sorry children. We can't remain here." Miss Peregrine sighed.
"What?!" Enoch unfolded his arms.

"We'll leave on the first ferry off the island tomorrow. Pack anything of importance. Then it's sandwiches and early to bed." Miss Peregrine finished, helping the twins get up.

"Are we leaving for good?" Hugh asked.
"When are we coming back?" Fiona questioned.

Arabella sighed. "We don't."
"Never. If Miss Peregrine's not here tomorrow night to reset the loop, the house gets bombed." Enoch said.
"But... our house!" Claire cried.
"Don't cry. Miss Peregrine will find you another lovely house." Miss Avocet reassured.

Arabella packed her things in silence, listening to Emma and Jake. She wanted to say something, when Emma told her to leave, but she couldn't.

Once Jake had left, Arabella came over to Emma and rubbed her back. "He's gonna come back and he's gonna help us." Arabella reassured.

Emma turned around and sniffed. Arabella's heart sunk when she saw tears in Emma's eyes, but refused to show it.

To Arabella's surprise, Emma chuckled. "You're showing emotion? This is something new."

Arabella playfully rolled her eyes. "Oh? come on, Emma. I just gave you something reassuring and that's the first thing you say."

Emma sighed and smiled. "Sorry. You're probably right. Thanks, Arabella."

Arabella gave Emma a small smile and nodded. "It's okay. Now, we've got to finish packing."