Charmed into Darkness

four

NOT EDITED. Prepare yourself for grammar mistakes and weird wordings.

Catherine Bradford had been feeling much, much better. She had come to accept her second parent's death, although sometimes it does haunt her just thinking about it, Cathy had decided to just embraced the reality of their deaths. Pelle has influenced her that death is inevitable for everyone and that their time had come, despite it being a murder, every single person had their deaths signed off the minute the were born, he said it was the natural part of life. And Cathy clung onto it, she is willing to adopt any belief or perspective that helps her cope with her loss and aids in her healing process.

Unfortunately, that mindset did not help Danielle Ardor. Despite Dani playing a crucial role in Cathy's well-being, it does not have the same effect on Dani. Sure, Cathy's presence really does help her on a positive impact, but at a much slower rate compared to Cathy. She is still struggling to accept her family is gone; the wound is still very much raw.

Cathy made every effort to visit Dani regularly, but as she juggled her university workload and devoted time to Pelle, her visits dwindled to just once or twice a week. Occasionally, Cathy would reach out to Dani via text messages to check in on her well-being—a small gesture to reciprocate Dani's unwavering support for Cathy, even when Dani herself was struggling with her own emotion. As someone who grew up with Dani, Cathy knows her cousin needed space to get better. That's the difference between them—while Cathy's periods of extreme self-isolation lasted only weeks at most, Dani lasted months despite her willingness to confide in others.

Dani mentioned how therapy truly made a difference for her, plus Christian's ongoing support played a vital role in her daily struggles. Catherine was surprised to hear that Christian stood by Dani's side, recalling the time when he wanted to end their relationship—perhaps he still has feelings for her.

However, Catherine Bradford's perspective on Christian's love changed when she attended the dinner he hosted.

Mark and Josh surprisingly arrived at the same time as Pelle and Cathy, they caught up a little as they went up to Christian's home. Josh filled in that he was stressed with assignments and exams, mentioning how tired he's been researching for his thesis. Mark however just shrugged and said he's doing okay, not giving much information. Cathy and Pelle mimicked their friend and shrugged as well, getting an eye roll from Josh.

When the group arrives at their friend's doorstep, Mark decided to make a bet on how miserable Christian will look, but immediately shut up when he saw the look on Cathy's face. Josh knocked on the door, he barely made it to the second knock when suddenly the door was nearly ripped off it's hinges, revealing Christian's happy expression in contrast to his tired face. It was clear the past few months had been hard on him, not just physically but mentally. Cathy came to the conclusion that maybe Christian stayed with Dani because he felt like he had to or her sympathize her—besides, who in the right mind would break up with your girlfriend after she had just lost her entire family? 

Christian immediately greeted them, giving Cathy a tight hug. Cathy smiled when he told them that he missed his friends, her smile widened when Christian motioned Cathy to the kitchen, telling her that Dani was setting the table. Cathy didn't even needed to be told twice and immediately left the boys to greet Dani. Both of the girls lit up as they saw each other. Even though Dani looked fine, Cathy knew Dani was trying her best to hide her tiredness. It was quite clear that even after five months, the loss still had a major toll on her.

They both exchanged pleasantries, the usual how are yous, have you been sleepings. Dani let out a raspy laugh as Cathy jumped up and down, side to side as she squeezed her cousin harder. By the time they seperated, the boys walked in—all Mark and Josh did was smiled at Dani, offering her an overdue condolences. Jeez, do they dislike her that much? Pelle was the only one that had the decency to ask how she was doing. It was perhaps the first time Mark, Josh, and Pelle met Dani after long dreadful months.