If I Die Young

3. Chores

It wasn't until dinner rolled around that I was finally able to see all the inhabitants of the house. We all took seats around a table fit for twenty and out of habit I sat off from the rest of them as they filed in. The first ones were the kids, with the boys leading the troupe and the girls following behind. I saw Daisy for the first time in detail, a girl with curling brown sugar waves and eyes so dark they almost seemed black. She tossed a grin back at me, something that seemed menacing. I turned my head away in time to catch sight of the older kids filing in, led by Ezra.

The blind girl was behind him, and besides her eyes, she was pretty. She must have been Elyse; her hair was wound up in tight, fuzzy blonde curls that framed soft cheeks. I saw her whisper to a boy beside her, someone with chocolate spikes and bright, sky blue eyes. For some reason it struck me that this was Iden, and from the sounds of the chatter I was right. Another girl followed in behind them, thirteen, maybe fourteen at the most, with short strawberry hair and strikingly silver eyes. They were sharp and analytical, and when they met mine they paused for merely a moment before she turned away.

Everyone sat at the other end of the table and even though I was just a few chairs off from them, I could feel the discontent. Brandon looked up a few times as he was getting food, eyes that mimicked his older brothers looking back at me. James didn't even look my way. No one else seemed to care and instead they were just focused on the plates of food as it was brought out. Mashed potatoes, ham, and corn, it didn't look bad and it certainly didn't taste bad. I'd probably never see the finer delicacies from my home again, but I was sure I could live without it.

Miss Huld sat at the head of the table, her eyes flicking up every once in a while to gaze at me. I kept my own on my plate and couldn't be bothered to try and converse. Everyone else laughed and giggled and chattered about school the next day and what they wanted to do in the week. I'd forgotten about school entirely, seeing as I was going to a private academy in New York. This would be my first time attending public school since I was little. I wouldn't be going tomorrow, but it was still a change of pace.

"Sable," my head jerked up at the sound of my name, "why don't you tell us about New York?" Miss Huld urged me gently, and I could tell she was wanting me to try and talk to the other kids.

"Well, New York isn't that much, really." I sighed, feigning a small smile. "The people are snooty and the food is decent. The arts were the best thing about it."

"How did your parents die?"

Everyone went silent; I felt my breath hitch in my chest at Delilah's words. She was staring at me evenly, her eyes piercing. Miss Huld hushed her and I averted my gaze, trying to calm the fluttering of my heart in my chest. The lights flickered above my head and I bit down on my tongue to keep from saying something nasty.

I lost my appetite long before I finished eating and eventually everyone began to pick up their plates and bring it to the kitchen. Apparently there were assigned chores and someone placed a mop into my hands that I had no idea what to do with. I wasn't going to be the snooty rich kid who'd never touched a cleaning item a day in her life though so I did my best. The younger kids were wiping down the table and the older ones were doing more complicated chores; I ended up catching Aurelia as she'd toppled backwards off of the counter while she was putting away plates and I didn't even get so much as a thanks.

"Don't mind them-" Miss Huld shooed me away from the group when she sensed my frustration. "They're like a family here, everyone's a little wary of newcomers. I'm sure they'll come around in time."

"It's fine if they don't." I laughed half-heartedly. "I'm used to people being put off by me. As long as they don't cause problems I can work with it."

She nodded, albeit a bit disappointedly, and left me to do what I wanted. My feet trudged towards the stairs and the kids ran by me again, the light of the moon outside illuminating their paths. Something moved as I made after them and my eyes flew up to the skylight, only to see that the air was completely still outside. The moon was just edging away from the corners of itself, its fullness fading. I smiled slightly before continuing to ascend the stairs, determining that it must have been a bird.

I made my way to my room and closed the door behind myself, finding that the weight of the situation was finally beginning to fall onto my shoulders. I'd never be seeing the decorated walls of my home again; I'd never go to my music class after school again. I wasn't one to cry, but I slumped down against the wooden door and buried my head in my knees to hide my face. None of this felt good or right, and I wasn't sure if it ever would.

The eyes of my once familiar family stared back at me from my nightstand, their colors brimming with joy and love. My mothers ghostly blue and my fathers more cornflower hue, both smiling at me and holding each other. His brown curls looked windswept more than anything while my mother's golden ones were elegant and glamorous, the envy of the town. They really were a gorgeous couple, and it was such a shame that...

Just say it.

"No," I gritted my teeth and placed the photo back on my nightstand before sitting down on my bed, "God dammit, no."

You killed them.

"I didn't kill them." I felt my lower lip tremble as I spoke aloud. "I couldn't have done...that..."

The voice was gone suddenly and I opened my eyes to see the lights flickering above my head. I took a deep breath and wrapped my trembling arms around myself, finding that I took comfort in the feel of what could be called a hug. It took me a while to stop shaking but by the end of it I was absolutely exhausted; by chance, I also needed to use the restroom and decided now was as good of a time as ever to find out where that was. I slipped into my pajamas and slippers before I left my room, finding that the house was completely dark, save for the light coming in through the skylights. I used my phone to see, finding that it was well past my normal bedtime and that this place was a lot creepier than I'd first imagined in the dark.

I was just about to round a corner when I saw that there was someone else awake as well. Instinct kicked in and I pressed myself against the wall while I clapped my hand over my phone, watching as they moved away in the darkness. I caught sight of dark hair, the figure of a boy heading back to his room. I would've said it was Ezra if I hadn't seen the cobalt sheen and the tanned skin. It struck me suddenly that there was one occupant missing from dinner that I hadn't yet seen, the boy named Ladon. That must've been him.

After settling my nerves I went searching again, finding that there was a boys and a girls bathroom both right across from each other in the joining hall. After relieving myself I took the time to look in the mirror, brushing my fingers through my curls and poking at the purple streaks beneath my eyes. They looked darker than they were in the light and suddenly I was wishing I was back in Paris for the fashion show. The makeup artists there could make a pigeon look like a peacock. I chuckled to myself, but suddenly I was caught off guard when something flashed across my mind.

Reflecting back in the glass was the same girl, the same me, but her skin was devoid of any actual color and her veins were as blue as a river. Then my eyes, they were practically glowing. Whispers filled my head and I snapped out of it, staring at my normal facade once again but now trembling in my slippers. I made a break for my room and while I didn't run, I walked as fast as possible without causing any noise.

Once I rounded the corner something at the end of the hall caught my eye; I could see a figure at the end of the train of skylights, standing near to my door as if they were waiting for me. I lifted my phone up to try and get a good glimpse of who was trying to scare me and I was about to go off on one of the little kids for whispering when I realized there was no one there. My heart slammed against my ribs when I lowered my phone, finding that there was still a figure there, except they were moving around now. I backed up against the opposite wall and began inching my way through the darkness and to my room. With a small yelp I watched as the figure lunged and I ducked into my doorway, closing the door behind me and locking it. There was no trace of them after that and I backed away warily; my hands were trembling up a storm and I didn't really think I was going to get any sleep tonight.