dollface | melanie martinez

𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

"clara. clara, wake up."

she was being shaken awake by a pair of hands she knew;

"morning, crybaby," she mumbled, sitting up. her nose crinkled in confusion as she took in their surroundings. "why're we in a bush?"

"this is where you passed out last night," mama explained. "police have been coming and going, so i couldn't move you without being spotted. but they're not here right now, so come on- we need to run."

"what? why?"

"do you really want to continue living with a murderer?" was all crybaby had to say in response.

clara shook her head, and the two of them stood up and ran as fast as they could, out of the gates and down the road until they were both gasping desperately for breath.

"what do we do now?" clara asked after a moment.

crybaby thought before replying.
"we keep on walking. i have a friend who lives not far from here, she might be able to put us up for the night."

"okay," clara nodded, and the two of them began to walk.

they walked,

and walked,

with crybaby's talk keeping clara entertained.

when night fell,

it appeared that the two were still nowhere near crybaby's friend's residence,

and yet they didn't stop walking.

after a while,

they found themselves in a parking lot,

nearly empty,
lit by only a few weak and flickering streetlights.

eerily silent,

the roads surrounding deserted,

nobody anywhere

and no lights in any windows.

"do you want to stop and rest for a while?" crybaby suggested. "we've been walking all day. maybe after you get your energy back, we can go get some food somewhere, although it won't be the usual quality you're used to, i'm afraid."

"how will we afford-"

wordlessly, crybaby held up clara's purse, which jangled heavily at the movement.
"i raided papa's office. we'll be okay."

"okay," said clara, too tired to formulate another response.

the two of them sat down on a shabby park bench on the other side of the parking lot. clara curled up in crybaby's arms, and after a few minutes began to drift into sleep, snuggling closer into her friend's chest.

crybaby held clara tight against her. she treasured every moment with this little girl, even more so than she had with all those that had come prior.

even though crybaby only took care of children who needed it,
clara was different.

crybaby looked back lovingly on how far the two had come in the full year they had spent together, and all they'd done;

the time they had left the manor without anyone knowing for clara's birthday picnic by the river,

all the times they'd raided the kitchen for midnight feasts,

all the awkward family dinners that had taken place whenever papa was home, in which crybaby was clara's only reason to stay sane;

all their stolen moments, around parents and maids and people in the streets.

everything they had gone through together, good and bad and all the in between.

and then crybaby thought dreamily of all they had to come, before clara fully grew up and left crybaby behind.

she looked down at clara's peaceful sleeping face,

and promised to keep taking care of the little girl as well as she had so far,

or even better.

while crybaby was lost in her thoughts,

a shadowy, shabby ice cream van slowly pulled up alongside them.

crybaby was startled by the sudden click as the hatch rolled up to reveal a burly-looking man in a wolf mask, waving a long finger beckoningly.

"clara, wake up," she whispered hastily, shaking her friend. "we have to go. now."

but it was too late;

the wolf man rolled over the counter with ease,

and took large, purposeful strides towards crybaby.

she took off as fast as she could,

clara in her arms,

running,

running,

running through the parking lot
he chased me and he wouldn't stop

"tag, you're it,"
the wolf man growled

and then

for the two doll girls

everything faded into darkness.