THE MORGAN DINING TABLE WAS HALF-SET WHEN THEY GOT IN. Mrs Morgan called William from upstairs and asked the girls to take their seats at the dining table She re-entered the kitchen and got back to work, but in that time a silence settled between Aspen and Naomi. Naomi Morgan knew for a fact that her family would perk up at the sight of Aspen Letterman, that the walls would expand to accommodate her, but what she didn't expect was the sudden bad taste in her mouth at the sight of her father when he entered the room. Each glance his way, felt as if something inside of her was slowly slipping away and being replaced by something vengeful. She tried to avoid him altogether.
"It's very nice of you to invite me in. Thank you, Mr And Mrs Morgan," Aspen said as soon as Mrs Morgan placed the food on the table and declared it ready to be eaten. Then, William came sauntering down the steps. He gave one confused look at Aspen but said nothing as he grabbed a seat and kept his eyes down.
"It's no problem at all, dear. I actually meant to invite all of you who made it to Prix. I've just been so busy recently."
"Wow, that's so nice of you."
The two went back and forth for a few minutes as everyone else ate. Naomi caught the look her brother was giving her. It was a mix of discomfort and confusion, which was understandable considering their mother hardly talked this much to her own children much less a stranger.
"So Aspen," Mr Morgan began. "With Mr Carson cutting so many dancers, was it hard adjusting? You have so little people to rehearse with now." It was one of the few details Naomi told her father about the summer programme.
"Well, the ballet itself isn't difficult as much as the competition, really. I would say it's more cut-throat now," Aspen replied politely. "There are fewer spots this time and everyone wants to be chosen. But it wasn't hard adjusting at all. Mr Carson teaches a very supportive class."
If Naomi didn't know any better she might have actually believed her.
"Cut-throat?" Mr Morgan finished chewing a piece of steak before continuing. "That's an interesting word to use to describe dancing."
Mrs Morgan rolled her eyes. "Don't mind him. You were dancing all day." She leaned closer to Aspen as if to whisper. "My husband here can't even do the electric slide."
Without even consciously eating, Naomi realized her plate was just about empty. "Well, I spend all day helping people at the office so I'd say we're even." Naomi's head snapped up.
Across the table, William said, "Yeah, by scraping teeth and fixing cavities. Amazing." Everyone laughed, especially Mrs Morgan. Naomi and her father were the only ones who didn't find it as funny and as fate would have it, their eyes locked. She gritted her teeth.
Just beneath the surface of her chest, something dangerous swam. Mr Morgan raised an eyebrow confusedly. Her expression had twisted and before she knew it, her mouth was open and her thoughts were sailing out. "Is that what you do all day?" The venom in her voice was hard to miss. "Scrape teeth and fill cavities?"
Her father's eyebrows furrowed and the table chuckled into silence. "Yeah, I'd say your brother pretty much hit the nail on the head."
"What about today?"
He sat down his fork. "Naomi, I don't work today."
She felt all their gazes on her, but she couldn't care. She had already started something she couldn't stop. "So you didn't leave the house today?"
"Naomi," Mrs Morgan interrupted, "what's this about?"
Her eyes didn't leave her father. It was as if everything bad she'd felt pushed through the worst parts of her until she snapped and everything came rushing out. "So what do you do all day when you're not working?"
By now, no one cared about finishing their meal. For William, it was to watch an expression on his sister's face that he hadn't seen in a long time. For Aspen, it was to watch Naomi's release of everything he saw her holding back today. For Mrs Morgan, it was for worry.
She repeated, this time with more ice, "What do you do when you're not working, Dad."
Realization lit up his face only seconds after. "Naomi-"
Whatever terrible thing she had sunken in her bubbled up. She asked the question again. "What do you do when you're not working, dad?"
He swallowed. Right before her eyes, the man who had raised her, and loved her was consumed by guilt and shame. Her bottom lip trembled. "I hate you," she spat.
"Honey, you don't mean that," Mrs Morgan coaxed.
Naomi turned. "Don't I?" She laughed dryly. "You should too." For the first time since she sat down at this table, Naomi thought about what she was about to say next. The last remnants of her sanity screamed at her to rethink it. But it was not something she could keep a secret. Her mother had a right to know. "He's cheating on you."
Everyone was still. And Naomi regretfully watched as her mother's expression changed from worry to sadness until it struck pain. Tears dared to escape her eyes as they held their gaze. No one dared to speak.
Naomi blinked strangely, realizing something ludicrous. Never on her mother's face, even now, was there a hint of shock.
She choked out, "You knew?"
"Naomi," she started. The room spun. Mrs Morgan reached for her daughter across the table but Naomi flinched back like whatever disease she had was contagious. She stumbled out of her seat. Naomi and all her wicked things trembled. "You knew," she repeated. She looked at both her parents and realized she was looking at strangers sitting around a stupidly large dining table. Dizzily, Naomi allowed her feet to take her body backwards. She needed to move or scream or cry or something but her body was not her own nor was her mind. As if to prove it, she fumbled all the way to the front door without thinking to.
Her Riverside life, the one with her smiling best friend and her dreams of NYC and her quiet family, it all seemed falling. It was loud and clear, and Naomi was sure that all of Riverside could hear it; but perhaps they could always hear it and it had always been falling, but Naomi's ears were only just now tuned in to the destruction.
She wasn't sure how many houses she had passed on the street before her feet finally broke and she crumpled to the Riverside sidewalk. She braced her emotions right there on the concrete, blurry in her vision and coarse under her palm. She tasted the salt on her lips and felt the stripes cool on her face.
She cried for the lie her family had become. For her best friend that had always been dead. For her brother who was already enduring so much. For the future that looked like a divorce and fights over custody. She cried because this entire time she was blind. William was right.
A gust of wind came by her. Puddled rain splashed her clothes before a looming shadow overtook her own.
It took all of her energy to look up. Only to find a bicycle at a halt near her hands, mounted by a boy in a Tiger mask. In flashes, the other animals came to surround her. Naomi looked between The Monkey, Fox, Bull and Bunny as they all circled her like predators. She didn't dare move. She wasn't sure which one of them spoke first, but the voice said, "Aw, don't cry."
Another one of them said, "Girl, listen, don't cry for them," with a little vindication the voice finished, "they should cry for you."
The Tiger silently offered her his wet hand. When she took it hesitantly, all the terrible things in Naomi ignited. The sky erupted loudly open above them. Then the Tiger whispered into her ear, "Life's pretty shitty, we get that. But don't be scared and definitely don't give anyone the privilege of making you scared. Be powerful." Then Naomi finally felt the rain that was coming down on top of her head this entire time as the animals spun their bicycles back onto the street. Lightning struck the sky overhead and the Guise rode off into the storm. Be powerful, she repeated.
"Naomi!" The shout came over a heavy downpour of rain behind her. Her mind came rushing back to her body and she looked up and saw the sky light up in spikes above her. "Naomi!"
A huge part of her told her not to turn around because the person calling her was the last person she wanted to see, but also the most. And that kind of confusion, when caught up in a storm like this one, could hardly mean anything good. But, the lightning erupting in the clouds must have increased some sort of magnetic field because the next time she called her name, it was a heavy breath in her ear and she turned around. Electricity buzzed between the small space separating them. Be powerful.
Aspen hugged her. It was abrasive and desperate in a way a jump could be if you tried too hard. But it was spectacular, too. She settled into her as the rain beat patterns onto her face and the Guise became a memory.
After a period that Naomi was sure wasn't long enough, Aspen pulled back. Her hands rested on her shoulders. "I'm so sorry," she muttered. Though her voice was quiet, it was a million times louder than the rain and the thunder. "I had no idea."
Naomi bit her bottom lip till she tasted blood. Her tears mixed with the rain and her knees almost gave way again. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked.
She didn't reply at first. She thought about it; which was so unlike Aspen Letterman. That's when Naomi realized her perfect blonde hair was soaked and her make up looked devastated. "I don't know," she answered. "I'm sorry," she repeated.
In the eye of that storm, Naomi Morgan became unforgiving and dangerous. And perhaps worst of all, she felt powerful. But as Aspen swallowed her in her embrace again, everything catastrophic that she was feeling escaped her body in streams.
Author's Note
One of my favourite chapters so far ❤️.
This week's dedication goes to @keelyoself ! Thank you thank you thank you for voting ❤️. I may or may not need them to survive ((ilysm)). If you vote, comment and share the next dedication could be you!
So, the Morgans are #exposed. Did you see it coming? What about Naomi? Will she be able to bounce back?? She full-on cried in the rain y'all, tell me what you think in the comments!
IN THE NEXT CHAPTER...
The darkest parts of people came out in the night time. She knew that, and after replaying what she did at the dining table she feared that the darkest parts of her were a completely different person. A monster...