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On Saturday night, as the rain poured down outside, Rachel couldn't sleep. It wasn't bad - not as bad as a couple of weeks ago when she'd 'totally skitzed out', as Indigo had put it - but she was restless, and worried. Worries crowded in her head and none would let any of the others dominate. She her had final dance recital at the end of the week. That was worrying, although she was less worried about the performance than the written. The written was more worrying. But the pressure of getting on stage and dancing in front of everyone, with Joshua backstage, Joshua who kept making lewd faces at her in class, was - ak.
Aak.
On top of that, she was worried about her final exams for her other classes. They were going to be bad.
Then there was her dad. There'd been a number of times in the past weeks where he hadn't been where she thought he was, or he'd be really late home from work with no explanation, or he'd be in a weird, anxious, snappy mood, also with no explanation. She wondered if the explanation was as simple as 'he's cheating', or if it was more sinister than that.
Then there was Imogene, who had sat her down over a cup of home grown herbal tea to confront her about her attitude. "I have provided you with a lot of stability, in this house," she'd said firmly, but as if she'd been reading from a script, like she had to work up to it. "Something you and your father have never had before, have you? I want you to spend more time with us as a family, and I want to see some proper gratitude from you. You are grateful for this house, aren't you, Elaine? And the things I provide for you and your father?"
Rachel had wrinkled her nose at the herbal tea she'd provided for her, because it smelled like grass, but she'd agreed that yes, Imogene had given them a lot.
But Rachel hadn't thought she'd been particularly ungrateful or sullen lately, like Imogene seemed to be implying. Maybe Rachel was supposed to talk to her dad about being a better family member?
But she thought if she tried to have that talk with him, he'd just get mad. Besides, it wasn't her responsibility to fix whatever was wrong between Imogene and him. They were the grown ups who were supposed to have a handle on life.
So, Rachel couldn't sleep.
It was definitely past midnight, and the house had been quiet for a while. Eventually she decided to stop lying in bed staring at the internet and get up and make some hot chocolate, because she needed to go to sleep because she and Danny and Zoe and Cai were hanging out tomorrow and she didn't want to be tired. When she was too tired she felt stupid and grumpy, and she didn't want to be stupid and grumpy around Danny.
She padded quietly down the hall, the sound of her footsteps disguised by the sound of the spring rain outside. She paused as she walked past Indigo's room, spying the slit of light sneaking out from under her door. Maybe if Indigo was still awake she was worried about their parents, too? There were times when Rachel and Indigo did get on, and two in the morning when they were the only two awake seemed like a time when they'd actually be on the same wavelength.
Rachel put her hand against Indigo's door and pushed it open, but her greeting caught in her throat because there was a monster on Indigo's back.
She was naked from the waist up and - Rachel had never seen anything like it even in films - it looked like a giant spider was crawling out of the skin on her back, its black legs curling around Indigo's body, her skin pale against their darkness.
Rachel screamed, her hands coming up to cover her mouth, and Indigo turned from the full length mirror and stared at her and her eyes were as black as the thing coming out of her back. It moved with her, like it was a part of her, and for a moment the spider-thing could have been wings, but twisted and deformed. Ragged bits of black flesh webbing the bones together closer to her back but the tips of them were nothing but bone - like the tops of trees after a forest fire. A glass sculpture that stood on Indigo's vanity was swept off by one of the mangled bone-fingers and shattered to the ground
Then - Rachel was jerking awake in her own bed. The rain had stopped and sunlight was pouring in through her curtains - a glance at her clock said it was after eleven thirty.
She sat stock still, her fingers gripping the covers. Horror lingered around the corners of her mind. I never remember my dreams she'd told Danny once and she was glad, she was real fucking glad, if dreams were as bad as that.
Her phone chimed again and she nearly jumped out of bed in fright, but it was just a text from Danny saying they were outside and ready to pick her up. "Shit," she rasped, kicking off her sheets.
Just woke up SORRY wont be long she texted back, and added come up? because she figured if anyone could scatter the horrors of that nightmare and reassure her what reality was, it was Danny.
Aak.
On top of that, she was worried about her final exams for her other classes. They were going to be bad.
Then there was her dad. There'd been a number of times in the past weeks where he hadn't been where she thought he was, or he'd be really late home from work with no explanation, or he'd be in a weird, anxious, snappy mood, also with no explanation. She wondered if the explanation was as simple as 'he's cheating', or if it was more sinister than that.
Then there was Imogene, who had sat her down over a cup of home grown herbal tea to confront her about her attitude. "I have provided you with a lot of stability, in this house," she'd said firmly, but as if she'd been reading from a script, like she had to work up to it. "Something you and your father have never had before, have you? I want you to spend more time with us as a family, and I want to see some proper gratitude from you. You are grateful for this house, aren't you, Elaine? And the things I provide for you and your father?"
Rachel had wrinkled her nose at the herbal tea she'd provided for her, because it smelled like grass, but she'd agreed that yes, Imogene had given them a lot.
But Rachel hadn't thought she'd been particularly ungrateful or sullen lately, like Imogene seemed to be implying. Maybe Rachel was supposed to talk to her dad about being a better family member?
But she thought if she tried to have that talk with him, he'd just get mad. Besides, it wasn't her responsibility to fix whatever was wrong between Imogene and him. They were the grown ups who were supposed to have a handle on life.
So, Rachel couldn't sleep.
It was definitely past midnight, and the house had been quiet for a while. Eventually she decided to stop lying in bed staring at the internet and get up and make some hot chocolate, because she needed to go to sleep because she and Danny and Zoe and Cai were hanging out tomorrow and she didn't want to be tired. When she was too tired she felt stupid and grumpy, and she didn't want to be stupid and grumpy around Danny.
She padded quietly down the hall, the sound of her footsteps disguised by the sound of the spring rain outside. She paused as she walked past Indigo's room, spying the slit of light sneaking out from under her door. Maybe if Indigo was still awake she was worried about their parents, too? There were times when Rachel and Indigo did get on, and two in the morning when they were the only two awake seemed like a time when they'd actually be on the same wavelength.
Rachel put her hand against Indigo's door and pushed it open, but her greeting caught in her throat because there was a monster on Indigo's back.
She was naked from the waist up and - Rachel had never seen anything like it even in films - it looked like a giant spider was crawling out of the skin on her back, its black legs curling around Indigo's body, her skin pale against their darkness.
Rachel screamed, her hands coming up to cover her mouth, and Indigo turned from the full length mirror and stared at her and her eyes were as black as the thing coming out of her back. It moved with her, like it was a part of her, and for a moment the spider-thing could have been wings, but twisted and deformed. Ragged bits of black flesh webbing the bones together closer to her back but the tips of them were nothing but bone - like the tops of trees after a forest fire. A glass sculpture that stood on Indigo's vanity was swept off by one of the mangled bone-fingers and shattered to the ground
Then - Rachel was jerking awake in her own bed. The rain had stopped and sunlight was pouring in through her curtains - a glance at her clock said it was after eleven thirty.
She sat stock still, her fingers gripping the covers. Horror lingered around the corners of her mind. I never remember my dreams she'd told Danny once and she was glad, she was real fucking glad, if dreams were as bad as that.
Her phone chimed again and she nearly jumped out of bed in fright, but it was just a text from Danny saying they were outside and ready to pick her up. "Shit," she rasped, kicking off her sheets.
Just woke up SORRY wont be long she texted back, and added come up? because she figured if anyone could scatter the horrors of that nightmare and reassure her what reality was, it was Danny.
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