Lost in a Simple Game... (OPEN)

[sofiathorpe]

The whispering of trees taunted her mind. She wished to be out, playing with the wind, manipulating it to how she feels it should go. Left, right, softly twittering the leaves and making children dream of how things ought to go. She felt alone in the grand house that Grandmere had bought when they moved into the Hollow. To say her Grandmere was rich was an understatement; she was truly living the good life here in the Hollow. Something that she couldn't really say beforehand. She did love her mother, but she and her mother fought like no tomorrow, mainly because they were too much alike. It was pathetic, really, shouldn't people with like personalities get along? Obviously not, considering how torturous living with her mother felt sometimes.

She creeped out of bed, the old mahogany floorboards beneath her feet creaking with each step. Paisley slowly stepped down the old, rich colored steps into the kitchen below her bedroom. She grabbed a pad of paper and quickly wrote Grandmere a note, incase if she was to awake and Paisley wasn't back yet. Then, once she had finished, and gotten dressed, she stepped out into the cold, welcoming breeze. The snow was fresh on the ground, it had just recently fell upon the earth. Paisley took one step slowly, testing the frosty air and ground. Her boots crunched against the moist snow, it had not yet frozen into an ice trap. Sauntering out into the small town, she let her breath turn into little plumes of steam, then she carried it around on the light breeze she created.

Having the element of wind was a fantastic thing, especially for her. Her phone went off as she stepped into the town. Grabbing it out of her purse, she prayed that it was someone as simple as Grandmere.... It wasn't. It was her mom, calling at the time it seemed apropriate for her, around 3:00 PM where she was. It was annoying, to only expect calls from her mother in the dead of night where she was. She answered sighing.

"Yes, mother?" She sounded stark. More so then she tried to sound.

"I was just calling," Paisley's mother sounded apathetic, she did have emotions and the way that Paisley had just up and left had broken her heart, "To see how you and Grandmere were doing."

"We're fine, Mama. It's time for me to go to bed, I'll try to call you tomorrow." Paisley said, with a sigh. She hung up quickly and started walking again, getting out of the little pathway that she had ran along when she was younger, back then her dream was to be a runner. Cross Country had proved to be too difficult for Paisley to keep up with, and she was too much of an unhealthy eater to prove to be useful in that department.


Word Count: 542
Notes: There she be. ^-^

[NELL DOE DALE]

Nell never got to play pretend as a child. Her and Tilly would put on productions of Hamlet for their parents, but that was about as much as a childhood she ever had. She wondered if this was her need for that manifesting now. She was playing pretend all the time. No, that sounds very cold-hearted. But it was true enough. When she smiled, it was for the benefit of others, just as it had always been—the only thing different was how she felt. Going out and having fun with friends was also a part of the charade, and it wasn’t that she didn’t love her friends or hanging out with them anymore. It was just that it took a lot to get her to do these things. However, Rachel did a good job at convincing her to come out and be the responsible one this evening. There wasn’t anything Nell wouldn’t do for her friends.

That was how she was roped into going to her friend’s party. ”It’s an alcohol party,” Rachel whispered conspiritorily as they entered the girl’s house, and Nell grinned at her. She was very good at this, because her friends actually made her happy. Even if she wasn’t feeling her best, they always helped her to forget about everything. The depression, the drugs, the fact that all she wanted to do lately was sleep so she can avoid everything, including eating. And she was sure that no one—not even her boyfriend—noticed her change. Of course she was wrong, but she was safe in her ignorance. It was easier believing that her depression didn’t effect anyone, because she was so good at hiding it. No one would be able to tell, and yet she forgot that Josh would be one to take notice of her changes. He was living with her, and he’d been there through her trial. But she wanted to make as much as she could seem perfect.

Always on her best behavior, she didn’t drink, she merely held whispered conversations with some girls about the guys they wanted to hit on, giggling and nudging and inhaling peppermint snapps breath. ”All right, all right, shut up, goddamn,” Rachel hollered at one point, and all eyes were on her. ”Okay, like, I’m bored. We’re playing cops and robbers. This is the jail. Let us go!” It took a few minutes for everyone to get up and go, and Nell thought it unfair for her to be a sober cop, since it would be difficult for the others to escape her. However, she wasn’t the only sober one tonight, so that made her feel slightly better about it as she headed out to Maple Hollow. For a bunch of drunk people, they could sure disperse quickly. It only took a few minutes before she happened upon a discarded shirt and pants, a smile finding its way onto her lips as she huddled into her jacket. Whoever went streaking in snow had to be completely shitfaced. At least if they’re a robber, they’ll be noticeable, she thought.

She wandered pretty far, making her way onto a path when she saw a girl running. Even though Nell didn’t really feel like doing it—she was so tired now, always tired—she chased after her and tagged her on the shoulder. When she didn’t recognize the girl from the house, however, Nell asked, ”Are you by any chance playing a drunken game of cops and robbers?” She wore a goofy grin on her face, always smiling by default, even now. Realizing that this was a little bit weird and suspicious, she said, ”I’m not a creep or anything, I was just at a party, and my friend called the game and…yeah. You were running.” Usually that was a give away to someone being a robber. Darn, she got far. However, this only made Nell’s suspicions grow, unsure of whether the girl had actually been at the party.