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 Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:49 am
Quote: Webs have begun to appear all over Destiny City at an alarming pace; at first it doesn’t seem like anything to be concerned with—at first. Maybe a web over a window or door frame is the worst you see, but there have been reports of webs that cover a whole tree or even entire cars. The media cites changing weather patterns and, even though you don’t see any spiders, it’s clear you might have a problem.
But, unfortunately for her she had to be outside today, she had to talk to Leander about what they could do for Kelly, because Kelly still didn’t seem to be getting any better…and Dad was getting more and more angry…and Charlotte had no idea what to do to fix anything. She found her brother’s car and got into it, sighing in relief. “Hey! Thanks for meeting with me. Sometimes I think you forget about us when you don’t show up or anything.”
The teen leaned over and gave her brother a hug, grinning for a moment, before remember why she had showed up to talk to him.
“Hey, Lee? Have you talked to Kelly lately? She’s…she’s really been getting worse I think…and Dad is…well…he’s not making anything better…but she’s not eating much at all and I’m starting to just get really worried…even…before she would let me hang around, because you know. I wanted to make sure that she’s okay, but now she keeps locking herself in her room and I don’t know what to do.”
Obviously. That was why she was here visiting her brother. Because he was older and wiser than she was. And clearly he would know what to do.
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:44 am
Leander was reclining in the driver’s seat when Lottie climbed into the car; he kept glancing out his window at the mirror, squinting at something.
“I’d show up more if Dad didn’t threaten to call the cops any time he saw a yellow bug driving around the neighborhood,” he mused. “…Like I’m some sort of hooligan or something, up to no good, so I can’t even hang out with my precious baby sisters.”
He turned away from his window and flashed her a smile, hooking his arm around her to give her a tight squeeze.
When he released her, he asked, “Do you mind if we take a drive while we talk? I have to get to the car wash. These webs are annoying the hell out of me. I tried scrubbing them off, but they’re resilient. And gross. I woke up this morning and my door was like, sealed shut with how stick it was. I had to roll down the window and cut my way out—which is ridiculous, and my knife is totally ruined.”
He gestured to a pocket knife that had been discarded in the back seat—covered in a few inches of thick, sticky web.
While he had asked, he didn’t really wait for an answer and instead made himself comfortable so he could start driving and just get this done with. “I’ve been texting Kelly, but she isn’t really answering me so much. Truthfully, I’ve been worried for a while now. I was thinking about dropping by but any time I sneak around, Dad’s car is parked out front. If she’s been locking her door,” he shrugged. “That’s not really a problem for me. I’ve come in through the window a good few times. You think I could drop by?” He scratched at his chin thoughtfully before he pulled his seat belt across his middle. “You don’t think she’d ignore me…do you?”
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:57 pm
Sighing, Charlotte shook her head, adjusting her glasses back to their proper position. “I don’t understand why Dad is being so awful…He’s going to end up chasing Kelly out of the house too…and I just wonder when he’s going to turn to me, you know? I wish you and him hadn’t fought…”
She looked out the window and grimaced. “Yeah. I think whatever spiders who are doing this must have mistook your bug for…you know. An actual bug.” Finally she looked back to her brother and gave a little grin. “Otherwise why would they have gotten so many webs on the car, right? I think a good washing will do it good, honestly. But…the whole city is kind of like this, so maybe they’re like the spiders in Harry Potter and we’re just all doomed.”
Nodding again, Lottie sighed. “I think she wouldn’t ignore you, no. She likes you. You’re her favorite brother…her only brother, so I mean, that automatically makes you the favorite…but…I don’t know. She’s just…really not herself. I don’t know what else to do, honestly. I think she would really benefit from a talk from you, maybe you could take her driving? Maybe she would eat something if you bought it for her? I can give you some of my allowance if that would help…” She just wanted her sister to be okay, and she would do whatever she could to make sure that Kelly had all the help she needed.
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:14 pm
Leander didn’t comment on Charlotte’s wish that he and their father hadn’t fought; realistically, he wished things hadn’t gotten so bad that they’d needed to fight, but he didn’t regret standing up for himself. Things were far from ideal—he was living out of his car, for example—but he was free to do what he wanted. The car was cramped, but he was making the best of it and he’d had a lot of great opportunities. Nothing that paid so much that he could comfortable afford a place to live, but he had food and gas and clothes and necessities.
“I don’t need your allowance,” he huffed. “I do get jobs, you know. I just got paid this morning. You really think she’d benefit from a drive? ...Is she learning how to drive, yet? I mean, I know she’s got her permit, you think she might have fun if I let her drive for a bit? I could always take her to go get milkshakes or something. She’s got that place that she loves—the burger joint, with the fries? They have pretty good milkshakes.”
He was musing aloud, partly bouncing ideas off of his sister and partly just trying to formulate a plan.
“Maybe she’ll open up if she can get out of the house. I know how dad’s personality can be kind of suffocating. I mean, if she wants to run way,” he gestured to the seat Lottie was taking up. “You or her, you’re both welcome. It’s not exactly a five star hotel but,” he shrugged and then, a little more seriously added, “If things ever get bad, you know I’ll take care of you. I don’t care what happens, I love you two. If you need a place to stay, I’ll work something out. I’ll rent an apartment until things calm down. I don’t want either of you two to ever be in the position I was, or to feel like you’ve got no other options or nowhere to go—because that’s not true. If you ever need anything, you let me know. And if dad’s driving you insane, I’ll come kidnap you for a few hours.”
He’d begun to drive to the car was; though his attention was focused mostly on their conversation, he couldn’t help but squint at the spiderwebs that billowed in the breeze as he drew.
He didn’t think there would be any damage to the car, but maybe he shouldn’t let someone else drive until he made sure the tires weren’t going to lock up or something due to excess webbing. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt one of his sisters, or let some Harry Potter spiders make their lives that much harder. Of course, he hadn’t seen anything strange—but, then, spiders were very small and didn’t make much noise. It probably wasn’t anything to worry about, but the idea that they could have snuck in and crawled on him while he slept made his skin crawl.
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Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 8:52 pm
“She knows how to drive a little, mom’s taken her out a few times…but I don’t think she really likes it…and I don’t know. Mom and dad don’t really seem to want to let us go out and drive, I don’t know if they think we’ll run like you did or what but…I mean, I don’t get to get my permit until March, but I’m hoping to get it as soon as possible after my birthday, and mom said that I can.”
Charlotte looked a little happier though. The thought that they would have a safe place to go if dad kept getting more and more crazy was a good one…a really good one.
“I’ll keep that in mind…and please be sure to tell Kelly that too…Hey, Lee? Why are there so many spider webs? Like…I read something about this happening in Australia or something but…it shouldn’t happen here…and I haven’t even seen any spiders so…I don’t really get it…and I know I don’t really like it at all…”
There was a hint of fear creeping into her voice as she glanced out the window through the bits of glass that weren’t covered in webs. “Do you think it’s something due to the climate change?”
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 8:23 am
Leander cast a quick lance at his sister out of the corner of his eye, but the examination was short lived; he wasn’t going to get into a car accident if he could avoid it. Firstly, because he didn’t want to hurt his sister. Secondly, he needed his car.
Thirdly, because he didn’t want to deal with the wrath of their parents, even if they weren’t exactly on speaking terms right now.
He shrugged off her question easily enough and prepared some bullshit answer. “You don’t remember last year? There weren’t as many webs, but you know spiders work fast. It’s probably a seasonal change. It’s getting colder outside so that might be triggering something. Or, I read that spiders make really strong webbing—they come together and all work as a team to make something really strong when there’s a lot of water—and it has been raining a lot. Honestly, it’s probably for the best that you haven’t seen any. I’d be freaked out if I saw a bunch of spiders getting busy. But,” he reached over to give her shoulder a squeeze. “They’re just little bugs, Lottie. I haven’t seen anything too weird and you know if something was unsafe, we’d hear about it in the news. If you’re really worried, just put out some peppermint or chestnuts or something, I think those keep spiders away?”
He didn’t know what ‘natural home remedies’ actually worked because he’d never actually tried any of them, but he hoped it would be enough to put her at ease.
“Oh—and, when you get your permit, you should come driving with me. If mom and dad don’t want to teach you or Kelly, I will. I know some really great back roads if you want to practice and get comfortable maneuvering. You think I can drop by in a little while to check on Kelly? Now you’ve got me worried about her, I want to see her soon. I know what it’s like to bottle something up, and if she doesn’t’ feel safe in the house, or if Dad’s stressing her out…”
He shrugged, almost helplessly. “I feel really bad that I’m not there for you guys. I want to make up for it however I can. I want to be there for you. Just, Dad and I really butt heads and he gets the final say on things, and he said ‘Go’, and…”
Leander shrugged. “I did.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 8:32 am
“No, I don’t remember any...any spider webs like this from last year at all.” Charlotte frowned at her brother, quite sure that he was lying, either to comfort her or because he was just that out of touch with reality...either answer made sense to her. “Anyway...I don’t think what you’re saying is the truth at all...but I appreciate you saying these things to try and make me feel better.”
The idea of learning to drive with her brother was a very good one, and Charlotte nodded, looking excited. “I would like that a lot, I think. And don’t you think dad would be angry when I’m driving perfectly when he decides that ‘it’s time’ for me to finally go out and practice?” She wasn’t a rule breaker, not by any stretch of the phrase...but there were negative feelings that continued to build against their father...especially with how he was treating Kelly...it just...you didn’t treat your children like that. It wasn’t right at all. “You are there for us though, Lee. You’re around whenever we need you...I mean...you’re here right now, and that means a lot so...don’t worry about it. You did what you have to do.”
Sighing, Charlotte looked back out the window, nodding to herself. “But please...come and see Kelly soon. She needs it.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 8:59 am
Leander scoffed when she said she thought he was making things up but all he could do was grumble something incoherent under his breath. He didn’t like to lie to her, but it wasn’t any easier watching her worry like she was.
It was easy to let the conversation progress to something else, though, and he perked up when she said she was interested in driving with him. “I don’t think dad would be mad. Maybe he’d even be proud of you for being a natural, right?”
It was easier to focus on that than the last part of what she said; while he was happy that she did feel like he was there for them, he still felt bad. He kept his distance from their father, partially for his own well being and partially because he’d straight up been kicked out. But it had been his decision not to attempt to reconcile; he just couldn’t imagine crawling back to his father to try and make amends.
“Maybe he’d get off your back some,” he suggested, but he figured it was wishful thinking at best. “…But if you ever need help or some time off, I’ve got my phone, I’ve got my car, and I’ll do whatever I can for you or Kelly. I’ve been freelancing, so I’ve got a lot of time on my hands. And I won’t ever let you down if I can help it. I’ll come see Kelly tonight or tomorrow, though, don’t worry. If I find anything out, I’ll let you know—and if you find anything out, you let me know too, deal?”
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 10:29 pm
“Deal.” Charlotte looked over at her brother and grinned, happy that they were nearly to the car wash. This conversation had been a lot of rough things to think about…but she knew that the best part of the whole thing was the fact that Leander would always have their backs…and even though she had known that without question, because obviously she was already out with him because he had her back…it was always nice to be reassured.
“I love you, big brother. I really…” She glanced out the window again, grinning a little. “I really hope that the car wash can get these webs off the car, because I want you to be able to roll the window down to get us lunch!”
That was one of the other benefits of hanging out with Leander. She could eat what she wanted with him. He would help her to take care of Kelly now, she knew that. And she was more than content. Now, if only the spider webs would go away…everything would be all right again.
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