WHO Carmina Thorne OT Alex Knight
WHAT A restless Carmina stumbles upon her older sister while exploring her mansion.
WHERE Alex & Seth's home
WHEN July 30th 2016; sometime after 12am
WARNINGS TBD
The house was perfect, Alex and Seth were more than nice, she was safe, Chicago was miles away, and her family was all nearby for the first time in probably a decade. There was nothing for Carmina to complain or stress about, not really, but still, she couldn’t sleep. She was running on fumes, should have fallen asleep the moment her head hit the pillow tired, but instead all her mind could do was replay the dinner conversation on a loop. If that wasn’t occupying her mind, it drifted to the bridal store, her fiance, and her utter lack of direction going forward in her life.
It was enough to ensure she’d never sleep again, really.
Huffing out a sigh, she rolled over and reached for her phone on instinct. When her hand came up empty on the bedside table she scrunched up her face and roughly pressed it into the pillow, wishing like hell she could let out a scream. The memories of the last week came flooding back again and before she could think better of it, Carmina flipped back the duvet and slipped out of bed.
Who needed sleep anyway?
She paced back and forth, tugging at the hem of the sleep shirt Alex had given her. While the pajamas her sister lent her fit just fine, Carmina felt weird wearing them. Like an imposter trying to sneak into a late night showing of the hottest new movie. It made her itchy and suddenly the room felt suffocating, with its beautifully decorated and carefully curated furniture. Beautiful things were Carmina’s jam, they should have made her feel right at home, but there was a deep unsettlement living under her skin. And when that unsettlement came, she knew just what to do: run.
Or… at least flee the bedroom that was suddenly suffocating and find somewhere else to rest for the time being.
Carmina found herself padding down the hall, her eyes drawn to every new design element but not fully registering each one. When she wasn’t dead on her feet and tormented by unseen demons she would slowly walk the halls and take in every square inch with the devotion and reverie it deserved but for the moment… for the moment just walking was good enough. It was enough distraction that she felt like maybe, just maybe, by the time she found herself back in that bedroom again she’d actually be able to sleep.
At least until she turned a corner and found soft light coming through the crack of an open door. Unable to resist, she pressed forward and lightly pushed on the door, peeking inside. When she spotted her sister one of the knots tied up in her stomach loosened and Carmina could have cried. She hadn’t realized just how much she needed to know she wasn’t alone until she was looking at Alex.
“Sissy?” She whispered, feeling small and fragile and hesitant to disturb her reading sister. It was almost like she was a little kid again, tugging at one of her older sister’s shirts for attention. Carmina wasn’t big on that particular time machine. “Do you have a few minutes?”