Chapter Text
Miles doesn’t know how long he’s been staring out the window, but it must have been hours. The sky that once had been pitch black was starting to fade into the early morning. Miles was sitting in the passenger seat while Flora was in the back, he almost felt a sense of deja vu, only this time there was no arguing. He couldn’t believe they’d done it…they’d escaped.
Miles had looked back through the rearview mirror, catching a glance of Quint’s phantom lurking behind the gate. He’d been angry, angry that Miles had left, angry that he couldn’t have his way with Kate, angry because he’d lost control over them. That had made Miles freeze, if Kate and Flora hadn’t been freaking out and panicking, they would’ve seen the absolute fear in his eyes. The car ride for the most part had been silent, the radio softly playing, and nobody spoke.
Kate’s grip on the wheel hadn’t loosened and she hadn’t relaxed, her eyes frantically going from the rearview mirror to the road. Flora wasn’t any better, she’d curled herself into the backseats, making herself small. All of them were tired, and all of them were scared and on edge. Miles hadn’t missed the way Kate would glance back at Flora or how she’d look over at Miles. She was worried, clearly more worried about Flora, but still annoyingly worried.
She’d seen how he broke down in the bedroom, like hell he’d let her see him like that again. He was thankful that she’d gotten Flora and him out of the house, but that’s as far as his appreciation went. Miles knows that Flora was the only reason Kate hadn’t left him to rot, she would have left Miles alone with Quint. He stopped himself from thinking about the possibility of being stuck with him for eternity, Miles tried to shove that possibility into the darkest parts of his mind, but he couldn’t.
He would have lost complete control of himself, no longer being in charge of his own body. Miles would have died. He would have killed him.
“What’s gonna happen to us?” Flora’s voice broke through the silence, causing Miles to snap his head back. She was sitting up with her eyes casting down, picking at her fingers, looking tired and still fearful. At that moment, Miles wanted nothing more than to scoop his sister into his arms and tell her everything was going to be okay. But he couldn’t do that, how could he tell her that when he wasn’t sure what was waiting for them or what their fate would be? “I’m not sure, but…” Kate began, looking at Flora through the rearview mirror. “We can stop to get food? I’m sure we’re all hungry.” She tried smiling, Flora tried returning the smile. Kate sighed,” After that, we’ll head to my old apartment in the city. I’ll give my old roommate and your uncle a call while we’re at the dinner. I’ll figure out new living accommodations, okay?”
Flora nodded and Miles hummed, as long as he wasn't separated from Flora, everything would be fine, it’d be enough. His fingernails picked at his nail folds, he made sure blood wasn’t drawn. Soon after that, the city was bathed in sunrise emerging from the horizon. “Wow, It's pretty!” The little girl's eyes widened in wonder, a small smile creeping onto her face. He had to admit, it was a pretty site. “Maybe we should stay up to watch more sunsets, shouldn’t we Flora?” He smiled softly, Flora let out a small giggle and nodded. They may not be ok, but at least he was doing a good job of distracting her from that fact.
He turned his attention to the radio, leaning forward to change the song. Kate glanced at him but didn’t say or do anything, he flipped through stations till he found something he somewhat liked. About 10 minutes later, Kate pulled them into what he assumed was a parking lot. The building in front of them had a sign that read, “Mary’s Breakfast and Dinner, open 24 hours.”
Flora began to look excited, it was the first time she’d been anywhere outside of the Manor in years after all. “We’re gonna eat breakfast here, is that alright?” Kate asked, anxiously looking back and forth between both children.”Okay!” Flora gives her a slight grin, and Kate nods, turning towards Miles. They didn’t have many options, he seriously doubted that other places were open at this hour. “Ok.” He muttered he didn’t miss the way Kate sighed in relief, annoying.
Miles unbuckled his seatbelt, and quickly made his way out of the car. He opened the door for Flora as they waited on Kate. When she emerged from the car, seemed a bit more put together, her hair was less frizzy and she looked a little more relaxed while holding her purse. She began leading them towards the building with a payphone nearby, Miles following close behind with Flora holding his hand. The breakfast and dinner wasn’t much, there were a couple of tables and booths, the kitchen, and a register behind a counter.
They were quickly settled at a table near the window, handed menus by the waitress. His eyes scanned through the options, he almost wanted to laugh. The majority of the meals that were on there would have earned him some sort of scolding from Mrs.Grose, but she was dead now. Miles didn’t register when the waitress came back, the thing that brought him back to reality was the soft poke of Flora’s finger on his arm.
“What are you going to order Miles?” He felt another poke, both Kate and the waitress were staring at him. “Whatever you’re having!” He smiled, poking her back, earning a laugh from Flora. “And I’d also like a coffee.” He wasn’t going to get any sleep, that much was clear. The coffee would give him a bit of a boost, he’ll need the energy.
Flora was the first to get her drink, she ordered a lemonade. It turned out Kate had also ordered a coffee, as much as he disliked the governess, he couldn’t blame her for needing the energy. She’d been driving for most of the night.
Miles added a couple of Creamers and sugar to his coffee, he liked sweet stuff, sue him, he’d win anyway. After taking a couple of sips, he rested his head on his arms. His sister had occupied herself with drawing on the kids menu while Kate rummaged through the purse. After a minute, she pulled out a small slip of paper and a couple of quarters and dimes..” I’ll go make the calls now.” Kate began, Miles glanced up at her and Flora had stopped coloring. “Will you two be fine for a couple of minutes? I’ll be outside by the payphone near the entrance.” Flora went back to coloring,” We’ll be fine!” She chirped,” Sure.” Miles buried his face back into his arms. He heard the sound of Kate rising from her seat and walking towards the door.
Kate quickly made her way to the payphone, pulling out the coins from her pocket. She was thankful that Flora had calmed down and that Miles wasn’t being difficult, but how was she going to explain this to their uncle and Rose? If she told either of them the truth, they’d send her to the same mental hospital as her mother.
After a bit she came up with a believable excuse, Mrs.Grose had fallen from the second floor while cleaning, and the children had found the body. This added to the trauma from their parents' deaths, that it would be better for the children to leave the property. She’d panicked and left in a hurry without calling the police. It wasn’t solid but, hopefully, it’d be believable enough. She dialed the number labeled Henry Fairchild, anxiety eating at her as the phone rang. After a bit, someone picked up.”Hello? Who is this?” A male voice came through the speaker, Kate tried to swallow her nerves down.
“This is Kate Mandell, Flora’s governess.” She waited for recognition, and the voice over the phone hummed.
“There’s been an accident.”
“What kind of accident Miss Mandell?”
She took a deep breath,” While Mrs.Grose was cleaning, she fell from the second floor. She’s dead sir, the children found her body.” She proceeded to explain how they panicked and ran out of the house, how she’d taken them to calm down and eat a meal.
“I believe that a change in scenery would be good for them.”
He agreed, and they discussed her payment and the Fairchild siblings' new living accommodations. She was concerned about the size of the apartment, there wouldn’t be enough space for everyone. They’ll cross that bridge when they get there, he gave her guardianship over the kids. He didn’t even want to talk to them, Henry probably didn’t even pay much attention to the conversation.
After 10 minutes, she hung up. That was easier than she expected. Kate looked at the ground, and all that was left was Rose. She probably was still sleeping, she didn’t want to wake her up yet. Kate sighed, she’d call her later before they left, besides the food was almost ready.
She turned and walked back into the breakfast and dinner. Flora was still drawing, while Miles was taking a sip of his coffee. Both of them looked tired, Miles more than Flora. She probably wasn’t any better, but they all had quite a night. She got closer to the table, Miles snapped his head towards her, then proceeded to tell Flora that she was back. Flora gave Kate a small smile and waved at her, Kate gave her a little wave back.
“What did he say?” Miles asked, motioning towards the payphone outside. She sat down,” Well, he gave me custody. I’ll be taking care of you two from now on.” Flora seemed to light up while Mile’s expression neutralized, she then proceeded to explain the cover-up story, making sure both of them understood they had to stick to it. No one would believe them about the ghosts.” I didn’t get a chance to call my roommate, but I’ll call her after we eat okay?” Both of them nodded, they were being cooperative, which made her relax a bit more.
An omelet and two plates of pancakes were placed in front of them, along with some eggs and bacon. The sister poured syrup onto her plate while her brother spread butter, before drowning his pancakes. Flora talked about all kinds of things, Kate occasionally joined the conversation, and Miles only nodded. He’s been quiet, too quiet. After they finished eating, she told them to wait inside and use the bathroom if they needed to. She once again made her way to the payphone, no slip of paper in hand. By now, the run was rising
She dialed her number and waited. After a while, she heard a familiar voice that she missed. “Hello? Not to be rude or anything to whoever is on the other end but, why the fuck are you calling me at 6 in the morning?” A woman’s groggy voice rang in her ears, Kate felt a warm smile grow on her face. “Sorry Rose, I know how much you love sleeping in.”
The Phone went quiet for a bit,” Kate?” She laughed a happy, sad thing. “Yeah, it's me.” Squeals blast out of the phone,” It's been a while! Are you finally moving back yet?” Rose asked in a jokingly yet hopeful tone.
”Yeah, I am.” She smiled.
” Wait! Really? Like you’re actually moving back.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m calling about.”
“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to say that!” She could tell Rose was beaming from her tone of voice, a warm feeling spread through Kate, and she couldn’t help but beam too.
“I was wondering if I could bring the kids too.” She bit her lip, she called to complain about the children on multiple occasions, so she knew that Rose’s opinion on the Fairchilds probably wasn’t a good one. “What, why?” She sounded confused and there was another emotion that she couldn’t decipher. “ They made your life a living hell, didn’t they?” Kate looked towards the Breakfast and dinner. “Rose listen, they’re not as bad as I made them out to be those first weeks. I got to know them a little bit better, Flora’s a sweet girl, but Miles. He’s a bit difficult but I’m sure he’s a good kid on the inside.”
“Hm.”
Kate could tell by the hum that Rose didn’t believe her, she inhaled sharply,” Rose, their caretaker just died, she had an accident while cleaning and fell from the second floor. They saw her body, and they couldn’t stay there anymore.” She felt bad for covering Mr.Grose’s death but Flora and Miles had seen the body despite her best attempts at shielding it from them. Not to mention previous trauma and events, she honestly felt bad for all their suffering. Rose had gone quiet.
“Oh god.” Rose sounded horrified. “Rose.” Kate’s voice softened. “Please let them stay at the apartment till we figure everything out, please Rose please.”, the phone went silent.
“Ok, they can stay as long as they need to. I really miss you, Kate.” Her voice finally came through, and the governess sighed in relief. “I miss you too Rose.” And she meant it, she wanted to be near Rose again. She missed how things used to be between them before she left for the Manor. After a couple more minutes of catching up, she hung up the phone.
Maybe Rose had been right, she never should have left the school.