Chapter 1
Summary:
You return home, after ten years you come back to a place very different than when you had left it.
Chapter Text
The call was at six in the morning. You were just brewing your morning coffee, when your phone rang. Your mothers number flashed across the screen, startling you. Your mother… she didn't call that often. Not after you left, it was awkward to say the least. She usually sent cards for your birthday and the holidays, talking over the phone made you both emotional. The wounds were still far too fresh, but you were slowly making progress to be closer again.
To have her calling you at such a random time and this early was odd, and it made your gut swirl with anxiety as to what the reason for this call could be. It had to be important for her to call you like this.
You picked it up and answered.
The next words you heard after your hello almost caused you to drop your cell phone.
“Bugs… Gran is really sick. I think it is best that you come home and see her.”
After that everything was a blur, you don't remember packing anything or talking to your boss about an extended leave. All you remember is suddenly being behind the wheel and driving home, to where your parents lived six hours away from your apartment. You haven't been back to your parents house in years, when you were twenty years old you moved away with your fiancé. Your parents didn't approve of your choice to marry him after only knowing him for so little time.
You were infatuated with him, he promised so many things to you. He had painted such a beautiful future with him, you were excited to start a new life outside of the farm. Your parents had protested, telling you not to do this. A divide grew between the three of you, your sister stood and watched from the sidelines not sure how to help.
No one was on your side, it seemed like no one could see the love the two of you had for one another. Your father tried to argue that he wasn't to be trusted, that you were making a mistake. You didn't believe him, refusing to listen to them. You were so distraught that your parents couldn't support you that when your lover offered to move far away from their judgment that you took the leap and ran with him.
If only you had listened to them…
The drive was long, all you had were your memories of home and the anxious thoughts of the conversations that would most likely happen. Your parents most likely only invited you for your Gran Gran. You doubted they wanted you there, you wouldn't blame them though. You were an asshole at the time when you left.
You would hate you too.
What you did damaged the relationship you had with your family. It was very unlikely that much could be rekindled, you hoped that you could atone for your mistakes and be close with your family again. You wouldn't hold your breath, though. There was a lot to unfold from the years you spent with your ex-husband; the lies, the pain, the betrayal… the loss. It was a lot to go over with them.
If they would listen.
____
Your car rolls up the driveway and slowly crawls up the gravel road that winds through the thick woods to.your parents property. The sun's rays were blocked by the outreaching limbs, leaves hiding your view of it. The woods hadn't changed a bit since you left and it felt like you'd never left. Your emotions were all over the place, your eyes watered as the memories of your childhood caused regret to pool up within.
You wished you had never left here.
You made your bed and laid in it, you had to live with your choices. There was no changing what you did. Nothing could change the past.
Even if you wanted it to.
You spotted the house and slowed down until you rolled to a halt, parking your car behind a few other vehicles you didn't recognize. Your parents must have got new ones while you were away for five years. They weren't exactly your parents' style though; a large white SUV, A black Charger, a beat-up chevy truck, and then your parents' vehicles they had when you left. It was quite a wide range of cars, did they have visitors?
You slipped out from your car and looked around as you shut the driver door. The farm was silent, the lights were out in the house. It was odd, usually your parents were inside at this time. You received a text that they were home, Gran had been released to spend time at home after the diagnosis. She would discuss it with you when you arrived.
Yet you didn't see anyone.
A noise from the stables had you turning to the source, they must be doing chores late? That was the only explanation that you could think of at the moment. Your feet lead you down the familiar path to the source of the noise and the smell of horse shit and hay hits you instantly making you cringe. Though it wasn't unwelcome, you never thought you'd miss this smell but you had. You gagged just for thinking you missed horse shit, gross!
The horses were in their stalls, eating their feed, content with their lives. You saw familiar and new faces in the stalls, happy to see the horses you raised still here. They watched you as you walked past them, Dolly approached but stayed cautious.
You smiled at your horse, seeing her again made you feel nostalgic as you remembered all the good times during your shows with her-
Your foot caught on something hard under the hay, your body turning against your ankle as pain shot through your leg and down your foot. A cry of pain leaving your mouth as you stumbled and fell over what had tripped you. You fell onto your side as you landed rather roughly on your chest and hip.
You instantly went to grab your ankle as you grunted curses, hissing in pain that throbbed within your ankle. You used your good foot to kick at whatever tripped you, expecting a tool of some kind.
You were met with a grunt instead.
You stilled as the hay gave way, a figure rose out of it and grew to a size you haven't seen on a person before. Your eyes traveled up their body, over their clothes and up to their face which made you pale at the sight.
There was a skeleton standing above you.
The two of you stared at each other, neither reacting.
Then you screamed.
Chapter 2
Summary:
Meeting new faces as well as old ones. An emotional reunion and awkward conversations. You missed a lot while you were gone.
Notes:
Hello again! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I apologize if it seems rushed, I am trying to introduce everyone before really getting into the plot. More backstories to come soon as more chapters get written!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
You screamed so loud it scared everyone on the farm, causing them all to run over and see who screamed and what the commotion was about. Your parents rounded the corner with two more skeletons on their heels. Your mother looked scared for whoever had screamed but seemed relieved when she saw it was just you.
“Bugs? What's wrong? Why did you scream?” Your mother asked while she walked over to assess you, she noted your wince as her hand passed over your swelling ankle and quickly pulled your pants leg up to evaluate the damage.
“The-that skeleton! It appeared from the hay. It startled me!” Your mother looked at the skeleton who looked uncomfortable and a little guilty, it had been the reason you had fallen and screamed in the first place. You were able to get a better look at him. He wore an orange sweater under a fur jacket, black cargo pants with dirty combat boots.
“WHISKEY!” A booming voice sliced through the air, a skeleton shorter than the first skeleton, you now knew as Whiskey, stomped towards the lanky monster and jabbed his pointer finger against his sternum with a frustrated look. The smaller skeleton was annoyed at him, causing Whiskey to look anywhere but at the shorter skeleton clad in a black and purple suit. While he tried to hold a relaxed and non-schlant stance, he was tense and guilt flashed in his sockets.
“WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT SLEEPING ON THE HAY? YOU'LL SCARE SOMEONE OR ACCIDENTALLY TRIP THEM! YOU'RE LUCKY IT WASN'T GRETCHEN WHO TRIPPED, CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT HARM THAT COULD HAVE DONE?” The smaller skeleton loudly exclaimed. At the mention of this person, his body slouched, and looked down at his boots.
“look, i’m sorry ok? it won't happen again.” He mutters, clearly annoyed at being yelled at but he seems to also have regret and guilt in his voice. Whoever this Gretchen was, she was important to them.
“It Better Not.” He growls before he strides towards you and your mother. Your mother moves aside and this skeleton looks over your leg, eyeing your ankle as he tries to assess the damage caused by your tripping.
“How bad is it Sable? Is it a sprain? Is it broken?” Your mother asks the skeleton named Sable. His name fit him well, he wore a suit of black with a purple button-up beneath it with a golden chain necklace that hung around his neck, dangling down as he leaned over to check you for more than one injury on your person.
“Just Twisted It Seems, No Signs Of A Break Or A Bad Sprain.” Sable answers as he plants his carpal bones along your ankle and shin, making you wince as you feel his grip tighten ever so lightly before he grows concentrated and you feel a tingling sensation along your lower leg. Your eyes widen in awe as glowing green emits from his metacarpals.
Green magic, you had heard about this type of magic but didn’t know much about it. News articles spoke of green magic having healing properties, able to heal any wound and break with ease. Sable looked to be growing tired quickly, purple beads of sweat appeared along his skull as he grit his teeth and pushed through the exhaustion to heal the twisted ankle. Whiskey seemed to grow concerned for Sable, as Sable's skull bobbed forward slightly Whiskey quickly removed his phalanges from your ankle and held him up as he slouched back against him.
Ribs heaving in exhaustion, his maroon eye lights dim, Whiskey scolds him quietly. You only heard small bits and pieces of the conversation, you assumed he was upset that he had pushed himself so hard.nYou were so focused on the two that you hadn’t noticed the other skeleton approach. You look up after a large shadow cast over you, Your head craned back to look them in the eye and your eyes widened at the sight.
This skeleton was by far the tallest of them, and he was wider than the other two. His bones seemed thicker and if he were to be human you assumed he would be quite muscular as he seemed to have an outline similar to that along his arms and shoulders. He wore a red plaid button-up with dark green overalls covering most of his body. You wanted to cower away as unease bloomed within you, his sheer size not only made you uneasy but the fact he was somehow alive with a large gaping hole in his skull sent shivers down your spine. Splintering cracks from the hole in his head etched down through his socket and down near his mouth.
He caught you staring and a grin that was anything but friendly was returned your way. “y’know, it’s rude t’ stare.” He stated a rumbled growl accompanying his words. You scrambled to apologize but you couldn’t make any noise, nothing could leave your mouth, except for a small whimper. His sockets narrow down at you, the large single red orb glaring at you before he clicks his tongue in annoyance and turns to leave for the house.
You felt bad, you didn’t mean to stare but to see him able to move around without any pain from the gaping hole made you wonder how monsters' magic worked. The fact he wasn’t a pile of dust was fascinating but also terrifying. Maybe you could ask him after apologizing for upsetting him, that would come late though.
“Let’s get you inside and clean up.” Your mother helps get you to your feet, you’re surprised at her strength to get you on your feet and help support you. You expected your leg to give out as you put weight on it. It was sore, but other than that you could walk ok. You stared in wonder at youR foot, in awe of the magic that healed it. Your eyes look to Sable once more to try and thank him, but your mother was already herding you towards the house to get cleaned up.
The house hadn’t changed a bit, the inside of your childhood home was the same as it was the day you left five years ago. The smell was still comforting, it made your chest clench in guilt and if you hadn’t pushed the tears away you would have cried right then and there. You kept it all in though. Your mother brought you into the living room and sat you on the couch, she told you to stay and went back out the way you came in. You weren’t sure where she was going but you stayed put just as she ordered.
While waiting you took the time to look around, eyes roaming across old and new framed photos that lined the walls. You recognized the ones with your younger sister but someone else with her. A young man and a small bundle in her arms, the next photo was her alone with a toddler in her arms. The toddler looked so much like your sister and mother but you could also see some similarities of the man in the earlier photo in the toddlers' features.
Did your sister have a kid?
The realization that you missed seeing your sister have a kid hung heavy on you. You ball your hands up into fists, nails biting into your palms as the frustration peeks again. You had missed out on so much! You didn’t get to see your sister have her kid, your Gran Gran had grown older and got sick, there were new people on the farm to help out, everything was changing! You cursed under your breath, grabbing at your hair as the tears just kept falling.
You were the worst, you didn’t blame your parents for not wanting to talk to you. It was clear they only wanted you here because your Gran Gran was sick, other than that you doubted they wanted you here. You didn’t deserve to be here, not after all the trouble you caused.
You didn’t deserve forgiveness.
“Bugs?”
Your head snapped up seeing your mother standing in the doorway, her expression was sad with her brows furrowed with concern. She watched you with a frown as you quickly released the tension in your hands to feel the nails retreat from your palm. Pain stinging them but you wiped your palms along your pants nervously.
“Ma, I’m-“You felt your throat tighten as you resist the urge to cry, you couldn’t do that in front of her. Not when you didn’t deserve to cry, you had your time to mourn your lost relationship. You look up at your mother with misty eyes before you finally muster the courage to say what you needed to say.
“I’m sorry, Ma, for what I did.” You turn your gaze down in shame, expecting her to retaliate with her usual berating for your irrational decisions. You wanted to hear those familiar words in hopes that you could hear what you needed to. That you were wrong, that you didn’t deserve to be forgiven for abandoning everyone for so long. You waited for the same anger you had experienced that night you left.
“I know you are, what happened is in the past. You’re here now, aren’t you Bugs? That’s all that matters.” Her response was not at all what you had expected. You whipped your head up to look her in the eyes. She had tears threatening to fall as her bottom lip wobbled all while her lips turned up in a smile.
“I’m just happy that you are home.” You didn’t know how you would respond to her words that night. You didn’t have to say anything though, she opens her arms to welcome you into them. You don’t hesitate to accept her embrace, her arms squeeze you against her body and hold you close. Her fingers card through your hair to calm you as she did so many times when you were younger. She didn’t let go of you while you two remained in the embrace.
“It’s ok, bugs. It breaks my heart to see you this way, I forgive you. Your Pa and I forgive you, your sister missed you. Gran forgives you. We love you, honey. More than you think.” She firmly, yet softly, murmurs into your hair. You break down, her reassurement that they weren’t going to hate you brought you to relieved tears. For once, you didn’t feel like shit as you cried. Burying your face into your mothers shoulder as she shushes you softly. Whispering against your temple as she hugged you closer and squeezed you reassuringly.
It took a while for you to calm down enough to face your mother, wincing at the wet spots on her shirt from your crying. Likely she’d need a new shirt as you got all of your disgusting crying on her, some snot as well as probable, and the thought had you wiping your face with the tissues your mother offers once you’re calmed down enough to finally speak.
“Ma… I'm sorry for leaving. For abandoning the family, for leaving the farm, for going off with him. I shouldn’t have, but I was blinded by love. I thought-“ You pause to keep the tears back, “ I thought that he loved me as much as I loved him. He wasn’t the man I thought he was, I should have just stayed home like you and Pa wanted.” You regretted everything, these past five years of hell with your ex made you realize just how wrong you were to leave.
“Bugs, as much as I want to rewind time, to have you stay home and never leave. I can’t do that. You are an adult and you had a choice, you made a bad choice but that’s part of life. Mistakes happen, and they suck, I know because I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. We have to learn and grow from them. What matters now is that you are here, that you are here and you learned from the mistake.” Your mother's eyes grow misty again, a watery smile and a small relieved laugh followed. “I’m just glad that you are home.”
You smiled in return, leaning into her again as she hugged you. Her embrace was warm, comforting as it always was. You missed her, you missed home, you missed everything about the farm.
You were home.
The moment was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. The two of you parted and looked to see who came in. The large skeleton from earlier, with the missing part of his skull, stood looking awkward. His head tilted down in a bashful manner. He must have not wanted to ruin the moment but it was obvious he needed to say something important.
“cedar just finished with dinner, they told me to come and get the two of ya before all the food was gone.” He didn’t meet your gaze, instead he found the wall to be more interesting than the two of you. Your mother let out a small chuckle and wiped her tears away with a tissue, smiling at Hickory before thanking him.
“Thank you, Hickory. We will be ready in a few.”
He nods, his eyelight passing over you as he turns and leaves, leaving the two of you alone.
“We better listen to him, he isn’t kidding about the food getting eaten up. With so many mouths to feed the food goes quickly.” She stood and took your hand to help you hobble out to the kitchen. You wiped your face again, cleaning the sticky trails of tears away. No doubt you looked like a mess, you didn’t care though. This was your family.
You were just happy to be back.
The dining room was on the other side of the kitchen, the only way to get there was to pass through the kitchen. You followed into the kitchen with your mother and were hit with a wonderful smell. Various aromas hit you all at once, you could smell what was being cooked. You could smell the vegetables cooking, greasy fried chicken as it bubbled in the fryer and the cookies baking. Your stomach grumbled at the wonderful aroma and you hadn’t realized till now just how hungry you were. Six hours of driving with only stopping once for a bathroom break will do that to you.
You hadn’t realized who was cooking until you saw them. A skeleton taller than Hickory stood up from checking the food and taking out the vegetables from the second oven. They turned to you and a large smile curled across their skull, pink braces lining the top and bottom of their sharp, misshapen teeth. Their voice was as loud as Sables, something you weren’t expecting, and winced slightly at the volume. They wore what looked to be sage green handmade overall shorts, a black tank top covering their ribs, and sandals slid over their feet. Perched on their nose bridge was a pair of wire frame glasses that had a glasses chain chain that strapped onto the frames and hooked around their neck to keep it in place.
“HELLO! YOU MUST BE GRANT AND IMOGENE'S OLDEST! IT'S SO GREAT TO MEET YOU FINALLY! I'M CEDAR! I COOK MOST OF THE MEALS FOR THE FARM, I ALSO DO THE GARDENING. IMOGENE HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO SINCE HER KNEE SURGERY SO I'VE BEEN HELPING OUT WHERE SHE CAN’T! OH, SILLY ME! I FORGOT THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF GREETING SOMEONE NEW.”
You watched as they stepped closer in only a few steps and bent down to take your hand, you expected a handshake but instead were greeted with a bump of their teeth against your knuckles. Your cheeks feel warm as you blush over the fact they had kissed your knuckles. Not expecting this action, you sputter as you try to say hello in return but fail to form any words. A small ‘mwah’ could be heard from Cedar before standing back up to their full height, they put a hand against your back as well as your mother's and ushered you to your seats, urging the both of you to sit.
“NOW, YOU BOTH RUN ALONG AND TAKE YOUR SEATS SO I DON'T ACCIDENTALLY TRIP OVER ONE OF YOU AND BURN DINNER.” The state. You did what was asked, sitting across from Hickory who sat with his face down towards his hands where he had a small wooden figure in his hands, he held it like it was fragile. He seemed lost in thought, staring down at the carved-out wood. From closer inspection of the figure, you realized it was a fox. It looked so real, the careful details carved delicately along its form.
“Did you make that?” Your question jolted him from his stare, he looked at you with his large eyesight and stared at you for a moment as he processed what you said. His eyelight slowly relaxed and became hardened as he seemed to finally catch up to what you asked.
“yeah, made it for gigi.” He answered, not saying anything else. You weren't sure who Gigi was, though you weren’t left wondering for very long.
“Bear Bear!” Hickory beamed at the voice that called out, a short little figure barreling into the kitchen and past Cedar straight into Hickory’s welcoming arms. He hugged the small girl who squealed in joy and hugged him back, you couldn’t help but smile at the display. The scene was contagious and the joy from the two of them seemed to affect everyone else in the room.
Sable walked in after her, Whiskey not far behind, as well as a familiar face you recognized to be your sister. Harlow paused at the door and stared at you, you did the same. Your eyes locked on her. She changed so much these past couple of years. She looks so mature now. She also seemed tired, bags under her eyes and she looked older than she was.
“hey there, gigi. how was pre-k? were you good for the teach?” Hickory asks Gigi who nods and starts to explain her day to him. You tuned out most of the conversation, instead, you stayed focused on Harlow. She broke her stare and instead walked towards Sable to whisper to him who in return nodded. He got up from his seat and allowed her to sit there while he moved to sit in the empty seat to the right of you.
“And then I met this awesome girl! She’s so much fun! We played all kinds of games outside and she even invited me to come over sometime. It was a great first day!” You caught the end part of the conversation, Hickory grinned at her proudly for making a new friend.
“m glad that you had fun, gigi. as promised, here’s your reward.” He hands her the fox and she lets out a loud gasp and stares at it with joy and wonder before squealing in excitement and loudly repeating ‘thank you’ over and over, elated over the gift Hickory gifted to her. She hugged him again and the skeleton chuckled, patting her back and helping her back down to her feet before encouraging her to sit down next to her mother.
“Gretchen, honey, please don’t get this covered in food like the last one. I don’t want to have it stinking as bad as the last one.” Harlow says as she helps Gretchen, who you assume to be her daughter, into the chair. She sits on her knees and she simply replies with, “K!” In response to your sister, more interested in the wood carving than what her mother had to say.
Everyone is chatting, talking about their day or how Gran Gran was doing. You simply sat in silence and listened, not sure how to add to the conversation or if you would be welcomed in. Your father joins the table, ruffles Gretchen’s hair, hugs Harlow, and kisses your mother. When he saw you, he quickly embraced you and whispered to you quietly. “Welcome home, Bugsy.”
Cedar joins you guys shortly after your father seats himself, they set everything in the middle of the table and tell everyone to dig in. Dinner was delicious but you still couldn’t help but feel awkward. So you listened to everyone, wanting to learn about everyone here. Especially the new roommates. You learned that Cedar and Hickory were siblings, they were cousins with Sable and Whiskey who were also related.
Hickory worked as a carver, he carved wood to help make money and did a lot of commissions for people in the area. He was also a woodcutter, he chopped down trees too. Any work was welcome in those areas, money was money. Especially since the farm was struggling. According to your father, work has become slow. While this happened now and then, this season was extra slow making money hard to come by so they all started to take on odd jobs.
You felt like an outcast, you didn’t feel that you fit in. Everything was so different, everyone had changed. Gretchen asked who you were and when they mentioned that you were her aunt she seemed to grow shy at your questions. You didn’t blame her, you were practically a stranger to her. To everyone here.
When your plate was clean, you put it in the sink and excused yourself to your room. Your parents tried to get you to stay but you insisted that you were just tired. Sleep would do you some good when in reality you just wanted to be alone. You didn’t want to get upset in front of them again. You didn’t need to embarrass yourself further. They all bid you goodnight, you simply waved and headed to your room.
It hadn’t changed a bit, everything was as you had left it. You didn’t bother to change and simply crawled into bed after your shoes were kicked off and you were stripped down to your undergarments. You laid down and pulled the covers over yourself, curling under them, and allowed yourself to be alone. Silent tears flowing until sleep claims you finally.
You didn’t dream that night.
Even in your sleep, you were alone.
Notes:
Again thank you all for your support and lovely comments! If you have any critiques please do not hesitate, I welcome constructive criticism! Till next time!
- Rowan
Chapter 3
Summary:
You have quite the day, emotions are high and you have to deal with the problems that come with your decision all those years ago.
Chapter Text
Getting ready for the day was tough, you had to raid your closet for something decent to wear, having forgotten to grab your bags out of your trunk the day before. Yesterday was rather rough and from how you felt so far, you had a suspicion that today was going to be about the same. Crying yourself to sleep wasn’t the best idea, you woke up feeling like shit.
A shower helped fix most of it but you still felt like shit. Every part of you felt sluggish and stiff. Though, to be fair, you haven’t slept on this mattress in ages and it may have messed up your back. A hot shower was relaxing and got rid of some of the stiffness, the next thing was to dress yourself. The clothes you happened to find were ones you wore a few years back. They were sufficient for now, until you could get your bags out of your car.
You descended the stairs, boots thumping with each step. As you neared the bottom of the staircase you caught a whiff of breakfast cooking. Fuck, that was one thing you definitely missed. Breakfast made by Ma was the best! You were quick to go down the last few steps and headed straight for the kitchen, wanting to get there on time to get a plate for yourself before you started on chores.
You paused after you entered the kitchen, not expecting to see Hickory cooking. He turned at the sound of you entering, his large eyelight looking you up and down. As if he was judging your appearance, before looking back at the task at hand. He stirred the egg mixture, scrambling them into smaller pieces as the heat cooked them. The smell you got earlier was the large plate of pancakes, bacon, sausage, and hash browns. You eyed the food, hunger gnawing at your gut. You were definitely hungry now, especially with this food smelling as good as it looked.
“I didn’t take you as the type who cooked.” You joked, hoping to lighten the mood. He just stared at you in response. You nervously laughed and rubbed at the back of your neck as his sockets narrowed before he turned back to the eggs at hand, relief flooding you at the awkward moment ending.
“wasn’t sure what you liked. i made just about everything that i could find to cook. I hope you like a simple breakfast.” Hickory’s voice was soft, yet his words rumbled in his chest like rolling thunder. You felt from each word he spoke, a rumble in your own chest. It sent a shiver through you, not expecting his voice to be so low. It was soothing in a way.
“Oh, this is fine. I’m not all that picky, I’ll eat just about anything.” That statement alone seemed to make him perk up and look surprised, he opened his mouth and wanted to say something but instead nodded with a hum before refocusing back on the eggs.
“breakfast will be done in a few.” He didn’t say anything else after that, he wasn’t much of a talker it seemed. You walked over to the dining table after his silence, finding Cedar and Whiskey already seated. Your parents must have been with Gran Gran, but Sable? You weren’t quite sure where he was, he was still a mystery to you. He didn’t talk all that much to you except for last night. You haven’t seen him since yesterday, you wanted to thank him for healing you. You would have to wait and thank him later whenever you crossed paths.
Cedar greets you first, grinning at you and waving ecstatically. Their sockets seem to glimmer excitedly, they beckon you to sit beside them. You smile and move to the other side of the table to sit beside the tall skeleton. They were a sweetheart, their smile contagious. It was warm and inviting, compared to the looks that all the others have given you so far.
Whiskey was focused on the small device in his large hands, it looked to be an old gameboy. You were surprised to see that it was still in working condition compared to the last time you had played it. You were a teen when you last played it, and remembered it had stopped working years ago. The faded stickers on it confirmed that it was in fact yours,
“You fixed it?” You ask. Whiskey looked up at you from the gameboy, his brow bone raising in question at your answer.
“yeah, it was an easy fix. it was still in good condition,” he paused, “ your parents said it used to be yours. since you weren’t here they offered it to me. do you want it back?” He offers it back, sounding hesitant, as he holds it out for you to take back.
You mull it over, you haven't used it in years. Your parents had kept it just in case you wanted it for your future kids, but ever since the divorce you doubted you would be having a kid anytime soon. “Nah, you keep it. I trust you to take care of it.”
He looked shocked, not expecting you to let him have it. His cheeks turned amber and his head sinking into the fluff of his hoodie while he looked back at the gameboy in his hands. “thank you…” He muttered quietly, voice muffled by the hoodies fluff before he quickly went back to playing his game to tune everyone out again. You felt eyes on you, looking over you see Cedar smiling brightly. You faced them and gave them a questioning look, to which their grin widened.
“That Was Really Sweet Of You. Whiskey Is Obsessed With That Thing, He Plays It All The Time. His Brother Loathes That Device, Claiming That It Is Bad For His Brain.” They tap at their skull with a playful look. “Luckily We Don’t Really Have One To Fry In The First Place.” They let out a cute ‘nyeh’ their bubbly attitude was adorable, their laugh equally as cute.
“It’s no big deal, I mean it’s true that I haven’t used it in years and he seems to like it a lot.” You weren’t sure how to respond to what you presumed to be a joke about their lack of a brain, you opted to make an amused smile. You took a moment to look over Cedar's appearance and noted that they were wearing overalls that went all the way down to their boots. A plaid button up with pink and green colors lined across the shirt. Cedar seemed to wear lots of feminine clothes, it fit them well. Maybe you could ask them for some tips on fashion later.
The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted any other thoughts you had on the subject. Hickory walks in with plated food for all four of you, he had them held with a practiced balance. His steps calculated and confident in not dropping the breakfast. He deposited them in order. Cedar, Whiskey, you, and then his own were placed delicately on your Gran Grans handmade placemats. Everyone thanked the skeleton as he placed the plates down, you included. The smell from earlier when you first entered the kitchen returned and you couldn’t help but feel the drool building within your mouth as you were greeted with a plate decorated with delicious food piled high on everyone’s plates, though yours wasn’t as big as the others, it was still a decently large helping.
Everyone started to dig in, your fork lifted the fluffy scrambled eggs into your mouth and you were greeted with the most amazing eggs you have had before. It was just eggs but it tasted like love and care, it reminded you of the days your Gran Gran would make an early breakfast. She claimed that the reason it tasted so good was her special ingredient, you never did figure out what it was she always added in.
You didn’t even realize that you had zoned out until a hand on your shoulder jumped you out from the memory. Cedar was rubbing your shoulder and back, their expression concerned as well as their brother and cousin sharing the same look but they also looked uncomfortable. You felt embarrassment creep up and you quickly reassured that you were fine, not sure why you had started to get so emotional. You have never cried over eggs before, the only thing you could deduce it down to was the recent events of your Gran Gran falling ill.
Emotions sucked.
The rest of breakfast was awkward, you felt guilty for the atmosphere changing. As soon as you had the chance to get up and leave, you did. Plate empty, stomach full, and re-energized; you left the table and placed your dirty dishes in the sink to be washed. You thanked Hickory once again and left to get ready for the rest of the day.
You had a lot of chores to pick back up again now that you were back home, you glanced at the chores list on your way back to your room and saw the names all listed with what chores they were assigned for that day. Your eyes roamed down through the list, surprised to see the amount of chores each skeleton had. Your parents didn't have as many as you would have expected, they were workaholics. They worked day and night to keep the farm running, even when there was no demand for their products at the farmers market.
You were a little surprised that most of your chores were pawned off to Whiskey, the list you had was rather small. That stung a little, it was like they couldn't trust you to do your share of chores. You can’t help getting disheartened, your mothers comforting words last night seemed a little less warming.
You leave the house with keys in hand and head for your car, the car beeps as it unlocks. You go for the trunk and open it up, dragging your suitcase out and plop it down without much care before grabbing your other bags. You fail to notice the approaching figure as you pull everything out and shut the trunk.
“need any help?” You yelp, cursing as you throw your bag and it hits Whiskey straight in the face. He curses as well and takes a step back, rubbing at his nasal cavity while you fumble for an apology.
“damn, you got a nice swing. good thing i don’t have a nose.” He chuckles, your face is red in embarrassment as you go to pick up your bag but he beats you to it. He lifts your bag from the ground and moves to grab your other bags, you stop him by grabbing them and shaking your head.
“I can take my bags in, you shouldn’t have to help me.” You start to pick them up but struggle as you realize just how heavy they are, you grunt as you heft up the two bags under your arms and finger for the handle of your suitcase. You hear a snort from behind you, to which you pointedly glare at the grinning skeleton. He ignores your glare and grabs your suitcase before you can, his mouth curling into a grin that makes your stomach flutter at the look he gives you. While he may not have meant it in any way, the half lidded sockets and sly smile gave you butterflies.
You haven’t had that happen in a while, not since the first time you met- You push his name from your thoughts and focus back on the bag troubles you had at hand.
“I can carry them just fine!” You protest.
“uh-huh, you and i have very different definitions of ‘just fine’ then.” You grumble, huffing in defeat before letting him grab the bag like he wanted to. Victorious in the end, he leads you back to the house. You follow after with a pout, grumpy that you couldn’t even carry your bags either. It seems no one can trust you to do even the simplest of tasks today.
“you good, city slicker?” You wince at the nickname, you hated being called that.
“Fine, just thinking.” You curtly respond, missing the look he gives you.
“sure don’t look fine, you look like you’re about to cry.” His reply is blunt, your eyes glare at him as you restrain yourself from snapping at him. “it may not be any of my business, but if you ever need somewhere to escape for a little bit. you’re welcome to join me in the stables after lunch.” You stop before the porch, surprised at his offer. You had expected him to pry, but didn’t. He looks over his shoulder and gives you a raised brow.
“comin’ in city slicker?” And he ruined the moment.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming.”
After a quick change into something more fitting and comfortable you head out to start your chores. You head for the closest chore to the house, you would be working with Cedar in the garden, first. She would need assistance weeding the garden, the farm's garden was large in size and usually took two or three people to weed it. The family preferred to grow their own vegetables, it was healthier and cheaper. Whatever your family didn't use would be canned to save for later or sell at the farmers market.
With the farmers market happening in a few months, your family would need to get everything ready for it. Everyone chipped in during the farmers market, helping sell to make a little extra money when it was needed. Especially with it so close to the holidays, money was needed badly to help pay for gifts, food, and storage. You would help pitch in where you could, no matter what.
Even if they didn't seem to want your help, you needed to prove your usefulness on the farm.
Cedar was tending to the garden, they were seated on a kneeling pad. A speaker blaring music from beside them, they quickly turned it down when they spotted you approaching though. “OH HELLO! DID YOU COME TO HELP ME WITH WEEDING THE GARDEN?” They gesture for the spot next to them, you follow where they invite you to kneel. You place the pad down before kneeling and pull on the offered gloves they pulled out of their breast pocket.
The music they play is nice, it seems to be indie pop. A few artists you recognize play as you both work hard at the weeds, Cedar is quick with their hands. Their large hands grab at the roots of the weeds and effortlessly pull them out of the dirt. You try your best to copy their movements, you have little success and resort to digging the roots out.
“YOU AREN'T GRABBING THE ROOTS CORRECTLY, WATCH ME CLOSELY.” They call for your attention to demonstrate again. Their long fingers glide down and search for where the weeds' stems end just above the soil. They wrap their fingers around the base and take the other hand and put it above the other. They lean forward slightly and start to pull, they use the leverage from being on their knees to effortlessly pull out the weeds.
“NOW YOU TRY!” Their smile is encouraging, you feel embarrassed that you have to be shown something so simple again. You had pulled weeds not that long ago yet you struggled now to do so. It was pathetic, that someone who lived on a farm so long couldn't pull up any weeds. Maybe city life did ruin you. Your hands grab onto the weed and follow the demonstration that Cedar gave. You held onto the base and pulled, this was harder than you expected, it gave way slightly but barely budged.
A soft chuckle brushed against your ear, skeletal hands went over yours and held the tops of your hands as they guided you to pulling up the weed. You felt your face grow hot as warm hands took control of your movements. You watched as they grabbed the weed and your own hands, moving your hands closer to the base, then gripped and pulled.
The weed popped out and with the strength she used, you fell back against their chest. They grunt as their tailbone connects with the ground before laughing, smiling down at you. Their hands are removed from your own, that smile is adorable. You aren’t sure how to apologize for knocking the both of you over, you watch them laugh until you find yourself joining in. Laughing along with them, they chortle genuinely along with your own. Slowly you both quiet down until you are both a little breathless from the little laughing session the two of you found yourselves in.
You get up and dust off your pants before offering Cedar a hand up. They take it without hesitating and you resume the task at hand. Though it begins to dawn on you that you never did ask Cedar what they preferred to be referred to as pronoun wise. It takes some courage to muster to ask despite their kindness.
”I’m sorry, I forgot to ask earlier, but what are your preferred pronouns?” Your question about their pronouns makes them soften their expression with gratitude.
“No Need To Apologize, I Appreciate That You Asked. I Prefer Any, But I Enjoy Being Referred To As She/Her. I Feel More Feminine That Way.” She answers, you smile and nod in understanding.
”I love your outfits by the way, you have got to help me sometime. I have zero fashion sense. Do you think you could teach me?” She makes a noise similar to a snort of amusement and nodding with a grin.
Cedar was fun to hang with, you learned so much about her. She even talked about the other three and how they were adjusting to the farm. They have been here for only a few years now. Out of all the skeleton monsters, Hickory had the hardest time. Apparently he was a social recluse in the beginning. Gretchen broke him out of his shell, she was his little buddy and the giant was fiercely protective of her. Gretchen gets bullied a lot in school, being the daughter of a single parent becomes talk of the town in a small community. Word of mouth travels fast, gossip is popular amongst moms who think they are better than anyone else. Especially being a mom so young to have a baby without a father in the picture is frowned upon by many, unless the father died then it was a pity. You had scoffed at how adults act, it was no surprise that even now they still acted in such ways. Things never changed.
Next was to check and see if Harlow needed any help, though you were hesitant to even try and approach the barn that she was in. Your younger sister was helping with a baby calf, the mother had rejected her offspring so it was up to your family to try and keep the calf healthy. She was currently bottle feeding it, the adorably unsteady calf was suckling on the nib to drink up the milk with eagerness. A good sign it would be a fighter. Even as you approached, Harlow didn’t try to acknowledge you. She was solely focused on her task at hand.
You stood and watched, albeit awkwardly, you didn’t waver. She was your sister and clearly something was wrong. You stood and waited… and waited… waited…. And waited for her to speak up through the whole feeding yet she didn’t budge. You decided to try first and start to say something until she interrupted you.
”Stop it.” She snaps, you blink at her with confusion. She glares at you with hurt painted over her expression with glassy eyes, she was frustrated and looked like she could cry any second now.
”You don’t get to apologize, you left us. You hurt the farm, the family, you hurt me!” She was close to breaking down as she let you have all of her frustrations from the pain you caused. You didn’t make her stop, you let her vent till she felt like she couldn’t.
”We all wanted you to stay, to be a part of the family. Except you chose him over us! Ma and Pa fixed the mess you two left behind, they grieved for you, hoping you would come to your senses. Well, it's a little too late! You left me to be the big sister when it was your job!” Every single word was a stabbing reminder of the pain you caused. You shift nervously from one foot to the other, feeling the nagging guilt once again rear its ugly head.
”You can’t apologize until you fucking mean it. The next words you say better count.” She snaps one last time before waiting for you. It takes a long pause before you find your voice to speak up.
”I’m so proud of you.” She looked shocked to hear those, not at all expecting you to say that. “Gretchen is a near replica of you, you are an amazing role model and mother.. Far better than me. I wasn’t there when you needed me, I made mistakes but I can’t apologize yet for what I thought was right. I have to wait until you are ready.” She stares with wide, watery eyes as she breaks down to soft sobs while you watch her cry with the calf looking confused.
You couldn’t hug her when she didn’t want to, but you let her know that you are always there for her if she needs to talk with you. She just nods in response, her voice unavailable at the moment as you leave the barn to allow your sister her time alone. Your fists clenched along with angry tears building as you go to the left side of the barn to press your back to the siding as you stand there breathing heavily through the rising frustration. It built until you couldn’t hold it in anymore, you cry out in pain. Kicking at the ground as you yell out curses, the pain was too much.
You get rid of your anger the only way you see possible, releasing it. You hated being so gullible, for him being a liar, for the pain he put you through, the losses you endured, everything that he took from you. You didn’t stop until you were breathing raggedly with ripped up dirt and chunks of grass kicked around haphazardly around you. You were gasping for breath as you allowed yourself a moment to breathe, feeling your eyes water. You had so many regrets. So many things you wanted to say and do to show your family just how bad you felt for fucking up. It would take time until they were ready though. It had been ten years and it was only day one of you being here.
You had a lot to make up for.
The last stop for the day, Gran Grans room. You paused outside her bedroom door, hesitating. Never in your life have you ever been this scared to approach your Gran, but today was different. You hadn't seen her in so long and you feared how she would react. You were debating on walking away, though your discussion with Cedar earlier kept you planted in your spot. You sigh, breathing out shakily, before you knocked.
Three simple knocks.
Knock
Knock
Knock
“Come in.” You enter the room, twisting the door knob and pushing it open to see the one woman you've been scared of seeing after so long.
“Oh, hello there honey bee! I'm so happy to see you again.”
Chapter 4
Summary:
You discover why Gran Gran is sick, one on one with your sister, and more skeleton interactions. Everything is starting to become easier, but there is still plenty of obstacles for you to overcome.
Chapter Text
Cancer. Terminal cancer.
Gran Gran had her hand over yours, her expression soft yet concerned and sympathetic at your reaction to the news of her diagnosis. Gran Gran was dying, and you missed all those years to be with her before this happened. You allowed a false sense of love and sweet lies to bring you away from your family. You stare at the wall with a far away look, still processing everything she told you.
”Honey bee, you can’t blame yourself for this-“ She starts, but you stand from the edge of the bed and gently rip your hand from her thin, warm grasp. She sighs as you start to clench and unclench your hands in frustration.
”Yes I can! I can in fact blame myself because I lost so many years to spend with you and the family. You are dying and when I could have been here I was in a city with a man who didn’t love me.” You start to pace, staying near the door in case you have to bolt. You felt sick to your stomach, sickened by your own selfish actions. The consequences were weighing down heavier with each passing hour, first Ma and Pa, the skeletons arrival, your sister and her daughter, and now your grandmother!
”I have so much to be blamed for, I hate that I was so blind and that I could have done things differently if I had just been aware of the scheme that he had been playing out. His plan was so clear and I was far too naive to ever think that he would hurt me like he did.” You push your finger through the roots of your hair and curl in on yourself a little to grip at parts of your hair in anguish. The heavy weight of grief settling in along with anger, depression, and hatred sticking to your insides like hot tar. Cementing itself and creating a festering into an ugly ichor of self loathing and shame.
You could have been here.
You should have been here.
You didn’t even realize that you were crying yet again until a warmth cradles your face, the smell of your grandmother completely wraps around you and your face is pressed into her shoulder. She was standing to hold you, she shushes you softly, rocking you both in slow motions as you cry. You cry and cry and cry, for who knows how long. Sobs and hiccups of apologies get quieted by her voice, soothing your frantic voice. She hums, a tune nostalgic but welcomed as the song of your childhood is once again used to calm you. As a kid, she would hum this or sing you to sleep when you were upset.
You hold onto her as you whimper one last apology. She kisses your temple, smiling against the side of your head.
”I know honey bee, I know.”
___________
Building a routine after many years wasn’t as easy as you had thought, it was rather taxing on your body and by the third day you were feeling rather exhausted. Your arms felt like jelly and everything ached. Getting older fucking sucked ass! Currently you laid sprawled out on the hammock just outside the back of the house, the trees blocked most of the sun but the rays that peeks through felt nice on you.
Sweat beaded on your face and your clothes clung to your skin uncomfortably, you were glad to almost be done but still had a few more chores to finish for the day before you could fully relax for the rest of the day. The back of your hand rests against your eyelids to keep the sun out as you enjoyed your small break, stomach full from lunch and the pleasant rays were enough to make you sleepy. You forgot how comfortable the hammock was, you would have to come back to it more often during your stay.
Minutes go by, slowly swaying in the gentle rocking of the wind. The birds and bugs chittered loudly, the sounds of a tractor in the field rumbled in the distance, and the soft whispers of the wind were overall soothing. You were such a mess and it was no wonder why Cedar was concerned about you being left alone, she asked your family to try and assign one of the skeletons with you while doing chores to keep you out of the dumps. Earlier you got paired with Sable and it was a fucking disaster.
Sable was a tough cookie to crack, he was composed and cold. He was the one to do all the financial work for your Pa. You were paired with him to watch him as he took inventory. He counted and you wrote down the numbers, it was a long and boring progress that made it hard to focus. Whenever he caught you zoning out, he would snap his fingers in front of your face to jump you back into reality. After the third time, he had enough.
”WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?” His question caught you off guard.
“Excuse me?”
”YOU HEARD ME, WHY ARE YOU WASTING MY TIME WITH YOUR ‘HELP’? I COULD HAVE BEEN DONE WITH THIS SOONER IF YOU HADN’T KEPT GETTING DISTRACTED. IT IS OBVIOUS YOU DON’T WANT TO BE HERE, SO LEAVE.” He took the clipboard from you and poked you in the sternum with it.
“YOUR PARENTS ALLOWED YOU TO COME BACK, THEY TOOK YOU BACK IN AND YOU ARE WASTING TIME AND RESOURCES WITH YOUR CONSTAT BLUBBERING AND LAZING ABOUT. EVERYONE ELSE MAY WANT YOU HERE, BUT I DON’T. I AM NOT HERE TO BE YOUR FRIEND OR SUPPORT YOU, I WAS TOLD TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOU. NOT FOR YOUR SAKE BUT YOUR FAMILIES. YET, I CAN’T KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT FOR ANY LONGER ON THIS.”He backs you up to the wall, he is taller by only a few inches yet the way his figure blocks out the sun makes him feel all the more intimidating. He has you trapped, his eye lights glow as they stare straight through you. As if he is seeing everything inside of you, your body feels like it is exposed and opened for him. His expression never seems to change being calm as he leans in a little closer and whispers beside your head.
”I Know What You Did To Hurt This Family, I Know Of The Pain You Caused. I Personally Wanted You To Be Kicked To The Curb Yet My Brother And Cousins Went With Your Parents Vote To Keep You Here. You Are Nothing But A Leech.” He pulls away and steps back allowing you to leave. You couldn’t look at him, staring down at the ground as shame took over. You zone out as he replays what you have repeated to yourself at least a hundred of times this year. The reminder of your absence being played for you over and over like a broken record, each time it’s a stab in the chest.
”Get Out Of My Sight.” That is all he has to say to send you rushing out of there and away from the cold skeleton. Yet, as your toes barely graze the ground outside you pause. You clench your teeth tightly and squeeze your fists tightly. You whirl on him and decide that you wouldn’t let him have the final say, he wouldn’t treat you like your ex had. You couldn’t be bullied away, not this time. No ever again
“I may be all that you say, but I am trying! I know that I hurt them and I intend on fixing the ties that I broke. To make amends and right my wrongs, you can think of me as a leech all you want. I deserve the harsh comparison, but I won’t leave. This is my home, just as much as it is yours. If I turn and run, I will be a coward. I’m not going to give up, and you can hate me all you want. You don’t get to assume everything I went through, you don’t know the whole truth.” Sable seems taken aback at your response, not expecting you to turn back and confront him. You don’t allow him to say anything else as you are already turning for the house once again. Leaving him alone in the barn.
And now, you were alone with just your thoughts. You were alone, just like a leech should be. You sigh, wiping at your eyes again to keep yourself from shedding any tears. You didn’t want to cry anymore, it seemed to be all that you were doing and you hated it.
”got room for one more?” You were so distracted that you hadn’t even heard him approach. Whiskey was standing beside your hammock with a glass of amber liquid in hand. You didn’t protest, too tired to say anything as he decided to join you anyways despite your lack of an answer.
The tall skeleton struggles to sit his ass in the hammock, it keeps moving as he attempts to do what you could only describe as a half assed jump and sit. Despite being annoyed, you felt amusement as you watched Whiskey try and fail to get in with you. After almost flipping you out twice he was in, he sat opposite of you and held his glass with a smile. Somehow it didn’t spill out despite his clumsiness. He takes a swig, his long legs on each side of you and your feet on his lap. It was awkward. The two of you didn’t talk much except for a few occasions. The silence wasn’t unwelcome, but it felt like Whiskey had more intentions than to just sit quietly across from you. He was watching you, his eye lights weren’t hard like his brothers. His sockets were far more relaxed than Sable. You were about to ask him why he was here when you finally caught a whiff of what he was drinking. Your nostrils crinkled as you made a noise of disgust.
”Is that bourbon?” You ask, his expression changes with his amusement as he shrugs.
”it’s five o’clock somewhere. might as well start now.” It wasn’t even two yet! You sigh and roll your eyes, but you couldn’t help the smile that tips up at the edges of your lips. He grins at the sight of your expression, he doesn’t point it out though. Instead he takes yet another sip of the alcohol, you watch with fascination as it disappears in his mouth and when he swallows, it seems to not empty out into the hammock. You had seen the other skeletons eating the previous days but you had never thought to ask where it goes.
”Where does it all go? When you eat and drink, I mean.” Whiskey smirks and without dropping his drink he holds up both his hands and wiggles his available phalanges as he answers you.
”magic!” You snort while he chuckles, his eye lights roam your face as another fit of silence follows. He breaks it with a question, catching you off guard.
”you still upset over sable?” You didn’t know how the hell he heard about your conversation with Sable. Either he was spying on you or overheard it, whatever it was you… weren’t really sure how to answer him on that.
”Yes and no, I guess I am more upset with myself. He had a lot of good points, despite his harshness, he didn’t say anything that wasn’t untrue.”
He frowns.
”he will grow to like you, just give it time. he is angry, he has so much on his plate and now he has another set of hands to train. he will come around to apologize on his own time. his words were meant to hurt, but they were not true about you.” he adds on after a short pause. “while i am not fully gung ho for this decision, i trust your ma and pa. if they want you here then so will i.” He does become serious rather quickly towards the end though.
”i will pick my brother over you and your parents, as of right now i am neutral and rooting for both. if sable were to wish me to leave you alone and never talk to you again, i would. he is my brother first and foremost, he has my loyalty always.” He looks at you without the amusement he had earlier, the seriousness of his statement being loud and clear. You just nod, not sure how else to respond. You would do the same for Harlow, for your parents, and for your Gran Gran. Family always came first.
”I.. I understand.” You finally manage to say, he nods and just like that he is back to being normal. His body relaxes into the hammock once more as he tips back his drink for one last sip.
”say, you wouldn't happen to be busy this saturday?” You shake your head in response, he grins. “Good, cause i’m taking you out.” What?
”You’re what?” You ask, he dramatically sighs and shakes his skull. As if what he said shouldn't be a shocker.
”i said that i am taking you out saturday, maybe you should try cleaning your ears out once in a while to hear better.”
“I know what you said, but why? You don’t know me.”
Whiskey shrugs.
”why not? it isn’t a date, it could be, but it doesn’t have to be. i just happen to want to get to know you better. maybe i can take you out for some drinks and food, my treat?” He wanted to take you out for some drinks? You definitely had not been expecting that. You raise a brow at him and wait for him to be joking, yet he doesn’t break eye contact with you. Silence follows for a few moments before a sigh escapes you, a nod following.
”Fine, but this isn’t a date. Got it?” You watch his grin grow a little wider.
”loud and clear.” He says before he rolls out of the hammock making you fall out with him. You land on your ass and glare at him, he stumbles a little before striking a pose similar to a gymnastic that completed a perfect stunt. You can’t help but laugh, his own joining in as he pulls you up to your feet.
__________
Dinner had been great, Cedar was an amazing cook and she seemed to be happy to hear you compliment her work yet again. You were helping with the dishes, insisting since Cedar or Sable usually did them. Sable didn’t eat with everyone else, choosing to eat in his room instead. It seemed that since earlier today he was avoiding you, and as much as you hated the thought you were relieved to have the chance to breathe easy. Your hands scrub away the remnants of food on the plates as your mind wanders. You had been so distracted you weren’t paying attention to the world around you.
”Y/N, WOULD YOU CARE TO JOIN WHISKEY AND I FOR A MOVIE?” You jumped at the sudden appearance of Cedar. Not having expected her to come up behind you.
”Oh, sure! I don’t see why not.” You agree, earning a smile from her. The braces paired with her smile made her absolutely adorable. You return her smile before returning to your task, you only have a few more dishes to finish. “You know you don’t have to bend over to talk to me, right? I am perfectly fine with looking up at you.”
Cedar seemed taken aback by your statement, she doesn’t allow herself to be caught off guard for long and waves off what you said.
”NONSENSE! I AM OK WITH BEING CLOSER TO YOUR LEVEL, IT ISN’T POLITE TO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH THE PERSON I AM SPEAKING TO. BESIDES, I LIKE BEING CLOSER TO YOU THAT WAY. I CAN HEAR YOU BETTER.” She directs her gaze off to the side, a sheepish expression replacing her smile as she rubs at her neck uncomfortably at the mention of her hearing ability.
Hear you better? Did Cedar have hearing problems? Before you could ask her about that, she was already leaving the kitchen. You drop the topic for now, obviously it was a sore subject for her. Eventually, maybe you could get her to talk a little bit more about herself. It would take a while most likely, but you wouldn’t allow that to deter you.
Cedar takes her seat in one of the recliners, the other taken up by a cat. One you didn't recognize, you approach the feline and gently pet their head. The cat doesn't stir, only a twitch of its ear in response to your pets. The cat is an orange tabby, missing one of its hind legs. You scratch their head and neck, adoring how soft it was.
“I SEE THAT YOU HAVE MET MARMALADE.” Cedar says from her seat, you look over at her before back at the cat.
“Are they yours?” You ask, pulling your hand away to not disturb the slumbering cat any further. Deciding it was best to sit on the couch for now.
“YES, HE IS MINE. I FOUND HIM IN ONE OF THE FARMING EQUIPMENT, HE WAS A KITTEN AND HAD SOMEHOW CLIMBED INTO IT. HE LOST ONE OF HIS HIND LEGS, WE FOUND HIM IN TIME THOUGH BEFORE IT BECAME INFECTED. EVER SINCE THEN HE FOLLOWED ME AROUND THE FARM AND WOULDN'T LEAVE MY SIDE. WITH YOUR PARENTS PERMISSION I BROUGHT HIM IN AND HE HAS BEEN APART OF THE FAMILY EVER SINCE.” Cedar gestures towards her lap, you hadn’t even noticed it but there was another cat in her lap. A calico, she was beautiful. Different colors patched together on her pelt. “AND THIS IS RUE, MY BROTHER REFERS TO HER AS HELL SPAWN. HE ISN'T MUCH OF A CAT PERSON.”
“They are adorable, does anyone else have any pets? I know my parents used to have a couple pets but I doubt they are still around.” You ask, wanting to know if the others have any like Cedar.
“SO FAR ONLY MYSELF AND WHISKEY HAVE PETS. I HAVE THE TWO CATS, WHILE WHISKEY HAS A TURTLE. HE NAMED HIM SQUIRTLE, HE IS QUITE ADORABLE. YOU SHOULD ASK HIM SOMETIME ABOUT HIM, I THINK HE WOULD BE HAPPY TO SHOW YOU.” Cedar starts to scroll through one of the streaming services signed in under her account, looking through the possibilities of what to watch.
“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” You respond, pulling out your phone to check your social media. You had completely wiped your older account and started new ones. You were scrolling when a weight plopped down beside you. The smell of smoke fills your nostrils, you look up from your device to see Whiskey. His eyes on you, watching you from beside you.
You put your phone down, his fingers wiggle in greeting. “hello again, long time no see.” You let a small smile slip. “ah, another smile. that’s two in one day sweetheart, i’m on a roll today it seems.” He jokes, you roll your eyes.
“Maybe I just find your face funny, I never did say it was because you were funny.” He pretends to be wounded, his hand clutching at his chest in mock hurt.
“ouch, you’re really hurting my feelings doll. and i was going to offer to share my popcorn with you.” He picks up a bowl of popcorn that he was hiding beside him. You attempt to reach for a handful but he pulls it away from you. Grinning when you miss the bowl.
“nope, you don’t deserve any.” He grabs a handful and shoves it into his mouth, you stick your tongue out at him.
During the movie, you try your best to sneak popcorn from him. Despite his focus on the movie he somehow keeps it away from you, evading each grab for a handful of the buttery snack. It’s nice to have these types of moments again, while living with your ex it wasn’t this nice. Nothing like this anyways, it was relaxed. No one was yelling, lying, or cheating. It was peaceful and you felt at home again.
After the movie your parents announced that it was game night and a select few opted to join. You decided to skip out tonight and went to bed early instead. You started heading up the stairs when Harlow was coming down them. The two of you paused and made eye contact before you broke it by looking at the ground. She resumed down the stairs, you waited for her to pass. Her footfalls stopped beside you, you could feel her eyes on you. Silence hung heavy between the two of you, until she broke it.
”I don’t hate you, I never did. I shouldn’t have reacted the way that I did, I was hurt and I took it out on you. You are still my sibling, no matter what happens. I still can’t forgive you, but I would like for you to get to know Gretchen. You deserve to be in her life, just as much as everyone else does.” You feel her hand come to rest on your shoulder, she squeezed it reassuringly. Your eyes finally move up to meet hers, you give her a soft smile to reflect her own.
”Thank you, Harlow.” You lay your hand over hers, feeling the warmth of her skin against your palm. She doesn’t say anything else, only a nod before she gently pulls her hand away and heads down the last couple stairs. She goes where everyone else is gathered, the game room alive with conversation and laughter. Your gaze lingers on them, debating on joining them until the exhaustion of today hits you and decides for you. You make it up to the second floor and pass all the other rooms to get to your own. Without much thought, you grab a random pair of pajamas and head to the bathroom attached to your bedroom.
After the kind of day you had, a shower before bed sounds lovely.
Chapter 5
Summary:
You spend some time with Hickory, getting to know a little more about him and his sibling. Slowly getting more accustomed to the farm, while also dreading the fact that you won’t be here for much longer. You find out that you aren’t quite ready to go home just yet.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Leave with me.”
His words caught you off guard, you stopped what you were doing and turned to face your boyfriend who was standing just behind you. His eyes are hopeful while you watch him for any sign that this was a joke. Yet, there was none. He was serious, he wasn’t joking.
“What?” You ask him.
“You heard me, leave with me. We could start a life, like you have told me that you wanted to do.” He gestures out of the barn. “Your family are holding you back-“
“I can’t just up and leave, you know that! My parents want me to take over the farm, I already made plans to-“ You’re cut off by him.
“Fuck that! You’re stressed about it, I know how much you don’t want this.” He takes your hands into his own, holding them close to his chest as he looks down at you, keeping you pulled against him. His forehead pressed against yours, not allowing you to pull away as he tries his best to keep your attention on him.
“I love you, and I want you to be with me.” He gets down on one knee, your heart stops.
“Will you marry me?”
___________
You couldn’t sleep some nights, and this was no different. Nightmares of being back in that shithole plagued your mind, making it hard to get some proper shut eye. You tried to fall back asleep, but only ended up tossing and turning until you got frustrated. You get up from your bed and decide on getting some tea, hopefully that would help get you back to sleep.
Quietly, you tiptoed down the stairs. Trying to not make a sound until you reached the bottom, the kitchen is dark as you blindly fumble for the light above the stove. It flicks on and you cringe at the brightness before focusing on making the tea. You were searching for the tea bags when you caught a figure out of the corner of your eye. You gasped in fear, quickly whipping around to see Hickory standing near the fridge, you allowed yourself to calm down before addressing the quiet giant in the room. He is dressed in a baggy shirt and pajama pants, you weren’t used to seeing him in something so relaxed.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you when I came in. I’m making some tea, would you like some?” You offer to make him a cup, he stares at you as the quiet becomes awkward. You stand there and shift nervously as his red eye looks you over once more.
“sure…what kind do you have?” You pick up the package your mother buys for you and your sister. He leans down, getting closer to you as he looks at it. His closeness allows you to see him in the light, he has heavily scarred cracks on his skull along with his exposed arms being littered with chips, large chunks of jagged holes and cracks. They look like they had been painful, he must have gone through something terrible in his life to be this badly wounded.
You try to not focus on his scars for long. “It’s Chamomile, I drink this when I can’t sleep at night. I take it that you do too? Sleeping troubles I mean.” He returns to standing after he gets to look at the tea, he grunts in response. You take that as an agreement to both the tea and your presumption. The kettle is filled with water and set on the stove to heat, while you both wait, the two of you wait in the kitchen. Silence once more heavy in the air, you glance at him to see what he was doing but each time you do you find his red eye set on you.
He’s staring at you again. You aren’t sure how to address him, he is watching you with an unreadable expression. You clasp your hands together and rub them anxiously. You weren’t someone to enjoy the quiet, it was too loud at times. Especially now. You reach for your phone, trying to lessen the awkwardness between the two of you. You start searching for a playlist to play while you wait, except you catch movement from your peripheral and see Hickory moving a little closer.
He settles a few feet from you, he leans back against one of the cabinets. He doesn’t stop watching you, it feels like he is trying to analyze you. To understand you in his own way, except it was beginning to creep you out. Your eyes turn back to your phone once more as your phone starts to play a random playlist you picked out. It’s quiet, not loud enough to disturb anyone asleep. Just enough to keep you from the quiet room getting to you. The kettle is still warming up but from the steam rising out it’s evident that it is almost ready.
“So, how did you and the others meet my parents?” You break the ice, hoping to try and get him to talk rather than stare. He tilts his skull in thought at your question, thinking most likely on what to say.
“farmers market… we met them there.” Your parents went to the farmers market to sell their goods each year. Every year was different, one year they barely sold anything until the next and they were sold out of everything. People were moving away, land was being sold and bought out to put in housing editions or something for a large company. It was all the same though, greedy companies wanting more.
“How did you end up at the farm?” That question seemed a little bit harder for him to answer, he didn’t tell you right away. Just looked at the floor in thought, as if it wasn’t easy to discuss. You were about to skip onto the next when his voice returned.
“we were taken in, after we got kicked out of the last… they welcomed us to stay.” He crosses his thick arms across his chest, a sign that he was becoming guarded. He wasn’t relaxed anymore, it seemed you crossed a line by accident.
“Sounds like my parents, they house others when they need the help.” You were met with silence once again. Shit, how do you keep him from getting upset? You quickly went through a long list of questions in your head until you pop out the next.
“You and Gretchen seem close, what was the wood carving for exactly?” He softens at the mention of his little buddy, his sockets relax as he chuckles.
“to make sure she does well in school… she is a little trouble maker.” His crossed arms loosen a little, apparently this was a comfortable topic for him. “two weeks ago… she got into a fight with another kid. harlow and i came up with a solution… she does good in school, she gets a prize.” He doesn't say much else, by then the kettle is whistling and you quickly take it off the heat to keep it quiet.
You switch off the heat on the stove, you place it down on a heat safe mat to grab two cups when you find them being held out for you by Hickory. You take the cups with a nod, a small thanks to him. He doesn’t make any movements in return, you pour the water then grab the tea bags to set in the cups and allow the leaves to get soaked with the water. The kettle is left to cool off while the two of you migrate to the living room.
He sits on the couch while you settle into one of the chairs, you wrap the throw blanket that was draped on the back of the chair. It’s warm and soft, you waste no time to snuggle into it while blowing at the steaming cup of tea. The heat is nice against your palms, and warms you within as you carefully sip at it. As you drink your tea, Hickory is already sipping at his. Not bothering to blow on it, somehow unaffected by the heat of the drink.
Silence is once again between you, it’s not as uncomfortable but far from what you would enjoy. He is focused on the wall, seeming to be lost in thoughts or perhaps zoned out. You watch him for a few moments, trying to understand him from observation. Yet, he is hard to read. A monster of few words and guarded, he isn’t easy to read. Not like Cedar and Whiskey.
When your cup is half gone, you finally have something to ask. You clear your throat first, he snaps out of his train of thought and focuses on you once more.
“Cedar is pretty cool, you know? She has some mad cooking skills, where did she learn to do that?” You watch as Hickory seems to perk at the mention of his sibling, without hesitation he answers you.
“self taught… mainly cook books… they are really amazing, she has come far… she wasn’t always this good… took a lot of time.” He looks proud, his sockets are softened yet a slight crease in his brows appears. “i'm not much of a cook… i forget easily… set too many fires off… banned from the kitchen for a while… until your grandmother helped me.” His sharpened phalanxes brush along each other as he fiddles with his hands, looking nervous about admitting his flaws.
“It’s ok, we all start somewhere. I’m not the best cook, I burn things too easily especially in the oven. Kind of the reason why I haven’t cooked here yet, I have to earn back my cooking rights.” You giggle in embarrassment, Hickory chuckles a little in response.
“what about you… how did you… end up here?” Did your parents not tell them why you were here?
“Didn’t my parents tell you why?” He shakes his head, no. That was surprising, you figured they would know at least a little bit.
“they said… you would tell us… in your own time… we all have made decisions… that we regret.” He reassures, you aren’t sure how you want to respond. You weren’t sure if you believed him, after what Sable had said you figured that he knew. Was he perhaps lying for your own sake? Did he not want you to be upset? You weren’t sure, but whatever the reason, you hope it was good. That’s all you could do for the moment.
“I came back for my grandmother. I wouldn’t have ever left if I hadn’t made a bad decision. I regret what I did, I want to right my wrongs and be a part of the family again.” Your eyes cast down to your hands, they play with the blanket covering you as the events replay in your mind.
“why did you leave?”
“Love, or what I thought was love. It wasn’t, it was a facade. I chased a dream that wouldn’t ever come true.” You close your eyes, painful memories re-emerge. Every wrong you ever committed was painful and your chest aches in sorrow. Grow from your mistakes, learn to be a better person. Make up for lost time, and return what has been stolen.
“you are brave… for admitting your wrongs… that’s one step in the right direction.” You back up at him, his expression sympathetic. “i understand your pain.” He reaches over and pats your knee, you allow yourself to smile. It’s small, but it’s not fake.
“Thank you, Hickory.”
After that, the conversation flows steadily. Slow, but it is progress nonetheless. At some point you had finished your tea and set it on a small table next to your chair. After the conversation naturally died down, the TV was turned on as you both sat across from one another.
The next thing you know you are awake, alone in the living room. You were laid on the couch where Hickory had been sitting previously, two blankets covered you while your head rested on a pillow. The mugs from your tea were gone, the TV turned off as well. You grab your phone from the coffee table and take a look at the time, it was around six am currently. Your parents would be up soon or were already getting around for the day. Getting up from the couch, you stretch and pop anything that is stiff. The blankets were returned to their previous spots, before going back to your room.
You weren’t sure how you ended up on the couch, maybe your father moved you there? It was unlikely that Hickory had moved you to the couch, right? You didn’t want to think too hard about it, why worry about something so small? It wasn’t worth the overthinking, you had much bigger fish to fry. Like getting ready for the day before you were late… again. You were heading up the stairs to your room when a body blocked you from reaching the top.
Sable.
His eyes were on you, your own focus was off of him. Not wanting a repeat of yesterday, it was best to leave it be. No use in causing any more damage than what had already been done. He stood there for longer than you deemed comfortable, obviously something was up. The small pinpricks of color in his sockets analyzed you, looking for… you weren’t quite sure what. Then, his expression changes.
Regret.
His mouth parts, he wants to say something yet he doesn’t have enough time to say whatever it was in his mind. Hickory walked up behind him, the two seem to have a stare down. No words needed to be said to see what they were thinking. Sable was far smaller than the giant, yet his glare was just as intense. It didn’t last long, the two part ways and Sable leaves down the stairs. Hickory turns his attention to you, his intense stare relaxes.
“i see that you are awake… you are with me this morning, get ready and meet me outside… don’t take long.” He pats your shoulder as he passes, heading outside to wait for you. You must have missed breakfast? Or it wasn’t ready yet, you weren’t sure.
You just knew that you didn’t want to keep Hickory waiting.
____________
The chicken coop was different, larger than what you had remembered. Hickory opens the gate and lets you in first before following in after you. It’s closed behind him, you open the door for the chickens and without hesitance they all run out into the fenced into the gated area. You watch them stretch their legs, trying to see how many there are in total until something is plopped into your hands. You look down to see a basket, it’s woven by hand yet simple.
“egg duty… should be simple enough… best of cluck.” The last part of his sentence has you falter in your steps, did you… did he make a pun? You look up surprised and he looks pleased with himself, you don’t push it though. Opting to do the job you were assigned instead. Feeding the chickens was Hickory’s job, while you took the eggs out of the nesting boxes. As you gather the eggs, you notice engravings in the wood. Names. You read over each name and snort in amusement. Holy shit, they named them after types of chicken dishes. It’s hilarious, yet morbid. Tenders, Nugget, Pot Pie, Teriyaki, Cluck Norris, Henrietta, and Chick Jagger. By the end of the list you’re laughing, drawing Hickory’s attention. He peeks inside to see you laughing, once he realizes why you’re in stitches, he chuckles.
“gigi named them herself.” He says, taking the basket from you while you put yourself back together. Composing yourself you take a moment to breathe and then respond, a little surprised that your niece made these names up for the chickens. Yet, the way he grins tells you that he’s lying.
“Oh really? And you’re sure that you or Whiskey had nothing to do with it?” He shakes his head.
“nope.” Oh he is so lying! The cheeky skeleton just pulls himself out of the chicken coop, with you following not far behind.
“You are a terrible liar.” He pretends to look confused before looking over himself.
“no i’m not… last i checked i was a skeleton monster…. i think that is quite a fowl assumption for you to make.” Another pun, you try to not crack a smile.
“That’s terrible.”
“i thought it was egg-cellent… i can see you cracking a smile.” Fuck, he was right, you loved puns.
With the eggs in hand you bring it to the main barn and hand them over to your mother who is attending to the new member of the farm. Another calf, it was born earlier that morning and still was learning to stand. You watched from outside the stall as the mother cow and her newborn bonded.
Hickory observed, his large red eye scanning over you as he assessed your reaction to the adorable little moos that came from the small animal. He glanced behind you across to your mother, something she does makes him flush. A blue hue crosses the bridge of his nasal cavity and his cheeks, before he tries to contain it and focuses back on you. Your eyes meet his and he catches on that you had seen the interaction making the large skeleton falter.
“uhhh… would you… i think… would you like to… name the calf?” He asks, gesturing towards the newborn. Your eyes go wide in excitement and awe, you get to name it? You nod excitedly, looking at your mother. Turning your attention from the struggling Hickory over to her. She laughs at how excited you are.
“It’s a baby girl, if that’s what you’re wondering?” She leaves the two of you alone, patting Hickory’s upper arm as she passes him. He didn’t watch her leave, his focus mainly on you.
“so? any names… that you like?” You think for a few, trying to decide what would work the best for her. It had to be perfect, something original. Your mind goes back to the names of the chickens and while you think it would be funny to call her something like that, it wasn’t what you wanted.
“I like Maggie, seems fitting.” You answer before crossing your arms on the wood and leaning your head against them as you watch the two fondly. You definitely missed life on the farm. You felt whole again, like it was meant to be.
“sounds… perfect.” Hickory agrees, silence follows. Allowing the two of you to enjoy the comfortable air that flows between you. While you still knew very little about Hickory, he was slowly letting you in. He was relaxing around you, becoming more open to the idea of you being here.
You would miss this.
Notes:
HOLY SHIT!!!! This story just hit over 1,200 hits! OMG OMG I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!
I also appreciate all of the lovely comments that you guys leave, I would love to respond to everyone’s comments soon. I’m getting each chapter completed as fast as I can. I looks forward to what you all think of this one. Chapter 6 will be featuring the ‘not a date’ with Whiskey so keep your eyes peeled for that?
Again, thank you all for all the support! If you’d like, give me a follow on tumblr! Where I will post silly thoughts every now and then, and I will happily answer any questions/asks that you may have for me! My tumblr username is bonesgalore!
Until next time!
Chapter 6
Summary:
You spend the day with Sable, it goes just how you would expect.
Notes:
Thank you to the wonderful TheLibrarbrian for reading over this chapter and giving me some helpful feedback!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“I can’t steal from them! That’s wrong, they are my parents!” Your fiancé takes your hands within his own. His eyes pleading, your own look away even as he tilts your chin to try and get you to look at him.
“Come on baby, we need the money. Just take a few things for us to sell and they will never know! We can pay them back later after we start our life together.” He reassures you. Your frown deepens.
“I-I don’t think.. I don’t believe this is the best course of action to take.” You protest again, your fiancé takes your chin between his fingers and tilts your head up to face him. He gives you a look, one that should have been a red flag. His eyes were icy, no longer warm as it had been previously.
“You want this to work, right? To have a proper wedding? This is our ticket to what we have always wanted. Just this once, trust me, ok?”
____________________________________
The week goes by at a snail's pace, until it is finally the weekend. You made plans to treat yourself, maybe go to the city to get some new clothes for your place back at home. You were getting ready in the bathroom when the thought of home made you pause in brushing your locks of hair. Your eyes look at your reflection, seeing the saddened expression you wore.
Home.
That’s right, you don’t live here anymore. You lived three hours away, you couldn’t stay any longer like you would have liked. You had a job, a life, your life wasn’t paused for this. Bills needed to be paid, clients to be dealt with… why did the thought of returning home hurt so much? You used to like returning to your apartment after a day of work, but since coming back to the farm you feel dread when thinking of going back to the empty apartment. The farm was alive with love and care , while the apartment was gray and barely lived in. All you seemed to do was work, but when you’re here you don’t feel so alone.
You quickly splashed cold water on your face, trying to keep the emotions from getting too strong. No! You weren’t going to think about this today, later you would go over these mixed feelings. Right now, you have things to do!
You leave your bedroom dressed for chores, an old short with long pants over a pair of weathered cow boots. Breakfast is cooking, as always it smells amazing, and everyone is downstairs to greet you. Cedar grins and waves from her spot at the dinner table, you walk over and sit beside her. Whiskey is nursing a mug of coffee, it’s steaming hot and the skeleton looks haggard. His gaze lands on you and within seconds he’s perking up, smiling that all too familiar smile. Flirtatious and genuine.
“well, well. morning sweetheart, sleep ok?” He asks, leaning your way. Trying his best to get as close as he can to you. Hickory is beside you, looking a little less tense than before. Sure he looked annoyed at the skeleton from across his spot, but he didn’t comment on it. Seems he wasn’t much of a morning person either.
“I slept fine, thank you for asking!” You notice that Sable isn’t around, you have never seen him miss breakfast. He had a strict routine, according to Whiskey, he was punctual and never late. You didn’t get to ponder on his whereabouts for long though, the skeleton emerges from the kitchen with a plate stacked with what looked like a casserole. He didn’t pause when he saw you, he merely looked at you before setting down the piping hot dish. He takes off his oven mitt, setting it down before sitting with the rest of you.
“EAT UP EVERYONE. INCLUDING YOU, Y/N, WE HAVE CHORES TO ATTEND TO. YOU HAVE BEEN VOLUNTEERED TO JOIN US.” He orders, you gape in surprise.
What? You never agreed to this!
You looked to Whiskey for help, he didn't meet your pleading look. Opting to look at his phone. Asshole!
“Why do you need me to go with you, exactly? Whiskey should be fine to go with you by himself.” You counter. Sable is reading his paper, not even looking up at you as he finishes his bite of food.
“BECAUSE I SAID SO, AND… I WISH TO MAKE AMENDS.” The table goes quiet.
“Make amends? You berated me! Do you really expect me to just go with you by demanding my presence? Sorry to burst your bubble, but that isn’t how I work.” You plate your food, opting to leave the table with breakfast in hand.
“I’m going to eat in my room-“ Sable raises his hand, making you pause. His gaze is level, neutral. Yet, the way he controls a room with just a mere movement has you stop in your tracks to leave. It’s almost like something has you frozen in the spot, a pressure in your chest.
“STAY. I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU DON'T LIKE ME FOR WHAT I DID. I WOULDN'T BLAME YOU, BUT IT ISN'T FOR JUST MY BENEFIT. YOUR FAMILY IS IMPORTANT TO ALL OF US, MEANING THAT I NEED TO ALSO INCLUDE YOU NOW.” He gestures for you to sit. “SIT DOWN, PLEASE.” Oh, that asshole!
“You can’t just apologize to save face. You just want to make sure you get to stay on the farm!” The way his face changed, meant you hit the nail on the head. He was caught. He didn’t care, he was being told to apologize to keep your mother happy.
You scoff, glaring at him. “I will work with you for today, but you have to mean your apology. You can’t just admit your wrongs and not mean them. That counteracts your apology. I won’t accept your apology until you mean it.” You are able to move once again, leaving everyone in the dining room while you retreat to your room with your breakfast in hand.
_________________________________
Sable meets you outside after breakfast, you don’t acknowledge him as you start heading for the cow stalls. You were in charge of cleaning out the pens while the cows grazed out in the field. You grabbed the wheelbarrow, Sable took the shovel, you both head into the pin and started cleaning out the stalls. You had a manure muck fork, you grimaced at the foul smell of the manure. You deposit each scoop into the wheelbarrow, each toss leaving your arms growing more sore over time. You knew that farming could be difficult, yet such a simple task already had you out of breath.
Time crawled by, Sable was quick and repetitive with his movements. You hadn’t figured he would ever go within six feet of the manure, the way he dressed and acted, you would have thought he would have stayed away from the shit. Yet, here he was. Your mother had informed you of Sable’s job on the farm, he was smart with numbers and money, he kept track of the spending and the profits made each season. He worked hard to help keep the farm running. Not only that, but apparently he had degrees to support his book smarts.
‘He wanted to be a lawyer.’ Your mother had told you the other night as you both worked on laundry. ‘He couldn’t though, with the courts still debating on monster rights his degrees hold no value at the moment. Sable was devastated that he couldn’t get into a law firm. He wanted to help people, but the government threw his dream down the drain.’
You felt bad for him, but at the same time you still had a grudge against him. The things he said still stayed rooted deep within you, a sharp thorn that dug in deeper each time you were near him.
He was an ass.
Throughout the whole time you both picked up manure, you didn’t say a word to each other. At one point you started playing music on your speaker, but that was it. You couldn’t work in silence, but you weren’t that desperate enough to start talking to him. You had caught him glancing at you a few times, yet every time your eyes moved to look at him, he acted like he hadn’t been looking at you at all. You didn’t care what he did, just as long as he did his work.
You were removing a rather large chunk of manure when Sable let out a roar of frustration, you looked up from your work to see the skeleton looking down at his pants with a mixed reaction of horror and disgust. His boots were covered in the disgusting muck and the ends of his pants were not any better. He steps out of the stall to stomp away, making you chuckle at the reaction he had. He freezes, stiffening.
“THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?” He snaps.
“You.” You reply back, smirking at his flushed skull. He was frustrated, the red eye lights were small and a glare was set on you. You just smiled in response, enjoying the satisfaction of seeing Sable lose his cool. For someone who was supposedly the most ‘professional’ skeleton of the bunch, he sure was having quite the reaction.
“WELL STOP IT!” He yells back at you. You raise an eyebrow at him.
“Why? You think that you can demand things of me? You really are an asshole.” You point at him, his sharp teeth grind as he growls. His boney hands curling into fists, you probably shouldn’t be poking at him like this.. but he pissed you off earlier.
“I DID NOT DEMAND YOU OF ANYTHING-“ You got in his face, cutting him off.
“Oh but you did! You demanded that I leave this place, to remove myself from the farm, to sit down and accept your apology. You are quite a bossy skeleton, to demand that I do things that you deem ‘acceptable.’ Well, news flash Sable! I don’t want to leave!” You stand toe to toe with the slightly taller skeleton, not backing down.
“I travelled here to be with my family.” You jab a finger into his sternum, he stiffened at the taps against his bone as you start tearing into him.
“You have been nothing but selfish since I got here, you hadn’t once thought of how your actions affect others. Not to mention, you don’t know shit! You threw accusations at me when you didn’t know half of the shit I went through, Blake!” You are panting at this point, you are yelling out all your building frustration at the skeleton. Sable raised a brow ridge at the use of a name that he hadn’t been expecting.
“WHO IS BLAKE?” He asks, you shake your head at him and your frown deepens.
“No one that you should worry about, what I was trying to say is that you don’t know shit about me, Sable! You act all high and mighty, like your shit don’t stink! Well, now it does!” You point towards his pants covered in cow shit.
“THEN YOU CAN JUST LEAVE IF YOU ARE TIRED OF ME!” He raises his hand to gesture towards the house, at the sight of his arm raising your body moves involuntarily.
You flinch.
Not a small flinch. A whole body flinch, arms coming up to protect your face and eyes scrunching up in anticipation of the hit. Sable immediately notices and his face falls from angry to shocked. His eye lights dart across your face, as he slowly lowers his hand. Taking a small step back. He looks conflicted, unsure of how to gauge your reaction.
“WHAT, YOU THINK I AM GOING TO HIT YOU NOW?”
You hesitate to answer.
“Yes,” you say meekly. “Because that is what I am used to.”
His expression turns into one of disbelief, as if what you say is shocking to him. You watch him with an air of caution as he keeps his hands down at his sides. There is a pause, the air becomes icy.
The silence is loud. The two of you take a breather, calming down from that high level of energy that you both had been dishing out to the other. There is a long pause between you both, neither of you speak during that time. It seems that the words that want to spill out, don’t seem appropriate for the situation at hand. It drags on for another few seconds, until it is broken.
“I'M SORRY.” Sable apologizes. “I DIDN'T INTEND TO HARM YOU IN ANY WAY. I DO NOT AGREE WITH THAT TYPE OF VIOLENCE UPON ANYONE, I MAY BE AN ASS.. BUT NO ONE DESERVES THAT.” His brow bones are furrowed in concern, his eye lights waver at the memories of his own past. The pain.. the abuse. He can relate to it. Regret floods him. He hadn’t been acting any better than those who hurt him.
“It’s.. fine. It wasn’t your fault for what happened. You didn’t know.” You respond. Sable shakes his head, not accepting the fact you brush it off so easily. Yet, the words don’t follow. The silence is once again, all that can be said. The two of you are stuck standing in the stable, awkwardly trying to find something to say.
Anything!
Sable shuffled uneasily before he resumed his work, wanting to get this done so the both of you could continue about your day. He most likely had plans, as did you. The rest of the time finishing your chores was quiet, neither of you spoke. Finding that it was best to just leave it as is.
_________________________________
You headed inside, deciding that you most definetly needed a shower after shoveling cow shit for a good portion if your morning. It was close to a little after three now, your cowboy boots were left outside to be cleaned later and the dirty clothes were put in a laundry bag to be washed with Sables, your mother preferred not having cow manure in her carpet. Luckily she prepared and had brought spare clothes for you to change into something you could get into the house with little trouble.
You were just starting to head upstairs when the clearing of a throat sounded just behind you. You paused and turned your body to half face them, taking a step down with one foot to keep your balance. Whiskey stood at the bottom of the staircase, grinning up at you.
"you still going tonight?" He asks. Your response is a confused look. Whiskey acts wounded, that your lack of response is heartbreaking for him. He makes a fake hiss of pain before muttering 'ouch'. You roll your eyes at him, fighting the smile that curls at the corners of your mouth.
"im taking you out for dinner tonight, remember? you agreed to go when we were sitting in the hammock." Your memory takes a moment to remember that he is in fact correct. Shit, that was today?
"Oh yeah.. you sure you still wanna go with me?" You counter. "I mean, wouldn't you rather spend your time doing something you want?" Whiskey chuckles.
"i want to take you for a dinner and a drink, finish washing off the cow shit then come down and meet me. i want to give you a good end to your week." You want to refuse, tell him no and go back upstairs to lay in bed after your shower.. but you were curious to what he had planned.
"Alright, give me about an hour to get ready." His smile widens, he nods before leaving you to head upstairs and get ready for the outing.
Notes:
OMG HELLO? Where did you all come from? Over 1,600 hits?!?!? Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!!!
It means so much! I appreciate the support and comments, I read over the comments you guys leave and I love all the nice things you guys say. It means so much to me!
Thank you!
Pages Navigation
JJSmeowthie on Chapter 1 Sun 07 Jul 2024 10:40AM UTC
Comment Actions
rowan_mutt on Chapter 1 Mon 08 Jul 2024 09:27PM UTC
Comment Actions
Chesseby on Chapter 1 Mon 08 Jul 2024 05:33PM UTC
Comment Actions
rowan_mutt on Chapter 1 Mon 08 Jul 2024 09:26PM UTC
Comment Actions
Ambrioletteels on Chapter 1 Mon 12 May 2025 02:43AM UTC
Comment Actions
TheLibrarbrian on Chapter 1 Thu 15 May 2025 12:15PM UTC
Comment Actions
TeaSnarker92 on Chapter 1 Mon 02 Jun 2025 01:21AM UTC
Comment Actions
Anjel_X on Chapter 1 Tue 29 Jul 2025 10:28PM UTC
Comment Actions
Rezas on Chapter 2 Tue 09 Jul 2024 05:00AM UTC
Comment Actions
BlueBun27 on Chapter 2 Wed 17 Jul 2024 05:45PM UTC
Comment Actions
Ambrioletteels on Chapter 2 Mon 12 May 2025 03:13AM UTC
Comment Actions
rowan_mutt on Chapter 2 Mon 12 May 2025 06:28AM UTC
Comment Actions
TheLibrarbrian on Chapter 2 Thu 15 May 2025 12:30PM UTC
Comment Actions
melluvscringe on Chapter 2 Sun 18 May 2025 09:54PM UTC
Comment Actions
rowan_mutt on Chapter 2 Sun 18 May 2025 10:08PM UTC
Comment Actions
TeaSnarker92 on Chapter 2 Tue 01 Jul 2025 02:52PM UTC
Comment Actions
Ambrioletteels on Chapter 3 Mon 12 May 2025 05:29PM UTC
Comment Actions
rowan_mutt on Chapter 3 Mon 12 May 2025 05:50PM UTC
Comment Actions
melluvscringe on Chapter 3 Sun 18 May 2025 10:11PM UTC
Comment Actions
rowan_mutt on Chapter 3 Sun 18 May 2025 11:00PM UTC
Comment Actions
FluffYTea on Chapter 3 Fri 23 May 2025 06:43PM UTC
Comment Actions
rowan_mutt on Chapter 3 Fri 23 May 2025 07:09PM UTC
Comment Actions
FluffYTea on Chapter 3 Fri 23 May 2025 08:39PM UTC
Comment Actions
rowan_mutt on Chapter 3 Fri 23 May 2025 09:50PM UTC
Comment Actions
TheLibrarbrian on Chapter 3 Mon 26 May 2025 03:43PM UTC
Comment Actions
Ambrioletteels on Chapter 4 Fri 23 May 2025 02:22AM UTC
Comment Actions
FluffYTea on Chapter 4 Fri 23 May 2025 08:01PM UTC
Comment Actions
rowan_mutt on Chapter 4 Fri 23 May 2025 08:22PM UTC
Comment Actions
FluffYTea on Chapter 4 Fri 23 May 2025 07:52PM UTC
Comment Actions
TheLibrarbrian on Chapter 4 Mon 26 May 2025 05:37PM UTC
Comment Actions
Ambrioletteels on Chapter 4 Thu 29 May 2025 10:01PM UTC
Comment Actions
Ambrioletteels on Chapter 4 Thu 29 May 2025 10:02PM UTC
Comment Actions
Pages Navigation