The clear night sky continued to flash sporadically and light up the area in a wide array of colors as the fireworks display still carried on at the beach. All the while, Candace continued to unenthusiastically march herself down the steps leading directly to the tailor shop from the church while Molly kept pace. Her friend's arm found itself draped over her shoulders as the worrisome farm girl sought to comfort her as best she could. Once in front of the door to her home Candace weakly lifted her head up before taking a deep sigh, feeling as Molly's arm removed itself from her person. Proceeding to hug herself she turned back to Molly, a faintly muttered "Thanks," sounded from under her breath. Without delay Molly gently wrapped her own arms around Candace and brought her in close.
"Things are going to get better Candace, I promise." She gently spoke into her ear. "Just you wait and see."
Without much hesitation Candace's arms untangled themselves from around her body and enveloped themselves around Molly instead. She gave a series of silent nods while she pulled so close into her you'd have thought she was trying to fuse the two of them together. If anything she hoped that the gesture would express the deep gratitude she could only wish she had the words to say aloud. For the longest time they stood silently under the flashing sky and held each one another, neither one seeming ready to let go for their own personal reasons. Molly eventually gave a sigh and she pulled away, feeling as Candace feebly attempted to keep her close. A part of her still didn't want to let go either.
"I promise Candace." She repeated as she now looked her in her sapphire shaded eyes. "Things will get better."
Candace cast her eyes down at the ground as to try and avoid crying, the only way she knew how to expression emotion at this point. "T-Thanks…
She remained unmoved as Molly snatched her up for one final brief hug. With a deep breath her friend then released her once more.
"And hey… If you ever need anyone to talk to about anything I'm here for you." A faint but reassuring smile appeared on her face for whenever Candace would look back at her.
For a split second Candace's eyes peeked up at Molly before moving straight back down to the floor. Her hands crept up over her chest and held themselves there. "T-Thank you…"
Molly lingered in place for another moment, attentively watching Candace as though she was expecting something further. When she continued to do nothing but stare at the cobblestone ground in silence she cleared her throat.
"I guess I should probably get going then…" She told her.
Candace peered back at her again. "Y-You're… You're not g-going back t-to the beach a-are you…?"
Molly shook her head. "No, I'm probably just going to head back home at this point and go to bed." That relaxed expression came upon her face again. "You don't have to worry Candace, I'm not going to tell anyone about what happened back at the church."
Candace jumped a smidge and gave a slight gasp in surprise at Molly's response. She hardly expected such a gesture with how much people seemed to enjoy gossiping nowadays.
"I know you'd probably prefer it if nobody else knew about happened back there unless you told them yourself so hey, consider it a secret between us friends." She went on before ending with a wink.
In an effort to remain composed Candace quickly gazed back down at the ground. Uncertain if she was doing so because she felt ready to begin crying again from gratitude or to conceal the appreciative color on her face she kept her eyes glued on her shoes, using the last of her willpower to stop herself from lunging at her friend for another hug, not wanting to seem any more desperate. "T-T-Thank you…" She uttered.
She heard as Molly giggled as she so often did. "What else are friends for?"
Once more, after a lengthy second Candace snuck a glance up at her just as she started to turn around.
"I guess I'll see you around then huh…?" Molly said, appearing hesitant to actually begin leaving.
Candace replied back with a simple nod and watched as Molly fixated her gaze on her as well. As her mind attempted to interpret what it was exactly that Molly was expecting or hoping for she felt as her heart started to skip a beat again. Just what was it about simply looking at Molly that was causing her to constantly become so flustered?
"R-Right…," Molly eventually stammered to break the silence. She began to awkwardly tap the ends of her finger together and backed away from Candace. "S-See you around."
Watching as her friend disappeared into the night, their silhouette briefly appearing in full with each vibrant flash from the sky, Candace felt a curious sense of regret come over her. She wished she hadn't allowed Molly to simply walk away and should have latched onto her when she had the chance and refused to let go. How she longed to just be close to Molly again, even if only for just another second, though she couldn't put her finger on exactly why she felt such a desire. It had to be caused by more than just their position as friends, after all Luna never seemed to express such a desire towards any of her friends. It was probably just her insecurity with herself causing her to yet again wish to cling to the only one around who cared enough to give her the thought she needed.
When Molly finally strayed out of view she sighed and turned to the door before slowly creeping it open. The lights inside the home were still set off like she'd left them before heading out, indicating to her that Luna and Shelly were still likely off at the dock with the others. Taking advantage of the situation, Candace quickly scurried off into the bedroom and prepared herself for bed, knowing that it would be easier to confront her family about what had occurred after a full night's rest. As she laid her head gently upon her pillow she found that for once sleep seemed ready to come to her without a fight. After the absolutely mentally exhausting experience that had been the entire day her mind was ready shut itself off for a while before any further self-destructive thoughts could make themselves heard.
A shiver coursed through Candace's body as her eyes fluttered open to the first cool breeze of the fall season that had managed to mysteriously wrap itself around her. Having curled herself up tightly beneath her sheets for warmth she allowed herself to unfurl before turning over to the direction of the window, spotting it open as was to be expected. Luna must have opened it at some point after returning and somehow managed to forgot about it despite the drastic change in temperature. With Luna now on her mind Candace's view brought itself over to her sister's bed to find it empty and unmade. Yet another morning she'd appeared to have overslept.
Sighing, she sat herself up and draped her feet off the side of the bed before sliding into the slippers at its side. She then scooted herself off onto the floor and headed over to the window to close it. Once shut she turned around and redirected herself over towards the bedroom door. As her hand placed itself on the knob and began to twist it open the muffled sound of voices in the other room became apparent
"…going to be much better once she wakes up. You'll see."
Candace paused for a moment and stepped away from the door, recognizing the voice as Luna's. They were talking about her out there? Carefully, she leaned in closer and pressed her ear up against the wooden surface of the door.
"I just don't know about that at this point Luna…" She could hear Shelly sigh in response. "That's why I don't think it'd be such a bad idea if she went. It couldn't hurt."
"I suppose you're right…"
"We can really only just leave it up to her, it is her decision in the end after all. We'll wait for her to get up and eat a little something before we talk with her… you did say she was in there right…?"
"Yes grandma! She's fine! She's just sleeping in, sheesh, she's not the kind of girl who'd do something crazy like run away after what happened yesterday!"
Candace felt a sharp pain in her heart at her sister's words as she stumbled back from the door. If only they had known the dark thoughts that had clouded her mind the previous night. Would Luna still fight as valiantly to defend her sister's perceived wellbeing if she knew how much she herself had given up? Who was she kidding, of course she would, that optimistic attitude of her's wouldn't allow her to do otherwise.
Unwilling to allow Luna to continue such a foolish endeavor Candace quickly thrust herself out the door and into the kitchen, much to the surprise of Shelly and her sister.
"Ho! Candace, you startled me there." Shelly exclaimed as the teacup in her hand trembled from shock and nearly fell out of her grasp.
"C-Candace! Hey, glad you finally join us." Luna said, trying to sound a bit more composed.
A faint blush appeared on Candace's face as she bowed her head quickly in apology. "S-Sorry…"
Shelly took a deep breath before setting her cup down on its plate. "Oh it's quite alright, just be a little more careful next time when you decide to come out I suppose." She gave smile in her direction but it was clear that there was some level of worry hiding behind it. "It's nice to finally have you up with us."
Nervously, Candace's eyes wandered over to the clock to spot that she'd yet again managed to sleep straight into the afternoon. She could hardly blame herself for needing so much rest after the long day she'd just experienced but sleeping in so late felt irresponsible and only worsened her mood.
"I-I… I-I had no idea it w-was so late…"She whimpered as her head sagged lower.
"It's quite alright Candace." Shelly tried to assure her. "Your sister and I were just finishing up lunch, come and join us." She motioned towards the sandwich ingredients spread across the kitchen table. "Help yourself to a sandwich if you like or maybe you'd prefer something more breakfast orientated? It's up to you."
"Yeah, come and join us." Luna beckoned from her spot across from their grandma.
Despite their kindness and the roar of hunger from her stomach Candace still found herself shaking her head. "N-No t-thanks… I'm… I'm n-not really t-that hungry…"
After taking another sip of tea from her cup Shelly worrisomely placed it back down. "You hardly had anything to eat yesterday though… you haven't been eating much at all lately…."
Candace hugged herself and tried to look away from the table in shame though her eyes couldn't resist eventually glancing over at Luna. She looked to be just as concerned as Shelly.
"You sure Candace?" Luna gently asked. "I can make you something while you get changed for the day if you want."
Candace's head lowered as it faintly shook yet again. "N-No… I'm fine…"
She could hear as her grandmother took a deep breath. "Candace… sit down."
The dark clouds that had spent the better portion of the previous day suffocating her came swarming back in an instant as a chill ran down her spine. Unable to come up with any sort of excuse on a moment's notice, Candace silently slid onto the closest available seat, her view still trying its best to stay focused on anything but her family.
"What's wrong?" Shelly asked, her tone sounding disturbingly firm.
Candace folded her hands into her lap and remained quiet.
"Candace, if something is wrong I want you to tell us." She explained sounding almost distraught. "You haven't been acting like yourself lately and I want to know what it is so your sister and I can try to help you."
In what felt like a swift act of defeat Candace dropped her head down as her hands fell off to her sides. "I… I d-don't know g-grandma…" She sniveled.
Shelly leaned closer towards her granddaughter and offered her hand to her atop the table. "What do you mean Candace…?"
With a sigh Candace briefly brought her focus up to her grandmother's gaze. "I… I…" As her head lowered itself she could feel that commonplace urge to just cry start to well up inside of her. "I d-don't know why I feel t-this way grandma… why I'm s-so…" She took a pause in hopes that a more pleasant word to describe her situation would come to mind, gulping when it remained blank. "Unhappy…"
Shelly leaned back in her seat and sighed before looking over at Luna and then back at Candace. "Candace, I'd like for you to go and stop over at the clinic today… after you've eaten." Her eyes fell down towards her cup and she stirred it around until she felt her daughter's gaze slowly shift onto her. "I had a talk with Irene yesterday and she'd like to see you. Just to have a little talk with you, nothing more."
Candace's wilted yet again in her chair. At that moment she wasn't sure what upset her more, the fact that there was no way she could reasonably deny her grandmother's request, or that she had so willingly disclosed her pitiful mood to someone else. Sure, she had already been unable to shake the feeling that everyone already knew and was harshly judging her for it yet having proof that it was known understandably only made her feel worse.
"I know it might seem like an inconsiderate thing to do to go and gossip like that but I only mean well Candace, I want to try and help, like I said." Her grandmother explained.
"I… I k-know…" Candace muttered, her eyes glued to the sight of her lap.
"Come on Candace, it'll be alright." said Luna in a gentle voice. She reached her hand over to her with hopes of drawing her attention, succeeding for a brief moment. "I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"
For a second Candace managed to feel the intended effect of her sister's words before she considered how easily it could've been applied to her situation the previous afternoon.
"Let's go fishing! What's the worst that can happen?" How about the most humiliating moment of her life? Without delay she started to sink back into her seat.
"Candace please, all she wants to do is talk and see if there's anything she could do to help, it is her job you know." Shelly went on. "All I'm asking is that you just make a quick visit like she asked and nothing more, unless of course she recommends anything but we won't know if that's the case unless you talk first."
Candace gave a sigh and folded her hands in her lap. "A-Alright… I-I'll go…"
She peered up at her family before her and put on a hollow smile, watching as they tried to treat the gesture as a genuine thing by smiling back themselves instead of further worrying. That sinking feeling entered her stomach as she came back down, nervous about whatever the day would now hold for her. That so often ignored sense of hunger came along with it.
"A-After… A-After a l-little breakfast suppose…"
A/N: I know this is pretty short compared to most of the other chapters but... I don't know. Life's been pretty busy the past two months what with graduating, moving from home and what and not and I don't really know if I'll really have time, or quite frankly, motivation, to getting any more work here done. I really wanted to finish this story and start some other ideas but it just seems like that isn't in the cards for the foreseeable future and beyond. I'm really grateful to anyone who liked, followed or reviewed this story or any others of mine and if this is really all I can manage to get done then I'm sorry that this was the best I could do.