Brigid finished mopping the kitchen floor just as Erin was starting to iron Brigid's new school clothes.
"I love these Swifter wet jets." Brigid said, placing it back into the closet where the vacuum cleaner and ironing board and other cleaning assortments were kept.
"And I know that is exactly the only reason you ever offer to mop." Erin said glancing up at her.
"Just because you like to be old school at times and use hot water and Lysol does not mean I am lacking in mopping abilities." Brigid stated, flipping her hair.
"You are also not lacking in folding abilities." Erin said sweetly. "So fold the towels, please."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Brigid said, folding the towels and placing them orderly in the basket. "I'll put them in the bathrooms when Larten gets up before I go to bed."
"Also, hang up up your clothes."
Brigid threw her head back, "Uuugh!"
"Brigid, they are literally already on hangers. The terrible half of the job is already completed." Erin said shaking out the newly ironed clothes looking for any wrinkles. "I'll even help you hang them up."
"Oh no, I have a system. You do not have access to said system." Brigid said, folding the final towel.
"I know your system, Brigid." Erin said.
"Yes, you may have figured it out BUT there are intricacies you will never know." She replied, gathering her clothes.
"Just go, will you?" Erin said pushing her towards the stairs.
Everything had been completed besides Brigid putting the towels away and vacuuming. It was only 7:00 P.M. and it was almost time for a new episode of one of their favorite shows. Erin flipped on the t.v. making sure it wasn't too loud, put a bag of popcorn in the microwave, and pulled out two soda cans. She was just pouring the popcorn into a large bowl as Brigid ran through the kitchen into the living room, landing on the couch.
"Come on, come on, come on!" She bounced eagerly.
Erin brought in the popcorn and the cans of soda, Brigid opening hers without even looking. Erin was just as eager and when the opening scene happened, both of them were floored and completely engrossed.
"Yeeees! Murder that son-of-a-bitch! Ha, yeah that's right, dick hole, she's coming for you!" Brigid yelled with a mouthful of popcorn.
Erin was right there with her. "Oh, she's landed, she has landed and she is coming for all of you! That's right it's time to begin."
"Yes! Oh my god, this is going to kill me. I am slayed already." Brigid said pretending to fan herself.
"Perfect way to start it. That is what I am talking about!" Erin said laughing, pumping her legs up-and-down.
"Glad we watched both the first airing and then the encore presentation. Second time was just as good!" Brigid laughed, jumping over the edge of the couch.
"What time is it? It should be 9:00." Erin asked, carrying the empty popcorn bowl.
"Yep. A little after." Brigid said taking another soda from the fridge.
Erin looked at Brigid, not sure how to broach the subject.
"What have you seen between Larten and me?" She asked directly.
Brigid choked and started coughing.
"Ow, you almost killed me. I hate it when you're direct like that, good lord." Brigid choked out.
Erin stared into her eyes." What have you seen?"
Brigid waved her hand. "Not much but definitely something. Something more complicated but it's undefined. Just something...more." Brigid narrowed her eyes. "Why do you ask?"
Erin leaned her elbows onto the island counter. "Just bits and flashes that I've gotten. Something develops between us and it's hazy, but there's something more, just like you said. I don't how to feel about it though." Erin said, more to herself than Brigid. "I know you know the same thing. Actually, you know even more than me, but aren't sharing it. But it has to do with us in a direct or roundabout way."
"You just said it perfectly about my equations that I've gotten." Brigid said, fidgeting. She knew Erin and they both knew what each of their revelations were most likely pointing towards. And Erin was right, Brigid did know more than her. There was a 95% guarantee the variation was going to happen. If Erin allowed it. If not, the other variation would dominate. It was close to the original but shifted.
"Erin." Brigid said, getting her sister to look up at her, "Promise me something."
Erin looked at Brigid puzzled. "What?"
Brigid took a deep breath. "Actually follow your heart."
Erin almost laughed. "Follow my heart?"
"I'm serious. Follow your heart. You're overcome by everyone else's hearts desires, good and bad, but you never see or focus on your own. Remember to have a separate place for yourself. You always tell me to do the same, that we can't always live our lives at the mercy of our abilities. We can't let them become who we are when they are only parts of us as a whole. So, just promise to do that for me. Actually take your own advice for once." Brigid snorted, trying to ease the seriousness of the moment; but the way her light-brown eyes bore into Erin's dark ones, Erin knew she was serious and coming from a place that held Erin's best interests at heart.
Erin nodded. "I promise."
Brigid held out her pinky. "It's a 'sis' promise."
"Wow, that serious, huh? Okay. I promise, sis." Erin locked her pinky with Brigid's.
"Good! Now when the heck is Larten going to get up?! I have to put away these stupid towels!" Brigid said, breaking the moment.
Erin shook her head. "I'll put them up. You need to go to bed. It takes you long enough to fall asleep so you may as well go now."
"Yeah, and I need to take a shower first; my hair feels gross from all my hairspray."
"Get going then. I'll see you in the morning. Love you."
"Love you, too. Night." Brigid said heading up the stairs.
Erin continued to stand in the kitchen, thinking about what Brigid had said. Erin did not want to admit it but she figured it must have something to do with Larten and she had to at least acknowledge it: there was something starting to knit them closer to something...more, between them. It didn't seem that way now, but since she was to 'follow her heart' she needed to admit to herself that her feelings for him before were building inside of her. She could hold herself accountable for how she felt about him, but as far as how Larten felt, she had no idea. Maybe Brigid knew something from his perspective. It was all up to him. She knew he was a serious man, especially concerning his vampire duties with this mad vampaneze business, but he was content traveling and enjoyed performing with the Cirque. His heart lay with performing at the Cirque, just like she had seen before in blips at the show. He had a long history and the Cirque was a safe zone for him to return to. Erin had had a small blip one evening that he had been pushed to his breaking point and wanted nothing more to do with...everything. (Vampire related, she assumed.) Everything being the only word Erin could come up with not knowing the specifics of why he ended up fed up with it all in the main vampire world.
Erin pulled herself out of her thoughts. She didn't want to dwell on them. She sat back down on the couch and picked up the notebook she had written in a couple of days ago to write down the facts she had just concluded. She looked at the last entry she had made to refresh her memory. There were the two long ones, Larten and her on the stairs, saving Brigid from Mulough and helping Larten, and then the last two small ones that were only snippets of words concerning a conversation on the patio and something about street lamps and getting lost in a moment. She thought back to Larten mentioning about her showing him around town the night he had taken her flitting. The day she had written her flashes. These seemed to point to something definitely upcoming, especially since it correlated with the single variable words Brigid had written down. But as for when? Who knew? The evidence was all there but as far as Larten's outlook on the whole thing...
"Stop!" Erin snapped at herself, covering her face with the notebook. She wasn't going to dwell on them, right? Right.
She lowered her notebook, wrote the date, and tried to remember the nightmares she had recently. She tapped the pen against her lips, thinking. Her mind was completely blank. She stopped tapping her pen. Her mind was literally completely blank. Nothing. Nada. No remembrance of anything! Just black. Black, black, black everywhere. Drowning in black. Erin scribbled that down. Why couldn't she remember anything else? Was that it? Surely not. Erin squeezed her eyes close and concentrated, trying to dive into her subconscious. She opened her eyes. Still nothing. Just black and drowning. She stared at the words on the page. Maybe she would get flashes of them later. That happened at times. But for now, it was just those short words. Until she had a sudden flash of a man sneaking up from behind her!