Chapter Five:
Erin decided to go home and look for her sister, when she arrived she was scared to find her laying on the floor and her hand all cut up. Erin quickly got on the floor next to her sister, she pried her eyes opened. Gloria blinked them shut and then opened them again.
"Gloria what did you do?" Erin asked coughing.
"I-I don't know." Gloria replied, looking at her own hands that were shaking now. "Where were you?
"Umm.. I stayed at the park." Erin replied, coughing again.
"Oh, no.. your sick." Gloria replied concerned.
"No, I'm okay, but we need to get you cleaned up and the house before mom gets home." Erin insisted.
Gloria agreed, and the two occupied themselves with cleaning the house.
Meantime, at Michiru and Haruka's house, the two had a little bit of extra company. Ariel and Mari had come over to be baby sated, while their mother worked up at the dr's office all day and their father up at the control center. Hope kept her focus on a painting, trying not to get to wrapped up in the conversations going around. Faith went over and watched Hope for a little while, before she left to go play with some of the boys at the school.
Michiru came over to her daughter and sat her down on her lap, "Sweetie is something bothering you, you've acted strange since you came home last night."
"No, mama, everything's fine." Hope replied softly, "I'm just into my painting."
"I see." Michiru said glancing over at Hope's picture. It showed a picture of a young women crying, it was dark, and it looked about ready to storm. "Well, when you are ready to tell me what's wrong, I'm right here."
Hope nodded and watched her mother leave. When she was out of the room she continued with her picture.
Daisy's mother was trying to get her to cook with her, as she had a day off to spend with her daughter. Daisy showed now interest in cooking.
"Daisy hun, what is up with you? Are you not feeling well?" Makoto asked.
"Everything's fine mom." Makoto replied.
Chloe came into the room. "I can't get a hold of Erin and I haven't talked to her all week, she keeps disappearing."
Makoto laughed at this, "She can't just disappear."
"She's doing a good job at it, though." Chloe replied. Chloe looked at Daisy, "Did you get into another fight with her?"
"No." Daisy replied, a little hurt. "Oh, mom, I have to go get my communicator." Daisy remembered. Makoto nodded, and let her daughter go out to get it.
Maggie came out of her bedroom and went into the living room; her sister was in the same place as she was last night. Maggie looked at her confused. Lydia smiled and shrugged. Maggie went out of the living room and into the kitchen, where her mother and father were.
"Hey, you slept in. Everything all right?" Sestuna asked, concerned.
"Yea, everything is fine." Maggie lied, as she pulled a box of cereal out from the cupboard. She made herself some cereal and managed to eat half of it, before she decided to go back into the living room.
"What do you know?" Maggie questioned her little sister.
Lydia looked at her sister.
"Oh, come on Lydia, for once can you just talk. I never did anything to you. Why is it only Julia you talk to?" Maggie asked, irritated.
"I don't know much." Lydia replied, and went back to reading her book.
"Yea, I'm sure." Maggie said, and sat down on the couch.
Sestuna and Gary were confused by the conversation they just heard their daughters have. Gary looked at Sestuna asking for answers, but Sestuna only shrugged. She for once didn't know what was going on.
Annika Hino sat on one of the trees branches right outside the quarters; she was struggling with the pain she felt inside her. She knew something was wrong with Gloria, she could see through that hard shell Gloria was trying to put up. --Just what was Gloria hiding?
Erin plops down on the couch, after working hard to get the mess that Gloria had made over night. Gloria sat next to her sister. Gloria and Erin ended up dozing off, they were awaken by the door when their mother came in. Minako didn't even look at the girls, she walked right into her bedroom door and shut it.
"Let's go, please, Gloria. I don't want to stay here. I feel like were losing both parents." Erin begged.
Gloria looked at her mothers bedroom door, she could have at least looked at them, but she didn't even do that. "Okay, lets go."
Gloria opened the door for her younger sister and grabbed both of their jackets. When they were away from the quarters Erin finally allowed herself to breathe.
"I don't want to ever go home." Erin cried out.
Gloria didn't know what to say, she didn't want to go home either, but she knew they'd have to, just not tonight. When the girls reached the palace gates a familiar figure emerged from the gate.
"Where have you been?" Erin squealed, in delight and agony.
"With my Luna, keeping in eye on her and such." Artemis replied.
"Oh," Erin replied a little hurt, she missed Artemis.
"Where are you two going?" Artemis asked.
"For a little walk." Gloria replied.
"Interesting, at dark time?" Artemis asked a little suspicious.
"Yea.." Gloria answered.
"Don't you have school tomorrow?" Artemis questioned.
"Yea." Gloria said with the same monotone voice.
"Are you already failing?" Artemis questioned.
"Yea." Gloria replied once more.
"Alright, well, I guess I'll see you girls around. Don't wonder to far, and make sure your back at your quarters soon." Artemis said and took off.
"Whatever..." Gloria says, "There is no such thing as home. Come on Erin." the two walked on for a while. They left the palace and journeyed out, not really knowing where they were going. They just knew they were leaving everything behind, for the time being.
Morning came and so did school, but Gloria and Erin didn't attend. No one checked on Minako that day. Maggie and Daisy sat uncomfortably in school, wondering what was going on with them, wondering if they were back together now. Hope didn't bother eating, Faith asked her what was wrong, and she didn't answer.
Gloria and Erin were crossing a bridge, with waves that crashed into the side of the poles below. Erin gazed down over the edge. Erin steps onto the side of it, and stretches her arms out, closing her eyes.
"Erin no!" Gloria screamed.
"Why not?" Erin questioned.
Gloria's eyes filled with tears, she wanted so badly to go home and start screaming at her parents. Erin was six years old, and wanted to jump of a bridge because she couldn't deal with their mother and father anymore. Gloria took a hold of Erin into her arms. "Cause we can make it through this, I know we can." Gloria sat on the road with her sister, but crying. "It will be okay."
The two girls agreed to go home. Gloria and Erin walked into the palace library, surprised to see that most of the girls were doing their school work here today. Gloria quickly tried to hide her hands, but Maggie and Hope saw them.
"What happened?" Hope asked.
"Nothing important." Gloria said, backing up. With everyone paying attention to Gloria, Erin took the chance to run.
Ariel walked up to Gloria. "Gloria what happened?"
Soon everyone was bombarding Gloria with questions, Daisy pushed them away and told them they needed to leave Gloria alone. Most everyone went and sat down, Gloria stared at Daisy with a confused expression.
"Well, I have to go home, now." Gloria replied, she went out the doors, aware that her sister is gone. She started to get frantic, trying to think of every possible place a six year old would go. She hadn't eaten in a while, and she tried to jump of a bridge, she was coming down with a cold or something, all these thoughts go through Gloria's head. Gloria became overwhelmed by all this.
Daisy, Hope, Maggie, and now Annika stood outside watching Gloria as she broke down crying.
"What do you guys know, that I don't?" Annika questioned.
"That there's a good possibility that Minako and Asai have split." Maggie and Hope explained. Daisy ran over to Gloria, the three girls looked over at her confused. After they realized what happened they quickly ran over to Gloria. --She had blacked out once again.
Authors Note: I'm trying to finish this story up by this Friday. There are a total of eight chapters. I have three more to write. I hope you guys are all enjoying this story, because it's about to come to a end.