A/N: A chapter every day. Can you tell I'm on spring break? R&R :)

Chapter Four

Her fragile nature tugged at something in my heart, and I nodded, watching her as she wrapped her arms around her stomach soothingly. She shot me a slight smile before a look of pain crossed her delicate features and she turned around, heading back to Ivy.

The severity of her social anxiety perplexed me, intrigued me. She seemed unable to function without Ivy's aid. It reminded me of a documentary we read in school once, about identical twins who only spoke to each other, depended on each other for survival and happiness. But Ivy seemed content to interact on her own, without the intervention or help of anyone. I got the impression she was a bit of a social butterfly in her home district. But still, she held Charlotte's hand and coaxed her through the simplest of social conventions. The bond was beyond my comprehension.

I reached the disabled electric fence, now stripped of its barbed wire. With expert ease, I jumped, taking hold of the top of the fence and walked myself up, flipping myself over and landing in complete silence. By the darkness of the sky I judged it was around 10 pm, and about half an hour past my curfew.

I jogged my way through the remaining few blocks, working up a slight sweat to make it appear that I had tried to make it home on time. When I opened the door, my mother was waiting on the couch, curled up contentedly in my father's arms. I judged from her glistening forehead and colorless face that she had just awoken from one of her night terrors. Guilt panged within me.

Instead of yelling, my father turned his head slowly so as to not disturb my mother. He looked at me, speaking low. "You're late."

I sighed. "I know, I'm sorry. I lost track of the time."

He shrugged, never the kind to enforce anything strictly. "Try to pay more attention, alright?" He nodded his head towards my mother, her eyes half shut as she straddled the lines between the real world and the dream world. "She worries."

More guilt swirled in my stomach. "I know. I will, I promise." He nodded and smiled slightly, knowing that I meant it. He swept my mother up into his arms with ease, murmuring something into her ear before nodding me a goodnight and retreating to their room.

I sighed, shaking the sight of my mother's fragile state out of my mind, and walked into the kitchen, only now realizing the hunger panging in my stomach. I flung open a cupboard, breathing an exasperated sigh at the poor choice of options. I heard a maniacal giggle behind me.

I spun around quickly, only to see my sister, Melody, sitting in her pajamas, perched on the kitchen counter. At 19, she was still only 5 foot five, and able to crouch comfortably on the surface. Then, I saw what she was holding…a delectable slice of layered chocolate cake from our father's bakery.

"Oh, hell no, Melody," I started, lunging for it. She expertly blocked my grab, catching me in the throat with her forearm, extending the delicacy out of my reach. "You ate the last piece last time."

She gave me an evil grin, one I had come to fear. "Who is she?"

"What? Who is…what are you talking about?" I asked, blood rushing to my cheeks even though I had nothing to hide. My throat began to ache from the impact against her arm, so I backed away, in time for her to grab a fork and shove a greedy bite into her mouth. Jealousy coursed through my veins.

She swallowed. "The one who wears lavender perfume. Who is she?"

I remembered Charlotte's embrace, but I had assumed the aroma came from the surrounding wildflowers. I sighed. "They're just friends."

Her navy eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hand, letting out a snort. "They?"

Dammit.

While I struggled to the right words to explain, she downed another bite. "Slut!" she sang through a mouth full of chocolate.

"Shut up, Mel, it's not like that," I said, giving up on ever getting the cake.

"Uh, huh. Sure."

I rolled my eyes and closed the cupboard, since now any option was repulsive in comparison to chocolate cake, now vanished from the plate and smeared across Melody's face. I turned around and headed to my room, her demonic giggles fading with distance.

I shut the door, stripped down to my boxers, and collapsed onto my bed, welcoming the cool feel of the sheets. My skin burned.

I shut my eyes, an immediate slideshow of the day's event passing beneath my eyelids. Ivy cackling at me, twirling the vines across her midsection. Her piercing eyes looking straight into me, Charlotte's retreating to the ground. The feel of her tremble against me.

I wondered if they would be there tomorrow, if I wandered back into the forest after running my mother's errands. If they'd tell me more about the uprising, tell me what I needed to do, train me. I drifted to sleep in a mental cloud of lavender perfume.