Chapter 17

Screw This

This had to be some sort of bad joke, right? So bad that it was downright tasteless, if you would ask her. This had to be a prank her mother thought to be a 'fun' idea to pull on her some time before she would arrive at her place, it just had to be. Up until now, Cora Jade had believed that she knew her mother through and through while growing up, knowing exactly what kind of woman she was, being fully aware of her worst traits. But this… God damn it, this right here, this was just a new low. To think that her own mother would hide this from her all this time, not even bothering to mention this to her when she was recovering in the hospital.

Surprise and anger that she barely managed to mask fought over who should take control while she stood there in the living room, the same living room where she had watched Saturday morning cartoons with a big warm bowl of cereal and watched and danced to MTV on full blast when she was lucky enough to be home alone for the day as a kid. It seemed that just like Autumnfield itself, this very house hadn't changed in the slightest either throughout the years; the interior had remained exactly the same as on the day where she was finally able to leave with the firm, joyful belief that she was never going to go back again and ride off with her beloved boyfriend into the sunset like the cheesy, overly optimistic ending of some Disney movie. Unable to look away from what was in front of her, she found it impossible to find any words to express. What the hell is this? Who the fuck are you? For how long have you been here? How long has all of this been going on? All of these questions rushed through her head, coming this dangerously close to escaping past her lips, but deep down inside, Cora knew that she had to keep her mouth shut, keep her cool and put on a façade for now, for she couldn't afford at this moment. to storm out of her childhood home in a fit of rage and never return.

As it turned out, it wasn't going to be just her and her mother for the time being. A man who she had never seen before, being a hundred percent certain that he wasn't one of her many stepfathers, was lazily lounging on the beige couch in front of the TV and was staring back at her with an infuriatingly sheepish smile. Cora guessed that he must be somewhere in his late forties to early fifties, judging by the lines near his mouth and eyes, and the sporadic grey hairs that could be spotted in his curly, dark brown hair and mustache. He wore thick glasses with black frames. It was entirely possibly that an unhealthy diet was responsible for the pot belly that was tightly wrapped by the fabric of his sky-blue blouse. He apparently felt so comfortable being here that he had even taken off his shoes and rest his feet on top of the coffee table between the couch and the TV, though thankfully he was wearing clean-looking, grey socks. Even though it was only one hour after the afternoon came peeking around the corner, two bottles of cheap beer, one fully emptied and one half-full, could be spotted right next to his feet, with a few drops coming from either one of the bottles having formed a small, yellowish puddle on the glass sheet that protected the wood underneath. Only a few tiny pretzels were left on the bottom of the expensive-looking bowl that had also been put on the table at some point; they were definitely the source of the crumbles that added to the mess he had made before Cora arrived at their door. The TV was switched on, the screen showing a news anchor announcing some shocking news regarding a case that had kept the residents of the nearby town of Wattson in a tight grip of worry and fear, emotions that would soon turn into heartbreak, disgust, and most of all, anger; Tim Young, the husband of the missing Lisa Young and soon-to-be-father of their first child had been taken into police custody after finally confessing to murdering his wife and dumping her body at the local oil site where he had worked for many years after an anonymous tip had led police to the location where Lisa's body had been hidden.

Geraldine Jade was standing right behind her daughter, and being either completely unaware of the surprise that had crashed onto her like an avalanche or simply not giving a damn about this, she proudly gestured to the man on the couch. 'Cora, I'd like you to meet Bill.' she said with a broad smile on her face. That's when Cora noticed something she hadn't seen earlier, and dear God did she suddenly feel stupid for not having caught a glimpse of it mere moments ago. That golden watch wasn't the only accessory she had been wearing this whole time; now that Cora could take a better look at her mother's hand, she saw the rose gold ring adorned with the tiniest diamond she had ever seen around her ring finger, which was all the prove that she needed to confirm her suspicions. God damn it mom, god fucking damn it… 'Bill, this is my daughter who I have talked about. She'll be staying here for a while.'

That was the cue for the man who was beyond a shadow of a doubt her mother's new beau, to get up from the couch, causing it to softly creak as he did so. It only took him three steps to stand in front of the bewildered young woman. His face still wore that sheepish expression that had appeared when Cora had entered the living room, so perhaps he found this whole situation just as surprising and awkward as she did? Maybe so, maybe so. He reached out his hand to exchange a handshake, which Cora seriously had to force herself to give into this, her hand gripping onto the hand in front of her. Feeling the sensation of his uncomfortably warm, clammy hand on the skin of hers made her cringe, but she quickly remembered to keep up the façade in order to let this unexpected, unwanted meeting to go as smoothly as possible.

'Ah, so you must be Cora.' Bill said, thankfully letting go of her hand while talking. 'Geraldine has been telling me all about you. Sorry to hear about what has happened to you, that must have truly been awful to go through… Did you have a good trip, though?'

Okay, the last thing she wanted was a goddamn pity party offered by this guy who she had literally only met minutes ago, so Cora quickly decided to ask something that had been on her mind this whole time, possibly the only question that didn't risk giving this whole conversation an awkward turn.

'Uh, yeah… it's been a long trip, but you know, I'm just glad that it's all over with and to be finally here.' A lie; a complete and utter lie. 'So, uh… Bill, right? How long have you been staying here?'

'Let's see… I think for about a week now. Yeah, I think that's it. And before that, we have been dating for… three months, I believe?'

A week. A whole fucking week. The very same week where she had spent her final days recovering in the hospital, and to drop one more bomb, her own mother had been hiding this whole relationship for the past three months, not even mentioning it during the last phone call they had before the deadly incident with her ex-fiancé, which was, what? A month before? She had even hidden it from here during that one visit she had bothered to make at the hospital, even when they made the agreement of Cora being allowed to stay in Autumnfield for as long as she needed. And hell, she had the goddamn chance to finally tell her when she was on the road with Darby, but even then… That new low Cora had felt her mom had reached earlier? Yeah, that was pretty much confirmed by now. Just the thought of her and this guy smooching on the couch at night without a care in the world while she laid in the hospital bed wide awake at that very same moment, sick with anxiety about how her future would be like if she would indeed be charged for murder, expecting each moment for the police to barge in, cuff her wrists together and toss her in jail, fighting off the creeping guilt of accidently causing the death of Trevor, all while simultaneously trying her hardest to endure the lingering physical pain that occasionally jolted through her body like small, raw bolts of lightning made her blood boil with rage and disgust, but she had to keep it all in, dear fucking God, she just had to.

'I see…' was all that Cora could manage to say.

'Yeah, kind of a surprise, I can imagine.' Bill said, letting out a low chuckle. 'But I'm certain that we're just going to get along just fine, Cora. People have told me that I'm a great guy to be around with…'

Just then, Cora noticed something that instantly made her feel so uncomfortable that it almost made her sick to her stomach. Maybe her mom didn't see it, but she sure as hell did. She saw something that closely resembled a certain kind of hunger in Bill's eyes when his sight slowly traveled down her body, staring at it a little too long for her liking.

'Y-Yeah, that would be wonderful.' she said, trying not to let the disgust make itself known through her noise. 'If you don't mind, I think I'm going to put all my stuff upstairs in my room. Maybe lie down for a second, too. After all, it's been quite a while that I've been lying on a proper bed.'

'Sure thing, honey.' Geraldine said. 'Here, let me help you carrying your bag upstairs.'

Cora wasn't planning on protesting against this offer, because this would be a good opportunity to ask her why on God's green earth she would hide her newest relationship from her. So she quickly turned around and followed her mother, who was holding her daughter's duffle bag by the straps, into the hallway, where the stairs could be found. When they were halfway up the stairs, the former rookie ghost huntress found it safe to assume that they were out of earshot, but still planned on keeping her voice as low as possible.

'Could you please mind explaining to me why you didn't tell me anything about this guy?!' Cora whispered with a hushed, indignant tone. 'You could have spared me the surprise if you told me any sooner, you know?'

'For God's sake, Cora, you really can't mind your own business for once, can you?' was Geraldine's snappy response, the volume of her voice matching her daughter's. 'What the hell does it matter to you? And don't even think of complaining about him while you're staying here, just like you did with all the others. He makes me happy, alright? He's not going anywhere. And you'd better start accepting him as your new dad, because we're going to get married this winter.'

'Are you serious?'

'Dead serious, Cora. I deserve my happiness too, you know?'

That was literally the same thing she said whenever Cora had the nerve to state her opinion about her wedding plans, hoping to achieve that one thing she desired over and over again by putting a ring on those losers she saw fit to be hubby material and dragging them in front of an altar, no matter how obvious it was that they were anything but that. Who the hell did Cora think she was, trying to prevent her from being happy, she was just a kid who didn't know what she was talking about, she should keep her mouth shut, put up a smile wearing that bridesmaid dress and start accepting the fact that her mother's new husband was going to be her new father… for about a year, tops. There was so, so much Cora wanted to say back to her mother, but wisely decided to stay quiet and instead let out a barely audible, annoyed sigh while rolling her eyes.

They reached the top of the stairs and in front of her childhood bedroom, her mother told her to take her time on unpacking her stuff. Cora didn't say this out loud either, but oh yeah, she sure would, preferring to stay in her room for as long as possible at this moment. She gave her mother a small, quiet nod, took the duffel bag from her and entered the room she had slept in for her entire childhood. As soon as she stepped inside, she was greeted by the faint smell of lavender, which instantly confirmed that Geraldine Jade had indeed found enough time in between smooching with her new beau and excitedly making plans on how to make their wedding ceremony the grandest of them all to clean her daughter's bedroom. And, well… Cora wasn't going to lie about it; entering this bedroom did make her feel a little twang of nostalgia. It was kind of unreal, even. She had been used to sleeping in the bedroom she had shared with her former fiancé for so long that her childhood bedroom had become a distant memory to her. But now that she was looking at it, she could instantly conclude that pretty much nothing had changed in here, be it the desk near the window where she had spend many nights feverishly attempting to catch up with her homework before she would have to hand it over to her teacher the following day, her bed in the far right corner with freshly washed sheets (the main source of the lavender smell), to the large, white wardrobe on her right, near the door. The soft pink walls were completely void of any decoration whatsoever, even though Cora had desperately wanted to change this in her early teen years. To this day, the former rookie ghost huntress could still remember begging her mother to let her put on some posters of Green Day, the Offspring or at the very least her childhood hero Tony Hawks on the walls to give her bedroom a bit more personality, to express her interests. But as always, her mother wouldn't budge, saying that posters like those didn't 'belong' in a girl's room. The only kind of posters she would ever accept were the ones relating to the more girly stuff that Cora despised, like horses, female popstars or cartoony, cutesy designs. And thus, the walls in Cora's bedroom would remain untouched for many years to come. Cora assumed that she wasn't going to find any kind of clothing in her wardrobe, given how she had taken everything out on the day where she was finally able to move out, stuffing the contents of her wardrobe into multiple suitcases, absolutely convinced that she was going to have the most wonderful life imaginable with the guy she had fallen so deeply in love with. As anyone might guess, the current state of Cora's (hopefully) temporary bedroom was rather barren, but that didn't matter to her. She had a bed, a closet and a desk; that's all that she needed for now.

Now that she thought about it… there was one thing that she had left here, which was something she had only realized when she and Trevor had left Autumnfield far, far behind, and God did she regret not bringing it with her, having practically forgotten all about it on that day. She was almost ashamed of this, given the fact that it had been an important relic from her teen years, which she had been forced to hide from her mother for many years to avoid raising her ire. No matter how hard she would try to convince her otherwise, it would always be a 'boy's thing' in her mother's eyes, and the last thing she wanted was for her precious daughter who had to forever remain a girly girl to run along with the 'scummy' teen boys at the park. Cora could still remember where exactly she had hidden it, somewhere she was convinced her mother wouldn't look. So that's why she walked towards the bed, put the bag on top of the freshly washed sheets and knelt down to take a peek underneath the bed, sticking her arm out in an attempt to reach it. Sure enough, her fingertips touched something hard with a grainy texture. Cora could feel the corners of her mouth curl into a small, triumphant smile, knowing that her beloved relic had been safe from being tossed into the trash the whole time she had been away. She used her fingers to let it roll towards her, and as soon as it peeked from underneath the bed, she picked it up and took a little moment to appreciate what she was holding her hands right now.

That childhood relic was nothing else but her beloved skateboard, that she had taken on so many trips to the park and around town, lazily rolling across the pavement without a care in the world and occasionally trying to expand her list of skills she could pull off with this, all while hoping to become the greatest female skateboarder in the world, hauling in golden trophy after golden trophy during her career. Looking at the skateboard's grip tape only fueled the nostalgia inside of Cora. It was still there, as if it had been freshly sprayed on yesterday; right there, on the layer of grainy texture, she had sprayed a 'C', 'J', and a heart on it with bright red paint. It was on this very moment that Cora swore to never leave this skateboard here again, planning to take it along with her when the time to get the hell out of here finally came, no matter where she would end up. That skateboard here had been her baby in her younger years, and she would never abandon it again.

Cora then got back up on her feet, sat down on the edge of her bed and let herself fall backwards, her back touching the sheets and a sigh escaping past her lips.

'It's not going to take long…' she mumbled to herself. 'It's not like I'm going to stay here forever. All I need is to find a job, work my ass off and save up money. I'll be out of here in no time. It's going to be fine. It's going to be fine…'

Then again… how long was it going to take to save up the amount of money she needed? It would take time, a lot of time, most likely… and there was nowhere else she could go in the meanwhile.

Three knocks on the doorframe caused Cora to snap out of her thoughts and sit up. She had completely forgotten to close that damn door when she had entered earlier, so there had been no need for Bill to open it and stand in the doorway, leaning against the frame with one hand in the pocket of his jeans. Shit… how long had he been standing there?

'Is everything alright here, Cora?' he asked. 'Do you need any help unpacking? I'll be more than happy to help you out…'

The former rookie ghost huntress got up and made a few steps towards the door, making sure that there was a proper amount of space between her and her mother's fiancé. Forcing herself to politely smile at him, she shook her head. 'No thanks, Bill. I'm all good here, I just needed to rest up for a bit…'

That's when she saw it again. She swore to God that she could see it, making it next to impossible to keep up the forced friendliness. The hunger that had glistened in his eyes earlier, rearing its revolting head once more when Bill took his sweet time scanning Cora's body from head to toe. That same hunger spilled over to his mouth, which curled itself into a smirk that would give any woman the absolute creeps.

'You know…' he said with a low voice, as if he didn't want his fiancée to hear what he was about to say. 'Your mom has told me a lot about you… but she has never told me about how damn sexy you are.'

Barely able to suppress a gasp of disgust, Cora quickly closed the door in front of him.

Before Cora could even realize it, the hours rushed by fast enough for dinner time to peek around the corner, having tried her hardest to avoid spending time with Bill by staying in her bedroom and repeat her plan over and over again like some sort of mantra, desperately trying to hold onto the hope it brought along. He thankfully hadn't tried to go any further after she had promptly slammed the door shut in his face, having gone downstairs afterwards in apparent defeat to continue lazily lounging on the couch in front of the TV and stuffing her face with mini pretzels and whatever other snack he could get those clammy hands on. Time sure as hell passes by fast when you're trying to avoid everyone else in the house while focusing on your plans, Cora soon figured out. The sun would set soon enough, and in a few hours, it would be completely dark… and it would be around that time where Darby would head off to the Cedar Hills to lay rest to whatever rampaging ghost was forming a danger to innocent travelers, Cora knew. He would be fine, right? Yes, of course. He had been doing this long before she had crossed paths with him, so what's a seriously pissed off Mindless wreaking havoc at some old, shady motel? And right now, he sure would be glad to not constantly having to worry about Cora's safety during the job, she figured. He would be glad to be working by himself again, just like he had been doing for many years… This was better for him, Cora figured. Not only for him, but for her too. They both had gone back to their regular lives, like they had planned. She had promised him that he would be rid of her by the end of their little road trip, after all… he never had to think about her again and continue living the ghost hunter life.

Geraldine's voice reached her bedroom, telling her that dinner was ready. Just the thought of having to share a table with the same guy who had been ogling her like the goddamn creep he turned out to be underneath that sheepishly friendly exterior made a heavy chill run up Cora's spine with so much force that it actually hurt, but her empty stomach had managed to convince her otherwise. And the rather enticing smell of meat, tomato sauce and cheese that drifted all the way upstairs didn't help either, thus forcing herself to emerge from her bedroom, telling herself to eat dinner as quickly as possible and retreat back to the safety of her room. As Cora entered the dining room, she came to realize that tonight's dinner would consist of lasagna and some salad with tiny tomatoes on the side; and just like she expected, none other than Bill was sitting with her mother at the round dinner table, occupying two of the three chairs… and the empty chair was right between him and his fiancée. God fucking damn it… as much as Cora wanted to mutter this under her breath, she didn't say a word, instead slowly breathing out through her nose. And so, she sat down at the table, planning to eat that slice of lasagna that had dropped on her plate by her mother as quick as possible.

One thing that sure as hell didn't make the first dinner she had at her childhood home in years more comfortable was the fact that Geraldine thought it would be perfectly acceptable for her to talk nothing else but shit about Darby Allin not long after they had begun to dig in, with her daughter sitting right next to her.

'My God, Bill… I can't tell you how glad I am that Cora doesn't have to be driving along with that creep anymore.' she said right before taking a mouthful of salad. 'I mean, you should have seen him when he pulled up to the house today. All dressed in black, covered in tattoos, driving in some dodgy-looking van… I am a people person, you know that, right? I can read people very well, and let me tell you, I could immediately tell that he was a nutjob. No good could ever come from a guy who looks like that.'

'How do you know, mom?' Cora asked, masking the rising irritation by keeping her voice low. 'You are not the one who has been traveling with him…'

'Cora, honey, please. You have been naïve as a kid and I can tell that you're still naïve now. You didn't know how to judge a guy's character back when you took off with that Trevor guy, and apparently you still can't. If I had known that you would get a ride with the likes of that guy, well… then I would have driven all the way to Driggs my damn self to pick you up.'

Yeah, as if a road trip with the likes of you would be a joyous occasion, Mom. It was so tempting to let her mother know this, but Cora quietly cut off a piece of lasagna and put it in her mouth; she may have not noticed at this point, but hearing her mother continuing to talk shit about the guy who had not only saved her life back at her home, but also taught her the ways of a ghost hunter's life and had opened up enough to share the tale of his tragic childhood to her, made Cora clench her fork so tightly that her knuckles paled. Bill himself hadn't said a word so far, only nodding with everything his fiancée said while stuffing his face with lasagna every now and then, most likely feigning interest in her ramblings… unbeknownst to Geraldine, one could easily guess what, or rather who, he was more interested in.

As her mother continued to spew garbage about the man who had been kind enough to drive her daughter all the way to her damn doorstep, Cora was about to take another bite from her meal when she felt something that almost caused her to choke on the cheese-flavored dish. In the blink of an eye, every patch of skin on her body went cold, and she herself felt like she had completely frozen. She could feel it, right on her bare leg. She had felt that clammy sensation when she had forced herself to shake hands with that pervert earlier this day, and now she could feel that sickening warmth mixed with wetness one centimeter above her knee. Bill continued to keep up his supposed interest in his fiancée, not keeping her eyes away from her while his hand remained on Cora's leg, slowly creeping upwards as if he was savoring every second of this vile touch. Cora's eyes widened with absolute horror and disgust, her body refusing to cooperate with her, not allowing her to pull her leg away, stand up, shout at him, run away from this table, anything that could make this stop. She could hear the trembling, aroused breath that escaped from Bill's nose, confirming that he was barely able to control his perverted excitement over touching her leg. That bastard, that sick, slimy, revolting, fucking bastard…

She had been willing to put up with a lot. She had been willing to put with her mother's condescending words and obnoxious holier-than-thou attitude, she had been willing to be belittled at every whim, as long as she could eventually get the hell out of here and never come back. She had been preparing for that for the whole damn road trip. But this… some pathetic, middle-aged pervert that had slithered his way into her mother's life and could molest her if she would ever make the foolish mistake of letting her guard down… hell no. Hell. Fucking. No. How dared he, how fucking dared he? Who the fuck did he think he was, thinking he could touch her like this? Raging anger build through the initial shock and disgust, bringing along brightly burning flames to thaw her body out of its frozen state. Cora slowly raised her trembling hand under the table, hovering mere centimeters above Bill's hand, which was now coming dangerously close to traveling underneath her shorts. As much as she wanted to fucking burn it to a pile of crumbling ashes, this wasn't going to be an option. Cora had to be way more subtle about this.

But still, she wanted to make sure that this was going to hurt like a motherfucker.

As small and briefly lasting as the tiny fire ball that emerged from her palm was, it was still enough to make a screaming Bill jump up from his chair so quickly that it caused his glass of water to fall over, its contents spilling all over the table. He stumbled to get away from Cora, cradling his hand that had promptly colored in an angry, burning shade of red.

'Bill, what's wrong?!' Geraldine exclaimed in surprise.

'That bitch! That goddamn little bitch!' her fiancé bellowed. 'She fucking burned me with a lighter or something! Fuck, my hand! She burned my hand, Geraldine!'

'That's what you get for touching me, you fucking bastard!' Cora yelled at him, having decided to entirely forgo any attempts to keep the peace. 'Your hand was on my leg, pervert! He was touching me, mom! He had been fucking creeping on me the whole day!'

Geraldine didn't say anything at first, only staring at the pair of shorts her daughter had been wearing from the moment she had arrived and letting out a soft, disapproving scoff. 'Why do I have the feeling that you kind of wanted that, Cora? Look at how you're dressed! Couldn't wait on messing around with another guy after Trevor?'

'W-Wha…?' Cora could hardly believe what she was hearing right now. Her own mother was telling her this, her own goddamn mother. She shouldn't be surprised, given how she had picked her 'flavor of the year's' side no matter how badly they would treat her, ranging from telling her to 'shut the fuck up' to downright calling her a brat for calling them out on their bullshit, but none of them, not a single one of them had ever touched her in a manner like this… but even then, her mother would still find a reason to stick with them, as it seemed. It was almost impossible to believe this, but… a new low had yet again been reached.

'I can't believe this, Cora! I can't believe you would do this to me! I have been so kind to take you in after everything that has happened, and this is how you repay me?' her mother shouted at her. 'My God! You're only here for one day and you have already ruined everything!'

She could go to Hell. Along with her loser of a fiancé, who was still cradling his hand and whimpering in pain. Anger completely clouded Cora's mind to the point where she saw black spots dancing in front of her eyes. She had to leave, now. She didn't want to spend one more damn second at this table with this sad excuse of a human being who would much rather defend some pervert than her own flesh and blood. That's why Cora got up without saying anything else, headed to the hallway, rushed upstairs and slammed the bedroom door behind her with a loud bang.

When had been the last time she had gotten this furious that her whole body had literally started shaking? Cora couldn't remember; either that, or this had truly been the first time she had become this enraged. She didn't hear any footsteps following her, not downstairs or up the stairs. The young woman let herself fall on top of her bed, but not even feeling the soft sheets underneath her body could do anything to ease the rage that was rushing through every single vein. She barely had any control of her trembling hands; in an attempt to cease the shaking and perhaps worrying that she would lose all control over the flames inside her at the same time, she held her hands close to her chest, trying her best to focus on her breathing. Damn it, damn it, God fucking damn it… This is where she would be forced to stay at for the time being. This is was the only place she could possibly go to, or face the harsh reality of homelessness. No other family members, no friends… she was stuck here. Like the ghosts she had encountered during the road trip, she would remain chained here until she would find a way to move on. The promise of a place for her own somewhere far away from here seemed so, so far out of reach, wait, no… it almost felt like some dirty, shameless lie she told herself in order to keep her hopes up, believing that she would get out of here one day. She would have to stay here for months, hell, maybe even more than a year in order to save up whatever money she could make. A whole year of being stuck here with a mother who couldn't give less than two shits about her and a fiancé who couldn't keep his disgusting hands off of her… this was some kind of nightmare, wasn't it? Cora knew she had done this to herself, and she would have much rather preferred to stay with a friend, someone who would care enough about her to let her stay for a while. But who? She had nobody now. She was alone, all alone…

This realization washed away the anger and instantly replaced it with a sense of need. The need to be with that one person again who had been a part of her life for a short period of time, but still had been able to make a difference. There was no doubt within Cora's mind of who that could possibly be. Darby… God, Darby. Closing her eyes, she could perfectly memorize all the moments she had with him during these past two and a half days. Sure, she wasn't going to deny it, there had been plenty of moments where she had been annoyed by his stoic attitude and bickering seemed to be inevitable at times, but still… the happier moments they had together easily overshadowed them. She would forever be grateful for them; sitting down at the campfire and allowing themselves to open up to one another, sipping the soda on the empty, quiet parking lot near the convenience store, working together as a team like they have done it many times before, but perhaps most of all… painting a jacket that she would more than proud to wear. All of this was because of him, he had made all of this possible during the time they had together.

Despite the craziness and the intensity of the ghost hunting adventures they had shared, she had been… happy being with him.

Sitting up, she saw her customized denim jacket near her feet, the fabric brushing against her sock; she must have taken it off sometime before dinner came rolling around. Cora reached out and grabbed it, staring at the small drawings she and the blonde ghost hunter had painted on that one summer afternoon. This jacket was going to be the sole physical memory she was going to have of him, this had been his gift to her. Darby…

Just thinking of his name along made tears well up in the corners of Cora's eyes, instantly spilling over and trickling down her cheeks. She held the jacket close against her body and buried her face in it, proceeding to softly sob for minutes on end.

Something in the far distance gained speed when it approached the street, and as soon as it had turned around the corner, it was forced to slow down to the point where the screeching of the tires proved loud enough to break through the silence of the approaching night, eventually coming to a halt just below the window. It was this sound that made Cora look up, unable to not wonder who had pulled up at this place. A friend of her mother? The police to take her away for causing serious bodily harm? Cora wouldn't be shocked in the slightest if Bill had convinced her to press charges against her own daughter, seeing how she hadn't been even willing to side with her earlier. Brushing away whatever tears were still left on her cheeks, she slowly got up and looked through the window, still holding her jackets in her arms.

Her teary eyes instantly widened in surprise, finding it hard to believe what she was seeing now. Had some otherworldly being answered to her desire to be with him again? Was it merely coincidence? Or was it something else? But either way, it was standing there, on the other side of the street; a black van that had stopped right in front of her when she stumbled and fell down on the asphalt near the entrance of her former home, with the light of the lamppost the vehicle had stopped nearby acting as some sort of spotlight. When she saw who was casually leaning against the van, her heart skipped a beat in the best way possible, almost making her forget how to breathe in a mix of sheer surprise and joy. Darby Allin stared right back at her, locking eyes with her from outside. His hands were nearly fully tucked away in the pockets of his black jeans, with only his thumbs sticking out. He didn't say anything, but that was not needed, Cora soon realized when she stared at him. She knew exactly what he was trying to tell her. Even from this distance, she could see that small smirk on his face, which did not only strike her as reassuring, but also… inviting.

Yes, that was it; inviting. Inviting her to come out, get in his van, and…

At that very moment, a switch irreversibly switched inside Cora Jade's head; she knew exactly what to do, and she was more than willing to accept it, hell, to fully embrace it.

Everything happened in what could be described as a blur. She turned around and retrieved the duffel bag from her wardrobe. As soon as she had tossed it onto her bed, she began grabbing fistfuls of clothing she had stored away in that same wardrobe earlier, making sure not to forget anything. She laced up her black sneakers. Her black beanie was pulled over her head. This time, she wasn't going to leave her skateboard behind, clenching it between her arm and torso after she had put on her jacket and picked up the duffel bag. Not one hint of sentiment or nostalgia sparked through her when she exited her childhood bedroom, closing the door behind her. Trying not to trip over her own feet, she rapidly ascended down the stairs, where she heard the pained groans of what had to be Bill trying to nurse his burned hand with whatever cooling element he could find in this house, which would most likely be a bag full of frozen peas and carrots. The front door was right in front of her. Without looking back once, Cora opened it and did not even feel the need to close it behind her. It was only when a cold breeze of summer air brushed against her legs that the blur began to wear off for a bit, allowing her to feel the surprise and relief upon seeing the blonde ghost hunter. When he saw her quickly approaching, Darby took two steps towards her, though his hands still remained inside of his pockets.

'Darby… what are you doing here?' Cora asked. 'I… I thought you had left already!'

'Yeah, well…' Darby answered while shrugging. 'Your mom looks like the kind of person you couldn't stand hanging out with for longer than a day, so I thou-'

The blonde ghost hunter was then promptly silenced when Cora wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him in for a tight hug, resting her cheek against his chest and broadly smiling from ear to ear in pure bliss. All he could do was to stare down at her, eyes widened with surprise and a mouth that was unsure of what to say. Nothing about him indicated that he was planning on shoving her away, though. A few silent seconds passed before Darby finally decided on how to respond to this. His hands gently touched Cora's hair as he awkwardly hugged her back, and as sudden and surprising as this gesture had been… it did make his lips curl into a small smile.

'Cora! What the hell do you think you're doing?!' a furious voice they both recognized to well suddenly echoed through the street. Letting go of the blonde ghost hunter, Cora saw her mother standing in the doorway, looking absolutely enraged. She must have heard her go outside, no doubt about it. But instead of feeling any sort of dread or anger, Cora quickly darted towards the door of the passenger's seat. That was all Darby needed to know, hopping back behind the steering wheel. Right at that moment, Geraldine Jade had run towards the vehicle and began banging on the passenger side's door, which her daughter had thankfully managed to close just in time.

'You get out of that van right now, young lady! Don't even think about driving off, do you hear me?! Get out of there, come inside and apologize to Bill! Now, Cora! Now!'

There was one last thing Cora wished to tell her before they would speed off down the street and leave her mother behind in a state of complete and utter confusion; judging by the wide grin on her face while she rolled down the window, she couldn't wait to tell these exact words in her mother's face.

'Fuck you mom, I'm going to be a ghost hunter!'