Chapter 3 - Carousel of Nightmares

After getting home from work and her bus journey which she spent updating Anaya on what happened with Dean and being amused by Anaya's reaction, Cora walked into her kitchen to discover her mother and father sat drinking coffee. The room appeared dim as only a few lights were on, Cora could sense tension as the kitchen oozed that exact atmosphere. As she and her parents exchanged basic pleasantries and small talk, she felt all the more drained: she was tired of such fixed and pointless questions.

However, it was clear that Cora's entrance disrupted them as they were almost silent. The kitchen was small and had a quaint dining table beside the window, three chairs for the three of them. It was ironic, however, as Cora would normally eat in her own room and always distanced herself from them if it was avoidable.

Filled with dread and awkwardness, Cora unpicked from her brain and broke the silence.

"We had a visitor today" I announce, standing near the table.

"Like a food inspector?" My mother asked, to which and I shook my head.

"This man named Vincent came to visit Richard and he wanted me to tell Dad that he was back, so you could arrange a time to catch up." I recalled whilst taking off my shoes.

"Did he say anything else ?" My father quizzed.

"Not really, we didn't talk much." I replied, taking my shoes to the shoe rack.

"Well was there a specific tone ?". I shook my head.

"Did he have a certain expression?" He questioned me further.

"No? And what's with all the questions?" I asked with confusion and slight chuckle.

"Cora don't talk to your father like that." My mother demanded. For a moment, her cheeks and chest were red. She was wearing her pharmaceutics attire which consisted of light blue baggy trousers and blouse paired with her name-tag and lanyard. She wore her blonde bob in a short, low pony as she would always find herself being irritated by her hair tickling her face. Such minor things had always irritated her.

"I was just asking him a question, I really didn't put a certain tone to it." I explained honestly.

"Always looking for an argument, aren't you ?" She fired back, to which, I was utterly shocked by.

"You're the one picking an argument out of thin air Mum." I snapped. She stood up from her chair, the feet of it sliding against the wooden floor.

"Clarissa, it's fine." My father calmed my mother with his hand on her arm. She looked down at him and then at me.

All of a sudden, my fathers phone rang in between our dispute and she sat back down calmly. But with rage still at my surface, I fled the kitchen to the tranquillity of my own room. Leaving them both.

Cora opened the door and collapsed onto her bed. Her room was small, with a colour palette of white and grey: she had a minimalist style which reflected the her dislike of materialism, which probably developed when money was short and stresses were high. Regardless, her room was tidy and neat, she needed the control and ability of creating perfection when her own life was very much the binary opposite.

She turned on her phone, the light illuminating her dark room. Anaya had sent her a sea of text messages, all centred around her love interest, Jace, who had yet again bailed on their plans. Cora soothed Anaya, reassuring her with words she wanted to hear and finally put her phone down. Much like Anaya, Cora needed to rant but the difference was that she couldn't. And so, just like each time Cora felt like she was going to burst, she dragged her feet to her desk and began writing in her journal.

"Thank you for Saturday, I really needed to hear those words because I'm genuinely losing brain cells because of Jace. Were meeting tonight though, he best not be an hour late like last time" Anaya huffed, then taking a handful of chips into her mouth.

"Anaya it's not right if he does it again, you don't deserve to be an afterthought." I sighed with sympathy, her face saddened for a moment, then she had a random burst of energy.

"Anyways, you said this Dean had dark hair and dark eyes right ? Tall ?" She asked enthusiastically, I nodded with a puzzled face.

"Im almost sure he goes here. Our school is huge and we have tons of students but I swear I've heard of and seen him." She announced.

"I'll ask Wren and Ivan when they get here, they know everyone." She explained hastily.

"Speaking of tweedle dum and tweedle dee." I joked, nodding my head in the direction they were coming from.

"Hey! You're late again." Anaya stated.

The boys shrugged.

"You need to stop checking yourselves out in the changing rooms and get your asses here on time." Anaya joked.

Wren was Anaya's cousin and joined high school in the middle of the year, he began leeching onto Anaya and Cora since he didn't know anyone else. Luckily, he befriended Ivan from his rugby team but because he enjoyed the company of Cora and Anaya (vice versa) Ivan joined their trio. Cora always found it odd how similar Anaya and Wren looked, both had dark hair, eyes and a button nose.

"Awe did someone really miss us ?" Ivan asked, grabbing a chip from Anaya.

"Don't blame me. Ivan here just can't seem to tie his shoe laces yet" Wren joked, shaking his head. They both sat with us on the small, circular table.

"Do you happen to know anyone called Dean? Possibly in our year ?" I asked curiously. Ivans hazel eyes lit up and widened, followed by a furrowed brow.

"Yeah, he's in our year. Dean Lindon." Wren stated.

"Why are you asking about that freak anyway ?" Ivan pondered, venom in his words.

"I served him on Saturday but I gave him alcohol instead of non-alcohol and he just exploded at me. Anaya said he might go here, so we though to ask you both since you know everyone." I explained, taking a bite of my sandwich. Ivan seemed to be engaged with every word.

"Oh I definitely know him. He's a psychotic lunatic. Listen to this right, he has charges of not just assault but theft too. His dad's a powerful, loaded guy though, so he got away with a shit tonne." Ivans words had elements of anger within them.

"Rumour has it that he paid the school to keep things quiet and let him finish high school." Ivan gossiped, Wren nodding in agreement.

"How come we haven't heard about this and you both have ?" Anaya inquired, seemingly in disbelief of Ivans story.

"My dad was appointed as the policeman who looked over his case and ended up telling me about him, saying that I should be careful around him. A couple other students know too, but it isn't widespread knowledge. Besides, people thought he he was deranged before all of that anyway." He illustrated, sipping his Cola.

" In other words Cora, if you see him at work, call the police just incase he goes psycho again." Anaya joked, popping another chip into her mouth.

It would be delightful to report that Cora took not notice of her friends' harsh opinions about criminals, but then, it would be a highly inaccurate observation. In fact, throughout this conversation Cora felt a need to hide herself more, to try harder to ensure her fathers secret life remained so.

"He's there!" Ivan announced to us, pointing to the direction behind Anaya and I.

I turned my head to see the same tall, muscular guy I was once being shouted at by, he was walking on the outskirts of the dining hall and avoided eye contact with his surroundings. Grasping onto one backpack strap, he kept to himself and, unless Ivan had mentioned he was there, I doubt I would have seen him at all.

"This should be good." Anaya stated, referring to the group of footballers who were now following him. My heart sunk as they inched closer to him, as though they were preying on him, he was oblivious.

In an instant, the group of boys pushed passed him which caused him to stumble and almost falling to the floor. They erupted in laughter and continued walking in front of him with long, prideful strides. Readjusting his backpack onto his shoulder, Dean's face lacked much emotion at all. He seemed used to such behaviour.

"It's what that criminal deserves." Wren huffed.

"Really ? I think physical bullying is too far of a punishment." I challenged.

Anaya, Wren and Ian both stared at her then at each other as though to display the fact that they shared a different view to Cora, othering her.

"He hasn't paid the time because his daddy let him get away on bail so actually, bullying is the punishment he deserves." Ivan concluded. With that, I decided to disengage with the topic in hopes that it would drop.

Luckily, Wren began a new conversation and began expressing his indecisive nature in regards to food as he wasn't sure as to what he was craving. I ate my sandwich and aimed to look as though I was listening but my mind kept elsewhere. I felt a range of emotions towards Dean, negative mainly, but I could not rappel the feelings of sympathy that brewed in my stomach.

As though she lived in a world of her own, Cora distanced herself from the hegemonic views and mainstream nature of society. She couldn't care less about her status or position within the high school's jungle-like hierarchy. She withdrew herself from social media as she had none of it. She dressed and lived for herself. Of course, her peers would observe these facts as they would a rare animal - stare at it with intrigue and curiosity. However, in this case, those who objected her views were people whom she deemed as the real victim, encased and oppressed by the societal pressures whilst she roamed freely.

Regardless of such ideals, she was well liked. From her caring nature to her insatiable need to socialise, she attracted all that were around.

Her cheeriness portrayed her as someone who owned a 'perfect life' or so had she been told.

Astonished by such remarks, Cora dared to but laugh inside at such claims. Her life was far beyond it.

Though, appearing as being well was much better than people knowing you were the opposite. How much she hated to imagine such reactions if people were to learn to truth. So instead, with her continuously tired arm, she would apply a convincingly large smile and spritz on her perfume of positivity which concealed her reality from others.

"Just stay away from him." Clarissa warned her husband.

Cora stopped writing her notes when she heard her mother in the hallway.

"I need to talk to him and it's non negotiable." She heard her father state.

Her interest rising, she quietly stood from her desk and creeped closer to her door.

"Eric please. We can go somewhere, anywhere that you want." Clarissa began.

"It's obvious that he's going to give you an offer you can't refuse. I'm not letting you get hurt again by that vile man and don't, don't think for a second that i'll believe it if you say you could handle him because you know it's not just him i'm worried about." Her mother sighed. Even on the other side of the door, Cora could envision her mothers blushing chest and frantic hand gestures.

"We can't take off and leave. Our jobs, our friends, our life are all here. Just let me call Vincent and see what he has to say. If thing's go wrong, I'll leave the country. But i'll go alone because I can't do this to you or Cora." Eric finished with certainty.

Sinking into her mattress, Cora felt her heart hasten in its pace. For him to leave again would mean she would lose him. Her mothers depressive episodes would return and she would struggle to help her, watching her lose all that she tried soo hard to gain back. She couldn't bare to endure it again. The lies would grow again and the weeds of torment would pick at Cora, gnawing at her mind time and time again.

She fell to sleep that night with a heavy heart.

Her nightmares returning, not just within her dreams.