It did not escape her eyes as she watched every teacher glance at her carefully as if they were afraid of triggering her. She understood the confessions as she was a student that had studied here most of her life before shifting to nylon but that still did not give them the right to treat her as if she was nothing but policy windows already crab and now waiting to break into different pieces never to be joined back again.

Adeline knew that she was struggling with grief but for now also wanted to do was that no one was going to stop her from grieving.

​​

The day was finally over once more she had walked home like every day. Walking seems to be something where she could collect her thoughts and think about random stuff circulating her father and how the situation could have gone a different way and how different could have her future been. She opened the door and immediately the voice of her aunt greeted her."Hey, sugarglum!" Her lips twitched at the nickname her aunt had given her. Sugar had been her nickname in the family for years since she was obsessed with that in her childhood and plum had been added from the word glum.

Father had not died and her life had not been so tragic she was sure that her aunt would have called her sugarglum without any remorse. But even her aunt knew that this situation would hurt Adeline emotionally.

"Hello, auntie Tess." She said back. Her voice never exceeded a certain octave and it was always leveled. No matter how exciting or happy she was how the voice was always normal.

She had no longer and felt any excitement regarding anything in life. The only thing she felt near excitement was when she was discharged from the hospital.

"Hello baby," she greeted again and this time, she came closer and hugged her. This was a routine that her aunt had started. Adult in new and she always felt that her aunt knew that grieving with the loss of parents was not easy especially that there was a topic of miscarriage going on which was still untouched.

Adeline breathed in her scent, the scent of home, the sense of belonging that she did not know for how long she had. The only familiar feeling she had now left.

She nuzzled close until her aunt pulled back. "I've made apple pie and avocado toasties for you." She grinned and patted her belly. "Come on, you must be exhausted and hungry." She took her niece's hand and pulled her along to the dining room.

Aunty Tessa had been kind enough to move into their House along with Adeline because the child did not want to move away from the only home she had. The home where her parents were last together along with her.

Her father was almost forty when Adeline was born and her aunt was thirty when she became Adeline's legal guardian. So there was just a difference of merely ten years in between them. Maybe that was why Tessa understood that Adaline needed to be alone so she only made her presence known when it was important and she felt the need to.

It was like from her own experience her aunt went to intervene and when to give admin have respected for privacy while still keeping a watchful parental eye from a distance.

"Did anything good happen today? Anything out of the ordinary?" Adeline stared at her aunt for the choice of words who merely shrugged. "What I went to high school once and I know that it can be pretty boring and monotonous." She stated the obvious. "I am the only e exciting thing ever happened was the cheerleader, the it girl she was, c*ck sucking video leaking and then finding out at my very own geek and nerd of a brother was during one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen."

"It was." Adaline agreed with a nod of her own, smiling at the words her auntie said. "Nothing new is happening except for the fact that they brought some new books for the library which is once again something that happens daily."

"Ah, that does." Tessa agreed to play with her food. She wanted to say something and from her vibe, Adeline had picked up that it was not going to be something she would like.

She placed her toast down and asked her aunt about it. "What is it?" She sighed looking at her. "Please, feel free to talk." She was the only family member left and by chance, she was someone who truly cared for her knees which is why Adeline respected her opinion.

Tessa looked at her and they had the same emotions she had seen for the first two months when she have come here.

They were all worried for her. The moment Adaline had entered and it was announced that Adaline was conducting a funeral, a private ceremony, or her father everyone in town was in shock to what had happened and immediately had flocked around her.

After a while, everyone in the town had calmed down and just left her alone like she had initially wanted to but her aunt was still the only person who was still worried and constantly checked on Adaline to make sure that she was healthy physically and mentally.

"Listen, child, I have lost my parents too so I know what you are going through and I would never stop you from giving to your heart's content." She took her niece's hand in hers, "But I have a problem with you not talking to anyone else other than me."

Adeline shook her head and try to take her hand out of her aunt's grip who had just tightened it instead. Shahar Austin felt a forceful vibe coming from her aunt when she took her for walks and tried to introduce her to different people or even made her try to talk to her old friends.

"No, I don't mean to offend you. But always being alone will eventually take a toll on your mental health and I do not want that please," she begged as her eyes got moist, "Your father appointed me as your next guardian in case anything happened to him and I can not disappoint him. So please, Adaline if you don't want therapy then at least go out a few friends."

Therapy? Therapy would mean that her grieving process for the over sooner than she liked and Adeline wanted to grieve her entire life.

She nodded to her auntie, "I will. Not now but. . .soon." She said. She didn't want to eventually come out of it but the loss of her parents would always be a hindrance that she never wanted to overcome. Their presence was something she always wanted throughout her life and now she was robbed from both of them.

"Do you promise?" Tessa tested the waters.

Adeline nodded. "Yes, I promise that I will go out with my friends soon."

Tessa nodded in content and they talked lightly before moving to her room.

She sat on her bed and checked her phone.

'Hey, how are you?'

-N.

'Good.' she replied. Fine, she wanted to say, but she figured it out that people were kind of tired of being fine and depressing. Well, it wasn't her fault and they did not understand the fact that Adaline was still grieving and losing both parents before even her school finished. . . . Was . . .

She sniffed as she once again saw the dead eyes of a father staring back at her. She was partially responsible for that.

Her phone pinged again and she checked the next message. 'Well, Wanna do something fun?'

She scoffed. The last fun thing she had done with Noah had cost her entire life and her father.

'No thank you.' she typed back, 'after the last experience I much rather stay home than go out on an adventure with you.' She hit sent and within seconds his reply came.

'Ouch. I just wanted to cheer up your spirits.'

She sighed as she read that. Dear Noah, her spirits and guardian Angel had left her long ago. Now, she was happy being alone until she wanted to have friends around her again.

'That's okay. Bye.' she cut the conversation short and kept her phone on the table beside her bed and picked up and the picture of her parents.

They looked so happy, she smiled. A normal, the one she had long ago, as she looked at it.

It was a picture of them clicked by her grandmother at the hospital when her mother had first held her. It was the first picture of her together with her parents.

She kept the frame back in its place and went it her dusk to work and study until dinner just like she did regularly for the past seven months.

Nothing now was cheerful.