𝐏𝐀𝐕𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄.

iii. it follows.

Forty eight hours, forty eight hours was all it took to worsen the frenzy. The two days spent in and out of the police department, beckoning them to quicken their search, to actually do something. In return, she received a few disgruntled huffs and a 'we're doing the best we can'. Their words contrasted their work, to where they had half-heartedly put up caution tape around the trailed area. She convinced herself that If they weren't dedicated enough to close it all off, then they surely wouldn't be wasting any sleep looking for alex, not the way she was. The nights filled with an overwhelming restlessness, her brain racing for any clue, desperate for a sign. Gabriel had tried combatting the futile worry, but she only brushed him off, just as she was now. With her hands shakily resting over her eyes, shielding them from the overhead light of the kitchen. Bland walls reflected the mockery of the brights, they matched the blonde's gentle tone as he addressed her, as if she were some junkyard dog bearing its teeth to a stranger.

"Dot, you need to sleep," he pitied, raising his hand to rest it on her shoulder. She shrugged him off, muttering.
"¡ need to do somethin' — just , i can't." he only sighed in return, letting his hand fall back down by his side. Shifty silence wormed it's way into the room instead, as if the both of them were having some kind of quiet stand off. One being more caring than he ever had been, the other suspicious of everything. It lasted longer than it should've before gabriel spoke again,
"We can go out again tomorrow, you just have to sleep, deal?" she only spared him a glance before he continued, "at least try to, or i'm not going with you."

The tough love would work as she uncovered her eyes and got up from the dining room table, gaze stuck to the ground as she left to the guest room. As she shut the door behind her, she studied the dark room. Besides the clothes strewn about from their suitcases and the unmade bed, it looked as if it had barely been used. Each night spent there was a waste, lying beneath the beige covers, doing nothing. It was better to be running around town in a crazed manner, doing what she could to help, rather than sitting inside going over the constant events. It was too quiet not to, the only sound came from the whirring fan above her. The occasional branch against the window could knock her out of the cycle, but it was always quick to regain. To even close her eyes felt like a trap waiting to go off, that if she were to open them again, she'd find everything she resented.

Though now she stuffed herself beneath those covers again, tucking them tightly under her. Heavy eyelids fought to stay open, but for once the humming above hypnotized her with spinning blades. The dark blurred the movement, creating a ring to absorb her thoughts. Every little worry got stuck in the wind, threading along the dust, dust that felt as though it were sent by the sandman himself. Shadows overtook and she'd let her gaze fall. Eyelids closed, only to reopen to meet the hues of red and blue, the occasional green shining in her eye. Stained glass framed before them as they sat along the pews. Chatter surrounded them, but seemingly they were the only ones there.
They had to be, they were settled so far in the back that she'd have to of notice if people were before them. Yet the same dust only coated the wood, not a sign of prints to be seen. Returning her gaze back to the glass, the pieces fit together so elegantly, showing the tragedy of the mother. An impatient huff sounded beside her and she turned, smiling sheepishly.

" you didn't hear a single thing i said, did you?" the brunette crossed their arms, raising an eyebrow in a teasing manner.
"sorry alex, got distracted i guess?" this only earned a light laugh as they waved off the apology, understanding as always, at least to her. A comfortable quiet fell over them, the chatter seized but she didn't mind. As alex adjusted their uniform, it stirred the calm away, knocking dot from her daze. "What was it you were yappin' about anyway?" only another teasing tone to match the other's.
"How father dain is always on my case about my tie, i ain't got time to learn how to tie one anyway."

  "You act like it's the end of the world, just tuck it under your vest, that's what i do." dottie shrugged, pressing her back against the wooden surface. "Where is he anyway, isn't mass supposed to have started a half hour ago?" alex was just as clueless as she was, but it didn't seem like a big deal to them.
  "He's probably runnin' around with sister deirdre," this earned a nudge to the shoulder from dot.
  "Alex!" she gasped, hiding a laugh within the huff of air.
  "What, i mean c'mon - what would mary think? So sinful," they tsked, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the window.
  Yet again the girl's eyes landed on the multi-colored reflections, her humor easing into security. It was nice, basking in the light of someone so prominent. Even with her melancholy tears cascading down the glass, dot would be met with a fuzzy warmth.
What would mary think of such a mess? She didn't have time ot debate it as the bell rung, sounding out their upcoming absence,
"Bless it."

Standing from the isle, her knees popped, as if she had been sitting down for much longer than she actually had been.
"So you'll come find me right?" alex sounded again and dottie furrowed her eyebrows.
  "Like, after class?" she laughed idly.
  "Why would we be in class?"
  
   the other sounded more confused than dot must've looked. Her eyes opened, going to turn back towards her friend. The light was gone and the fuzzy feeling in her chest went empty, the cold overpowered it instead. Shadows blended around the two. Distant owl calls rang around the wind, branches swaying rapidly. It was difficult to focus on alex who was no longer in the cathedral in their school uniforms, nor no longer adolescent ridden. The brunette stood tall once more, their stocky figure for once without the brown zip up. Yet they weren't shuddering like she was, her hands wrapped around herself, trying to keep warm before the chattering of her teeth synced with the static in her ears.
"What?" was all she could let out.

  "You're gonna find me, right?" they urged, and suddenly dot remembered why she should've been so relieved at the sight of them before. Reveling in their appearance, she moved her hands out towards the other, joints stiffening. " i don't like bein' out here by myself, what's takin' you so long? You trying to keep me waiting?"
An ill-defined accent faded in and out of their voice, distorting the usual playful tone into one of contempt, even despite the little grin on their face. The one that melted into their skin, skin too pale to have actually been theirs.

"I'm tryin', i swear I'm tryin'!" she let her voice rise as her hands gripped around alex's wrists, almost afraid that if she were to let go they'd melt right between her fingertips.
  "Well it's not enough, is it? seriously, you know where to find me." they only laughed, thousands of little hums layered it, as if bees themselves were carrying the message.
She didn't get a chance to speak before they swarmed around her, flying from the missing's mouth. An entire hive swatted her skin, kissing her with little stings of scorn.
  No matter how many she smacked down, they flayed her, spilling incoherent secrets they buzzed around. Even her screams were pointless, they'd taunt down her throat, puncturing the ridges of her mouth, her lungs. Writhing on the forest floor as they roamed about her, she slammed against it again and again, hoping for relief.

Instead her eyes shot open to a yelling gabriel, his hands gripped so tightly around her shoulders as he flung her around.
  "What the hell!?" he hollered, trying to knock the sense back into her. Her own fingers grasped the sides of his face, a disheveled shake present,
  "I saw them — we have to go, we have to go!" she repeated as she pushed him back, racing to get out of the bed. She only ignored him as she half-hazardly tied her shoes, gathering every single thing she needed. From the torn fabric of alex's jacket, to her car keys.
  "Where!?" he pleaded, following behind.
  "The park, we gotta go back!" it was all just crazed ramblings to him, yet he went along.