⫸——⫷

While Wally was off getting dressed, you took the time alone to take some deep breaths.

Nothing had changed. You were okay, your family was okay (probably), and the police were not after you. Everything was fine.

After a moment, Wally walked back downstairs and sauntered into the kitchen. Seeing his figure flit by reminded you of the kiss he had given you on Tuesday, when everyone came over to welcome you into your new home. The thought was a nice, but brief, distraction.

When Wally came back into the living room you noted that, although he was dressed, his pompadour was still down. He looked good with his hair down. It was still damp, giving off the appearance of gentle beachy waves. You found yourself staring; earlier, you had been to upset to make note of his beauty. In Wally's hands was a hot cup of coffee, which he placed on the coffee table in front of you before sitting down next to you.

"How are you feeling, darling?" he asked.

You shrugged, then took the coffee cup from the table and blew on the hot liquid inside. You would have prefered hot chocolate, but you were sure that the bitter, hot and caffeinated liquid in this cup would help your distressing thoughts cease. Even just taking some time alone, sitting here on his couch, had allowed your muscles to relax and your tears to dry. However, you still felt shaken up, and your family was still on your mind. "I'll be okay," you said.

"What happened when you called your family?" he continued. His voice was soft and gentle. You looked at him, finding kindness and love easily detectable in his lazy eyes.

The hot mug was warming your palms, urging you to take a sip. You did. It tasted sweet and smelled like vanilla. "Nothing, really. I just... I was upset because I saw the article about me on your desk. It was kind of shocking to read it, even though I already knew about it. I wasn't even going to call my mom until after you came down, because I wanted to make sure it was okay with you first and... wanted to ask some stuff about Home." You added the last bit on very quietly, trying to ensure that Home would not hear you. "But when I saw the article, my first thought was to call my mom. To tell her that I wasn't a murderer."

For a moment, Wally did not say anything. Silently, he put the palm of his hand on your back, in between your shoulder blades, and rubbed soft circles over the back of your shirt. The touch felt nice, sending shivers down your spine. He watched you, perhaps not knowing what to say, or perhaps wondering if you had anything more to add. You looked back down at your cup.

"I'm sure they don't think you're an evil person, (Y/N)," he finally said. "I've known you for... umm, about three weeks, and I already know that you aren't evil. You never could be."

"But I am!" you said. Your tone shocked you. You sounded like you were pleading with him, as if you wanted him to think you were evil. Of course, you did not want that at all, but the pleading tone continued to lace your words. "I did everything the article said I did."

"But you had reason to do all of that," Wally insisted. "Anyone would have done it if they were in your shoes, I can assure you."

"But my family doesn't know my reasons. And... I... I still made the choice to kill those people. I held the weapon." You paused. "What if I had decided not to? What if I went to the police about the first murder, the stupid fucking robber, and confessed? Would I have even been in trouble? Would I have stopped all of this shit from happening?"

"I... I don't know, my love."

You took a deep breath, followed by another sip of your coffee.

Wally's hand continued to run over your back. Eventually, he slid his hand up to your face and ran his thumb across your cheek. You looked at him, making eye contact.

He leaned forward and kissed you.

He did not linger, but instead pulled away swiftly, as if he knew that now was not the time to get romantic. He offered you a kind smile, and his thumb was still on your cheek. The kiss, followed by his continuous touch, was a surprisingly effective distraction. You almost forgot that you were upset.

"Everything will turn out okay. I promise. I'm sure your mother will call back soon and say that she misses you, and you'll get the chance to explain everything."

You blinked at him. Your cheeks were slightly flushed, from both the crying and from being flustered. Wally's presence was increasingly flustering as time went on. "What if she doesn't call back?" you said.

"She will."

His words were empty promises, but they were reassuring, and you supposed that was all that mattered. For now, all you could do was hope that your family was okay and that they did not hate you or think you were a monster. Until you knew for sure, hope and empty promises were all you had.

"Thank you," you whispered.

"Any time, (Y/N)." Wally then stood up, which resulted in his hand falling away from your face, leaving you feeling slightly empty. "Now, finish your coffee. I've got to go fix my hair before the ball. It might take me a while so... feel free to leave. Or stay, if you'd like."

As he was walking out of the living room, you added, "But I like your hair that way."

He stopped and turned around to face you. "Really?"

Smiling, you nodded.

"Oh." He grinned. "Perhaps I'll wear it down sometime."

"You should."

His grin widened before he turned around once more and headed upstairs.

Alone again, you sat back on Wally's couch and heaved a deep breath. You took another sip of your coffee and closed your eyes. You felt comfortable right now; that strange feeling of warmth and sleepiness that came after being upset filled you like molasses in your veins. However, it was not an all-consuming feeling; the sensations of curiosity and hate, sadness and anxiety still pestered the back of your mind as always, like grass that would never stop growing, no matter how much you mowed it down.

It was strange to remember that you were sitting inside of Home, the house that tried to trap you and make Wally kill you. When you opened your eyes again, you looked at the window to your right to see if Home's eye was there. Sure enough, it was, lazily gazing over the living room, occasionally blinking slowly.

You looked at the stairs. Wally was certainly upstairs by now. You looked at Home's eye again.

"Home?" you asked, loudly enough so that it was not a whisper, but quietly enough so that Wally probably could not hear you from upstairs.

Home's eye fell on your figure. Tendrils of ghostly doom wrapped around your body, like Home's secrets had come to life and were trying to suffocate you. However, you did not let the feeling encompass you; you were already battling off several other difficult feelings and sensations, how hard would it be to ignore this one?

"Hi," you began again. "Blink once for yes, twice for no, okay?"

Home blinked once, so you asked another question: "You can talk to Wally through the phone, right?"

Home blinked once. He was being cooperative, which filled you with a small sliver of hope, even though you were not planning on asking anything important.

"Can you alter phone calls that are made through that line?"

Home blinked once, then again. Two blinks meant no.

"So it's true that my mother did not answer my call?"

Again, Home blinked only once.

You supposed that was a good thing. If Home had cut the line or altered the call, it only meant that you would have to find some other way to contact your family. It was good to know that, if your family called back, Home could not alter your voice or their voices. That is, if he was telling the truth.

You narrowed your eyes at the window. Having a conversation with Home without Wally around probably was not a good decision, but a curious question begged to be answered, so you decided to ask it. Besides, you already knew that Home would not hurt you on ordinary days; Wally told you that a while ago, after Home tried to trap you, so you were likely safe for the time being.

Thus, you cleared your throat and asked, "Will you try to kill me again, if you get the chance to?"

Home blinked once. You waited for a second blink, but it never came.

⫸——⫷