┏━━━━⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚⋆━━━━┓

SOME WISHFUL THINKING

NELLY WAS WOKEN UP THE FOLLOWING MORNING BY THE SOUND OF RAISED VOICES.

Glancing to the clock, the one on her bedside table displayed a time that was much later than she anticipated. She usually woke up at around nine, a habit that she could never shake, but somehow she had managed to sleep in until half past ten.

Perhaps she had been extra tired from being out so late, or from all the food she consumed within such a short time period. Sam definitely lived up to his promise on having relish, so the amount of hotdogs she demolished was pure insanity.

The voices were loud in her ears as she rose from her mountain of pillows, rubbing the bleariness from her eyes. There was an indent of a body right next to where Nelly slept, and she'd momentarily forgotten that Embry had stayed over after the bonfire. He must've left while she was dead asleep, she figured.

Stretching her hands above her head, she approached her door and opened it, immediately seeking out the voices whose voices significantly lowered.

Walking out into the living room, clad in her pyjamas, she froze at the mere sight of her father standing there, car keys still in hand.

"No," she started to mumble, alerting both the adults in the vicinity of her presence. She darted toward the refrigerator door that displayed their calendar, eyes widening at the date. "No, no, no, no—"

These last few days had been nothing short of chaotic, fun even, but amidst the hustle of reservation life, she had lost track of time. Today's date was Friday, the exact Friday before the start of the new school year. It was the day her father would've been collecting Nelly and Tate to return to Lummi.

She stood there, shaking her head. She would've had no problem returning before, but things had changed; she found a place among the pack, made peace with the fact that Tate's door would remain open along with the damn blinds. No, she had zero desire to go back with her father.

"Nelly, do you have your things ready to go?" Michael asked the girl that looked much more alert than before.

No, no she didn't because she had forgotten all about their little agreement. "I don't wanna go," she said instead of answering him.

Mary–Anne looked at her daughter with sympathy. "Honey—"

"You can't make me," she raged on, ignoring her mother in favour of staring down her father.

Michael sighed, frustrated. "I have a ten page court order that says yes, I most certainly can."

Honestly, Nelly still didn't quite get it. Michael fighting this hard to maintain even partial custody over her when he had barely gave two shits about it just last year was something unfathomable.

And if he thought she'd come willingly after he took a coincidental work trip during Tate's funeral, then he'd be poorly mistaken.

"Fuck the court order!" she snapped, and that pulled a gasp from her mother, a hand to the woman's chest. "I'm happier here, don't you get that?"

"You might be happier, but you are not above the law," he retaliated, hands going to his hips as he turned to his ex-wife. "An agreement is an agreement. Tell her, Mary."

Her mother looked stressed beyond belief as she came to stand next to the girl. Her hand came out to smoothen the top of her unruly hair. "You know I'd give anything to have you stay here," she said, a solemn smile on her face, "but you have no other choice here. You're a minor, and I don't have the money to get the judge to reverse the decision."

She wanted to take it all back. She wished she had sucked it up and chosen to stay with her mother during the school year instead, she wished she chose the least amount of time to spend with her father.

The worst thing, though? She would be returning to Lummi alone, and her brother would remain on the Quileute reservation. She didn't have anyone who was wholly in her corner out there, not like Tate had been.

The thought of leaving him here made her sick.

Nelly felt pressure build behind her eyes, shrugging from her mother's embrace. "Can't you let me go?" she muttered out, turning back toward Michael. "Can't you let me stay?"

He shook his head. "That's not what I want, Nelly," he stressed, his forehead pinching. "I'm really trying here, I'm trying to do better."

Her lip curled back into a snarl. "You're a couple years too late to that party," she seethed, eye giving a subtle twitch, "and what about what I want, huh? You ever stopped to think that the last thing I wanna do is be around you?"

Nelly could tell that her father was getting more and more agitated the more she fought against his word. "Don't you think I know that?" he snapped, his own anger now rivalling Nelly's. His shoulders rolled back, "this discussion is over. Go and pack."

"Dad—" she tried, withholding the urge to stomp her foot on the ground.

Michael was an undeterred as ever. "I don't have time to deal with this right now, Penelope," he said, a fist curled around his keys. "I want us gone within the hour!"

Searing cold washed over her entire body, like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on top of her head. Her chest seized, those ever so familiar words she hated most ringing in her ears.

Her hands shook helplessly, eyes screwing shut for a moment while she replaced the sorrow with the one emotion she knew best: anger.

"You're an asshole!" she screamed at the man, shoving at his shoulders before she back tracked, darting out of the house with her chest rapidly heaving.

She ignored the shouts of her family, and they watched as she disappeared beyond the treeline. Yeah, Nelly would always run from her problems if they came in the form of those very words.

Deal with this— deal with you.

A knife in her chest, and she could feel the hurt bleeding out of her very soul.

⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚⋆

[ wyn's note ]

:(

we knew this was coming but damn, even i'm in my feels. i wonder where she's gone... bring ur tissues idk

we are so close to the end yall! three more chaps :)

xx