Do you want to eat something, Stacey asked,
which seemingly pulled Claire straight back to reality,
Claire had no reason to accept, after all that was not the reason she came here,
so she said no, but anyone with half a brain could see it in her eyes, she wanted to taste Lacy's food, not because she was hungry but because she just hoped that Lacy was a terrible cook.
but something in her kept screaming from the crypt, a voice that keeps rising and falling like it was trying not to drown in the colossal sea of her Epicaricacy, warning her that the more she tries to find the bottom the, the more she will drown.
that if she tasted the food to feed in it to the sea, all she will succeed in doing is surrendering her power to Lacy.
And she was right after all, Lacy was nothing if not perfect, a master in the kitchen, she spent years perfecting her craft to earn that title, given to her by anyone who has ever tasted the art she crafted, that's was one of the reasons the winter's rarely ate out.
You can feel it right? The sudden change of air, a little of Claire and more of who was walking down the stairs, the subtle change of mood in the twins face, the sudden appearance of a smile in Lucy's, the micro changes that Claire couldn't pick up on.
how would she anyway? If you were a mask, make sure no one can tell is you, if someone can to swim in your sea of thoughts then you are doing it wrong, rather you drown them in it, so subtly that they believe they are still swimming.
once you perfect that technique everyone around you will be like Claire, not sensing what was grabbing unto her and slowly pulling her under, as the sounds of footsteps drew closer,
the figure emerged, a 6'5 man with hair so dark that calling it black seems insulting, with green eyes that somehow seemed out of place but suits him so well, he is the kind of person you look at for a litany of reasons and that is because you can't look away.
It was Mr. Winter, he looked sharp as usual, already dressed up as he made his way to the dining, his voice was quite deep as he greeted Claire "good morning" and took a seat so close to the others but somehow seemed so far, as Lacy gave him his breakfast.
Claire feeling out of place was about to leave, the moment she stood up from her chair, there comes Lacy giving her a bag to take home, it was as if she knew she was leaving right then, she felt like Lacy knew she was going to leave the moment she did.
She didn't even notice when Lacy dished the food, but all this made her feel so bad, that she didn't even think of the reason Lacy gave her the food in the first place,
But when Lacy said in case you haven't made dinner yet, she could feel it, a plethora of thoughts ran through her head but none was the right one, she thinks I haven't made dinner yet, she thinks I'm incompetent,
all these thoughts made Claire furious, but she tried to tie it together with a smile, as she accepted it and said in an obviously sarcastic tone "thanks, what would I do without you" as she left, trying her best not to look back.
I guess you just won the game of cards Jeremy said.
As Stacey let out a quiet laugh as she said did you see her face she was about to break, mum you are too cruel she said.
But I didn't do anything Lacy said, she gave into the sea herself is not my fault she couldn't swim.
Lacy didn't need to ask Claire why she came, because she knew what she wanted, she gave her food because she knew Claire hadn't made breakfast yet, the same way she knew why Claire refused to eat when Stacey asked her if she wanted to, and Lacy also knew what Claire would perceive her action as.
There was only one person in the dining hall whose breath you couldn't hear, like it's an item out of place but somehow has a role in all of this... you guessed it, Malik.
Malik Winter, look how he is sitting in the hopes of avoiding direct conversation, you could feel it, the guilt he somehow carries, the looks he gives his family like they were monsters, the kind that take pressure in slowly driving a person to the edge just by saying good morning.
It's draining isn't it? Being the husband to the most desired woman in town... I mean being married to a human who feels like a demon solely created to drown him,
you could see it, the toll it has taken, his eyes are always lifeless, which is a sharp contrast to how it was when he first met Lacy,
but it wasn't Lacy's fault, she didn't make him change, but he made the change himself just to match her.
And now he can't change back, why? Because once you give up your power you can't suddenly regain it, you've surrendered it to a higher power and she is wielding it way better than you ever could, soon you will be ensnared by the sea you willingly dove into, trying to escape is no longer and option, drowning is the only way to be free.