Puzzle pieces were falling into place. People who were once in my life were finally beginning to reform. The parts of others that were once apart were finally put together again. It's odd to think that anyone, especially Tam, of all people, was going to be the one to change for the better. She likely has to do more reforming but for now, I think we're on good terms. Veronica was slowly turning into my only example of an evil person and that's soon becoming a good thing. Maybe Kai will begin to talk to me more. I'm not sure if he'll keep ignoring me regardless.

School has been out for a while now. The sun was already hidden behind the clouds. Since I'm not in a sleep state or late, I likely won't be yelled at. None of my parents should be home either. Both of them likely went to work already. Only one of them should be finished soon.

The entrance to my temporary home was much like the other houses in this suburb: an old door made of the same material as any of the other houses in this boring little neighborhood. It had some splotches of white paint on it, a memento of the house it once was. It was meant to be a mobile home but these houses rarely move. They always sit here, doing nothing and achieving the same amount. Dull handfuls of houses in a boring location laid in an uninteresting landscape. Despite that, I entered what's meant to be my home.

Upon entering, the front lobby was a small kitchen to the right and an equally as small living room to the left, sparsely lit by a few small lamps and candles. Thick, brown blankets cover the windows, causing the place to be mostly dark without any source of light. The floors were lightly covered in carpets to protect people from the hard floor. A couch coated in holes was placed against the wall furthest from the entrance, withering away in place. There was hardly any decor in the kitchen but there was a makeshift dining table in the corner, the kind of table that's a large circular piece with small table legs that you stick into small metal pieces to round metal magnets, with a few chairs broken in unique ways shoved under the table. Tiny mountains of empty cigarette boxes and handfuls of ash trays were strewn across the surface, the only decorations present in the kitchen. The living room had a few cardboard boxes of some cheap brands scattered around the place, some busted up from being stepped on. Old, tarnished drapes also line the floor with a few emptied soda cans laying amongst them.

Most of the things we've accumulated come from the kitchen but my dad's good about organizing it all. My mom has a much harder job than my dad does but he gets paid way more money, a few dollars. Every dollar counts, even if it's not a lot. My job pays a little more than both of them but I have only around a couple hundred saved up on my phone's (really buggy) bank account, which keeps glitching out and telling me to update the version, despite my phone not being advanced enough. What's not advanced about a phone? It's a phone. It doesn't have to be cooler to be better. At least my account still works. I even paid for it myself, a whole hundred dollars. It took me at least two months to get that much since my parents keep taking my cash from my wallet. (I used to have a small, simple purse I found on the street but my mom really wanted it in place of her wallet) (Her wallet is also really small)

I made my way to the hallway leading to my room slowly, the whole house quiet in an oddly eerie fashion. The dim white walls were enclosed, barely wide enough to not touch one's shoulders. Though the hallways weren't long, they were enough to creep out Edward, when he did come here.

When he did come here nearly everyday.

When he always𑁋

The door to my room stood in front of me. My contemplations eroded. I stepped inside.

My room was basically a room with a bed and a couple of power outlets, if you consider a bed a mattress. There was a window that was not covered, bringing in the scant sunlight that was slowly waning. A small lamp laid by the room's entrance, quietly lighting up the room with a flick of the switch. One of the power outlets had a small charger sticking out of it, the chord silently pressed against the floor. I had a few blankets (that I purchased myself) that were curled around the center of the bed with a huggable amount of pillows piled on the topmost area of the mattress. Furthest from the door and on the rightmost wall was my closet, a single sliding door that led into a small compartment that could fit a few people inside if they stood a couple of inches apart.

Involuntarily, my body threw itself onto my makeshift bed the moment I shut the door. I blinked. The light coming from the window slowly drained into a desolate, familiar darkness. Though the lamp hid some of that darkness, staring up at the window always reminded me of one thing: my life coated in loneliness. At least now, I had someone to share that with. But now, he's not here.

I drew my phone to my face. I'll call him. Maybe he's on break or something like that.

My finger tapped the "OK" button on Spencer's contact and I raised my phone to my ear hesitantly. It rang continuously, shaking with immense vigor. After what felt like a whole minute of ringing, he picked up. "Hey..." Spencer's voice murmured, a tone I was not expecting from him.

"Hi!" I chirped. "Is everything okay? You sound kinda𑁋"

"I-I'm fine!" Spencer squeaked. "I just... they're not letting me keep my job. I don't know if I can handle being in the mansion for a while without this one..."

"That's not fine," I frowned. "You can stay over𑁋"

I stopped myself. What if I keep him over here and it turns out like what happened to him again? I don't want it to happen again. I don't want that to ever happen again. I would never want that to happen with Spencer and me. Spencer would be really upset if that happened between us. I would be too but he's selfless. He would be so upset.

"I-I dunno. How long would you be able to use the mansion for?" I asked.

"Maybe a month? I still get paid and apparently I get paid extra too, for being let off." Spencer explained. "I don't know how long it'd take for me to get a job. I was kind of set up to work there until I graduated, not now."

"Would Lisa be brought along?"

"Of course she'd be. It's just that... I... I don't know what to do..." Spencer subtly sobbed. "This wasn't... I wasn't𑁋"

"H-hey! D-d-don't cry!" I panicked a bit upon hearing him tear up. "I'm sure you can find some way out of this..."

"B-but my parents wanted me here..." Spencer mumbled. "And I have to take care of her... and if not, she could be gone... and I'm... I have to... where would... I don't..."

"Spencer𑁋"

"Thomas, I don't know what to do when I get home..." Spencer was audibly crying. "I don't know... anything at all on what to do..."

I sighed softly, trying to calm myself down as I spoke, "Maybe we can figure something out!"

"But you live with your parents, right?"

"I do."

"What would you be able to do...?"

"I don't know..." I whined. "...Something?"

There was a brief silence before he softly chuckled, "I know we... technically just met and you really want to help me, but I think I have to... figure this out. I'm not sure... what to do."

"Maybe when I move out, you can live with me?" I offered.

"School doesn't end soon enough," Spencer muttered.

"Well, maybe I can𑁋"

There was a knock on my door, interrupting my words. "H-hello?" I looked up at my room's slowly opening door.

"Hey, honey..." My mom stared down at me, her wrinkly face contorting into a stiff grimace. Her bony left hand was grabbing the door knob as her skinny right hand held onto the door frame for support, her painted fingernails longer than the width of my eyes tapping against the wood. She had a small, plump visage despite her various imperfections and draining color with piles of make-up thrown onto her face in a fruitless attempt to make her visage flawless. Strands of long, black hair tapped and stroked her shoulders as she leaned against the door frame. "You talking to your friend?" She queried.

"Yeah..." I nodded. I whispered into the phone, "Hold on..."

"I have to go, so... love you! Maybe we can plan to meet up later..." Spencer whispered back.

"Okay... l-love you..." I mumbled as he hung up hesitantly, attempting to be as quiet as I possibly could.

"You have a new boyfriend?" My mom sighed.

Of course it was a fruitless endeavor to try and hide it. "I-I do..."

"The new kid, right?"

"Yes..." I paused. "H-how do you know that?"

She glanced to the front door and back to me, not responding to my question. "So... your father and I were thinking about... you for a little and we wanted to tell you..." My mother trailed off, staring at the ground.

"Wh-what?" I twitched. My parents never do this. They usually leave me alone, unless they're both drunk due to wasting their money or if they want to borrow money from me. Once upon a time, they never came in here if he was with me. Maybe that's what she wants: to keep Spencer from coming here. She doesn't want boys I'm dating over here so she can get more money from me more often. There's no other reason she's here other than what benefits her. That has how it's always been and how it'll always be, a concept that has been enforced forever. It has never changed or faltered or altered or disrupted. It'd be impossible if she were to break the mold because my parents have always been encased in mold, a thick dense mold.

She has yet to speak yet. A minute had passed. I blinked as her trembling lips finally parted to speak, "We were thinking of letting you go on your own..."

"What?"

"You're eighteen, a handful, and... I know we don't... we aren't on the same level... ever," My mother mumbled. "When you were... conceived, I didn't... anticipate you. I didn't get pregnant by anyone, not even my husband. I just... had you and you are unlike either of us, when ignoring how we look. I'm imagining that you'd wanna... leave."

"Wait... really?" I could hardly react. "Wh-where should I go...?"

"There's a cheap apartment that's around... a hundred dollars a month?" She shrugged. "You can try that. I can help you move too."

My lips quivered, "So... I get to leave?"

"If you feel like you can live on your own already," My mom smiled.

I was not sure if she just wanted me gone or if she thought I really needed this but despite any of those reasons, I would leave anyway.

This was a dream and she was going to help me for the last time.