The Day After

Summary: The day after the ordeal with Noah and the shadow monster, Connor and Stacy talk about what happened

Author’s note: This is in response to the Siblings Day prompt from laniquelove’s April Fanfic Challenge and is a follow-up to After the Nightmare.

As soon as Connor got home, he knocked on Stacy’s door. “Hey, Stace. Can I come in?”

Stacy opened the door, and Connor walked into her bedroom. As they sat down on the bed, Connor looked to her. “How are you holding up?”

Stacy’s eyes blazed with anger. “If Noah weren’t already dead, I’d kick his sorry ass. How dare he? He could have gotten us killed.”

“I know we couldn’t really talk with Mom around, but Vanessa told me what happened.” After getting home from the hospital the night before, Connor had gone to Vanessa’s house. She didn’t want to be alone after the ordeal in the ruins. He had spent the night holding her in his arms and comforting her. “I’m glad that you guys are all OK. And I’d help you kick his ass.”

“We may need to, if he comes after us. As the monster, I mean.”

“Are you scared that will happen?” Connor asked her.

Stacy shook her head. “None of us were scared. Except Noah.”

Connor looked confused. “Noah was scared? But he’s the one that brought you there.”

“He must have been. Jane made us play Are You Scared? Everyone else survived, so I guess he lost,” Stacy explained.

“No, Stace. That’s not what happened. Didn’t Vanessa tell you?”

“Mom showed up, so we didn’t get a chance to talk much. Maybe she didn’t want to say anything in front of her. Mom can’t face the truth. She keeps insisting that wild animals attacked us at homecoming. If we told her that Jane tried to kill us, she’d never believe us.” Stacy looked to Connor. “You found it hard to believe at first, right?”

“Yeah,” Connor admitted. He had been skeptical at first, but as soon as Vanessa showed him her pet moss creature, he was convinced. “And Mom doesn’t even want to believe what she saw right in front of her.”

Stacy nodded. “She’s totally in denial.”

“Anyway, about what happened.” Connor took a deep breath. “Noah tried to kill Vanessa. She got him to come to his senses, and then he said he’d take Jane’s place.”

“He tried to kill her?” Stacy hissed. “That son of a bitch!”

“She was pretty shaken up. That’s why I stayed with her last night. She didn’t want to be alone.”

“Is that the only reason? You really like her, don’t you?” Stacy asked.

“Yeah, I do,” he confessed. “Hope that’s not too weird for you, since she’s your friend.”

“No, not really.” As Stacy’s phone rang, she reached for it. “Hi, Lily. You doing OK?”

Connor stood up and began making his way toward the door. He was relieved that his sister seemed to be coping well. He hoped that the nightmare was over, but with the shadow monster still out there, it might just be a matter of time before they were faced with it again.

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