HEARING DAMAGE
ADULT NOLA - CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR !

          CONFUSION WAS RIFE. It was thick, clung to her like a blanket, like a second skin. Her eyebrows were perpetually furrowed, her eyes darting about as she observed the woman sat before her on her couch. Nola felt overwhelmed with information. Here before her, dressed in her usual get-up of silk fabric that simultaneously adorned her figure beautiful, wrapping to the curves with ease, yet still managed to flow freely with each movement, was Charlotte Matthews.

         Nola knew that Lottie had been staying with Shauna, the woman having never even bothered to reach out to her and ask for refuge, but she hadn't expected to suddenly see Lottie stood on her doorstep, suitcases in hand and a hopefully glint in her eyes. Nor had she been expected the lore bomb to drop quite so harshly. Before she had even stepped aside to allow Lottie entry, her friend had already begun spewing out every thought and feeling that was bottled up.

          Truthfully, all that Nola had picked up from Lottie's long winded rant was one thing.

            "Wait, so, Shauna kicked you out?" She inquired in breathy disbelief. She pushed forward, her elbows coming to rest upon her knees. She stared curiously over at the woman opposite her as she seemed further information. "Why?"

            Surely, there had to be a reason. Shauna didn't just do things without reason, after all. At the end of the day, she allows Lottie to stay with her and her family even though she wasn't obligated to do so, so kicking the woman to the curb with no reason seemed a little out of character for the Sadecki woman.

            When Lottie remained quiet on the subject, instead feigning interest in the gaudy artwork that decorated the walls around her, Nola's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Lottie, what did you do?"

            "Have you met her yet?" That was all the Matthews woman uttered. Her attention shifted back to Nola, an enthusiastic shimmer dancing in her gaze.

            Lottie's cryptic question left little room for Nola to figure out just who the fuck she was on about. "Who?" The brunette sighed as she leaned back against the couch cushions once more, the plush fabric curving around her back and shoulders.

            "Callie."

            The room grew uncomfortably loud. Suddenly Nola could hear everything. The sound of her own blood rushing through her veins, the thump of her heart against her rib cage, the incessant trill of the refrigerator and the tick of the clock. Why was Lottie here, speaking about Callie?

           Of course, this was happening. Just when she had made the decision to officially abandon all association with those from her past and leave the state of New Jersey behind, Lottie just had to show up and begin speaking about Shauna, more specifically Shauna's daughter. It was almost comical how tightly her past held her in its grasp.

          Unaware of Nola's predicament, Lottie clasped her hands together in excitement. She now sat on the edge of her seat, her lips easily tugged into a gleeful smile. Her eyes spoke volumes. "She's magnificent, Nola. Exactly what we've been waiting for."

            "Don't you see? Can't you feel it? This is exactly what the Wilderness wants, what It has been preparing us all for. You don't think your finding me was a coincidence, right? You were led back to me just as she has been led to us." Lottie continued to speak, her body practically vibrating with elation.

            This was everything to her. What she had been waiting all these years for. Deep inside, Lottie had been struggling to find her place away from the Wilderness, away from the home that had made her who she was always meant to be. But now, it all made sense. They had to leave so that one day she would come along.

            Nola looked understandably sceptical. "Lottie, sweetie, are you saying what I think you're saying? That Shauna's daughter is who the Wilderness wants?" She asked with a tone that screamed how much she found this scenario to be implausible. "How do we know for sure? You've been wrong before, in case you forgot."

Lottie's head shook. "I wasn't wrong. You were not yet ready to take up the mantle when Natalie was chosen. You needed to be more prepared, exactly as you were when you finally assumed leadership."

            She'd seen this before. She knew this wasn't some passing thought for the Matthews woman. Nola knew that if Lottie was thinking all of this, was speaking it into existence then there has to be some truth behind it.

            Still, she asked, "Are you sure?"

Right away, Lottie nodded. Without a second thought, she rose to her feet at the speed of light and practically pounced upon the free space next to Nola on the couch. Her hands dashed out, desperately seeking the pressure that came from holding her friend's hands. Nola let her do this, allowed her hands to be swallowed up in Lottie's grasp, her fingers to be comfortingly pinched between the warmth that exuded from Lottie's palms.

           "I feel it so deeply in my bones." Lottie whispered with an encouraging grin, the light that danced in her eyes a far cry from the agony and fear that once swam there.

            "I believe you." Nola responded with a heavy nod. Though she was seemingly on the outs with the Wilderness once more, Lottie had always been the more communicative one of them both. And Lottie wasn't a liar.

She wriggled her fingers free from Lottie's grasp to grab hold of the woman's wrist. With a small smile, she allowed her eyes to talk for her. They spoke better than her mouth ever could hope to achieve. The two women were two sides of the same coin, both blessed and cursed with the power and responsibility that came with being hand picked by the Wilderness to enact It's bidding.

          When she felt her own eyes begin to tear up, Nola cleared her throat before letting out a small laugh. "So, enough about this, let's talk about where you're going next. You're more than welcome to stay here, you know." She offered up to the woman. Both of them broke free from their shared hold and wiped away fallen tears with a shared glance of understanding.

           Lottie's eyes darted around the room once more at Nola's words. She chuckled despite herself as she sent the Rilke woman a smile that someone unfamiliar to Lottie would assume was her being patronising. "Don't take any offence, I love you but my dad's New York penthouse is a little more my style." Okay, perhaps she was a little patronising.

            Nola's eyebrows became cinched together at this new and interesting tidbit of information. "You're staying with your dad? Then why did you tell Shauna you had nowhere to go?" She asked in disbelief. Immediately she felt like an idiot for asking. "Callie, right. Never mind."

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            SHE FOUND HERSELF WEIGHED down by some awful, sinking sensation that settled deep within her gut as she sat amongst her once close friends and teammates inside of Misty's oddly decorated yet so unbelievably Misty-esque home. Glances of perplexity were exchanged between the four women when they slowly but surely filed inside the home after the early morning text message from Misty requesting their presence at her home right away. Clearly none of them knew why they had been summoned.

Together they sat on Misty's couch, patiently but anxiously waiting for the big news that Misty just had to share with them in person. Nola felt awkward. Just days ago she had yelled in Shauna's face and all but told the former love of her life to stay away from her. Now here she was, sitting right next to her on the cream-coloured couch as if nothing had happened between them.

Could she feel the heat of Shauna's gaze burning into the side of her head every few seconds? Of course she could. But what was she supposed to do, apologise? For what, telling the truth? Being the only one brave enough to speak to Shauna with some honesty? No, Nola wouldn't apologise. If she did, she would only be lying. She has said what she'd said and she didn't regret it. Thankfully she was no longer impervious to Shauna's doe-ish eyes that begged for forgiveness.

Misty walked with heavy, almost dragging steps until she stopped before the group of woman, standing just opposite them on the other side of the coffee table. "Tai, Van, Nola." She began, her eyes darting to each woman as she spoke their name.

Her omission of Shauna's name certainly didn't go unnoticed. Van and Taissa both shared looks of utter confusion, neither woman knowing of the screaming match that took place inside Shauna's car the other day and neither knowing of Shauna's willingness to toss around accusations with no real reason other than her own personal feelings.

            Nola paid it no mind. Instead, all the woman could focus on was the crease in Misty's forehad, the slight furrow of her brow and the frown she wore on her lips. She looked conflicted, sad. Whatever she had to tell them was of great pain to her. This only caused the knot in Nola's stomach to tighten even more. It now felt like someone had cut her open, stuck their hand into her open wounds and began to play about with her guts. Twisting and pulling.

"Thank you all for coming." Misty continued with a steady voice. She swallowed hard then let out the slightest shuddering sigh. "There's really no easy way to say this. It's about Lottie."

Twist. Pull. Twist. Pull. Nothing about this meeting felt right. What about Lottie could possibly be important enough that the woman herself wouldn't have attended? Why wasn't Lottie here with them?

"She's dead."

The room became quiet. All sound vanished. The sickness that tortured her guts had faded away at an instant. Nola swore she'd never felt so empty before. She would welcome the queasy unease with open arms if it meant this barren feeling would leave her.

This couldn't be real. Not Lottie. It just didn't make sense. She had been perfectly fine when she saw last. How could Lottie had died so suddenly despite the woman smiling so brightly mere days ago? It didn't make sense and Nola refused to make sense of it. A single, solitary tear fell down her cheek.

Shauna stared up at Misty, her pupils shaking as she breathed out, "What? No."

"Oh my god." Taissa added, the woman sounding equally taken aback as the rest of them felt by this sudden information.

Shauna's head shook in defiance of what the Quigley woman had told them. She couldn't accept what she was hearing. "No, I just saw her the other day." She spoke up once more.

"Are you sure? I mean—she can't be. She's Lottie." Van quietly said with a frown. She was right? Lottie couldn't just die. She was Lottie.

Misty looked regretful. She hated being the bearing of bad news. "It happened yesterday." She informed the group of women with her own deep frown that threatened to change the way her mouth sat for life.

As she laid out photos on the coffee table for them to see, each of them containing a different image of a clearly deceased Charlotte Matthews, she continued, "I confirmed it myself at the morgue. The coroner ruled it accidental. They think she fell down the stairs, but—"

She cut herself off. Her hands sat perched on her hips, her face now twisted into an expression of suspicion. "It feels fishy."

"Fishy?" Van repeated back to her, her right brow raised inquisitively.

Suddenly, as if the answer to the unspoken question had been placed inside her head by some higher being, Shauna's gaze shot up to stare hard at the bespectacled blonde. "Where were you yesterday, Misty?" She asked with wariness.

Nola scoffed. "Shut up, Shauna!"

Taissa actually bounced back at the very much, unanticipated bite in Nola's words. She glanced over at Van to find her also looking shocked. "Oh, okay." She faintly muttered under her breath as she moved to sit back and steer clear of Nola's snappish behaviour.

Nola didn't even hear her. All she could focus on was the absolute gall Shauna had. "Now is really not the time to be pointing the finger. And besides, if anyone here was capable of doing something to Lottie, it would be you. Unless of course you forgot about the whole 'kicking her out of your house' thing."

Though she felt immense gratitude at being defended so effortlessly by someone, Misty didn't focus on that for now. Instead she glared back at Shauna. "Let me get this straight. You think I murdered Lottie, then held a meeting here to discuss it."

Van couldn't help but wince. "Something about that does feel on brand." She commented weakly. Her eyes met Misty's and she had the good sense to at least look a little sorry for her words.

Disgust now marred Misty's face. "I had nothing to do with any of this and you are not my friends if you think that I did." She snapped.

She would prove them wrong. She hungered for the satisfaction that would come with shoving their distrust back in their faces when she found what really had happened. "I'm gonna find out what happened to Lottie. Not for you guys, for Lottie. And for Natalie because that's what she would have done!"

She spun on her feel and marched straight for the front door, muttering, "Real jerks." Under her breath with each stomp of her feet before the door was ripped open and slammed shut behind her.

"Did Misty just storm out of her own house?"

"Yeah."

As if on cue, the front door swung back open. "Okay, yeah. You need to leave." Misty declared while sauntering back inside her home, stopping in front of them all.

One-by-one, the women rose to their feet. While watching as the others headed for the front door that still lay open from when Misty had come storming back inside, Nola moved slowly across the carpet until she came face to face with the curly-haired blonde.

Her voice fell into a comforting whisper. "Hey, I'm sorry you had to go and see Lottie alone. That couldn't have been easy." Her gaze spoke of the pain she knew Misty must have been feeling, the pain of seeing someone you were forever bonded with on a cold, hard slab.

            Especially so soon after Natalie.

            A humourless chuckle escaped her. "To tell you the truth though, I'm glad it wasn't me. I don't think I could handle seeing her lying there." Nola's lips were twisted into a harsh frown. Even just the imagined sight of Lottie laid up on that table was enough to send a heart-aching pain through her chest.

            "I'm gonna figure this out." Misty declared to the brunette.

            The determination came pouring off of the Quigley woman in droves. It clung fiercely to the air and warmed Nola's tender heart.

            A grateful smile took over from the frown as Nola reached out, placed her hand upon Misty's shoulder and squeezed. "I know you will." She breathed out. Then her hand retracted away and fell to her side.

            Now she looked like a woman on a mission, much like the woman stood before her. She spoke honestly as she explained, "I can't help you though. Lottie came to me the night Shauna kicked her out and she told me something really interesting. I'll focus on that. For her."

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DESPITE HER PREVIOUS WORDS exchanged with Shauna, the rage filled, pent up feelings of neglect and deception induced words, Nola found herself parked across the street from Shauna's home. The very home her ex girlfriend shared with her husband and daughter. It had been two days since she had last seen anyone, the woman having decided to spend some time alone while mourning the loss of her friend.

            From the driver's seat window, she was able to watch with ease as the family walked back and forth from the house to the car, carrying bags filled with what was most likely some clothing and toiletries. This confused her greatly. Why did it look like they were running? Why did it look like they had something to hide?

Without a second thought, Nola exited her dead mother's vehicle that now belonged to her and walked across the empty residential street until she stood face to face with a flustered Shauna.

Her brows furrowed as she looked at the Sadecki woman. "What's the rush?" She inquired, her voice light as she feigned genuine curiosity. She didn't really care. She just wanted to know why they seemed so freaked out.

Shauna spared her a worried glance as she walked past her, bag in hand. "We're getting out of here for a while. And you should come too." The Sadecki woman informed her with a wide-eyed gaze.

She turned back from where she had deposited the bag in the trunk to see Nola staring back at her, her lips twisted into a smile of amusement. "And why would I do that?" Nola questioned while folding her arms across her chest and tilting her weight to the side until her left hip jutted out.

Shauna paid her obvious attitude no mind and instead glanced about with suspicion before pulling a tape with the letters 'DAT' written across the surface. "Someone left this on my doorstep back when all this weird shit started happening." She quietly explained as she handed the tape over for Nola to see. "It's clearly a threat. Someone is trying to kill us."

Nola's wrist twisted as she turned the tape in her hand, eying it curiously. She quickly glanced back up when Shauna stepped closer. "Come with us. I'll feel better knowing that you're safe."

            "I can take care of myself, Shauna. I'm not a child." Came Nola's retort. This could potentially be her only chance to figure out if Lottie had been right. If she let them get away, she mightn't ever be able to follow through with Lottie's plans. Her shoulders then fell with a fake, heavy sigh. "But you're not gonna stop asking, are you?"

            Shauna shrugged with a hint of a smile cropping up on her lips, the woman unaware of Nola's secret motive, unaware that she hadn't successfully wore Nola down but had instead just inadvertently allowed yet another person with an interest in her daughter to join them.

"I was actually planning on driving to your house after we got in the car, so no." The Sadecki woman explained. Her smile grew when Nola appeared unwilling to fight back which filled Shauna with a sense of pride at having won.

"Fine." The Rilke woman acquiesced. "Seeing as how we'll be in each others lives once again, Callie—" she cut herself off as she smiled over at the approaching teenager who looks taken aback and slightly freaked out by Nola's appearance. "And I can use this time to bond. Right, Callie?"

Callie faltered as she set her packed bag in the car. She blinked at the woman before stuttering, "I guess so."

Nola grinned brightly. Deep down she knew that if Lottie had really been speaking the truth, then Callie was a gift to them all, a gift from the Wilderness.

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author's thoughts.
chapter fifty four, not proofread
yeah this chapter isn't that long but it's only really supposed to be setting up Nola's interest in following through with Lottie's and the wilderness's intrigue in Callie. Anyway I hope you enjoyed :)