(*&. ' angel.

ezekiel closes his small notebook as he finishes taking notes. heaven is such a curious place, its mistress being the most curious of them all. he is obsessed with every detail, every touch of augusta that inhabits these walls. the mourners start to go but he stays. of course he stays, he is supposed to write this movie about her! so he needs to explore. and so he does, walking through hallways with no clear destination in mind, happy to just wander and drink from the atmosphere. it’s quite darker than he would’ve thought, he admits, but it only adds so much flavor to the setting. 

he sees a figure staring at the window and, granted, the light isn’t ideal for what he would’ve had in mind but he can picture in his mind the perfect framing for the scene. ezze’s mind wonders through color palettes and lenses and how he’d fix this light and then - then something curious happens. a bird flies right to the window this person is standing, smashes itself against the glass and he cringes. 

“oof!” ezekiel exclaims, voice full of fake sympathy. “guess that must’ve hurt, huh?”

she took a deep breath and exhaled, it had been the first of many birds to hit the windows of heaven. it was almost like a welcome home present for her and her sisters. hearing the voice behind her she was startled. “shit - what the hell are you doing here?” she asked being caught off guard. she turned back around at the bizarre display going on outside. “they’ve been doing this for hours now.” she responds, slightly concerned, slightly freaked out. “is that normal? there is like dozen of them in the sky.” she pointed out. 

having put clem to bed after bringing in the tired child as everyone seemed to be leaving. he had asked for directions to a room and someone had unlocked a door for him allowing him to put the six year old to bed. ada had no idea he had followed since she hasn’t answered her phone but all he needed right now was to talk to her. closing the door to the room he made his way into the living area and sat on a couch as he thought about how to find her, what he was going to say, and how he was going to say it. 

as he sat there defeated and tired from the flight and car ride, he did not realize that he had company entering the living area with him. he was not here for the funeral, he didn’t know the woman or even of her, everything he knew about ada’s mother was what she told him. still he realized this place would required respect and so he made the cross against his chest before looking up and seeing he was not alone. “i’m sorry, i didn’t notice you come in,” he said quickly standing back up.

harlow had found herself drawn to living room for the evening, she had been procrastinating the past 48 hours and how she feels she could’ve done more for mama. this house had been filled with memories upon memories that harlow had tried to erase from but returning these memories returned like a tsunami in her mind. her train of thought was stopped when she noticed someone speak up. “it’s cool.” she shrugged off, her voice monotone. she didn’t have much “do i know you?” she asked, it was bizarre to have a male in the beauchamp home especially one alive. 

it was stupid, but elsinore hated the idea of staying in her room all on her own. even if it was daytime, maybe especially so. the hallucinations that had come during the day as a child had always seemed to linger, even now some clung to her like static. it felt like an assault as she walked through heaven’s halls, memory after memory crashing back to her.

this was why she’d finally stopped wandering heaven and had sat down at the dining table. while she had a sandwich in front of her, not a single bite had been taken. instead, she stared at the wall, lost in thought, until she saw the shadow of a figure in the corner of her eye. “hello?” she asked, her eyes darting to the spot. “who’s there?”

“the cute one.” she replied back, her fresh acrylic nails wrapped around the door frame as she looked into the room. she looked in giving her sister a half hearted smile, seeing all the beauchamp women united was bizarre to harlow. this house had too many ghosts of the past and her sisters were simply four more. she stepped into the room uninvited, the madness had began to dwell down from earlier in the day. she examined the room, not much had changed from the last time she had stepped foot in her. “weird, huh?” the only thing she could utter back. 

“only because you walk like you’re a ghost,” she said crossing her arms and looked the girl up and down judging everything she hasn’t seen since she left. “Yeah, mid-thirties, people age, you won’t be young forever unless you die now like that hag,” she said before she bent down and picked up the dog into her arms and held bishop close. “I’m here till the month is up, once it’s done, I’m leaving.”

“at least i don’t look like one.” she snapped back rolling her eyes, why on earth claire was here was beyond her. “i guess all that partying at such a young age really took a toll on your face.” the brunette suggested as she stepped closer into the room, black hells clicking with each step. hearing that claire was staying for the month harlow couldn’t help but be amused. “you’re really that desperate for money?” she sniggered as she placed her hands on her hips. “didn’t you become like meryl streep or something?

Welcome Home, HARLOW BEAUCHAMP. Did you think Mama would forget the TWENTY-TWO year old SOCIALITE, her child? You think you’ve come home to CLAIM THE INHERITANCE FOR HERSELF but my sweet angel that could further from the truth. Come along, THE BURNT BRIDE has been waiting for LITTLE BO PEEP and there’s nothing to be afraid now. Mama’s home.

“you don't have to be afraid. you don't even have to be brave”

“aw bishop? you’re still alive?” claire said a little drunk, understanding that it would be the pup of bishop instead of the actual dog, she’d be dead a long time by now. “sorry i left you,” she whispered to the dog as it licked her hand. 

what she didn’t know was that someone was behind her, watching her…with no eyes, so how could he see…and no ears, so how could he hear? what it did have was a mouth and a chill that would run down her spine. Standing up, she took a breath before she turned around only to see an actual person in front of her and that surprised her more than mister no face. “fuck?! god you’re quiet, make some noise if you enter a room for goodness sake.”

“i think you’re loud enough for the both of us.” she answered back her first time seeing her sister in person for what feels like forever. “guess this house isn’t the only thing that’s aged.” she stated with a smug grin going across her face. harlow glared as she watched the canine strut “gross.” she exclaimed before looking back at her family. “so, when do you get home?” harlow asked, claire had such a successful career and detested the entire family she couldn’t possibly be staying long.