Chapter Text
If you had asked Enid Sinclair what her biggest achievement in life was, 6 years ago, she would have undoubtedly told you - winning the Poe Cup 2 years in a row. But after graduating Nevermore with honors, marrying her tall, ordinary boyfriend Bruno, and having her life unexpectedly turned upside down, she'd probably tell you that her biggest achievement is and will always be “raising Charlie”.
Enid was a good student. She was attending her classes, getting good marks, and staying out of trouble- okay, fine, she was looking for trouble.
She enjoyed having little adventures with her roommate Wednesday and unveiling local mysteries. At one point she was even thinking about opening a Detective agency after graduating and then pursuing a career as a Private investigator. Even imagining the small office with the brown curtains, countless succulents, and dusty Victorian furniture, was putting a smile on her face. While she wasn't very much into the whole historical vibe, as she preferred a more modern environment, Enid agreed to make some adjustments in order to bring some joy in her partner's gray life. Who would her partner be, you might ask, well, none other than her sister-in-arms - Wednesday, because, of course, she'd be there with her. They were friends for life, weren't they? Besties, if you wish … or at least that's what she thought.
In reality, Enid got a boyfriend during their last year at Nevermore and Wednesday sort of pulled away for some reason, and then all of a sudden the two of them were sharing less, talking less, interacting less, and eventually Enid started feeling like she was making her roommate uncomfortable, just by existing …in the same space.
Enid's boyfriend at the time, let's call him key smash - zjgdddyd, was visiting quite often. Despite her telling him to meet up somewhere else, key smash hxshkjhfx always ended up in her room, on her bed with a hand up her shirt. Yes, it was that bad.
Enid could sense that key smash kcsfhvc was making Wednesday uncomfortable, so she asked him to stop coming over.
“Stop coming over..”
“Why? Cause your roommate's jealous because you landed someone like me, while she's alone with her pet foot-”
“Hand. And he has a name.” Enid said annoyed.
“Whatever. You're allowed to be happy, baby”
She should have dumped him right there and then, but funnily enough - she didn't. She just watched Wednesday pull away from her, inch by inch, step by step, until one day in spring Wednesday's brother joined the school and she requested to be moved to the wing where he was staying.
Time passed, they grew up, graduated, and gradually stopped keeping in touch.
Enid tried to follow her dream of becoming a journalist, but her parents had other plans for her.
See, Enid was a wolf. An omega to be precise. And omegas were usually treated like scum in most packs. Hence why Enid was hoping to make it as a journalist and live by herself, in a city far far away from her family, their problems and the wolf drama.
Her brother was an Alpha though. He found an omega mate, popped a few beautiful pups, and made everyone in the pack envious or jealous, so the pack aunties did what pack aunties do and started discussing the Sinclair family at all functions, kitchens and workplaces - Who was living where? Why? Why not? Who was single? Who was staining the clan's name by dating, instead of waiting for their mate?
Oh, the horror her mother had to go through. Living her life, considering only and exclusively other people's opinions. The tragedy. Anyway, she decided to get all of her children married as soon as possible, to stop the bad-mouthing and the rumors about her family. So the oldest brother Bern was the first one to break and marry. See, he was the good son. Mom's boy. Her pride and joy. He gave the clan what they wanted - a good leader with a good family and a few babies on the way. Bern became an example for everything good in the pack's territory, and his name was always mentioned in sentences like “You should be more like Alpha Bern!” “Oh, you want to give up, Alpha Bern didn't give up!”, “Alpha Bern saved my mom and I from a tractor crash one time.” “Alpha Bern saved my kitten from a burning-” You get the idea, right? Good.
Rain - the younger brother - as per his mother's request of course, got sent on a one-of-a-kind “find your mate” tour, going through a few neighboring packs, in hopes of finding a mate and settling down as fast as possible. After a long search, and numerous pack parties, he returned successfully. There was a fast wedding, and of course, a beautiful pup on the way, and the family was once again pleased.
Unfortunately, now the only one who kept getting discussed by everybody was Enid.
Poor omega Enid who ‘needed an alpha to tell her what to do’.
“Oh, she's so small. She will definitely be an omega.. I'm so sorry for your family”
“But what do you mean she's studying? She needs to learn how to serve an Alpha first.”
“How will she live far from the pack? Does she want to be a rogue?”
“Oh, you poor soul. Your daughter turning against the family. Shame.”
“She hasn't gotten her wolf yet? Isn't she of age?”
“She got her wolf late and she's still not looking for her mate? Ugh, shame”
These were the comments she had been listening to her whole life, but now it somehow got worse.
So Enid tried very hard to find a mate. She honestly didn't care if they were a wolf, a human, a vampire or any other creature really. She just wanted to be loved. It didn't matter if she ended up with an Alpha, a Beta, another Omega, or someone who had no idea what any of that was. Enid believed that she had a mate somewhere out there and she was determined to find them, so that they could take her away from…well, all of that mess.
Unfortunately, though, life had other ideas, and Enid Sinclair ended up alone.
She lived alone, ate alone, drank alone, and spent her heats alone. After a few years, the idea of a mate started feeling so distant and unattainable to her, that she just stopped looking altogether.
The only time she felt like her wolf was finally talking to her and giving her signs that she might have found her soulmate was in Nevermore.
But.. no.
She couldn't.
It wasn't like that.
It couldn't be.
So she didn't.
Bruno was a good guy. She met him while serving at this bar on the corner of Milton and Lanes. He was funny and charming at first, and so very human. He took her to picnics and movie dates and it all started to feel … normal. She knew that if she didn't end up meeting her mate she'd be allowed to marry her chosen partner eventually, so marry him she did. Six months after they met, Enid became Enid Berrows Foster. She'd love to say that her love story with Bruno was beautiful and romantic and everything was hearts and rainbows the entire time, but it wasn't. Bruno slowly became distant after the wedding. He started working more and spending less time at home. When he was at home, he was usually with his buddies, getting drunk on the green couch in the living room, yelling at the tv because the Cowboys or some other boys lost a game.
Everything was very … normal. At least this was what her friends from work were telling her. All their husbands were acting the same way. They were just men - interested in rolling balls, flying balls, and alcohol. And It was okay. It was normal.
What was not normal, was what happened on the night of the 28th of February, when Enid got home a bit late.
Cindy Whitmore was sick, Mark asked Enid to cover the shift. She couldn't go back home at 7 pm as usual, because there were too many clients and she ended up serving drinks till 10 pm. Mark drove her home after work.
“I'm very sorry you had to cover her shift. If i had anyone else-”
“No, Mark, it's totally fine. I get it” Enid said quietly with a smile, closing the door of his old Toyota Yaris.
“Yeah, but you're pregnant and-”
“I know. But Bruno recently lost his job so… it's kinda like that right now. I can still walk and I'm at least 10 weeks away from my term, so it's fine really. I feel like with the baby around, we'd definitely need the money.”
“I- Listen, I know that I'm the last person who should give you relationship advice, like - three divorces here” - Mark pointed at himself and chuckled. Enid joined him. - But I mean… you have a man at home. Isn't he supposed to at least help with the bills? I can ask Carl if there's anything available at the shop-”
“Thank you, Mark, you're very sweet,” Enid said and held his hand. “But Bruno is allergic to motor oil. If it sprays on his skin he'd get a painful rash and I- … “ she stopped and took a deep breath, resting her hand on her baby bump and giving her boss a fake smile “We'll be fine.”
Mark looked at her unconvinced for a few minutes then went for a hug. They've been friends for a few years now and Enid always felt safe around him.
“Okay, I will stop pushing - for now! - Mark said, breaking the hug and looking into Enids's eyes, “But I'm just looking out for you”
“I know…” Enid whispered with a soft smile that looked genuine this time.
Mark's phone buzzed in his pocket.
“Oh, I gotta go. Molly would be wondering where I went” he said and pulled out his phone. “I gotta call her.”
“Thank you for driving me Mark, and… for everything else.”
They parted ways and Enid waited until he got to his car to start walking towards her house. Then Mark decided to wait until she got to the door and unlocked it before he honked at her and disappeared into the dark night.
“Look who decided to come home..”Brunos's voice echoed around the empty kitchen.”
“Honey, I'm sorry!” Enid started, leaving her keys and taking off her coat.” One of the girls couldn't make it to her shift so they asked me to cover for her. There were a lot of people tonight, and my feet hurt, but it was worth it cause I got a lot of tips and maybe we can start fixing the baby's room and-”
She had no idea how it happened.
In one moment she was looking at her coat on the hanger, and in the other - she was lying on the floor, on her side, and her face hurt.
At first, she couldn't register what had happened. Did Bruno hit her? Why would he do that? They loved each other? She was carrying his baby... The baby! She pressed her hands towards her bump and covered it protectively. Was the baby okay? Where was Bruno?
Suddenly the loud screeching noise in her ears lowered its volume and she could hear Bruno yelling at her. He was mad. He was calling her a cheater. He was telling her something about the Cowboys losing the game. She didn't understand anything, so she tried to get up, but that proved to be a mistake. He kicked her leg while she was getting up which sent her back to the floor. She hit her knee badly and immediately lay down on her side again. Bruno was still yelling. She tried to turn around and look at him, but everything went black.
The rest was like a nightmare.
She woke up at the hospital. There were doctors and needles and so many tubes, then nothing, then more doctors, then pain, and then nothing again. It was all white and calm and warm until a baby's crying voice woke her up.
Charlie was born prematurely, 10 weeks early. He was 50cm, 1300 grams - so small that she couldn’t believe he made it. His lungs were underdeveloped so he had to stay in an incubator for another 6 weeks. But her boy was strong. He had his mom's spirit, so he made it out and he got to go home. Bruno was by the hospital bed on the first day, crying and apologizing, asking for another chance. He was sober at least. He told her it was a mistake, how it would never happen again, how glad he was that their boy was alright.
Enid didn't know what to do, honestly, but since it had never happened before, she decided to forgive Bruno and give him a chance to be part of Charlie's life and fix things.
The problem was that nothing changed. He stayed at home. No job, no money, and no intention to do anything but drink and invite people over. Enid's home life turned into a college student experience - Loud parties, lots of alcohol, weed, and music, drunk men, and fist fights. One night though, an unknown lady in a leather suit decided to stay the night and Enid finally felt like saying something.
“You gave birth and suddenly you don't want me?! It's been a month, Enid!”
“Bruno, I have not healed yet, the doctor said-”
“She's on your side cause she's a woman! She's not even a real doctor!! Real doctors are men! She's just a liar! I've twisted my ankle before and it healed for two weeks! I asked two weeks ago and you've said the same! What the fuck! You don't even have bones in there! It's just some muscle! You don't fucking want me to fuck you! Just say it!”
“Bruno, please listen to me.”
“There's nothing to listen to! If you don't let me fuck you, eventually, I'll find someone else!”
He took the brunette by the hand, stormed out of the house, and didn't come back for the rest of the night.
In the morning, Enid woke up with a crying Bruno next to the bed.
“I'm sorry. I was drunk. But you don't…fulfill my needs. I have needs, Enid and it's not fair. I want to have sex with you..”
“I understand, but I haven't healed yet. I can't even go to the bathroom, I'm still wearing these big pads-”
“Ew. No. Stop! I don't want to know this.. “ Bruno whined - “please, just let me fuck someone else. I promise I will stop once you recover. No strings attached. I'll pay someone. You wouldn't know her. I won't kiss her. I just really need it, Enid. Come on.”
Enid took a deep breath and focused on the way Bruno was rubbing her arm. He wasn't gentle by any means, and Enid knew that he was trying, so she agreed.
But he didn't stop.
He kept coming home late, smelling like pubs, cigarettes, and …well, sex. But at least now he wasn't pressing her to sleep with him. He had others who did the job just fine. Enid was glad he didn't.. fully force her, even though he did try a few times, but Yoko would always arrive on time to stop him. She was grateful for her friend. Yoko told her to leave multiple times, but Bruno would always convince her he'd change and that they could have it better, so Enid would always have him back. She was always trying to forgive him anything. What she couldn't forgive though, was him mistreating her baby.
Charlie was two when Bruno started yelling at him. It made Enid mad. It was one thing for him to fight with her, but it was completely different to yell at the baby.
“Dada”
“What?”
“..dadada”
“Stop it, boy..”
“..daa. dada”
“What! What do you want??”
“Why are you yelling at him…?” asked Enid and sighed deeply, instinctively sitting on the couch between the man and her son.
“Because I'm trying to watch my game, Enid! I can't hear the commentary! All I hear is his baby bullshit.”
“He's learning how to talk, Bruno… We were practicing saying Dada tog-”
“I don't care!! You can tell me later. For fucks sake! Just take him to the other room while I'm watching! This game is important!!”
This was always his excuse. The game was important. His buddy's hangout was important. His all-day-long texts to God knows who were important. Everything was more important than his son.
Enid managed to keep it all in for two more years, but then Bruno crossed the line.
Charlie was four, playing on the floor. Enid was at work. Bruno was supposed to take care of him. Enid came home to Charlie crying and Brunos's grunting and moaning coming from upstairs.
“Charlie?”
She walked in the kitchen to find her son playing with a gun. Real life, cold, metal gun. Scared out of her mind Enid managed to snatch the weapon out of the child's hands and threw it in the sink. There was a part of the handle that had a metal shard glued to it. Enid noticed it made a small cut on her hand. She squeezed it and rolled some kitchen paper on the cut. It was a miracle her son didn't cut himself.
She quickly grabbed Charlie checking him for any wounds or bleeding and was relieved to not find anything. Enid put him on the couch, sat down, and squeezed him, hugging him tightly.
She felt sick to her stomach. He could have gotten hurt, he could have accidentally shot himself. He could have died. Enid felt tears roll down her cheeks. After a few seconds, her brain registered that he was still crying. He had probably not eaten since she fed him in the morning…
“Hey, baby. Mommy is here. Are you hungry?” The little boy nodded, holding onto her arm as tightly as he could.
“Mommy will get you something to eat yeah? Can you let go of mommy?”
“No mommy no..”
“Mommy won't leave, baby. I'll just get some food okay? Am am. Do you want some Am am?” Charlie finally let go with one hand.
Enid managed to grab a banana from the fruit basket and started giving him pieces of the fruit.
Once he stopped crying she could still clearly hear the moaning and the bed creaking coming from the room upstairs. And in that moment something inside her broke.
This man had made her life a living hell. He had yelled at her, abused her mentally and physically, for years, and left her to take care of her son alone, working two jobs, cooking, cleaning, and paying all bills and what was he doing? Women. Bruno was doing women. He was drinking and gambling the hard-earned money that Enid was trying to save up so she could give her son a better life. A son that he left alone in a room full of beer cans, vodka bottles, and a gun.
She couldn't take it anymore. She took Charlie and brought him upstairs to his room. After making sure that he was secured in his bed, she closed the door and went inside the master bedroom.
Her hands were shaking, her heart was racing and she had never felt more angry in her entire life. She kicked the door and saw Bruno in their bed with another woman.
“Sweety! I- what are you doing here?”
The nickname felt so bitter in her mouth. She gritted her teeth and everything became blurry.
Enid didn't remember jumping on the bed and hitting Bruno on the bedpost. She didn't remember kicking his ass out of the house or yelling at the woman to leave, but she did. And she did it well. What she did remember were the police sirens, the confused neighbors, the hugs she received from Mark and his girlfriend, the disgusted look her mother gave her in court when she was getting sole custody of her son, and her evil grin when she saw her bruises. And then - it was over.
They moved into a smaller house. Enid got an internship at this local newspaper and reconnected with her former best friend Yoko. It was pure luck that Yoko was in the neighborhood the first time Bruno tried to assault her.
“I will fucking kill him! Let me go!” Yoko kept yelling.
“No, Yoko, please. He's- He's the father of my child, I can't-”
“You can't what, Sinclair? This piece of shit tried to force himself on you! Does he hit you too?... Fuck. I haven't seen you in what- 5 years? And the first thing I find out about you is that you're dating this slug? Are you serious?! You can do so much better! What the fuck?” yelled Yoko and pulled away from Enid by using a lot of force unconsciously. Enid ended up falling to the floor.
“Shit. Enid. I'm sorry. I'm so fucking dumb. I didn't mean to push you “
Enid hugged herself and started crying quietly.
“Please let me kill him…please”
“I can't Yoko. It's wrong.”
“You know what else is wrong? The way he treats you… You're a wolf, Enid. You managed to beat up the fucking Hyde. How come you couldn't stop-”
“I don't want to talk about it..” Enid whispered and hugged her knees tightly.
“You can't stay here… What if I'm not around next time? You do know there will be a next time, right? Yoko whispered gently and pulled Enid into a hug.
“I can't leave him. Not now..please”
Yoko saved Enid's life that day, but after the same thing happened a couple of times, Yoko grew tired and told Enid she wouldn't come over next time. It was a lie of course, and Enid knew that, but she needed that push. The gun incident happened a week after that.
Leaving her toxic environment, Enid could count only on Yoko. There was Mark and his girlfriend, but Enid didn't feel like involving them in her problems anymore. They were good people, but they were people. She'd hate to see them get hurt. So she called Yoko. The two girls reconnected right away and started hanging out after work, taking Charlie to play in the park every Friday. They had girl nights, cooking Tuesdays and picnic dates and Enid literally started living again.
But unfortunately, she had too much baggage to feel safe. So she couldn't stop being paranoid. What if Bruno came back? What if he hit her again? What if he took Charlie?
She was locking all doors and windows, checking the locks three times, and putting a chair to hold the bedroom door just in case, every time they took a nap or went to sleep at night. She also didn't let the now five-year-old Charlie sleep alone in another room.
Life was moving slowly, but at least it wasn’t moving in circles.
“Mommy!” Charlie yelled and Enid got out of her thoughts.
“What's wrong baby?”
“Paws!”
“Paw patrol? Do you want to watch it?” Enid said and checked her watch. It was 4 pm.
“Yess” the little boy said and sat in front of the TV.
Changing the channels Enid stopped because she thought she saw someone familiar.
“...to participate in the charity game. The gala was organized by the guild of writers and will feature the names of the best-selling authors.”
“Wednesday…” Enid whispered and felt a tug in her heart.
“..Addams will be at the center of attention with her new book “Blood and Lies”. Miss Addams, what can you tell us about your book? Are you excited to finally show it to the world?”
Enid could swear she stopped breathing. It was Wednesday. Her Wednesday. She looked a bit older, her face a bit fuller, but her eyes were the same.
“... yes,” Wednesday said and then a silence followed. The journalist kept looking at Wednesday, and Wednesday kept looking at the camera.
Enid chuckled unconsciously. The sound felt foreign on her lips. She liked it.
No one understood Wednesday like she did. They couldn't even begin to comprehend the complexity of her character and her thoughts, that Enid spent days analyzing and studying. She was so good at reading her back then. She wondered if she could still do that.
Wednesday Addams was an author.
Wow...
Enid still remembered all those nights she was falling asleep under the soft clicking of her roommate's typewriter. It was annoying. So very annoying, but she caught herself missing those times when there was no one to disappoint, no one to hide from, just poetry, sirens, rowing competitions, and hot chocolate. Wednesday… she looked more mature now, calmer.. Enid couldn't pinpoint exactly what was different about her former friend, but she knew something had changed. Besides her hair that is. Wednesday had exchanged her iconic braids for a wolf cut. And she looked damn good in it.
“Mommy?”
“Sorry baby. Mommy will let u watch now”
She needed to see her. Even if it's just once. Enid felt her pulse racing and her palms sweating. She needed to…
******
The city was falling asleep under the forceful embrace of a summer thunderstorm. Wednesday liked those. They reminded her of the simpler times when she was testing her electric charge theory experimenting on river frogs with Pugsley. Time passes by so fast. At one moment he could fit in the small coffin under her father's desk, on the first-floor office of their mansion, and in the next - he was joining a volleyball team in Italy. Wednesday could not comprehend how that was possible. Her brother was not an athlete. He had never expressed any interest in sports whatsoever, but he was unfortunately a weak human male, so he wasn't immune to love, and a girl he fancied happened to be on a volleyball cheerleader team. Wednesday had never heard about volleyball cheerleaders either, but apparently, she needed to extend her knowledge on the subject because they even went to competitions and won awards. Peculiar.
She wondered how people could go and watch a leather sphere filled with air get passed around for a few hours. Her parents appeared to love it. They went to all of Pugsley's games. Wednesday had never seen them go out as much, ever. It was concerning. Her mother was wiping tears of joy whenever her brother touched the ball, and her father postponed his journey with Uncle Fester to go support his son in Canada. Uncle Fester was probably having more fun than them right now, chasing dragons and getting arrested in non-Spanish speaking Balkan countries.
Why anyone would pick a ball chase over this was beyond her.
The microwave beeped behind her and brought her back to the present. She looked at the half-full glass of whiskey in her hand and swirled it around. Why did she pour it in the first place, she couldn’t remember.
Lies. She remembered.
She saw a woman today. Blonde hair, blue eyes. She reminded her of Enid.
Enid Sinclair, the girl she never dared to ask out. Yes, she fancied her, but it didn't matter anymore. She didn't do anything when she had the chance, now it was entirely too late. In the rare instances she thought of her now ex-roommate, Wednesday pictured her married to some tall, ordinary man, living in an ordinary house, having an ordinary job, and an ordinary family. But she was hoping Enid was … happy.
A soft mobile phone buzz ruined the quiet vibe of the room.
“Addams,” Wednesday said and took the glass to her lips taking a sip of the bitter spirit.
“...Why are you awake, Addams?”
“You called.”
“Nah, don't play these games with me.You-”
“What do you want, Bianca?”
“What do you mean what do I want? It's literally 1am and you have a book signing tomorrow. Please, go to bed, I'm so tired of fighting managers and supervisors. Let's do our part of the contract and then go home.” Bianca said with a monotone voice.
“Alright.”
“Thank you. See you tomorrow. I'll wait in the lobby.”
“Noted,” Wednesday said and hung up the call. She wondered if Enid lived in a city somewhere. Were they even on the same continent? Wednesday felt her cold heart warming up at the idea, and it bothered her.
*********
Enid woke up late.
She usually got up around 7am because she has gotten used to waking up whenever Charlie does, but since she spent the entire night thinking about Wednesday and panicking what she'd say to her, she fell into a restless sleep pretty much when the first sun rays had already started caressing the blooming flower petals on the meadow in front of her house.
What was she going to say?
“Hi Wednesday, you look .. nice”
Nice was an understatement.
“So you're into the whole writing thing now, for real?”
She's been writing for years.
“I love blood and lying”
No.
“What am I up to? Well, I'm divorced with a small child, and a seafood allergy.”
All of her conversation starters and “break the ice” jokes were falling flat and she had no idea why. It occurred to her that maybe she hadn't used her people's skills at all in the past couple of years because of Bruno…
Ever since she met Bruno she was mostly working at home on the weekends and working at work during the week. Between the chores and the baby and everything else she barely had enough time to sleep, let alone think about anything else. Sure she had made a few workmates, but they were more in the “acquaintances” category. She wouldn't really call them “friends” because there was nothing personal being shared between them. They were mostly discussing work and shifts and complaining about customers. Enid hadn't actuallyhung out with them either because she was usually in a rush to go home. Bruno just needed her there, and he also thought that they'd be a bad influence on her because they were all drinking and smoking and - yup, yeah that was toxic. Oh, wow. She couldn't believe she was so blindsided and she didn't see the signs.. He isolated her from her friends, he always picked up her phone when someone called, and he was checking all of the mail and packages that arrived from the post office.. This was a major red flag. It was incredible how Enid did not pick up on it.
And how did she expect to have people skills? He literally stripped her old self and buried everything that made her ENID. And now she had to rebuild her life AND her entire personality. She had to discover her sense of self again and remember who she was.
But this sounded like too much work, and she had only a few minutes before meeting Wednesday! … Why was she so nervous though? It was her friend Wednesday, right? Her bestie, her roommate, business partner, comrade Wednesday. They have lived together for God's sake? She had seen her in her satin black pajamas and WHY WAS SHE THINKING ABOUT WEDNESDAY IN PAJAMAS?! This was so wrong. No. Stop it! It's fine! It's all fine. She didn't have to be nervous, right? It wasn't like they were going on a date. Haha.. haha. Enid?! No!
She was imagining how she'd put on a little black dress, and go to the book signing and Wednesday will be there, dashing as always, and then they will see each other through the crowd and she will smile and Wednesday would approach her, take her hand and press her warm lips on Enid's cold hand, and the hand will be cold because Enid will be nervous as hell (for no reason) and she will be shaking in her one size bigger shoes, and Wednesday's lips will be warm because… well, she had always thought they'd be warm… in the rare cases when she imagined her lips… ANYWAY. Moving on. Dress! She needed a dress.
Half an hour later Enid was late, naked and late because you see, she hadn't really bought a lot of clothes for herself. She was making sure Charlie had new clothes to wear every few months. Kids grow up fast! But when it came to herself, she was mostly buying band t-shirts and baggy pants. Sweatpants to be exact. She needed to be comfortable if she was to run after her toddler who had just eaten a crayon or who was running around the table trying to digest glue…
Shoot! She was late! She couldn't miss the opportunity to meet her ex-roommate.
She put on the first thing she saw and started loading the baby seat into the car.
*********
Wednesday was finishing her third bottle of water. She did not expect so many people to show up at the event. She had always assumed that her writing style would be too much for the regular reader, but her fans surprised her once again. There were all kinds of people, different clothes, different social circles, different cultures, different ages. Some of them were sitting alone, others were standing in small groups talking amongst each other, taking pictures with their phones, and laughing loudly. What was so fun, she couldn't tell.
“Smile a little..”
“Pardon?” Wednesday said and turned her head a bit to the right.
“I said smile.” Bianca repeated herself. “Don't give me that look. I know you hate it but all of these people are here because they like you. The least you can do is be a bit more.. approachable.”
“I don't know them. They think they know me. If they wanted smiles they would have gone to the child with the panel next to us.”
“She's your age-”
Wednesday looked at the other podium and saw a young woman taking selfies with her fans and hugging them excitedly.
“I highly doubt that.”
“I'm just saying that it won't hurt. You need to look like you want to be here, Addams. It's good for marketing.”
Wednesday looked at her for a few moments then stretched her lips in some sort of a grimace.
“Okay, stop you're scaring me”
“It's the best I can do,” Wednesday said and smiled triumphantly at Biancas's reaction.
“SEE, you CAN smile. You just don't want to.”
“I see no reason to smile, ergo I don’t.”
“Another thing to work on - your language.”
“There's nothing inappropriate in the way I chose to express myself.”
“Half of your readers are teenage girls who seek thrills and adventures. You need to speak to them at a language they'd understand-”
“You want me to change everything about myself that makes me unique?” Wednesday asked and turned her gaze towards her agent.
“No, that's not what I mean-”
“You want me to smile, wear bright clothes, and use… high school vocabulary. You should have picked Enid as a client.”
“...Sinclair? Huh, I haven't heard that name in a while. I wonder what she's been up to. You guys were all gushy-mushy. I'm surprised you didn't stay in touch.
“Break's over. Let's finish up.” Wednesday said and moved her chair back to the desk indicating that she was done with that conversation.
Bianca eyed her suspiciously but didn't say anything else.
*******
Finding the venue was easy, but getting in it was a challenge. Enid didn't expect so many people to wait in line in hopes of seeing her friend. Wednesday was very famous. It warmed Enid's heart.
“I cannot believe your mom didn't get you a ticket. It's so low-vibrational.
“No cap. She thinks Wednesday is mid!”
“She's tripping.”
“Only in Ohio”
“It's giving depression. How much did you pay?”
“Like 1k. But I'm getting to meet her. Did you see her red suit? Bro, she ate!”
“Her rizzz. I cannot believe I'll have to wait outside. Pls make her sign my book.”
“I will bro. I got u”
Enid got quiet, firstly because she had no idea what half of these words meant, secondly because it just came to her that she didn't have a ticket.
“Uhm excuse me, is it still possible to get a ticket?” She asked the two girls who were walking in front of her.
“Yes ma'am, they are selling tickets there, upfront, but it's a rip-off. It's way more expensive than they were online. Try some of the other older people, maybe someone is selling.”
‘Ma'am’ was she qualified to be a ma'am? Enid was 26 for God's sake!
“Sorry. Hi! I heard you were looking for a ticket?” a man behind her said and it made Enid turn around.
“Yes, do you know where I can buy one?”
“I came here with my daughter. She had two tickets, one for her and one for her friend, but the other girl's mom canceled at the last minute, so my daughter had to take me instead. I'm not that insistent on going in, so you can have my ticket.”
“Are you joking?”
“No, no, you can have it.”
“Thank you so much, but I can't accept it. It's too much and we don't know each other- Enid started.
“No, I insist-
“Besides, I have a small child. I don't think he would be able to-”
“How old is he?” the man asked and smiled at Charlie. Charlie waved reluctantly and moved back behind his mom. “because kids under 12 go in for free.”
“Oh! … I had no idea.”
Enid could not believe her luck. She used to believe in fate before, so maybe fate was on her side today. She got the ticket, thanked the Father stranger, and got in line to enter the venue.
A few hours later Charlie was sleeping in her embrace and she was swaying him gently, wondering how tired her boy must be if he could fall asleep despite all the noise around them. Even though they spent half the afternoon waiting to get to the author's booth, Enid could still not see the end of the line. They were moving forward every few minutes which was telling her people were in fact still getting their books signed. BOOKS. OH GODDESS! She didn't have a book! What would Wednesday sign?! Ugh! She should have gotten some notebook at least or- her phone… Yes, she could make Wednesday sign the back of her phone. Okay, that was a plan. She really wanted to check if there was anything in her purse that she could use, but Charlie was sleeping and she didn't want to disturb him. Phone it is.
After a few minutes, they finally got close to a makeshift table where a young woman was selling copies of “Blood and lies”. It was $19.99. Enid sighed. She was getting paid on the 20th but she had a lot of things to pay for. The electricity bill was on the 11th, the phone bill on the 19th, the tv on the 21st. The car insurance? - Yeah, her beautiful dealer could literally withdraw the money at any given moment, because it was a pre-set payment. She was wondering if she could afford buying the book, but she couldn't reach her phone to check.
It sounded ridiculous, yes. But when you're living by yourself and you're a single mom, you cannot afford to buy things impulsively, because money is always needed and unexpected things could happen at any given moment. But while that was true, Enid reminded herself that she never buys anything. She literally stopped living her own life after she got married. Didn't she deserve to buy one damn book one time? Hell yeah. She deserved that. She did. She had in fact already paid for it with her blood sweat and tears. Yes. So buy the book - she did. They were getting closer and closer and Enid felt her hands get sweaty. Her stomach curled into a ball and started aching. Anxiety? Probably. Why was she so anxious? They knew each other.
Wednesday was signing another book for another girl. She honestly expected a more mature audience and still couldn't believe these teenage girls found her musings understandable enough to read.
“So, I know they said we shouldn't talk to you but I just wanted to say that I'm an orphan. My parents dumped me at an orphanage when I was 9. They said they couldn't care for me anymore and that money was low, but I knew that they just never wanted me in the first place. They were smiling while walking away and I will never forget that. I'm 18 right now. I got kicked out of the orphanage, found nice people, got a job at this diner, and … I feel like I'm finally doing well, you know? But throughout all my journey I've had your books to read. I had them when I was 10 and crying on my birthday when that teacher hit me for the first time when that family adopted me when they brought me back. In my happiest and most unhappiest moments, I had you. And I just wanted you to know that if it wasn't for your books.. I would have gone insane”
Wednesday finally looked up.
The girl in front of her was young. She was very thin and looked very tired, but somehow happy. Wednesday remembered what Bianca said earlier “They like you.” .. “They're here for you” so she decided to make an effort.
“I am delighted that my characters have brought you comfort on your journey. Remember that it's always dark before the light comes up. You've done a great job raising yourself. Keep your head up… and keep going forward.”
The young woman smiled at her with tears in her eyes then put her palm on top of Wednesday's hand, which was still holding the pen. “Thank you so much” . Wednesday nodded and delicately pulled her hand away to finish signing the book. The girl wiped her tears, thanked her once again, and walked away.
“See? It doesn't hurt.” Bianca said with a teasing smile.
“Did you make her say that with your-” Wednesday started.
“Don't even try,” Bianca said and waved her hand in front of Wednesday's face. - These people are not here because of me. They are here because of you”
Wednesday thought about it for a bit then gave Bianca a faint smile.
“Would you like to take a break?”
“No. There are only a few people left. Let's finish the queue.”
“I'll tell the guards to not let any newcomers in. We're over for today. You need to rest.
Wednesday was just getting ready to sign the next book when her eyes stopped on something familiar.
A mere few meters away, nestled among the crowd, stood Enid Sinclair, her objectively sweet, inappropriately bubbly roommate whose company she had tolerated through countless moonlit nights.
Her stature appeared unchanged, yet her once dichromatic hair now bore a puzzling uniformity, though its length remained. Her attire defied all rational aesthetic standards, and her eyes that once gleamed with that unbearable, inexplicable joy, were now dim, and dark.
Wednesday could swear there was a flicker of something deep within—pain, longing - though, no doubt, it was merely a cruel trick of the light.
Six years had passed since she last indulged in a conversation with the young wolf. The moon changed the tides over a thousand times, dark starless nights engulfed the Earth in their deadly embrace, and seasons interchanged, yet one thing remained the same - Wednesday Addams. She resisted every impulse to entangle herself in Enid's unpredictable orbit all these years ago, only to find herself standing there now, mere feet away from her.
Enid had not acknowledged her yet. She was preoccupied with the small human grasping at her thigh, desperate to captivate her attention.
She had a son.
Wednesday realized that it got quiet in her mind. She liked it.
Then the inevitable happened and their eyes met.
Enid looked startled for a moment then elated, then something somber took over. It was entirely too late to make an exit now, wasn't it? All of her decisions led her here to this moment. Wednesday could have walked away, unnoticed, to preserve this… distance that she had cultivated. After all, it was her who chose to sever their bond. What could she offer her now? Certainly not what Enid seeks. Wednesday was not what the girl needed then, nor was she what Enid needed now, so she did the only logical thing she could think of.
“I'm done.” She announced, then picked up her things and walked away, leaving a confused Bianca, and a few stunt fans.
“Mommy, when are we going home? I'm hungry?” The little boy said, still hugging Enid's leg.
Enid tried to rationalize what just happened but she couldn't. She wouldn't let herself be affected by this. Not now, not in public. She simply released the breath she didn't know she was holding and pulled Charlie up giving him a tight hug again.
“Let's go, baby. We're going home”
“Wouldn't we meet your friend?” Charlie asked curiously.
“No, honey. She had more things to do, so she had to leave. Mommy will call her later. Don't worry.” She kissed her son's head and ruffled his hair. She let him step back down, fixed his little jacket, held his hand, and walked away from the cold, crowded venue.
Everything else was a blur. Enid didn't know how she managed to get home, make dinner for Charlie, wash him up, and put him to bed. In one moment she was at the venue, looking into Wednesday Addams’ cold eyes, and in the next one she was at home wiping a counter. She looked down at her hand and left the microfiber towel near the sink. Her feet started walking and before she realized it she was in her bathroom. She closed the door and found herself staring at her own reflection.
She was skinny, way too skinny. Her shirt had been pulled down on her shoulder leaving her collarbone visible. She couldn't remember the last time her body looked full, or her cheeks for that matter. Her eyes looked dull and sunken because of the dark circles under them. Her hair was messy and she could clearly see a few white strands in there. She wasn't old enough to have these, so it must have been the constant stress she was under. She looked, well, older. Her hands were not soft anymore, her legs were constantly swollen, and she was always running on 4 hours of sleep and 500ml of coffee. She looked like someone's mom, and she was exhausted.
Is this what Wednesday saw when she looked at her? Was this why she turned away?
To be fair, she had turned her back on Enid years ago, but Enid was hoping it was something temporary and that they'd eventually find their way back to each other.
She reached out and touched her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't wear the little black dress, and she couldn't capture Wednesday's attention. For some reason, something in her, that she believed was still whole, broke the second Wednesday Addams scanned her body and looked away. She didn't like what she saw. She didn't like Enid.
Before she knew it Enid felt two hot tears rolling down her cheeks. She grabbed a pillow that she had thrown in the laundry hamper earlier and pressed it to her face. She was used to crying silently and screaming into pillows. She was used to being hurt, but this pain was different. It was coming from the center of her chest, engulfing her body, and leaving her paralyzed.
Bruno was right after all. She wasn't enough for anybody.
********
“So will you tell me what happened out there or do I have to pry it out of you?” Bianca asked after hanging up her call and moving closer to the gray couch.
“I'd like to see you try” Wednesday challenged her after leaving her cup of hibiscus tea on the thick glass table.
“Please, I know I don't stand a chance. No one is mad at you. We finished the book signing. I just don't understand why you literally bee-lined out of there-
“I walked. I don't recall being swift in my actions.”
“You almost ran over Jeremy.”
“He was on my way to the exit.”
“You pushed him.”
“I removed an obstacle.”
Bianca took a deep breath and sat down. The small agency office was unusually quiet during these hours of the afternoon.
The administration personnel were packing their things, ready to go home. The keyboard clicking frequency was diminishing, and the printers were going into standby mode. The faint smell of coffee and warm paper however was still lingering in the air.
“I know we're not friends,” Bianca started, “ and I know you wouldn't have called me if they hadn't recommended me and that's fine. We don't have to be close, but I've been your assistant for a few years now and you know all about my friends, and my problems with my mom and everything and I just- I wish you'd let me in, at least on this, because if there's anything that is affecting you as a person or-”
“I saw Sinclair.” It was a simple sentence yet Wednesday felt her tongue heavy while saying it. It didn't make sense.
“Oh, ... why didn't she say hi?”
“I left.”
“So this is why you rushed out,” Bianca deducted, taking a deep breath and looking at the dark-haired girl trying desperately to read her. The silence felt heavy.” Why didn't you say hi?” Bianca asked softly.
“She was with… a child.”
“That's…good for her. I'm happy she settled down.” Bianca said, confused looking at Wednesday who rolled her eyes and stood up, walking to the nearby window. “I don't understand. Why is her settling down upsetting you?”
“I am not upset. Merely…contemplating what ifs and maybes, even though I know I shouldn't,” she said tracing a raindrop that was currently making its way down the foggy window. “Sometimes one makes rushed decisions, but by the time they come to realize it was rushed - they're already forced to live with the consequences,” she said and cut out the drop's path, smudging it on the cold glass pane.
“I still have absolutely no idea what you're talking about” murmured Bianca and sat down pulling a few couch pillows out of the way “-but what I do know is that life's too short, Wednesday. It's too short to keep grudges from 3-5- hell, even 10 years ago. You need to let go at some point. And you need to move on. But in some cases, when you realize YOU were in the wrong - you need to apologize so that the other person can move on. You know?”
Apologize? “Why would she need to apologize?” Wednesday thought. Wasn't it Enid the one who ruined the cohesion of their connection by chasing low human pleasures? Wasn't she the one who picked a random boy over their relationship? Except… Enid didn't even know there was a relationship to begin with. And how could she? Wednesday was incredibly hard to read, and even if by any chance the young wolf had managed to see behind her facade, Wednesday would have denied everything… Apologize. Hmm. Maybe Bianca was right in her assumption. Enid did look distraught when Wednesday turned to leave. Maybe she needed an apology, and maybe Wednesday owed her one. After all, Enid was an important presence in her life at one point. She needed to make things right, even if they ended up parting ways again and never speaking to each other.
That last thought gave Wednesday shivers. She felt a strong emotion starting in her chest and then spreading onto her forearms. What was that? Pain? It wasn't physical, but it was there. The thought of Enid leaving was doing something to her body on a cellular level. Wednesday didn't like it.
*****
“Hello, it's Enid Sinclair, again, uh.. I received this message about the school supplies a few minutes ago, and the message says that we have until Friday to send in the money, I was wondering, if it is possible for you to give me a bit more time, seeing that Isabelle, Monty's mom, apparently sent out that message a week ago, and I was the only one who didn't get it on time? Also, it's Wednesday today and I'm getting paid in two weeks, and there are bills and loans and so many other- … I'd love it if you text me or call or just.. let me know if there's anything else that could be done… Thank you so much!” Enid sighed deeply and sent the voice message.
She was in the middle of her Wednesday breakdown when a mom from the “Miss Tate,1a” group chat sent her a message asking whether they need to bring the uniforms on Monday, and Enid realized someone screwed her over. See it wasn't that hard to guess. Enid came from a werewolf line, so technically Charlie had a pretty good chance of being a wolf too, even if his father was human. Enid, on the other hand, had no way of knowing if he was indeed a wolf until he reached 18 years old, and presented, so for now, he was just her little human boy before the Goddess and the authorities.
The school where she signed him up to go to, however, was a bit on the conservative side.
They had a few nymphs and a few gorgons, yes, but wolves were still considered dangerous because of their “irrational anger and Impatient nature”. Enid would have loved to send Charlie to a mixed school or even better- to an academy like Nevermore, where he wouldn't feel like an outsider, but to her disappointment, the only mixed school in the area was two towns away. She wouldn't have the time to take him to school and then drive to work, and then he'd be finished with classes around noon and her break wouldn't be long enough for her to drive back and pick him up, so the normie school didn't sound that bad, although that was before the other moms started excluding her from everything…
At first, it was the fact that the principal had to tell her there was a group chat for Charlie's classmates, then the fact that the homeroom teacher forgot to add her son to the list of students so he couldn't get his ID on time and then had troubles signing up to half of the classes. And then there was a get-together that Enid was not informed of and the whole “measurements for the uniforms” thing. Now, they had to top it all off by letting her know a week later that she needed to pay $800 for school supplies by tomorrow because the due date was on Friday. Honestly, she was so tired of fighting with these people, but she had no choice. If she wanted to move Charlie to a better school she had to work harder and he had to start going somewhere anyway because he was at the right age and it was illegal to not send him right now.
Now for the pressing matters, Enid did not in fact have $800 nor did she know how to make them in two days. She threw her phone on the couch and started going through the old suitcase she kept all her documents in. She was behind on a few bills, she was still paying the loan Bruno took 3 years ago to “renovate the house”. She thought he had good intentions before he withdrew all the money and spent them on prostitutes and alcohol, but she should have known better. Then there were the installments for the car, yup, she needed to catch up on those too. She needed the car because they were currently living in a neighborhood pretty far from the city center and the food stores. She opened up her bank app to see what was left from her salary only to realize she had exactly $25 and 5 cents.
“You can never take care of a child Enid!” Her mother's voice echoed in her head “You're not smart enough to get a job! You should have just gotten married to a strong wolf who'd provide for you and your pups, and not go on this road of…sin”
“You're fucking useless,” said Bruno. “Look at you. You can't fucking make a toast without burning the bread. How the fuck are you going to feed this kid when it starts eating solids, huh? Who's gonna cook? Cause it won't be me. If we're waiting on you, you'd fucking burn the house, wouldn't she, Charlie? Mom would burn the house and make us homeless? You wanna be homeless, Enid? You'd be alone on the fucking street if it wasn't for me. You know damn well no one else would want you”
She didn't realize she was crying before the hot drops hit her cold hands. How was she supposed to pay for everything by tomorrow?
Before she knew it her hands had already grabbed the phone and she had dialed her best friend's number.
“Yoko..” she said through tears” I can't…”
“Two Minutes.” was everything the other girl said, then exactly two minutes later, she was walking through the door, immediately kneeling next to her best friend who was still sitting on the floor surrounded by letters of debts and late payments.
“Hey,” Yoko said softly, prompting the other girl to look at her.
“I'm sorry, I know it's late, I just… I have no idea what I'm doing.” Enid said through tears.
“Okay, slow down”
“I'm a failure, Yoko”
“No, you're not.”
“They were right. I am a bad mom. I don't have a real job, I'm not making enough to cover all of Charlie's needs, I am behind on everything, and instead of dealing with it like a grown person I am sitting here crying about it..”
“Enid, stop. Listen to me.”
“He was right. I ruin everything.” Enid said, wiping her nose.
“Listen to me. It's not true, okay? Don't snort at me. These people, all of them, they never cared about you. The only thing they wanted was to make you believe you were weak so they could control you. They wanted you to be dependent on them, emotionally, financially, and and physically. This is why they kept telling you you suck. It's simply not true. Look at you! You graduated from the academy, you finished a few courses, and you switched a couple of jobs. Do you know how hard it is for some people to get jobs? You did it because you're competent enough and intelligent enough. You managed to land a freaking internship, and all of this while dealing with an abusive good-for-nothing piece of shit, and raising a child. Like, I don't know how you can't see this, but you are the strongest person I know, and I'm a vampire, ok?... I know a lot of strong people” Yoko said with a smile and wiped Enid's tears.
“You think I'm strong,” Enid said with a faint smile.
“Of course you are. And you're an amazing mom. Charlie loves you. He loves you so much. Trust me you're doing a good job.”
“I'm going to screw this up.”
“No, you won't. Just tell me what happened and we'll see how we can help, ok.? Why are you in the middle of the Atlantic mail ocean?” Yoko asked, trying to lighten the mood.
“I have to pay for Charlie's school supplies and it totals to $800 that I do not have, because I'm getting paid on the 20th, which is in almost two weeks, and these people,” Enid took a deep breath,” these people hate me, Yoko. They wouldn't want to wait 2 weeks, so I'm stuck.”
“Well,” Yoko started and moved back to sit on the couch, “ I could call my family-”
“No-,” Enid said and stood up, “Please you guys have already done so much for us. You gave me a house! A whole freaking house Yoko. I still have no idea how I will ever pay you back!”
“Already told you to chill. We're friends. You needed help so I helped you. I don't need you to pay me back. I can just get the money and then you can pay me back when you get paid.”
“No, Yoko, I can't. I'm behind on almost all of the payments.”
“Wait, why? Did something happen?”
Enid immediately looked towards the kitchen avoiding her best friend's eyes.
“Nah, I know this look. What did the asshole do now?”
Enid hesitated for a few seconds but after Yoko looked at her with a worried expression she answered reluctantly.
“Well I- … you know how I said I separated all of my finances from Bruno..?”
Yoko nodded and looked at her expectantly.
“He,... apparently doesn't have a job and he cannot pay the loan that we got to renovate the house, and it was given to an agency that contacted me because we got the loan together and it doesn't matter we're no longer married, I am still legally the other person on the contract so-”
“No, no, no. Don't tell me you're paying his loan! Enid! We talked about this! You should have told me! I could have found you a lawyer. Hell, I could have snapped his fragile neck-”
“Yoko-”
“What?? I offered countless times” she muttered and stretched her arms above her head. “Point is, just say the word and I'll give you the money”
“I don't want your money,” Enid said, picking up the letters one by one and stuffing them back in the big leather suitcase. “I want a chance to make them. I'm tired of …”
“Don't say charity or I will literally bonk you with this pillow.” Yoko said from under the pillow, then she moved it away and grabbed her phone “Actually” she said and paused for a few minutes leaving Enid on standby.”Can you bake?”
A few minutes later, after a few more short fights, Enid got a job. One of Yokos's friends had a human friend who was throwing a party on Friday and needed 120 cupcakes by tomorrow morning. Enid agreed to stay up all night and make them, despite all of Yoko's suggestions for a friend loan. The vampire on the other hand “went shopping” and came back 5 minutes later with everything that Enid needed to prepare the cupcakes, including the decorations and the packaging. After sending her home, Enid rolled up her sleeves and got to baking. The only problem now was the noise that the mixer would make at 10 pm. She didn't want to but she had to close all doors in order not to wake up her little boy. He hated sleeping alone, Enid knew that, but she didn't have a choice. So she looked at him one last time and closed the bedroom room.
In about an hour, she already had two batches ready. 12 cupcakes, 108 to go.
Just when she was mixing up the third batch, someone knocked on the door.
Enid stopped the mixer. She could have pretended she was asleep but considering the loud noise and the fact that the lights in the kitchen were on, and most likely visible from the street, she knew that wasn't an option anymore. Someone knocked again, more insistently this time.
She didn't have to open, right? It was her house and it was the middle of the night. Maybe it was a neighbor coming to complain about the loud noise? Shoot. She hadn't thought about that. Surely that's what was going on. She wiped her hands and walked towards the door, but her wolf senses made her stop dead in her tracks. Why was she feeling uncomfortable? Something felt off. She somehow knew she shouldn't open the door. Maybe she could call Yoko again? No, she already gave her enough trouble. The knocking kept going. What if it wasn't a neighbor, a small voice in her head made itself known… What if it was a robber? But why would a robber knock? Ugh! She was overthinking this! What she needed was a weapon!!
Enid ran back to the kitchen counter and took the biggest knife she could find, then looked at herself in the reflection of her glass cabinet. Hands stained red, messy hair, dyed apron, and a huge kitchen knife. Whoever was at the door would have been at least intimidated by the sight! Right? Right! With that thought in mind, Enid took the remaining 4 steps and opened the door with determination.
“Wednesday?”
“... Good evening, Enid.”