The Lonely Spider

The moment the Ben-look-a-like bolted, El knew she was duped and merely stood by the utility closet for a long moment. This was how everyone seemed to treat her when Johnathan, Cynthia and Lydia weren't around. The nurses tolerated her, forced their kindness, but she knew how everyone felt. The spiders told her everything they heard and saw around this place.

She knew none of these people really liked her.

A tap on her neck reminded El of her real friends. Reaching up, she gently stroked Shimmer's back and began to walk down the hall toward her a different part of the underground. Following another flight of stairs, she reached some private quarters and opened a black door, stepping inside. Closing the door behind her, she locked it and limped toward her bed. Sitting down, she slowly unlaced her boots and pulled them off her feet, setting them to the side. Next, she peeled off her tights and set them into a bin at the end of the bed where she left dirty clothes.

This left her in only a blouse, her knee length skirt and panties. Stepping to the center of the room, left leg riddled with the wrinkled deformity of burn scars, she sat cross legged on the dirt floor. It was comfortable, soft, and made her feel almost normal as she settled her palms down, fingers curling. The soft scuttling and burrowing sounds of spiders all around answered her, crawled out of their hiding places toward her.

There was a Desert Blonde Tarantula that stepped up next to her left hand, settling his leg-like pedipalps onto her pinky finger to let her know he was there. A Golden Orbweaver slowly descended down and settled on her free shoulder, its front legs tickling at the skin of her neck as it moved close to comfort her.

“Hello,” She whispered to them as more spiders made their way into her room. “I'm home.”

This was the closest to home she would ever be. Not even her parents had been able to bring her the same comfort and understanding that these creatures gave her. They had attempted to show her love, show her the appropriate understanding and patience that she required, but like so many other people she'd met over the years, they had failed at it. There was only so much people would put up with when it came to a mute who suffered autism.

An image of Cyrus flashed across her mind and she shook her head a little. No, he'd only been kind out of natural instinct to a stranger. Someone like him – cool, collected, and brilliant – would never give a girl with her needs any proper attention. Men like him went for beautiful women like Cynthia or Kyra, but not her. No, she was the pot left on the back burner that got forgotten most of the time.

With a soft sigh, she welcomed her little spider family and spent her time speaking to them about the day so far...