"Karen!!!"
"What!?" Her gaze snapped at him.
"Are you seriously not going to let her in?"
Karen glared at him, seeing his hand already on the knob. It was obvious he wasn't waiting for her permission. "Don't you fucking dar—"
Mathieu unlocked the door before Karen could finish her sentence.
Shit! Karen recoiled.
Annabelle stood there exactly as before, as if she had been paused in place. Dirt streaked her arms, her hair was tangled and clumped, and one side of her face was swelling into a deep violet bloom. The tear tracks had carved pale lines through the grime. She wasn't sobbing loudly anymore, just small, exhausted breaths that sounded like something breaking in slow motion.
For three full seconds, no one spoke.
Karen blinked first. "This is… this is highly inappropriate timing."
Annabelle stared at her.
Mathieu cleared his throat like he was about to greet dinner guests. "Hi. So. You're… still here."
Karen shot him a look. "What were you expecting? Teleportation?"
