Collaby-dab-dab with [@The Muse][@snagglepuss89]

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“[color=FF3030]That’s exactly what I said![/color]”

Sophia sighed as she read her brother’s text message before putting her phone back into her pocket. Kylie would have some explaining to do later tonight. “[i]Maybe it’s a mistake…[/i]” She hoped naively, though the voice in the back of her head said, “[i]Don’t be stupid.[/i]” 

“[color=dodgerblue]You didn’t happen to get a job as a tax expert in the time that you’ve been away, have you?[/color]” She forced a weak smile, “[color=dodgerblue]Apparently my dear sister, Kylie, owes the IRS enough money to make James text me about it. I don’t think I want to know the amount, knowing my sister.[/color]” She faintly laughed, another nervous habit of hers to deter from a serious situation. 

Running a hand through her hair, Sophia looked up at the sky as she walked alongside Elliot. “[color=dodgerblue]Remember when we use to walk down to the river and spend nearly all day down there in the summer?[/color]” She smiled, watching a stray cloud slowly pass them by. Times were so much simpler then. Where was the rewind button?

“[color=00ffbf]Isn’t she, like, eighteen? She’s already in trouble with the IRS? If it were anyone else…[/color]”

He shook his head with a chuckle, listening to her as she reminisced. That was a different time, with a different Elliot, and maybe a different Sophia too. Still, not all changes were bad ones, in the end.

“[color=00ffbf]Yeah, we weren’t always the most productive kids were we?[/color]”

Things fell quiet between them after that. Elliot, for one, didn’t mind in the least. Yesterday had been loud and stressful enough, some quiet time was appreciated. Besides, it gave him time to resolve his apprehension at seeing the other Reeses again. Kylie he had no worries about confronting, especially after seeing how she acted yesterday. The woman was insane, and he wanted to help her, but at the very least she wasn’t harboring any resentment towards him, if she remembered him at all. That made it… easier somehow. Zoey and Olivia he couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed in. Whether it was normal teenage rebellion that had them in that mess at the mall, or some reaction to their parents’ deaths he couldn’t tell, but it bothered him. Maybe he could talk to them about it? If they even wanted to hear from him. James he had no clue about, the only thing he’d heard of him so far was through texts, but hopefully a day to mull over Elliot’s reappearance left him approachable. It’d be nice to catch up with the man as long as it was with words instead of fists.

As for Sophia…

He looked over at her, as if a visual would help him sort out his thoughts. Frankly, things there were a total mess. It would have been one thing for them to have picked up where they left off, or having hads things destroyed completely in his absence. Instead things were just… weird. Perhaps neither of them knew what to do, Elliot certainly didn’t. Still, she didn’t seem to hate him at least, and that was enough of a start for him. He flashed her a brief smile as her eyes flicked over to meet his, and he turned away to look over the town. Something about the atmosphere in Millington felt… different than when he had left, but perhaps he was just too young before to pick up on it. He was still trying to put his finger on it when they arrived at the Reese residence, most of the journey having passed in silence. His leg ached, but not nearly as much as his heart was starting to. Was anyone home? Surely the younger ones were at school by now, but still…

“[color=00ffbf]Uh… Should I wait out here for you, or…?[/color]”

Pausing halfway up the porch steps, Sophia turned to look back at Elliot. Did he think he was unwelcome in her house now? She raised a brow, "[color=dodgerblue]Of course not, silly! Come in.[/color]" She gestured for him to follow her into the house as she continued moving forward, opening up the door for him. 

Without seeing any cars in the driveway, it was safe to assume that Riley had taken Zoey and Olivia to school and James had taken Sophia's car to the diner. The only question remaining was if her lovely sister Kylie was still lingering in the house. 

"[i]No screeching from upstairs...[/i]" She thought, her eyes glancing to the stairs as she stepped inside. "[color=dodgerblue]Home sweet home.[/color]" Her tone was incredibly lackluster. "[color=dodgerblue]I took over mom and dad's room since I moved back...[/color]" She moved towards the stairs, wondering if Elliot would notice the different feel in the house that she did after her parents passed away. 

Once upstairs, Sophia pushed open her bedroom door and peaked inside. The chair she had used to barricade her door was still next to her bed, where she had dragged it out of the way when she went to Elliot's. Her empty bottle of whiskey still sat there on her dresser. "[i]Stupid...[/i]"

"[color=dodgerblue]I'll just be a second, then we can go to the diner.[/color]" She walked over to her dresser and picked out a simple [url=http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9sdoi5mTB1rd77aoo1_500.jpg]outfit[/url] before disappearing from her room, leaving Elliot alone for the time being.

The sight of the whiskey bottle did not escape Elliot as he entered her room, her [i]new[/i] room. He had only been inside her parent' bedroom a couple times over the years, whenever he and Sophi were receiving a particularly severe talking to about something they'd done. The two weren't hooligans growing up, but that didn't always mean they were the best behaved either. Elliot often mused about ideas out loud, such as raiding her parents' stash of alcohol, and Sophia often had the balls to follow through with it. He'd always been helpless when she had it in her head to drag him along.

He doubted he was much better at resisting her now, in his present condition.

"[color=00ffbf]What, you mean you're not going to strip down and change here?[/color]"

He called out to her playfully as she left, while eternally grateful that she did [i]not[/i] have that idea in mind.  He made his way over to the bed and took a seat while he waited on her, unsure just how long it'd take for her to change. Women weren't known for being the quickest to get moving.  There was something unsettling about the Reese house, had he ever been here when it was completely empty? Sure, the lack of chaos was calming, but it also felt [i]wrong[/i], not the least of all because he was currently sitting in the room of the recently deceased.

Starting at herself in the mirror, Sophia put on a little eyeliner and mascara after changing into her clean outfit. She felt horrible, but hopefully makeup could work it's wonders and mask her misery. That, and an Excedrin before she left the house. 

"[i]I hope he doesn't think too much into that bottle...[/i]" She thought, closing the lid on her eyeliner. If he did, she wasn't exactly sure what she would say. Elliot, in the past, had been good at seeing through her lies. But what about this Elliot? Perhaps he had lost his talent. She had become a better liar over the years, mostly thanks to her acting classes. "[i]I had a friend over last weekend and I never threw the bottle out..[/i]" She shook her head. No, her siblings could attest that she had never had any friends over any time recently. "[i]It's... mom and dad's and I haven't had the heart to throw it out?[/i]" Guilt immediately washed over her. That wouldn't work either. How could she bring her late parents into a lie? 

Frustrated, Sophia scrapped the entire thought and began to rebraid her still slightly damp hair. "[i]He doesn't have the right to be asking questions anyway... Why should I have to answer?[/i]" The made up scenarios in her mind had clearly upset her. "[i]I should be the one asking questions! What happened to his leg?![/i]" Her thoughts brought her back to the previous night, where she had asked him what happened and he had brushed off the question. "[i]Where the hell has he been this whole time?![/i]" 

Finished cleaning up, Sophia left the bathroom and entered her room once again to find Elliot on her bed. She tried her best to not glare at him, feelings of anger present once again.

The sight of Sophi reappearing snapped him back out of his thoughts. How long had been thinking about her parents? He hadn't really sat down and contemplated their deaths since he'd gotten the news. Perhaps the shock was finally wearing off. He began to stand up once more and ran a hand through his hair, shaking off the thought.

"[color=00ffbf]Are we ready to go then?[/color]"

Sophia slowly closed the door behind her as she stepped inside. “[color=dodgerblue]Elliot,[/color]” She folded her arms over her chest and blocked the doorway. If he wanted to escape her that badly, he’d have to jump off the balcony. “[color=dodgerblue]Are you ever going to tell me where you’ve been? Or what happened to you? You can’t just leave me in the dark forever…[/color]” 

He had just stood up and almost immediately his legs wanted to give away again. [i]Now?[/i] Now. He had to explain himself now. He eyed the empty whiskey bottle with regret, wishing he could get some help from it. No, even if he could he wouldn't. After all, hadn't he held back from telling her anything last night because [i]she[/i] wasn't sober? He did try to avoid being a hypocrite where possible. So instead of drinking he began pacing, his breathing getting faster as anxiety gripped him. It was an old habit whenever he got nerves, and he couldn't give a damn at the moment how much harder it was to walk.

"[color=00ffbf]Okay. Right... Right. I... Okay, give me a minute.[/color]"

Why was he hesitating so much? Was he afraid of her hating him for his reason? She did seem angry, again. Or was he afraid of opening up again after all these years? There had always been walls guarding his emotional side. He wouldn't be able to keep them up if they had this conversation. Even Sophi, in all their time together, had never seen him that vulnerable. Why would she have? He'd led a good life, especially in his youth. There was never anything that warranted taking off that armor. He'd never [i]needed[/i] to do that.

He wished he didn't need to now.

He sighed, trying to wrestle his emotions under control as he began shaking. Slowly he rolled up the leggings of his pants, revealing his swollen leg with ugly veins, and his fake one both. He was practically sweating now, brain searching desperate for a place to start. Start? The beginning. He should start at the beginning.

"[color=00ffbf]Okay, Soph. I... Five years ago I sorta...[/color] "

This would be so much easier if he just cut off his emotions right there. Explain it like the matter-of-fact situation it was. He'd caused her so much pain though, he [i]deserved[/i] to feel it himself. Or rather, acknowledge the pain that was always there. If she hated him and they never spoke again, he would just have to build the wall back up, stronger next time.

"[color=00ffbf]... Well, I mean, my leg. Legs. You know I'm stubborn. Uh, I'd been having pain in them for a little while without telling anyone. It sorta... got a lot worse, all at once. The, uh, night I left I went to the hospital. There were blood clots, in both of them. There was already damage... The one started rotting, so we had to...[/color] "

The word getting stuck in his throat, he simply stomped his prosthetic against the floor. Fighting for a way to continue his explanation, he began unbuttoning his shirt, revealing the myriad of bruises underneath, in various shades of purple. When he finished he touched the bruise on his cheek, for emphasis.

"[color=00ffbf]Anyway, I'm on blood thinners now, and they shoved a filter into me in case I get another clot. So, I'm doing okay, but...[/color] "

Was this what normal people felt like? He'd never been so lost for words in his life. So... sad. So... angry. He was getting [i]angry[/i] the longer he talked. "C'est la vie" he'd always said when his condition came up, but it was... unfair. He'd never let the unfairness of the situation sink in before, and his voice began to rise.

"[color=00ffbf]But I lost my fucking leg Soph! I practically lost both of them with how much pain the other one's in constantly! I was bedridden, and depressed, and [i]useless[/i]! Have you ever really been a burden on anyone Soph? I don't mean if you ever [i]felt[/i] that way, but have you ever been [i]stuck[/i] with the reality that you're going to be a drain on the people around you? I was a stubborn, spoiled brat and I thought it was... noble to not involve you in that. I thought I was... helping.[/color] "

Elliot's breath had grown ragged, and tears were pouring out of his eyes. Any other day, the thought of crying in front of [i]anybody[/i] else would have been mortifying, but the walls were down now. Years of pain and regret were flowing out, desperate for some kind of release. He willed a smile to his face all the same.

"[color=00ffbf]So... Yeah. I got depressed, and I shut myself away, and when I'd realized I made the wrong decision, I ran like a coward instead of trying to fix the situation. I guess... I mean, it's a pathetic reason. Maybe you would have been stronger than me but I wasn't. I'm strong now though Soph. I mean... I can understand if you hate me for what I put you and your family through, for such a dumb reason. I... didn't give you a choice about it, so I don't deserve a choice if you want me to back out again. I shouldn't have assumed I can just enter your life again.[/color] "

Finally, he wiped his eyes and muttered;

"[color=00ffbf][i]I'm sorry.[/i][/color] "

All she could do was stand there, mouth hanging slightly open as she listened to him pour out his story; his emotion. All anger had immediately deflated as soon as Elliot rolled up his pant legs. Her heart dropped when he unbuttoned his shirt. That familiar feeling of guilt consumed her, sucking all air from her lungs and crushing her from the inside. No wonder that slap had left a bruise. Her arms relaxed and she brought a hand up to cover her mouth, unsure of what to say. 

She had been guilt tripping him the entire time had been back... She had felt angry for so long, but now... what right did she have to feel that? Elliot had been going through something serious, something most likely life threatening and Sophia... what had she been through at that time? The abandonment was nothing in comparison. She was a fool. 

"[color=dodgerblue]If I had known...[/color]" Her voice trailed off. She didn't need to explain herself, he probably knew... she hoped he knew. 

At a loss for words, Sophia removed herself from blocking the door and without hesitation she wrapped her arms around him and brought him in for a tight hug. She stayed like that, burying her face into his chest for a few minutes before bringing him out at arms length. 

"[color=dodgerblue]I could never hate you.[/color]" She met eyes with him, her voice barely above a whisper. "[color=dodgerblue]You should know that.[/color]" She returned his smile and kissed his tear-streaked cheek and brought him in for another lingering hug. "[color=dodgerblue]I love you, Elliot.[/color]" Whether she loved him as a friend, or truly loved him remained a mystery. 

Deciding it was best to let the weight of his explanation sink in, and not force Elliot to talk about it any more for the time being, she opened up her bedroom door to release him from her captivity. "[color=dodgerblue]Come on, let's go get breakfast.[/color]"