RP: a break in the dam Who: Alexander & Holly What: Holly comes clean. When: June 9th, 2028; evening Where: Holly & Alexander's flat at The Quatre Warnings: CW - panic attack, disc. of birth family, teen pregnancy, abandonment. Completion Status: in-progress
Holly had been dodging calls from John Gardner for over a month now. Each time, she had a panic attack. Each time, she hid away from life, work, her parents, and even Alexander. She'd received a large packet at her office today, with no return address, but when she opened it, the Fawley Foundation letterhead gave away its sender immediately.
She'd locked her office door, had her assistant clear her schedule, and ready every word of it. Pages and pages, handwritten letters, photos. Some of it had enraged her - how the infant had made some strange things happen and the family didn't want her. Some of it had broken her heart. So much of it had.
Her little sister (apparently without any magical propensities), who she didn't even know existed, had gotten pregnant at 13 years old. The father was another child. Holly's biological parents, Simon and Lois Cassidy, had decided to raise the baby as their own. Adopt her. But then... Then the strange happenings. A plate that was dropped by accident but didn't shatter. The television changing itself to baby-friendly channels with no explanation. Simon and Lois Cassidy had dropped the baby off - born only in March, only two months old at the time - with the same Fawley representative that had taken Holly when she was seven. John Gardner had taken her case, just like he had with Holly. The now three-month old was living at the Fawley Foundation orphanage.
Just three months old. Perhaps not even magical. But already abandoned. Like Holly.
She was gorgeous. With dark hair, green-hazel eyes. Like Holly's. And her mother's. And - Holly assumed - like her like little sister's. The little girl was colicky and nearly impossible to soothe. Holly knew it wasn't just the colic though. There is a specific pain, deep down, nearly impossible to access, to acknowledge, but always there, that comes with being abandoned. She couldn't comprehend it at seven, she couldn't imagine how an infant must feel.
She left her office in a blur, didn't even remember the walk home. Set the papers on the table in the kitchen. Took off her blazer and hung it on the chair tucked in there. She toed off her heels and made her way to the sofa, curling up in a soft blanket to stare blankly at the wall. She hardly even heard the door open when Alexander arrived home from the office, hours later. The flat was silent and dark, though she hadn't bothered to turn on any lights. In fact, she hadn't moved at all.