đina johnson (johnsons) wrote in disorderic, @ 2018-01-29 02:07:00 |
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Entry tags: | angelina johnson |
WHO: Angelina Johnson and Natalie Fairbourne.
WHAT: We need to talk about Layla.
WHEN: January 28, afternoon
WHERE: The Fairbourne home, Upper Flagley, Yorkshire.
The Fairbourne house in Upper Flagley was unremarkable. A townhouse that stood two stories high and was completely middle class in every sense of the word, it stood at the end of a street near a field, and then a treeline, where the children used to play before they grew out of it. All in all, there was nothing that pinned it as the locale that a Death Eater had grown up in. It seemed so painfully average in every sense of the world. Not that Natalie Fairbourne, the youngest child of three, had any clue just how increasingly difficult her life was about to become. She paced in the living room of her family home, holding her phone clenched tightly in one hand and twirling a lock of light brown hair in the other. Sheâd never particularly handled suspense that well, and this — the urgent messages from Angelina Johnson — was one of those situations. That it was something that needed to be said face to face meant it was serious. And Angelina was closer with her elder sister, Layla — the two had been athletically-inclined, Quidditch teammates while she, suffice to say, wasnât. So just what was going on? She stared out the bay window while she moved, willing Angelina to get here sooner. She was overreacting. Of course she was. She always did that. There was a portkey stuffed in the pocket of Angelinaâs coat, close at hand in case this didnât go the way she thought it would. Doing this alone was probably one of Angelinaâs worse ideas, but since sheâd thrown it in Laylaâs face that she was going to tell, she felt obligated to do it before someone else got there. Someone like Katie, whoâd been through enough already, or someone else, who might not have had the youngest Fairbourneâs best interests at heart. And despite the gloating, she did very much have the Natalieâs best interests at heart. She walked there because she was itchy with everything weighing on her shoulders and moving was always really good for her nervous energy. But she didnât feel any better as she walked up the Fairbournesâ sidewalk and ringing the doorbell like maybe one of the hardest things sheâd ever done. âHey,â Angelina said, forcing a smile when the door swung open to reveal Natalie. It was a sad smile, though. âHi!â Natalie said, hurried as her anticipation was getting the better of her. âCâmon in—â she stopped then, noticing that the smile was decidedly sad. âWhatâs wrong?â She stepped back, allowing Angelina entrance into her empty house; her parents were out for the afternoon. She bit her lower lip nervously before asking, âWhat happened?â âIâm sorry,â Angelina said, glancing over at the sofa. âCan we sit down first?â This was worrying. Obviously so! Natalie swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, looking at the sofa Angelina had indicated and then walking mutely over to take a seat on one side before pulling her arms into the sleeves of her jumper. Angelina felt horrible, like the worst person in the world. Which was ironic, given what she was about to tell Natalie. She slid out of her coat before sitting down, folding her coat in her lap, her hand stowed away in her pocket just in case. âItâs about Layla,â she said, her voice far more gentle than her keystrokes had been when sheâd accused her friend — her old friend of being what she was. âThereâs really no right way to say this, but Layla is a Death Eater.â It was the first time sheâd said it aloud and she couldnât help but flinch a little. For someone who had faced down the ultimate âbad newsâ before, at age seven, Natalie was already coiling, waiting, regressing backwards in time. There was a war on; something had happened. To Layla, to her parents. To Katie or her other friends. Maybe Katie made the most sense given it was coming from Angelina. But then Angelina spoke. It felt as if time, and her heart, stopped in that moment. Her look was a hybrid cross between incredulous and devastated. Natalie tried to speak, opening her mouth, but nothing came out except a choked sob. Finally, she collected herself, wrapping her arms around herself. âWhat?â She shook her head. âYou have to be wrong, thatâs⌠thatâsâŚâ she couldnât find the words. âI really wish I was wrong,â Angelina said, urgently, leaning over her coat towards Natalie. âBut I confronted her and she confirmed it.â âThis isnât funny!â exclaimed Natalie with an unceremonial burst of anger. Even as those words reverberated around the room the young woman recoiled, muscles trembling, as it sunk in. She knew Angelina wasnât lying. âWhy would—â and then she turned, trying to find the rubbish bin while she announced: âIâm going to be sick!â Shoving her coat off to the side — away from Natalie — Angelina turned to look for the bin, too. It was at her end of the sofa and she quickly scooped it up and shoved it into Natalieâs hands. âIâm really sorry, Natalie.â Hugging the rubbish bin as if it was a lifeline, Natalieâs body lurged and spasmed, but she kept everything down in the end. By now there were tears streaming down her cheeks. There were no more declarations that Angelina could be wrong, instead she was defeated. Defeated, and devastated. And maybe, because she knew it was plausible even if she didnât want to admit it. âIâm sorry, I donât even, how does this—â she gestured wildly with one arm as if it made sense â— like, how.â She lurched again, but still nothing. One of Angelinaâs hands went to Natalieâs back and she scooted in closer, her coat and her portkey abandoned to the sofa. âShe, um, she said it was because of your brother and how he died,â she said carefully because she didnât want to offend Natalie right now, even though Angelina thought it was a rubbish excuse. Trembling more as the sobs became much more pronounced, Natalie nodded, an overexaggerated motion that only made her stomach lurch more. She accepted Angelinaâs hand without complaint, and then wailed, âOf course she did.â âI told her it was rubbish,â Angelina said, even more carefully, giving a very censored account of what sheâd told Layla. âLike we havenât been through enough without this.â Like she needed to lose both her siblings went unsaid. âYeah,â Angelina said, because there wasnât really anything else to say. The Fairbournes had been through a lot. The longer she sat there with Natalie, the more unfair it felt to them. She slid her arm around Natalieâs shoulders and gave her a very tentative squeeze. âAre you okay? Is there anything I can do? I can get you a glass of water.â Natalie leaned to the side, slipping into Angelinaâs arm, accepting the lifeline and comfort given the world was imploding. Again. âNo, Iâm not okay,â Natalie sobbed, and the inhaled in a sniffle. I need my sister to not by THAT, she wanted to scream. Theyâd grown close despite the age difference after Liam, but now, now she didnât know who Layla was at all. âNo. Iâm just sorry for whatever sheâs done.â âOh my god, Nat, you donât need to apologize for her,â Angelina said, giving her another squeeze, rubbing her hand up and down Natalieâs arm. âShe makes her own terrible decisions. Iâm sorry you have to go through this.â âI feel like I do,â Natalie admitted, sounding every bit as miserable as she looked when she turned to face Angelina, finally, for the first time since her friend had uttered the news. âSheâs always done stupid things, but this isâŚâ she trailed off. There was no point to state how incredibly awful this was. âBeyond stupid,â Angelina supplied anyway, drawing her arm away and folding her hands in her lap. âBut you donât have to apologize. I promise.â âGross,â affirmed the younger woman. She huddled up, setting the bin on the ground between her feet, and then grabbing a throw-pillow to hug firmly to her chest. âWhat can I do?â âI donât know,â Angelina said, shifting to face Natalie now, bending one knee over the sofa cushion to sit comfortably. âWhat do you want to do?â Chin resting on the top of her own pillow, Natalie focused on her friend through bleary eyes. âThrow up. And then kick her ass.â She paused. âAnd then throw up again.â âSounds about right,â Angelina said with a nod and a humorless laugh. But then she took a deep breath and exhaled with a sigh. âSheâs definitely not my friend anymore.â Natalie closed her eyes, squeezing out fresh tears to roll down her already stained cheeks. âI donât blame you, I donât even know my sister anymore I guess.â She half-coughed half-snorted at the thought. Then, her attention refocused, bleary-eyed though it was, on her phone that had slipped onto the cushion between the two. Tentatively, she looked up at Angelina again. âWhat am I going to see when I look?â Angelina couldnât help it. She reached out and covered the screen of Natalieâs phone with her hand. âItâs bad,â she said. âAnd a few of the Death Eaters showed up to make it worse, of course. But I was mad and everyone was mad and she —â She swallowed hard and drew her hand away. âShe didnât really have a good explanation.â Angelinaâs movements only made Natalie refocus on the phone in question. She didnât want to know, and yet she absolutely needed to know. âOf course itâs bad,â lamented Natalie with a heavy, defeated sigh. âA few of them,â she emphasized, bitterness apparent. She hugged the pillow tighter as if it could shield her from the thought that her sister was one of them. âLike thereâs a good explanation possible.â âThereâs really not,â Angelina said, aiming a frown at her knees. She swiped her thumb over the seam of her jeans and bit back another sigh. âShe didnât even apologize. She just slid into my DMs like, âHey, girl, I wanna eat your death.ââ She glanced up at Natalie quickly and added, âNot that she said she wanted to kill me. I was trying to be funny.â âItâs Layla,â Natalie pointed out. The name of her sister now felt like a poison on her tongue, and she briefly made face. âShe like never does. Iâm not defending her. And that wasnât funny because for all I know she has.â âYeah.â Angelina kept picking at the seam of her jeans. âWouldâve been nice, though. If sheâd apologized, I mean.â âSheâs an idiot,â Natalie offered. âMaybe she will, I donât know her at all though. Clearly.â She bit her lip for a moment, and then asked, âDo my parents know?â âI donât know,â Angelina answered. âI donât think sheâs told them, if thatâs what you mean.â âShe wouldnât, I need to,â Natalie said automatically. âCan I — I donât know.â Angelina felt horribly out of her depth. This felt like something that happened to people in their thirties. âCan I help? Do anything?â It didnât help that Natalie had no clue. âI donât know,â she answered. âWhat am I supposed to do?â âI donât know either,â Angelina said with a pathetic little shrug. âIâm still back at step kick her ass.â She was also still coming down from the impulsive high of telling everyone, still burning a little with indignant rage, but mostly stunned by what had transpired. Layla hadnât even denied it. Angelina couldnât decide if that made her feel better or worse. There wasnât really a clearcut answer as to what to do when a loved one turned out to be an evil terrorist, no playbook for this sort of thing as far as Natalie was aware. And Natalie was still catching up on the mood board. Anger, shock, denial, and now⌠well, she wasnât sure where she was headed. âItâs a good step,â she muttered. âI canât believe she did this to us.â Because it wasnât simply her loss, family or not. She was well aware how close the others were to her sister. âNeither can I,â Angelina said, some of the heat creeping back into her own mood. âShe was my friend when she joined because I know she didnât come to Hogwarts a Death Eater. And she knows they killed my dad and she joined them anyway.â âIâm sorry,â Natalie said once more, reaching out a hand to touch Angelinaâs shoulder. âI donât know what sheâs thinking or why she thinks this is the answer.â She shook her head. âI just donât and it hurts.â Natalie was beginning to feel nauseous all over again. âIâm sorry, too.â Angelina covered Natalieâs hand for a brief moment before letting her hand fall back to her lap. âI donât see how she can justify what sheâs doing by saying — I mean, Merlin, your poor brother!â Pulling her hand back and snatching her phone on the way, but without looking at it, Natalie just shook her head. âI donât know. I donât know anything anymore, apparently!â She wondered, briefly, if sheâd done something awful in a past life to deserve this. âWe all took it hard, but weâre not killing people in his memory.â She grit her teeth. âI need to talk to my parents, and yell at her, and then kick her ass.â Despite having had a very similar meltdown, this time Angelina reached for Natalieâs shoulder, sounding much calmer than she felt when she said, âThis isnât a reflection on what you know. She didnât want us to know so she made sure we didnât.â She gave Natalie a sad smile. âBut, um, Iâll go so you can do all that and if you need anything, hext me.â Natalie very much wanted to fight that point with every fiber of her being — how could she have missed her sister joining the worldâs most wanted dark lord? But there was little point, and her shoulders slumped. She knew she wasnât alone in that feeling however reassuring Angelina was being. âThanks for⌠well, thanks for not letting me read whatever first.â Thanks for bringing me the news of my Death Eater sister wasnât in the cards right now. Then, without much warning, she reached out and pulled Angelina into a quick hug. âI will. You too.â âI will,â Angelina echoed, a bit muffled by how tightly she was hugging Natalie back. When she pulled away, she started to reach for her coat, but stopped. âBe careful, though. With Layla. Sheâs capable of some really terrible things. She couldâve killed Alicia yesterday.â âCouldâve—â Natalie started, but stopped herself, her mouth closing so fast her teeth clicked. Of course Layla could have killed Alicia. Layla was a Death Eater — thatâs what they did. âI will be. Be safe.â âYou, too.â Angelina pulled Natalie in for one more hug before she finally shrugged back into her coat, the portkey judging her silently in her pocket for casting it aside. Today had been a lesson in trust. In that she couldnât afford to do it anymore. It wasnât something that came naturally to her, though. And when the door clicked shut behind her, she didnât bother with her walk. She apparated straight to Gwenâs, where she hoped to find someone whoâd reassure her. |