InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "why do birds suddenly appear"

Jenny Bryant (ignitethespark) wrote in light_of_may,
@ 2015-03-29 18:28:00

Entry tags:

2009-10-17, jenny, nick

you won't see me fall apart
Who: Nick and Jenny
When: Late morning
Where: Grocery store in town

“I can’t believe this is happening.” Jenny whispered the words into the metal wall that separated her bathroom stall from the one next to her. The stainless steel was cool to the touch, perhaps more alarmingly so to her, considering that less than a half hour ago she had been hot enough to catch flame. She pressed her forehead into the wall before raising her arms up to pillow her head. Minutes had passed since she’d received her last text from Nick, though she really wasn’t sure how long. She’d thrown her phone back into her marred bag, barely able to be thankful that the leather hadn’t burnt through and dumped all her belongings in the store when she’d made a run for the back. Jenny had been lucky this time, though she wasn’t sure if it was actual good fortune or experience that had ensured that this incident hadn’t turned into an ordeal.

It had been a while since something like this had happened. A month ago -- maybe longer? -- she had been walking back to her parents house after school when an alley cat had jumped onto a trashcan near her. That’s all that had happened, but it had been enough to scare her. The rush of adrenaline sparked the knee-jerk reaction, which was to defend herself with fire. Some people shrieked when they got startled. Others shut their eyes tight and waited for the danger to pass. Jenny burst into flame. It was bad enough that the experience of taking a fire form brought back memories from her attack, but the embarrassment that came along with it was more than she could stand at times. She wanted to be in control of this. She needed for this to not be a problem anymore.

The door to the bathroom creaked open and Jenny paused for a moment before calling out her brother’s name. When it was met with an awkward (and female) ‘no’, she returned her attention back to ...well, anything other than the fact that she was standing in a dirty public restroom without a stitch of clothing on. She couldn’t think about how disgusting the floor was, or the fact that she was going to need at least three showers to make herself feel close to clean again. Distracting herself meant thinking about Nick and the barrage of questions he was going to launch at her. She couldn’t tell him what had happened to her -- she hadn’t told anyone before -- but she didn’t think there was going to be any way for her to avoid it.

The door creaked open again. “....Nick? Is that you?”

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firecraft
2015-04-01 03:33 pm UTC (link)

Questions were certainly ripe in Nick's mind as he made his way to the address his sister had given him for her current location. As he drove he thought about the news that had come to light, the shock that was still singing through his veins and pounding through his skull, bordering on a headache now. It wasn't the first time they had kept secrets from one another, they were siblings and not even the closest brothers and sisters told one another everything but this wasn't just a small thing, this was huge, it was life altering news and not just something they could shrug off and pretend to forget. There was no way Nick couldn't ask all the questions buzzing in his brain right now but his priority for the time being was getting his sister back to the apartment and making sure she was relaxed and calm. Then the questions could start. Yes he wished she had told him sooner but he wasn't going to interrogate her. Not right away, at least.

Pulling into the store's lot he stepped out of the car and thumbed the fob to lock the vehicle behind him before he headed inside, eyes scanning the interior for the sign-- there it was, at the back and tucked into the corner. Offering the clerk a small distracted smile he headed in that direction, lightly pushing on the door leading into the women's and catching sight of one of the stalls opening as he did so.

"Sorry," he apologised as the unfamiliar woman gave him a stern and startled glance, hurrying uncomfortably through the process of washing her hands before she brushed past him and on her way again. Only then did Nick step inside, pushing the door shut behind him and answering his sister's call of his name. "It's me," he told her, approaching the stall door beyond which he could see a telltale shadow. The bag in his hand was pushed lightly under that door before he headed back to the bathroom entrance to plant his heel firmly against the bottom of it so it wouldn't swing open but instead jam against the blockage and hopefully deter anyone from interrupting.

"You okay?" he asked, keeping his voice quiet and steady, his own emotions internalised for the time being while he took care of his sister. It occurred to him then that he hadn't noticed any particular turmoil in the store itself and that that could only mean that all of this could have been so much worse. That was something for which they could both be grateful, at least.

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