Savannah James (savannahjames) wrote in oblivionrp, @ 2009-03-01 21:13:00 |
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Entry tags: | jesse, jesse samantha and savannah, samantha, savannah |
Family Reunion
who: the James siblings
when: early morning
where: the twin's room
Jesse had been contacted when Samantha resurfaced, and of course immediately dropped everything to head to their room. Basically, he just needed to check, make sure she was okay, and then...he didn't know. Yelling at her for disappearing and freaking both he and Savannah out seemed like a desirable option, but probably not the wisest. Savannah was already pissed as hell at him, he didn't really need both of them to decide they were never going to speak to him again. And beyond that, he figured that the second Savannah was able to, she was going to be shouting to the rooftops about how evil an asshole he was to Samantha (and probably anyone else who would listen.) So...he didn't really need to exacerbate that situation.
But he did need to see that GT was okay, then he could probably cut out and wait for his official nametag that read 'villain of the peace' to come in. After all, he seemed to be holding the title. ...it was entirely possible he was feeling just a little pissy about things. Getting to their door, he drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly, centering himself. Please, don't let Savannah start in on me the second I walk in the door. he sent up a silent prayer to whatever shady-ass deities might listen to someone like him. Then he knocked.
Savannah had been sitting on her bed, dangling her feet over the side in a manner that they barely touched the floor. It was a position which reminded her uncomfortably of church as a child, and it practically guaranteed that she was, at least, trying to listen attentively. In this case, she was, in fact, listening with such rapt attention to her sister's tale that she gave a slight start when the knock sounded at the door. That would be Jesse, she expected; sending him a text message had been the first thing she had done, as promised. Well, it was the first thing she had done as soon as Samantha let her leave her side.
"I'll get it," Savannah told her twin sister. So far, there had been no mention of the war brewing between herself and Jesse. It was very unlike her to put other people first, but Samantha had just been through a terrible ordeal, and Savannah wasn't about to add to her problems by putting her in the middle of their fight. The look she gave Jesse as the door swung open was sweet enough to cause a cavity. "She's so totally fine," she informed him, stepping away from the door. As much of a jerk as he was, she knew he was worried sick about Samantha. "Come in! Do you want coffee or something?"
Samantha had been in the middle of explaining to Savannah what had happened, and why exactly she'd 'gone missing' when Jesse knocked on the door. As Savannah went to answer it, Samantha trailed off, staring down at her hands. She was sitting on the bed, her legs crossed, hands loosely clasped together in her lap. Biting her lip, she berated herself for ever having wandered off by herself. It had been a bad idea from the start. Truthfully, she wasn't sure why she had. Maybe she felt she needed to prove to herself that she could do some exploring on her own without turning into a total mess. Then, look how well that'd turned out.
Getting lost had been far from fun to begin with, then the power had gone out leaving her stuck in some random stairwell. Just remembering it made her feel a little sick to her stomach. Instead of replaying it all she finally decided to look up from her hands. Samantha gave Jesse a weak smile, silently hoping that he wouldn't be too upset with her for getting lost and disappearing. Or, that he wouldn't feel the need to make fun of her, pointing out that this here was proof that she wasn't so good at figuring out directions and keeping from getting lost. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said softly, more to herself than to either Savannah or Jesse.
Jesse was thinking that that sweet look Savannah had given him could only mean bad things. But he ignored it, walking in and he looked a little distracted as she asked about coffee. "What? Oh--no." he said to her, automatically going for Samantha. He tried to tone it down, but he had that air of insanely worried around him, a cautious sort of demeanor in his posture. He reached out to put a hand near her shoulder, almost putting it on it but she looked skittish to him. So, he wasn't sure if she'd take it so well if he touched her. "Hey..." he said, voice surprisingly gentle. Basically all that desire to give her hell for making them worry had flown out the window the second he'd seen her. And after a second, he did put his hand on her shoulder, instinct overriding the idea that it might be unwelcome. And, sure, she'd just said she was fine, but he didn't buy that. She hadn't sounded in the least bit convincing. "Don't worry...whatever's going on, it'll be okay." he said first, because she looked like she needed reassurance, too. "What happened, GT?" he asked, giving her a little hug if she let him.
Savannah let the door close to their suite as she followed her brother inside. Rather than return to her own bed, she sat down beside her twin. She folded her legs beneath her body, interrupting only when it seemed Jesse's hug had ended. "Why don't you sit on my bed?" she suggested. Her right hand gestured towards it, eyebrows raised and palm up, inviting and welcoming him to do so. After all, she had heard some of the tale already, and Jesse had not. That, and she really didn't care to sit next to him. "Go on," she encouraged her twin. "You can start from the beginning."
A little to Samantha's surprise she held onto Jesse's arm a little tightly, not ready to just let go yet. It was odd for her, because usually she didn't really care much about displays of affection. It was different, here, now though. She'd clung to Savannah for about an hour crying and calling herself stupid. At least Jesse would probably only have to deal with less crying, though Samantha would probably still hold onto his hand like a child not wanting to go into her first day at school. Just like on that day, she would eventually have to let go and grow up. But when?
Samantha's mild vice-like grasp on Jesse's arm really prevented him from sitting anywhere other than with her, except of course if he were to forcefullly make her let go. That meant sitting where Samantha had already been. It took her a minute to start talking, her face was pale, and for a minute it seemed that she was never going to start at all. Until finally, that same soft voice came out of her mouth, a little more hesitantly than usual.
"Well, I knew Savannah was going out that morning, so I didn't really think anything of it. Just went to library, had some tea and then I thought," Samantha paused there, looking down at her hands once more, willing herself not to blush and failing, "and then I thought that the pair of you were having so much fun without me for a change that I might just looking around myself. It was nice until I wanted to see the lower decks. You know, I got curious to see if it's so scary being around so much water but on the parts of the ship below." Samantha stopped, not sure if she was making any sense. Anyway, I was down there for a while trying to convince myself I wasn't lost when the power went out and aside from screaming myself silly, I couldn't do anything. So I just kinda of rested. One of the crew found me, I guess I was sleep."
Samantha's hold on him surprised him a lot, but he didn't in any way try to get away from her. He let her cling onto him, and would up putting an arm around her shoulders to make her feel more supported. Or that was the theory on that. He winced when she said she was trapped in a stairwell, and had been screaming, all in the dark. God, she hadn't even come home the night before? He'd had no idea she was missing that long. Why hadn't Savannah said? But then again, Savannah could have assumed that Samantha had gotten up, made her bed, and left quietly, so he couldn't actually say anything on that. It was a logical assumption. "Have you gotten anything to eat...drink...are you feeling okay?" he asked her. "Physically." he put in, because he was pretty seriously doubting mentally okay would make an appearance for a while. Especially not with the way she was latched on.
Staying quiet for a few seconds Samantha thought on it. The crew had made sure she'd eaten, gotten some water, but she hadn't really slept. They'd even offered all sorts of free things for compensation. She couldn't even remember what. She'd been tired, missing her sister, and brother. Now, she was still tired, missing her brother and sister, even though there were right here, and even a little hungry. It was enough to put her close to tears. "I'm fine," Samantha said again, just as weakly as before, trying to give Jesse a smile. She also wanted to prove to herself that she wasn't going to cry. But it didn't work too well. Instead she kind of sank against him, a little sob escaping her, her other reaching out for Savannah's. "It was just scary, you know? I didn't know what to do, or how to get back to you guys." Physically she felt completely fine. Emotionally and mentally were a whole different story.
Savannah caught her sister's hand in both of hers, giving it a warm, reassuring squeeze. "You're back now." Poor girl. There was some momentary whining somewhere in Savannah's mind that this stupid incident might ruin the entire cruise, but, for the most part, she was just concerned for her sister... "One of us will be here the whole time, okay?" More likely, it would be both of them... "Can we get you anything?" Savannah wasn't really sure what would make her feel better, but it was a genuine offer, anyway. If she wanted a giant cinnamon roll, Savannah was willing to go find her one (even though the mere smell would probably make her sick.)
"No, I think I'll be ok. Maybe I just need to sleep, or something..." Samantha trailed off, not sure what to say or do. Truthfully she just felt confused, and scared. Having Jesse and Savannah near her made her feel better but it wasn't anything like being home. Biting her lip, Samantha tried not to cry, but she couldn't. That one sob had opened her up for more crying and her face was wet with tears, and they just kept coming no matter how hard she tried to stop them.
Jesse just shifted and pulled Samantha closer, arm around her shoulders, and he hugged her to him--though he made sure he didn't shift her enough that she'd have to let go of Savannah's hand at all. "It's okay, GT." he told her, voice gentle. Pretty much the same sort of tone he used wen Jessie had a nightmare. Comforting, soothing, sounding like he knew what he was talking about. That was the secret to telling someone it was going to be okay. You had to sound like you knew the score. "Savannah's here...I'm here...it'll be alright. You just...go ahead and let yourself cry here for a bit, and we'll be here. It's okay." He rested his cheek on the top of her head, and looked down at Savannah, wondering how she was doing with all of this as well. After all, she had her own problems too. They all did, generally speaking. And, even if she was pissed at him that didn't mean he wasn't concerned. That was the whole 'unconditional' part of 'unconditional love' for family.
Savannah was doing alright, all things considered. She watched the hug attentively, teeth occasionally peeking out to nibble on her lower lip. It was a tell-tale sign that she was upset -- and where her twin was concerned, it wasn't an unexpected reaction in the least. For her part, she just kept a tight hold on her sister's hand, although she also reached forward to rub her back as well. "That's right," she added, as comfortingly as she could. "We're all right here." Her anger towards Jesse had all-but been forgotten for the time being. This was their sister -- their own problems and disagreements were to be put aside. Of course, that didn't mean she'd forgiven him or forgotten their dispute... It simply meant that she would let it go for now, likely to be used as fuel in a future argument. Right now, it all seemed so silly and petty...
Sniffling, Samantha wiped one hand across her face, a little embarrassed that in addition to her tears, her nose was running a little. So now her hand was covered in tears and snot. "I'm sorry," she began, having a bit of trouble talking through her tears. It really wasn't so bad. Yes, she'd gotten stuck in a stairwell all alone, but they'd found her and she hadn't been seriously hurt. Truth was, everything was hitting her at once. What had happened to her, how she was so insecure about Jesse not wanting to be around her, just her being a bother to all her siblings at once. She missed her other sister, and her parents, and Jessie. "You guys shouldn't have to be in here with me while I'm crying like a baby," Samantha blubbered, internally trying to calm herself. She was failing. Failing so miserably that she was crying even worse and worse.
It helped that Jesse was hugging her, and that Savannah was holding her hand and rubbing her back. She needed that contact with the both of them, it would calm her down eventually. In effort to get herself in control though, until that calm did fall on her, she straightened up a little, pulling herself away from Jesse. "Did you at least have fun while I was gone?" It was a silly question, and asked in the most pitiful of voices ever, but Samantha just wanted to make sure that it hadn't ruined their entire day that she'd decided for once to be 'brave' and stupid.
Savannah sure did. Jesse thought but didn't say. At this point, really, he wouldn't have sold her out for the world. As far as he was concerned, Samantha could think Savannah had been worried sick all day. But he also wasn't going to answer for her. He'd just answer for himself. "I didn't really do much of anything." he said. "Talked to Jessie a lot. She was having a kind of...clingy day, I guess." Or more, she'd been giving him hell for not being there to tuck her in and tell her a story. She liked his stories because he sort of made them up on the fly for her, as opposed to reading ones out of books. He also of course personalized them, and she was the heroine of each one. "But she sends her love to both of you."
Savannah smiled -- that sweet-as-sugar smile again, as if sensing her older brother's thoughts. He really didn't know the half of it, either. "I made some new friends I think you'd like," she said thoughtfully. "You already know Lisa. There's another girl, Molly, too. She's kind of a charity case, but I think you'd love her!" That was to say, Molly wasn't the sort of girl Savannah normally hung out with. Oh, sure, she was okay -- she was just a little on the insane side. Knowing Samantha, she'd treat the poor girl like a kitten or something... For a cruise, there were surprisingly few girls around of Savannah's caliber -- or maybe they had yet to show themselves.
Samantha leaned into Jesse again, resting her head on his shoulder. It was more of an instinctive thing than anything. It made her feel safe and protected, like her big brother would never let anything hurt her. It helped listening to them, too, and she was close to not crying. Close, but not quite. She wished she had been there to talk to Jessie, but figured she always call today and that would certainly feel better. It was Savannah that made her smile, just the tiniest. Only she would call a new friend a charity case. "What do you mean she's a charity case?" Samantha asked between sniffles.
"Well, you know," Savannah began, just as though Samantha did know and had temporarily forgotten. "She's kind of weird. I don't know what she's talking about half the time..." It was actually closer to three quarters. "I totally think she said something about Africa and Georgia when I told her my name." From her tone, she had no idea what one thing had to do with the other. In reality, she really was clueless. "But Lisa seemed to think she was okay, so you'd probably like her, I think." Although Samantha couldn't see it, Savannah had wrinkled her nose a little. "You know I don't follow when people use big words. Or poetry."
Jesse didn't say anything, just sort of playing support beam for Samantha at the moment. Savannah would have more to share on the making friends and influencing people front. Though, he wondered if the girl knew how she sounded when she said shit like 'I don't follow when people use big words'. Probably not. But then again, she also probably wouldn't care even if she did, so at least she was happy. Or something. All in all, he just stayed right where he was, holding Samantha, making sure she knew he was there. She didn't have to move until she was ready to.
"Well what's wrong with being weird?" Samantha wanted to know, suddenly not feeling like crying at all. It was funny how sometimes the simplest things that Savannah said could offend Samantha, and they weren't even directed at her. "So, because Lisa thought she was ok, I might like her, but you think she's weird, so does that mean you don't really even like her?" It was probably all the wrong moment for Samantha to get upset, and it really probably had a lot to do with the fact that she was already stressed so, she was closer to her breaking point than usual. Samantha pulled away from Jesse and gave Savannah a disapproving look. "You might understand people better if you just read a little to improve your vocabulary, Savannah." Her snappish tone wasn't normal, and Samantha wasn't even sure why she was getting so upset.
Savannah's hand drew away from Samantha's back in surprise, a little offended herself. Sure, she and Samantha had had their fights, but they weren't usually nasty. There had always been screaming, and Savannah had once thrown a pillow and destroyed a lamp. There was rarely snapping, unless, of course, they were simply in bad moods, and, in that case, they recognized it and simply left each other alone. Now, Savannah was faced with a conundrum. Instinctively, she knew Samantha was upset and so wanted to be there for her, but there was no reason on earth for her sister to be so mean! Why was everyone using what she said against her? Slowly, Savannah completely withdrew, then stood. Silently, she picked up a pair of dark pink capris and a light pink baby doll T. Clothes in hand, she turned to regard them both. "I'll just go change," she told them. Hardly waiting for a response, she slipped into the bathroom and quietly closed the door behind her. By the time she came out, Samantha would probably have calmed down and she, herself, would be acting as though nothing had been amiss to begin with.
Jesse, for his part, winced a bit, and drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He looked at Samantha, and then back at the door Savannah had just shut. Truthfully, he'd thought Savannah's words had been pretty damn careless. She could have been describing her twin to the T. So, when Samantha took offense, it wasn't necessarily surprising. He didn't figure that Savannah had done it intentionally, but then again, spending time on this cruise with his sisters was teaching him things he hadn't picked up before about them. Like Samantha's abandonment issues. Like Savannah's thoughtless nature. And Samantha's abandonment issues weren't anything she was doing to hurt anyone's feelings, but it did anyways, and Savannah's thoughtless comments probably weren't directed to hurt people either but that didn't stop the sting. So...that was just the way things were going to be. Right. He could try dealing there. "Samantha, you want me to...I don't know. Come back in a bit?" he asked hesitantly. "If you two want to..." he made a gesture at the door Savannah had disappeared behind. The last thing in the world he wanted was to get between the twins. Hell he didn't even want to be perceived like he was doing that. After Savannah's out of left field accusation of 'twisted mind games' or whatever the hell she'd said to him--he didn't want to do anything that was going to play into that particular head trip.
Samantha's eyes filled with tears. She really hadn't meant to make Savannah so upset, and really she would have liked it better if Savannah had said something back. Wiping at the tears she gave Jesse a nod. "Yeah, maybe I should take care of this myself. I'll come get you in a little bit when things are fine?" Samantha suggested tentatively. Everything seemed a mess. She was a mess, now she'd hurt Savannah's feelings and that made her feel even more a mess. Really, the only thing to do was apologize, even if she still was the smallest bit offended by what Savannah said about that girl being a charity case, and all that. Without waiting for Jesse to respond she got to her feet, closed the distance between herself and the door and stood there for a few seconds before rapping lightly on it with her knuckles. "Savannah, I'm sorry," she called through the door.
Savannah had put herself to work preparing for a day out -- just in case she happened to escape the apartment. It was an activity that cheered her. Her pajamas were already tossed over the top of the toilet, discarded, and her focus was currently on her make-up. She had been leaning towards the mirror when Samantha's voice rang at the door, and she instantly made a face. Now what? "It's fine!" she called back, reapplying her efforts to her eye-liner. Her voice was light and dismissive. She was still terribly annoyed and hurt, but why start a fight? Savannah was more than willing to give her sister the benefit of the doubt -- a luxury she did not share with her brother. "What do you want to do today?" There was a pause as Savannah leaned back a little to look at her reflection. The make-up came to her naturally now. It was something she could do in her sleep. Her next challenge would be what to do with her hair. "Stay in or go out? We could totally watch some movies or something!"
Jesse didn't really like the situation, but retreated anyhow, giving Samantha a little squeeze before he did so, heading back to his room. Fuck things were emotionally fucked up on this stupid cruise. He couldn't wait til it was finished. Maybe he'd go call his daughter. She cheered him up.
Samantha went quiet for a moment, waiting to see if Savannah would open the door. When she didn't right away Samantha sighed and leaned against the wall. "I guess we can stay in and watch a movie," she said not too loudly, hoping Savannah would hear her. She was feeling bad, for snapping at her sister, and she still wasn't completely calm from the whole getting lost and getting stuck in a stairwell. Going out sounded like a bad idea, unless of course she went to the greenhouse which might do well for her. In fact, that sounded like a good idea, but maybe later. For now, she wanted to sit around and maybe just watch a movie with her sister, maybe even Jesse if he could stand it.
Well, if they were staying in, for now, Savannah supposed there wasn't too much needing to be done with her long hair... In a way, that was a bit of a relief. While she was never not in the mood to fiddle with her hair, there were times she preferred to go au natural, so to speak. Nonetheless, she pulled her brunette locks into a messy bun. Good to go, she thought with a wink to herself. She didn't look upset at all -- and that was perfect. A moment later, she flung open the door, her pajamas bundled in her arms. "Great! Movie it is!" Her grin was wide enough to split in half, and it wasn't entirely fake, either. Cautiously, she looked around the room, and her smile fell a little. "What happened to Jesse?"