for a long moment, penny doesnโt move. she just stares. at the sheer audacity of drew standing there , draped in borrowed clothes that donโt fit , wearing that same infuriating grin โ like she hasnโt been missing for two weeks. like she hasnโt left penny to spiral , to wonder, to reach for a silence that never broke. her heart is still hammering against her ribs , the remnants of panic still thick in her bloodstream , fourteen days of unanswered questions pressing down on her like a weight she canโt shake.
and then drew starts talking โ rambling , deflecting , making jokes about flounder and burner phones , like this is just another one of her reckless disappearances. like penny hasnโt been tearing herself apart over where she was , if she was even alive, and suddenly something inside her snaps. a sharp , humorless laugh punches out of her , brittle at the edges. "are you โ are you fucking kidding me ?" her voice is quiet , but thereโs something dangerous beneath it , something raw and frayed. two weeks. two weeks of radio silence, of checking her phone every five minutes , of knocking on doors and getting nothing but shrugs , and now she just waltzes in โ grinning , joking , like itโs all some game ?
penny moves before she even thinks , grabbing the nearest throw pillow and launching it at her. not hard. not enough to hurt. but something โ because if she doesnโt , she might actually scream. "you โ " she stops , jaw locking , fists curled at her sides. "you absolute fucking โ " another sharp inhale , her breath unsteady , her entire body tight with the effort of keeping herself from completely unraveling. "do you have any idea โ any fucking idea โ what the past two weeks have been like ? you couldnโt have just โ texted ? called ? hell , sent a fucking carrier pigeon ?" sheโs breathing too fast. she knows it. feels the way her hands are shaking , the way her chest is rising and falling too sharply. she knows sheโs letting the panic and frustration bleed through , but she canโt shove it down. not when drew is just sitting there , completely unbothered , sniffing her vanilla candle like she didnโt just disappear without a trace.
penny presses the heels of her hands against her eyes , turning on her heel and striding into the kitchen before she does something she wonโt recover from. because she knows drew. knows this is her coping mechanism โ acting like nothing is wrong , like she hasnโt just put everyone who gives a shit about her through hell. and maybe , once upon a time, penny wouldโve let herself be distracted by the theatrics. wouldโve let the relief of drew simply being here outweigh the hurt. but sheโs seen this routine one too many times to fall for it now. she grips the counter , sucking in slow , steadying breaths. if she says something now , she will regret it. because part of her , beneath all the frustration , wants to burst into tears โ because drew is alive , because sheโs standing in front of her , because penny doesnโt have to wonder if sheโs lost her forever.
after a few seconds , she forces herself to move. forces herself to walk back into the room , stopping in the doorway , leaning against the frame like itโs the only thing keeping her upright. her voice is quieter now , but thereโs no mistaking the weight behind it. "are you going to tell me what happened," she says , gaze steady , expression unreadable , "or do you just want to pretend everything is fine ? because i may be a good actress, drew, but i donโt think i can do that."