mind games

“ – oh come on, as long as you wear the right clothes and drink a hot cup of cocoa every once in a while you’ll be able to cope, ” he grinned. the cold never really bothered him, but he could easily find himself agreeing with the snow part. the cold was better if there was snow. “ .. you’re right though, let’s just.. hope for a lot of snow this winter. ”

“i sound like a real bitch for complaining, don’t i?” she raised an eyebrow, laughing at herself. “i wouldn’t get my hopes up too high. snow in california is a bit of a stretch. especially with, like, global warming coming to fuck us over. we might see a day where snow doesn’t even exist anymore.”

“cold?” eyebrows furrow, confused. they were in california. it barely got cold here. bryce continues to write in the notebook, not looking up at his step-sister while she speaks. he could barely hear her. “it snows like..maybe once every three years here. if y’want snow, you can g’to maine or something.”

“i know, i know,” gia shakes her head, well aware of how dumb she sounds. “i’m just so used t’this weather that any little change takes a lot of getting used to,” she shrugs, nodding softly at the mention of snow. “yeah, i know. i like the heat better, though.”

“I totally get it, it’s almost too cold for October,” she complained. If it was cold in California, she couldn’t imagine how cold it would be in places that had actual cold climates. “I don’t even like snow. It looks so gross after the initial snowfall. Then it just turns to polluted slush. So nasty.”

“yeah, i guess you’re right,” she shrugged softly. “i like snow when it, like, first snows. but once you get over it, it’s just a pain in the ass. ‘specially when it turns all gray and nasty and shit.”

“-could you shut the fuck up for a second?” she huffed, eyes glued to the tv screen. the women’s world cup qualifying game playing on the living room tv, watching as the team came close to another goal- and missed. turning to face her step sister, slightly annoyed with the game and the blabbing. “don’t be such a pussy, g. it’s barely cold out. get some pumpkin spice and boots and frolic in the cold weather, for christ sake.”

“wasn’t talkin’ t’you,” gia muttered, glancing over at what she was watching. she had to stop herself from “accidentally” turning it off. she wandered over, leaning over the back of the couch and raising an eyebrow at the screen, “what even is this?” she rolled her eyes at her next comment, “i ain’t that bitch. sounds like you might be, though.”

“it’s really not so bad,” elodie shrugged. she had a sweatshirt on, but that wa relatively normal for her. her closet was probably a quarter sweatshirts (most of them were bryce’s that she had ‘borrowed’). “we don’t really get snow here. like sometimes it’ll snow but it won’t stick to the ground.”

“it’s taking some getting used to, it all,” she just shrugged, frowning when she mentioned the lack of snow. “that sucks. i’ve been in california a few years now and it still feels weird. i used to love the snow as a kid. christmas doesn’t feel the same without it.”

         nix rolled his eyes at the female, an amused grin shaping his lips. “it’s a lot better than stepping out into hell,” he pointed out with a shrug. “this is my favorite time of year honestly. plus halloween is soon, so that just balances out any cold weather.”

“i just have to get used to it,” she shook her head at his comments, tugging at the sleeves of her sweatshirt. “i dunno. i like the heat. i don’t own many, like, cold-weather clothes,” she half-shrugged, glancing up at him. “i guess it kinda has to be cold on halloween, though. sweating on halloween would just be weird.”

   in a jolt, the female was suddenly awake. she hadn’t always been a light sleeper, but after she had gia suddenly everything woke her up. she didn’t know if it was nerves that something had happened or something else. so within a second of hearing the door creak open and the female speak, she was out of bed and grabbing the robe hanging on the door next to her. after sliding the silk around her, she tied it around her waist and made her way to the bedroom door.    ❛  gia ? is everything alright ? ❜     she whispered as a yawn fell from her lips. she finally opened her eyes to spot the blood coming from the girl’s hands.     ❛  goodness. what on earth were you doings ? c’mere.  ❜     she spoke nervously as she pulled the girl through the bedroom to the master bathroom.    ❛  here –– sit.  ❜     she whispered as she motioned for the girl to sit on the toilet as she made her way over to her cabinet with the first aid kit in it.    ❛  what happened ?  ❜     

“power’s out,” gia’s voice came out sounding more pathetic than she intended. she cleared her throat and used her phone flashlight to illuminate the way to the bathroom, eyeing ezra’s sleeping figure hesitantly as they slipped past the bed. she sat down slowly when instructed, setting her phone on the counter at an angle that gave them some kind of light. “i was lookin’ for something to eat,” she glanced down to her hand, inspecting it closer now that she had both hands free, “i knocked a glass over an’ couldn’t really see when i was cleaning it up.” her voice echoed more than she’d accounted for and she gently nudged the door closed with her foot---the last thing she needed was anyone else waking up. “i didn’t wanna wake you up, but, like, i couldn’t get it t’stop bleeding for long enough t’get something over it with one hand,” she sighed softly, glancing back up at her mother.

she couldn’t really relate. it had been her and her brother for two, going on three years now, and she didn’t really have much of a memory to compare it to anything else. a part of her heart aches. “i dunno. maybe that’s her way of trying to remember. it doesn’t mean it’s fake. they say when people go through memory loss that you should try to resume things as normal. it helps a lot.” she shrugs. gia knew more about her own mother than aviva did, so she couldn’t really give any advice besides what she’s learned in her studies. a small smile appears on her face. at least she had felicitie as a mom. “yeah,” thankful gia understood. aviva hated leaving her brother even for a day trip. she couldn’t imagine going away for longer than three days, and they haven’t been apart in almost ten years. “nah, no really.”

“i know i sound like a total ass for complaining about them,” she adds, quieter. she wasn’t ignorant of aviva’s situation. but she knew av wasn’t as forthcoming about things as she was. “they do?” she tilts her head to the side slightly, “i guess that is kinda what the doctors told us. it just seems kinda funny watching it from the outside, you know? talking about any of it just makes her upset, though,” she shakes her head softly, noting the smile on her face at her comment about her mom and nodding to herself. “hm, okay. i’ll surprise you. maybe something from beauty and the beast. y’remind me of belle.”

“i don’t think so,” and he shakes his head. bryce didn’t think felicitie ever thought bad about her daughter. she could be disappointed, but never upset enough. his ears catch the words this time but he can’t will himself to move. as zodiac passes by he’s slightly grateful for the dog to take his place instead. he’s never been in gia’s room ( hasn’t dared to ) and he isn’t going to start now, even by her own invitation. “‘cause ‘m back.” he shrugs. it wasn’t like it was a secret. wherever bryce was, zodiac would follow. the pup would follow him to school if he could. he lets out a cough at the question, shrugging. “only when ‘m really upset or somethin’. but not recently. besides the hospital.” that was the worst one. “but why? it’s not like things changed in the school.”

“yeah, maybe he’s better when you’re ‘round,” she nods softly, looking at the dog on her bed and sighing softly when bryce still wouldn’t cross the doorway into her room. was she that intimidating? she gave up on trying to get him to sit down, but scooted to the end of her bed, hugging a pillow to her chest. “is that, like, all that happened after... y’know... or is there other shit?” she tilted her head to the side slightly. “well, yeah, but all the people in my class graduated, and now all the new seniors seem way younger. it just seems like i’m going to waste an entire year of my life learning stuff i already know.”

“it can’t be that crazy that you need to detox,” aviva isn’t sure just how crazy it could be at the archer household, but there’s two parents there keeping things semi-under control. it couldn’t be that bad if worse came to worse. “fake?” eyebrows furrow in confusion. she doesn’t understand the wording or the reasoning for it to be fake, a facade, a joke. “yeah, before everything she used to try and get me to watch disney movies with her when i was around waiting for you. ‘s real cute.” it couldn’t help but tug at her heartstring. avvia wished nothing more for own mother to be back and alive, but we can’t all get what we want. “yeah, police and public service people get tons of things like that for free. it’s not unusual. i’m not gonna leave algernon with the boys.” meaning her guy friends. she loves them, more than her own being, but she wouldn’t be caught dead giving ‘non an influence like that.

“not crazy, like, bad crazy. it’s just loud, y’know? i’m used to two people. sometimes i just have to, like, take a break,” she shrugs softly. she doesn’t see it as much of a bad thing. “fake, yeah,” she nods slowly, taking her time to formulate an explanation in her head. “just --- with my mom’s memory stuff. it’s weird. it seems like she’s faking being in love with him until she remembers it again, you know?” she furrows her eyebrows, not sure if she makes sense at all. a soft smile sneaks onto her face when she talked about her mom and she was quick to nod along. “of course she did. they’re her favorites. we watched them all the time growing up,” she laughs quietly. “she likes you a lot, y’know,” she adds, “even after the accident.” she laughs when she comments on leaving algernon, unable to argue with that. “can’t blame you there,” she shakes her head, “i’ll bring y’both back a souvenir. y’got a favorite character?”

he’s straining to hear her, but his efforts seem to be close enough. if anything bryce can always blame it on the lack of common sense in his mind…which was more than most, but still a good cover. “dunno ‘bout a speech. she just said i couldn’t.” he shrugs, still not moving from his stop against the doorway. maybe he didn’t catch that one ( the nudge of her head to the bed gives him a clue, but he remains planted on the outside of the room ). “that’s cool. beats going for the full day, then. i used to do the same thing when i still had a lotta migraines.” he shrugs, not knowing if gia truly knew the full story behind that. “but why didn’t you want to stay in the first place?”

“she’s gonna think i’m a bad influence, now,” she shakes her head softly. “i don’t bite, y’know,” she eyes him in the doorway, patting the bed so zodiac will hop up, reaching out to scratch his ears when he does. “he doesn’t do the annoyin’ barking thing any more,” she nods to the dog, glancing back up at him, tilting her head to the side. “y’don’t get them as much anymore?” she asks, not sure if they’ve ever even talked about his problems following the accident. “at school?” she shrugs after a few moments, “i missed so many days after my mom’s accident that i, like, kinda had t’take a year off. then it just felt really weird coming back.”

it’s not the answer she’s hoping for, but aviva has mastered the act of putting on a facade for algernon’s sake, so she does the same for gia. ‘that’s good, though. less tension and whatever.” her own research has shown that tension in families never led to anything good..but she’s getting ahead of herself. “that’ll be fun, though!” the girl tries her best to be encouraging. she knows it’s hard for gia, but she still has her mother and aviva couldn’t help but try and keep the two’s relationship strong from the outside..maybe out of some sort of way to live vicariously through her friend. “i can’t go to florida, gia. do you know much that costs?”

“yeah, yeah, it’s good,” she nods softly. it was better than it had been before, so she figures anything is better than the big fight she’d gotten into with ezra. “i’ve been spending more time at my uncle’s, too. to detox from the crazy,” she laughs quietly, a soft shake of her head and a shrug when she suggests the vacation would be fun. “i guess. it just seems a little, like, fake, you know?” she stumbles over her words and shakes her head again, “might just be me. my mom loves disney, though, so i’m not trying to ruin it for her.” she nods when she reminds her how much it costs, “tell me about it. apparently ezra’s work is paying for the whole thing. maybe we can convince ‘em you’re a long lost cousin, or something.”

it’d been a long night. first the storm had kept her up, and then once she finally managed to fall asleep, she’d had some blurry semblance of a nightmare that woke her up again. she gave up on getting any sleep and quickly realized the power was out when she went to turn on the light in the hallway. using her phone flashlight to navigate her way downstairs, she started rummaging through the pantry to find something to eat, but as she moved to set a box of cereal on the counter, her arm knocked over an empty glass by the sink and sent it rolling off the counter and shattering across the floor. “fuck,” she hissed, wincing at the loud noise before hurrying to bend down and try to gather all the broken pieces. she was too panicked, though, because she wound up dropping all the glass again when one of the shards caught the side of her hand, making her exhale sharply and stumble back to her feet. “shit,” she muttered, looking around for something to hold against the cut. she hesitantly checked it a few minutes later, swallowing hard and then shaking her head to herself. eventually, she found her way to the master bedroom, nudging the door open slightly with her foot. “ma?” she whispered, waiting for a moment with no reply. she pushed the door open more. “ma? you awake?” 

“it’s probably a good thing you wouldn’t tell her, if she heard something like that from you it would probably hurt her feelings. but i get where you’re coming from.” his ears perked up when he heard her mention boxing “well that seems like a really good way to handle things with your father. does she just not like you doing it or what?” he asked before letting a small laugh out “i’d love to see your dad kick his ass.” he smiled “if your dad was here, you wouldn’t have a problem with ezra because you wouldn’t know him.” it was the sad truth about it all. 

“yeah,” she sighed softly. “it’s not like i can really control feelin’ that way. but i’m, like, trying. s’just weird bein’ the only cabella in the house, now,” she shook her head, nodding along in agreement when he said boxing was a good way to handle things. “that’s what i thought, but i guess it, like, freaks ‘er out because of dad,” she sighed, “but it’s a way t’get out my anger. i dunno. it’s like no matter what i do i can’t win.” she nodded slowly at his comment about her dad and ezra, resting her chin in her hand. “god, yeah. wish that was the case,” she mumbled.