suddenly emerging with grace

He raised his brow, watching her throw a tantrum. Although the two of them had a larger age gap between them, he still remembered her little quirks, this being one of them. Even as a baby, she had tantrums, but she was still his little sister and he would be there to take care of everything she needed, “it’s going to be okay. We wouldn’t want to see Gordon Ramsey do a pirouette.” She calmed down fairly quickly before snatching his phone out of his phone, “Order whatever you want.” He grinned back at her. At least she was happier now, “Wyatt is a good cook and I’m not sure either of us could follow his directions well enough to make it like his.” Sure he could cut a brain open and successfully remove a tumor, but roasting a ham or anything of that nature would end in disaster. “Seemed, is the key word. It’s probably way too complicated.” They were really good potatoes, “Okay, food ordered. Now what Suddy?” He smirked.

As quick as Sutton was to react, she was just as quick to recover. It served her well just as much as it carried the potential to wrong her since she rarely held grudges because of it. She always tried to see the best in people, thinking they all moved just as quickly as she did. Maybe Sutton had done too many turns in her life, her outlook on life always blurred around the edges.

her reference clicked relatively fast, a wicked grin dragging up the corner of his mouth, forcing the dimple there to sink deep. “oh, shit,” he breathed a laugh. it was amazing, the clarity sobriety offered. he’d only danced with it, worked his way around his addiction in small measures and simple terms. he was working his way off the drug, careful not to disrupt the schedule he kept in hopes that his own regimented therapy would do something. thus far, it had been working, but party nights like this proved more difficult. they reminded him of nights spent out with his brother, where baggies of powder never left the breast pockets of their jackets and the small spoons in necklaces around their necks bounced with every move. the bump he’d taken before he’d left his apartment had long since worn off, but the brightness of the not-roommate seemed to take the edge off, if only for now. addiction was a give and take relationship: it gives you shit, and you take it. 

“no, you’re totally right, we played selfie tag for like, half a second.” extending his hand, abe allowed himself a genuine smile. “hello, not roommate, i would like to formally introduce myself: my name’s abraham, i’m a taurus, and i am, actually, an incredible roommate. i even do the dishes.” 

She was taken aback by his mannerisms, just having grown accustomed to the fast pace of Chicago and where everyone was looking to the next chapter of their day, or even their life. Sometimes Sutton wondered if it was because they looking for something greater, or trying to take in every second they had as though it was running out. Only a few months of living there, and she had seen too many times how easily every brushed shoulders with death. She could never decide, however, if maybe they were also shaking hands with some devils by their own accord. After all, she knew she wasn’t bound by blood to saints. Maybe everyone was so intertwined with chaos because of those they couldn’t seem to shake off.  

Oh, who was this little blonde? “Oh, little kohlana. You do not drink to taste. You drink to get drunk. You drink to savor.” Anya told her, taking a natural sip of her vodka and handing it over to the blonde girl. “Just try, kohlana. See what you like.” Anya waited and took a handful of peanuts that was on the counter and ordered herself buffalo wings. “Wings here are very good, one thing that Americans can do well. Accent is different - you are British, are you?” Anya had spent some time in England, and she liked what she saw. The nice beer, the good food - it was adequate enough. “You sound posh. Not from little podunk town, hmm? London, perhaps? Posh side of London?” She tilted her head to the side, raising her glass to thank her for the drink. “Oh, and with money to spend. You look like little doll, kohlana. Are you little rich girl doll? I like that. I can sit next to you and you buy me drinks.” 

“I’d like to not make too many faces while I get there then,” Sutton shrugged. “My mama said those faces would get you wrinkles if you ever drank as much as she did. She did it with class and I’m certain, even if she denies it, was with a sweet tooth. I’ve learned to drink it with ease, but it’s much more fun when it’s got some taste.”

She didn’t mind the woman’s accusations. After all, they weren’t wrong and Sutton knew that she should have been a little softer with throwing her offers. She was alone tonight, though, and if buying a round or two would get her a friend for the night, so be it. This woman reminded her of some great grandmother she was suppose to have, one twice removed on her father’s side with a scarf around her neck where she disappeared in some tragedy that would have shaped his life forever. She had never been as close to him as her siblings, and she often imagined the stories he’d tell the older ones behind closed doors that were too much for Sutton to hear or whispered too late when she had rehearsals even at six and seven years old. 

“Baaaaby.” Nadia whined as she saw her little sister come and intervene between her and some other stranger. Normally, if her baby sister wasn’t here, she would be going at the stranger, in the worst way possible, throwing hands, but with her baby here, she wasn’t going to do anything of the sort. She huffed, like a child being deterred from a tantrum and Nadia always loved her tantrums. Nadia rolled her eyes as she linked arms and sighed. “Fine, fine, I won’t look back, darling. It’s just that you know my Gucci heels are my most precious items. These boots came right out of the showroom when I went to Italy and this wanker just – “ She let out a groan and sighed, shaking her head. “Anyhow, fine, fine. Let’s go and get some other boots, baby, shall we? And have a nice drink at a fancy restaurant, please? I need some fanciness, some fun. I’ve been feeling like I need a good time recently and who better to have a good time than with my baby?” Nadia looked over at her little blonde mini me and kissed her on the top of her head. “Shoe repair? You do? Look at you, you little maiven of Chicago. I’m proud of you, baby. You’ve come so far with everything. Tell me, how are things? Is she digging her little paws into your life what with her being here?” 

“I have to have a repairman to for my ballet shoes, but I’m bored, Nadia, I’m absolutely bored,” Sutton groaned, their whines matching the same tone and playing out like a symphony between them. They always had to be careful of course. They always had the potential to orchestrate an absolute disaster between the two of them, fighting against the other rather than playing together. “I have three shows coming up, I’m the understudy for the lead dancer in one, I’ve got this kitten I’m fostering and she’s an absolute menace, and I can’t bloody cook to save my life. I’m good but I feel like I’ve been better. Does that make any sense at all? I feel so ungrateful but maybe something’s missing, I haven’t a clue.”

“i mean, i guess, but do i really scream stealth to you?” he laughed, arm gesturing to his overall visage. abraham wasn’t subtle in any sense of the word, even down the his basic biology. from his jet black hair and electric blue eyes, all the way down to his thick, rubber-soled boots, the sweetwine was a giant deviation from the norm. “on the flip side, i could make a distraction and then you could swipe the bottle and make a break for it.”

he put the drink stir stick back between his lips, clamping down on it again, chewing slowly for a moment as he looked her over. he was sure she was too young to be familiar with him in the days before he attained some semblance of sobriety. there was something in his head that felt familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on who had accent like hers. he didn’t know any brits, at least none he could remember. “uh, i don’t know? maybe online? or like tiktok or something?” 

It was the small pause in his features before they crinkled against his laughter that it clicked. She hesitated to voice the small click aloud, but the giggled that she stifled was enough to give away that she had connected the dots. It was only fair to share.

“You’re not my roommate!” Sutton told him, and then laughed again. The accusation wouldn’t mean much without anymore context. Of course he wasn’t her roommate, that was clear enough, but that realization was the very reason they had interacted in the first place. A mix match of numbers had led her to ask the wrong person for the rent they owed, and refusing to back down, her accusation needed to be fought against with a photo proving the person on the other side of the keyboard wasn’t her roommate at all. She never ended up getting the rent she was owed but it was a tiff that eased the battle for the payment.

Her smile was bright and not looking like it would be wiped from Katerina’s face that day. It was one of her first days she truly felt free and she was going to make the most of it, determined to be in a good mood. The blonde’s answer was one that Kat couldn’t fault and she chuckled a little bit, “I mean that one is completely fair. I think he’s aged like a fine wine and hey, he usually dates women in their early twenties anyway.”

Raising his brow at his younger sister, who was currently flapping around the kitchen like a chicken with their head cut off, “I was making sure the two of us and your apartment didn’t go up in flames.” He watched her pout at the burnt steak, as if the piece of meat had taken something away from her. “Valiant effort, Sutton, but I think it’s time to throw in the towel.” He patted her on the back as he pulled out his phone, browsing the food app he had become more than familiar with.

He chuckled at her frustrations, “I wouldn’t take it too personally. It’s not life mama or dad ever instilled into us the value of knowing how to cook.” He was sure their parents assumed the two would have help when they went off on their own. “Nadia was the only one who inherited that quality.” He went and sat back down on the plush couch, relaxing now that his life wasn’t threatened by a grease fire. “We can get steak from this place?” He offered, showing her his phone with some options.

“I should know to cook a bloody steak! You don’t even have to cook it all the way through to get it right. It should be easy!”

The pout fest was over soon, though, as it always was with Sutton. She was easily upset but she always recovered just as quickly. It was the only way she was able to survive the antics of their household. One way could have been shutting off completely, and the other reacting to absolutely everything. Her bounce back and forth was the middle ground that served her well.