Elaine's family falling apart at the seams after the plane crashes.
Her mom goes quiet. She loses her fire, her passion, basically her soul. All she does is the bare minimum; work, eat, sleep, take care of the little ones. She's silent and passive, and it's not all that uncommon to find her tossing and turning in bed or sitting and staring at a blank wall- no lights on, no sound, no nothing.
She hasn't smoked since Elaine was born, now she finds herself with a cigarette in hand more often than not- maybe the bitter smoke and burning sensation in the back of her throat will be enough to make her forget about the empty bedroom back home.
.
Her dad tries to act normal—for the family, if not for himself—and fails miserably. The smiles on his lips never reach his eyes, and his laughter has lost all it's warmth- now, it's nothing but a hollow shell of what it used to be..
Much like he, himself, has proven to be.
.
Danica hasn't stopped drinking, she doesn't think she ever will. She'd been at a party the night the plane crashed, despite it never being her scene. Now, that's all she ever does—drink, smoke, dance, fuck, repeat. She goes quiet at home, because it's all she can do- but she makes sure to scream and move, move, move all that she can otherwise.
Maybe the flashing lights and blaring music that seems to pierce right through her will be enough to keep her from thinking—and maybe, just maybe, if she drinks enough, she'll be able to fill the gaping hole in her chest.
.
The twins don't understand, Danica doesn't think they ever will. Lillian wakes up at night calling for a big sister who is no longer there, and Louise keeps asking "when is Ellie coming home?"
They're both starting to understand, now, even if they don't fully realize it. They don't play with the dogs all that much anymore, and their parents have to fight just to get them to go outside. Lilli's lost all her light. She doesn't talk anymore, and now that Elaine isn't here to help her get up and ready for school in the mornings, she doesn't see the point in going. Louie doesn't play much anymore, but the rest of the family have caught him—multiple times—talking to the dogs, telling them quietly through tears that "Ellie's coming home soon, we just have to wait."
He tries to tell Lilli the same thing, but he's not sure she believes it... He's not sure he believes it, either.
.
The dogs know that something is wrong. There's one less person in the house now, and the air feels heavier, and the door that smells like her hasn't opened in... Well, no one knows exactly how long anymore—but, still, they sit outside of the room, waiting and whining and waiting and whining...
It's all they do anymore, really. They sit in her favorite spots and outside of her bedroom door, and someone's heart cracks just a little more every time they perk up at the sound of her name, only to sink back down again when, once again, they're reminded that she's not here anymore.
