#throughtheroots

Eve hadn't been sure if she would show up. They had felt silly at first for being slightly nervous to invite her. Mostly because it meant them really entering into a new time in their lives where they actually knew each other again. What if Jane didn't like what she learned? What if Eve didn't? They were certainly more judgmental then they were when they were younger. Perhaps it was their own coat of armor but either way, their trust issues had always been steadfast. Still, they could feel Amory teasing them at how antsy they felt as their guests started to arrive. It was a good distraction until people were getting settled with their drinks and their doorbell rang again. And they knew both from feeling (and Amory) that she had arrived.

They tried to be subtle in the way they drifted towards the door and gently pulled it open. "You made it," they told her softly, truly taking the sight of her in as she stood in their doorway. "Um, yeah, come in, come in. Can I get you a drink?"

"I'm sorry I wasn't here, about your Dad." It felt like all Alex was doing was apologizing for the past week. Apologizing for the time he missed, apologizing for falling off of the face of the earth. It wasn't that Alex hadn't lived outside of Cardinal Hill but so much of that life had been wrapped up in survival and chase. He had spent the in between moments thinking of home, thinking of what he was missing and feeling guilty for every bit of a moment of relief he got along the way. "I know that doesn't make up for it but maybe this will," he told her with a laugh as he poured them both a glass of wine, a bottle from his parents collection that they wouldn't miss or ever know about.

"Please tell me more about what's going on with you, in your head, in your life? Anything for me to stop wallowing and being so self-centered. Honestly I'm starting to annoy myself."

The first few times Eve had seen her, they thought they were hallucinating. It wasn't an unusual occurrence for Jane to show up in their dreams but they knew this wasn't that. As much as they tried to deny it. They had spent a lot of time avoiding her but as time went on, Eve's curiosity got the best of them. Well that and it felt physically painful to not be able to see their eyes on her when she was so close. Foolish. At least that's what they told themselves.

But today was different, today they stood across the street from Pure Leaf Alchemy, determined to finally go back inside. The nerves in their stomach threatened them with a fierceness, a wave of nostalgia washing over them as they thought about the amount of times they had walked through those doors with Jane right beside them. "Don't be such a baby," they muttered to themselves, looking both ways before finally jogging across the street. Another deep breath with their hand on the door before pulling it open and walking in.

That nostalgia hit even harder and Eve lingered at the door for a moment before their eyes were drawn towards the counter and there she was. "Well, fuck me," Eve muttered, almost being mad at how much their chest ached at the sight of her. They were 40 years old for fucks sake, how did she still have an effect? "You got any sales going on today?" It was the first thing that came to mind and they mentally winced as they got her attention, taking a few steps closer. The absence of her father lingered everywhere and it made Eve soften as they approached and rested their hands gently on the counter. "Hi Jane."