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 Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 3:37 pm
Arias had just gotten home a few minutes ago after a rough day at work; one of the new workers had made an absolute mess of the kitchen and he'd wound up spending three hours cleaning it up. He was tired and had managed a quick shower to rinse the smell of grease off of him. He'd made it into his pajamas and was dragging himself into his kitchen when he turned a corner and saw Carlee.
And immediately knew something was wrong.
His eyes had gone straight to the bruise at her neck.
A pang of fear and anger flushed through him and he froze. "Carlee?" he asked, hastily adjusting his path so he was walking to her. He reached out and pushed her hair out of the way, trying to examine her for any more obvious injuries. "Are you alright? What happened?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 4:08 pm
“Oh...hi Arias!” The girl attempted a smile, but it fell after only a moment. “Yeah, I’m okay...I just...I was just stupid that’s all. Not everyone who’s dressed in flowers are nice people...I uh...I learned that today…” Honestly it was a lesson she was learning a lot more often now. She really just had to pay attention to how the other person felt rather than how they looked. How many more times was she going to end up getting hurt before that stuck with her?
...More importantly, would she even survive long enough to make sure that lesson really stayed in her mind...if she ended up inviting a monster to play, well, eventually she was going to meet a monster that was too strong for her to get away from…
The very thought made Carlee pale just slightly and she tried to play it cool by flashing another smile. “H-how are you?”
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 4:09 pm
Arias gave her a look riddled with worry. "Not falling for that smile, that's how I am. Come here, do you want some ice?" he asked, taking her hand and pulling her into the kitchen with him. He was fussing for ice with his free hand, but wouldn't release the hand he was holding.
"Who was it?" he asked, setting an ice pack on the counter. He pulled out a hand towel and wrapped it carefully before holding it out to Carlee.
His brows were knit and he was trying very hard not to be her extremely overprotective older brother, but it was hard. He didn't want to see her hurt like this.
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 4:12 pm
Carlee went with Arias quietly, her head bowed in disappointment and shame. “Ice sounds okay...d-do you think mom and dad would be...do you think I could tell them it’s a...a h-hickey? I think they would be a lot less angry if they thought that…”
Swallowing the teenager’s lip trembled. “What does a hickey even look like…?”
She tried to look at Arias, tried to meet his gaze, but she couldn’t even raise her head. “I don’t know...some corrupted senshi...he was very pretty, he had flowers and pink hair and...and he just looked so pretty...s-so tropical and I just...I thought he looked so nice...b-but he wasn’t nice at all, Arias…not at all…” She took the ice from him and put it on her neck, wincing a little at the cold, her eyes still planted firmly on the floor.
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 4:13 pm
Arias leaned forward and planted a little kiss on her forehead before carefully leading her to the couch. He sat down next to her and reached to tug off her shoes, not unlike when he was helping her when she was younger.
"A hickey doesn't look like this, unless you were with someone pretty aggressive. I'm going to say...try not to let mom or dad see. The good news is, there's a cold front coming up, so there's extra reason to stay all bundled up. The other good news is, you can stay with me if you need to. Mom knows I'm working on getting some things done over here, so if you need some time away, I'll just let them know that I need help."
Her shoes on the ground, Arias just reached for a blanket, carefully draping it around her.
He didn't want to ask the wrong questions and send her over the edge, but it wasn't in his nature to just pretend like his sister wasn't hurting and distraught.
"...It's going to be okay, Carlee," he said softly. He was mindful not to squeeze her too hard, but gave her a gentle hug as best he could. "You've got such a good heart in you. It makes me so mad to see people take advantage of it. You're in one piece. You're going to be okay. Do you want to spend the night again tonight? ...I can get some ice cream out--have you had dinner?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 4:14 pm
She deflated when he informed here that she could not, in fact, pretend that she just had a hickey. Not that she had really thought that was going to be a good excuse anyway, her parents were too smart for that, plus she didn’t even know what a hickey was supposed to look like, so how could she tell her mom how she got it. Or who she might have gotten it from. Ugh.
“Yeah I’d like to stay here for a little while, Arias...if you don’t mind...I...I’m sorry that I’m such a bother to you...and I’m sorry this keeps happening and I’m sorry I worry you all the time...I really don’t mean to…”
Carlee let out a loud sniffle and wiped at her eyes, feeling crushing waves of sadness that she really wasn’t used to. “I...I haven’t eaten dinner, no...but I’m not really hungry tonight...I’m sorry…”
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 4:15 pm
"Carlee," Arias said softly. "It's sort of my job to worry about you. I've been doing it since before you were born. You shouldn't feel bad about it, okay?"
He reached to stroke her hair gently. "I care about you, so much. You're never a bother, and I've never thought that."
He was quiet for a moment and then cleared his throat. "Well--no, that's not entirely true. Once, a long time ago, while I was babysitting you, you were a bother. You wanted cereal for dinner and insisted you could eat three bowls, and I knew it was too much, but you were determined. And it was okay, until you threw it up all over me and my homework. That was kind of a bother. But. That was a long time ago, and that's nothing like this. This isn't your fault--and I'm happy you came to me. Powering up, being a Senshi...I know it's not easy. But you're doing such a good job, Carlee. I'm really proud of you. And if you're not hungry--that's okay. You know where everything is in my kitchen--if you get hungry later, you're welcome to help yourself to anything. Or, you wake me up and I'll make us a snack, okay?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 4:16 pm
Carlee couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her at the story. “How old was I? That doesn’t sound like me at all, Arias...are you making that up?” She wiped frantically at the tears that still crowded her eyes, but did manage a real, tremulous smile at her brother. “I thought I could eat three bowls of cereal? I’m really sorry I threw up on your homework though…”
The teenager fell quiet for a long moment, and then nodded. “I’m...really glad that you’re always here for me...I don’t know what I’d do without you...I mean...I’m sure I’d be dead by now if you weren’t always here to help me and keep me safe…I...I appreciate you more than I can even begin to say...so thank you, Arias...thank you for everything...I love you so much, and I think you’re the best big brother in the whole world...and I can’t even think of anyone who could even try to be better than you at anything…”
Again she wiped at her eyes and sighed. “...but do you think you’d mind just sitting on the couch with me...and maybe watching cartoons all night…? I...I’d really appreciate it…”
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 4:18 pm
"Carlee, I can't think of anything I'd like better. I washed your pajamas, go put them on. I'm going to put on a some coffee and get some cartoons ready."
He was tired and before Carlee showed up, he'd wanted nothing more than to get a small meal and curl into bed. Now, sleep was a distant thought. He wouldn't sleep until she did, and if she wanted to stay up all night, so would he.
He didn't take enough sick days, so if he needed to sleep tomorrow--fine.
Carlee was one of the most important things in his life. She shouldn't be afraid. She shouldn't have people trying to kill her.
He didn't tell her that he was pretty sure he'd run into the man she'd described, or that he hadn't had a great run in. But he'd made it out relatively unscathed.
...He needed to start patrolling with Carlee again. At least until they were both comfortable with it again.
But that was a thought for another night. Tonight, it was cartoons. And maybe ice cream, if Carlee was up to it.
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