First night
Feb. 11th, 2024 09:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsPaige tried to comfort Mel on her first night at the mansion.
Moonlight played against the walls of Mel’s new room. They were white, most of the room was. White, sterile, clean. She hated it.
The floor was foreign as well. No rug worn from use or hardwood that creaked when you stepped in certain places. Her bags stared at her, unpacked, as she leaned against the wall on the ground.
For the first time in her life she felt truly alone. It was too quiet, no breathing or shuffling from Liz and Joelle. Just Mel, who was the last person and only person she wanted to be alone with right now.
Her siblings had shown her here. They wanted her to sleep and then they wanted her to be checked up in the morning to make sure none of her injuries were too serious. Mel wanted neither of those things. Sleep meant she was either gonna wake up yelling or end up somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be. Doctors meant being fussed over and asked questions. This was better. The wall and the floor and her bags.
Paige balanced two mugs of hot chocolate in one hand as she knocked on Mel’s door. “Mel? Can I come in?”
Mel had been uncharacteristically quiet since she got here, probably still shook up from everything back home and now living in a new, strange place. Sharing a suite meant it was up to Paige to do the big sibling duties of checking in and making sure Mel was adjusting alright.
A noise of affirmation crawled its way out of Mel’s throat. Had it been Sam or Jay she might have gone up on the bed and pretended to be asleep, but it was Paige. Paige wasn’t so easily avoided.
Paige opened the door and came in, offering one of the mugs to Mel. “Here, have some hot chocolate. You holdin’ up ok?” She sat on the edge of the bed, looking her sister over.
Mel accepted the mug and held it between her hands, watching the steam rise from it. “M’fine, thanks.” It was a bold faced lie and she knew it. She was aware of what she looked like, all folded up on the ground. The cut on her forehead was throbbing. The Advil had worn off a while ago and she hadn’t bothered to take another.
Paige put what she hoped was a comforting hand on Mel’s shoulder. “You wanna talk about it? I’m a pretty good listener and I know this place can be pretty intimidating at first.” Seemed like none of them were going to have a smooth transition up here.
Mel leaned into Paige’s hand and took a moment. “Mm… I jus’- I miss home. An’ the kids. And my friends.” What went unsaid was that she missed how things used to be, before Christmas.
Paige squeezed Mel’s shoulder. “I know. Maybe we can bring your friends up for a visit sometime? You could show ‘em around the city.” Paige might not miss home as much as the rest of her siblings, but she knew how strange and isolating moving somewhere else felt. She’d done it twice already, once for undergrad and now for the manor and her PhD. “Could see if we can get ‘em on the phone tomorrow, too.”
“Dunno if they’d even wanna talk to me, after everything.” Besides a text from Davey asking if she made it home alright, it’d been radio silence from her three closest friends. Mel understood why. It was stupid of her to involve them in their family’s drama, and then revealing her powers, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
Paige moved down onto the floor and pulled Mel into a hug. “It’s gonna be ok. Maybe you can try reachin’ out to ‘em? And I can help you unpack. Might make this place feel a bit less empty.”
“Maybe,” Mel whispered. She placed her mug on the ground so she could snuggle into Paige. Feeling things was hard right then. She felt like the room. Numb, cold, empty. Like all her tears had been spent in the woods and in the car. Mel almost wished she could cry. It would be safe to, in Paige’s arms. Paige always knew what to do.
“Wanna sleep in my room tonight? Might make it feel more like home.” Paige rubbed Mel’s back, letting Mel decide how long they were going to stay like this. The mugs were probably getting cold, but they always warm the hot chocolate back up. Paige could work a microwave at least.
“I.. if yer not too busy... I know you got studyin’ to do.” It was bad enough that Paige had come down to get her and missed class. Mel didn’t want to be in the way of her schoolwork again.
“I can study with you in my room, that’s no problem. I did plenty of it back home.” Paige gave Mel one last squeeze before getting up and looking around. “Now let’s see if we can find you some comfier clothes.”
She set to opening up the boxes that contained all of Mel’s things. On the top of the first one, all nicely folded and wrapped up in a sheet so it survived the trip, was a quilt that Paige knew Lucinda had made herself. She froze. “Oh….Mama packed you a quilt.”
Mel snapped out of her stupor. “What? No she didn-“ Shaking out the pins and needles, she made her way over next to Paige. “Wha- why would she..” Why would Mama pack her a quilt? She scanned it as if looking for a note that said For Jay.
Paige took a breath to steady herself before giving Mel a weak smile. “You can bring that if you want. I didn’t bring any quilts. Might help you feel more at home.” She was not going to let Mel see how much that hurt, not when Mel was the one who needed comforting right now.
Mel just stared at the quilt, trying to wrap her head around why. After putting the kids in danger, messing up so badly? Slowly, she closed the flaps of the box. She couldn’t. Not right now. Not like this. “I’ll jus’ bring one of the blankets from the bed.”
Somehow Mel remembered where she had packed her favorite sweatpants and sleep shirt, one of Sam’s that he had left behind when he first went off. She turned to Paige, still feeling fuzzy. “I’ll change and then meet you through, yeah?”
Paige nodded, gave Mel’s shoulder a squeeze, then left to go back to her room. Once she had her bedroom door closed, she grabbed her pillow and screamed into it. Of course Mel gets a quilt, she wasn’t trying to leave, while Paige had done nothing but work her ass off so she could. Paige had accepted a long time ago that she wasn’t her mother’s favorite, or even really worth attention in her mother’s eyes…so why did this still hurt so much?
Taking a deep breath, Paige tried to compose herself and started moving some of her stuff around so Mel could get to the bed easier. Laundry piled onto her desk chair, books moved from the desk to her nightstand so she could study in bed, and things got shoved to the side to make a path to the other side of the bed.
Mel knocked on the door softly, wrapped in one of the blankets that had been on her bed when she’d first arrived. She had wondered who put it there, was it one of Sam’s friends or did all the beds in the mansion have one? Her mug was by the sink, she’d managed to finish it. Vaguely, Mel thought about whether she should eat something.
Paige wiped at her face before opening the door. “Need anythin’ else before bed? Food or somethin’?” She kicked a pair of shoes back behind the door.
“No, I’m jus’ tired.” She hadn’t really slept for a few days, even the nap on Jay’s shoulder in the car ride had been fitful. “Thank you though.”
“Let’s get you to bed, then.” Paige moved out of the way and let Mel into her room. She was ready to just go to bed, too.
Moonlight played against the walls of Mel’s new room. They were white, most of the room was. White, sterile, clean. She hated it.
The floor was foreign as well. No rug worn from use or hardwood that creaked when you stepped in certain places. Her bags stared at her, unpacked, as she leaned against the wall on the ground.
For the first time in her life she felt truly alone. It was too quiet, no breathing or shuffling from Liz and Joelle. Just Mel, who was the last person and only person she wanted to be alone with right now.
Her siblings had shown her here. They wanted her to sleep and then they wanted her to be checked up in the morning to make sure none of her injuries were too serious. Mel wanted neither of those things. Sleep meant she was either gonna wake up yelling or end up somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be. Doctors meant being fussed over and asked questions. This was better. The wall and the floor and her bags.
Paige balanced two mugs of hot chocolate in one hand as she knocked on Mel’s door. “Mel? Can I come in?”
Mel had been uncharacteristically quiet since she got here, probably still shook up from everything back home and now living in a new, strange place. Sharing a suite meant it was up to Paige to do the big sibling duties of checking in and making sure Mel was adjusting alright.
A noise of affirmation crawled its way out of Mel’s throat. Had it been Sam or Jay she might have gone up on the bed and pretended to be asleep, but it was Paige. Paige wasn’t so easily avoided.
Paige opened the door and came in, offering one of the mugs to Mel. “Here, have some hot chocolate. You holdin’ up ok?” She sat on the edge of the bed, looking her sister over.
Mel accepted the mug and held it between her hands, watching the steam rise from it. “M’fine, thanks.” It was a bold faced lie and she knew it. She was aware of what she looked like, all folded up on the ground. The cut on her forehead was throbbing. The Advil had worn off a while ago and she hadn’t bothered to take another.
Paige put what she hoped was a comforting hand on Mel’s shoulder. “You wanna talk about it? I’m a pretty good listener and I know this place can be pretty intimidating at first.” Seemed like none of them were going to have a smooth transition up here.
Mel leaned into Paige’s hand and took a moment. “Mm… I jus’- I miss home. An’ the kids. And my friends.” What went unsaid was that she missed how things used to be, before Christmas.
Paige squeezed Mel’s shoulder. “I know. Maybe we can bring your friends up for a visit sometime? You could show ‘em around the city.” Paige might not miss home as much as the rest of her siblings, but she knew how strange and isolating moving somewhere else felt. She’d done it twice already, once for undergrad and now for the manor and her PhD. “Could see if we can get ‘em on the phone tomorrow, too.”
“Dunno if they’d even wanna talk to me, after everything.” Besides a text from Davey asking if she made it home alright, it’d been radio silence from her three closest friends. Mel understood why. It was stupid of her to involve them in their family’s drama, and then revealing her powers, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
Paige moved down onto the floor and pulled Mel into a hug. “It’s gonna be ok. Maybe you can try reachin’ out to ‘em? And I can help you unpack. Might make this place feel a bit less empty.”
“Maybe,” Mel whispered. She placed her mug on the ground so she could snuggle into Paige. Feeling things was hard right then. She felt like the room. Numb, cold, empty. Like all her tears had been spent in the woods and in the car. Mel almost wished she could cry. It would be safe to, in Paige’s arms. Paige always knew what to do.
“Wanna sleep in my room tonight? Might make it feel more like home.” Paige rubbed Mel’s back, letting Mel decide how long they were going to stay like this. The mugs were probably getting cold, but they always warm the hot chocolate back up. Paige could work a microwave at least.
“I.. if yer not too busy... I know you got studyin’ to do.” It was bad enough that Paige had come down to get her and missed class. Mel didn’t want to be in the way of her schoolwork again.
“I can study with you in my room, that’s no problem. I did plenty of it back home.” Paige gave Mel one last squeeze before getting up and looking around. “Now let’s see if we can find you some comfier clothes.”
She set to opening up the boxes that contained all of Mel’s things. On the top of the first one, all nicely folded and wrapped up in a sheet so it survived the trip, was a quilt that Paige knew Lucinda had made herself. She froze. “Oh….Mama packed you a quilt.”
Mel snapped out of her stupor. “What? No she didn-“ Shaking out the pins and needles, she made her way over next to Paige. “Wha- why would she..” Why would Mama pack her a quilt? She scanned it as if looking for a note that said For Jay.
Paige took a breath to steady herself before giving Mel a weak smile. “You can bring that if you want. I didn’t bring any quilts. Might help you feel more at home.” She was not going to let Mel see how much that hurt, not when Mel was the one who needed comforting right now.
Mel just stared at the quilt, trying to wrap her head around why. After putting the kids in danger, messing up so badly? Slowly, she closed the flaps of the box. She couldn’t. Not right now. Not like this. “I’ll jus’ bring one of the blankets from the bed.”
Somehow Mel remembered where she had packed her favorite sweatpants and sleep shirt, one of Sam’s that he had left behind when he first went off. She turned to Paige, still feeling fuzzy. “I’ll change and then meet you through, yeah?”
Paige nodded, gave Mel’s shoulder a squeeze, then left to go back to her room. Once she had her bedroom door closed, she grabbed her pillow and screamed into it. Of course Mel gets a quilt, she wasn’t trying to leave, while Paige had done nothing but work her ass off so she could. Paige had accepted a long time ago that she wasn’t her mother’s favorite, or even really worth attention in her mother’s eyes…so why did this still hurt so much?
Taking a deep breath, Paige tried to compose herself and started moving some of her stuff around so Mel could get to the bed easier. Laundry piled onto her desk chair, books moved from the desk to her nightstand so she could study in bed, and things got shoved to the side to make a path to the other side of the bed.
Mel knocked on the door softly, wrapped in one of the blankets that had been on her bed when she’d first arrived. She had wondered who put it there, was it one of Sam’s friends or did all the beds in the mansion have one? Her mug was by the sink, she’d managed to finish it. Vaguely, Mel thought about whether she should eat something.
Paige wiped at her face before opening the door. “Need anythin’ else before bed? Food or somethin’?” She kicked a pair of shoes back behind the door.
“No, I’m jus’ tired.” She hadn’t really slept for a few days, even the nap on Jay’s shoulder in the car ride had been fitful. “Thank you though.”
“Let’s get you to bed, then.” Paige moved out of the way and let Mel into her room. She was ready to just go to bed, too.
