[RP] And I christen you titanic, underestimate and swim

[ilikemyway]

It's a sore, sleepy Michelle that drags herself out of bed and into her sister's room, banging a fist on the doorframe and directing a glare at the alarm clock that apparently wasn't set last night. She has one arm wrapped around herself, and is angled in the doorway in the hopes that her sister doesn't see last night's black eye or the worst of the bruising where her tank top rides up. But dad is out, and mom is probably not waking up any time soon, and someone has to get her to school, so that'll be Michelle. Again.

"Come on, time to get up," she calls, or at least tries to before the last couple of words dissolve into a yawn.

---

Michelle is really getting sick of fast food.

She's getting sick of a lot of things, up to and including her mother's panicked phone calls and having to punch people in the face to get them to take her seriously, but mostly? She is sick of fast food. But she won't get anything else, because that requires being off the road for longer than she wants to. She's not sleeping as much as she should be either, but she can deal with that.

Hopefully it won't be much longer, anyway.

She pulls into a parking space and cuts the engine, taking a moment before she opens the door to close her eyes and breathe and hope that her sister's here, that it's not another in the trail of dodgy places she's racking up debts on this bender across Florida. Then she checks her gun, opens the door -- ignoring the small avalanche of McDonalds wrappers that fall out -- and heads for the entrance.

Comments

[foundmygroove]

Nat does not want to get up. She never wants to get up, because sleep? Sleep is good. Her pillow is over her head, one leg is hanging off the bed, and her arm is draped over her pillow.

She groans loud enough for Michelle to hear and get the point. She does not want to go to school.

[ilikemyway]

Her point is ignored. Her point has no bearing on the fact that she needs to go to school anyway.

"If you stay in bed any longer you're not going to have time for breakfast," Michelle points out, grabbing a pen off the dresser and flicking it at the bed. She'd rather not go in and pull her off -- both to hide the bruises and to keep from getting more sore -- but she will if she has to.

[foundmygroove]

"Owww," Nat groans. She flips the blankets off of herself and pops an eye open to look at her big sister.

"Why do I have to go to school?"

Nat isn't stupid, she knows all about the bruises Michelle tries to hide. She always notices the way her sister moves differently and acts differently. But she doesn't talk about it. Ever. Westens don't talk.

[ilikemyway]

"Because you still have a lot to learn," she says with her sweetest smile. "And because the law says so, and so does Mom."

And Michelle knows that Nat has to know, but still she tries hiding them, and plays them down when she can't. That's just what they do, and she wouldn't know how to do anything else by now.

[foundmygroove]

Inside the seedy, dark bar Nat is sitting at a video poker machine on the backside of the bar. Not really her preferred game, but it soothes that ache to play. To get that rush. She needs the rush.

There's a vodka and cranberry juice beside her. When close enough it's easy too see she hasn't slept in days, and her face looks like she got into a fight. Or lost a fight.

She's intent on her game though. Anything to zone out and not think about the guys chasing her down for money owed.

[ilikemyway]

A little bit of the sternness melts away as soon as Michelle sees her, a little bit more when she's close enough to see how run down she looks. It shouldn't, she should still be pissed at Nat for running off on them, for all the trouble she's gotten into and the fact that she never asked for the help she needed but -- it's her baby sister. She can't be mad at her when she's this busy being relieved and worried about her.

"Nat." She steps up behind her, hands coming down on her shoulders.

[foundmygroove]

Nat jumps at the contact and looks up. Part of her is relieved it's just Michelle, but another part is worried. Worried that she's in trouble, worried that her sister will punish her, and worried that Michelle is disappointed in her. Michelle is her hero, and the person she could never be good enough to be.

"What are you doing here?" She asks. She doesn't want to be dragged home yet. She can't be.

[ilikemyway]

"Looking for you," she answers, tugging her backwards gently. Not enough to knock her off balance, but enough to make it obvious that she wants her to move. "Come on, let's get out of here. You look half-dead."

last one. hope this is okay >.>

[foundmygroove]

Somewhere in in her trip,Michelle's phone rings. Fin has been worried. He loves Nat like a sister, and he worries about both of them. Nat's trouble and the lengths he knows Michelle will go to for her sister.

He's trying to keep Maddie company whoile Michelle is gone, but he can only do so much. He needs to check in.

Always. >>

[ilikemyway]

It's Fin's number on her phone, but it wouldn't be the first time her mother stole Fin's phone to call since she left, so when Michelle answers, she's expecting Maddie's voice. That much is obvious in her tone, both because of the tension and because of the calming note she tries for. "Hey."

[foundmygroove]

"Is that the only greeting I get?"

Finn is out back out of Maddie's earshot. He misses Michelle, but he's not going to say so. "And here I thought you might be happy to hear from me."

[ilikemyway]

"And where would you get an idea like that?" Michelle asks, but the obvious relief in her voice speaks for itself. Normally she wouldn't be so obvious about it, but she's too worn down for that right now. She needs this, though she wouldn't say that out loud any more than he would.

"How's Mom?"