It was rather quiet when EJ walked into his small apartment… the second he pulled the door closed and hung his coat and scarf up, he realised why…
There on the couch was Kylianna, too deep in sleep and her hair tied back in a messy bun as the Tv droned on at a low volume… as much as EJ wanted to wake her up, to tell her that John Black was alive, Kylianna hadn't been getting much sleep since the church shooting.
But it started before that… Kylianna was on her way to healing from Andre's reign of terror and then she had seen John get hit by the car. Ever since then, she hadn't been the same.
EJ walked over, picking the softly snoring teenager up and was hit with the scent of alcohol, his eyes watering slightly but he blinked a few times.
'Ah, so you weren't just too asleep to hear me.' EJ thought as he tucked Kylianna into her bed, noticing her clothes from earlier, a grey off shoulder long sleeved sweater and medium wash skinny jeans carelessly tossed to the floor… with how drunk she must've been, EJ found himself wondering if someone brought Kylianna home.
There seemed to be no signs of injury and she was in her favorite pajamas, a red long sleeved henley shirt and red and grey plaid and slightly loose fitting pants so whoever brought her here took care of her… but EJ wondered why whoever it was just left her here.
It wasn't long after he had put her in her bed and gone to find a bottle of water that EJ heard something and ran to Kylianna's room to find her throwing up the alcohol she drank, EJ sitting down and lightly rubbing his left hand up and down her back until she stopped and straightened up to where she was leaning against the headboard.
"Rough night?" EJ asks, opening the bottle of water and handing it to the small brunette, who slowly drank it as EJ grabbed the bucket and went to rinse it out. When he returned after rinsing it out and washing his hands, Kylianna was rubbing her sore eyes.
"I just wanted to feel… like I used to." Kylianna says… she didn't like herself sometimes and the self destructive choices were a way of letting it out. She didn't want to remember the last time self destructive happened, the night she tried to protect little Zack Brady from getting hit by Chelsea and both of them went clean under the car.
Zack's death had broken Kylianna's heart… she had first believed he was Lexie and Abe's adoptive son, she had become attached to him… so when she had found out he was gone, it was like a part of her had died too.
Finishing half of the water and closing the bottle, Kylianna stretched out in her bed and EJ stretched out next to her, pulling the covers over him after kicking his shoes off.
Kylianna was back into sleep again when EJ looked out the window at the falling snow… before reaching over and kissing Kylianna's forehead.
"You let yourself sleep, kiddo… and dream. They might be sad or frightening or beautiful… but resting your tired mind will help the dreams flood through it." EJ whispered before falling asleep himself.
Tomorrow would be different… tonight, he just wanted his baby sister to find some peace.