Disclaimer: I do not own Supergirl or the characters.
AN: While this is not officially a true sequel, I do recommend reading "Always There For You" prior to this in order to get a feel for the general characterization. Enjoy!
Chapter 1 - Words Spoken, Hearts Broken
It was nearly three o'clock in the morning when the door to the apartment finally opened. Kara watched as a slim figure staggered through the doorway, grabbing the nearby coat stand for support. She could smell the cheap cologne and alcohol radiating off the figure's thin frame and Kara's disapproval continued to grow. This wasn't the older sister that she had grown attached to during her childhood. This wasn't the older sister that had sheltered her. This wasn't her Alex.
"Where have you been?" Kara asked, trying to keep the anger out of her voice.
Alex turned, instantly spotting the source of the voice across the darkened room. Her eyes narrowed as she recognized the speaker.
"Why do you care?" Alex snapped back with a slightly noticeable slur as she flicked the lights on. "How did you even get in here? You didn't fly to the balcony, did you?" She looked pointedly at the slightly open balcony door that let pleasantly fresh air into the apartment.
Kara shook her head as she stood up and approached her sister. "I still have the key you gave me. And I gave up flying years ago, remember? I haven't flown since—" She stopped herself but it was too late. The dangerous look in Alex's eyes that appeared whenever Jeremiah was referenced had already surfaced. Kara knew Alex was still bitter over her father's death. Alex had always kept from placing the blame on anyone but Kara noticed that during the past few months, Alex had started to blame her.
"When I got in here, all it smelled of was alcohol and sweat," Kara said, steering the conversation towards slightly safer waters. She glanced at the other couch covered in old, unwashed, sweat-stained clothes. "It needed a good refreshing."
Alex shrugged, tossing her keys onto a nearby table. "It was fine the way it was," she said dismissively. She crossed her arms. Kara could've sworn she was daring her to continue the current path of conversation. "Is that all you came here for? To comment on how you don't like the way my apartment smells?"
Kara ignored obvious challenging tone, opting instead to pick up a rather revealing dress from the couch. "When's the last time you washed all of this?" She wrinkled her nose at the smell, dropping the piece of clothing back onto the pile.
"Don't like it, don't touch it," Alex replied. "If this is all you're here about, a call would have sufficed."
"You haven't ever returned any of my calls the past few months," Kara reminded her. "If you had, I wouldn't be here. We haven't talked in ages, Alex. Which brings me back to my earlier question: where were you? In case you haven't noticed, it's three in the morning."
Alex shrugged. "I was out," she said as she stumbled towards the short refrigerator in the small kitchen area.
"Out getting drunk and partying like you have nothing else to do?" Kara asked as she followed her. "Because that's what Mom said you've been doing."
Alex turned abruptly to face the blonde Kryptonian. "What, has she been spying on me?" she demanded. "My life is my own business. She should get out of my life and so should you." The warning in her voice was unmistakable.
Kara stopped and watched as Alex reached into the fridge and pulled out two cans of beer.
"Alex, I think you've had enough to—" Kara caught a glimpse of the inside of the fridge just as Alex was beginning to close it and alarms went off in her head. Kara lunged forward, pushing past Alex and pulling the door open again. To her horror, the fridge contained nothing but alcohol.
"Alex, you—" Kara paused, swallowing with difficulty. "It's all…." She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.
Before she could react, Alex ripped the door from her grasp and slammed it shut. "You ever open that again and I swear you'll feel pain like you never have before." Alex's voice was low and dangerous and Kara stumbled backwards in shock. This wasn't playful Alex. This was dead-serious Alex. Her sister would never, ever threaten her. This couldn't be her sister.
And yet Kara knew it was. Alex had grown more and more distant the past few months. She had originally passed it up to be due to work but it soon became obvious that it was not. Alex had changed. Then came the night when her adoptive mother, Eliza, had appeared at her apartment door in tears. Kara remembered how Eliza had relayed her findings to her; how Eliza had begged her to stop Alex—to watch over her and protect her.
She hadn't believed it, not at first. But it was confirmed when she saw it with her own eyes. Kara could no longer deny what she feared. Alex was falling apart. Her strong and brave older sister was falling apart.
"Alex," Kara said carefully, "you need to stop this."
Alex chuckled, opening one can and taking a long draft from it. "It's funny how much you care."
Kara's jaw dropped and her frustration increased. "Of course I care!" she replied indignantly. "We're sisters, Alex! Stronger together! Surely you—"
"Have we ever really been sisters?" Alex frowned, leaning against the kitchen countertop. "We're not related by blood. You just came down from the sky and got dumped into my family."
Silence. Kara bit her lip, feeling the tears welling in her eyes. "Alex," she started, hearing her voice starting to break, "you don't mean that. You've had too much to drink." Kara knew the real Alex would have been horrified with what she was saying and she was determined to break through the outer shell of this stranger.
"Maybe you just can't handle the truth," Alex shot back casually.
Too casually. Kara's heart sank further. The sister she had known seemed to be gone, washed away from endless weeks of drinking. This was a whole new person.
"Alex, you know I'll always be here if you—"
"And what if I don't want you here?" Alex interrupted, moving away from the counter and walking towards Kara. "I was having a perfectly fine time until you showed up here," she said as she pointed a threatening finger at Kara.
Kara felt a tear escape down her cheek. "Alex, you're breaking my heart." She sniffled, suddenly feeling very small and lonely. Panic ripped at her as she realized how far Alex had fallen; how far Alex had been pushed until she finally broke. Her loving sister was gone. In her place was an alcoholic; an unrecognizable stranger. "Please...you—"
"You broke my heart when you landed on this planet!" Alex roared back, face flushed red and furious. "You came into my life and ruined it! Do you know how many sleepless nights I had to endure because of you? How many grades lowered because of you?"
"Alex—"
Kara didn't have time to duck and the full can of beer that Alex hurled hit her square in the side of the face. With a cry of surprise and pain, she dropped to her knees and doubled over. Reflex tears sprung in her eyes, but she was still able to make out her precious lead-lined glasses lying on the floor in two pieces.
"You were a freak, Kara! I sacrificed my life for your success. For your happiness!" Alex stalked unsteadily towards Kara. "And what did I get in return? Nothing!"
The tears came freely now for Kara and she looked up at the figure that she had called her sister her whole life on Earth. One that now towered over her, angry and menacing. "Alex…" she whimpered softly, but Alex would have none of it.
"You don't deserve to talk to me!" the brunette shouted, roughly pulling the blonde to her feet before giving her a rough shove towards the door. "Get out." Her voice was unfamiliar to Kara—never before had she heard this tone from her sister.
Alex stepped over her, grabbing the doorknob and violently wrenching the door open. "Get out, now!"
Kara sank to her knees, sobbing. "Alex, please," she begged through her tears, kneeling ashamed on the ground. "I love you, Alex."
Alex grabbed the Kryptonian's shoulders, forcing Kara to meet her gaze. "No you don't," she said slowly. "If you did, you would never have come into my life." She grabbed Kara's arm and pulled her back up, half-dragging her towards the door. When Alex let go, Kara sank to her knees again just a few paces from the door.
"I swear, Kara," Alex threatened, "either you walk out of that door or I'll make sure you feel real pain through your invulnerability." Never before had Kara heard a voice so venomous.
Reluctantly, sobbing and begging, Kara rose. She felt Alex put her hands on her shoulders and she desperately tried to resist being shoved backwards out of the apartment. "Alex, please, you have to stop! You need help!" Kara twisted and thrashed, but Alex's grip was too strong and she couldn't break free.
With one final shove from Alex, Kara went sprawling on her back into the hallway and she gave a cry of pain at the impact. She looked back up at her sister, terrified of who she saw. "Alex—"
"I don't ever want to see your face again," Alex hissed, her face contorted with rage.
The door slammed shut and Kara was instantly pressed against it, pounding her fists on it. "Alex, let me in," she wailed. "Please..."
But there was no response. And she knew there would be none.
"I need you, Alex..."
She stayed like that for some period of time. Whether it was minutes or hours, she had no clue. At long last, Kara gave in. She had no the energy to continue the constant pounding. Occasionally the tears would return as she sat doubled over, forehead pressed against the door. Praying that Alex would sober up and open the door. That everything would be alright. That this was just a nightmare. But deep in her heart, Kara knew there was no happy ending to be found.
Some time later, Kara felt her phone buzz in her pocket and she listlessly pulled it out, turning off the wake-up alarm set to 6:45 AM. She dully realized that she'd stayed at Alex's door for hours even after Alex had thrown her out of the apartment like trash.
That's what I am, Kara thought numbly as she stood up. Trash. Trash, for letting this happen. For not being good enough.
She took one last look at the door that led to her beloved older sister's apartment before she left. Slowly, Kara ran a hand down the polished wood and her throat tightened. "Good-bye Alex," she said with a choked whisper. "I love you…"
To be continued...
Special thank you to my wonderful beta readers MarvelDC31 and Mama Wolf Pack. You both helped make me a better writer and to make this fic as best as it possibly could be.
