Title:Winter
Author:TinaMustDie
Just another oneshot.
"This is the last time."She says. Her voice is shaking,but firm. It's full of determination. There's something akin to hope in that voice. It sounds every bit like the truth.
He wants to believe her. He wants to believe her so badly.
But he knows better.
He wonders how many times he's answered the phone only to hear her sobbing on the other end. He wonders how many times he's come to pick her up from shabby nightclubs and cheap motels. He wonders how many time he's found her,clothes disheveled,make-up smeared,lying on the floor of some greasy place,with a hangover and a broken heart. He wonders when she'll end up a fourth page tragedy in the local newspaper.
He helps his sister sit up and feels her wrap bone-thin arms around his neck. He picks her up and pretends he doesn't see the track marks. The air outside the hotel is cold and he feels her shiver in his arms. Snowflakes fall on her sallow skin and frost her tangled hair. The stars shine indifferently and the walk to the car seems far too long. He unlocks the door and gently places her in the back seat,wrapping her in the blanket he keeps especially for her.
He slides into the driver's seat and starts the engine. The heater kicks in and he pulls out of the parking lot so he can take her to a rehab center she'll escape from in a week or two anyway.
She always calls and they both know he'll always come. He can't save her,but he'll be damned if he can't try.
"This is the last time."He hears her whisper from the backseat. But Zuko knows better.
Azula always lies.