Horizon
— O —
Beta'ed and or revised by;
Contradicting-Whispers
Bms111
FirstSelector
My most heartfelt thanks.
2009 October, Boston. The next morning.
She woke up with a jaw cracking yawn and a soreness that was way more emotional than physical. In fact, she still felt completely spent, as if the hours of sleep had refueled her tank of energy just enough to get her going in the morning, if barely even then.
She stretched, and flopped back into the mattress, snuggling deeper within the blankets. Sarah could still feel the very faint taste of bile in the back of her throat, and once again the guilt assaulted her when the events of the prior night made themselves known to her conscious mind.
She glanced at her phone, fully charged after a night plugged in. She turned on her screen, and a couple of messages greeted her, most of them from some half an hour ago.
TayTay: good morning
TayTay: well. I hope you have a good morning
TayTay: better than mine at least
TayTay: ignorethat no howdo you delete things here
TayTay: forget that
TayTay: im just. going to take a shower
She frowned, sleep still clinging to the corners of her brain. Did something happen to her in the morning? She rather hoped not, but knowing her luck it wasn't a wish she had any hope of coming true.
With a sigh, she stared at the ceiling. She would have to take a shower herself and get prepared for another awful day at school, where her natural answers were turning more caustic – more bitter – by the day, burning the tip of her tongue with each retort.
She didn't want to go. If she could, she would stay in bed the rest of the day chatting Taylor's ear off, but she had school too, and they could only talk when she was at home or at the library.
A little spark lit up in her brain. What if she didn't have to be at home to talk to her? The thought of being able to communicate anywhere and anytime if one of them needed something in particular or just needed to vent and decompress was quite the nice idea, one that was starting to take root in her brain. Now, how could she propose what she had in mind to Taylor in a way that she couldn't refuse?
Today was a Friday…
Tay usually had nothing to do on the weekends, sometimes hanging out with another friend she mentioned from time to time but from what she gathered they weren't all that close, more friends because each of their families were on speaking terms with one another than from any kind of significantly deep relationship. That's what she gathered, anyway.
Maybe… they could meet face to face?
She wasn't going to lie and say that she didn't want to, but the thought of Taylor seeing her with all her imperfections and slicing sarcasm sent a jolt of nerves to her stomach. After all, it was a lot easier to control the image she presented via only text.
Perhaps not this weekend – it was too soon, too sudden. She doubted Taylor would accept it if she suddenly proposed that she traveled to her city just to see – very technically – a stranger. Even if that thought stung quite a bit, it was still true.
«Are you okay? Did something happen?»
Better make sure she was fine before talking about anything else.
She heard the sounds of breakfast being made beneath her, due to her bedroom being positioned just above the kitchen, and the sound of her parent's voices engaged in a soft argument. Her distaste for them both made up her decision to stay at home that day, she just had to deal with them for the morning and endure their snide comments.
Or perhaps not.
She was fairly sure that the entire house had heard her retching her guts out for close to an hour, and she knew that at least Mother did; the particular sound of her slippers stopping just before the door of the bathroom she had been in only to continue moments later without a stutter in her step had been a pleasant reassurance to the fact that her parents were complete sociopaths.
She could play the 'im sick' card and stay in bed, only getting out of her cocoon when her parents went away. After all, it wasn't hard to imagine that they preferred she stayed home and didn't cause trouble at the school with the excuse of feeling ill. Can't break that perfect heiress image, after all.
God she hated their 'everything is PR' stupidity.
Even if Taylor couldn't be online while she was in class, she liked the thought of just spamming her with whatever bullshit popped up in this or that forum just to see if she could get a laugh out of her once it slammed into her inbox all at once when she went home. God knew they both needed a bit of cheer.
Ding.
TayTay: yyeah im okay
TayTay: no nothing. judst a bad dream
TayTay: how did you sleep?
Sarah let slide the blatant change of topic and the probably nerves induced typos. She would spoon it out of her later, she was sure. Or maybe she could archive her questions for a later date, if they ended up meeting face to face? The thought of being able to just talk about anything without the barrier of the screen made her feel anxious and at the same time… hopeful? Yes, hopeful.
Maybe she could accept Sarah, the good and the bad intertwined together in its ugly little package?
«More or less. Could have been better. Did I tell you that I almost couldn't sleep thanks to a stupid bet?»
TayTay: what bet?
TayTay: waitwait you didn't do anything dangerous didyou??
Her concern sent a little tendril of something warm burrowing into her chest. It felt… nice, knowing that someone cared about you.
It made the guilt still stabbing her all the more sharp.
«Relax, it was harmless. Well, mostly. I think my kidneys are going to hate filtering the syrup that is currently trying to mimic my blood, but it's okay.»
«Just an idiot saying that I couldn't take ten energy drinks one after the other without going to the bathroom»
«He didn't even specify size or brand. I just took ten of these little things at once. Felt jittery the entire day, but I got a hundred dollars out of it.»
TayTay: hdhshdhahshahshhsh
Sarah's lips bloomed into a smile. This is what she wanted, the bright little ray of sunshine she was before you shunned he-
TayTay: well at least you got something out of it
TayTay: what are you going to do with the money?
«Don't know, really.»
She was about to type that her allowance was higher than that, and she really didn't care about having more money stored away because she didn't know what to do with it, but it would be rude, especially if she knew that her money was basically gathering dust for no real reason.
…except she did have a reason to spend it, didn't she? She had someone that was worth it, and better it was spent for a good reason than laughing itself silly in a corner of her account or hidey holes.
«Perhaps buy something pretty.»
She didn't tell her for who it would be, though. Omission was the master of misdirection, and the idea of giving her something in person as a surprise was taking more and more space in her brain.
TayTay: okay. I have to go to class now
TayTay: tell me what you'll buy later. If you want
TayTay: see you!
It lifted some of the guilt weighing on her chest to see her back to her little old cheery self, even if only by a bit.
Sarah was ripped from her musings by a knock on the door, Mother's gratingly perfectly moderated voice coming through the wood.
"Sarah, it's time you get out of bed. Breakfast has been on the table for five minutes already." Her tone caught on a small edge of irritation laced in a way to make it seem as if she was softly chiding her.
She knew better. With just a bit of a sore throat that wasn't entirely fake, she answered with a "I'm not feeling good today. I think I'm going to stay at home, see if I get better."
She thought she heard a faint huff of irritation moments before Mother's voice once again rattled on. "Well, if it's only today I suppose it can't be helped. Try not to make this into a habit, we don't need it."
Translation; your brother already shat on the table, we don't need trouble from you too.
Bitch.
She clenched her jaw as hard as she could in an attempt to abate some of the rage lapping at her synapses. Once again, a scoff behind the door, then a paired clack-clack of heels on wood slowly getting growing fainter.
Sarah eased the pressure on her teeth, and slowly cocooned herself once more, burrowing deeper into her blankets.
She really, really could use someone to chat her ear off right about now.
No one saw the tears at the edge of her eyes.
— X —
Ding.
She really was starting to love that little sound. It woke her up, yeah, but speaking to Taylor was never a waste of time. The faint unease lingering from the night before had evaporated after her little nap, so she was smiling when she pawed the phone at the nightstand and pulled it under her blankets, the almost literal sun staring her in the face being murder to her eyes until she turned the brightness down almost to null with a squeak.
Once adapted to light again, she looked at what Taylor sent her.
TayTay: canwe talk?
TayTay: please?
TayTay: if youre not too bus
TayTay: im an idiot. you're in class
«Boo, surprise! I'm not in class. Felt a little ill and decided to not go today.»
Sarah scrunched her brow. Those first messages spoke to her about something wrong, and after some years of recognizing her speech patterns, she could say with quite some security in her own judgement that Taylor was extremely nervous. Now, about what, that was another matter entirely different.
Was she having problems at school? How was she talking to her from there anyway?
TayTay: but youre okay now right?
«Yes, I'm feeling quite better now after a little nap-» better not mention that she interrupted it. «-and talking to you now is doing wonders for my mood. How are you speaking to me anyway? Aren't you in class?»
TayTay: well, yes, but I've already finished ms Knott's assignment and
TayTay: I just wanted to talk to you
That little warm tendril coiled around something in her chest, and she found herself smiling without doing so consciously. She could poke the issue she knew was there, laying somewhere, but she decided not to.
Poor Taylor already had had enough grief caused by Sarah. If she didn't want to talk about it, she'd let her.
«You're too sweet Tay. Speaking of, do you have something to do the next weekend, Saturday in particular?
TayTay: um, not that I remember, no. why?
«No telling~! Also, make sure that day you're really free if you can. It's important»
She felt her stomach churn slightly. By saying that it was important she had all but assured that she would listen to her, at minimum. She wasn't manipulating or lying to her, just stating the truth, but it still left a bitter taste in her tongue.
TayTay: alright, I'll clear my obviously fit to bursting schedule just for you, even if I have no idea what are you trying to pull
TayTay: woe is me, I wont be able to do
TayTay: checks
TayTay: tons of nothing on my saturday. whatever shall I do
Sarah snickered and said her goodbyes after sending one last message when the hour of class Taylor had started to come to a close. It was nice having her back, even if only from time to time.
«Check your mail tomorrow!»
— X —
Brockton Bay, next morning.
A very confused Taylor Hebert found herself taking the mail to the house, shifting through it with the expected boredom of a fourteen year old reading about bills and such when a purple envelope found itself between her hands, the texture identifiable as of high quality paper.
With something like trepidation encroaching on her chest, she opened the envelope with the careful slash of a kitchen knife and pulled out a small piece of paper from inside, staring at it in bewilderment and then shock once she realized what it was.
A ticket.
A bus ticket. For next Sunday, to Boston.
A myriad emotions warred in her face, but the most prominent, the most visible was happiness.
She was going to meet her friend.