Sidney was surprised at how well she had slept the night previous, especially unaided by an extra dose of morphine. She had assumed that she'd be thinking about Kirby or what had happened over those past few days. However, since Kirby was awake and seemingly out of the woods, that invisible weight that had resided on Sidney's shoulders seemed to have alleviated somewhat.
In all honesty, she was in two minds about whether she should go and visit Kirby at all today. The words that had been communicated were not minced and told her that Kirby didn't want anything to do with her right now.
Continuing to ponder as she dressed, Sidney couldn't help but glance at the scar that protruded slightly from her stomach in the mirror. Of course, she hadn't been through what she had over the past eighteen years without becoming unblemished. A dent here, a patch of discolouration there. Yet, Jill had been the one to leave the biggest mark. Like Roman, Jill had been her own flesh and blood. That betrayal cut deeper than any knife possibly could.
She had been able to process Roman's reasonings; a boy in a man's body who desperately sought after a mother's love that he never received. Bitter jealousy at a sibling who seemed to have everything that he didn't. It wasn't acceptable, but she could understand why his life had taken that turn.
Jill? Jill had been another matter entirely that Sidney just couldn't quite wrap her head around. In her mind, Jill had everything. Sure, they shared the same name- and that meant in some ways she had been the shadow of the infamy. But Sidney would have given that all up in a second to lead her life the way her cousin did. Pretended to do. A family, two parents (albeit separated) that adored her. A relatively normal life.
A sharp rapping at the door pulled Sidney from her stream of consciousness and she quickly smoothed down her shirt, just in time to see the figure of Adam shuffling into the room sheepishly.
"Miss Prescott? I was just coming off my night shift, Ma'am. Miss Reed expressed that she wanted to speak with you today…and I well…I said that I would pass on the message." He told her in a rushed and embarrassed tone.
Sidney smiled at his inexperience and bashfulness. It reminded her of how Dewey had behaved when he first got his badge; unsure of whether he was saying the right thing, struggling to meet the eye of those he was protecting.
"Thanks, Adam. I appreciate you telling me. You look tired, you should go and rest." She told him. Nodding his head and picking up on the hint to leave her, he mumbled his thanks and started shuffling out the door.
"Oh- and Adam?" The young man paused mid-step and stuck his head back through the threshold of the door. "You're good to call me Sidney. It's not like we're complete strangers, right?"
Adam seemed to turn a familiar shade of red that she had seen sweep through his cheeks the couple of times that they had met, and watched him nod vigorously again before making a swift exit from the room.
Well… that settles the choice of leaving her be or going in to see her Sidney thought to herself, pulling her hair up into a ponytail before exiting her room.
Sidney couldn't help but be a little surprised when she opened the door to find Kirby's bed empty. Instead, she saw her fellow survivor in an armchair, staring out of the window. Immediately, Sidney noticed that Kirby had showered as the scent of jasmine lingered over the hospital's cleaning chemicals and the young woman's hair hung in damp strands. Somebody (she presumed to be Dewey, Gale or Hicks) had taken the initiative to bring her some different clothes as underneath her gown was a glimpse of a black strappy top and light grey sweatpants. Although she still looked pale and drawn, she had a little more colour back in her cheeks than yesterday. She also noticed that Kirby had been unhooked from majority of her machines, which had instead been replaced by an IV stand with two pouches dripping through rhythmically. All of these pointed towards the road of recovery and just reaffirmed what Sidney always knew. Kirby was a survivor, just like she was.
"I shouldn't have been so rude to you yesterday, sorry."
Sidney was taken momentarily off-guard by Kirby's apology. For a quick second, she wondered how Kirby had known she was there- but she then realised that she had been spotted through the reflection in the window.
Taking her apology as a sign of peace, Sidney stepped through to her room, slowly making her way over to the arm-chair at the other side of the window.
"It's okay. Believe it or not, I've heard worse." Sidney replied, a small smile on her lips.
"Damn, maybe I really am losing my touch if that's not the worst you've heard," came the reply, causing Sidney's grin to widen a little more as she fixed her eyes from Kirby to the window.
It seemed like the heavens had opened that morning as rain poured. Visually it looked dull and depressing, but the spattering of the rain hitting the glass was almost a lullaby, something that the two women were reluctant to disturb.
After a few moments, Kirby cleared her throat and tore her eyes away from the downpour to focus on Sidney properly.
"Are you angry? Because I am."
Sidney chewed the flesh on the inside of her cheek as she considered Kirby's question.
"I'm a lot of things."
It was the answer that she had given so far to the main question that had left any visitor's lips.
How are you feeling?
But Sidney didn't want to fob Kirby off like she had everyone else, she deserved a lot more than that.
"I'm betrayed more than anything I suppose. Jill was my family, distant family…but still family." She began, as to which Kirby quickly interjected.
"What about Roman Bridger?"
Sidney shrugged. "It's different. With Roman I didn't feel betrayed. I didn't even know I had a half-brother. But Jill was known family. I know that I didn't see her much… or any part of Mom's family really…" She allowed her words to trail off as she continued to watch the rain.
"But?"
Sidney let out a deep sigh. "But she was still a big part of my life. Someone who I thought I could trust. Someone I thought I could protect, or who would fight for me if they had to."
"Like Billy Loomis."
Sidney's eyebrow shot up at that answer. It wasn't so much what she said, but Kirby had been able to pinpoint the exact emotional response she had felt. Nobody had been able to do that before.
"You seem to know an awful lot about my life."
Kirby shrugged dismissively, though she did seem to be caught up in her thoughts. However, after a minute or so passed she broke her silence.
"I researched you a lot…y'know when my mom died." The comment was only left for a second before she continued. "I know that they were completely different circumstances and everything, but I didn't know anyone else who had been through a parent dying. Jill had talked about you a couple of times and Kate was like a second mom through all of it and she talked about you so often… how strong and brave you'd been and I just… I guess I looked up to you a bit."
The silence was uncomfortable for the two women then. Kirby seemed as embarrassed about giving the compliment as Sidney was taking it.
"I'm not some crazy stalker… I promise."
The comment made Sidney laugh then and she nodded her head. She never thought she deserved the fame or glory for what had happened to her. It was a traumatic series of events that had just so happened to leave her in one piece. There was no reason for her to have such attention placed upon her just because she was lucky… or unlucky she supposed. Nevertheless, if she could offer comfort and support to those that had suffered from similar tragedies, then that was at least something.
"I feel embarrassed as much as I feel angry." Kirby said in a small voice, lips pursing slightly as she sniffed.
"Why do you feel embarrassed?"
"Because I make out like I know about all this horror movie crap. Reciting trivia like some teenage virgin without realising my best friend was butchering everyone close to us." She scoffed, quickly shaking her head and chewing on her bitten nails.
Sidney found herself nodding as she listened to what Kirby had to say. She wasn't going to insult the girl's intelligence by trying to comfort her because she was right. But Kirby was young and had no idea about how any of this had played out.
"Life isn't a movie, Kirby. It may seem it…and mine has certainly had the tragic horror aspect I suppose… but as soon as you start labelling something, it becomes it." She explained to her, hoping to come across as helpful as opposed to patronising.
Thankfully, she did seem to make sense as Kirby nodded thoughtfully.
"You're right. When Mom passed, everyone at school tiptoed around me. Hell, even Dad tiptoed around me. He still does. They saw me as a victim and I hated it." She confessed.
"I know how that feels, trust me."
"I know you do."
The silence returned to a comforting one now. The rain had lightened up and wasn't thumping so hard against the panels anymore. Just as the tension had been lifted from the sky, it was like it had from the room too.
"Are you gonna leave Woodsboro?" Kirby asked eventually, fiddling with a blanket that was draped around her legs.
"At some point, yes. It's not healthy for me…or anyone else being back here. Angel of death and all that." Sidney raised her eyebrow once more.
"Sorry…"
"I know, I'm just kidding. But you're not the only person in town who thinks I'm the pariah of Woodsboro."
Kirby seemed quiet then, and Sidney detected a hint of sadness coming from her. She didn't know why, but she felt compelled to resolve that.
"But I'll stay for a while longer yet. They still need me for the closing of the investigation…and I at least want to make sure you're okay before I go."
"Why? I'm not your problem…" Kirby asked, it wasn't in her usual sassy tone when she was making a point, but one of genuine confusion.
Sidney hesitated for a moment before replying.
"That's the attitude I took moments before you were nearly killed. Maybe if I'd made you a concern, things wouldn't have gone as far as they did."
For some reason unbeknownst to Sidney, that comment had struck a nerve as she watched the younger girl sniff, her eyes glazing over with tears for a brief period before she sniffed again and rubbed her eyes.
"Maybe they wouldn't have gone as far at all." She agreed, and Sidney appreciated that. Just as she hadn't hedged around matters with Kirby, Kirby had given her the same treatment.
"But we're both here now. And that's what's important, right?"
Sidney turned to look at Kirby once more, slowly nodding her head and giving her a genuine smile.
"Yeah, that's what's important."
