A/N: Soooooooo... it's been a while. I apologize for the total lack of updates in months. For those of you who are unaware, I work in banking management. There are times when my job consumes my entire life. That, paired with my mental illness, has a tendency to make it difficult to do even the bare minimum to keep myself functioning. However, it appears that the horrific writer's block that has plagued me for the past few months has lifted, at least temporarily, so hopefully it will stay at bay and allow me to update more frequently. A million thank you's to bellabitchlestrangee; without her assistance with brainstorming/generally being amazing, this chapter probably wouldn't have been written. And thank you to anyone who is still reading this; I know how frustrating it is when writers take forever to update, so I feel horrible that I've sucked so bad with consistently updating this. I'm going to try to regularly work on this... even if it kills me.
Bellatrix paced the kitchen nervously, coffee mug in hand. Rod had left for work nearly two hours before, and she, too anxious to do anything else, had wandered aimlessly around the flat, unable to sit still. Though she had wanted to cancel her plans and drop everything to look after Sirius, Rod had insisted that she attend her weekly therapy session, as usual. Refusing to leave Sirius to wake to an empty apartment, she had called one of her oldest friends, Evelyn Greengrass, to come round and keep an eye on him while she was out. She had called Evelyn nearly four hours ago, and, true to form, her dear friend appeared to be running fashionably late. At last she heard the familiar sound of knocking on her front door. Bella rushed to the door, leaving her lukewarm coffee abandoned on the kitchen counter. She swung the door open, breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of her dear friend. "Thank you so much for coming," Bellatrix gushed, ushering the blonde into the room.
"So how is he?" Evelyn asked, motioning for Bella to come and sit with her on one of the couches.
"He's been passed out since he vomited everything up from the charcoal... I haven't even had a chance to talk to him about what happened, why he did it," Bella noted, brows furrowed.
"It's probably for the best," Evelyn noted, examining her nails. "He needs to sleep it off. There will be plenty of time to harp on what happened, later. You certainly were never too keen on talking about what happened immediately after. I'm sure he's the same way."
"Maybe I should just stay home," Bella mumbled, folding her arms against her chest.
"No," Evelyn said firmly, shaking her head. "You've got an appointment. And you said you wanted to go to the gym before. It's been weeks since you've gone, I'm sure you could use the endorphin boost or... whatever it is that you get from your exercise regime," Evelyn continued, wrinkling her nose.
"It's good for you, you know. Working out. You should try it some time," Bella teased, shooting the lithe blonde a smug look.
"I'll pass," Evelyn retorted dryly, rolling her eyes.
"Oh come on, you wouldn't fancy a nice jog about town with me? I've got a spare pair of trainers..."
"As if I would ever be caught dead wearing trainers in public," Evelyn sighed, rolling her eyes.
Bella snorted, the corners of her mouth turned upward into a faint smile.
"Honesty, Bella. The very idea is absurd," Evelyn continued, smoothing down her white-blonde hair.
Bella laughed, shaking her head. "You know, I don't think I've even seen you in a pair of trainers since P.E. back in school."
"That's because I haven't owned a pair of trainers since then, my dear."
Bellatrix rose to her feet, once again struck with a feeling of restlessness. She paced the length of her living room, twirling the ends of her raven locks around her fingers. "I can't leave him on his own. He could have died... I have to cancel my appointment."
"Honestly, Bella, you're being ridiculous," Evelyn retorted, rolling her eyes.
Bella paused, defiantly placing her hands on her hips as she stared down the blonde before her. "You've never even met my cousin, before. He's had a rough go of things... I don't want him to wake up to some stranger watching over him."
"Bella, how long have I known you?" Evelyn asked, rising to her feet and striding toward the brunette.
"A long time," Bella admitted, resting her head on Evelyn's shoulder as the blonde pulled her into an embrace.
"And how many times have I taken care of you after a similar incident?"
"Too many," Bella mumbled, embarrassed.
"So quit your worrying. I've got this."
"Okay," Bella agreed, sighing. "But if anything happens, I expect you to call me immediately."
"Of course. Now go. If you stall any longer, you won't have time for the gym."
Sirius woke to sunlight streaming through the carefully drawn curtains of Bellatrix's guest room, the brightness overwhelming as he regained consciousness.
"Fuck," Sirius groaned, rubbing his face vigorously.
He glanced around the room, struggling to recall the events of the prior night. What happened? He remembered fighting with Remus and returning home, only to be sent packing by James and Lily. He remembered arriving at Bella's doorstep, but everything else was hazy after that. How long have I even been asleep?
He squeezed his eyes shut, willing the aching pain of his head to stop throbbing.
"Oh good, you're awake."
Sirius glanced up, startled by the sound of an unfamiliar voice.
To Sirius' surprise, he found the owner of the voice to be a female who most certainly wasn't Bellatrix Black. Observing him from the doorway stood a willowy young woman with icy blue eyes and poker straight white-blonde hair, falling past her shoulders. Sirius watched as she strode toward him, the room silent save for the click-clack of her stiletto heels against the wooden floor.
He stared at her for a moment, taken aback by the radiance she gave off; though Sirius had determined that he generally preferred men, there was no doubt that this woman was attractive. Her simple black silk wrap dress hugged her trim but shapely form perfectly.
"Here, drink this," the blonde instructed, thrusting what appeared to be a glass of fizzing water in his face.
"What is this?" he asked, eyeing the glass suspiciously.
"Alka-seltzer. I imagine you've got quite the headache. It'll help. Drink up, please," she continued, nodding affirmatively.
Sirius obeyed, too exhausted to ask further questions. He drank quickly, barely registering the taste as the cool liquid soothed his sore throat.
"You've certainly made quite a mess of things, haven't you, Sirius?" the woman continued, lowering herself into the chair set beside the bed.
Sirius shrugged, unsure of how to respond. He glanced at the handbag sitting beside the unknown woman; a black crocodile skin Hermes Birkin bag. The very bag that he'd listened to Bella bitch about there being a six month long waiting list for at Harrods.
"Where is your medication?" the blonde asked, tapping her perfectly manicured fingernails on the seat of her chair.
"I don't take meds," Sirius retorted, raising an eyebrow. "Why would you even ask that?"
The blonde shot him a disbelieving look, shaking her head. "God, you really are just like Bella. You're Sirius Black. You overdosed on a cocktail of the contents of Bella's medicine cabinet last night. Of course you're prescribed medication."
Sirius stared as she rose to her feet, making a beeline for his duffel bag, abandoned what felt like decades ago in front of the closet. "Now come on, out with it. What are you on? How many milligrams of lithium do you take a day? And where is your lithium? You seem to have nothing but xanax in here," she prattled on, rummaging through his belongings.
"I overdosed?"
"Yes, you overdosed," Evelyn affirmed dismissively, continuing to dig through his bag. "Now where are your meds?"
"I stopped taking my meds."
"Well, that was a stupid thing to do, wasn't it?" the blonde retorted, rolling her eyes. She sighed, wiping imaginary dust from her hands as she rose to her feet. "Well, never mind, then. No worries, we'll get you sorted out, soon enough, won't we?"
Sirius stared blankly, struggling to process what the blonde woman was yammering on about. "I'm sorry, but who are you, anyway?"
The blonde smiled sweetly, placing her right hand on her hip. "I'm Evelyn Greengrass."
Bellatrix exited the sports club she was a member of, beads of sweat trickling from her hairline. Once a safe distance from the entrance, she lit a cigarette, holding the filter between her teeth as she tied her unruly hair into a messy bun atop her head. Satisfied that her hair was out of her way, she dug through her bag for her phone, quickly dialing Evelyn's number. "How is he? Is he okay?" she asked as soon as the the call was answered, not bothering with a 'hello'.
Bella rolled her eyes as she heard her dear friend scoff on the line. "You sound... sweaty," Evelyn noted, disgust apparent in her tone.
"One does tend to sweat when exercising, Evelyn," Bella retorted, taking a drag of her cigarette.
"Please Bella... kindly take a shower before you leave the gym... gym clothes are not acceptable to wear in public and I won't stand for it."
Bella rolled her eyes, flicking ash onto the concrete. "I swear to god, that cannot be your primary concern at the moment."
"Actually it is. Mostly because there is nothing to be concerned about with Sirius, he's fine. But also because I know that you are definitely all sweaty right now, and I know that you pride yourself on your designer trainers and shit but that doesn't mean they're not... y'know.. trainers..."
"Evelyn..." Bella retorted, warningly.
"I don't care how chic the Stella McCartney for Adidas line is, Bella, it's still sportswear. For god sake, you're a Black. Take a little pride in your appearance."
"You're such a cunt."
"Love you too, Bella."
"So he's alright, then? Has he woken at all?"
"Yes, he's fine, Bella. Go to your appointment, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of the ickle Black boy."
"Alright, fine. I'll see you in an hour, alright?"
"Of course, love. Mwah mwah."
Bella clicked end, tossing her phone back in her bag. "On to therapy, then..." she muttered, making her way towards the parking lot.
"I made tea," Evelyn announced, entering Sirius' room with a tea set and a plate of biscuits.
Sirius stared mutely at her, offering no response to her presence.
Evelyn offered him a small smile, setting the tea set down at the foot of the bed. He looks so much like Bella... It's almost eerie, how alike they are.
"Do you take yours with sugar and cream?" she asked, eyeing him expectantly.
"I'm alright, thanks," Sirius muttered, sinking lower into bed.
"Nonsense," Evelyn replied, pouring two cups of tea. "You'll feel better once you've had a cuppa. I bet you take yours with two sugars, no cream, just like Bella," she mused, raising her cup to her lips and taking a delicate sip.
Sirius nodded sheepishly, sitting up a bit more. "I suppose a cuppa would be nice," he admitted, accepting his cup and eagerly taking a sip.
"That's a good boy," Evelyn chirped, resuming her place beside Sirius' bedside. "So," she continued, pausing to take a sip of her tea, "Why don't you tell me what happened."
"What do you mean?"
Evelyn shot him a disbelieving look. "Did you do it on purpose?" she prompted.
Sirius paled, staring wide-eyed at the blonde.
"Oh come on, let's not dance around the issue. I've taken care of Bella after more overdoses than I can remember, it's nothing new to me."
"I don't remember."
Evelyn shrugged, right eyebrow raised. "I suppose that's true... You did finish off her Klonopin. I wouldn't be surprised if you've no recollection of last night."
The two sat in silence for several minutes, Evelyn watching Sirius intently.
"I was just... Having a bad day. I wanted everything to go away for a while," Sirius said finally, tugging at a loose thread in the comforter.
"Understandable," Evelyn noted, taking a sip of tea. "What was so terrible about yesterday?"
Sirius muttered something incomprehensible, staring down at his lap.
"What was that?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Regardless of what you want, it's one of those things that you need to talk about, Sirius."
"Why?"
"Because people generally don't decide to ingest the contents of their cousin's medicine cabinet in the middle of the night," Evelyn replied evenly, placing her empty tea cup on the floor beside her.
"I broke up with my boyfriend. Or he broke up with me, I don't even know. My best mate kicked me out of his house. Everyone hates me," Sirius noted, running his fingers through his tangled locks.
"Everyone doesn't hate you, Sirius," Evelyn replied gently, taking a seat beside him on the edge of the bed.
"Bella was worried sick over you. She loves you to pieces, Sirius."
Sirius shrugged. "She's family."
Evelyn cocked an eyebrow, nonplussed by his dismissive tone. "You of all people should know that being family has very little to do with love, Sirius."
Sirius shrugged, staring down into his tea.
"Where is Bella, anyway?" he asked, after several minutes of silence.
"She had therapy. She should be home, soon."
"She asked you to come watch me, I suppose?"
"She didn't want you to wake up to an empty flat."
"It would have been fine," Sirius grumbled, folding his arms against his chest.
"She found you face down on her living room floor with vomit dribbled down your chin... I think she had every right to be afraid to leave you alone, Sirius."
"So I OD'D?"
"Yeah... She and Rod had to give you activated charcoal. You'll probably still be a little groggy and out of it for a few days, but I daresay it was a necessary precaution."
"Why does Bella keep activated charcoal in her flat, anyway?"
"I wasn't being polite when I said I'd taken care of Bella after her overdosing plenty of times. She used to do this every weekend. Therefore, it's always on hand. Better to be safe than sorry when you're dealing with a rapid cycling bipolar individual who can be unpredictable in fits of mania and depression."
"Oh."
"So how long have you been off your medication?" Evelyn asked, changing the subject.
Sirius sighed, shaking his head. "I don't want to talk about that."
"Well, do you want to-"
"I'm tired," Sirius interrupted, a yawn escaping his lips. "I'm just... I'm so tired. I want to sleep."
Evelyn nodded, offering him a sympathetic smile. "Of course... Go ahead and get some rest. Nothing will help more than sleeping this all off."
