A/N: So this one is a bit longer than the last chapter I posted. Hopefully it makes up for being so lousy with regularly updating. A quick warning that this chapter is VERY Bellatrix-centric. As always, thank you to bellabitchlestrangee for letting me run ideas by you and always being up to listen to my inane thoughts about where I want to go with this fic. Hopefully this does not disappoint.
Bellatrix lit a cigarette, fingers curled tensely as she brought it to her lips, taking a deep drag. Two weeks. Two weeks had passed since the incident (she cringed each time Evelyn or Rodolphus referred to it as "Sirius' overdose." Incident was a better word, safer.) Sirius had not left his room in two weeks, drifting in and out of consciousness, seemingly drained of energy. Bella had tried to speak with him on numerous occasions, but her attempts to ease him into opening up about what happened fell on deaf ears; when he actually was conscious, he sat stiffly in bed, eyes glazed over as he stared blankly at the wall. She'd attempted to get him to eat, to mixed results. For the most part, Sirius refused the meals Bella prepared for him, agreeable only to tea and the occasional slice of toast choked down begrudgingly at Bella's insistence.
"You should go for a run or something."
Bella glanced up, surprised. "Oh, you're here."
"Don't look so surprised, Bella. Someone has to check up on you while you're playing nursemaid, tending to the ickle young Sirius," Evelyn teased, tossing her handbag onto the kitchen counter and helping herself to a cup of tea.
"Rod called you, I presume?" Bella asked, taking another drag of her cigarette and sighing.
"He said you haven't been taking your medication," Evelyn stated, taking a seat opposite Bella at the kitchen table, brows knitted in concern.
"Don't give me that look," Bella hissed, angrily stubbing out her smoke.
"You can't take care of someone else if you're not taking care of yourself, Bella," Evelyn replied soothingly, placing a gentle hand over hers.
"It's hard to remember, sometimes," she muttered, shrugging.
"Did you download that app I told you about?"
Bella rolled her eyes, reaching for her mug of tea and taking a long sip. "It's stupid. I'm not a child, Evelyn."
"It's not meant to be degrading or humiliating, Bella. It's a modern way to keep track of when you're supposed to take your medication," Evelyn countered, her tone gentler than it had been when she'd first arrived.
"How would you know?"
"Because I actually took the time to read over and do some research on the resources they provided you with when you were discharged from... There... The last time," Evelyn retorted, her upper lip curling slightly in anger.
"You can go ahead and say it, Evie. Say where I was," Bella challenged, gray eyes shimmering menacingly.
"Bella, no, don't do this-"
"I was in the fucking loony bin, Evie. A mental hospital because I am crazy!"
"First of all," Evelyn countered coolly, blue eyes narrowed, "you weren't in a loony bin. You were in a psychiatric clinic in the Swiss Alps. A very exclusive clinic, mind you."
She rose to her feet, the sharp tap tap of her spiked heels clicking against the tiled floor as she paced the room, hands clenched into fists. "Second of all," she continued, lips twisted into a scowl, "you aren't crazy. Why do you insist on calling yourself that, you know that I hate it! You're not crazy! You have bipolar disorder. You have a mental illness. Being mentally ill does not make you crazy, Bellatrix. Is that something he says to you, Bella? Is it? Just because he is uncomfortable facing it, doesn't mean that everyone finds you to be an utterly chaotic wreck of a woman. I-"
"Don't bring him into it," Bella interrupted, lower lip quivering. "Rod is good to me. He loves me. You know that. He just..." she paused, considering her words. "He's never seen me so... sick. Not like... Like ..."
"Not like I have," Evelyn finished, sighing heavily. She sat back down in her seat at the table, wearily reaching for her tea.
"He would have come but he... He trusts you. We trust you to know what's best, to know how to handle me when I'm... not well."
"I know, love, I know. All I want is for you to be happy."
Bella smiled warmly, reaching forward, cupping Evelyn's chin in her hand.
Evelyn leaned into her touch, a weak smile forming across her lips. "Take a look at the app, please. I think you'll find it helpful. You enter in how frequently you take each medication, and what the dosage is. You can even set timers to remind you when it's time to take it. Please just take a look at it, B. For me."
Bella nodded, lips parted carefully as she considered what to say next. She shook her head, reaching forward and tucking a strand of blonde hair carefully behind Evelyn's ear. "You're too pretty," she said finally, wrinkling her nose in faux disgust.
Evelyn rolled her eyes, an amused grin on her face. "Don't recall ever getting too many complaints about that," she retorted, shrugging.
"Hello, Sirius."
Sirius blinked sleepily, groaning internally at the sight of his cousin's blonde friend making herself comfortable at the foot of his bed. "Hi," he offered, remaining prone on the bed, in the hopes of giving her a hint to bugger off and leave him alone.
"How are you feeling?"
Silence.
"It's been nearly three weeks since you've holed up in here... Don't you think it's time you got out of bed?" Evelyn asked pointedly, examining her fingernails.
Sirius shrugged, sliding himself into an upright position. He observed the blonde for a moment, waiting for her to speak.
"Well?" she asked dryly, frowning.
"I just can't," Sirius shrugged. "Everything is just too exhausting to even consider."
"You could at least come and join us in the sitting room; you're starting to worry Bella," Evelyn noted, nervously tugging at the delicate gold chain around her neck.
Sirius stared blankly, shaking his head. It was far too exhausting to even consider what an appropriate response would be. Fuck it. "I'm tired," he muttered, sinking back down into bed and curling up on his side.
"You need to snap yourself out of this depressive state, Sirius."
"You think I don't know that? I'd do something about it if I could. But I can't. How can I be expected to get out of bed and shower and walk around and pretend I'm fine when it's a struggle just to breathe?"
Evelyn pressed her lips together, brows furrowed in thought. "There must be something that could help. Surely you can think of something that might make you feel a bit better. Something you enjoy."
"What are you suggesting?" Sirius asked leerily, taking a moment to carefully eye her up and down. He bared his teeth slightly, considering. While he generally preferred men, Evelyn was a definite looker. "Do you want to take care of me, make me forget all about it?" he asked cheekily, feeling far more spirited than he had in weeks.
Evelyn wrinkled her nose, taken aback by Sirius' brash suggestion.
"Your loss," Sirius muttered, pulling the covers over his head.
"You aren't honestly suggesting that I sleep with him, are you?" Evelyn asked incredulously, taking a deep sip from her glass as Bellatrix fixed her with a pleading look.
"Oh my god," Evelyn continued, shaking her head, "you honestly are suggesting that, aren't you?"
"I'm just saying that it might help him, make him feel a bit better, you know?" Bella retorted, taking a sip from her own glass.
How is my sleeping with him supposed to make him feel better about his boyfriend breaking up with him?" Evelyn countered, rising to her feet and hastily making her way towards the liquor cabinet. Carefully she refreshed her glass; gin on the rocks with a dash of tonic. "I don't think that sex is the cure for this sudden catatonic state he's in, is all."
"Of course it is! Throw him a pity shag! He's bi, he'd definitely be into you. It'd be a nice boost to his self-esteem, bedding the lovely Evelyn Greengrass."
"You want me to sleep with your cousin. I can't believe you," Evelyn replied flatly, shaking her head. "Back me up on this, Rod. This is utterly stupid."
Bella turned to Rod, seated beside her, waiting for him to respond.
He coughed, visibly uncomfortable with being put on the spot. "I mean, do you really think it's the best idea, Bella? Sirius is obviously in a bad place right now, I'm not sure sex is going to help him any. Have you spoken to any of his friends? Surely someone must have called, trying to check in with him?"
"Evelyn thought it best that we give his friends some time to cool off, given the circumstances," Bellatrix started, glancing meaningfully towards the blonde.
"Though as of now, no one has attempted to contact him."
"No one?" Rod asked, surprised.
"No," Evelyn confirmed, shaking her head. "It's sad, really."
Rod frowned, glancing from Evelyn to Bellatrix and back again. "Well," he said finally, clearing his throat.
"Well?" the two women countered, eyeing him curiously.
"Perhaps it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world, getting his mind off of things," he concluded, shrugging his shoulders.
"See!" Bella cried, victorious.
Evelyn shot the pair a withering look, reaching for her handbag. "I hate both of you," she muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Think about it," Bella called out as Evelyn shrugged on her coat, making a beeline for the front door.
Evelyn watched as Bellatrix prepared tea for the two of them, rapping her fingernails on the kitchen counter.
"You have no idea how much it means to me that you've been here to help me through all this, Evie," Bella smiled, gently setting a cup of tea in front of Evelyn and joining her at the table.
"I know, I know," Evelyn replied, waving her hand dismissively. "It's nothing, honestly."
"Have you thought any about what I suggested?" Bella asked, eyeing Evelyn intently.
"How did I even get roped into all of this?" Evelyn groaned, pouting.
"Because you'd do anything I asked if it meant helping me," Bella retorted, gently taking the blonde's hand and squeezing it.
"I haven't put much thought to that yet... But...I've been thinking," Evie started, pulling away from Bella's hold and running her fingers nervously through her hair.
"What?"
"Maybe it would be better for everyone if we moved Sirius to my place."
"Why?"
"Well, a change of scenery might be good for him. You know I love your flat, it's lovely... It really is... But it'll give you and Rod some much needed reprieve. It seems silly to have me here at all hours of the day along with him when I've got an entire townhouse all to my lonesome. It might improve his mood some, being able to roam the house, explore the garden..." she trailed off, staring down at the ground.
"What is this really about, Evie?"
Evelyn sighed, letting her pale blonde hair hang in her face. "You know he doesn't want me here, Bella. It's... not appropriate. It's one thing to have me pop in when he's at work to check on you or to stay a few days when you're having an episode but... "
"Rod knows that you-"
"Rod doesn't know shit, Bellatrix. He may say he's fine with it, but he's not."
"Hey, come here," Bella cooed, reaching forward and pulling Evelyn close to her.
"I've tried to be respectful. You know that. I know that he's... And you're... I just..." Evelyn trailed off, trying and failing to mask the tears trailing down her pale cheeks.
"I never said that I didn't still love you," Bella drawled, breath warm as she pulled Evelyn closer still, gently pressing her red-tinged chapped lips to Evelyn's soft, glossed ones.
Evelyn accepted the kiss, deepening it, her manicured hands tangling themselves in Bella's unruly hair.
At last the two parted, Evelyn reaching for her handbag, cheeks flushed, in search of her compact mirror. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a flash of dark hair at the kitchen doorway. She blinked. Nothing. You're imaging things. Stop it, she scolded herself.
Bellatrix smirked, licking her lips victoriously, as Evelyn shakily reapplied her lipstick, the tiniest smudge of her favorite shade of Chanel Rouge Allure around the corners of her mouth.
"I think I like you best when you're like this," Bella noted, lips curled into an adoring grin.
"Like what, a mess? Like you?" Evie retorted, brushing off Bella's warm inflection with a roll of her eyes.
"Not exactly," the brunette retorted, eyeing the blonde hungrily as she took a deep sip from her mug.
"Just spit it out, already," Evelyn replied, tossing her lipstick and compact back into her bag, folding her arms against her chest.
"I don't know, just when you're undone a little, I suppose," she said at last, unable to contain a smirk. "You're always so put together, so polished. It's nice to see you let loose a little," she continued, leaning forward and not at all discretely placing a hand on the blonde's thigh. "I like knowing that I did that, that it's me you're coming undone for."
To everyone's relief, after an additional two weeks of lying in bed, Sirius at last emerged from the bedroom, settling himself on the couch in front of the television set. He still refused to speak much, though he irritably agreed to eat simple meals of toast and jam Bella prepared for him, which she counted as progress. The new few weeks found Sirius following a pattern of camping out on the couch from ten in the morning until ten in the evening, when he would crawl off to bed. Evelyn was wary of the alleged progress, Sirius had made, continually arguing that, "Curling up all day on the couch is hardly much better than being holed up in bed all day, Bella." Still, Bella was willing to take her wins where she could get them. As long as he's getting out of bed every day and eating at least a little something, then I'm not a total failure. By her logic, yes, she may not be getting him much better, but at least she wasn't allowing him to get any worse.
Once certain that this was not some fluke and that Sirius did not appear likely to regress back to his near-total catatonic state, Rod had gently suggested that Bella return to her normal activities once more.
"It'd be good for you to start going to your appointments regularly, dear," he'd suggested, kissing her pale neck softly as she struggled to straighten his tie.
"I know but.. I don't want him to be-"
"Evelyn is here, isn't she? She's more than capable of looking after him while you go out and attend your appointments," Rod interrupted, frowning.
"But what if he needs me, Rod. I know Evie is fine with him, but what if he needs me and I'm not here?"
He glanced toward Evelyn, seated at the kitchen table, primly sipping from a takeout cup of coffee. "Honestly, Bella, you're being ridiculous. He's been up and out of bed every day for a month, now. You can't keep canceling your therapy sessions. I'm sure that Sirius will be fine with Evelyn. She's certainly been here enough this whole time."
He frowned, shooting Evelyn a pointed look. "In fact, I'm starting to wonder if she's moved in here herself," he noted, his tone light yet projecting a thinly veiled note of nastiness.
"Fine, fine. I'll go to therapy today, Rod. Maybe even go to the gym. I promise," Bella coaxed, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him closer for a kiss.
Bellatrix watched, lips twitching slightly in pride as she observed her younger cousin curl up into himself, blankets wrapped tightly around him. Satisfied that he was at least up and about, she went about her day, offering Evelyn a brief peck on the lips before scurrying out of the flat, off to the gym and then therapy.
Evelyn settled beside Sirius on the couch, curious to see if he was feeling more social. Not to her surprise, she found him staring ahead at the television, barely aware of her presence. "Sirius," she started, clearing her throat.
Sirius appeared unaware of her, staring straight ahead, blankets pulled tightly up to his chin, dead to the world around him.
She sighed, shaking her head. "Sirius," she tried again, reaching over and tapping him lightly on the shoulder.
Sirius tensed under her touch, suddenly alert. "What?" he asked, a hint of aggravation in his tone.
"It's good to see you up and about," she replied, taking his obvious irritation light-heartedly.
"I got tired of Bellatrix looking at me with that sad look on her face," he retorted evenly, shrugging. "Besides, at least there's a telly here. I can just as easily mope here as I can in bed," he added.
"Fair point," Evelyn noted, examining her nails.
The pair sat in silence for the better part of two hours, Evelyn feigning interest in the program Sirius had selected, while Sirius stared with glazed eyes at the screen.
"Do you have any blow?" Sirius asked, turning his head to face her.
Evelyn met his gaze, a single eyebrow raised in surprise. "And you're asking me this because..."
"Because I want to do some fucking blow. You asked me before what would make me feel better and that would make me feel better," Sirius snapped, eyes darkening.
"And you just assumed that I am the sort who goes around with a supply of coke on hand?" she asked wryly.
"You are friends with Bella," Sirius scoffed, rolling his eyes.
Evelyn bit her lip, silently debating the choice at hand. Fuck it, she thought, rising to her feet to fetch her handbag from the kitchen.
Expertly, she chopped up a few thick, even lines on the ever-present mirror on Bellatrix's coffee table. "Shall I go first or will you do the honors?" she asked, snuff tube in hand.
Sirius smirked, grabbing the tube from her hand and promptly sniffing the first two lines, back to back. With eyes closed, he leaned back into the couch, a blissful smile etched across his face.
"Feeling better?"
"You have no fucking idea."
"I just... I miss him so fucking much, you know?" Sirius slurred, lying sprawled out on the couch, a half-finished glass of whiskey in his hand.
"It's been what, two, three months now?" Evelyn asked, taking a tiny sip from her own drink.
Sirius frowned. "Three months next week," he muttered, eyes lowered. "Not that I'm counting."
"He hasn't tried to talk to you?" she ventured, twirling the ice in her glass.
"Nope," Sirius confirmed, shaking his head. "No one has."
Evelyn frowned, scooting closer to place a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Sirius."
"I did it to myself, what the fuck did I expect? I'm getting what I deserve."
"They'll come around," she offered, half-heartedly.
"I doubt it," Sirius snapped, tossing his head back and draining the contents of his glass.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, woozily rising to his feet and meandering towards the liquor cabinet. "It's been two months. If they were going to try and reach out to me, they'd have done so by now. It's over," he noted, pouring himself another drink.
"It's not easy, being rejected by the ones you love," Evie said softly, more so to herself than to Sirius.
"I'm sorry, by the way," Sirius noted, joining her on the couch and spilling half his drink on himself in the process. "Ugh, fuck," he swore, tearing his soiled shirt off and tossing it behind the couch.
"For what?" she asked, puzzled.
"For... Y'know. Asking you to fuck me that day. In my room," Sirius replied, staring down into his glass.
"You're hardly the first man to proposition me, Sirius," she replied dryly, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, it's fine."
Sirius glanced up at her, a guilty expression on his face. "I kind of saw you and Bella... Kissing. I didn't know you and her had some sort of... Thing. If I'd know I would have never asked you to..." he trailed off, picking at loose threads on his blanket.
Evelyn gripped her glass tighter, considering her words. She drained the contents of her glass, ignoring the fact that her hands were shaking. "There's nothing between Bella and I, Sirius," she said at last, her words coming out calmer than she felt at the moment.
"She and I dated, back at school. That was ages ago. That kiss was... It was nothing," she continued, rising to her feet and pouring herself another drink. Gin. Neat. She glanced at the bottle of tonic water and ignored it, returning to her seat beside Sirius.
She took a deep sip, cautiously observing Sirius, who was staring at her, apparently processing what she had said. "Oh," he said finally, shrugging. "Makes sense, I s'pose. Bella has always been impulsive... What did she just grab you and kiss you for the hell of it?"
"Something like that," Evelyn retorted, taking a deep sip of her drink, blinking back tears of pain as the liquor burned her throat.
Evelyn stared at Sirius for a moment, drink temporarily forgotten. She allowed her eyes to linger on his bare torso; there was no denying it, Sirius Black was a handsome, fit boy. Man, she corrected himself. She bit her lip, considering. Bella did ask you to fuck him, she thought, weighing her options. She reached for her drink, taking a deep sip. Fuck it. It's not like you've anything better to do at this point.
"You know," she started, inching slightly closer to Sirius, expertly placing a hand on his upper thigh. "There might be something I could do to make you feel better."
"Oh?" Sirius squeaked, taken aback by Evelyn's forward approach.
"Mhmm," she smirked, moving her hand a tad to the right, lightly stroking his half-hard cock through the thin fabric of his boxers.
"Why, though?" he asked, breath hitched as she slunk closer to him, manicured fingernails digging into his shoulders as she stared him down, a slightly menacing look in her eyes.
"Why not?" she countered, a single eyebrow raised. "Beats the hell out of just sitting around babysitting you, don't you think?"
Sirius nodded, gasping as Evelyn swooped forward, sharp teeth grazing his neck.
"I can take care of you, Siri," she breathed, tongue lightly tracing his Adam's apple. "I can make you forget all about him."
"Oh... Oh yeah?" Sirius gasped, involuntarily thrusting his hips forward as she climbed into his lap.
She smiled coldly at him, gently brushing hair from his eyes before plunging toward him again, lips pressed harshly to his, the faintest hint of teeth gnawing at his lower lip. "I can make you feel all better, Siri. Let me take care of you. I'll help you fuck the pain away."
