Tethered
— O —
2008, November. 24th, Mon.
The first thing she noticed is the hair plastered to her forehead. Followed closely by the coolness of sweat on bare skin and the complete lack of tension coiling her muscles.
Amelia sighed happily, a content smile played upon slightly chapped lips. A mental tug that was becoming more and more familiar day by day opened the gates of Tay's body. Smiling softly when she noticed slight activity and warmth across her form. In the shower, maybe?
She sent her customary 'hug', a burst of warmth not too dissimilar to a hot towel on a sore muscle. Taylor's body curling around herself and tapping a quick 'hi' on her wrist. She smiled, and sent another hug at the same time that she started getting up. Donning a fluffy gray bathrobe, Tay's present for one of her birthdays, it was surprisingly soft and comfy, and marching towards the bathroom.
She noticed that it was empty and assumed that Victoria probably already showered, and if the sounds she could get from downstairs were a clue to go by. Was already having breakfast. Usually, her sister was the late riser. With the dubious honor of waking up Victoria, not an easy thing to do , fell to her.
Like a great many other things. Having a depressed parent wasn't exactly something that helped with the upkeep of the house.
And now her mood was ruined, all thanks to herself. Not uncommon, but not pleasant.
Another dive into her Link allowed Amy to ground herself, removing the bathrobe and cranking the hot water almost all the way up. She almost let out a moan at the feel of sweat sliding off with the water, grime and other things washing off her. Her blush turned nuclear when her hand grazed her inner thighs, the stickiness there already fading.
She didn't know why Taylor had done that when she knew Amy was 'watching', but she couldn't bring herself to feel shame over it. It had been a new experience, feeling the waves of pleasure breaking against her across her Link. The sheer, pure love radiating off Taylor. It was exhilarating, private, theirs in a way that no other thing could match. She also felt dirty at the thought of being able to watch her if she did it again.
She loved it.
The sudden thought of someone discovering what they had. What brought them together so closely and intimately , and attempting to remove it. Sent a lance of something black and oily shooting from the top of her brain and crawling down her spine, her lip pulled back in a snarl.
No one touched what was hers, hers and only hers hers hers hers hers hers hers hers hers hers h E r S—
A knock on the bathroom door shattered her downward spiral. And the apparently rapidly cooling water along Victoria's voice telling her to get finished and go down for breakfast made her sigh softly, finishing the bath as fast as she could.
Her apparently spontaneous breakdown faded from her mind like mist on a windy day, the memory swept away.
– O –
Breakfast was a tense affair, it always was, at least for her. Carol thought that she was being sneaky but the only thing she did was make it easier for Amy to read her body language. Every clue and twitch resulted thanks to the stony coldness she always tried to maintain.
Suspicious, eager.
Eager for what, exactly? She couldn't exactly ask her directly because that would mean revealing the small Thinker component of her Power. And That was a thing she enjoyed far too much to leave out in the open.
When she finished her cereal – at the same time Victoria finished hers, oddly enough – was the moment Carol reached for the leather bag. Pulling up a white piece of laminated paper with what looked like a table pictured there. A table with various times and names written out, and passed the paper to her. Dawning horror coiled in her chest, and she did her best to repress it and shove it back as much as she could.
She didn't.
"This is your new schedule, Amy. Be sure to follow it and to not stray to the sidelines. I'll make sure to call the hospital to ensure this is being followed." Then, without further ado or even a simple 'goodbye' – except for a kiss on Victoria's cheek – she took her bag and left. The front door clicked shut softly.
She fucking did.
When a hand landed on her shoulder, she twitched violently. Only stopping herself from grabbing the offending piece of paper and setting it on fire when Victoria's voice reached her ears.
"Amy? Amy, are you okay? You seem…" She hesitated, her hand leaving Amelia's shoulder. "A little out of it."
Amelia plastered on a fake smile, lips curling upwards a little too forcefully to be natural. "Yeah, just…"
Amy breathed forcefully, and then deflected. "Let's just go to class, okay?"
They got out of the house fairly quickly, and Amy cursed the damn buses for their apparent spontaneous, intermittent tardiness. It left her with a fidgeting Victoria looking at her nervously, which did nothing for her nerves or temper.
Finally, she sighed. "Alright, ask away."
Victoria brightened, seeing that her sister wasn't about to brush her off due to a bad mood. "Well, you were quite down back at home when mom gave you whatever that was, and, well. " She coughs in one hand, apparently trying to gather her thoughts.
"What's bothering you?" She finally asks after receiving a raised eyebrow and an amused smile from her sister.
Amy's lips dropped slightly, but she conceded. "It's, well, it's Taylor. I just," her fists curled together, and a frown marred her expression. "I just don't want to leave her alone after…" she cringed at the memory, a full body twitch wracking her form.
Blood on her hands, a red smile, a crimson pool at her feet, a relieved whisper.
"You're... safe..."
"...that."
Victoria smiled reassuringly, slipping a hand between sister's shoulders and bringing her into a half hug. Amy grunted, but reciprocated after a few seconds. Eyes lost in the distance, in the direction of Taylor's house. "I'm sure she'll be fine Amy besides, you can always visit her."
Amy made a sound that was halfway between a grunt and a snort of derisive laughter. didn't quite know which way to go. Then, she pulled out the sheet that Carol had given her.
When Victoria took it in her hands, she gaped openly, gaze flitting between the schedule and her sister. "But, Amy, you can't do this," she said while tapping the thing, frowning profusely. "Those are way too many hours wasted visiting hospitals, and you won't have almost any time for yourself…"
Victoria tapped her chin, mumbling to herself and biting a finger. The bus came to their stop while she thought. Amy watched her curiously all the while trying to decipher what exactly her sister was scheming.
"Alright," she said while snapping her fingers. "So, what Mom said is probably a bluff." She paused, then grimaced. "Probably. Anyways, you can always call aunt Sarah or Crystal if you need someone to give you a lift from the Hospital to go home or wherever you go when you go out. And I doubt any of them are going to tell Mom that you aren't spending three hours each day after school healing people instead of, you know, living."
Yes, that Carol was trying to pull the wool over her eyes was something along the lines of what her body language fed her, but she still didn't want to trust it fully. It was reassuring, having a second opinion.
Amy chuckled softly. "Thank you, Victoria," she gave her sister a smile – a rare thing to receive from her these days, if your name isn't Taylor. "And, well," a shrug, "I just usually hang out with Tay, almost always at her home. She is a very, mm, indoorsy person."
She checked the stops, three left before Arcadia, and absentmindedly scratched her neck, a thin film of something giving way before her nail.
Amelia froze.
A thin film of skin-like material that covered her hickeys.
She turned towards her sister, a thousand watt smile caressing Victoria's lips. Amy rapidly restored the film, covering the marks once again.
"Indoors, eh?"
"Shut up."
— O —
The day went on as usual, boring classes, boring teachers, boring classmates.
At least the food was good. Cheap, too.
Today she had decided on eating at the tables outside, in the greenery. Most of the time she selected a far-off corner, away from most people. Even when she did eat inside, she usually ended up here anyway. When the noise and hustle of people in general got into a level that was too much for her.
Of course, that most people didn't walk to this little corner hidden from God's gaze meant jack squat for her sister.
Victoria oofed as she sat suddenly across her. Making Amy jump and squawk in sudden surprise, half her mind across the city and the other other half chewing mechanically.
Amelia glared half-heartedly at her sister. What little heat there was wilted under Victoria's smile.
"So," she started. "What 's she like?"
Amelia stared, mind stuttering slightly under her sister's question.
"What?" Yes, one could tell that this wasn't her sharpest moment.
Victoria rolled her eyes, fingers tapping listlessly at the wooden table. "You know, Taylor? The girl?" She wiggled her eyebrows when she felt her sister's gaze narrow, smile widening.
Amelia sighed, taking a measured sip of her water bottle. "She is… observant. Sharp. And usually talks a mile a minute if you let her, the motormouth." Or she used to, at least.
That train of thought made Amy's smile wilt slightly, but she pushed on nonetheless.
Victoria rolled her wrist, motioning her to continue. "She loves the smell of old libraries, and secretly thinks that lasagna isn't all that there is to be even if she eats it because it makes Danny happy." She smiled a little at the look of silent desperation Taylor had shot her when her father had suggested the dish in question for the third time in that week. As a treat they went out to that Greek place she liked so much, the look of happiness she had when biting into that thing was a moment she would treasure for a very long time.
And now Victoria was smiling at her from ear to ear. Again.
"You're beaming!"
She was? She touched her face, finding a smile firmly lodged in place and cheeks hotter than they should be.
Et tu, body?
Victoria's smile settled on something more normal and not capable of lighting up a house for a considerable length of time. "You really like her, don't you?" Asked her sister softly.
Amelia nodded, then sighed. "Yes, it's… she's all I want and more. She's sweet, she's caring, listens to my petty bullshit without judgment and always has good advice…" She was also terrifyingly arousing when she was mad. And that brought back the heat to her face, marvelous.
Her sister was opening her mouth, probably preparing a witty remark when the lunch bell rang, signaling the end of their little reprieve.
As they were getting up, Amy fell into setp with her sister. "You could always try to know her yourself, you know? She won't bite your head off."
Victoria smiled smugly at her, and she knew she had put her foot in her mouth. She narrowed her eyes intently at her, and even if her sister didn't say a word she still felt as if she had lost an argument.
"I'm going to visit her after an hour or so at Brockton General, if you want to come with me."
Victoria raised an eyebrow, looking at her by turning her head slightly. "Not going to comply with your brand new schedule?"
Amelia snorted derisively.
"Fuck no."