Reyna stared at the television in front of her. She nearly missed her mouth as she devoured another forkful of Chinese takeout. The carton was nestled on her legs. She also had a package of egg rolls, one of crab rangoon, and potstickers on her legs as well. Reyna stress ate sometimes.
She had a lot to stress out about at the moment. Especially since she was a doctor's assistant for seven hours. First, it was to help her sister out and take care of her leg. While they were cleaning up from that, a very angry Ogre was rushed in with a stab wound, and Reyna got to help hold him down for Will to allow the doctor to treat the wound without getting strangled.
Not to mention the two gang members that came in after that. They didn't threaten Will. Both of them stayed quiet as they were treated, and Reyna stood to the side to protect Will. When those two were gone, Reyna helped clean everything up. Clarisse then gave her and Hylla a ride back to her apartment and helped her carry her sister up the stairs.
At the end of the day, Hylla had plenty of bruises, a few knife cuts that were shallow and clearly just the beginning of something more sinister, a bad concussion, and a mangled leg. When Reyna got back to her place and made sure Hylla was lying peacefully on the couch, she went on a quick errand for a camera, a security alarm, a very extensive medkit, and a few switchblades.
When she made it back to her place, she set up the camera and security system. By that point, she was physically and mentally exhausted, but she had one more thing to do. She searched under her bed for the gun that had been left behind by Hylla weeks ago. After placing it under her pillow, she fell into a fitful sleep that had her waking at every small noise.
When Reyna woke, she ordered food and had been gouging herself ever since, waiting for Hylla to wake. What the hell was Reyna even going to tell her sister? If Hylla didn't remember anything about what happened, she would blame Reyna.
Maybe, Reyna would have to go to work before Hylla woke up. Maybe leave her a letter. It wasn't like Hylla could walk out of the apartment. Or at all. Reyna sighed and focused back on her food and the cartoon that she was watching.
Leo was actually the one who recommended it to her, and it wasn't terrible. Entertaining enough at least that almost got her mind off of her problems. Another sigh left Reyna, and she finished her potstickers. Then, she heard a small groan to her side.
Reyna turned her head to look at the couch. Hylla's eyes were wide open, and she was trying to sit up. Reyna spoke, "Don't move too much. You're hurt."
"Reyna," Hylla slowly exhaled. She tried to turn her head but groaned from the effort. Hylla laid her head back. "What happened?"
"What do you remember?" Reyna questioned as she studied her sister.
"Being punished," Hylla muttered.
"One of your friends was following me. He tried to attack me, and we stopped him in his tracks. He squealed and told us where you were. We rescued you," Reyna explained.
"We?" Hylla repeated. Her voice was weak and scratchy.
"A friend and I," Reyna answered. She looked down at her lap. "Your friends in Exterminata are in the custody of the hunters. Your name was left out of it. Hopefully, your boss thinks you're dead or too compromised to bother with."
"And I know this is the last place you want to be, but your leg is fucked up. You're not going anywhere for a month or two," Reyna said softly. "So, sorry."
Reyna stared down at the food in her lap and chewed on the inside of her lip. Her appetite was almost gone. Almost. She focused on eating the egg rolls. It was quiet as the television played.
"What are you going to do to me?" Hylla finally asked.
"Eat your food if you don't," Reyna answered. She motioned to the food that was by her sister. Hylla slowly finished sitting up. Then, she reached out to grab the carton and handled it like it was an explosive. "It's not poisoned."
"You know this isn't what I meant," Hylla said after a few moments. She grabbed a fork and slowly opened the carton. Reyna watched her sister. Despite how much Hylla had slept, she looked absolutely exhausted, not to mention the pain in her eyes.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Hylla. No matter what you do," Reyna swore. Hylla remained silent and looked ahead. A sigh escaped Reyna. "How long did it take for Exterminata to turn on you?"
"Fuck if I remember," Hylla muttered. She took small bites, but Reyna knew just how starved her sister was. She stood and placed the rest of the crab rangoon next to Hylla. After throwing her trash away, she got water for her sister. Reyna placed it down and sat in the nearby chair. "Two weeks ago. When they found out I lied. I don't know how they knew."
"The police captain," Reyna suggested. She chewed her lip. "That's what your buddy said."
"I had a heads up. I tried to run, but they hunted me down."
"Just like an animal," Reyna added. Hylla glared at her, and Reyna met her sister's eyes. She had no doubt that if Hylla could walk, she would have already left. Running away from their problems was what they did best after all. Hylla had just been restrained on a leash by Exterminata. Until now.
Hylla looked down at the ground and then went back to eating her food quietly. Reyna brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Her chin rested on her knees as she watched the television. There was silence in the room for a few minutes.
"Do you have a place to go back to?" Reyna questioned. "Or was it rented out by Exterminata?"
"You know the answer to that."
"I don't," Reyna retorted, looking back at Hylla. "I haven't exactly kept up on Exterminata habits. And, they love our family, don't they?"
"Something like that," Hylla grumbled while glancing down. "They own our old estate. It was handed over to them by Father."
"Of course."
"Exterminata paid for everything," Hylla continued. She shook her head. "They own my house, they control my bank account, and every aspect of my life. My entire life is ruined."
"I've been there before. I've been down in the dirt like that for years," Reyna admitted as she looked at Hylla. "I had some help getting back on my feet, so you can stay with me until you can do the same. Literally."
"Why?" Hylla asked. "I attacked you and I was ready to take you back to Exterminiata."
Reyna thought about it and then shrugged, "You're my sister. We've had our disagreements, to put it lightly. I'm not turning my back on my pack again. I want to right the wrongs of my past. The ones that I can right at least."
Reyna slowly stood and glanced at her phone, "I'm going to take a nap before work. If you hear an angry knock, it's just an ogress mad at me for being late again. If you want, I can get you crutches, and you can even leave. If you want to stay until you're back on your feet and leave then, I get it. Just... know that I love you, Hylla. I really do."
Hylla remained silent. Reyna looked down, but she expected it. She stood and placed the TV remote near Hylla. Reyna made her way toward her room and set an alarm. After falling into bed, she quickly fell asleep.
Reyna slowly opened her eyes as her phone alarm went off. She turned it off and then looked at the time. Thankfully, Clarisse would not be knocking down her door today. Reyna got out of bed and quickly changed. She threw on her jacket and walked into the living room.
Her gaze moved to the couch, and a frown came to her face. Hylla wasn't there. Reyna looked down; she knew that she should have expected it. Hylla would run as soon as she had the chance, but did she really have to do it on a broken leg?
The sound of water turning on caused Reyna's ear to twitch. She turned her head and looked at the bathroom. Reyna waited for the water to turn off, and when the door opened, Reyna hurried toward it to help her sister.
"You shouldn't be walking," Reyna reprimanded.
"Do you know how hard it is to wake your ass up?" Hylla countered. Reyna ignored her and helped her walk back towards the couch, bearing all of her weight. A groan left Hylla as she slowly laid down. Reyna studied her sister but looked away.
"Do you still hate me?" Reyna asked after a moment. Hylla stared at the ceiling.
"Do you want the truth?" Hylla wondered. Reyna nodded. "I do. I've hated you for years. What is going to change that?"
"Hylla," Reyna began. She tried to continue, but her voice died in her throat. Reyna looked down at the ground. Then, she grabbed a second jacket. "Do you want me to make food before I leave?"
"If I hate you, why would you help me? And not that sister bullshit either," Hylla demanded.
"'It's not bullshit, Hylla. It's not," Reyna insisted. "I don't know how else to spell it out to you. I was defending myself. That's all I was doing, and I regret it, okay? I regret choosing his life over mine. Then, I remember it was Father that was trying to kill me."
"I'm sorry that I killed him, but I had no choice! I'm sorry that I ran, but I didn't have a choice! What the fuck was I supposed to do?!" Reyna snapped. Her breath hitched, and she placed a hand to her heart. "I'm sorry, Hylla. I hate that I had to leave you behind, but I was a werewolf on an island with Exterminata all over."
"I am trying to make up for everything that I have done. I regret a lot of things, Hylla. I'm doing what I can with what I have. I was shown a great kindness that allowed me to finally live a life where I don't have to live watching my back every second. I'm just trying to pay that back somehow," Reyna continued.
Reyna let out another deep breath and tried to control her boiling anger, "Look, I need to head to work. I have leftovers. Just eat whatever."
Reyna turned and left the house without another word. She locked the door behind her and started to make her way outside. Piper had offered to pick her up for the day. Reyna really needed to get a bike or something.
As Reyna made it outside, she glanced back. Letting her sister back into her life like this was taking a huge risk. Reyna just hoped that it wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass.