It's definitely him. She recognizes his eyes more than anything else. They seem dull though. She continues to stare back at her. How long has it been? Years. It must be getting on for the best part of a decade now. She can't quite remember the last time that they'd been in one another's company. He'd dropped off of the radar some time ago. Dropped off in the most literal sense. As far as she's aware, not even Syrus had known where his older brother had disappeared off to. They'd looked for a little while. Worried too. Zane had a knack for getting himself into some terrible situations, and keeping it all to himself, until the damage was done. If there hadn't been more panic, it was because, from what she knew, the eldest Truesdale had left voluntarily, deciding to make his own way in the world.

Zane blinks a few times, before shaking his head. He snaps himself out of his stupor faster than Alexis is capable of.

"Where's Atticus?"
"He had an accident." She answers, before quickly adding. "He's going to be fine." She pauses for a moment, unable to conceal her worry. "Are you?- You don't look too good."

The man lets out a sigh. She notices only now that he's leaning against the door frame quite heavily. There's some sweat on his brow. For a moment, she fears that he might be about to collapse. Zane remains frozen like that for a short while, seemingly just catching his breath. His dark gaze drifts round slowly, it comes to rest on her features. Alexis hesitates, about to ask if he needs help. It seems obvious that he does. Slowly, he pushes himself up.

"Come on in."

She doesn't question or argue. Rather surprised that the usually private man would allow her into his home when he's so obviously distressed. It must be bad. Zane steps to one side, allowing her in, before closing the door behind them.

It's a tiny apartment. A studio in reality. There's a door in the corner which she assumes leads to a bathroom. The room somehow manages to be both spartan, and cluttered. There's nothing here that she thinks isn't strictly necessary: a couch, small table, kitchen area with all of a toaster and a microwave. There are no comforts. Nothing to make this place his own. For all that, there are papers and documents covering most of the surfaces. She can scarcely make out the kitchen counter for used cutlery, plates and packets. She'd never imagined Zane to be the messy sort. Perhaps the single detail which draws her attention the most is a pile of obviously empty boxes of medicine, piled and over spilling from a waste bin.

Nearby, Zane takes a few shaky steps towards the nearby couch which seems to also be doubling as a bed. He moves slowly, fumbling slightly, his shoulders hunched. It's clear that being on his feet is an effort he could do without. He practically collapses into it. She watches him lie there, clearly exhausted after such a meager task.

She can only stare at him for a few moments, still trying to make sense of things. He pays her no attention, lying there as he tries to recuperate.

"You're sick again, aren't you?"

She only gets a single nod in response.

He looks terrible. She wouldn't like to guess how much weight he's lost since the last time that she'd seen him. Granted, he'd always been on the leaner side of things, but most of the muscle had vanished now. Despite the scruffy nature of his facial hair, which she doubts he's bothered to trim in some days, she can make out just how gaunt he's become. Zane is terribly pale, beats of sweat form atop his brow. Periodically, he lets out an odd sound, which resembles something of a cough, but even coughing seems to be beyond his strength, becoming trapped within the confines of his chest.

Alexis can't bring herself to take her eyes off of her old friend. There's some part of her that refuses to believe that she's here witnessing this. It frantically seeks to deny the reality that she's found herself plunged into so suddenly.

"I thought that operation fixed it."
"It bought me more time..." Zane grumbles, refusing to open his eyes. "There's no cure for heart failure."

Those few words almost seem like a knife being driven into her own heart. It's a confirmation of what some part of her already knows.

It leaves her standing there, lost. Even now, she finds herself struggling to comprehend just what she's seeing. There's some part of her which refuses to accept that this can possibly be her old friend. He'd been so tall and proud once. An inspiration for all of those on the island they'd called home for three years. Now, she's not entirely sure if he has it in him right now to do so little as to raise his head. She finds herself thinking back to those weeks, and months spent by the lighthouse. Waiting for a brother, whom the rest of the world had all, but given up on. This can't be the man, that brave boy had become. She can't quite believe it. She doesn't want to.

Then, something inside of her snaps. It brings her back into reality.

"What do you need?"
"Painkillers."

He doesn't need to say it twice. Alexis goes to the bag, she pulls out the box that he's requested, and hands it to him. Sluggishly, Zane begins to try and retrieve a few of the pills. She watches him, before it abruptly occurs to her that he's going to need something to take them with. There must be some water somewhere. It's difficult to find anything for the mess. Presumably the apartment's owner must know where everything can be found. She locates a few spirits, some coffee… The kettle looks as if it's as likely to explode as it is to work. The woman changes tactics, and decides to look for a glass instead. Again, no easy task. There are some to be found, but they're hardly clean.

She's trembling as she starts to go through the cupboards. Eventually, she finds a mug that doesn't look too bad. It will do at the very least. Of course, the tap is leaking as well. The whole place feels as if it's coming apart. The woman doesn't particularly care. She rushes to fill the mug, doing so as quickly and carefully as possible. She brings the water to her stricken friend. Her approaching seems to rouse him more than the water that she offers. With a trembling hand, he accepts the mug from her, taking a few sips so as to allow himself to swallow the pills a little more easily.

"You can leave the rest here." He nods towards the bag of medicine. "I'll deal with it."
"You need to go to a hospital."
"No, I don't."

There's some strength behind his voice suddenly, for a split second, there's some fire behind his gaze. It's enough to dismiss any notions she might have of pulling out her phone, and ignoring his wishes. He must sense that he's won as he goes back to breathing deeply.

She wants to do something, anything for him. Perhaps, had they both been younger, she would have been a little bit bolder. Right now though, she doesn't have the faintest idea. All Alexis can do is stand there, and watch. It feels as if Zane could even be taking his last few breaths. His dark eyes come to rest upon her. He frowns slightly, it's almost as if he's seeing her for the first time since she walked in.

"What happened to that brother of yours?"
"Oh…" Alexis shakes her head, trying to bring herself out of her own thoughts. "H-He walked out without looking. Got run over."
"Sounds like him..." Zane mutters, closing his eyes. "You said he was going to be fine?"
"Yeah. He broke his collar bone, and leg though. So he'll be off his feet for a while."

Zane grumbles. It's hard for even some of his oldest, and once closest friends to tell if he's just being his usual quiet and reserved self, or if he's actually so exhausted than he can't even speak. Alexis spots his eyes roll though, and realizes that this is merely a more conventional reaction to her brother's antics. Another day, she might have smiled. After all, there's no real harm done. Atticus is going to live. It's his oldest friend that she finds herself worrying about:

"Tell him from me that he's a moron."

His words snap her out of her thoughts to a degree. She finds her gaze to soften on the man. He barely seems to acknowledge her as he lies there. His gaze finds her once more, causing him to stare at her out of the corner of his peripheral vision. She feels her heart break a little bit. Still wishing that she might wake up and find that all of this is a nightmare of some kind. Zane takes a deep breath, and turns away.

"I think you can go now..." He manages.
"Are you sure you don't need-"
"No." He cuts her short once more. "Thank you, Alexis..."

She doesn't want to leave him, not like this. It feels like a betrayal of sorts. For a few moments, she actually considers going against his wishes and calling the hospital. He would hate her, but at least she can go to bed tonight without wondering if her old friend is even still alive. There's something about the way that he looks at her though that compels her not to. Despite everything, her old friend still carries some authority. Despite his frailty, he's still all there.

So, reluctantly she does as he wishes. She takes a few steps away, crossing the very short distance which separates her from the door. Alexis doesn't take her eyes off of the man as she leaves. Every step that she takes is painful. Even as she makes her way to the door, she finds herself hesitating.

"Promise you'll call if you need anything." She requests as she begins to leave.

She gets a little nod. It's the last hope that she clings to as she shuts the door. It's hard not to break into a run. Shaking, Alexis wishes to put as much distance between herself, and the nightmare she wishes she had never discovered.