"Hey, Hap." Juice greeted the man as he opened the door and presented a dish of Gemma's homemade Ravioli Casserole to him. "How's Tal doing?"
"Not good. She won't come out of her room. Just been listening to music all day."
"It wasn't Adam's Song, was it?"
"Yeah." Happy knew about the deep connection Talia had with that Blink-182 song, so for her to be listening to it on a loop could only mean she was deep in the dumps. "I don't know what that one is, but it doesn't sound like it's gonna make her feel better."
"Have you talked to her?"
"She won't open the door." He waved Juice inside as he went to put the warm dish on the kitchen counter. "You're her favorite, maybe she'll let you in."
Juice walked back to the bedrooms and to the one on the left, knocking. He could barely hear the muffled music pouring out from her door. "Tal? It's me. Can I come in?"
No answer.
He opened the door and closed it behind him. He found Talia laying on her beanbag chair and there were photos of Hayleigh scattered on the floor and she was holding another one as she blankly stared up at the ceiling.
We never even thought in the long run
Whenever it was painful
Whenever I was away
I'd miss you
And I miss you
Don't drop me in
It's not my turn
If you cut deep, then I might learn
You scarred and left me
Like a sunburn
"Aw, Tal. This song isn't gonna make you feel better. It's just gonna get you down." Talia didn't respond, but he watched as she let the photo of Hayleigh fall to the ground with the others and she rubbed at her eyes.
Juice watched as Talia's brows pulled together and tears filled her eyes. "I miss her, Juice."
"I know. At least she's happy, Tal. She's back with her family and she's safe."
"At the cost of me being miserable. I feel like I'm dying, Juice. What am I supposed to do?"
"I don't know, Tal." He quietly sighed. "I'm here for you, okay?"
~SOA~SOA~SOA~
The next day, Talia didn't wake up early for her morning jog with Rouge and it took her so long to get out of bed that she was almost late for school. Dylan, Ethan and Josh noticed how quiet she was and since Ethan had the most shared classes with her, he tried getting her to perk up, but nothing worked. Now, they were all sitting at a table for lunch and the boys were tearing into their packed meals while Talia was absently staring at the table.
"Tal, you alright?" Josh asked. "You've been pretty quiet all day."
"It's lunchtime and you haven't threatened anyone." Ethan noted. "You sick or something?"
Dylan tapped his brother on the shoulder and Ethan leaned over to let Dibs whisper something in his ear. "For Christ's sake, Dylan."
"It could be. We don't know."
"I am not asking her about that."
"Josh, you ask her. You've got two Moms."
The blond pulled a face. "And I don't talk to them about that, you creep."
"Hayleigh and I aren't together anymore." Talia sighed. "She moved to Montana to be with her family and I'm never gonna see her again."
"Shit, Tal. I'm sorry." Ethan said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"We'll reschedule practice and walk home today. You just...just hang in there, okay?" Josh added with a sad look.
Dylan looked like he was trying to come up with something sympathetic to say too, but he couldn't find the words. Instead, he got up and sat next to Talia to bring her in for a long hug.
"You smell like onion rings, Dibs."
"Oh, sorry." Dylan apologized as he detached and the bell to signal lunchtime was over rang.
"C'mon, Tal. We've got World History." Josh reminded her.
Talia tried to get through the rest of the day and after AP Algebra, World History was her favorite class, but she couldn't concentrate on anything. When she finally had enough of being around everyone, she got up and ditched school for the rest of the day, walking home in silence.
"Tal?" Happy called from the kitchen when he heard the front door open and Talia dragged herself inside. "What're you doing home? Thought you had a few hours left."
"…I couldn't stay there." She mumbled before rubbing her eyes. "Dad, can I just go lay down? I just feel really drained and…I just wanna go to sleep for a minute."
"Talia…you alright?" He cautiously asked.
"No, Dad. I'm not alright, I'm not okay, I'm not fine. I feel like a collective pile of an entire planet's worth of shit." Talia all but growled at him, but he saw the tears in her eyes. "You taught me how to deal with physical pain, but what the fuck am I supposed to do with the emotional agony I'm going through? How do I make this miserable feeling go away? How do I stop crying every day over the tiniest things that remind me of her? How the fuck do you cure heartbreak?"
Happy helplessly shrugged. "I don't know, Tal."
"Then stop asking me if I'm okay until you do! For two fucking seconds, I just want everyone to stop asking me if I'm alright because I'm not!" And with that, she stomped off to her room and slammed the door shut behind her.
~SOA~SOA~SOA~
Happy left Talia alone for the rest of the day and she didn't come out of her room, not even to go to the bathroom. He left her a note on the fridge telling her he'd be at the clubhouse before he left and drove to Teller-Morrow Automotive. He parked his bike and went inside the clubhouse, finding Gemma coming into the bar.
"Gem, can you talk to Talia?" He asked.
"About what?"
"Hayleigh."
"I already did and I don't think I made anything better. That girl is one emotionally unstable hurricane."
"She needs help and I don't know what to do." Happy sighed. "She cut class and yelled at me today. I know she's got all these emotions pent up inside her and she's sick of everyone asking if she's alright, but I don't know how to make her feel better."
"I don't think there's anything you can do, Hap. She's gotta fight this one by herself, just until she can tell you what she needs." Happy sighed again and Gemma took the moment to think about something before offering, "If you're that worried about her, you could always give her some Valium. Slip one in her dinner and that'll calm her down for sure. I've got some low-doses at home."
"I'm not gonna stuff her full of pills, Gem. She'll know anyway, probably come at me with a goddamn knife."
"I'm trying to help you, so hear me out on this one. Have you tried giving her a hug?" Gemma pondered. "I know how much physical affection means to her and you're the most important thing in her life, so maybe you could try being cuddly for a few days, for her sake."
Happy didn't immediately answer. Instead, he took a look around the bar to make sure nobody crept in and he was relieved to see that he and Gemma were still alone. He turned around with a sigh.
"Already tried that." He admitted. "Day after Hayleigh left, she let me hug her…then, she just didn't want me or anybody else around her anymore."
"Well, the only thing left to do is wait for the storm to pass and pray it's over soon." Gemma softly sighed and put her hand on Happy's shoulder. "Duck and cover, baby. Just duck and cover."