Back at the Pool Part One
Ana and Kate POV
We return to the cabana, close up the curtains and tell he waiter to keep others away. "Rhi, I'm taking cash from your wallet and giving a tip to the waiter to keep everyone away from here. This will ensure that he does it." I tell her what I'm doing, knowing she'll know why the minute I say it.
Slowly she turns her head, looks at me and nods her approval.
When I come back in, I walk over to where she is sitting and sit down next to her. "Do you need or want anything? What can we do to help? Do you need another drink or anything?" I ask her, hoping she will respond like normal.
She looks at me, nods and says, "Five more shots of chilled Patron. Three for me and two for you guys. That's starting to help." She smiles a little and seems like she's settling down a bit.
I laugh and get up to go talk to the waiter. When I place the order I see the concern on his face so I tell him we're just calming nerves and will quit after this round. He nods and turns to leave. Before he does, I hand him a $100 bill to pay the tab and tell him to keep the change. Walking back into the cabana, the waiter is following with the shots and I hold the curtains open for him. He sets the tray on the table and begins to set the glasses on the table when Kate stops him.
"You don't have to do that. This won't take long." She smiles with a laugh. He nods his head again and steps aside to wait for us to finish.
We decide to make a toast, "To us! Friendships that will last forever and asses we're going to kick now!" We raise our glasses and down the shots. By the time Kate and I finish our one shot, Rhi has downed all three of hers.
"Wow. You're good Rhi." I comment, actually impressed at how quick she was.
She looks at us with a huge smile and says, "Lots of practice. You should see me back home. This is nothing." She looks down at her hands silently and after a few moments she looks back up at Kate and I. "I love you guys. You always have my back. I couldn't have survived, I CAN'T survive, without you. Thank you." She says, her voice barely above a whisper and her eyes glossy with unshed tears.
Glancing at Kate, I know she's thinking the same thing I am. This is heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time. The fact that a simple thing or action can trigger an avalanche of memories that are both crippling and unimaginable, is mind-blowing.
When I look back at Rhi, I can tell that she is struggling to put on a brave front by making a joke out of it. One of her coping mechanisms is her twisted sense of humor. She hides her emotions behind humor in an attempt to divert the focus onto something else. Unfortunately, her other coping mechanism is alcohol. She drinks quite often and in huge amounts. Her tolerance is incredibly high and she can pretty much drink anyone under the table. According to her, and her therapist, she uses the two mechanisms consistently and they go hand in hand, and you can't have one without the other. We've all learned a lot going through therapy with her and not everything was good. We're more alert and aware of things she does and why. With that knowledge, we're able to recognize triggers before they happen and we're also able to mediate any damages that may occur.
"Hey, Rhi? Remember yesterday? All the fun we had? All the laughter we had? Remember meeting Alex and dancing at the fountain? You had such a good time, and it was great to see you laugh again. Like the old Rhi." I tell her, trying to get her to focus on something else so I can pull her out of the spiral that's starting.
She looks at me and responds sadly, "This was supposed to be a fun vacation, and it has been, but…" her voice trails off.
"But nothing." I interrupt her, "It's still going to be a fun trip. We're going to make it fun. We're not dealing with bullshit anymore. Kate told Elliot what's been going on and he's trying to see if he can take care of things from there. You know he loves you like a sister, just as much as we do. Though, no one can beat Kate's and my love for you. And if they try, we'll beat them up!" I tell her, laughing and wiggling my eyebrows.
She laughs and stands up for a hug. "Group hug!" She shouts laughing.
We lean in, grab her and squeeze tightly. Kate and I look at each other and the message is clearly understood.