Chapter 22: Sawyer & Keni

It was said once that when Beaulieu Manor was designed Brooke Davis looked through Wikipedia and made sure every type of room was included in the room. It made it confusing going down the galleries, they were the hallways, but they were called galleries, as to where people were meeting. On the positive side, there were always plenty of bedrooms for people to stay in. So, through the years many people have stayed in the rooms and galleries of the manor.

In the family wing, the East Wing, there was a media room, which among other things included a home theater. There is also a broadcasting room where a station is tucked away in the corner of the room was for internet media work. Most of the room was pristine, except for this one station, which was covered with the flotsam and jetsam of a teenager. Currently sitting at the station was a blonde teenager, she pulled off a set of headphones and put them on the table. Shaking her head, she looked over her shoulder and looked at a brunette teenager sitting on the arm of the nearby sofa.

"Rough day of streaming?" Keni asked.

"You're sitting right there the whole time, what do you think? But I wasn't streaming I was playing and recording for my weekly videos. It doesn't help I'm tired," Sawyer said.

Keni laughed, "You're the one that stayed up late to edit the live streams from last night," she said.

"The viewers love that shit, and anyways you enjoy the money I get from the streams," Sawyer said.

Keni laughed, "Like we need the money," she said and gestured around the room.

Sawyer sighed, "True, but what's really on your mind?" she asked.

Keni nodded, "A lot of things, as you know," she said.

Sawyer smiled, "You've always had the most active of minds," she said.

"At least you admit it," Keni said.

Sawyer shrugged and turned around in the swivel chair to look at Keni without her head canted. "Keni, you've always been better at me at many things," Sawyer said and sighed.

"As you are with me," Keni said.

"It's hard work, that's all, and you know I have to work twice as hard as everyone else," Sawyer said.

"What's really on your mind, you've not been yourself lately?" Keni asked.

Sawyer sighed, "I've been distant?" she asked.

Keni nodded, "Yes you have," she said.

Sawyer shrugged, looked down at her sock covered feet, and shook her head.

"It's her isn't it?" Keni asked.

Sawyer nodded her head, "Yeah, it is," she said.

"It's been four years now, right?" Keni asked.

Sawyer nodded, "Just four years," she said.

"That's a while," Keni said.

Sawyer nodded, "Yeah, but not a long while," she said.

"So, what's wrong?" Keni asked.

Sawyer sighed, "I miss her Keni, I just plain miss her," she said.

"I don't know what to say, Sawyer," Keni said.

"Nothing you can say," Sawyer said.

Keni slipped off the arm of the sofa and walked across the room. She stopped just before Sawyer, squatted down and hugged her. "Hey, it's okay," she said.

Sobs started to come from Sawyer. Keni started to rub Sawyer's back. "Let it out," she said.

After a minute Sawyer stopped sobbing and looked up. There were streams of tears down her cheeks and Keni nodded, noting if Sawyer was wearing makeup it would be streaked. Sawyer sighed.

"You've always had me, Sawyer," Keni said.

Sawyer nodded, "I know," she said, "My whole life."

Keni took her hand and lifted Sawyer's chin and smiled a bit. Sawyer turned her head away. "Hey look at me," she said

Sawyer shook her head.

"Look at me," Keni said, thinking her voice.

Sawyer sighed and turned to look at her best friend in the world. Who also happened to be her sister-in-law?

"You've known me how long?" Keni asked.

Sawyer sighed, "Fifteen years," she said.

"Have I ever lied to you?" Keni asked.

"Cheated and stolen, but never lied," Sawyer said.

Keni laughed, "At least you still have your sense of humor," she said.

"It's hard sometimes," Sawyer said.

"But you believe me when I tell you something, right?" Keni asked.

Sawyer nodded, "Yes," she said, with a weak voice.

Keni nodded, "I'm going to tell you how to get through this," she said.

"How am I going to get through this? Enlighten me," Sawyer said.

Keni chuckled, "Simple," she said.

"Why is everything so simple to you?" Sawyer asked.

"Because everything is simple, it's just our own dumb human asses that make it complex," Keni said.

"Seems naïve," Sawyer said.

"Maybe that's what we tell ourselves, to make sure we're not looking at how things really are," Keni said.

"Is this more of that simulation theory shit that you're telling me?" Sawyer asked.

Keni laughed, "No, not at all, nothing that advanced," she said.

"Then what is it?" Sawyer asked.

"It's easier to rule when you rule sheep instead of wolves," Keni said.

Sawyer tilted her head, "So, you're saying we're sheep?" she asked.

"Some of us are," Keni said, "Some of us just don't care enough to speak."

"So, where do we fall?" Sawyer asked.

"We'll never know," Keni said.

"That's kind of depressing," Sawyer said.

"That's part of the vale," Keni said.

Sawyer shook her head and reached for the hem of her t-shirt. She rubbed her eyes dry with the bottom hem of her shirt. Dropping it back into place, she looked at Keni.

"How do I look now?" Sawyer asked.

"Like you need to wash your face," Keni said.

"Gee thanks," Sawyer said.

"As we've already established, I won't lie to you," Keni said.

Sawyer nodded, "No, you don't," she said.

"Anyways, this is Beaulieu, and you know what that means," Keni said.

Sawyer sighed, "You have to look beautiful," she said.

"Exactly," Keni said, and looked around the room, "That's what this place is all about."

Sawyer nodded, "I know that," she said.

"Do you?" Keni asked.

"How long, Keni?" Sawyer asked.

"You have a point," Keni said.

"Yeah," Sawyer said.

"Yeah," Keni said.

Sawyer nodded, "So what did you want to tell me?" she asked.

"About what?" Keni asked.

"You were going to tell me how to get through this," Sawyer said.

"Oh yeah, I was going to tell you how," Keni said.

Sawyer tilted her head, "So, how am I going to get through this?" she asked.

Keni smiled, "Simple," she said.

"We've established that," Sawyer said.

"Yes, we have, and yes, it is," Keni said.

"So, lay this wisdom on me," Sawyer said.

"Sawyer, remember, smile, be strong, and I'm standing right next to you," Keni said.

Sawyer sighed, "Okay, I'm going to wash my face," she said and started to leave the media room. Keni smiled and shook her head as she watched Sawyer leave the room.