(A/N): We're back with Vi, Evie, Hettie, and Pip- Lou is mentioned briefly, but she isn't really present.

Trigger Warnings: Discussion of possible sexual assault/rape, plus a few instances where it's clear that Vi (and the others) don't really know whether to believe Evie when she says nothing happened, which isn't a good look for them. Once again, Evie's laughter IS inappropriate, she knows this, she's just so relieved to not have to deal with being outed, and then- well, she explains herself, saying that she finds the idea that Jerremyah would do something like that 'laughable'. Evie and Vi have a bit of a spat that reveals issues that neither we- nor they- were really aware that they had, so uh... family drama, I guess?

January 16th, 1966

Vi

Evie's laughter could be heard all the way across the house where we sat in the living room, and it jolted Hettie and I out of our quiet conversation. We'd been trying not to talk about my sister- in any capacity, really- but neither of us had the luxury of being able to pretend we hadn't heard her stop to have a conversation with Lou, shortly before mincing an oath and returning to her bedroom again. I'd considered going to check on her, but never got the chance to do more than send a concerned glance at the doorway before I heard her start talking to Pip, instead. I thought the fact that he'd chosen to fiddle with his watch in the hallway of all places was a little suspicious, but I genuinely never considered the possibility that Pip would be the one to ignore my orders, and confront Evie. Then again, I also hadn't considered the- admittedly slim- chance that she might burst out laughing when he did so. Assuming, that is, that he'd even confronted her about it in the first place.

Hettie and I shared a look rife with confusion, concern, and a little bit of genuine fear- Oh, God, had Evie finally lost it?- before jumping into action, and rushing down the hallway that ran the length of the house, subsequently separating us from Evie and Pip. When we arrived in the open kitchen doorway, I saw my sister bent nearly in half, one hand on her stomach and the other stopping just short of covering her mouth, clearly overcome by her bout of laughter. Pip, on the other hand, looked downright distraught. "What happened?"

He glanced up at Hettie's question, and after a second, gave a helpless sort of half shrug. "Don't know," He mumbled, which was rare for Pip- yes, he was typically soft-spoken, but he always made sure he could be properly understood, when he did speak. "I- I don't think-" He cut himself off, hesitating, and Evie held up a hand to show that even if she wasn't currently capable of explaining herself, she was still present- mentally, I mean.

"I- I didn't ex- expect-" Was all she managed to get out between laughs, before she doubled over again. When she seemed to recover a bit more a few moments later, she shook her head. "I shouldn't be laughing," She said, voice still a little uneven, her eyes wet with tears of laughter- something I appreciated, even if she said she shouldn't have been. "It's not a laughing subject, I just- I really didn't expect..." She sobered abruptly, glancing between Pip, Hettie, and I. "Do you all think...?" Think what? She didn't seem inclined to continue to explain, so I turned my attention- mostly- to Pip.

"Oh, please don't make me say it again- I barely got it out the first time."

Surprisingly enough, Evie snorted at this- which inevitably made Pip's cheeks flush. "Some might argue that you didn't," She said, but when his lips dropped into something vaguely resembling a pout, she softened in an instant. "Hey, you got the message across. I understood what you meant, even if maybe you didn't quite say the exact words- Well, it's probably better that way." He appeared mollified by this.

"What message?" I asked bluntly, and Evie and Pip both winced. "I mean, I can think of a few things Pip might feel obligated to bring up to you- even if he shouldn't- but I want to hear it from you, before I-" She cut me off, rolling her eyes with more frustration than her usual exasperated fondness.

"Pip asked whether anyone tried to force me to do something I didn't want to do," She said rather simply, but judging by Pip's guilty expression, I knew that wasn't the end of it. "The answer is no, by the way. Other than watching my new friend get lightly- sorry, shallowly- stabbed, that is." That was a hell of a relief- if we believed her. "No one made me do anything I wasn't extremely eager to do, sexually or otherwise." Evie and Pip both blushed when she used that word, but even though she was clearly embarrassed, she didn't falter in the slightest- which was far more than I expected of her, really.

That descriptor stuck in my head, though- 'extremely eager'. I didn't know a lot about Evie's romantic- or, yes... sexual- relationships, especially since she was much more tight-lipped about that sort of thing than Hettie, or even Lou, but knowing Evie in general, and how earnest she tended to be about her desires, I feared that term was all too accurate. It wasn't a problem- until someone tried to take advantage of it. "Evie-" She seemed to sense where my brain was headed, because she shot me a somewhat sharp look and cut me off again.

"I was laughing because it's just so laughable that- they- would ever try to force me into something. Anything. All they ever did the whole time I was there- or in the club, before that- was make sure that I was comfortable, and making my own decisions. Even if they had to explain the implications of those decisions to me. No, they would never do anything I wasn't one hundred percent on board with- especially not him." I think we all blinked at that, and the corner of Evie's lips quirked up in an almost mean smile. "And that's what you're really worried about, isn't it? It's not her. But you don't get it- that isn't the sort of man that needs to force himself onto people. In fact, I dare say he'd rather cut an arm off before resorting to that."

My eyebrows shot up, and when I turned my head to share a look with Hettie, I saw her in a similar state of shock. "Evie..." She breathed, and Evie shook her head.

"You still don't believe me, do you?" We hesitated, which was enough for her to feel the need to continue. "You're never going to believe me, are you?"

"Evie-"

She held up a hand, very effectively silencing Pip's timid protest. "What happened to trust? What am I supposed to do to prove it to you, Vi?" It figures that she'd focused on me, even though I was the one that had spoken the least; those big sister privileges in action, I guess. "What do I have to do to prove I'm not a kid anymore?" When had we pivoted to this? "We're supposed to rely on each other, remember? We're supposed to be a team, not- not Vi, and her backup dancers!" I blinked.

"Evie..." She looked at me expectantly, but I didn't know what to say to that. I wasn't sure where this had come from- it almost felt like I was dealing with a different person entirely, today. "I'm glad you're okay." Clearly, this was the wrong thing to say- her face fell in a way I hadn't seen it since the months directly following our father's death. What wasn't clear, was why.

She snorted quietly and crossed her arms over her chest, looking at me like she was about to deliver the harshest of all insults. "Yeah," She said bluntly. "I'm glad you're okay, too, Vi." Oh. Maybe I understood a little better now, since those words felt like the verbal equivalent of a backhand.

"Evie-" She cut me off again- hopefully, that wasn't becoming a habit.

"Maybe you should just leave the heartfelt conversations to Pip, Vi- he's a lot better at it than you are." Even Pip looked shocked by this, probably because his recent fumbling on the subject of unwanted advances was still fresh in his mind. "Probably because he actually has a heart." I- what?

I was so taken aback by this that it took me a second to summon the indignance necessary to respond- or maybe that was just the exhaustion hampering me. "Evie- don't you dare cut me off again!" Her mouth clicked shut, and I saw her jaw clench with the strain of keeping it that way. "You want to act like I'm heartless, that's fine- but you need to stop being such a brat and dragging our friends into this." Uncharacteristic rage flashed in her eyes at the word 'brat'. "First Lou, then Hettie- if I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to push us all away." She scoffed. "Well, newsflash, Evie- we're sisters! You're stuck with me 'til the day you die- brat or not!" Her expression softened slightly, but immediately took on a far more pained air.

"I'm not- trying to be... mean, Vi. But I can't keep sitting in the shadows, holding my tongue, just because it makes everyone else comfortable." Since when did Evie want to be in the spotlight? If anything, she'd always fled from it, even going so far as to shove someone else into the center of attention- Hettie was usually a good candidate. Hell, even with our parents, Evie had been keen to let them focus on me- or... had she?

"Evie," She opened her mouth, then closed it again, seemingly remembering my scolding about interrupting me. "There are better ways to voice your issues. You don't need to hurt your friends just because you don't know how to be honest." Oddly enough, she flinched at this. "I love you- we love you-" Hettie and Pip nodded firmly. "-if you want us to listen, just ask." She glanced between us, hesitated briefly, then nodded- but somehow, I got the impression she'd resolved to do anything but that.

(A/N): Hm, Evie calling Vi 'heartless'? Wonder what THAT could be about.

Also, as always, quite a bit of foreshadowing.