Returning home to Chicago after his brother's death, Carmy has some reconnecting to do, and not just with family.
Steph had been lured back in under the guise of helping to balance the books, but maybe she was there to keep him sane instead.
The Bea...
The kids have a new take, a new take on faith Pick up the pieces, get carried away. I came home to a city half-erased. I came home to face what we faced.
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"Where are you right now?"
It was asked so breathlessly, almost on a choked exhale, that Steph halted in her steps, shoes scraping loudly against the pavement as she stopped short.
"I'm on my lunch break. What's up?" Worry laced into her voice, a quiver that extended even across the line.
Carmy couldn't get a deep enough inhale to fill his lungs properly, and a sharp pain in his chest made his eyes water. He probably should've called Sugar—but he hadn't. His fingers had pressed Sweets' name without his mind even considering another option.
"I, uh, I need you," he whispered with what little air he could catch.
The sentiment might've made her heart flutter in any other circumstance, but the way it was expressed, so sad and so broken, just made her sternum ache with dread.
"Ok, ok. Just tell me where you are."
Steph ran, she didn't walk, to meet him in River North. Finding Carmy outside a dingy community center, his frame leaned stiffly against the structure, a lit cigarette hung loosely from his lips.
"You scared the shit out of me, Carm," she sighed as she approached, happy to see him whole. At least well enough to burn one in order to calm his nerves.
"Fuck. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you," he apologized without really needing to.
"It's fine," she dismissed, motioning for him to hand over the dwindling stick so she could take a pull. "I already called out the rest of the day. What're we doing here?"
The building didn't have any distinguishable markers, nothing that informed her of why there was such a pressing need for Steph to meet him there.
"This is where I attend my Al-Anon meetings. But you don't have to come in. I...I know you've got better things to be doin'."
The guilt had returned. Carm had said he didn't want to drag her into any more of his shit, but there he was, pulling Steph away from her job because he couldn't handle a simple panic attack. Wasn't like it was his first one anyway. He should've been used to them by now. It was only by some small miracle he hadn't thrown up this time.
"Shut up," she tsked, dropping the spent cigarette to the asphalt where it was crushed underneath her boot. "Let's head inside."
Steph wasn't unfamiliar with these types of meetings, but Carmy certainly was. Throughout, he listened intently, more attentive than she'd seen him with most things, and she watched him in turn. She knew he wasn't in a decenthead space. How could he be? But she'd kinda assumed his stubbornness would stop him from seeking help, from actively asking for assistance.
