✅ The Last New Start [NaNoWriMo2021]

141. Family Outing

For the next week, the summer ball was about the only thing Tess was thinking about. It was the main topic of conversation around school as well, until a friend of a friend heard that something had been happening with Spike's family. Duke Torrance had a reputation among a certain part of the population; the people Tess would never have imagined herself associating with because they were already following a path that led to a life of crime. But they knew something had happened, and sooner or later the distorted rumours reached friends of their friends.

Tess didn't know how to deal with those rumours. If they were saying bad things about Spike, she would have leapt in right away and shouted them down. And she was sure that Spike could offer the right word in the right place to shut down anything people said about him. But when it came to the stories they were telling about his stepfather, or about his brother's propensity for violence, Tess didn't know what she could say. Mostly because she couldn't be sure which of those rumours were actually true.

"Don't worry about it," Spike told her. But Tess still worried. She felt like she needed to protect Spike now, even if she knew he could protect himself. And she didn't like when people talked about stuff like that around him, because she knew that his feelings about that family were complex, deep, and not too pleasant. But what could she do? A notorious criminal had been arrested, and then was out on bail, and then had been arrested again for fighting with his family. Stories were bound to spread, and when nobody knew any of the facts, the tales being bounced around would have nothing to do with the truth. There was nothing she could do; and that was when Spike told her that she needed to calm down.

She argued. She didn't want to feel like anybody else was taking care of her. But she still respected Spike's judgement, so when they came home from school one evening and he followed her into the nursery, she knew that she had to listen to what he had to say.

"You're pushing yourself too hard," he said. "Again. You can't do anything about rumours, and I don't think anything needs doing. Those words don't hurt me."

"I'm not doing anything," she answered.

"That's the problem. I can see that it's eating you up. You don't like the rumours, but there's nothing you need to do, and I can see how much that bothers you. And I need to show you that you'll feel better after a break. Okay?"

Tess nodded. She'd given Spike permission to use her triggers already, and she knew that this was exactly the kind of situation Gabby had been thinking of when she said Tess was bad at accepting help. But Spike didn't tell her she was going to have an accident. He just opened the closet, and lifted out one of her cutest princess dresses. She blushed, but when she looked into his eyes she knew that he was serious. And when she thought about how she'd been feeling, she knew that he was right as well.

"Okay. I'm getting younger, and I'm six again. I'm going to feel as little as you say I am, and... can you let me have responsibility for something, please? I want to have something I can do, even if..."

"Of course. Why don't we ask Ffrances. I mean, I don't really want to be in charge. But I think Ffrances is home, and I've still not seen her regress properly. So how about we're all little, and we can draw lots for who's oldest?"

Tess giggled at that, and she knew she would be happy. In the end, it was Spike who ended up being the big sister, while Ffrances ended up as a baby who still needed Tess to look after her a little as they played with their dolls in the middle of the lounge. It was just comforting, a break from all the stresses of school, and they knew that homework could wait until after dinner.

When Gabby came home and found three little girls playing, Tess was still too innocent to notice much about her reaction. But she was willing to play along without saying anything, and they started to feel even more like a real family.