It's a Long Way Down

Chapter Forty-Three: Visits

"She's still not ready, is she?" Sodo asked the ghoul in front of him, playing with the cap of the water bottle he had. Aether shook his head, "No. She'll get there. She's tried. She's gotten to the center. But she couldn't get out of the car. That was the day Rain came to see you.".

"Yeah," Sodo said, "Rain told me all about it."

It had been almost 2 months since Ember had responded to Sodo's letter. The fire ghoul had been writing to her at least once a week, sometimes twice. She hadn't responded to any of them. He was finally allowed visitors a month ago, his therapy sessions going well enough that they allowed him visitors. Aether would visit once a week, wanting to check in on the ghoul. Sodo did appreciate the quintessence ghoul putting in the effort despite knowing he was still mad at him for hurting Ember repeatedly. Aether sighed, "She'll get there, Sodo. I'll talk to her -"

"No, it's fine, Aeth. If she doesn't want to, don't make her. I wouldn't want to if I was in her position. I fucked up so bad with her and I don't deserve to see her," Sodo told him, rubbing his face, "Besides, if you make her come here when she doesn't want to, it might make things worse for the two of us. Like you said, she'll get there."

"She does miss you though, Sodo," Aether told him. Sodo dropped his hands to the table, "Yeah, you tell me every visit."

"Sodo, she goes into your room almost every night just to sleep in your bed. She will walk around in your clothes. I'm debating on asking for some of the clothes we brought for you here so that she has something that has a stronger scent on it. It's comforting to her. When I say she misses you, it's not like 'oh, I miss Sodo'," Aether says, doing a terrible impression of a girl, making Sodo chuckle before Aether went on, "No, it's 'I miss everything about him and the fact that he's not here is killing me. The fact I could've helped and I didn't hurts. I could've prevented this and I didnt'. That kind of missing you. She's still blaming herself, despite us telling her that it's not her fault."

"What? You're saying it's mine?" Sodo asked. The bigger ghoul shook his head, "No. It's all of ours. We all have equal blame. Although, we're probably more to blame than you are. We didn't try to help even though we saw the signs."

Sodo shook his head, "No, I couldn't control my drinking. It should be my fault."

"Look, we are all still here for you. We still care. Am I pissed still at what you did to Ember? Yeah, I am. But she's slowly accepting that it happened. I don't know how you'll get over that, but she's trying. The others want to come by too, but Copia keeps calling them for songwriting sessions. I only manage to come here because I basically sneak out. I don't want you to lose faith in yourself that you can get better. It's why I'm here. Plus, I'm sure it's reassuring to Ember when I tell her you're doing better or looking better. We all want you to come back, Sodo. We miss your antics. Swiss tries to mimic your pranks, but they just don't turn out as well as yours do. You being gone really leaves an empty spot in the church," Aether told him. Sodo simply sighed in response, "It's been, what? 3, 4 months since I've been here?"

Aether nodded, making Sodo hum, folding his hands in front of himself, "They said that if all my sessions keep going well I'll be able to go home soon."

"Well, that's great news, Sodo!" Aether said, smiling. The fire ghoul couldn't help but crack a smile at that. The smile quickly fell when he remembered Ember, "I don't think she'll share the same excitement."

"On the inside, she will. I know how much she's hurting not being around you. The soul mate bond is taking a toll-" Aether was cut off by Sodo looking behind him, his eyes widening in shock. The quintessence ghoul turned around and saw Ember standing there, an equally surprised look on her face. Aether asked her, "You sure you're ready?"