Admiring the Light

Ep 27

"Alrighty, Sport! We're gonna violate your silly little- silence. Wanna go anywhere specific, Sport?"

She could feel something was off with her sister. Even just the energy felt strange.

"Not really-"

"Gotchu, well I don't think you want to go to the library."

"Its fine..."

Natalie studied her face for a moment, Guinevere's skin seemed almost pasty, clearly covering something.

"Nice makeup, Sport." Natalie didn't even have to look over again. "Mind telling me what happened to your face? I succeeded on my perception check."

"I'm an ugly little fuck, that's what. Trying... stuff-" She huffed.

"Nobody looks worse than meee, Sport!" She smiled back, she wasn't the best looking, she could appeal to the self deprecation.

"You're fucking beautiful and you always have been, you'll never understand." Guinevere refused to meet her gaze.

"You would be, if you weren't trying to cover up a bruise on your cheek with makeup."

"How did you-"

"I'm not stupid, Sport."

"It was an accident." She insisted.

"That's no fucking accident."

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT-

"HOW MANY TIMES DID SHE DO IT, SPORT?"

"NONE-"

"LIES." Natalie pulled over on the side of the road, her eyes drifting shut. "She will hurt you more in the future, Guinevere."

"I know..."

"And what's worse, you're actively lying to me! You're letting her scare you!" Natalie let a pleading look come onto her face.

"I don't know how to feel... I didn't want to get you hurt... you always suck it up... You're brave-" Guinevere sniffed. "With... Her dying- and-"

"I'm only brave when I have to be. Sport... that doesn't mean that you lie to me."

"You're not scared of anything..."

That caught her off guard, but she couldn't just let her sister continue thinking she was invincible. She herself didn't even think she was. "Guinevere, I was today! I see this pasty shit all over your face, trying to hide the marks, and I know that beast struck again!"

"Really..."

"I thought you might start down the path I did..." She sighed.

"What are we gonna do...?"

"Oh Sport... nobody messes with you or me. You tell her that you'll get her fired if she beats you again." Natalie wouldn't let her mother convince Guinevere that she was worthless too.

...

The sun had only begun to dip under the little novelty shops of Edgewater, anyone out on the streets migrating to the only eateries they had in the town. The rich tourists that thought Katherine's little country hometown was cute and rural.

And after standing outside, leaned against a wall for the day, she wouldn't blame Bree Weathers for leaving duty early. She wouldn't blame herself for running off.

"How's that murder case going, Kathy?"

"There's no case. The mother won't press charges."

"What came of it?" Bree checked her phone. "Well? You're her mother, didn't you punish her, Kathy?"