Velvet and Veneer's Epilogue

•Sisters, But Like For Real This Time•

  The next morning was cool, and crisp. Velvet awoke before the sun had even come up. She was warm under the several blankets she had acquired one at a time, eventually having enough to make it a somewhat comfortable bed.

  Her face felt itchy with tear stains. Even though it was contraband, she had traded several candy bars for an eyeliner pencil that had seen better days. No doubt it was smudged down her face at this point.

   She knew in less than an hour her unit of the facility would be taken to the shower block where she'd be able to clean up her face and (very quickly) scrub her teeth and shower herself before breakfast. The room held only a toilet and a small sink which she had never used, (yuck!) She could hear very faint sounds of someone stirring in the room with her. The hell?

  Ah. Veneer. After absolutely burning herself out crying and falling asleep so early the night before,  she felt completely sobered out of her anger. She felt clear headed now. All the anger had diminished, and she was left with nothing but regret.

   She timidly turned her head to look at the other, who had fallen asleep the night before wearing shoes and scrunched up with no blanket.
You /would/ wear your tennis shoes on the bed, she thought. She stood up with a blanket around her shoulders and walked over to Veneers bed.

Veneer stiffed through his- her, Velvet guessed- nose. It was the sort of watery, quivery sniff someone who had been crying would do. Velvet stood in watch. Veneer seemed to chitter a little in the cold room. Oh what the fuck, He didn't even get to unpack his box- her box.

   Velvet peered into the box. Looked like a thin pillow- the kind you would get at the hospital- some sheets and a blanket. There seemed to be other papers in there, maybe books or magazines. She could sift through it later when Veneer was more awake. She turned back to the other, seeing Veneer held something scrunched up and halfway tucked into a makeshift pillow. Velvet knew right away that it was her jacket, the one that had been confiscated from her right after the incident.

   Veneer had brought it back to her, and he- ah! she! (this was going to take a day of getting used to) didn't even get the chance to return it. Velvet felt another wave of guilt wash over her. Wait- if Veneer had been wearing her jacket-

Her eyes darted around to find out if she could see the sleeves in the dark. Sure enough, veneer had poked thumb holes in the cuffs of the sleeves of the jacket. Velvet rolled her eyes. Typical.

     Suddenly, Veneer moved a little, using part of the jacket to wipe her eyes. So she had been crying again. Velvet felt very awkward. She didn't want to start crying again too. She knew being a bitch to Veneer was only going to make her feel even more shameful. She'd probably make herself cry again. She was so comfortable with and used to being mean. But it wasn't going to work right now.

   She could be nice. Before everything had gotten so crazy over the past year with her rise to fame, the incarceration and everything she was nice more often than not. If not a little catty.

"I know you're awake," she said, making Veneer jump a little bit. The other lay still on the bed for a few seconds before turning her head even more away from Velvet. She faced her back to her older sister coldly, shutting her out.

   "Are you cold?" She said, already sliding her own blanket off of herself, and spreading it out over Veneer. She shivered against the bare mattress a little as cool air rushed out of the blanket that was fanning over her. Velvet then realized that she was now cold as well, and fetched herself another blanket. Veneer still hadn't said anything, not even a thank you.

   "Sorry I bitchslapped you," Velvet blurted out. Any other time Veneer probably would have found this to be pretty funny. "Leave me alone," she said in a small voice, muffled by the fabric of the jacket. Velvet felt her cheeks burn with the embarrassment of rejection. She felt a little betrayed. But could she really blame Veneer after such a huge fight yesterday?