DOG DAYS ✶ Boone

[ 000. ] RECKLESS GIRL

˖ ᡣ𐭩 ⊹ ࣪ ౨ৎ˚₊
the PROLOGUE     ╱     RECKLESS GIRL

   Theodora Carter was acutely aware of her own foolishness.

   Deep within, she grasped that rage and shouting were hollow echoes, incapable of repairing what had been shattered. Theodora knew that such outbursts were no balm for the soul's wounds, no cure for the fractured heart.

   And still, here she stood, a lone figure in the dimly lit room, at the foot of her sister's hospital bed. Her sister lay in fragile repose, tethered to the world by a web of medical tubes and monitors, her body bruised and broken after the relentless onslaught of an EF5 tornado. The sterile scent of antiseptic mingled with the distant hum of machines, a stark reminder of the storm's destructive wrath. Theodora's heart ached as she wrestled with her own helplessness, the gravity of her own anger now seeming so insignificant against the backdrop of her sister's suffering.

"How could you be so stupid?" Theo's voice, sharp and anguished, sliced through the oppressive silence. Her grip on the headboard was a vice, knuckles pale as though she were holding onto the very edge of her sanity. "You could have gotten yourself killed today, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"It was────it was unexpected, we thought it was an EF1," Kate's response was barely more than a whisper, as if the words were struggling to find their way through the fog of her numbness. Her mind felt detached, as though she were drifting through the wreckage of her own making, emotions barricaded behind a wall of stoicism.

"You're fucking chasing storms, Kate," Theodora's frustration erupted, her hands rising in a gesture of helpless exasperation. "You have to always expect the unexpected when you're out there." She had always known her sister's spirit to be untamed, her courage boundless, but never had she imagined such heedless recklessness. "What in the name of sanity has possessed you to be so reckless?"

Kate sat in the sterile hospital room, her silence an impenetrable veil, her eyes locked on a white patch on the wall as if it were a canvas of her own anguish, a silent witness to her internal storm.

"Goddammit, Kate," Theodora's voice trembled, a threadbare reflection of her own turmoil. She ran her fingers through her disheveled hair, a futile attempt to disentangle the chaos of her thoughts. Theodora's mind was a whirlwind of disbelief and sorrow, struggling to reconcile the desperate, frantic calls she'd made in the early dawn────pleas to rouse their mother────with the stark, grim reality that now confronted her. "You're so fucking reckless."

"Do you think I'm unaware of that?" Kate's voice erupted, a torrent of emotion she could no longer contain. Her eyes, brimming with a deep and unspoken pain, met her sister's with a fierce intensity. "Do you think I don't recognize the depth of my own stupidity? The guilt that consumes me is an unrelenting, agonizing, stalking me in every shadowed corner of my mind. Every time I close my eyes, all I ever see is visions of Praveen, Addy, Jeb────all of them, swept away by the storm, torn from my grasp. Do you think I don't hate myself for it?"

Theodora stood rooted, her shock palpable as she absorbed the raw outpouring of Kate's pain. Her initial anger, a mask for the deep-seated fear she had concealed, now felt hollow and insignificant against the backdrop of her sister's heartfelt lament. She had been so enveloped in her own worry and frustration that she had failed to grasp the magnitude of Kate's suffering.

"I'm leaving for New York," Kate's voice softened, a whisper that carried the weight of resignation and weary resolve. Her words were barely audible, a faint echo of the bravado she had once clung to.

The resolve to leave was now tinged with a profound sense of fatigue and remorse, the harsh reality of her choices weighing heavily upon her.

"What?" Theodora's voice was a gentle murmur, the soft tremor betraying her inner fragility. Her eyes, wide with a mix of fear and disbelief, implored Kate. "No, you────you can't just leave."

"Why not?" Kate's laugh emerged, but it was a hollow sound, devoid of its former warmth. It lacked the vibrant joy that once characterized her. "There's nothing keeping me in this place anymore. Everyone I loved is gone."

"But you have Javi," Theodora insisted, her hand gesturing toward the door that led to the hallway where Javi waited, his patience a quiet testament to his care. "And you have me. Isn't that enough to keep you here?"

"You mean my little sister who hasn't taken a single moment to check on me, to ask how I am or how I feel, but who has instead focused solely on criticizing my foolish choices?" Kate's head tilted slightly, her gaze piercing through the dim room, meeting Theodora's with a challenging sharpness.

   Theodora recoiled, her shoulders hunched as she averted her gaze from Kate's sharp, unyielding stare. Her voice barely rose above a whisper. "I'm sorry."

   Kate, overwhelmed by fatigue and yearning for the escape of sleep, rolled her eyes with a sense of finality. She sank deeper into her bed, wishing only for the sanctuary of oblivion. Yet, Theodora's voice broke through her weariness, insistent and pleading. "I'll come with you."

   "No, you won't," Kate replied, her voice firm despite her own weariness. She shook her head with a mixture of sadness and resolve. "You're only sixteen, Theodora. You can't simply abandon your school and follow me across the country."

   "Yes, I can," Theodora's voice quavered with desperation, her resolve unshaken. "I could finish school there, and then go on to college. I'd visit in the summers. It could work, Kate. It could work."

   Kate sighed deeply, her heart aching as she looked at her younger sister. "Theo," she said softly, her gaze softening as she took in Theodora's tear-streaked face. "You're not coming with me."

   "Yes, I am!" Theodora's voice rose in a shout, her tears welling up and spilling over. "I don't care what you or Mama say—you're not leaving me behind!"

   Kate's expression softened with a tender sorrow as she saw the pain in her sister's eyes. Her resolve wavered as she reached out, opening her arms in a gesture of both comfort and resignation. "Come here," she murmured, her voice gentle. As Theodora nestled beside her on the bed, Kate's hands began to brush through her sister's hair with a soothing rhythm. "I'm never truly leaving you, you know. I'll always be just a call away, even if we're miles apart. But I can't let you derail your life like this. You have so much ahead of you, Theo, and you need to find your own way."

   Theodora clung to her sister, her sobs gradually subsiding into quiet weeping. Kate held her close, her heart breaking at the thought of leaving her sister behind, yet knowing she must follow her own path.

   In that moment, the distance between them seemed both unbearable and inevitable, bound by the threads of love and the unspoken promises they shared.

   Years drifted by, an unspoken silence stretching between them, a chasm marked by the absence of calls that might have bridged their distance. Theodora, accustomed to the quiet void, was startled when, at long last, Kate's voice pierced the stillness, reaching out across the years. When Kate's invitation came, asking her to journey to Oklahoma, Theodora found herself ensnared by the gravity of the request.

   Despite the years of separation, despite the silence that had grown into a familiar companion, she felt an undeniable pull. She knew, deep in her heart, that she could not refuse. For the truth was that she would move mountains, cross deserts, and brave any storm for the sake of her elder sister. The bond between them, woven through shared memories and unspoken love, was a thread that could not be severed.

   In that moment, she understood that her love for Kate surpassed the years and distances that had come between them, compelling her to comply without hesitation.

🌪️🍂 ╱          alright, here is the
prologue!
it's a littler shorter than other chapters, so
don't worry,
they aren't usually this short! this chapter
wasn't my
best, but whatever, i wanted to get this
story moving!

hope you enjoyed and don't forget to comment
and tell me ur thoughts 🫶