you're just as far in as you'll ever be out

the monsters turned out to be just trees

Este pulled in front of Danielle's house with a sense of dread in her stomach. She hadn't seen her youngest sister in nearly four days since they dropped Danielle off to the airport so she could do some drumming on the new Brandon Flowers album. Alana wasn't really responding to her text messages and was not up for hanging out at all.

It made Este wonder if she was rethinking her decision about joining the band. Right before Danielle left, they met with their new pushy publicist who wanted to put Alana on live TV to discuss why she left the band. Danielle and Este immediately rejected the idea and somehow negotiated a pre-taped deal and they were due to fly to New York tomorrow.

With a sigh, Este gently knocked on Danielle's front door and decided against waiting. She grabbed the spare key her sister had given her and pushed the door open, stopping at the sight of the once sparkling house; it looked like it had been ransacked.

"Lans?" Este called out softly, not wanting to startle her sister. "You here?" She walked past the kitchen and frowned at the sight of all the dirty dishes piled up.

Danielle would surely have a heart attack if she saw the state of her house.

"Alana?" Este tried again. She walked in the living room and found her sister half-asleep on the couch, and cocooned in a large blanket. "Hello?"

"Huh?" Alana tore her gaze away from the TV and looked at Este. "Oh, hi."

"Didn't you hear me knock?"

Alana paused the episode of Friends and eased herself up. "No. Sorry."

Este sat down on the recliner and shooed George away when he went to join her. She rolled her eyes and studied her sister carefully. Despite all the dishes in the sink, it looked like her sister hadn't eaten in days. She was so bedraggled and the heavy bags under her eyes indicated much sleep wasn't happening.

"What's new?"

"Nothing," Alana mumbled as she lay back down and looked back at the TV. "I watched five seasons of Friends."

"In four days?" Este couldn't help but guffaw. "Have you left the house?"

Alana closed her eyes and gripped the blanket tighter. "No," she whispered.

"Okay, well, you need to take a shower or something." Este began, standing up and grabbing the remote. She was surprised when Alana didn't protest. "Are you stoned?" she asked bluntly, pulling her sister up.

"No," Alana laughed after a minute. She suppressed a yawn and stretched her hands over her head, rubbing her eyes briefly. "I...I took the stupid meds earlier. Aren't you proud?"

"Yes," Este said with a slight smile, sitting on the edge of the couch. "Do they still make you feel like a zombie?"

Alana nodded meekly and fiddled with a stray thread on her blanket. "A little. But I figured I need to get used to them..."

"I'm proud of you, boo," Este told Alana softly, leaning forward to brush the stray hair out of her eyes. "But please go shower." She tugged playfully on Alana's messy bun. "You smell like a hobo."

Alana crinkled her nose and reluctantly threw the blanket off her.

"I'll order us some Chinese."

When Alana was finally in the shower, Este decided it was best to clean Danielle's house to the best of her ability. She pouted at all the dirty dishes and managed to stuff them all in the dishwasher without a problem. Then, she moved on to wiping down all the counters and even cleaned the glass door leading to the back deck.