Maroon Socks

17: RETURN RELIEFS

017: return reliefs

day 7.05

"No," Fiona Pastelle rushes, refusing Elijah's want (to look at the pictures) immediately. She picks the polaroids up and her eyes well up. "No, oh my god." Without thinking any further, she pushes her seat back, getting up and gathering her breakfast plate and the pictures up. She runs to Dakota's room, closing the door with a loud thud.

"So, we don't want these pancakes to burn," Elijah optimistically says, taking Fiona's cooking position. Arthur sighs, not feeling hungry. He turns on his heel and stomps up the stairs. A few seconds later, they hear a slam of a shutting door.

Inside Dakota's room, Dakota's sitting on the bed, with her head in her hands. Her clothes from the previous night are strayed across the floor and she's wearing a grey t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts. The heels of her palms are pressed against her temples, as she visibly counts to ten.

"Dakota?" Fiona softly whispers, her back against the door, as she looks at the ground.

Dakota looks up and smiles sadly at her, cocking her head to the side. "I knew you'd want to talk," Dakota quietly says. Fiona notices that she's obviously still mad at what happened between her and Arthur, so she excuses herself and goes to walk out. "Oh, Fiona, don't leave," Dakota assures. "You need to talk more than I do and I owe you answers." Fiona's eyes are unsure so Dakota suppresses her uneasy feelings. "Come sit," she says, patting a free spot in front of her. Without further questioning, Fiona walks over and sets herself gently onto the seat.

A few moments of silence pass, with Fiona only looking at the pictures.

To break the ice, Dakota says, "I'd understand why you were so happy back then."

Fiona smiles a velvet one, not once taking her eyes off the pictures before her. Then with a small voice, she asks, "How'd you know?"

"Well," Dakota begins, feeling a little more like herself. Talking about others really helps her to take her mind of problems in her life. "He said his name."

"Yeah?" Fiona whispers, not believing that this is actually happening.

"Yah. We plays twenty questions and I asked him if he knew a girl named Fiona. And it snapped in him," tells Dakota. "He's really sweet."

"I know," Fiona grins, a blush spreading across her cheeks. "What did he say then?"

"He made me tell him everything about you. Every single detail which wasn't much. And. . . he looked proud Fiona," Dakota explains, glad she is able to make someone happy again.

"But he kissed you," Fiona mumbles.

Dakota snorts, chuckling, making Fiona snap her head up in confusion. "You're wrong, Peaches. He only talked about you for the rest of the night. He felt bad so he let me stay over. In different rooms of course. But it didn't work out cause he came back in and asked me to tell him more about you and how you're doing. So, basically, your lover kept me awake all night and I got zero sleep."

Fiona beams at her but then it fades away. "Why didn't he just come?"

Dakota takes her hand in hers and rubs it. Reassuringly, she says, "He's scared. He thinks that you won't take him back. And he thinks that you've moved on and so should he."

"Really?" Fiona asks, hopefully. Dakota nods. Then she looks down, shaking her head, with a small smile on her face. She mutters, "God, Thomas Clinton."

"Indeed," Dakota nods, seeming to understand how Fiona feels for Thomas. With a nudge, Dakota urges, "Aren't you going to go after him?"

Fiona looks up, blushing. Of course, she's going to go meet him. He's Fiona's first love and nothing will ever change that. It wasn't as if they didn't like each other. It's just that the circumstances weren't right, with him moving to a different state and everything. Fiona misses his charming smile and Brazilian heritage too much to forget him. He remains prominent in her thoughts and she'd be lying if she were to say that she doesn't think about what life would be life if she was here. And this might be her chance to make it a reality, so there's no way in hell she's letting that slip away.