"Look lady, it's Ronnie. And I have been turning up to these stupid sessions for over 2 years now and you think that a lovely, heartfelt chat around the circle is gonna change the fact that I'm an alcoholic? No. None of these people have been here a...
Arriving at her door, I decided it might be best to just let myself in. I twisted the door handle, my fingers gripping tightly around the icy metal. My feet were the first to enter with a thud. I was surprised to see the obscure Welcome Home doormat that had been placed so perfect before.
The house was eerily silent, the only noise breaking through the disturbing atmosphere were quiet sobs cascading from the living room. Panic engulfed me as I began to sprint to the noise. The first thing within my eyeline was the crumpled figure of a girl. She was slumped onto the white couch, her legs tucked under her body and tears streaming down her face. Her light hair was wild, untamed and obscuring her delicate face that was blotchy from her tears.
"A-Aleks?" Ronnie's once soft tone was now harsh, scratched almost. It pained me to find her in such a state. She was such a strong person with a golden personality. Even in the little time I had known her, she instantly brightens up my day. She was my motivation, the reason I was still going.
I shushed her and sat beside her, my arms instinctively snaking around her thin frame. Soft cries still continued to trickle from her mouth, her mumbles inaudible from being muffled by my chest. My hand tangled into her soft hair and massaged her head gently.
"Shh, все нормально" (it's okay) I whispered to the distressed girl. She sniffled and pulled away a little from my grasp, my arms resting delicately on her shoulders. Her chocolate eyes glistened and were still puffy from her silent tears that struggled down her cheeks. They met with my own, hazel eyes, pulling me into a trance.
"I am so sorry, Aleksandr" She said barely over a whisper. Her face was inches from mine, so close that I could almost taste the aroma of the alcohol that lingered from her words. My eyebrows furrowed from her apology. Ronnie brought a shaky hand towards her pale face. Her slender fingers carefully rubbed away the smudged makeup filled tears.
"Don't apologise to me, Ronnie" I reassured her and wiped away one of her loose tears with my thumb. The blonde's face lit up with a smile, but not a silly, toothy grin. Not a smile that she would flash me after erupting with laughter from one of my stupid jokes. This smile was filled with misery. She was ashamed at herself, I could tell by the way her eyes broke contact with my own.
"One stupid argument with my sister was all it took for me to crack" She choked a hoarse laugh through her throat, her focus still remained on the wooden floor.
By this point, Veronika had unfolded her legs from underneath her. Her mismatched socks covered her petite feet that sat neatly together on the ground. The sight made a small smile etch onto my lips. She had gone into detail before about how she was too stubborn to match her socks together, despite her Aunt's relentless moans.
"You and Vik argued?" I asked calmly. She nodded slowly, her index finger pushing her rosy lip in between her teeth to bite it gently. "What about?" I questioned to find out more details. This seemed to hit Ronnie harder than the previous question. She paused briefly, pondering her answer with an emotionless face. Her tears had stopped escaping but she still occasionally sniffled.
Ron shrugged weakly. She pulled her head up, pushing her hair behind her ear to refrain it from sticking to her dampened cheeks. "It was stupid, she was stupid" She muttered childishly under her breath.
Our eyes met again, I still struggled to read the expression that ghosted over her features. "She said that I shouldn't get too.. attached" She scrunched her face up at the words, beginning to slur her sentence. My heart stopped for a split second causing my eyes to flicker away uncomfortably.
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"I just can't help it, Aleksandr" She admitted outright; anger had begun to lace her tone. Her smaller hand rested upon mine, heat radiating off her silky palm. I looked up and her shiny orbs were staring back at mine intently. An overwhelming sense of happiness fluttered throughout my body and a wide smile toyed on my lips.
That was until I was dragged out from the fairytale by the reminder of the Vodka stench that flooded from her mouth. My smile was quickly torn from my own mouth as I shook my head in disbelief.
"Veronika, you are drunk" I rose from my chair, her hand falling limply from my own. A frown sprawled onto her face and her eyes no longer sparkled. She hiccuped quietly, reminding me more about her state of mind. I cringed slightly at the situation and rubbed my forehead from beads of sweat. A deep sigh slipped from my lips also as I looked down at the blonde girl.
"No Aleks, you are drunk" She repeated with a grin drowning out her sadness. I rolled my eyes and helped her up, Ron toppling on me unable to stable herself.
"I know for a fact that you are drunk, you never let me call you Veronika" I clarified. We made our way to her bedroom, Ron stumbling up the stairs with me tagging along behind her.
"Shut up, Aleksandr" She grumbled as we got to the top. Even from my position, I could recognise that her eyes rolled, she often expressed her annoyance in that way.
I let out an airy laugh and checked some random rooms. Gently pushing open the door furthest to the right, I noticed a room filled with pictures and dark decor. I assumed this was Ronnie's room basing it on her sense of style compared to her sister's.
Polaroid pictures lined the wall, mostly of family but I didn't recognise some of the people. I picked up upon one picture of Ron and her sister, one standing on either side of who I made an assumption to be their parents. Even though they had their slight differences physically, it was easily identifiable that the two young children were twins.
"Oh Gosh-" Ron grunted from behind me and clutched her stomach. I swivelled around to face Ron, being sucked out of my little trance. Her face screwed up and her legs carried her across the hallway to the bathroom. She didn't bother turning on the light as she barely made it in time to the toilet.
I sighed gently and jogged after her, flicking on the light and reaching the girl hunched over the toilet, who was busy emptying the contents of her stomach.
Bending down, I gathered her hair in my left hand and rubbed her back with the other. The unpleasant smell hitting my nostrils, matching the sound that entered my ears.
"You are drunk, Veronika" I said as-a-matter-of-factly. She finished up and spat into the water, her head still dipped into the bowl slightly as she groaned deeply.
