A HELL 9 AU FIC
*
CAIA TRIES NOT TO notice people in general. They are too soft, too sensitive in her opinion. Too easy to break. Finnian always tells her to be more careful, but he doesn't know what it feels like to have liquid destruction coursing through his veins.
Sometimes Caia just wants to let it all out, to let go of something she has worked so hard to keep back, but she can feel her grip on the reigns to be weakening. Her strength is deteriorating, and it is a feeling she has become accustomed to after all these years of her control slipping. It's a landslide, and Caia can not find a handhold.
It wasn't until eighth grade that Caia had knocked her first person out, until she lost control.
Gage Harlan had been kicking a new kid around, showing off to his bunch of friends while they praised and encouraged him on as if going against someone defenseless was a feat to be celebrated.
Caia couldn't help it. She had stepped up to Gage and his bully friends, eyes defiant even when she knew that her frizzy blonde hair and sweaty complexion - an unfortunate result of P.E. class - made her look ridiculous.
Her odd behavior had gathered up quite an audience, but that had only egged Gage on. He loved to be the center of attention, even more so when he knew a victory was just beyond his reach. Or so he thought, because Caia had stood up for herself and the beat up kid that day, all with a single unforgettable and unpredictable kick to Gage's gut.
The crowd's roar had only been drowned out by the buzz Caia had felt, brewing just beneath her skin and loudly in her head. She had loved it, and she still does.
*
FINNIAN SOMETIMES WISHES THAT he wasn't Caia's only brother. Sure, he loves her, but love can be demanded and expected, or it can be unconditional and eternal. He has had twenty-two years to figure out that his might be somewhere along the lines of the former type, or at least more lenient in that direction.
Time has worn away his love, and it's billowy thin now, mere strands fighting to hold onto what is tenuous and familiar. But Finnian himself is bone-tired. It's not hard to become this way when you have to raise a younger sister by herself: frantic late night shopping for pads; working extra hard so that they don't live in a crappy rundown apartment even though their current residence isn't that much better; funding her interests and needs along with his own.
People take for granted everyone that has sacrificed something for them, no matter how little or small. Perhaps it's just because Finnian isn't selfless enough. He's always known that he was selfish, got it from his mom.
The front door squeaks opens and Finnian peers up to see a slightly frazzled Caia looking exactly the way she had this morning - green coat with a fur hood zipped up to her throat, blonde hair swaying around her - as she struggles to carry a lanky teenager through the door without accidentally chopping off his long limbs as she closes the door to shut the warmth in. Finnian stands up abruptly to help her just as Caia accomplishes the feat, straightening and letting a heavy sigh escape.
Caia smiles weakly as if she knows that Finnian is on his way to giving up, or maybe because she's given up. Finnian doesn't return the false sentiment, and instead examines his thirteen year old sister.
The first thing he notices is the thin angry line just below her jaw, as if a blade was pressed right there against her skin.
Caia is headstrong and can fight her own battles, but that is how she gets in all the trouble that she does. She's diligent enough, but also the kind of stubborn younger sibling that can be the most difficult to deal with, and Finnian knows this firsthand. But that stubbornness can sometimes be used against him when she's intent on keeping a matter a secret. Like what happened to cause that cut.
