Medical leave (a Mirandy fanfic)

Chapter 17: Respite

Andy hid under the fluffy duvet in the guest bedroom bed. She tucked her knees against her chest and clutched the pillow tightly. The tears had dried up on her cheeks and her body no longer shook with sobs, but with a dreadful frost that settled on the pit of her stomach.

The girls were ok. When Miranda couldn't reach the brunette, she called her housemaid Cara instead, to let her know that Roy would pick up the twins early from school. The editor didn't need a crystal ball to know the press had no qualms about  pestering children to get under their parents' skin, it had happened when the news of her second divorce broke and this wouldn't be the exception.

The front door slamming shut and the stampede of two pairs of familiar feet starttled Andrea. The girls were home, the were ok. She sighed and cuddled farther into que warmth of her cocoon. She didn't feel like seing them, she didn't want to see the annoyance in their eyes, reproaching her about her needy stupidity.

There were a few muffled whispers and the door to the guest room creaked quietly. The twins observed the protruding bulge on the bed that was the chrysalis form of a very despondent species of Andrea Sachs. They approached and carefully climbed on each side of the bed, the brunette felt the bed dip with both weights but refused to leave her haven.

-"Andy?" - Cassidy tried - 

-"Uhm?" - Andrea growled from under the sheets - 

-"You okay?" - Caroline queried - 

-"Y-yes, I'm fine. Cara made some snacks for you, in case you were hungry" - 

-"Oh, uhm, okay. Thanks" - Caroline eyed her sister to find her as puzzled as herself- 

-"Andy" - Cassidy tried again - 

-"Yes, Cassidy?" - over time, Andrea had become widely aware of the blatant differences between both girls (their voices were no exception) to the point where she could easily tell them apart even if they were trying to confuse her.

-"You sure everything's fine?" - Cassidy sounded sincerely concerned. Andy didn't want to face them now but she didn't mean to distress them unnecessarily (more than she already had). The brunette pulled off the sheets and sat upright, both girls looked at her with an expectant confusion.

-"Yes, girls. I'm fine, really" - she tentatively extended her hand to caress Cassidy's hair but quickly retracted it - "You should go eat something, I know Cara baked something delicious for you both" - she strove to smile

-"Andy, why are you sad?" -Caroline queried and the brunette felt tears stinging her eyes again -

-"I'm not..."

-"Were the reporters bad to you? We know they can be nasty" - Cassidy observed, incredibly unswayed - 

-"Yeah, those idiots are bunch of vultures" - Caroline added, truly displeased - 

-"No, I... I haven't left the house today. I guess I'am overwhelmed with all this attention from the press" - the brunette admitted, pulling her fingers nervously - 

-"You won't leave, will you?" - Caroline interjected, her eyes wide with worry - 

-"You can't leave! They'll go away, we promiss. It's a matter of time" - her sister continued - 

-"Yeah, that's right. They'll grow bored and go chase some other news. You can't leave, Andy" - the coordinated pout was simply adorable, there was no way Andrea Sachs would ever be able to deny anything to this lovely girls. But what truly amazed her was how much like Miranda the twins were. Those lustrous blue eyes held so much fierceness and love towards those who they cared about. If the eyes were really the window of the soul Andrea had no doubt all the Priestly women had the most wondrous souls she had ever seen.