We all have our masks [Twenty One Pilots]

Chapter Eleven: Alone

In the light of day, the facade of the residential building seemed decrepit. A lot less dilapidated than at three in the morning, but still. It wasn't what you could call a beautiful block. The street was grey compared to the rest of the town, and Lena suddenly felt sadness grabbing her whole being, but she quickly shoved the feeling away. That was it. She had found uncle Rick, and for now, it was all that mattered. 

Yawning discreetly, Lena looked up to the last floor, gathering up the courage to finally enter. She had stayed up really late with Zack, searching for the right name, and they had narrowed it down to only one possible address. They were both exhausted, so much that Lena didn't even felt ashamed of letting a small tear of relief down her cheek, and Zack had hugged her friendly, like there was nothing weird. They had bonded over the hours, and when Zack had insisted to drive Lena back to her hotel, she had been forced to accept, on the one condition that he drove by uncle Rick's place before dropping her off. 

There she was again, now. She was playing her last card here. It was all or nothing. In the pocket of her jacket, her fingers were crossed, and Lena took advantage of an old man going out of the building to enter. The inside wasn't better than the outside and an unpleasant smell was floating in the air, but Lena shrugged. Her dad used to tell her she couldn't judge a book by its cover, and she was certainly not going to do that now. Especially not when it was her only chance of finding familiy relatives. 

The lift was out of service, but climbing the five stories didn't really bother Lena, for it gave her some time to think of what she would say. Maybe uncle Rick would recognize her right away? It was unlikely, though. She had grown so much. But maybe her cousin Hannah was still living with him, and she would probably remember her. They were so close as kids, she was almost like a sister to her. 

Breathless, Lena finally reached the door. Her heart pounding in her chest, she took some time to breathe deeply before knocking three times. She was so stressed she could have passed out when, with a click, the door slightly opened, revealing big blue eyes filled with what seemed like boredom.

"Uhm... Hi. Are you Hannah?" Lena asked timidly, although she was certain the girl behind the door was her cousin. Her face hadn't changed a bit. She still had those perfectly arched dark eyebrows, and these piercing blue eyes couldn't be mistaken. The girl looked tired, and had dark bags underneath her eyes. 

"Yeah, what about me?" she replied, chewing gum like there was no tomorrow. She opened the door just a little bit more, so that her body was showing through the opening. She was wearing extremely short shorts - or were these panties? - and a plain grey tank top. Lena was holding back tears. 

"Hi Hannah! I'm Lena, your cousin. Remember me?" Lena said with a hopeful tone. 

Hannah was silent for a second, arching her eyebrows towards the sky, and Lena thought her heart could have burst out of her chest with impatience. But then, she smiled, oh so slightly, and before she knew it, Lena was in her arms. The girls hugged for a few seconds, then Hannah took her by the hand, forcing her to come in and slamming the door shut behind her. 

"Where have YOU been, girl? I thought you were dead!" Hannah said, talking slowly. In fact, everything in Hannah was slow. The way she talked, the way she walked. Even the way she smiled. 

"I was in France, my dad took me and..." Lena started.

"Oh yeah I remember that!" Hannah cut her off, inviting her to go sit down on the couch. Doing so, Lena took in her surroundings. The appartement wasn't very clean. The floor was scattered by some dirty clothes and snacks wrappings, and it smelled awful, a mix of cold tobacco and sour sweat. But it was nothing. Lena had family, now. Right?