Folded Fondant ~ Sebastian

Piece by Piece *Part 37*

You're not a curse, you're not too much. You are needed here, You are enough. Nothing's gonna hold you down for long. - "Wildfire (Alternate version)" by SYML (chapter's playlist)

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I stared at the note Lia had left me. Reading it over and over again. Hanging on to the one piece that mattered the most to me. She'd left me a kiss. I'd say this was a massive upgrade from the silence I usually got.

A note and a kiss. We were making progress of sorts. But she had still left.

My phone buzzed, pulling me out of my obsessive and depressing slump.

Open your door.

Why?

Just do it.

I walked to my door and opened it as instructed. Eilis stood there with her oversized purse and nothing else.

"What are you doing here?" I asked a little surprised. A little relieved.

"You needed me, so here I am." She held out her hands and let them drop to her sides as she spoke.

I stepped aside to let her in. Following her to my living room. "You didn't have to drive all this way, Puppet. You could have called."

"Sebbie," she sighed. "This isn't a conversation you need to have over the phone. You've always been there for me. Coming at the slightest inclination of something being wrong. Now it's my turn."

I shouldn't be surprised, but I was touched. I offered her a drink but she declined, showing me her water bottle. Instead, we sat on my two-seater. "How'd you even get here. Last I checked your car was dead and hasn't been revived for almost two years."

She shrugged. "I took the train."

My eyebrows lifted, a smile curling my lip. "You, the train? Now I know I must be dreaming."

"Oh stop. I don't have anything against public transportation. A cab seemed like a ridiculous expense and I only shy away from the train because I'm always bogged down with luggage. Clearly I'm traveling super light today."

"True." I nodded, my smile ebbing.

"So, where's our Short Stack?" Eils didn't beat around the bush. I guess we were here. My smile diminished completely.

"She went out for...I don't even know. She's been gone all day." And wasn't that the kicker. A few days ago she was being knocked around. Now she's wandering around out there even when I keep telling her to stay put. She's been restless and I didn't know how to talk to her at the given moment without us nitpicking over the situation. But at least she wasn't out there alone.

"By herself?" She looked to the window and the darkness. "Sebastian that's a horrible-" I lifted a hand.

"I know. But Lia is going to do what Lia wants. She's lived this her whole life, Eils. To her, this was just another day in a nondescript year. She's not concerned about being out there doing who knows what, and I'm not going to coddle her. All that's going to lead to is another argument." Though I wished I could lock her in here with me to make sure she never got attacked again. Not that that was a healthy or rational urge. "All I can do is give her a hand when she's reaching for it." I wasn't prepared for the defeated sound in my voice. Luckily it was overlooked. Unluckily she caught on to my ease.