Branches of Our Tree

Chapter Eleven: Monster

Elsa
"It's okay, Anna." These words spilled out from my mouth, running over the chapped, colorless surface of my lips, which had almost instantly dried when I had caught Rapunzel's wrist before it made contact with my sister's gentle skin. Only now, when several minutes have passed, did my pulsing heart stop crashing against the raw interior of my chest. But my mind couldn't manage to wipe Rapunzel's glinting emerald glare clear.

"I know, sis," Anna spoke, her voice unnaturally rough, as if she had swallowed multiple sheets of sandpaper. Before I could reply, she pressed her thin cherry lips together, a prominent lump rolling down her throat as she swallowed. Within seconds, a smile lifted up her cheeks, a cheerful light flooding her eyes with incredible speed. "I'm fine now."

I blinked at her, my eyebrows curving upwards, worry mingling with uncertainty. "Are you sure? Because I can report it to the--"

"No!"she yelped, sending the noise ricocheting across the ghostly cinder block walls of the girls' bathroom. I stepped back a little, my eyes widening in surprise. "Er...I mean, no. You don't have to,"she started, before letting out a puff of air, lifting her shoulders in sync to her sigh. Keeping her chin ducked towards her chest, she lifted her gaze, meeting my eyes through her thick doe-lashes. "You're always protecting me. I just...wanna try this on my own, this time."

In response, I folded my arms, flitting my head from side to side in exasperation. "Try what on your own? High school? Anna, don't be ridiculous."

She didn't voice a reply. After a moment, I looked at her, a bit alarmed. The glow from the fluorescent bulbs lining the ceiling was reflected in the shivering orbs of liquid that now lined the rim of Anna's eyes. Her bottom lip was hanging out, quivering as well.

"Anna, no."

Still no reply.

"Anna."

If anything, it seemed to me that her eyes had increased in size, the glittering tears that rested in them becoming jewels I could not ignore.

I let out a gasp, as if she had been using her clasped fingers to construct my fragile windpipe. "God, fine!"

"Yes!" With an excess of elated joy, Anna lifted her arms towards the paint-speckled ceiling, her fingers curling to close into a fist. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
My eyes widened immensely at the sight of my fifteen-year-old sister advancing toward me with the energy of a fully-charged Duracell battery, her smooth, leathery boots smashing against the floor as if she had wanted the very ground to separate with a jagged, toothy crack.

"Anna..." I spoke, the sound coming from my throat trailing off after a weak start. Before I could try to speak again, the full impact of her lithe figure meeting up with the awkwardly curvy silhouette of my own body sent me teetering back, almost far enough for my bottom to make contact with the notoriously undefined surface of the tiled bathroom floor.
Yet still, being the naive girl she was, she tightened her hold around my shoulders, pressing me forcefully into her infinitely warm embrace. A squeal filtered out rather easily from her open mouth, happiness once more her current mood.

"Anna!" I exclaimed, managing to find an escape route for my trapped arms. My fingertips pressed against her shoulder blades, gently pushing her vibrating body away.

Immediately, Anna ceased her movement, her thin eyebrows rocketing up the smooth plane of her forehead.
"Anna," I said in a tone lilting towards disapproval. Hurt creeped over her face, which allowed her to acquire the gaze of a wounded doe. I inhaled sharply, relishing in the feel of the cool air rushing in between my teeth. "Please. As much as I love you, and your squealing, don't you think I'd rather live through my life without touching that disgusting floor?"