The Break

Confusion

Hylla was beyond worried for her sister, but she was also beyond clueless.

When she saw Reyna for the first time that day, Hylla was sure someone had beaten her. Maybe Thalia helped her out and they left to her place, knowing how I would react, she thought. It was the reason why she didn't ask questions, figuring that was what Thalia had meant she needed space from.

But as the day went on, from the car ride to arriving at their home, the young woman had begun to doubt her previous certainty. From quick glances at stoplights and when she relaxed with her on the couch watching movies, Hylla quickly began to wonder if the marks on her sister were actually bruises. Some of the distinct shapes of the marks confused her, and she questioned her own conclusion. What kind of fight did she get into, exactly?

The thing that scared her the most was when she woke up to Reyna screaming and thrashing next to her. Hylla had been more than terrified of the look of pure fear in her sister's wide eyes. Even as she assured the girl that it was really Hylla beside her, the youngest Arellano kept her gaze averted, uncertainty overtaking her features as she seemed to disappear into her own thoughts.

As soon as she mentioned Thalia, Hylla put it all together to know Thalia had been the one to hurt Reyna. Why would Thalia ever hurt her? It made no sense to Hylla as to why the girl would do such a thing to her sister, the girl's best friend. So why would she hurt Reyna by beating her? Even when the two fought, they never escalated to beating each other.

Hylla's confusion morphed to rage at the other girl. She left her sister to go after Thalia, and she had been more than ready to beat the life out of the Grace.

But Thalia's look of guilt and carelessness of her life made the woman pause. From the Grace's words, she couldn't make sense of what had actually happened. Again, she doubted her unwavering certainty from not moments before. 

What more, Thalia's injuries sure as hell didn't make things much easier to pinpoint.

When they arrived, Hylla made sure to turn off the car and waited for a few minutes before they went through the back door. Thalia headed straight for the garage as the eldest Arellano gathered the medical supplies from the bathroom, making sure to not make noise just in case Reyna wanted to check on her sister's arrival.

Thalia took her time to study the sixth home of the Arellano sisters. The garage was about the average size any home would have, right next to the front hallway that connected the front door to the living room and led into another hallway that had doors to the bedrooms and bathroom. Thalia wondered why Hylla hadn't just had them go through the front door, seeing as it was closer to the garage, but figured Reyna must've been in the living room when her older sister left her, so she would've heard the front door instead of the back door. 

The garage was stacked up with labeled boxes, an old computer sitting on a desk near one of the corners of the room. Thalia found a stool beneath a workbench and sat down on it, waiting for the woman to come back. She wasn't looking forward to the older girl looking at all of her scabs and bruises, but it wasn't like she had much choice.

Thalia wondered what Reyna was doing at the moment. Was she thinking about what Thalia did to her? Was she even thinking about Thalia in general? She figured the girl was angry with her, maybe even told Hylla what had happened and hoped Thalia would get what she deserved. Just the thought made her feel as if her chest was being squeezed. Maybe it was the thought of Reyna hating her, or maybe it was the bruises all over her chest. Either way, it hurt.

Hylla returned with a box full of bandages, a container filled with cotton balls, and a bottle of antiseptic. The highschooler winced at the sound of the bottle being opened.

"Shirt," was all Hylla had to say for Thalia to sigh and remove her clothes from her chest. Jacket, then long sleeved shirt, then her tank top. She left her bra on, knowing Hylla would bandage her back last. Hylla looked away from Thalia, taking a moment to control the pain and sadness she felt just seeing what happened to the girl. Once she steadied herself, she got to work.

Hylla had taken many classes on health, medical, and anatomy when she had gotten the time and money to start school again. And yet she doubted that was the reason Thalia made no sounds of pain or even facial expressions as she cleaned the opened skin and bandaged her.

She worked silently for the most part, only talking when she told Thalia to take off the clothes she needed to expose the bruised and wounded skin for Hylla to bandage. The tattoo made Hylla feel uneasy, but what caught her attention were multiple marks on her body that seemed similar to those she had seen on Reyna. From what she could tell, there were less strange marks on the girl than there were on her sister, which confused the woman even more.

Reyna's sister thought about asking Thalia what the marks were from, but from the look on her face and the wounds on her body made Hylla stay quiet. Whatever had happened, she knew Thalia felt guilty about it and it left Reyna scared to the point she had nightmares. Maybe it was better not to ask.

It took nearly an hour, half the bandages, all of the gauze, all of the ointment, and a third of the antiseptic for Hylla to finish patching the girl up. Once she finished securing the gauze around her back, Thalia sat there for a moment, looking down at the bandages around her wrists. Hylla put away the medical supplies, not commenting or telling the girl to get dressed.

"How is she?"

The question made Hylla pause from exiting the garage with the medical supplies. She glanced at Thalia, who continued to stare at her bandages without moving. The woman sighed. "I don't really know." Thalia nodded, urging her to continue. Hylla set down the medical supplies and leaned against the nearest wall. "She has no energy to do anything, really. Almost always sleeping. Even then, she wakes up screaming and thrashing around, and it's hard to calm her down." Hylla noticed Thalia had dropped her head, eyes closed. She breathed deeply. "I don't know what happened, but whatever it was, don't blame yourself for it. It wasn't your fault."

Thalia scoffed at that, opening her eyes. They were darker, much less light in them than Hylla remembered. The blue had faded so much, the electricity and glint they normally held now gone, almost like they were drained out of her. They were heavy with guilt and sadness, concern weighing down her shoulders as much as exhaustion. It was different from Reyna's, much larger in a way that Hylla knew Thalia held for a long time. She was reminded again that the girl she was speaking to had gone through her own hardships over her short life, some similar to those of the Arellano sisters and others widely more different.

"How is it not my fault?" She took some time to process the words Hylla had said. Her expression turned into a frown, confusion lingering in her features. "She didn't tell you? I thought that was why you went after me."

Hylla had no time to answer or even think about the girl's words.

At that moment, the door that led to the hallway opened, revealing a surprised Reyna. She was still in her pajamas from earlier, her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. From the way she was standing, Hylla realized Reyna had burst in the room in what she might've thought was disbelief or confusion. 

Now, she stood stiffly in the doorway, eyes glued on Thalia, with shock overtaking her features.

Thalia stumbled backwards, the stool tipping to the side to drop the rest of her clothes on the floor. She had the look of a deer caught in headlights, eyes wide and mouth open slightly. The wince from stumbling vanished in less than a second, but Hylla saw it. 

The two girls stared at each other in silence, neither one moving.

That was when the glass shattered.