Philophobia

Fourteen; Sisters

May 22nd, 2010
5:34 am
The Apartment of McKenzie and Elizabeth Doyle
Washington D.C.

Eliza woke up in a cold sweat, a nightmare having overcome her otherwise peaceful sleep. She was breathing heavily as she sat up straight in her bed, using her right hand to support her body weight. She extended her left hand, looking for the brown tabby laying next to her. Ironically, the cat's name was Cocoa. Cocoa stared at her human, confused. She didn't want to be waken up that early, but to be fair neither did Eliza.

"I was only a dream," Eliza repeated to herself, rubbing her face with her hands. After a while, she determined that there was no possible situation in which going back to bed would work, so she forced herself out from underneath the duvet. Even though it was May, there was still a chill in Eliza's apartment which prompted her to grab the hoodie she'd discarded on the floor beside her bed last night. Pushing her socked feet into a pair of Ugg slippers, she left her bedroom, walking down the stairs to the lower level and toward the kitchen. As she neared, she noticed the light was on, and rustling was echoing off the black cabinets. "Good morning," she greeted.

"For fuck's sake!" Her sister cried, placing a hand over her heart in shock. "Why are you up so early?"

"I'd ask you the same question, but it appears you never went to sleep last night." She gestured towards the girl's sparkly silver dress, raccoon eye makeup, and black heels in her hand.

"How'd you guess?" McKenzie responded sarcastically. She was trying to open a bag of shrimp and ketchup chips, the last of her stash. "It's not my fault I chose to live glamorously as opposed to selling my life the Interpol."

"At least I have a career to fall back on!" Eliza retorted, moving Cocoa off of the counter. "Silly cat," she mused placing a K-cup in the Keurig.

"Make me a cup?" McKenzie asked. She was sitting cross-legged on the island.

"You know, there are stools on the other side of the counter Kenzie."

"You know that I don't care," Kenzie replied. Eliza handed her cup, all while grabbing her ankle and pulling her legs off of the counter. Eliza settled on a chair in the living room, pulling her knees close, and staring out the window at the foggy morning while sipping her coffee. Kenzie moved off of the counter, moving to sit on the opposing couch to face her sister. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"About what?" Eliza asked.

"Don't be an idiot Eliza. You know what I'm talking about," Kenzie exclaimed.

"I don't want to talk about it. It's not a big deal!" Eliza argued.

"Our mother cut you off! She essentially said she didn't love you!"

"You sound surprised," Eliza chuckled softly. She took another sip of her coffee.

"Lizzie-"

"DON'T call me that," Eliza snapped. "You can pry about mum, and work, and my love life all you want, but NEVER call me Lizzie again!"

Kenzie looked at her sister for a moment, shocked. "I'm sorry," she whispered to the back of Eliza's brown curls. There was another moment of silence between the two where only the sipping of coffee could be heard. "Would you like to watch House Hunters?" Kenzie finally asked.

"Always," Eliza mumbled.

May 25th, 2010
9:00 am
The Apartment of McKenzie and Elizabeth Doyle
Washington D.C.

Kenzie emerged from the stairwell showered, clean-faced, and wearing leggings also opposed to a sparkly dress. She entered the kitchen to see Eliza washing dishes. "I thought we agreed that since you cooked breakfast, I would clean the dishes," Kenzie informed her sister.

"When your shower passed the half-hour mark I figured I might as well just finish them off," Eliza replied, placing the rubber dish gloves in the side of the sink.

"Is that my top?" Kenzie pointed at the white shirt with lavender flowers adorning her sister's torso.

"Surprised you finally noticed. I stole it when you moved out after university." Eliza turned to face Kenzie who'd traveled to the couch. "I was planning on going to the market in about ten minutes. Care to join me?"

Kenzie looked at her sister, contemplating her two options. Eventually, she nodded. Eliza headed upstairs to fetch her shoes, while Kenzie grabbed their coats and purses from the hall closet. She set the items on the bench hall when a knock echoed from the doorway. Cautiously, Kenzie approached the doorway, peering through the peephole.

"Eliza!" she shouted towards the stairwell.

"What?" Eliza screamed back.

"There's a cute boy at the door! What should I do?"

"Answer it!" then more quietly, "it's probably for you."

"I heard that!" Kenzie looked back through the peephole. "Not usually one for sweater vests, but okay," Kenzie mumbled. She checked her reflection in the hall mirror, fluffing her dark blonde curls before opening the door. "Hello!" She greeted. The man shifter, hiding a small brown paper behind his back.

"Oh! Um, I'm sorry. I must have the wrong address," he muttered.

"Who are you looking for?" Kenzie could hear Eliza coming down the stairwell, and because the cute boy wasn't interested in her she was anxious to leave for the market. "If they live in the building I can maybe point you in the right direction."

"Spencer?" Eliza's question shot through the hall. Kenzie back to her sister, as Spencer peered over her shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh... I wanted to stop by because I know how difficult it is to move to a new city alone," he stuttered. "Though it appears you're not alone." He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

"Right," Eliza smiled. "Oh! McKenzie this is one of the profilers I work with, Spencer Reid. Spencer, this is my sister, McKenzie."

"Call me Kenzie. Only my mother calls me McKenzie," Kenzie informed him, extending her hand.

Eliza elbowed her sister in the ribs softly. "He doesn't shake hands," she whispered. Kenzie smiled, putting her hand down. There was a moment of silence wherein Kenzie looked between Eliza and Spencer's gazes.

"I think I'm going to go change my shoes," Kenzie said looking between the two smiling idiots.

"What's wrong with the shoes you're wearing now?" Eliza asked confused.

"I want to change my shoes! Damn Eliza, what's wrong with wanting to change my shoes? I'll be back soon!" Kenzie shrugged her sister off and headed upstairs.

"I apologize for her. She's batshit." They both chuckled. "So, why did you come over here? Did I miss a call from Hotch?" She took her phone from her pocket to check it.

"NO! Uh...no. You didn't. I...uh...I wanted to give you this," he said handing over a heavy brown paper bag. Eliza raised her eyebrows, reaching into the bag and pulling out an old book.

"War and Peace," Eliza smiled. "Is this an original edition? How did you find this so quickly?"

"I had a copy on my bookshelf. I thought it would be more useful in your hands," He replied softly.

"And you're okay simply passing on a book that's worth thousands?"

"For me, books are more for sentimental value, not monetary." He smiled back at her, glad to see the joy in her eyes. "I thought you might want to see a friendly face in a new city. I didn't know you had your sister McKe- uh... Kenzie was with you."

"Oh please. She's more like a cat than a human. Give her water, leave some food out and she'll be fine," Eliza joked. "We're about to head to the farmers market. I know you hate germs and people, but would you want to come with us?"

"I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Oh, it's no intrusion. Kenzie will probably find some fancy coffee place and never be seen again. I'd be glad to have to company."

"Okay then," Reid replied. "I'd love to."