Warren Beasts

34: Said and Unsaid

He finds his sister sitting by herself atop a jumbled pile of grimy, discarded vegetable oil barrels in a forgotten corner of the tubhouse.

Talia has her face to the wall, her forehead in her palms, and her cornrows are unusually untidy. Artie weaves his wheelchair around the barrels, eventually rolling to a halt right beside her. Talia glances at her little brother. Her face is the very picture of despair. She slowly clears her throat.

"Who am I without tourneytub?" Her voice trembles.

Without hesitation, Artie reaches out to rest his dark hand on her leg. The warmth comforts them both. "You're Talia Amphigore. My sister. And I love you." Artie squeezes her knee.

These words are all he can offer. So he offers them.

Softy. Gently. Bravely.

The faintest hint of a smile plays upon Talia's face. She turns her head slightly, the smallest twinkle returning to her red rimmed eyes.

Talia puts her arm around her brother now.

Squeezes him right back. Leans in.

Softly. Gently. Bravely.

Ever since Sage's breakup with Gee, if it could even be called a breakup, moments of joy have been hard to come by.

Obviously.

But tonight's thumping of Redbloom was an exception.

Sage will take these sorts of moments where she can get them.

So she's riding high walking out of the tubhouse tonight, popping pink bubbles to the black sky above. She finds Damien leaning in his usual spot in the parking lot, blending effortlessly into the malevolent darkness about him. Sage smiles. She hoists herself over the narrow leather seat, throws on her helmet, and is about to rev the engine when she spies Talia and Artie Amphigore making their own way towards the parking lot.

Sage's mood drops.

Talia sees her first. She swiftly comes to a stop. Talia scowls, but then her face falls into a softer, more neutral expression.

"Sup."

"Sup." Sage thrusts her chin up in a curt greeting. She's not sure where this is going. She's still incredibly wary of Talia.

Will this turn into another argument?

Will the girl piss her off so much their stupid feud can only be fairly resolved by pistols and hatchets at dawn?

"s-Sorry about- You know. About earlier," Talia indicates the empty Warren behind them, "I really let us down back there."

An apology? Really?

Well this is a surprising development...

Sage finds herself sighing heavily. She supposes she can bury the hatchet as well as the next girl. "It's fine, Amphigore. I could tell you were giving it your all. Then you realized you couldn't bring it like you used to, and you were honest about that. Respect."

Talia nods. Artie has rolled up beside his sister now. He looks from one girl to the other, hesitantly.

Talia starts walking in the direction of her car again, right past Sage, but then Sage speaks up.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry too." She says.

Talia stops again. Turns around to face the other girl. "What for?"

"For what happened to you. It's not fair. In the space of five stupid minutes, all that," Sage gestures over to The Warren, "got taken from you. I know you made a mistake and all. But still. You didn't deserve everything that happened to you."

Talia's shoulders droop. "Thanks." She mumbles. But Sage knows she means it.

Sage keeps talking. "You know, at first I didn't understand why you were so mad at me. I saved your life, and you blamed me for everything! But now I've been out there on the court a few times, I get it. The crowd, like clay in your hands. The clash of tubs, the mud, the whole thing, it's- It's- It's...divine. I can't even imagine having it all stripped away so quickly. Like getting kicked out of heaven. Then not even an hour later, I get put on the team. No wonder you hate me."

"I don't hate you Sawyer. I just- I hope you appreciate it, is all. Cuz nothing that good can last." Talia disappears into the inky blackness of the night, with Artie following behind.

For some reason an image of Gee suddenly floats up in Sage's head.

She allows the rumbling cacophony of Damien's engine to burn it away.

***

Photo courtesy of Oziel Gómez on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/@ozgomz. Edited.