concordia

fourteen

word count: 1.8k

date written: 25.5.19

verse: canon-divergence; fix-it

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elle gripped the steering wheel tighter, casting a look at the envelope sitting innocently beside her in the passenger seat before she slumped forward with a groan, resting her head against the top of the wheel. it was dumb luck that she'd even found the card, unearthing it from the depths of the bin after spying her name on the front in perfect cursive, and it had raised more questions than answers ever since. which explained why she was parked on the side of the road outside connie's house at 10PM, trying to convince herself to go over there and confront her about what she'd read.

elle sighed, curls falling away from her face as she lifted her head again. she didn't have anything to lose if she went through with it; she'd already quit her job and the one that was supposed to replace it. best case scenario, she came away from this knowing just as little as she had earlier. worst case... well, that was almost impossible to predict with connie. realizing she wouldn't know unless she tried, elle reached over to retrieve the envelope and reluctantly climbed out onto the sidewalk. the wind had picked up considerably since she'd left home and it battered away at her as she locked the car, just as turbulent as hers and connie's relationship currently was.

she pulled her jacket tighter around herself in a vain attempt to keep out the cold, holding the envelope close to her chest as she made her way up the street. by the time she turned into connie's driveway, she was already having second thoughts, and likely would've turned around had she not known the letter would haunt her forever if she did. she came to a stop on the doorstep, brushing her hair out of her face, but the wind almost immediately blew it free again as she rocked on her heels. with a deep breath, elle lifted her hand and knocked loudly.

it wasn't long before she heard footsteps from inside, followed shortly by the sound of the lock turning and the chain being pulled back. connie opened the door with an unimpressed frown moments later, several choice words already in mind for her unexpected guest, but nothing could've prepared her for the sight of elle outside. she faltered, eyes widening in surprise as they swept elle's disheveled figure, but immediately tried to close the door when she came to her senses a second later. elle was quick to react, shoving her foot in the door's path before it could close all the way, and connie glared at her through the unwanted gap. after today, all she'd wanted to do was forget elle had ever even existed but that was impossible to achieve when she was stood right in front of her as though she had any right to be there.

"we need to talk," elle told her, only removing her foot when connie reluctantly reopened the door. as much as she wanted elle gone, connie knew she wouldn't leave until she'd gotten whatever it was she wanted and turned away without a word, walking off down the hall. elle stepped inside behind her, brushing her curls back now that she was finally out of the wind.

"there's nothing to talk about," connie called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the kitchen and elle sighed, closing the door gently in their wake before following after her. she entered the room to her leaning against the counter, a half-full glass of wine inches from her hand, and in the bright light of the kitchen, it was clear that she'd been crying. even though she was trying to hide it by looking anywhere other than at her, elle could still see the telltale redness around her eyes.

"are you sure?" she asked quietly, crossing the room to join her. she stopped at the end of the counter, just several feet away, before setting down the envelope she'd been holding onto the entire time. connie's heart stopped, her eyes growing wide. she'd never expected to see it again after throwing it out just hours earlier, surfeited with trying to put her ever complicated feelings into words.