1.1 | daunting medleys

fourteen | summer dress

The weather was hot, and the sun was glaring down on Tabitha's unclothed arm as she walked out of the car. She flinched from the revv of the engine as it zoomed past her. She tugged on the edge of the summer dress Talia forced on her and walked in to their home. Tabitha'd just gotten discharged and was walking into their home, Talia chattering incessantly beside her.

"... and Toby didn't even bother to apologise to me after trying to trip me." She huffed, pushing open the door with her shoulders. Tabitha gripped the duffel bag containing her toiletries and her previous clothing and walked in. The house smelt like bleach and lemon, it was obvious that the house was cleaned prior Tabitha's arrival and she wondered why.

Tabitha rolled her eyes at her sister. "Well duh, it's obvious what's going on."

Her twin stopped and looked at Tabitha sheepishly before continuing up the stairs. "Um, yes, I know what's going on but you may not grasp the full idea of the situation so why don't you tell me what you think and I can fill in the blanks for you."

Tabitha frowned at having to walk up the stairs before letting out a small chortle at Talia. "It's obvious that he likes you. So he is doing all this to grab your attention, instead of just trying to talk to you like a normal person."

"Oh. Oh." Was her dazed echo. "Well that's really stupid, but how did you figure it out?"

When they had gotten up the stairs and were adjacent to their rooms, then Tabitha replied haughtily. "Because I'm the smarter twin, and also because I heard his sister talking about how he really likes you in the bathroom before summer vacation." She dashed into her room because Talia could react and giggled when she heard a playful yet agitated yell and the thud of something against her door.

Her smile lingered for a while as she pressed against the door but fell when she saw the orange bottle that held her presciption, laying plainly on her study table. Tabitha let out a shaky breath and walked slowly to the bottle, her fingers lightly tracing the plastic coldness. Her lowered eyes didn't reveal any reaction to the bottle. Her eyes flittered to the computer by the container and she walked to it, setting her bag by the side. The slight clack of the keyboard typing once it was powered on rang throughout the room. She searched the hospital's name on the internet and frowned when she saw no recent news about it. Then she clicked on a news article and found out that it had shut down, and apparently due to the influx of the false diagnosis complaints that the hospital had received.

The hospital was the cause of everything. Tabitha leaving music, her being caged because of everything and now it was false. She'd been stuffing herself with drugs she didn't need and it was all fake. Tabitha felt like screaming, she wanted a tiny hole where she would scream and no one would come barging in, where they would ignore the devastation in her yell. Her lithe fingers trembled as they hovered over the keys. Tears blurred her vision as she tried to focus on the words on the screen.

Tabitha was still stuck in her thought induced daze before Talia barged into her room, as she always did. "Well lunch's ready and Aunt Grace is waiting for us downstairs." Tabitha blinked rapidly before nodding at her older sister, from the sound of things, her parents had dropped them off and headed out again.

"I'm gonna go wash my face first then I'll head down." Talia dipped her chin, before glancing at Tabitha again, then slipped out the door quietly as she noticed the change in Tabitha.

Tabitha did as she said then walked down the stairs to see Talia and Aunt Grace laughing together. Their attention steered to the girl on the last step and the older woman engulfed Tabitha in a big hug. The warm smell of cinnamon and vanilla that clung to the woman infiltrated her nostrils. Aunt Grace was the nanny that their parents had hired when the twins were younger because the parents worked alot. She had become a core part of the twins life and her bakery was where Tabitha spent most of her time but she was off visiting her grandchildren and apparently, just returned.

The older woman's braids were tied in a ponytail, her warm brown eyes so comforting to the lost Tabitha. She tried to get words out of her mouth but couldn't, and Aunt Grace could tell. "Hush child, I know. I know." She soothed tenderly, allowing Tabitha to break down in her arms.

She'd tried to keep it in, she had really tried but Aunt Grace reminded her too much of a warm affection of a mother. She'd always been there for Tabitha and a lot of things had happened recently and she didn't know what to do. Her tiny figure trembled softly as she wept, soaking Aunt Grace's blue shirt with her tears. Her eyes burned and her head felt heavier, yet comfort was released as she let out her discomfort by tears.

Another hand Tabitha figured was Talia's patted her back slightly. She unpeeled herself from Aunt Grace and sniffled slightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make a mess of your shirt." She whispered lowly, fiddling with her gown.

Talia held onto her hand and the older woman brushed a stray curl away with withered hands. "You don't have to apologise for breaking down sweet child, you have been through a lot this week and you have every right to cry as much as you want, okay. Now sit down, let's eat. I made your favorite."

Talia still hadn't said anything, just held tightly to Tabitha's in a form of silent support. They gathered around the table. Orange chicken, dumplings and miso soup at the center of the table. Tabitha's cheeks burned as she saw the feast on the table, she tucked a curl behind her ears to avoid reacting to the looks that her sister sent to her. Aunt Grace remembered that she completely adored Chinese food and had prepared it for her.

"Take a seat and stuff your face." Talia giggled, then paused to ask randomly. "Where's mum and dad?"

Taking a napkin to wipe her fork, the woman with the wet patch on her shirt paused. "I believe they went to sue the hospital that misdiagnosed your sister."