I'll Keep You Steady

Chapter Two: I Got You

TW: Mentions of panic attack, mentions of fighting, potentially upsetting content.
Veronica's POV:

"You're safe, you're okay, I've got you," I spoke softly as I lift the sobbing Tia into my arms and settling her in my lap. She curls up and lays her head against my chest, still crying.

"Ti Ti, can you hear me?" I ask quietly, brushing her hair out of her face. Her hair is all frizzy. Her makeup is smudgy. I can see the freckles that dusted her face. Her eyes are swollen and red and puffy. She hasn't stopped crying. What happened to her?

"R-Ronnie..." Tia wraps her legs around my waist and her body is racking with seemingly painful sobs. She's gonna make herself sick. I don't want her to get sick, she hates being sick. She can't stop crying. I need to get her calm. She needs to calm down now.

"I-I don't w-want to b-be hopeless, Ronnie..." Tia utters. Hopeless? She's not hopeless. She's just upset, and it's normal to be upset. She's a human with human emotions and she's allowed to be sad and she's allowed to cry if she needs to. It doesn't make her hopeless.

"I know you don't. Please try to calm down," I attempt to calm her, but her tears just keep coming. I don't know what's going on, but I do know that if this keeps up, Tia's gonna make herself sick. I know that she hates being sick. And feeling hopeless.

"R-Ronnie..." she murmurs. She sounds so quiet. Her voice is small and almost... Fuzzy. Her voice is quiet and small and fuzzy and I don't know why and it's not supposed to be like that. That's not what she sounds like, that can't be her voice, she doesn't sound like that.

"I'm right here," I'm getting emotional myself. I'm trying to blink my tears away, but they're still pricking my eyes. I don't want to watch this, this descent into madness. Tia's spiraling and I can't help her because I don't know how to help her and I'm getting sad.

"Can you both shut up?! I'm trying to think!" Ellie is screaming. She's gonna upset Tia. Tayce told me that Ellie shouted at Tia earlier. I don't like that one bit. I feel something rising inside of me. That something is anger. I set Tia down and approach Ellie.

"Shut. Up. You're the one who made Ti Ti cry." I snarl. Ellie looks shocked by my claim. She can defend herself all she wants, but she yelled at Tia and hit her while she was down, and that's just inexcusable. I don't know if Tia will ever forgive her.

"I am not! This little fucking bitch is overreacting." Ellie is being unreasonable. Ellie's the only one here being a bitch. Not Tia, or Tayce, or me. I feel the burning desire to slap Ellie get even more intense, it's taking everything in my power to hold myself back now.

"Get. Out." I point at the door. Ellie tilts her head. Her eyes are grey and bloodshot and somehow red. I stand my ground. I want Ellie to leave before I do something I may regret. I restate what I said and Ellie starts getting angry. She doesn't scare me.

"You can't make me." Ellie is being bitchy now. From unreasonable to bitchy. I don't like this new side of Ellie. She's supposed to be nice and she's not being very nice right now. I don't like that at all. Tia needs support, not anger. Ellie doesn't seem to understand that.

"Please leave, Ellie. I don't want to say or do something I may regret." I state firmly. Ellie looks taken aback, as if there wasn't a possibility of such a thing happening. She snarls and I roll my eyes. She's trying to intimidate me. It's not gonna fucking work.

"Make me, bitch!" Ellie snaps. I'm fucking tired of her right now. I want her to leave. She's making herself look even taller, no doubt in an attempt to scare me. It's not gonna work and I'm going to make sure that she knows that it's not going to work.

"You don't fucking scare me, Ellie. Now get out!" I screech. Tia probably doesn't like the yelling. I shouldn't yell, but Ellie deserves it this time. Ellie scoffs and rolls her eyes and leaves the room. Tayce is staring at Tia with a really sorrowful look plastered on her face.

"Please calm down, Ti." Tayce is practically begging. Tia is only crying more hysterically at this point. I don't want Tia to cry. She has her knees pulled up and her face is hidden in her lap. I sigh, before seeing something on the bedside table. I get an idea soon after.

I go to the bedside table and pick up the object. Her stuffed Zebra, named Ziggy. I had won this for her at an arcade. I bring the plushie over to Tia and make the zebra jump onto her arm. She looks over at it and holds it.

"Ziggy..." Tia's voice is still quiet and small and fuzzy. But she still can speak. I'd rather her speech be quiet and small and fuzzy than her not being able to speak at all. Ziggy has a green bow tie. Tia says it makes it look all fancy. It does.

She hugs the plush and cries, but her sobs are much softer. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. I go over to her and Tayce comes over to her as well. Tayce hugs her and so do I. She needs it, especially after what Ellie did.

I pull Tia into my lap and allow her to curl up, laying her head against my chest. She holds Ziggy close to her chest. She seems much calmer now. That's a good sign. I hum softly as I know that gets her calm.

And soon enough, Tia's fast asleep.