Phoenix ✔️

Chapter 23: Familiar Enough

It's heartbreaking to see your siblings heartbroken. Bonus points if your sibling is one that has supported you since they held you for the first time. Most of us, as adults, have a certain bond to our siblings that makes us feel closer to them than we ever admit. It's like an invisible rope that ties us to our siblings, whether it be mentally, physically, emotionally, or all three of the above.

No matter what, there's always still going to be some connection. Especially when it comes to emotions. When you see your sibling sad, you sometimes feel sad too. Elena, whom I've rarely ever seen cry, broke down in my arms, which caused me to break down as well.  

The rope that ties our hearts together also acts like a tube to send our emotions to each other. Her heartbreak caused my own. Those ropes that tie us together like that are something that I always am amazed at. I'm always amazed that I can feel whatever they're feeling, just 10 times more strong. The bonds between us are mesmerizing like that.

Throughout the drive home, I'm dreading the reaction from my dad, Dom, and possibly everyone around me. If Elena broke down sobbing in my arms, then Dom's reaction is going to be 100 times worse.  I don't even know about my dad, because he's never really been one to react strongly to things.

Elena still has tears smeared across her face. Her eyes are still a bright crimson color, and puffy because of her crying. The occasional sniffle here and there indicates that her heart is still freshly broken.

A few tears are still filling my eyes, but I blink them back and refuse to let them fall. I'm staring out the window, contemplating how I'm going to deliver the news to Dom and my dad. I'm trying out different dialogues, and seeing which one sounds the least harsh, and which one sounds the most subtle.

Eventually, we pull into our neighborhood. I'm slowly approaching my problems, and I feel somewhat ready to face them completely. However, a little piece of me deep down is nagging, telling me something will definitely go wrong when I'm telling my family. "Let's go," Elena tells me, and she gets out of the car.

Reluctantly, I get out of the car as well, and I follow her back to her house. "I'm so nervous, Nicole. I don't want to imagine Dom's reaction when he hears about this," she says, with a mortified look on her face.

"The feeling's mutual, Elena," I say, swallowing another lump that's formed in my throat. Dom's going to jump at me when he hears me walk through the door to her apartment. Even after 10 minutes of working it out in my head, I don't know how to deliver the news to Dom. I'm thinking of whether I should ease him into it, or just deliver the news to him as is. Why does this have to be so hard for me?

Slowly, I walk towards the front door of Elena's house, with the jingle of her keys tingling my ears. I hear the lock turn, and she opens the door for us to inside. She beckons for me to inside first. Before I go inside, I take another deep breath. It's time to do this. When I step inside, Dom and Lara take one look at me, and stand up immediately.

All the worry I've ever imagined be in Dom is represented by the look on his face, along with Lara as well. Like Elena, there's a thread of hope woven into his simple brown eyes. He looks into my eyes, and asks the burning question.

"How did it go, Nicole?" Lara asks. I exhale slightly, and I decide to just deliver the news as is to them. I don't want to sugarcoat things, because in this situation, it'll make everything worse.

"PTSD and panic attacks," I tell him. A gasp is expelled from Lara's mouth. Dom's mouth falls open, with a silent gasp escaping his lips. Shock condenses on both of their faces, as their worst fears have been confirmed. I do nothing except bite my lip, and look down on the floor. Seeing Dom's shocked, and somewhat heartbroken, face drives another crack into my heart.