The Rules They Broke

Chapter 28: Answers - or Lack Thereof

[trigger warnings: suicide/suicidal thoughts/mentions of drug ab/use]

ELIJAH 

Elijah stood still as his absolutely drenched sister slowly peeled her palms from the door and turned around.

Her lips were blue, her cheeks had lost their color, and her teeth were chattering madly. Her curly hair was plastered every which way to her face. She wasn't wearing a jacket, and her sneakers were caked in mud.

"Olivia?" he repeated again, trying to be more gentle this time.

"What the fuck?" Logan growled with much less tact and a lot less gentleness.

Olivia visibly winced and Elijah turned to his brother and grit out from between clenched teeth, "Shut up, Logan."

"I should shut up? Why the hell-"

"Blake," Elijah said loudly, trying to drown out Logan's voice with his own. "Get me a towel."

"Uh-um, right." Blake sped out of the room as fast as possible.

Elijah turned back around. Olivia wrapped her arms around herself and tried to speak through trembling lips. Elijah realized his need for an answer was infinitely less than the need to warm her up and he stepped forward and hugged her, shivering and wet, tight to his chest.

She stiffened against him and weakly pushed at his arms. "Y-y-you're g-g-g-get-get-getting w-w-"

His heart ached at her uncontrollable stammering. "No more talking," he said, trying to rub a little bit of warmth into her back. All the questions he had wanted to ask suddenly seemed completely unimportant. "Don't worry about it. It's okay."

He heard Logan curse under his breath and stomp away.

Blake came back with the towel, and Elijah put it around Olivia and pulled it as tight as he could around her shoulders.

"Come on, let's get your shoes off."

"I-I-c-can do i-i-it m-m-myself-"

"I know you can," Elijah said gently. "But we can do it faster if I help."

Eventually, Elijah and Blake managed to peel off her shoes and socks so she wasn't squelching in the foyer anymore. Elijah rubbed her shoulders through the towel. "I think what you need right now is a warm shower, yeah?"

He took her hand and pulled her towards the hall, but she pulled back. "W-wait," she said.

Elijah stopped and waited. "What is it?"

"I- we got d-d-done early and m-my phone died so I ju-just - I took the bus h-h-home except it wa-w-was the one that drops - drops you off at the e-end of the street so w-w-when I was w-walking home...I got w-wet," she finished lamely.

It pained him to have to hear her out through her chattering teeth. He wanted nothing more than for her to be warm. He didn't want her to feel like she had to explain anything to him right that moment. Elijah wrapped his arms around her and put his forehead against her cold, clammy one. "Really, Olivia, it's alright," he breathed into her hair. "You don't have to explain now. You need to warm up first, okay?"

This time, she didn't push him away. She clung to him, her fingers digging into his back as she held onto his shirt almost as tightly as he was holding her, her cheek pressed into his chest. 

So he didn't make her get into the shower like his first plan had been. He stood there with her as she trembled violently against him, hugging her until she slowly unclenched her shaking fingers from his shirt and pulled away.