Memories

L

ATLANTIS

'It's in my heart, it's in my head
I never take back the things I said
So, high above
I feel it coming down
She said, In my heart and in my head
Tell me why this has to end'

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I finally finished year ten! yay! so since it's the summer holidays now and I have like eight weeks off I'm hopefully (definitely, because I have no social life) going to be updating way more often. Like, everyday kinda often. So look forward to that :)

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Neil had been surprised that the team had accepted the fact that he'd said Thalia was his sister. He thought it was the fact that he'd brought all of her paintings back to his and Matt's dorm, and Dan had seen them. She'd obviously told Allison and Renee, because the two came over, wanting to see them.

"They're not supposed to be in a gallery," Neil said, feeling protective of the only things he had left of his sister. He knew they were his teammates, however, and they had also been Thalia's. They cared about her. "But I suppose she wouldn't mind." Renee smiled and touched his arm in a friendly and caring way as she entered the room.

Neil had spread them out between the main room and the bedroom, but Matt had asked that he didn't have them everywhere, so they were in stacks against the wall. It had surprised Neil how many of them there were, but he'd accepted it and taken them all in.

Nicky and Kevin had come to see them as well, though Kevin had demanded he be alone with the paintings. Neil hadn't said no, and he'd spent the rest of the afternoon with Matt and the girls.

"What was she like as a kid?" Allison asked. Dan shot her a look that said they'd agreed not to ask about that sort of thing, but Neil sighed and looked at her.

"She was shy, and never liked standing up to our father. He was a bad person." Neil said. Allison frowned.

"Was? You talk about him in the past tense." she said. "I thought he was alive and well."

"Unfortunately, he is," Neil said. He didn't know what he could say that would throw Allison off his trail, but ended up telling her more about their childhood in Baltimore than he probably would have liked to. "Thalia never liked confrontation, and our father scared her. I always stood up for her when our mother wasn't around."

"I'm sorry Neil," Renee said. "You don't have to share more than you want to." she smiled, but Neil could see the grip she had on Allison's wrist seemed slightly painful. Neil only nodded.

When he got back to the dorm, he expected to see Kevin gone, but he was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed and he was holding a canvas. Kevin didn't look up when Neil opened or closed the door. He didn't look up when Neil crossed the room and sat in front of him. And Neil saw why when he looked at the painting Kevin was holding.

It was a white chess piece - a queen, if Neil remembered correctly - held in a hand, knocking over a black king piece. He reached out and took the painting from Kevin with little resistance. 
"Turn it over," Kevin whispered, still not looking up. He sounded as if he'd been crying. Neil didn't say anything but did as Kevin said.

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Kevin,
Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be together again soon. Riko will get bored eventually. I made this painting for you, to show you that you can do anything. You're the queen, Kevin. The deadliest piece on the board, if only you put your mind to it. Riko broke you because he knew you were the better player. He's the king, yes, but the king can only move one space at a time. You can move anywhere. You make the rules. Kevin, you can do anything if you put your mind to it.
You have friends. Family. They will help you get through whatever happens. Things will happen, and they will happen for better or for worse, but just know that you can and will get through it. Nothing is ever permanent. I love you, Kevin. As much as I have ever loved anyone else close to me. You can do this.
From Thalia

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"Why," Neil whispered. "Why would you show me this?"

"She's your sister," Kevin said, looking up now. His eyes were red, and Neil knew he'd been with this painting for quite some time. "You deserved to see it."

"But this is so," Neil searched for the words as he put the canvas back down. "Personal. This wasn't meant for me. It was for you, Kevin."

"And now she's gone, and none of it matters anyway." Kevin said, standing and taking the painting with him as he left the room. Neil sat there for a few more minutes, taking in what Kevin meant. Yes, Thalia was gone, but like she'd written, Riko would get bored eventually, and nothing was permanent. She'd be back soon. She had to be, for everyone's sake.

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"Your brother is being quite problematic," Riko said condescendingly at a meal. Thalia was leaning on her hand and moving around her food across from him. She didn't even look up.

"Oh?" she asked, not really caring.

"Yes," Riko said, probably giving Thalia a sour look. "At his game last night he insulted me and said I don't deserve him and Kevin. Even you."

"I saw," Thalia responded. She'd watched the game from her bedroom, while Riko had flown out to watch it in person. She'd been quite happy at Neil's words, hearing him say the things she couldn't. "I believe his words were, 'Riko as a person is hard to respect' and 'I figured he was an egocentric maniac who was so desperate for his own glory he refused to see the potential in anyone else'. Though I'm sure you heard them better, actually being there, and all."

She looked up at Riko now. He was silently fuming. She could see that under his calm façade. "He was right, of course. We all know it. You know it." Thalia was pushing her luck and she knew it, but there was nothing she could do to stop the words from falling out of her mouth. People around the dining room were looking at them now, and Roberts and his friends seemed worried for Thalia. She wasn't, though. 

"You say one more thing," Riko warned silently. Thalia smirked and stood, walking off.