Like Real People Do

16. Sara

TW: Eating Disorder

Wait a minute baby, stay with me a while. Said you'd give me light, but you never told me about the fire. -Fleetwood Mac

Monday June 14th

While Rhiannon harvested the last of her spring crops, a familiar car pulled up into her driveway unexpectedly. It was the same car that had been her saving grace less than a year ago, but today it just felt like a slap in the face. She squinted through the sun to make sure she was seeing it right, but out came her younger sister Sara to confirm her suspicions.

At only 11 months apart, the Turner sisters had always been close. The Irish Twins, people in school had called them. An offensive term, maybe, but they'd chosen to chalk it up to their similarly red hair. Rhiannon loved Sara with her whole heart and was so thankful to have her, but after the incident, a rift had grown between them. The whole family had been walking on eggshells around her, and Sara was no exception. She'd been hit the hardest by Rhiannon's decline since she had been the only one to recognize it, but she'd also been the most careful as a result. They'd all been handling her with kid gloves since she left, like she was a piece of fine china that might shatter if anyone breathed on too hard, and it drove Rhiannon fucking crazy. Sara lifted her large sunglasses as she approached, a lit cigarette already between her two fingers. She held out her arms for a hug, but Rhiannon wasn't exactly in a touchy mood.

She didn't trust her. She came to check up on her again because she expected her to be in a thousand little pieces as she'd been before. The only difference was that this time, there would be nothing for her to find. Rhiannon was fine, and she was determined to prove it.

"Sara, what the FUCK!" Rhiannon shouted as she trudged her way back in from the field to greet her. "Dude, I love you, but you need to give me a little bit more warning before you show up like this."

"Man, why don't I ever get a hello from you when I visit?" Sara said, pushing her sunglasses up onto her forehead with a smile. "Why can't you just be happy to see me?"

"Because you are an incredible pain in my ass," Rhiannon retorted, then wrapped Sara up in a warm hug. "But it's still good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too." They broke apart from one another and Rhiannon's eyes dropped to the lit cigarette held between her fingers.

"Since when do you smoke?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "Do I really stress you out that much?" Sara shrugged and took a long drag. "That shit is terrible for you."

"As if you're one to talk," she said with a pointed glare. Rhiannon opened her mouth to protest, but Sara was right- she didn't have a leg to stand on when it came to healthy coping mechanisms. Her entire life so far was a testament to that. "Also, you're not even going to say hello to me? Come on, it's been months. Can't you at least pretend to be excited to see me? I drove all the way out here just to surprise you."

"Yeah, alright. Fair enough." Sara offered her the cigarette after a quick hug, and Rhiannon reluctantly accepted. It was easy to see how people got addicted to those things- the relief was almost immediate. She felt her shoulders loosen with the head rush as she coughed on a cloud of smoke.

"So how are you?"

"Fine."

"I'm your sister. I know when you're lying." Rhiannon sighed and passed the cigarette back to her. She'd never been able to lie to Sara, she was too good at picking up on every tell she had.

"Are you just here to play 20 questions, Sara?"

"Rhiannon, you wound me. Can't I just be curious about what's going on in my big sister's life?" Sara grinned through the dramatic half-truth.