Marina Oneshot Book

Anchor

A/N: picture credit to @/marshcap on Twitter

Took the breath from my open mouth

Never known how it broke me down

I went in circles somewhere else

Shook the best when your love was home

Storing up on your summer glow

You went in search of someone else

"Ellie, where are we?" Maya asked as they walked along the beach together, hand in hand. It had been so long and Maya could swear that she was dreaming but wasn't sure. She could see the gears turning in her sister's head. "Eleanor..."

Ellie stopped walking, her blue eyes looking into Maya's identical ones. "Where do you think, Mai? I'm here, aren't I?"

"Oh."

Maya had heard the stories of people in limbo. It broke her heart to hear them. But was this really where she was? Or could it be like in her dreams of the beach and she was really sleeping soundly next to Carina? She found herself sitting on the pier, overlooking the ocean, with Ellie sitting next to her. It pained her to see her sister; the feeling was mutual.

"I need to go back, El," Maya said, breaking the silence between them. "I need to go back and apologise to Carina. God, I've been so terrible."

Ellie sighed, placing a hand on Maya's shoulder for comfort. She had watched as her sister met Carina, opened up to her, fell in love with her, and married her. She was there for all of it. If she was being honest, she brought them together, though neither woman knew that. Their relationship was so pure, and Ellie could have only wished for something like that to happen to her sister. She knew that Maya had struggled with emotions and relationships, her insecurities flying to the surface, but Carina broke down all her walls. It wasn't easy - she knew - but watching them get married was Ellie's favourite moment.

"I agree, Mai, you shouldn't be. I've been watching. Carina doesn't leave your bedside. Andy's been staying too. You need to go back, for them."

"But Carina... We've been arguing. I know you've seen it. I've been so horrible to her lately. I can't take any of it back and it's killing me."

"You know... An apology can go a long way, Mai," Ellie said, referencing the words that Jack had used when Maya had made one of the biggest mistakes of her life. She still regretted it to this day. "But just so you know... I forgive you, for everything."

Maya looked down and started playing with her fingers. "Why, El? It was my fault."

"My actions and my decisions could never be your fault, Maya. I chose to do what I did. I chose to leave."

"You were so young. You didn't deserve any of what was happening to you. Dio mio, I wish I did more!" Maya exclaimed, not even noticing the Italian that flew out of her mouth.

Ellie raised an eyebrow. She knew that people in love would pick up on each other's body language, but actually speaking their language? That was new and she'd have to ask, but not now.

"I'll emphasise it again. It wasn't your fault, Mai, it never could be."

Maya sighed, turning to hug her sister. It had been years - too many - since she had been able to do this. It was the night Maya's father had made her run the twenty miles home from the track. She had come in second place, but it wasn't enough. It never would be. When she got home, she was met with her mom's tear-stained face and Mason wasn't talking. They had found Ellie in the bathtub, soaking in her own blood. Maya still remembers the agonising scream she let out when her mom relayed the news. A part of her had been lost that night and Maya didn't know if she would ever recover. She knew that her sister's actions had been pushed by their dad's abuse. He focused so much on Maya's training that her siblings had become neglected. She didn't want it to affect their relationship, and it didn't. Well, at least not with Ellie. Mason was a whole other story.