rory lachance, district 3 (fin)
Jun 8, 2017 20:43:09 GMT -5
Post by Stare on Jun 8, 2017 20:43:09 GMT -5
[googlefont="Sanchez:400"]
They talked about the options for what felt like hours. Go to an official facility and get official treatment, like Danny had. Start on the gentlest pill they had to ease the symptoms until they could get something stronger. Try to knock it out with therapy. Eventually Alex threw up her hands in a way that was so like Danny it was unnerving.
"Enough." Her tone was firm, but Rory detected a hint of exhaustion beneath it. Who had she gotten that from? Danny? Her? "I need to get home. My parents are going to start getting worried."
She stood, and Rory didn't miss the way her hand flew to her pocket automatically, checking for her knife. Alex always said Rory's eyes never missed a thing. She was observant, she said. Could tell a person's disposition just by looking at them.
Alex paused and met first Jason's eyes, then Rory's. "No one finds out about this yet. Understand?"
Jason nodded compliantly, looking somewhat pale, but Rory wasn't the kind of person to give up that easily. Not when it came to Alex. She followed the younger girl out the door, keeping up with a pace that was obviously meant to try and shake her. "What are you going to tell your parents?"
A beat of silence. Alex's jaw tightened. "I'm not."
Rory almost skidded to a stop, but Alex's pace only quickened. She trotted to keep up. "Like hell you're not. Didn't you learn anything from Danny's mistakes?"
Alex kept her gaze firmly ahead, ducking into a side street to avoid the crowds that filled the main roads of Two. "Now's not - " She broke off, glared at a dumpster they passed, and then started over. "I'm not telling them."
"Then I will."
The younger girl finally stopped and turned on Rory, chin raised and shoulders bunched. Good. Rory was itching for a fight. "Who the hell gave you the right to tell them anything?"
"They need to know. You can't just leave them in the dark and pretend it's not happening."
"Nothing's changed."
"Everything's changed, Danny!"
It only took a split second for her to realize her mistake. Alex faltered, expression slipping from anger into confusion. Rory began grasping for ways to take it back, to explain or make an excuse, but before she could think of anything the younger girl's mouth set into a grim line.
"I'm not her, Rory. I was never her."
"I know." Rory passed a hand over her face, trying to rub away the exhaustion that always seemed to linger just beneath her eyes. Every spare minute was spent at the clinic, and her feet ached from the long days.
I want to be a doctor, she'd told her mom at age five, all wide eyes and hopeful smiles. I want to help people.
She was twelve when her mom got her diagnosis, and that was when a medical career had gone from a dream to a necessity. Her mom thought she was volunteering at one of the official health institutes in Three, and Rory didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise. She doubted the real places would let her take medication for her mother as payment for service. The pills from the clinic helped, but Rory still caught the way her mom's hands still trembled most nights. It was getting harder for her to speak.
"I know," Rory repeated, removing her hand and meeting Alex's sharp gaze. "But I should have told them when I found out Danny was sick. I don't want to make that mistake twice."
"Don't try to fix the past through me." Alex narrowed her eyes. "If you tell them, I'll never forgive you for it."
Rory threw her hands out. "What do you want me to do, then? Nothing?"
"We'll figure something out."
Rory glared at her, but Alex glared right back. Finally she sighed, looking away. "Fine. But they're going to find out eventually, Alex."
"I know." Alex shifted from one foot to the other before turning. "I'll be back tomorrow. We can talk then."
Rory gave the younger girl about a thirty second head start before she fell in step behind her, trying hard not to roll her eyes. We'll figure something out. Who the hell did she think Rory was?
She kept a careful distance as they wound through the alleys that gradually gave way to a quaint neighborhood with picket fences and scraggly attempts at gardens. Alex tried to act tough as nails, but Rory had always known this was the type of home she came from.
Rory ducked behind a tree as Alex turned onto a porch of the house that must have been hers. She paused at the door, and for the first time since Jason had broken the news she saw a flash of terror pass over Alex's face. In that moment of hesitation, the door opened to reveal the woman that must have been Alex's mother. She had Alex's hair, the shape of her nose. She was wearing a floral dress and was smiling. She gestured for Alex to come in with one hand. The other rested on her swollen belly.
Rory's whole world went numb.
Jason's voice, rattling off statistics and genetics and odds, echoed in her mind. Alex's hesitation and resistance finally clicked into place. Rory took a staggering step away from the tree as both figures disappeared inside the house and the door closed.
I want to be a doctor.
She thought of Danny gritting her teeth as the blood was drawn, of her mother's trembling hands, of Alex's quiet sigh when Jason delivered the news. More than anything, though, she thought of an unborn baby who was already doomed.
I want to help people.
Rory turned on her heel and went home.
aurora lachance, 17, district three
no, this is not a test
never was, never will be
you can take my best
it's yours, it was never for me
no, this is not a test
never was, never will be
you can take my best
it's yours, it was never for me
They talked about the options for what felt like hours. Go to an official facility and get official treatment, like Danny had. Start on the gentlest pill they had to ease the symptoms until they could get something stronger. Try to knock it out with therapy. Eventually Alex threw up her hands in a way that was so like Danny it was unnerving.
"Enough." Her tone was firm, but Rory detected a hint of exhaustion beneath it. Who had she gotten that from? Danny? Her? "I need to get home. My parents are going to start getting worried."
She stood, and Rory didn't miss the way her hand flew to her pocket automatically, checking for her knife. Alex always said Rory's eyes never missed a thing. She was observant, she said. Could tell a person's disposition just by looking at them.
Alex paused and met first Jason's eyes, then Rory's. "No one finds out about this yet. Understand?"
Jason nodded compliantly, looking somewhat pale, but Rory wasn't the kind of person to give up that easily. Not when it came to Alex. She followed the younger girl out the door, keeping up with a pace that was obviously meant to try and shake her. "What are you going to tell your parents?"
A beat of silence. Alex's jaw tightened. "I'm not."
Rory almost skidded to a stop, but Alex's pace only quickened. She trotted to keep up. "Like hell you're not. Didn't you learn anything from Danny's mistakes?"
Alex kept her gaze firmly ahead, ducking into a side street to avoid the crowds that filled the main roads of Two. "Now's not - " She broke off, glared at a dumpster they passed, and then started over. "I'm not telling them."
"Then I will."
The younger girl finally stopped and turned on Rory, chin raised and shoulders bunched. Good. Rory was itching for a fight. "Who the hell gave you the right to tell them anything?"
"They need to know. You can't just leave them in the dark and pretend it's not happening."
"Nothing's changed."
"Everything's changed, Danny!"
It only took a split second for her to realize her mistake. Alex faltered, expression slipping from anger into confusion. Rory began grasping for ways to take it back, to explain or make an excuse, but before she could think of anything the younger girl's mouth set into a grim line.
"I'm not her, Rory. I was never her."
"I know." Rory passed a hand over her face, trying to rub away the exhaustion that always seemed to linger just beneath her eyes. Every spare minute was spent at the clinic, and her feet ached from the long days.
I want to be a doctor, she'd told her mom at age five, all wide eyes and hopeful smiles. I want to help people.
She was twelve when her mom got her diagnosis, and that was when a medical career had gone from a dream to a necessity. Her mom thought she was volunteering at one of the official health institutes in Three, and Rory didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise. She doubted the real places would let her take medication for her mother as payment for service. The pills from the clinic helped, but Rory still caught the way her mom's hands still trembled most nights. It was getting harder for her to speak.
"I know," Rory repeated, removing her hand and meeting Alex's sharp gaze. "But I should have told them when I found out Danny was sick. I don't want to make that mistake twice."
"Don't try to fix the past through me." Alex narrowed her eyes. "If you tell them, I'll never forgive you for it."
Rory threw her hands out. "What do you want me to do, then? Nothing?"
"We'll figure something out."
Rory glared at her, but Alex glared right back. Finally she sighed, looking away. "Fine. But they're going to find out eventually, Alex."
"I know." Alex shifted from one foot to the other before turning. "I'll be back tomorrow. We can talk then."
Rory gave the younger girl about a thirty second head start before she fell in step behind her, trying hard not to roll her eyes. We'll figure something out. Who the hell did she think Rory was?
She kept a careful distance as they wound through the alleys that gradually gave way to a quaint neighborhood with picket fences and scraggly attempts at gardens. Alex tried to act tough as nails, but Rory had always known this was the type of home she came from.
Rory ducked behind a tree as Alex turned onto a porch of the house that must have been hers. She paused at the door, and for the first time since Jason had broken the news she saw a flash of terror pass over Alex's face. In that moment of hesitation, the door opened to reveal the woman that must have been Alex's mother. She had Alex's hair, the shape of her nose. She was wearing a floral dress and was smiling. She gestured for Alex to come in with one hand. The other rested on her swollen belly.
Rory's whole world went numb.
Jason's voice, rattling off statistics and genetics and odds, echoed in her mind. Alex's hesitation and resistance finally clicked into place. Rory took a staggering step away from the tree as both figures disappeared inside the house and the door closed.
I want to be a doctor.
She thought of Danny gritting her teeth as the blood was drawn, of her mother's trembling hands, of Alex's quiet sigh when Jason delivered the news. More than anything, though, she thought of an unborn baby who was already doomed.
I want to help people.
Rory turned on her heel and went home.
i need some good news, baby
feels like the world's gone crazy
give me some good news, baby
give it to me, give it to me
feels like the world's gone crazy
give me some good news, baby
give it to me, give it to me
