emi sato, capitol. cb three, fin

I storm into Chanel's house without warning.

She and I both know that I don't have a key, but I know she keeps a spare under the radiator by the window for when she's too drunk to go digging through her purse. It's not hard to convince Vinny to buzz me upstairs when I come knocking on the window.

I asked him really nicely if I could drop off a present for her, special from me. I made sure to hold my eyes open really wide for almost a minute and bite the inside of my lip before walking inside, too. People always do what I want when I look like I've been crying.

"Emi..." Vinny said, almost chastising, as if he has some sort of paternal authority over me just because he's an old dude. "Ms. Sato has said you're supposed to be accompanied."

"This Ms. Sato wants to leave a present for her only big sister though."

Puppy eyes, a bite of my lip that he can see this time, I even wring my hands together so it sort of looks like I'm begging. Gag. Effective though.

I find Chanel's asleep on the couch after a brief elevator ride, the television muted on one of the Capitol News channels I know she only watches as self-inflicted punishment. Her apartment never fails to make something in my chest click into place, a comfort in my own skin I never feel anywhere else.

Quick work, I wack open kitchen cabinets searching for the booze she always has in spades. Can't find any bottles, so I settle for swiping the glass sitting on the coffee table in front of Chanel.

She stirs as I sling it back.

"Emi?" Chanel wipes groggily at her eyes, tugging and pulling at skin I know hasn't been moisturized in days. I roll my own eyes before trudging off to her bathroom, hearing her voice echoing faintly behind me from down the narrow hall. "Emi? What are you doing here?"

After popping open the lid to one of her prescriptions and swallowing a fun yellow pill dry, I come back with a jar of the expensive moisturizer I bought for her two months ago. I slap it on her face mercilessly where she lays on her back. She doesn't even see me coming, has her eyes closed like the world is just too much to bear.

It usually is for us Sato women.

She shoves me away clumsily, smearing lotion into her hair.

"How the fuck did you get in here?"