Taillights
Title: Taillights
Fandom: Atonement
Pairing/Characters: Cecilia, Emily, Leon, Briony, Robbie
Rating: PG
Summary: Cecilia's departure after Robbie's arrest. One shot
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Taillights
“Cecilia! What on earth is the matter with you? First you hardly speak to Robbie for over three years and now all of a sudden you’re defending him! Why? You saw what he did to Lola!” Emily exclaimed angrily as she watched Cecilia move around her room, gathering her things up and throwing them into a suitcase, he movements displaying barely controlled rage.
“You don’t get it, do you?” Cecilia almost whispered; anguish coloring her words as she stood still as a statue, staring down at her bag, her fingertips resting on the top of the bed.
“What is it that I don’t get, Cecilia? That letter and then, tonight… Briony is right- he’s a maniac,” Cecilia whirled around to face her mother, her eyes full of rage.
“Briony is right about nothing! She is living in a fantasy world and is far too young to understand!”
“She told me about what happened by the fountain earlier today,” Emily said victoriously, as though this statement confirmed that she was completely correct in her argument.
“The vase broke! Robbie was just trying to help and… I went into the fountain to get back a piece of it. It wasn’t his fault. He did nothing,” Cecilia hissed as she turned back to her packing.
“Why do you care so much?” It had always seemed to Emily that Cecilia didn’t particularly like Robbie, so her current behavior in reaction to Robbie’s arrest confounded her.
“Because I love him,” Cecilia whispered, a tear making its way down her cheek, hanging on her jaw briefly before it fell to the floor.
“You love him?” Emily said scornfully and Cecilia’s eyes filled with fire.
“Yes, I do. He was not attacking me in the library, whatever Briony might say and you might believe. I was a willing participant. He is not a maniac,” Cecilia said, hatred seeping into her voice.
Hatred towards Briony for her lies.
Hatred towards her mother for believing Briony’s lies.
Hatred towards the twins for deciding to run away and causing them all to be out, wandering the grounds and searching for them at all hours of the night.
Hatred towards Lola for going along with Briony’s lie.
Hatred towards Leon for doing nothing.
Hared towards herself for not having known sooner. For all the time that she had wasted not talking to Robbie.
In fact, it seemed hat the only person that she did not hate at the moment was Robbie. For him she felt only love.
“I’m leaving,” She said shortly as she closed up her bag.
“What?” Emily asked, shocked.
“I’m leaving here. I won’t be coming back and I won’t be in contact again. I cannot condone what this family has done. You have all followed Briony’s lie. A lie which has tonight sent an innocent man to jail. The man I love. I cannot forgive that,”
“Wait, Cecilia, no!” Emily cried as Cecilia pushed past her. “Cee, please, no!”
“Cee? What’s going on? Where are you going?” Leon asked as she passed him halfway down the stairs, their mother trailing behind her, distraught.
“I’m leaving. Goodbye, Leon,” Cecilia did feel a twinge of regret at leaving her beloved brother behind- she had been far closer to him than to anyone else in her family.
“Wait, Cecilia, why?” He asked, hurrying down the stairs behind her, taking the steps two at a time and passing by Emily.
“Because all of you believed that little lying brat and sent the man I love to jail!” Cecilia yelled before slamming the front door behind her. A moment later the sound of a car starting could be heard and they both knew that she was gone.
Emily collapsed onto the bottom step, sobbing and Leon moved over to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders comfortingly.
Briony watched from the shadows as, for the second time that night the taillights disappearing down the driveway represented a person who had been a fixture in the house leaving it forever, never to return.
Briony simply wished that things would go back to the way that they had been that morning before everything had changed.