(Untitled)

[so_near_an_end]

Though initially Cecilia had not been enamoured with the idea of moving closer to the compound, for she so loved to hear the ocean from the hut they had shared near Green Arrow Estates, she found that her appreciate for Robbie's suggestion grew as each day passed. She tired much more easily now. Had they still resided in their old hut, Cecilia

Comments

[acarelesslife]

When Leon saw Cecilia already in the rec room, he froze in the doorway. As small as the island was, they could not avoid each other forever, of course. Cecilia's state brought any excuses that they might miss each other in the hall or the kitchen - and easy reason to brush off happenstance run-ins in the past - to the point of absurdity. He had only two options now. He could sneak away before she spotted him, or he could retrieve the book as he had planned and hope the ensuing conversation wasn't too awful

[so_near_an_end]

So consumed in her pile of books, Cecilia hadn't realised Leon was even there until he spoke. She looked up, startled, though it took but a moment to regain her composure. Were Cecilia not in her current delicate position, perhaps she would have simply left the room without saying a word to him. However, she was in no state to move about as quickly as such an exit would require. Cecilia was many things, but rude was not one of them.

She nodded, gaze settling firmly on the jukebox. "Neither did I, though it appears it certainly must be." Leon and Briony's names must be rare, for Cecilia was certain the jukebox would have seen fit to serenade her with songs bearing her siblings' names. After all, the island did tend to have a cruel sense of humour.

[acarelesslife]

Leon hurried to the bookshelf, glad he had the excuse to turn his back to Cecilia so that she could not see his face fall at the stiffness in her tone, as it inevitably did. He had come looking for books on rowing to match his twin gift of boats. As familiar as he was with the sport, he could do to brush up on the rules before organizing a team. But now the shelf saw fit to mock him, providing row after row of absurd looking book with titles about feuding, or grudges, or overcoming the past.

"Quite." He bit his lip. "How are you feeling?"

[so_near_an_end]

By the time Leon had thought to address her again, Cecilia had opened a rather large book and set it upon her lap. She paged through it briefly, much too taken with the intricate maps and wondrous language in the flyleafs to delve into the story, something entitled Lord of the Rings, just yet. She looked up, a slender finger marking the spot on the map she had been studying.

"Like if I become any larger I'll simply burst," she said, free hand moving to her stomach.

[acarelesslife]

The mocking bookshelf wasn't enough to stop the small grin from springing onto Leon's face. When he glanced over his shoulder at Cecilia, there was a twinkle in his eye, if only for that moment.

"Bad as all that?"

[so_near_an_end]

For a brief moment, one no larger than a minute thing that could be placed on needletip, it was as if nothing untoward had passed between them, as though they were simply Leon and Cecilia, siblings and confidants and everything in between. She felt herself twinkling back at him, a mock dramatic sigh escaping her lips. "Worse," she intoned.

By the time her voice faded away, the moment had passed and Cecilia's hand fluttered against her dress, at once uncomfortable and resentful.

[acarelesslife]

Leon quickly turned back to the bookshelf. The air itself had changed between them, just for a moment. But then it was gone again, the tension crackling as before.

"Really," he said, serious again. He didn't see the titles of the books on the shelves even as his finger skimmed over them. "On New Year's Eve..." he frowned. "Have you been taking care of yourself?"

[so_near_an_end]

At once, Cecilia knew of what Leon was thinking. She had nearly stumbled in the ridiculous heels she had chosen to wear to the festivities that night. Had Leon not been there to assist her, she very likely would have fallen. Rest assured, she had not worn such ill-advised shoes since that night.

"Yes, I have." One corner of her mouth twitched as she thought of her husband. "If I wasn't, I would certainly be getting more than an earful about it from Robbie. He is taking care of me, Leon."

[acarelesslife]

"I didn't say otherwise," Leon broke in, perhaps a bit more sharply than necessary. "But that doesn't mean I don't worry when I see you nearly fall at some party. You do look fit to burst, and I would like you to stay well until, well- until you're supposed to."

It wasn't exactly the most poetic way of putting his concerns, but his emotions were no less genuine for it.

[so_near_an_end]

No, Leon hadn't said otherwise, but Cecilia had seen fit to say so all the same. Time would never erase what Briony had done and what Leon had chosen to believe. Even if he now knew the truth of Briony's accusation, he will always have turned his back on Robbie all those years ago. Cecilia would not forget and would take every opportunity to remind Leon just how good a man Robbie is and always was.

"I've an excellent doctor," she said, and left it at that. Obligations were not something she had when it came to Leon Tallis.

[acarelesslife]

"That isn't the point," Leon said, sounding near-petulant. But the point - that he was her brother, that he loved her, that he would always worry - was not one she wished to hear. "If I hear about you falling again, I'll be finding this doctor of yours, and that is that."

[so_near_an_end]

She supposed it hadn't been the point at all, though Cecilia was loathe to concede otherwise. The fact that she was more than a little cross with Leon for things he had done in the past would not simply fade away. There was a chasm now betwixt them, one that Leon had aided in building himself by his earlier condemnation of Robbie.

"I didn't fall," Cecilia said crisply, quite ignoring the idea that she would have done so had Leon not been there to assist her. "Besides, you've no business meddling with any of mine."

[acarelesslife]

Leon gave a sigh that did not bother to mask his frustration. They could have this argument a thousand times, it would not change the outcome. It would not make Cecilia less stubborn, and it would not make him give up. He might never progress farther than this stalemate, but he would keep trying.

The bookshelf finally took pity on him and gifted him with a thick book on the rules and strategies of crew. But he no longer felt quite as buoyant at the prospect. "Doesn't matter, Cee." That grin of his briefly appeared again as he turned to. "I'll keep meddling all the same. It's my job."

[so_near_an_end]

Were Cecilia lacking in an extraordinary amount of self control at the moment, she would have let out a great noise of frustration. Leon could be so insufferably stubborn, even when it should have been obvious he would make no headway whatsoever!

But Cecilia somehow managed to keep her emotions closely in check and did not erupt in a fountain of rage. Rather, she lifted her chin higher and reopened the book on her lap. "It isn't your job, Leon, but if it helps you to believe so in order to cope with your own hideous lapses in judgement, then by all means continue in that vein."

[acarelesslife]

Cecilia's rage was rarely expressed in an all-encompassing burst of anger, but rather doled out in sharp slaps like this one, cruelly well placed. For a moment, Leon looked as if he truly had been slapped. One could all but see the metaphorical handprint on his face.

He stuffed his book under his arm. "I'm your brother," he said, the cavalier chastened, but not the stubbornness. "Enjoy your books." There was nothing left to do but walk away.