Regrouping

It feels like a year since I walked out this door, I was so scared then. Sometimes anxieties aren't irrational, I guess. I enter the house first, still holding Elise's hand, and listen out for where my family have convened. Not that I needed to, as Ruby appears from around the corner, barking to signal our arrival. My mother follows the pup, who immediately bounds towards me.

"Oh sweetheart." Mum exhales in a teary voice, pulling Elise and I both in for a hug. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry." She continues. It's not her fault, but I know her, she'll be blaming herself anyway.

"Don't apologise for him. He... He knew what he was saying." Elise corrects her, as Mum pulls away, the look of worry on her face reflected in her shaking hands. We're led through to the living room, I can see Jasper sitting quietly, cuddled up on his lap is Minnie, who's head rests on his shoulder. Rouge stands up from the sofa and rushes towards me, pulling me in for a hug before I even have a chance to say anything.

She's... She's crying.

"I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I shouldn't... It's because..." She tries to get out between sobs. What happened while I was away. My concern is mixed with confusion, and I think it shows on my face, as Jasper speaks up.

"William took issue with Rouge being snarky about Minnie, said I was disrespecting my partner by not standing up for her, like he knows us or something." He explains, the disdain clear in his voice. "What? I'm meant to deny my family the right to an opinion? Things... escalated." I think I'm starting to get a clearer picture now.

William and Jasper are similar in a lot of ways, but I guess the key difference is that Jasper flows around situations, finding the best solution through compromise, like not telling Mum about the party, or letting my hurtful comments go, because it's for the greater good. William's more focused, he knows best and will ensure things go that way, I'd guess that's a good quality in a diplomat, but I guess conflict like that's inevitable when you add testosterone and alcohol to the mix.

"It's not your fault, Rouge." Elise's voice chimes in, placing a hand on my sister's shoulder. "Argument or not, he's the one who decided not to recognise our relationship as real... If anything... It's my fault. I should've seen through his façade, he thought by showing approval, by inviting the family over, I'd think my rebellion wasn't working and break it off." She carries on. The pain is obvious in her voice.

Rouge finally releases me from her grip, he usually flawless eyeliner streaking down her face with her tears. She turns to Elise and pulls her into another hug. I don't know if all the hugs are helping at this point... But I don't want them to stop... And I want Elise to feel safe.

"You're staying here." Rouge makes the decision for her, pulling away. "I'll get you some clothes. Trish, a hand?" She continues. Trish nods and the two make their way upstairs.

Elise and I take a seat on the sofa, she rests her head on my shoulder and Minnie takes the chance the give her perspective. "I'm sorry too... I know Rouge never forgave me for what I did, honestly, in a lot of ways I haven't either, but you shouldn't have to pay for my mistakes. I'm sorry." She tries, Minnie's never been a wordsmith, but I appreciate her attempts.

"No one's perfect Minnie, even Rouge knows that, I think she gives you a hard time because she wants to acknowledge that." Elise thinks out loud. "I think she knows you can't forget, so she shows that she can't either, so you're not alone." She's giving Rouge a lot of credit here, but even so, even now, she's taking the time to make other people feel better. I love you, Elise.

*

"Damn right, we're still going. More than ever, I need a drink!" Elise commands. Eventually Jasper and Minnie had made their exit, and Mum had gone to bed early, I think all of them were taken by surprise this evening, can't blame them for being tired. Me, Elise, Rouge, and Trish had taken up residence in the living room. Conversation had turned to our planned trip to the Free Ride, and Trish's offer to cancel it. "I'll be damned if he's going to ruin two nights in a row for me." She concludes, defiantly.

"Plus, you don't get out of your date with Rob that easily." I point to Rouge, who looks inconvenienced by my girlfriend's determination.

Trish seems to remember this factor at this point, and changes her tune. "Good point. Alright then, I'm in if you are?" She asks my sister, who reluctantly nods.

"Fine. But if I go, we all agree that counts as the date and I'm free of all obligations, yes?" She looks around, confirming with us. I mean, seems fair... Especially since it means we get to watch the fireworks.

"Well, in that case, I'll head off, I'm knackered and I wasn't even there for the explosive bit." Trish announces, standing up from her chair... Before meeting a death stare from Rouge. "Or... Or, I could stay here, I've got spare clothes in my car anyway." She corrects herself, as my sister stands up.

"Better, come on." Rouge decides as she exits the room. Trish shrugs to me with a wry smile and follows her companion out of the room.

Elise looks at me in disbelief. "Are they going to..." She begins, but doesn't need to finish her sentence before I nod to agree with her suspicions. I guess we all deal with stress differently. "It's okay for me to stay, right? I know you didn't really get a say." She asks, her eyes meeting mine.

"Moon, I don't know what I'd do if you didn't." I reassure her, caressing her cheek before pressing my lips to hers. Today's been the worst in a long time, so much devastation with just a few misplaced words. I'd gotten complacent, I'd felt untouchable, and I got brought back down to Earth. Truthfully, I don't care, as long as she's on the ground with me. "Let's go to bed, I've never wanted to hold you so much in my life." I admit, breaking the kiss.

Elise nods at me with a grateful smile. You've looked after me for so long, went out of your way to make sure everything was perfect for me.

It's my turn now.