Salvation

After you leave you are lead to the front entrance once more. Your two sisters were waiting for you there. Fiona stood tall and powerful, her sunglasses on. But she stood apart from Elsie. Cold and closed off. El was looking at her with concern. When she sees you Elsie runs up and hugs you. "What happened in there? Something's wrong with Fiona."

You say, your voice a whisper. "I'm...not really sure honestly. She was...like a different person in there." Elsie's face grows dark.

Fiona snaps. "Come on you two, let's go." She spins on her heel and strides out the door. She'd obviously paid for everything already.

You and El look at each other with worried gazes. Everything had been going so well! The pair of you hurry to catch her. Pointing to the the back door of the car she says. "Sit in the back with Elsie Jesse." Her voice was hard, emotionless.

"Wait! Slow down. Fiona, let's talk." You say to her back.

"No." She responds authoritatively. Her voice as cold and distant as a stranger's.

She gets in her car and waits, her face an expressionless mask. You and Elsie look at each other, both confused. You each go and sit in the back seat.

You say softly. "Fiona, if this is about the room...I don't care about that. Okay? Don't feel bad. Let's talk about this."

Fiona pulls out and begins to drive without saying a word. She seemed calm but you noticed her hands were white knuckled as she gripped her steering wheel. Elsie sat quiet as this was obviously between you and Fiona.

"Where are we going now?" You ask after a time.

"Home." She states bluntly.

"Oh...um...I thought maybe we could go shopping." You let out a weak laugh. "He he, you know. Get me some clothes to surprise Mom. I mean, you've already got me so much but..."

"She already bought you some." Fiona says.

"Oh...okay." You slump back in your seat. Everything from earlier that day seemed to be falling apart before your eyes.

"Fiona...don't be like this..." You plead.

She grits her teeth. "Jesse...it was foolish us acting like this today..." You feel a pang in your heart, you didn't want to hear the next words that came from her mouth.

Elsie lets out a long sigh. "Fiona, pull over. I want to get out."

Fiona looks back with a glare. "I said we're going hom..."

"AND I SAID...I'm getting out." Elsie meets Fiona's gaze with ever bit as much power and confidence as her older sister showed. It stunned you both.

Fiona was about to say something else but thinks better of it. She pulls over. Elsie grabs her school bag and leans over and gives you a firm kiss on the lips. She then turns and gets out of the car. She begins to walk across the large park that Fiona had stopped next to.

"Go with her." Fiona says flatly. "Get out."

"But...but..." You stammer.

She turns around in her seat and reaches out to take your hand. She pulls off her dark glasses and gazes into your eyes. "Jesse...you belong with her, not me. I was being stupid thinking we could all be together. You two deserve each other." She swallows hard. "I...can't trust myself around you. Okay? It's better this way. I'll still look after you guys like I said. Now go."

"Fiona, whatever happened back there...I'm okay with it. We can talk about it." You grip her hands in both of yours. "Don't give up on us yet Fiona, we just got started. This morning has been..." You could feel tears forming in your eyes. "...I've never been so happy."

She reaches up and wipes a tear from your cheek. You could see she felt the same. She is looking over your face with such love and affection, so completely opposite of what you saw in that room that it was hard to believe this was the same person.

"I love you Fiona. Elsie loves you. Please...just...let's not quit so soon. Please."

Fiona lets out a long breath, her shoulders slump. "Fuck...you're right. It's just..." She takes a breath. "...I sort of lost myself back there. It's not the first time. I didn't think I'd have that reaction."

You bring her hand up to your mouth and kiss her. "It's okay. We'll figure it out." You motion out the window. "Hey, we have to go catch her."

Fiona nods.

You both get out and set off after your little sister. She was already half way across the park. Fiona walks fast as you break out into a jog. "Elsie wait! Wait!" You call out.

You see as she stops and turns partially around. She watches you run up. You say, slightly out of breath, a smile on your face. "Hey, don't go. It's all cool now."

Even though you were speaking with her Elsie's eyes are locked on her older sister. A look strength in those dark eyes like nothing you'd seen before.

As Fiona strides up she says. "Hey El, sorry about all that. I was..."

Elsie asks in a firm dark voice. "Sorry for what Fiona. Tell me exactly what you are sorry for."

This stops Fiona dead in her tracks. She looks Elsie over to see if she was serious. You could hear a pin drop as the two of them square up. Elsie's anger not as overtly intense as what you had seen with Fiona, but every bit as powerful.

Fiona lets out a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry about being a bitch in the car." She says casually, trying to shrug it off. "Sorry about that, I was just..."

"Is that it? That's all you're sorry for?" Elsie asks in such a way that it sounded like the most important question ever asked.

The outside world melts away. It is just you and your two sisters in the middle of a open park on a cool day. The wind rustles your coat. Fiona and Elsie are looking eye to eye. Fiona looking down, Elsie looking up. The little sister looking every bit as strong as the elder.

"Elsie..." Fiona finally says in a low voice. "...now's not the time."

"Now is the only time you've got Fiona." Tears begin to stream down Elsie's cheeks though her anger doesn't waver, her rock solid gaze doesn't waver. "This is your last chance."

As you ponder what could be going on here things suddenly click in your mind into perfect clarity. Some cryptic things Elsie had said over the years, some things Fiona had said, how EVERYTHING had changed in the family seemingly overnight a few years back...and the final piece to the puzzle....that scary version of Fiona you'd just witnessed back at the day spa. Something had happened between these two. Fiona had lost control with Elsie and things had gone bad. Real bad. And you think you knew how. You look at your older sister in stunned disbelief.

Fiona takes a step back, she was having trouble keeping eye contact with El. "Elsie...I-I can't...uh...let's talk at home kitten..."

"Don't you dare fucking call me that! You don't just get to decide when this thing between us starts and stops! You don't get to decide how I feel. How Jesse feels. We aren't your play things." Elsie shouts. "You're all about being public with our love, well here we are. The whole world can see us!" She holds her arms wide. "What are you sorry for Fiona!?" She takes a step forward.

Fiona was rocked. She was scared. She wanted to run away, retreat from this. She looks to you, she can see that you had pieced it together by your stunned appalled expression. You watch her heart break all over again. "No...not you too..." She shakes her head. "Jesse, I was right...you two should be together. You and El. I made a horrible mistake thinking we could all..." She swallows. "I'm just going to go..." She points over her shoulder. "I'll move out...you guys...I don't..." She is blathering, she wasn't making sense, she was totally at a loss as to what to do. She wanted to get away, but her love for you both held her there.

"Get down off your god damned cross Fiona! Someone needs the nails!" Elsie rages. "If you walk away right now...we're done. Period. As friends, as sisters, as everything. We're done."

Fiona looks back at El, her face showing a thousand emotions at once. She was lost, hurt, confused, heartbroken. "No." She whispers, so much pain packed into that single word.

Elsie is breathing hard, her hands in little fists at her sides. "You fucking idiot!" She screams. Now the tears are flowing fast, the anger turning to sorrow. She sobs. "I just want an apology. An honest to goodness apology. That's all I've ever wanted from you! Is that so much to ask? I love you dummy. I want to forgive you. I NEED TO FORGIVE YOU! Let me forgive you Fiona, just give me one single chance!"

"I...I don't deserve it..." Fiona gasps. "I don't deserve forgiveness." She glances at you and a painful sound escapes her. "I thought I was better...but I'm not better. I almost...with Jesse..." Her body heaves with a sob. She looks back at El. "I deserve nothing from you Elsie, least of all your forgiveness."

Elsie straightens up, mustering all the strength she had. She sniffles hard. "Deserve it or not...it's your last chance."

Fiona's lips tremble as tears now begin to run down her cheeks as well. She falls to her knees in front of her little sister. She leans forward, hands out in front of her, her head bowed. Her tears fall to the ground like rain. Through shuddering breaths and soul wrenching weeping she begs. "I am sorry. I am so sorry. There is nothing I can do to ever make it up to you. I can't fix what I did to you and that kills me inside. You never deserved that! Forgive me Elsie. Please forgive me for what I did to you. I beg you. I beg you." Proud powerful Fiona collapses into a sobbing heap at Elsie's feet.

Elsie gasps...joyfully! She is still crying but there was a smile on her face. She kneels down and takes her big sister in her arms. "Of course I forgive you. Of course I do. I love you." She takes Fiona's head and faces it up toward her and kisses her mouth. "We're going to help you Fiona. Okay? We'll help you control those demons you have. Okay? Will you let us?"

Fiona can only nod.

The pair of them embrace, clutching to each other as if their lives depended on it. They hold each other and sob together. A moment of total catharsis between them.

You stand in awe, loving your sisters more deeply in that moment than you ever thought possible. If you ever had doubts about being with them before they were now long gone. You were surely getting looks from passers by, but you didn't care. This was more important than anything else.

You just stand back and give your sisters this precious moment together.