2-22: Name

Six Months Later

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Storm shut the door to the bathroom behind her, taking deep breaths. She might have hidden it better than her little sister, but she had the same anxious demons in her head.

They just didn't take her over in quite the same way.

Until lately it seemed.

Discord was something else. Hot one minute and cold the next. And the way things were turning out weren't helping anything. Her sister had been gone for so long she'd lost count on the months. She'd heard so many stories, come to be aware of so many things she hadn't known. It was a whirlwind of information all dropped into her life at once.

Rain swept by her into the bathroom, and the vacancy of her eyes never went unnoticed. But Rain wouldn't talk about it. Rain didn't talk to anyone. She stayed holed up in her room unless she was eating or showering. And she wasn't doing much of either.

Not even Ryan could seem to get through to her. And if he couldn't, Storm knew damn well that she never could.

She opened her mouth to say something to her little sister, but the door shut before she could. The sound of water filled the quiet of the upstairs hallway, and Storm sighed. At least she wasn't in her room.

She made her way downstairs to the kitchen, dizziness touching the edges of her vision. Speaking of eating, Storm couldn't seem to do much of that either. Not without feeling uneasy. Because her entire life seemed to be a massive question mark right now. 

And Discord saying he wanted to talk to her, tonight, out of nowhere, was something new. He usually just showed up. It was probably a good thing, though. Because she had something to tell him too. 

She filled a glass with water from the sink and boosted herself onto the surface of the counter, waiting. He would appear like he usually did, without knocking. Without warning.

Much the same way that he had sidled back into her life in the first place.

"Hey."

She didn't even jump anymore. She expected the unexpected from him so much, it was never a surprise.

"Hi."

Storm sat the glass down next to her, running her hands over the tops of her legs. But, Discord was being quiet. A lot quieter than usual, considering it was hard to get him to shut up.

"You acted like this was important, and yet, you aren't saying anything."

Discord nodded, looking around the kitchen. His eyes seemed to examine everything except the girl sitting on the counter two feet away from him.

"No one's here. But Rain. But she's basically a ghost, so she's not really here either. Speak, Discord. What the fuck is going on?"

Something settled in her chest, besides anxiety. Something new she wasn't used to. Something close to doubt. And she thought at first that it didn't have a reason, but it occurred to her that it stemmed from the look on his face.

"I need to tell you something."

Storm raised an eyebrow, pushing the glass into the sink with a soft clink.

"This isn't going to work."

Storm looked up from the sink, her mouth dropping open. That... That she hadn't expected.

"What?"

Discord rocked back on his heels, finally looking Storm in the eyes. They seemed far away, but when did they not?

"You and I. Not working. I've been trying to figure out why, and I finally did.

You want something from me that I don't know how to give. You make me feel something, but it's not the same thing that I can feel coming from you.

Have you not noticed the difference?"

Storm put a hand on her stomach, nausea rolling through her system. 

"I noticed the difference... I just thought it was because... You're-"

"Because I'm me?"

Storm nodded once, pushing herself back further onto the counter until her shoulders hit the cool surface of the wall.

"Storm... Do you love me?"

Her eyes lifted from the floor and she blinked at his question. Mostly because it was a stupid one. She'd cared about Discord Hunter since she was a teenager. 

Did she love him?

If she had ever loved anyone, it would be him.

"Why does that matter? If it's not working then it's not working. You're breaking up with me, I'm pretty sure that's not the moment you're supposed to use your mind games. Or ask that fucking question."

Discord looked like he was desperately trying to hold back a venomous comment. And the fact that he managed made Storm feel as if she should commend him.

"Okay. You don't have to tell me.

But I will tell you that I care about you, but, I don't love you. 

And that might suck to hear, but you need to know."

Storm squeezed her eyes shut, trying hard to be understanding. Trying to calm the rolling anger in her chest. She could handle a lot, but this was the last thing she needed right now.

"I get it, Discord. I don't need your speech and I don't need your explanations. Just... Go.

It's not like you've never left me before."

He stared at her for a moment, and something hung in the air between them. It felt as untouched as it always had. As dissonant. 

"Goodbye, Storm."

He was gone before she could respond to his words, and the moment she was sure that he was, she began to cry. Silent tears. The only kind she'd ever known how to cry. 

The front door opened and shut, the heavy sounds of her father's footsteps echoing down the hallway. She wanted to move, wanted to go back upstairs and deal with this alone, but she couldn't. She was frozen in place. Unsure of what kind of reaction she was even having.

Real emotion, real loss? Or just final understanding?

When Xavier came into view, he stopped in the doorway, his eyes widening slightly.

"Storm?"

She still didn't move, didn't respond. Xavier walked over to her, bending his head to look at her face.

"Why are you crying? What happened?"

She finally found her movements, drying the tears on her cheeks with the sleeve of her shirt. She met eyes with her father, and forced the words she'd been planning to tell Discord out of her mouth.

"Dad, I'm pregnant."

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The news of Storm's pregnancy rocketed through the Nile household. But not for normal reasons. It came back to land on Rain. How she had just lost a baby, how she still hadn't dealt with everything that was going on in her life.

How she couldn't handle it.

But little did her family know, she heard every argument they had about not telling her. She knew before Storm pulled her aside to tell her a couple of weeks later.

She knew, and she wanted to care, but she couldn't. She couldn't pull herself out of the fog that she was in enough to even pretend.

It was different than anything she'd ever experienced. Feeling nothing was almost worse than feeling everything all at once.

Feeling hollowed out wasn't ever something she thought she would ever go through. But it was taking over her entire life.

"Rain, are you going to talk to me at all?"

Rain continued to stare at the blankets between her and Ryan, not speaking. She didn't know what she was supposed to say to him. It was like the moment she stepped off the plane in Bridgeport, she went mute. Incapable of emotion, and incapable of speech.

Ryan's frustration wasn't on the surface, but she knew it had to be bubbling underneath. Every few days, he showed up, and every few days, he got nowhere.

He let out a small exhale, but he didn't touch her. He didn't disturb her catatonic state.

"I still love you, Rain. I'm still here."

His whisper was loud in the room, but it didn't seem to affect her. He got to his feet, and she didn't stop him. He'd convinced himself that that wasn't going to happen. She didn't want anyone near her. 

She didn't really seem like she wanted to exist at all.

He took the stairs down to the ground floor three at a time, stopping at the landing when Storm brushed past him. She didn't really speak to him anymore, either. And there wasn't a reason for that.

Not one he knew of, anyway.

 Ryan made his way to the front door, trying like hell to avoid anyone else that could possibly be in the Nile residence. But between he and the door, was Xavier. 

Which presented a problem. He didn't know what Xavier knew, and that made him nervous. Her father was the biggest reason he'd told her all that time ago, that they couldn't happen. 

That and the eight year age difference.

But that had all seemed to go out the window somewhere along the way.

Xavier's face was stoic, but that wasn't abnormal. The words out of his mouth were, though. And Ryan was sure he could have went his entire life without hearing them. 

"I need to talk to you about my daughter."

Ryan hesitated, wondering just how horribly this could go.

"Alright."

He followed behind Xavier into the kitchen, watching him pull out a beer.

"This must be serious. You never drink."

Xavier pulled the top off of the beer, putting the cap on the counter.

"It is. Sit."

Ryan did what he said, sitting on the bar stool across from Xavier. He waited for him to talk, the silence stretching a lot longer than he bargained for.  

"You seem like you really care about Rain."

He wasn't sure exactly what he was supposed to say here. What was the right answer?

So he nodded, maintaining eye contact.

"You brought her home to us. And from what I understand, you did more than that."

Something shifted in Xavier's eyes, so quickly Ryan almost didn't catch it. But he did.

"Thank you, Ryan."

"You don't have to thank me, Xavier. That's what you do for someone you love. You protect them."

Xavier stopped as Ryan spoke, the bottle next to his lips. 

"Love, huh? 

I guess I should have known. I saw you at that wedding. I see you in here all the time, trying to get her to say something."

Ryan tried to backtrack. To take back the words he'd said, but Xavier shook his head.

"You don't have to do that."

Xavier put the bottle down on the counter beside him, his eyes somewhere else. He spoke with certainty. And with a depth Ryan had never seen him use.

"I'd never say I'm good at knowing how people feel. With Eden it took your sister almost breaking down my door to get me to pay enough attention.

I didn't know Rain was in trouble, and I didn't know Storm was in love with your brother.

I didn't see enough in my own son.

I can be blind at times.

But I know how you feel about my daughter. It's clear in the way you look at her.

I know, because I look at her mom the same way."

Xavier rubbed his face with his hands, shaking his head.


"I actually sound a lot like your sister did on that night in question right now."

Ryan stared at him for a moment, lost for words.

"I think that's the most I've ever heard you say at once."

 Xavier let out something that sounded a lot like a laugh.

Ryan had no idea where this conversation was headed, but he was in the middle of confusion when Xavier spoke again.

"I think you're the only one who has any chance of getting through to her."

Ryan tried to mask the frustration in his words, in his expression.

"I keep trying. I'm not getting anywhere. That guy ruined her fucking life. 

I can't fix that. And even if I could, she won't talk to me to let me."

Xavier looked at Ryan for such a long time after he spoke, he half wondered if he was going to kick him out. Or yell. Or something else un-Xavier-like.

"If you could? You know that you can. You haven't given up on her this far, you can't do it now.

She needs you, Ryan. You're the only one who has a chance, because she trusts you.

Maybe you should try something other than talking, because right now Rain isn't very good at listening."

Ryan shook his head, exasperated. 

"Yeah, like what? What am I go-"

He stopped speaking, looking up at Xavier.

"I have to go."

He got to his feet, heading back for the front door. It slammed, but Xavier didn't mind much. Whatever was going through that boy's head was worth something. He could tell by the look in his eyes.

He pulled the bottle back to his lips, glancing toward the staircase that led to Rain's room.

He was right, it had been a lot like Kiara's speech back then. The difference being that Ryan wasn't as naive as Xavier had been. And judging by the way he just left, it had affected Ryan exactly the way it had him.

I hope you're everything you seem to be. 

God knows she needs it.

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And even though the moment passed me by
I still can't turn away
Cause all the dreams you never thought you'd lose
Got tossed along the way