2-10: Breakaway

Trying hard to reach out
But when I tried to speak out
Felt like no one could hear me
Wanted to belong here
But something felt so wrong here
So I pray
I could breakaway

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"You look adorable in that, you know."

Nash took the graduation cap off of her head, tossing it on the floor of Rain's bedroom. She rolled her eyes at Rain's comment, shrugging out of the gown and tossing it next to the cap.

"I look like an over-sized marshmallow or something. I'm so glad we're done with this and I never have to wear it again."

Rain followed her suit, folding the outfit neatly and putting it in the bottom of her closet. She wasn't exactly sentimental about it, but she also didn't want to be careless with something she knew her parents had spent so much money on.

She walked out of the closet, making her way onto the bed next to her best friend. Nash looked distracted, and she wasn't even sure why. She knew there was a party or something tonight, and she also knew there was some kind of guy Nash had a thing for that would be there, but Nash wasn't giving up any details.

And Rain wasn't one to push.

But she also wasn't going. She'd had enough of going to parties she didn't want to go to. It did next to nothing for the anxiety that took over her life a good part of the time.

"Are you ready for London? Packed and everything?"

Rain was just about to answer when a crashing sound issued from the other side of the second floor. Which only meant one thing. It was coming from Storm's room. She quickly tossed the pillow aside she had pulled onto her lap, her feet hitting the floor. When she made it to Storm's room, the door was standing partially open.

She put her hand against the wood, pushing softly. As it swung open, her mouth dropped. 

"What?"

Storm was on her bed, and she was on top of an all too familiar red headed guy. Ryan's brother. His little brother who caused more trouble and chaos than he did anything else. Since when was he and her sister a... thing?

The table next to her bed had fallen on the floor, and the lamp that had been on it was broken in pieces. So that explained the crash, but it explained nothing else. 

Storm quickly moved off of Discord, glancing around the side his shoulder. She pulled the blankets that had been carelessly tossed aside over both of them.

She sat up, and Discord seemed disoriented as he followed her lead.

"Rain! What are you doing in here?"

Rain's face had to hold more confusion than her words as she spoke, gesturing to the table on the floor and the door at her side.

"I heard a crash and you left your door open and..."

Storm brushed a piece of disheveled hair out of her face, glaring at Discord with a look that said the crashing was probably his fault. He grinned at her, and the look she gave him quickly turned to disgust.

"You didn't close the door?"

Her voice was a growl, and Rain backed up out of the doorway in response, reaching for the handle.

"Nope."

Storm reached behind her, throwing the pillow she had been laying on at his face. He ducked it, laughing. 

"So now my little sister has seen me naked, thanks for that."

Rain shook her head, staring at one of them and then the other.

"I didn't see anything. I swear."

Discord looked up at her, his face amused. 

"I'm sure you didn't. Let's keep that affirmation in place though. No one needs to know about this."

Storm scoffed, pulling the blankets up over her face.

"Oh, just get the fuck out of my bed, Discord. Go away."

He turned his gaze to her, and Rain couldn't see the look on his face, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to. He tossed the blankets off of him that Storm had placed there, and Rain dropped her eyes to the floor so she wouldn't have to see more than she bargained for. Her cheeks were bright red as she closed the door, making her way back to her room.

She hadn't seen her sister naked, but she had seen enough. More than she wanted to. A piece of her felt like she had just had something confirmed. 

If her sister was with Discord, she could never be with Ryan. Not to mention Kiara and her uncle Atticus had an entire family already. The Nile/Simon family should not be mixing anymore with the Hunters.

But her sister never listened to much anyway. So why would she care about any of that?

Disappointment crept into her veins, but she tried to ignore it. She hadn't even considered anything like that with Ryan, so why was this playing through her head now. That wasn't what she wanted, and it definitely wasn't what he wanted. He'd made that clear.

"What happened?"

Rain's eyes rose to Nash's face and she shrugged a shoulder in response.

"Nothing. Everything's fine. Just another day in this family, I guess."

Nash tilted her head, raising an eyebrow.

"Why do I feel like that isn't a good thing?"

Rain couldn't help but laugh at her tone, rejoining her on the bed.

"Because it never is."

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Storm couldn't seem to meet Rain's eyes over breakfast a few weeks later. The family seemed broken without Thaddeous, but they always met anyway. And Storm was obvious with the way she kept her eyes on the cereal in the bowl in front of her. 

Rain swirled the orange juice in her glass quietly, wishing she could just go to school to escape the choking awkwardness. There was no escape. but there would be, in just a few days.

The only thing that brought both girls out of their reveries was Eden clearing her throat from her end of the table. Both sisters looked up at her, and her face was clouded with something. There were shadows under her eyes and she wasn't wearing any makeup. Which was something their mother almost never went without.

Rain knew it was because her son was still missing. How could it not be? Except for the occasional check in by text, no one had heard from him. And it was wearing their mother thin.

"Are you two gonna tell me what's up? Because I can literally feel the tension."

Xavier looked up from his coffee, his forehead creasing. Apparently he hadn't noticed anything at all.

"Is something going on, girls?"

Rain and Storm exchanged a look, and Storm moved her head, barely. Enough to indicate that she didn't want Rain to speak a word about what she saw. What she had come to know was still going on, consistently. Discord had been in and out of the house more times than Rain could count.

Rain mimicked her movement, but noticeably, so her parents could see it.

"Nothing is going on. I'm just worried about Thaddeous."

She never lied to her parents. Not that it was a complete lie, but it also wasn't really what was on her mind this morning. She was worried that they'd see right through it. Storm's voice piped up, nodding in agreement.

"Me too."

Eden narrowed her eyes at Storm, and it was written all over her face that she didn't believe her. 

"....Alright."

There were so many lies in this family. So many lies in everyone around her. If they weren't lying to each other, they were lying to themselves. 

Rain had lost her appetite. Probably because she lied, and her moral compass was screaming in disagreement with the action. Rain looked up at her dad, and then at her mom, finally putting her eyes on her sister. And as she did, something clicked in her head.

Maybe they weren't the only ones lying to themselves.

 She pushed her plate away from her, glancing at her mom before getting to her feet.

"I need to go take care of something with Nash, I'll be home in a few hours. Okay, mom?"

She walked over to her mother, bending slightly to press a kiss to her cheek.

"I love you."

Eden seemed almost startled by the action, but she reached out and squeezed Rain's hand.

"I love you too, Rain."

Rain walked over to the door, grabbing the keys to the Mercedes her parents had finally gotten her for her birthday. She reached for the doorknob and looked back towards the kitchen, sighing.

She wasn't going to Nash's. She was going to say goodbye to Ryan.

She had promised, after all. Hadn't she?

------------------

"Rain?"

It was probably way too early for her to be showing up at his place, and she knew it. He didn't sleep much as a vampire, but she also knew early mornings weren't really his thing.

He leaned out the door, glancing at her. He was so tall, he basically dwarfed her.

"What's going on? Why are you here?"

Rain stood awkwardly on his doorstep, and before she knew it, tears were in her eyes. Just like they usually were. She always could find something to cry about. Something to feel. And this time, she knew it was going to get her nowhere.

"I..."

She froze in her speech, staring at his face. And all the words she had tried to prepare dissipated like smoke.

"You asked me to say goodbye."

Ryan opened the door the rest of the way, gesturing inside, but Rain shook her head.

"I'm not staying. I just..."

She hesitated for a second, weighing her choice in her head before she followed through with it. She stepped closer to him, and the height difference between them was ridiculous. But it was almost as if Ryan anticipated her action. 

He leaned down to her and she kissed him, tears falling softly on her cheeks. He went to put his arm around her waist, but she stepped away. It was over almost as fast as it started.

But she wasn't going to stand here and have him give her another excuse about how this was a mistake. She wiped the tears off of her cheeks with the back of her hand, trying her best to force a smile.

"Goodbye, Ryan."

The words were sad, emotion riding on every syllable. And she knew she probably sounded as pathetic as she looked. She froze for a moment more, just looking up into his eyes.

And then she turned and rushed down the steps so quickly, she didn't even know if he said it back.

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I'll spread my wings, and I'll learn how to fly
Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye
I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway