she relishes in the way his shoulders stiffen at the sound of her voice. elena may have failed at breaking through his walls, but at least some part of him felt a sliver of guilt for the way he treated her in the end. it made her feel a little less crazed, as if falling for him wasn’t a complete act of stupidity. “of course,” she bites out. prepared to give a snide remark, her lips curled into a mockery of a smile. she has always held herself with a certain degree of elegance, but her shoulders were much too stiff, knees too close together, ankles crossed too tightly to be interpreted as anything but uncomfortable, defensive. she bites her sharp tongue, places her hands on her lap and prepares to listen. “it’s healthy to unload every once in a while. i have it on good authority that living a double life can be tiring.” it’s a peace offering of sorts, though she has to fight to keep the bitterness from her voice. after all, she had offered him partnership, a person to help carry his burdens and fight his battles, and he ripped it to shreds before ever reading the fine print – that she never walked away from the people she cared about. even now when the sight of him made her sick, she stayed.
elena listens intently, genuinely interested in his sister’s well-being. involuntarily, she raises a brow, knowing the code well. it was one used by many of her past acquaintances, and his mother seemed to be in switzerland too often for it to be the truth. she had always been good at reading between the lines, at reading him, and she knows it’s not something he ever wants to talk about ( she wishes she had learned when to stop asking questions sooner ). “tilly was never a bother,” neither were you. “she’s charming, much more likable than you ever were,” she smiles genuinely, compromising her posture to tap his foot gently with hers. “look – i know we haven’t,” she pauses, tries to find the right words, “i’m not saying i forgive you or that i’ll start acting like nothing ever happened, but i still care about her. and maybe – no – i know you don’t want to hear it,” she’s prepared for the storm, jaws clenched, knowing that she’s about to rip off the proverbial band-aid to their already rocky relationship, “ but letting her speak to your mum wouldn’t be the worst thing, giving her more freedom could be good for her.”
“you seemed to like me just fine before,” he wasn’t about to elaborate, she knew exactly what he was referring to. he sat and listened for once, though it was a rare occurence with elena lately. he still didn’t quite know what happened that made her so angry, yes he ended their... relationship? but it was going to quick and she just wanted more and she made it a mission to be involved with his family which was the complete opposite of anything he wanted. but how dare he want space, how dare he not share her feelings. kit’s fist clutched the flask like his life depended on it, and he was thankful it wasn’t a glass for it would have surely shattered when she suggested letting tilly interact with their mum. “god, and to think i felt sorry for what happened just a minute ago. this is exactly why things ended elena. you just don’t know when to stay out of things. you don’t know my mum, you don’t know what effect she has on my sister. matilda doesn’t need freedom, she’ll get fucking hurt by what’s out there and no one is around to pick up the pieces but me. if you cared one bit about her you’d know that.”
