self para 001
❛ how was the party ? ❜
❛ it’s not important. ❜
❛ but we just wanna know if you had fun. ❜
❛ how did you even know there was a party ? you’re thirteen. ❜
❛ don’t be so stupid, livvy. the whole school knew. ❜
olivia merely sighed, flipping absentmindedly at the pages of her book as her brothers continued to badger her.
❛ did you drink ? i heard there was alcohol. are you hungover ? ❜
❛ don’t be so stupid, rhys. livvy wouldn’t drink. — ooh, but were there drugs ? i could picture you doing that. ❜
olivia simply ignored the twins, her mind buzzing with a hangover which they apparently had not yet noticed ( especially darcy, who was far more naive to her vices then she had yet realised ). they had been trying to squeeze information out of her all morning, desperate to have something to bring back to the rumour mills of third year slytherins, but olivia would still not budge, unsure of what it was they would even find particularly interesting, anyway. she was exhausted, and the twins were merely a blip in her radar --- she was far too distracted with the image of her mistakes made the night before.
❛ c’mooon, liv, ❜ rhys droned, trying his best to get between her and her book with his mouth still full of bacon. ❛ why can’t you just give us one little thing ? it doesn’t even have to be about you. it can just be someth --- ❜
❛ NOTHING HAPPENED, ❜ she finally snapped, looking up and tossing her head between the two boys sat on her either side. ❛ it was just a trip to hogsmeade, nothing more, nothing less. now would you please just leave me alone ? ❜
it was safe to say the twins were now sufficiently shut up. olivia never raised her voice, especially not at them, and their wide stares at each other clearly revealed that they were just as shocked as she was. she was just tired, and far too caught up in her own dramas to be concerned with theirs. with sheepish looks of guilt now tugging at their frowns, rhys and darcy began to make a move to leave just as the owls came screeching into the great hall.
olivia was too concerned with blocking her ears from the noise to notice when a letter was dropped on her plate, addressed ever so delicately to OLIVIA, RHYS & DARCY.
the boys quickly settled back down into their seats next to their sister, pushing on her shoulders and annoying her enough for her to notice the envelope sat in front of them. before the twins could once again begin pestering her to open it up, she snatched it from her plate, running a thin nail through the parchment and gently tugging the letter out from the envelope. her eyes scanned the contents quickly, hyper aware of the eyes that were glued to hers waiting for an explanation of what could possibly warrant a letter this time of year.
and soon enough, her heart sank.
❛ liv, ❜ darcy began, voice gentle to match the way with which his sisters face fell. ❛ what’s wrong ? ❜
she didn’t even know how to begin. was she just to let them read the letter and wallow in the same pain she was feeling, or was she to break the news gently, calmly, the way an older sister is supposed to ? it was all far too much responsibility for the girl who had made one too many drunken mistakes the night before, and as she read the letter once again, her head started to throb with a pain much worse then that of just a hangover.
❛ it’s, um... it’s from carolina. her and cadmus have been spending the last two weeks with mother and father because, um... well, mother’s ill. they’re not sure what it is but it’s... it’s gotten worse, so they thought perhaps it was time we know. she, uh... she wants to make sure we come home for christmas, too, just... just in case. ❜
immediately, she could feel the boys shoulders slump. this was not just any letter --- this was not just any news. the parkinson family had always been so incredibly close, so wonderfully caring of each other’s needs, and luella was perhaps the one thing that kept that love together. olivia, rhys and darcy each loved their mother with a passion so profound that it felt like a part of their own souls was ill with the news. what were they going to do ?
breath catching in her throat, olivia knew only one thing for certain --- she had to keep it together. because if she were to break, then what might happen to her brothers ? she wanted to put on a brave face, to ensure that they knew everything was going to be alright, even if she knew in her heart that that was not something she could promise. biting down on her tongue to stop her chin from shaking, the slytherin leant back on the bench and wrapped an arm around each of the twins, pulling them close to her side and resting her chin on darcy’s head as it came crashing to her chest.
❛ it’s going to be alright, ❜ she whispered, eyes glazing over and her breath shaking on the lie. ❛ everything’s going to be okay... ❜