Another Unexpected 'Visit'

[Veronica Abbot]

This was the big one. Veronica had far fewer reservations about meeting up with her baby sister Fern, earlier in the day than she did the middle sister, Teagan Abbot . Fern was young when Veronica left England, young enough to not have been pushed away by the sometimes startling disconnect Veronica displayed with the rest of her family. Teagan, on the other hand, was more than old enough to remember the awkward exchanges and distance Veronica seemingly purposely put between herself and everyone around her.

Even Veronica couldn't deny she wanted to see her sisters again in spite of the uncertainty that accompanied the idea.  The sisters hadn't spent more than the occasional weekend together since before Veronica had started attending St. Bethany's at 16 and Teagan hadn't been nearly as consistent in reaching out to Veronica as Fern.  In a way, Veronica understood why especially when news of Fern's condition broke.  Teagan was astute enough to know Veronica simply couldn't be relied on no matter how severe the situation may be.

Veronica moved down the hall of the staff dorms, offering one of the co-workers she'd met at the orientation earlier this morning a polite smile and half-hearted wave.  She had no desire to stop and chat so she moved on by without a word, only stopping when she came to the room where the staff directory had said her sister was staying.  With a deep breath, Veronica lifted a hand and gave the door a weak knock.  Her heart thudded wildly in her chest while she waited for a response.  She gave it a few second before knocking again, this time putting enough behind it to alert the residents of the dorm.

The door opened to find Veronica standing with an almost embarrassed expressing stretched across her features.  Her deep brown eyes gave away the twinge of uncertainty that struck the moment she saw the shock of blonde hair revealed on the other side of the door.  "Teagan."  Veronica spoke as if she was almost surprised to find Teagan in her own dorm that she, herself, had tracked down.  "Hi."  Was all the hesitant greeting she could muster.

[Teagan Abbot]

Teagan was struggling to organize, but she was frantically trying to do so. Clutter just bothered her, she liked to be completely moved in and ready to go by now. It had been nearly a week and the boxes were making her claustrophobic. The dorm was small, which was probably a good thing because with space, Teagan was likely to fill it with clothes and shoes and knick-knacks that were obsolete and didn't really need to be there. While she hated clutter, she was an impulse-buyer, but somehow always made things work in the room that she was in. It was a gift, perhaps a second mutation, but probably not. The closet barely fit her work clothes, but that was likely because she'd went out and bought twenty different dresses because she wanted to make the right first impression.

The knock she heard on the door caused her to jump. Looking at the floor that lead to the door, she frowned, there had to be a path in there somewhere. Teagan huffed and climbed around the boxes, pushing some out of the way and tripping over others. "Hold, please! One moment, I'm coming. Please don't leave!" She clambered and stumbled her way to the door before she finally reached it and yanked it open, nearly stumbling back before catching her footing. She looked behind her briefly as if to find something that caused her to trip, but she realized it was her own feet and then looked forward, paling when she saw who it had been to come knocking.

"J-Jules?" Her whole body stiffened at the sight of her older sister. While she might have been older technically, Teagan had always felt like the eldest Abbot. She was the caretaker, the mother hen, and her sister was quite the opposite. A flight risk who often acted younger than Fern with the way she couldn't just sit still and settle down. Of course Teagan loved her sister, had practically worshipped her when it was just the two of them, but she'd always felt a disconnect on the other end of the relationship. After extensive psychological learning, she noted that it neither of them were at fault for it, but there still remained some resentment from the blonde, buried deep.

Teagan snapped out of the blank stare and took a breath before offering a smile, "Well, hi. Here, give me just a second. I do think I can make a better path than the one I took to get here. Not the easiest obstacle." Before she began moving boxes, she paused and turned to face her sister again, "I mean...assuming you wanted to come in? I'm sorry, I'm positively frazzled and acting like a raving lunatic. I swear, I'll settle down."

[Veronica Abbot]

Veronica took in a deep breath the moment her sister's lips parted and she began to speak. Every time they got together the elder Abbot always expected a wave of harsh judgement to come rolling off her younger sister yet it never came. No matter how much of her potential their parents insisted she'd wasted, no matter how many times she announced she was moving to a different state or changing jobs, Teagan always managed to force on a smile for her sister.

Of course, the relationship between Veronica and her younger sisters was anything but all butterflies, sunshine and roses. She caught the way Teagan bristled upon seeing her. She tended to catch every minute gesture and tick from those around her, especially those of Teagan. She, too, put on a smile, though this one was a touch timid and uncertain. Veronica became starkly aware of the news she'd eventually have to break to Teagan and after three years of doing well in San Francisco, she could only imagine the disappointment she was going to be.

Again.

"Of course." Veronica blurted out the words. She wanted to come in, to catch up with her sister. Her sisters had been one of the main reasons Montana had been so high on the list of potential destinations for yet another move. At least, Veronica hopes so. Sometimes even she couldn't decipher her own motives. She stepped into the room, cautiously at first, and took a glance around. "It's okay." Veronica didn't want to tell Teagan she was living in a hotel room for the time being and had yet to figure out a plan to get out of it. "I went and saw Fern." Veronica offered as if that would make it seem like she had her priorities straight for once. "She looks good."