"𝘈𝘴𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥; 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶."

𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘸 7:7

───※ ·❆· ※───

Embers danced in the air, spinning gracefully as their orange and yellow glows grew dim. Brilliant orange flames flickered from the fireplace, devouring the firewood. Abigail sat from her spot on the couch, cocooned in her softest and warmest blanket, with her cat, Elle, nuzzled beside her leg. The Santa Clause played on the tv in front of her, but she barely paid any mind to it. Her eyes kept drifting to the small, but still beautiful, Christmas tree she'd spent two hours decorating the day after Thanksgiving. Christmas presents wrapped in inexpensive paper sat under the tree, ones she'd bought and wrapped for herself. There were some other presents for others alongside hers, but only so she'd know where they were until it was time to hand them out.

The soft white fairy lights twinkled beautifully against the glass ice cycles, pinecones, and the countless homemade and vintage ornaments she'd cluttered the tree with. Abigail couldn't help but smile a little every time she saw it. It was her first year buying and decorating her own tree, and she was proud of it. Elle seemed to like it too, seeing how she had yet to knock off any ornaments or lick the fake snow. Abigail sunk further into the couch and closed her eyes, picturing the scenes from the movie as she listened, and imagined what it would be like to be there too.

A groan left her lips when the doorbell interrupted her daydream. Elle perked up, and after a quick stretch, ran to go look out the window. Abigail begrudgingly removed the blanket and rose to her feet. The doorbell rang again, and she hurried to tip-toe to the door. When she got to the small window beside the door, she tried to stealthily peek from behind the curtain, but whoever was there wasn't visible from that angle. Abigail huffed, and, running her fingers through her hair, she unlocked and cracked open the door.

Her breath hinged in her throat, and her stomach twisted into knots so tightly she thought she might collapse. It was as if time itself had stopped as her hazel eyes met with those beautiful brown ones that went wide upon seeing her as well. He straightened his posture and cleared his throat. A wobbly smile made its way to his thin lips as he rammed his hands into his coat pockets.

"Hey, Abby," Thomas said, his voice meek and as wobbly as his smile.

Abigail could only stare. Blinking, she tried to offer a smile back, but the concern and panic she felt were eating away at her. It had been nearly three months since she'd last seen her big brother. When she had seen him last, he was asking if he could stay for a few nights since no one else would let him. Although reluctant, she agreed. She'd two days later she came to realize a credit card was missing from her wallet, along with twenty dollars. The first and only purchase made on the card since had been at a bar. They hadn't spoken since. She'd tried to reach out to him a few times, but he'd never responded or called her back. Abigail hadn't even been truly certain if he was still alive.

"Hi, Tom." She mumbled, then swiftly cleared her throat. "What, uh, what brings you here?"

Thomas flipped the hood of his coat off and ran a hand through his matching brown hair. His stare fell to the tattered welcome mat before slowly reconnecting with Abigail's.

"Um, may I come in? It's pretty cold out here." He asked, forcing a small laugh.

Thomas tried to ignore the way he felt his chest tighten when he saw the look of panic in his baby sister's eyes, the way she looked at him with such distrust. He couldn't blame her. He felt he'd more than deserved it after everything he's put her through. Thomas fully expected her to shut the door in his face, just as his former friends had done days ago. Abigail slowly nodded and held the door further open. Thomas nearly dropped from relief and shock, but happily entered the house. Abigail shut the door behind him as he unzipped his coat and hung it up on the coat hanger.

"Would you like something to drink?" Abigail asked, rubbing her arm as she avoided meeting his eyes.

"Still keep the stuff to make a Shirley Temple?" Abigail nodded. "Then yes, please."

She gave another small nod and headed toward the kitchen while Thomas slipped his sneakers off. Elle meowed and walked up to him, tilting her head as she let out a small meow. Thomas couldn't help but let out a small laugh as he gave the feline a scratch behind the ears. And as Abigail got to the fridge, she tugged her lower lip between her teeth as she opened the fridge. After all this time, without so much as a text to say he was still alive, why was he here now? She was happy to see him, but she couldn't fight down the worry she felt. When she took out a can of Sprite and the jar of cherries, she heard his quiet footsteps enter.

"It's nice to see you again, Abby," Thomas said, his voice quiet even against the near silence of the house. "Thanks for letting me in...I know it wasn't easy for you to do."

"You're welcome," Abigail said, tucking her hair behind her ears as she took out a cup from the cabinet.

Neither knew what to say. Neither knew if they should say anything. It had been so long since the last talked...

The silence remained heavy in the air for some time while Thomas sat at the table and Abigail fixed his drink. The pressure was like anvils weighing down on them, suffocating them. He couldn't bear to watch her. Instead, he fixed his stare on the wooden table while he tried to muster up his courage to speak to her. He nearly jumped out of his skin when she softly placed the cup in front of him before she took the seat across the table. Thomas mumbled his thanks into the cup while he sipped the drink. He dared a peek at his sister and could feel his heart only continuing to plummet to the floor as she kept her stare on the surface of the bare table. Releasing a small breath, he forced himself to speak.

"I wanted to return this." Abigail's head snapped up, and she watched as Thomas set the credit card he'd taken on the table. "I only used it that one time, a-and I let no one else use it. No one even knew I had it, and I know you didn't report it or me. I...um...j-just a sec."

Thomas crammed his hand into his pants pocket and took out folded and crinkled paper. Abigail watched as his hands, shaking violently, unfolded and attempted to smooth out the paper. Thomas had rehearsed this so many times and had written out so many drafts of what he wanted to say. He chewed his lip just as she typically did and cleared his throat.

"I want to be fully honest with you. That night after I took your card and money, I-I had withdrawn the money to buy drinks at a bar. I was crashing at a friend's house when you left those messages...I wanted to delete it, but something in me couldn't do it." Thomas paused, his throat tight as he tried to read, and his eyes hot with tears he was trying to fight back. This was so much harder to do than he'd expected. "Last...L-Last month, I had gotten into a really nasty fight at a bar and was in the hospital for a few days. The next day, a preacher was passing by when he saw me, and he stopped and talked to me for a long time and prayed for me. That night, all I could do was think about how much I'd screwed up, and how badly I wanted to just change. I listened to the messages you left for the first time, about how y-you weren't mad at me and didn't hate me; you just wanted me back safe. So the day I got released, I found a support group, and-and I started going to church again. I'm even three weeks sober." He paused again, sucking in a choppy breath as he set his twenty-four-hour sobriety chip on the table. "I wanted to wait until I was better before coming to see you, and I just wanted to tell you I love you and I'm so glad you're my sister. And Abby, I'm so sorry for everything I put you through—"

Abigail's hands covered his still trembling ones, freezing him in place. Thomas stared up at her like a deer in the light. Her eyes were red, and she had tears of her own trailing down her face. She rubbed her eyes before leaving her seat and hurrying to him. She fell to her knees as she brought him into a hug, unable to do anything but weep as she kissed the side of his head.

"I'm just so glad you're safe, Tommy." She choked out. "And I'm so happy you're back."

Thomas could only break down even further into tears. He'd put his baby sister through so much and had caused her so much pain and heartache. But she still welcomed him back and showed him a kindness he knew he didn't deserve. Thomas pulled her closer, burying his face into her shoulder as he held her. He'd missed her so badly. He'd hoped and prayed so much for this moment. And he was so endlessly grateful for this second chance

"I'm so sorry," Thomas whispered.

Abby pulled back enough to see him. Gently, she cupped his cheeks in her hands and brushed away the tears, just as he used to do for her when they were little. She tilted his head up for him to look at her, and she shot him as bright of a smile as she could give.

"I forgave you a long time ago, Tommy. You don't have to apologize anymore." Abigail whispered, moving his hair from his face. He could still barely look her in the eye. "I'm just glad I've got you back. I've missed you so much I could hardly stand it."

Thomas managed a weak smile and he pulled her back into a hug. Slowly, he let out a breath as he felt the looming pressure he'd lived with for months finally fading away.

"I've missed you too, Abby. And I promise you that this time I'm not going anywhere."

word count ➳ 1,841