Chapter Text
"Esmea? I'm back!"
Anna stepped softly through the door to her sister's apartment. The place was relatively dark, and looked almost exactly the same as when she'd left. It made her skeptical if anyone had even lived in it.
Raising a brow, she moved into the quiet establishment. Her heel clicked against the hardwood floor, confirming the fact that the place was really empty.
"Esmea?" she called again. "Don't hold a grudge on me--it's not like I didn't tell you where I was going!"
Anna cracked a small smile; surely, her sister would come storming from 'round the corner and scream her head off. Her expression would be furious, she'd be pissed. Esmea would make some sassy comment about Anna's lack of presence, then the fact she'd gotten married without even informing her one and only relative.
Unfortunately, none of that came to be. Anna's smile dropped into a worried frown while her brows furrowed together. Something was definitely amiss--Esmea would've *never* missed her arrival.
That just wasn't her..
Taking a step forward, Anna wandered into the kitchen. The countertop was pristine and the dishes had been put away. She wondered who had taken care of it. Esmea wasn't known for getting her hands dirty with house-cleaning, no matter how much junk she owned.
What caught her attention, though, was the sticky note on the fridge door.
Anna's brows truly pulled together at the familiar handwriting on the note. Esmea was more inclined to use her omnitool; maybe this was an act of revenge that she'd leave a simple note, instead of texting or emailing?
Pulling the piece from the door, her eyes skimmed over the sentence before her. As she read them, she spoke aloud," I'm.. in the hospital- You left me.. to die."
Anna shook her head and scowled slightly. "No, I didn't," she murmured into the open space. Flipping the page over, she noticed more writing."And P.S., it's.. rude not to tell your sister you got fucking married bitch."
Anna moved down the hospital hallway at rapid speed. She had a *serious* bone to pick with her sister. Whether she were dead or alive, Esmea *would* recieve an explanation if Anna had to hold her down to give it to her.
Slamming her hand against the counter, Anna glared at the nurse before her. The woman snapped her head up from her computer, a look of confusion spreading from her brows to her mouth.
"Ah.. Can I help-"
"Give me a room number, now. Esmea Williams."
The medical professional was slightly taken aback by Anna's tone; however, the mercenary paid no mind. She had one objection, and one objective only.
"Um-" the woman stuttered out. "Room twelve-oh-one. Please- be gentle. She's a high-risk case."
Anna scoffed. She jerked her hand from the counter and turned on her heel. She felt her eye twitch just slightly. Her blood felt like it could boil through her skin if it really tried.
"Yeah," she chuckled, a smile lasting for just a second before her frown deepened. "More like a pain in my ass."
She wasn't pissed at her sister's predicament, no. If anything, she was worried to death. She wanted nothing more than to rush into the room and throw her arms around her sister; she wanted to kiss her cheeks and squeeze her until she suffocated.
It was her smart-ass comments that flipped the switch.
Storming down another hallway and through a set of double doors, Anna scanned the room numbers until she finally reached Esmea's room. She didn't give herself a chance to catch her own breath before busting the door open.
Esmea lay inside a hospital bed with a set of wires and IVs flowing from her person. Anna only saw her back, which looked as skinny as ever, and her black hair. It was long, but awfully tangled. Even Anna knew Esmea was dying inside at the sudden thought.
Anna slammed the door shut and moved to hold up the sticky note. At the same time, the biotic snapped her head around with a loud gasp. Her fear turned into the anger that mirrored on Anna's face.
"I don't want you here, traitor!" she yelled. Her eyes were slightly sunk, with red around the rim and a dark color underneath. She truly looked sick.
Anna didn't have much time to study her face before Esmea picked up a vase of flowers using her biotics. Her sister struggled to hold the damn thing--something she used to be able to do with ease--and tossed it toward her sister.
It wasn't at a flying speed, but still fast enough to cause damage. Anna ducked just in time for the porcelain to crash into the wall. Her hands flew to her head to protect the skull from any flying debris, but nothing else came her way.
By the time she'd looked up again, Esmea was curled into herself with her blanket thrown over her shoulder. "Go away," she whined with a sniffle. "You'll just make me feel worse."
Anna slowly rose back to her feet and shook off her arms and shoulders. "I severely doubt that," she commented. "I came to talk about your note."
"Why?" her sister snapped. "It's not like you care--you left me and got married!"
"I *didn't* leave you," she retorted and moved to stand at the edge of Esmea's bed. Resting her hands against the metal railing, she waved the note in her hand. "I was always going to come back. Now, I'm sorry for failing to inform you of my elopement, but when my and my partners lives are on the line, I didn't think it was all that important."
Esmea pulled her head slowly out of her arms and blinked away a tear. "I figured it would be nice if you did. You didn't even discuss it with me- I-.. I could've helped you with your plans, and- and we could've decided on a dress-"
Anna resisted the urge to laugh. As it stood, her sister was still in there. She wasn't completely absorbed by anger and disappointment.
Raising her left hand, Anna wiggled her fingers around. A small, silver band sat against her ring finger. There was no design, no carvings of true devotion. It was just plain.
"I didn't have a fancy wedding- I don't *want* a fancy wedding. I think- Well, you know what I think. They're weird," she replied. Esmea looked as though her heart had been shattered by the statement. Even if she did understand Anna's brain, the truth of how she felt hurt more when spoken aloud.
"But you just- That's so *boring*- It's just- It's just a ring! There's no-"
"Find a boyfriend and plan your own wedding," her sibling interjected while rounding the corner of the bed. She tossed the sticky note on the side table and sat down against the flimsy mattress. Pushing Esmea over, she slipped off her boots and moved her legs under the blanket.
"You're not the patient, I am," Esmea scowled as she moved over toward her side of the twin bed.
"So what?" replied Anna as she struggled to make herself comfortable. "What are you doing in here anyway? I thought you were better."
Esmea dramatically turned her head with a small *hmphf*, closing her eyes in the process. "I got sick."
"Really? I never would've guessed. I thought you were in here for fun."
Esmea's eyes snapped over with a glare. "It's not funny--I really am sick."
Anna reclined backward and placed her hands behind her head. "I can tell. Your hair looks like a bird's nest."
"It- Listen, you fool! If you think it looks bad, *you* comb it!"
Anna laughed softly into the open air. She could feel Esmea's temper tantrum filling the room; she'd missed her attitude while on the Normandy. Thinking back to the ship made her think of Garrus. According to Esmea, he was supposed to be dead.
Anna kept that thought to herself--in her condition, she didn't think her sister needed any more stressors.
Silence lingered in the air for a long time. Esmea never turned to look at Anna, and Anna never turned her head to look at Esmea. They both sat with their thoughts; both were just as frustrated with the opposite.
Finally, Anna spoke, "Do you wanna hear about the collectors?"
Her question sat in a cloud above Esmea's head; slowly, though, she turned around.
"Yeah."