So add it up and break it down (Solo)

When Lee managed to get back to her apartment after leaving the shop, she was glad to see that she had made it back to the apartment before her sister did. But she knew that she likely wouldn’t have much time before they did get home, so rather than going straight for a shower, Lee sat at the small dining room table with a coffee, still wearing the clothing she’d gone running in, hoodie and all.

It really didn’t take long at that point, and about 10 minutes later Lee heard the key turning in the lock and the door opening. Getting up, Lee went toward the door, smiling when she saw her son coming in.

“How was the trip?” She asked, a smile on her face.

“Too short,” Kevin replied. “But Aunt Rachel said that we had to come home today.”

“You’re already missing school today, Mister. You can’t be away too long,” Lee pointed out to her son. “Why don’t you go unpack?”

Lee waited until Kevin was in his room before turning to look at her sister with her arms crossed. Waiting for the inevitable questions.

“So? What happened?” Rachel asked as she stepped closer, and Lee was a little disturbed to hear the excitement in her sister’s voice, as if what had happened this weekend had been some kind of fun adventure.

Lee just shook her head to start. “It was rough,” Lee said, her voice quiet, almost monotone. “I ended up walking into an even worse situation than I expected. That particular spirit seems to really have it out for me, so things got…interesting at one point.” Yeah, ‘interesting’ was one way to describe how the spirit had hit her over the head with a chair. But Lee knew it was infinitely better than telling Rachel what had actually happened. “But I managed to get the spirit out of his head on Saturday.”

“Wait, how…why would a spirit have a problem with you? You haven’t even been with Tarin for over ten years. It’s not like you can just have an argument with a spirit.”

Lee took a slow, deep breath when Rachel brought up Tarin, about how they hadn’t been together. It was an old wound, and the pain had lessened, but it still hurt when Rachel brought it up like that. “No, I can’t,” Lee confirmed about the spirits. “But this one I’d already dealt with twice before. Remember that Fashion Week you dragged me to years ago? Same one. He really doesn’t like me.”

“So it’s all done? No more late night calls? You’re done dealing with all that?”

“The spirit is gone and you shouldn’t be getting any more late night calls. Even if the spirit does come back, it took him 15 years to get the strength to after last time.”

Rachel narrowed her eyes as she examined Lee for a moment. “What aren’t you telling me?” She said, her tone accusative. “You didn’t answer if you’re done dealing with everything!”

“Because there’s always some kind of fallout to deal with, Rach,” Lee replied with a sigh. “Merging is traumatic for everyone involved, but especially for Tarin. The spirit is literally in his head when they’re merged. And I’ve never heard of a spirit trying to force a merge that was a good person in life…”

“Again, Lee, what does this have to do with you, especially now?”

“Do you remember the nightmares I had when I came to stay with you?”

“Yes,” Rachel said slowly, unsure what that had to do with anything. “But what does that have to do with this?”

“Those were nothing compared to the nightmares Tarin’s likely going to be having. I can’t let him deal with those on his own, there’s no possible way that would end well.”

Rachel stood there looking at Lee for a few moments, and Lee could swear that she saw the calculations that her sister was doing to try and piece together the bits of information she had into a full picture.

Suddenly, Rachel’s eyes widened as she stared at Lee. “You didn’t,” she said in disbelief. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“What are you talking about, Rach? I’m not a mind reader,” Lee said, though she was pretty sure she knew exactly which conclusion her sister had just jumped to.

“You cannot seriously be thinking about having him stay here. And with Kevin here? This will just end up confusing and hurting him more.”

Hearing those last words, Lee’s expression hardened as she looked at Rachel. “When have I done anything that I knew would hurt Kevin?” Lee asked, her voice almost dangerously calm. “This wasn’t a spur of the moment or emotional decision. I literally spent dozens of hours thinking about all the options, what they could mean, what could play out. Kevin won’t be hurt because he mistakes Tarin as his father. If I thought that was a possibility, they would never meet.”