Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Earth- Tipping Points

(snip)

Eela nodded slowly. She kept her face towards them but dropped her gaze, her voice barely above a whisper. ||He grabbed me as I tried to walk away. It took a moment to realize that it hurt and he was holding on so tightly his fingertips were digging in.|| She instinctively moved her hand to her bicep where the small bruises were partially hidden. ||I threatened to force him to let go if he didn’t himself. He did. I told him we were done, that he was no longer welcome in my life and I never wanted to see him again.|| She looked up and directly at Caridee, anger flooding her eyes. ||He tried to use our family as a reason I should make a different decision. He wouldn’t listen, wouldn’t leave, and I was so angry I took a vase and threw it on the floor. Next thing I know a team of my guards in tactical gear were right there. He was escorted out and my physical therapist had also arrived for our appointment. Jal’na helped me out of the mess I was standing in and when I was panicking about staying there, she got me to pack a bag and took me to Sharah’s. I’ve been here since, just… an utter mess but working through things.|| Tears slipped down her face.

“Where is he now?” Roger asked with barely contained rage.

Eela fixed him with an intense gaze through her tears. ||Off the planet. Other than that, don’t know, don’t care. And-|| She leaned in closer. ||Don’t think I don’t know what’s going through your head, Kellen. Not only will that not make things better, my powers only extend as far as this system. Though I’m sure I could front you the bail money.||

He snorted. Her making even tiny jokes was a good sign, even though the story was shocking. Except it wasn’t. It was exactly the kind of crap he imagined Cory would try to pull. Weave a pretty story, gaslight her own memory and guilt her into choosing him. Yep, sounded about right. His heart broke for his friend, and for Dee too, whom he could tell was struggling with the news. But more than that and the tear that slipped down her face was her clear empathy at work. There was too much physical distance for all of them just now. But soon. Soon.

“What now?” Caridee asked. “The video… you didn’t know about it, did you?” Eela shook her head. Caridee inhaled deeply. “I’m sorry for all of us then. That can’t be helping. Do you have a path forward?”

She nodded. ||Sort of. I… well, if I’m still welcome here- we had a bit of a… thing with my anger, but I’ll sort it out. Anyway, we were in the middle of making a couple remedies from my dad’s book.|| A dark smile slipped onto Eela’s face. ||I need to banish the dark energy from my apartment so I can exist in there again. After that? I don’t know exactly. Haven’t gotten that far, but with the video, it won’t take long for a snoopy journalist to figure out who he is, so I imagine my office is going to figure out something to say. I know what everyone wants me to do, but it’s so overwhelming!||

Caridee nodded, wanting nothing more than to wrap her arms around her mother. “I can only imagine. Just remember that no matter what the press or anyone else is doing, you do get a say. Make sure it’s true to you, whatever that looks like. I’m so sorry your hand is forced, Mom. I wish you had more time, but we’ve seen you deal with extraordinary circumstances. I know you can do what you need to. And I’ll be there very soon. I wish it was even sooner but I’m just glad we planned to spend more time there. Can we do anything for you right now? What do you need?”

Eela snorted. ||Besides a really strong drink? It’s not even lunchtime but I think I don’t care just now.|| She sighed. ||I need to sort out things here and then we’ll see how things unfold. I should warn you that I’ve gotten a restraining order. He can’t even enter the system. I can’t take any risks.||

“I understand,” Caridee said softly. “Mom, do you mind if I put on my professional hat for a moment?” Eela gestured to her daughter. “You’re in crisis management mode right now. That’s okay. It’s what needs to happen, especially given your work. It’s okay if the processing doesn’t happen right away. You know yourself how this goes. Let yourself be however you are. But…” She blew out a breath as she reconciled the things Roger had said with the clear pain her mother had been dealing with. Clarity could sometimes be painful. “I know a lot of things are difficult to make sense of, but after the accident, you were the one in a position of vulnerability. If Dad was using that against you to control you in any way, that is a terrible thing. You did not deserve that. No one does. How Jour and I feel about all this doesn’t make your experience any less. I’m here for you, but if you can’t talk to me, make sure you’re talking to someone you trust.”

Eela inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. ||I am, I promise.|| For a moment she just gazed at them both and then broke into a sad smile. ||Dee, I’ll let you know when I get home. I think that might be later today or tomorrow. But it depends. If it’s okay, I need a minute with Roger.||

Caridee smiled and blew her mother a kiss. “Of course. I love you. If you need anything I’m here.”

||I know. Thank you, my girl.|| She waited for Caridee to hang up and it was just her and Roger.
Roger gazed at her with all the love and care he could show her. “I want you to know how proud I am of you, El. It’s about damn time he knew the score.”
Her hazel eyes were piercing. ||You knew? How long?||

He sighed. “It’s probably a longer conversation for later, but… quite a long time. But I never knew anything. Just things I observed that made me uncomfortable. But you seemed to navigate your life with him well enough, with a few exceptions. I didn’t think it was my place. Because you would have just told me that too. You’re stubborn like that. No one tells Eela Dasca what to do,” he said with a grin.

She smiled back. ||Most of the time, anyway. I’ve needed that the last day but I think I’m doing okay enough that I need more of a say again.||
“Ask for it. They’ll listen if they care about you.”
Her expression shifted, looking haunted. ||Rog?||
“Yeah?”
||I’m so scared,|| she whispered. ||I don’t know how this all happened, how my life spun so far out of control.||

Kellen leaned in. “I know you’re scared, El. I do. It’s okay. Like you said, you’re safe. And I’m going to tell you the one thing I know for certain… you, Eela Dasca, are the most resilient, tender, and beautiful soul I’ve ever met. Take the time you need to get your feet under you, but don’t you dare let him steal your light any longer.”

She wiped tears off her cheeks and nodded. ||I’m trying. He’s in my head, Rog. It’s going to take time, but now that I’m on the lookout, I can spot the thoughts more easily.||
“Good. And El?”
||Yeah?||
“Go ahead and drink if you need to, but don’t you dare drink alone.”
She gave him a lopsided grin and gave a salute. ||Yes, Sir,|| she said warmly. ||I should go sort out the latest piece of the mess. Me and my mouth, though I still don’t think my concern was wrong, but I had a case of the angry mouth again.||
“Everyone has moments, El. And you seem pretty emotionally raw, so everything is intense. I hope they understand that.”
||I think so. I hope so.|| She blew out a breath. ||I’ll send messages as soon as I can. Just don’t panic if they aren’t frequent.||
“Understood. Do what you need to. I’ll talk to you later, Koonita.”
She grinned at the affectionate Haliian nickname before her image disappeared.

Alone in his home office in San Francisco, Roger leaned back and gazed up at the ceiling. It was that night almost two years ago all over again. Her, destroyed by the way Cory treated her and him on the sidelines wanting to repay the favour. He could restrain himself, for El’s sake, but if Cory even tried to contravene the restraining order there wasn’t a safe place in this galaxy for him. And if it wasn’t Roger out for blood, he imagined there would be a lineup.

~Roger, Caridee & Eela