Thnx for the memories

Victor didn’t know how to feel.

He was angry. Charlotte had taken her bags and flown off to never be seen again, leaving him alone with their father when he’d only been fifteen. Even if they hadn’t always seen eye to eye, without her the world had been lonely, the mansion they lived in more empty and depressing than ever and living with their father had —he hadn’t known it was possible beforehand—become worse once Victor had no one to share his suffering with anymore. The man had never like his son to start with, not since Ernest died, and when he wasn’t on business trips their interactions were always hostile, sometimes even violent.

Yet he was also happy. He hadn’t wanted to admit it because he didn’t think he’d ever hear from her again and it was better to make peace with that than to dwell on it, but he’d missed his sister. They’d been there for each other when needed and then suddenly she’d been gone. Now, he didn’t want anything more than for things to go back to the way they were, but sadly that could never happen. This meeting wasn’t only to find out why Charlotte had decided to come back into his life, but also for Victor to decide if he wanted her back.

Nerves danced around in his stomach as he walked into Butterfree's Bar & Grill. Charlotte hadn’t arrived yet and so Victor already took place at an empty table. Time passed by slowly as he waited. Once ten minutes had passed, Victor started to doubt she would show up. That would truly be the cruelest joke anyone had ever played on him: getting his hopes and nerves up only to crush any chance at reconciliation. Telling himself he would give it ten more minutes before he would accept that, he stayed seated.

When he noticed her walking towards him, Victor let out a breath of relief: he’d been worried for nothing. She looked differently, yet somehow the same; it was strange to think about.

Victor froze when she pressed a kiss on his cheek. It was still his first reaction when someone touched him, even if he had more control over his affinity now, and he didn’t know how to react to the affectionate gesture when he hadn’t seen his sister in years. “It doesn’t matter,” Victor dismissed her excuse. It didn’t matter, though it did hurt that the first thing she said to him after all this time was a lie, all he wanted to know was why: why did she want to see him again? Why now? Why had she left? “Why did you wanna see me?” he asked. All kinds of emotions were fighting for dominance inside him—anger, hope, fear, happiness, hurt,...—and while he tried to keep his expression neutral, he had trouble keeping the conflict and the questions inside him off his face.

Victor eyed his sister suspiciously. How could she not know what he meant? She’d left for years without a word and now she was trying to get back into his life like nothing had happened. He had every reason to ask why she wanted to see him, why now after all this time.

Listening to her explanation, he tried to analyse how he felt. When he was younger, he’d often imagined what it would be like if she came back, but he’d never thought he’d feel so conflicted. He wanted to believe her, but didn’t know if he could trust her. “You were gone for years,” he tried to say it matter of factly but he couldn’t keep the hurt from his voice. “I want to—” The words were out before he realised. Despite the years and distance he really did wish they could reconnect. “—but how do I know you won’t disappear again?” It would only hurt so much more if he let her back into his life and she left again. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to open himself up to that possibility.

Despite his anger and hurt, Victor understood. He’d thought it over many times and he’d always come to the same conclusion: if given the chance, he also would’ve left. Father had always been strict, impossible to please, suffocating… but after their mother died it had come to a boiling point. It was only logical that Charlotte had gotten out. That he understood, however, didn’t mean that it hurt any less that she’d left him.

If he thought logically about it, Charlotte made sense. Since he’d come to Cerynia, Victor had learned how much he didn’t know about himself and how much his father had influenced his life. A little brother didn’t fit in the picture when you wanted to travel to find yourself.

Before he could reply to anything she’d said, a waiter interrupted the conversation. “Coffee, please,” Victor told the man on auto-pilot, not really paying attention to what he was ordering.

Charlotte’s eyes seemed to burn into him; Victor had to look away and think things over. The silence between them was heavy as he contemplated his answer. “We can try,” he finally said carefully. If he sent her away now, he would never find out if they could be brother and sister again, and he didn’t want to live eternally wondering what would have happened if he’d given her a chance.

Of course Victor wished he could welcome her back with open arms, but after all this time this was the best he could give her.

“Thank you.” The apology didn’t fix everything, but it did help to finally hear her say those words. “I understand that.” Father had never been an easy man to live with and he’d only grown worse in the time before Charlotte left.

Victor scoffed when Charlotte told him about their father’s reaction to her going to the same region as him. “No, I wouldn’t have expected him to.” The only thing the man cared about was that Victor kept his grades up and upheld the family reputation. As long as he did that, he could stay in Cerynia without any interference or concern from the man.

After accepting his drink from the waiter, Victor looked at Charlotte. While they were siblings, he didn’t know anything about his sister. If they wanted to reconnect, they would first need to get to know each other again. “So…” Victor started before realising he hadn’t thought of a question yet. “What are you studying?” She’d told him she was attending the university, but she’d never said what she was studying.