As Perceived by Crystellen 12

The next day I saw little of Emerys.  When she did leave her room, she ate and then sobbed some more.  And when she didn’t sob, she looked glum.

When Cat and Robert came over Thursday afternoon for supper, Em still wasn't herself.  She didn’t cry anymore, but she still looked down.  Not to mention, she had skipped school most of this week.  Before they left, Cat asked how our sister was.

“I don’t know,” I whispered, since in our house, it seems voices can be heard everywhere.  “I’ve never seen her act like this.  I’m not even sure what happened.”

“Mom told me she had a spat with Losten, but that’s all she would say.”

I led Cat to the back porch, where we could talk more freely.  I had always liked Cat, even though she was considerably older than me.  Plus, when I was with her, it felt nice be around someone who wasn’t blonde.

“I’m getting worried about Em,” I said.  “She seems to be really into this guy.  Do you think-” I paused.  “Do you think she might be suffering Broken Tail Syndrome?”

Cat appeared shocked.  “Crissy, don’t be ridiculous.  You know our sister would never dishonor herself with a guy.”

“I wasn’t suggesting she had sex with him.  It’s just, she seems so down and unlike herself, I was wondering if she might somehow be going through it without having been physically intimate.”

Cat smiled.  “There are some things, my little sister, that you won’t learn until your wedding night.  Trust me, there is no way she could have bonded with him that deeply without being physically involved.”

Robert stepped onto the porch and asked if Cat was ready to leave.

“Keep a close eye on our sister,” she said, “and let me know if anything changes.”

She stepped away from me but I grabbed her arm.

“What if I can get Losten to talk to her?  Do you think that could clear things up?”

Cat nodded.  “We should probably talk to him first, though; otherwise, he might not have a clue how bad Emerys feels.”

I paused a moment.  Cat did have a point; we should probably talk to him before we just throw him in front of Emerys.

“Alright," I said, "how about tomorrow then?”

Cat leaned back.  “Tomorrow for what?”

“How about I bring Losten by your house tomorrow evening?  Em’s on patrol then, and we can see if we can straighten things out between them.”

Cat bit her lip.  “That might work,” she said.  For several seconds she didn’t speak.  “Hmm, Robert will be packing tomorrow night, so what if I arrange for the two of them to talk?  He might be able to shed some light on things for Losten.”

“That’s sounds great,” I said.

Cat looked at me with suspicion, probably because I had shown so much excitement at fixing this mess.  “Now, how are you going to get Losten to come?”

I smiled.  “Don’t worry, I’m sure I can convince him.”

Cat gave me a worried look.  “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but please don’t do anything to make this any worse.”

I put my hands on my hips and smirked.  “Sis, would I ever do anything like that?”