A Mask Of Porcelain

Participants:

kaylee2_icon.gif

Featuring:

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Scene Title A Mask of Porcelain
Synopsis How long can a person stay strong on their own?
Date January 6, 2020

Kaylee's Apartment - Raytech Industries


Worry has left her mostly sleepless, the bags under her eyes attest to that. Even a coat of makeup can hide the darkness of sleepless nights. The blue eyes that look back at her in the mirror are hollow and lifeless.

The past few days had been hell.

Since learning of her brother’s abduction, Kaylee had been having nightmares. Reminders of the vision Joseph had given her. Of Richard crawling from the ocean, bleeding with Adam standing over him.

Was this that moment?
How could they even trust that vision?

The stress had pushed her to finally let go of Trenton. All he wanted to know was what was wrong… How could he help her get pasted her brothers abduction? There had been an argument and she had kicked him out. Even told him not to bother calling her again.

As good of a distraction he was from what she was trying to ignore in her own life, Trenton didn’t need to be drug into the shadows of her world. She didn’t want another person she would have to protect to worry about daily as the world spiralled out of control again.

Still the guilt of the decision knotted Kaylee’s stomach the rest of the night.

She didn’t sleep, but here she was applying the last of the makeup and tucking the last strand of hair into place.

Stepping back, she looks at herself in the mirror.

It had been awhile since she had been dressed in that red powersuit. Raytech colors. The fit wasn’t quite the same, a change in her routine make it tighter in some places and looser in others. Still the look of it was perfect for the company’s CEO.

Trembling hands brush at invisible wrinkles in the fabric. Kaylee wasn’t sure she was ready for this.

She had to be.

Taking a deep breath, Kaylee looks into the eyes in the mirror. Slowly, she locks away each emotion. It takes time for her to wrangle her emotions. Each twist worry… each sharp twinge of anxiety… every desire to shed a tear… all are tucked away behind the mental wall, until the woman in the mirror simply smiles back. It was a woman who didn’t have the weight of the world placed on her shoulders. A mask of calm and strength in hard times. Behind it, she trembles as all of her will is focused on keeping all those emotions at bay.

When she steps out of her apartment, Kaylee offers her waiting security detail as smile. The corners of Bob’s eye crinkle as he returns the smile, though his echoes an almost fatherly concern for her.

She knows he feels like he failed her and Richard, it simmers right there on the surface of his mind. Loud. She doesn’t need to know the language to know the meaning. Kaylee rests a hand on his arm in reassurance. “I’m glad you’re still here, Bob.” It’s true. If she couldn’t have Luther guarding her back, he was the best choice. “I didn’t expect to be back here so soon.” It would have happened someday, whether she was kicked from the force or retired from it.

“Mmm. I admit I didn’t either.” Bob offers, his voice gentler than normal, “And I am sorry you have to do this… I failed…. “

“You didn’t fail, Bob.” Kaylee cuts in quickly, “We couldn’t have expected this from someone we supposedly know and trust.”

Bob gives a small nod, dark gaze dropping away in his shame, he is not fully convinced. Kaylee understood that, he knows it. When he finally looks up again, he offers her a smile and pats the hand on his arm, “Well, like you said, you will not be alone in this, my friend. You know that.”

“I know.” Kaylee says, giving his arm a squeeze and letting go. “So…What is on the agenda today? You had Sera schedule the whole team meeting?” As she turns to walk towards the elevator, Bob looks concerned.

There were people in this world that would wear their emotions on their sleeves and others who could tuck them away and no one would be the wiser. Kaylee had always been a mix of the two. Her friends and family would see behind the cracks, but in public it was hard to tell the torment going on behind the scenes. The poise of a true executive.

But with this…

Bob gives a quiet sigh and hurries to follow her, explaining what Raytech’s temporary CEO had ahead of her.

Kaylee had decided to retreat and that worried him. He understood that someone had to be strong so others had a place to lean, but who would she allow herself to lean on?. This wasn’t an easy feat for the telepath, but in recent years her found a new strength. But Bob couldn’t help but wonder…

How long can a mask of porcelain hold up the weight of the world?


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