Breaking...

"Luke?" comes a tentative voice beside him. His eyes shift focus to find a vaguely familiar face peering up at him from behind a sheet of glossy red hair. He is startled to have someone who looked so well-maintained and expensive speak to him, and he mentally runs through a catalogue of Josie's friends to see if any fit her appearance. Coming up empty, he continues to stare at her blankly, waiting for an explanation.

"Don't you recognize me, Lukie?" she asks, plainly hurt. The affectionate version of his name triggers a sudden rush of memories and emotion.

"Becca!" He moves to hug his sister, but holds back, uncertain of the proprieties any more. She is clearly moving in circles far above his head, so much so that he wonders at her being in this neighbourhood. Besides, he remembers, they had not parted well when last they met. Becca had been too much a part of the system to meet with approval in the eyes of her brother. He had been less than flattering about both her causes and her actions. It had led to a split that he had always assumed would never be repaired.

Yet here she is, peering up at him with some kind of emotion working in her face and eyes full of tears at the sight of him.

"You've grown so much I hardly know you, Becca," he says by way of apology. It is true, even if it isn't the thought that is uppermost in his mind. The Becca he remembers is still a gangly teenager, not the woman in front of him. She still had braces, was still at school, even. The years have made her mature beyond her years in looks. Looking closer to trace the remains of his sister in the stranger's face, he sees that the glossy exterior masks a fatigue similar to his own. He wonders what has happened since he last saw her but doesn't dare ask. There are some questions that you don't ask anymore, not even to family.

"You haven't changed a bit, though," she tells him with a smile. "I'm glad, Lukie. I don't think I like the idea of not being able to recognize you, even if you are sleepwalking somewhere." There is a light, affected laugh at the end of the observation, but it sounds brittle. He can see that she is as uneasy, as unsettled, by the meeting as he is.

Someone bumps Luke as they head into the building and he comes to his senses a little with a sigh.

"I've got to go to work, Becca. I'll be late." He begins to move towards the door, but turns just as he reaches it. She is still watching him, a bright island in the see of grey he is so used to.

"Becca? Find me again. It's been good to see you." She smiles at him, radiant, a more grown up version of the little girl he remembers.

"You too, Lukie. Take care."