Breakeven

"You know that I could use somebody- someone like you."

"So how was your date with Reese?" Davey wiggled his eyebrows at his older brother when he finally came home from a long day of catching up with a few of his friends he hadn't seen since summer.

"It wasn't a date," Jonathan mumbled, flipping the channel. He was seated in the living room where he was trying to avoid watching the Olympics. But the Winter Olympics was a big deal in Canada and he just couldn't escape them. Reese had left about an hour ago. After she cried her eyes out she finally announced she was "going home and sleeping until the world ends." Jonathan didn't try to stop her when she left; in fact he was actually kind of relieved. He never did well in awkward situations, especially ones involving emotions. So watching Reese loose her shit for most of the afternoon was not an ideal way to spend his day.

"Oh right," Davey said sarcastically. "You still think whatsername's gonna show up on the doorstep begging you to take her back right?"

"Shut up," Jonathan said lamely. Davey shrugged and sat in the arm chair next to the couch his brother was seated on. He watched a bit of the game before sighing deeply and pushing himself back to his feet.

"I feel like I'm catching clinical depression from you just sitting here," he said.

"You're an idiot," Jonathan shook his head. "Seriously Dave."

"And you're completely pathetic," Davey smiled. "I'm leaving," he announced.

Davey walked down the street he grew up on with no particular direction; he just needed to leave before he became just as depressed as his brother was. He knew he was being sort of harsh on him, but it really did bother Davey to see Jonathan like that. Even though Jonny wasn't known for always being the most upbeat person, he definitely wasn't ever like he was now. As he walked past Reese's house he stopped and looked up at her bedroom window. A smirk found its way onto his face and he began to walk towards the front door, a fresh idea planted in his head.

Reese answered the door, her rust colored hair plastered to her tear stained cheeks, and her grey eyes puffy and bloodshot. She was wearing the biggest and rattiest pair of sweats Davey had ever seen and it was probably the first time he knew Reese that he thought she actually looked bad.

"Davey," she mustered a smile.

"Hey Reese," Davey said cheerily, hoping some of his good mood would rub off on her. He couldn't believe that he had left one mess to go see another. And by the looks of it Reese was a much bigger mess than his brother was. Or maybe Jonathan was just better at hiding his feelings.

"Come in," she stepped aside and Davey walked into her house. She brought him up to her bedroom and she immediately fell down onto her mattress, burying her face into her pillows.

"You should come over for dinner tonight," Davey said outright. Reese lifted her head to look at her young friend.

"What?" She asked.

"My mom suggested it actually," he smiled. "I think my parents missed you almost as much as me and Jonny did."

Reese smiled weakly and sat up, pulling her pillow to her chest and curling her legs underneath her. "Really?" She asked meekly. Davey smiled and nodded.

"I heard you two went out today," he added. "How was that?"

"A mess," She said with a small chuckle. "I ended up crying the whole time about my ex-fiancée."

"Oh," Davey said awkwardly. "What happened with that?"

"He cheated on me with my best friend. That's why I'm here actually; I had nowhere else to go. The whole time Jonathan was totally weird though. He barely said a word. I think I made him feel really awkward."

"Jon is practically void of all emotions," Davey sighed. "He's a robot."

Reese chuckled again, "He just has a harder time dealing with his emotions."

"Same thing," he shrugged. "So are you gonna come to dinner? Or are you gonna sit here and cry your pretty little eyes out?"

Reese smiled widely at Davey; she was thankful he had come over and tried to kick her in the ass to get her smiling again. She needed that. She wasn't the type of person to spend her days crying her eyes out. She was usually a fairly upbeat person, but in this circumstance it was just too much for her not to cry. "Of course I'll come over for dinner," she said finally. "I need to shower first though. I realize I look like shit."

"You don't loo-"

"And I know you know I look like shit too. Believe me, the face you made when you first saw me said it all," Reese stated with a smile.

"Sorry about that," Davey blushed. "I didn't mean to. I've just...never seen you like this."

"I know, I'm not usually like this," Reese shrugged as she crawled out of her bed and walked over to her dresser. She grabbed a pair of jeans, a hoodie, and a new pair of underwear before she turned around and smiled at her friend. "Are you gonna stay here while I shower? Or do you just want me to meet you at your place?" She asked.

"If you don't mind, I'll probably stay here. Jonathan's making the whole house one big depressing place to be." Reese laughed, "So you'd rather stay here with me?" She giggled. "I'm not much better."

"At least you're honest with how you feel. He just chooses to sit on the couch and brood which is much worse in my opinion. Plus, you'll be in the shower so I won't have to see you crying or anything like that," Davey stated. Reese smiled widely and gave Davey a tight hug.

"I missed you David," she grinned.

Mrs. Toews immediately engulfed Reese in a hug when she walked through the door. She smiled widely and held her at arm’s length, telling her how beautiful she had gotten since the last time she saw her. Reese laughed and blushed, telling Mrs. Toews she disagreed but thanking her none the less. Mr. Toews was less over the top than his wife, but he hugged Reese and said most of the same things regardless.

After some small talk, the family and their old friend sat down for dinner. Reese used to frequent the Towes' house for dinner on a regular basis. Her own mother wasn't a very good cook and Mrs. Toews made exceptionally good French food, something Reese found hard to turn down.

"So what brings you back home Reese?" Mrs. Toews asked casually as she loaded everyone plate with food.

"Mom," Jonathan hissed at his mother. Reese gave a weak smile as Jonathan tried to avoid the question, but she knew she'd have to answer eventually and she figured she'd rather do it sooner than later.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"It’s fine Jon," Reese insisted before turning her attention to Mrs. Toews. "My fiancée cheated on me with my best friend. We lived together and I really didn't have anywhere else to go. I'm working on finding my own place out there but for now I just wanted to get away from everything," she explained simply.

Jonathan stared at her in awe; he never expected her to be so honest. He hadn't even told the whole story of why he was home. His family knew his girlfriend had broke up with him and he was on an Olympic break but that's as much as they knew. So technically now the Toews family knew more about Reese's reasons for being back in Winnipeg than they knew about their own son and brother.

"Oh honey," Mrs. Toews cooed, reaching out and placing her hand on top of Reese's. "I'm sorry I asked sweetie."

"Don't be sorry," Reese smiled softly. "I can't pretend it didn't happen," she shrugged. "The more I come to accept it the faster I'll get over it," she said. "I hope," she added with a tiny smile.

"Well if there's anything we can do to help, you know we're here," Mr. Toews stated with a firm shake of his head.

"I'm sure Jonathan can help you find somewhere to stay!" Mrs. Toews exclaimed. "Maybe you can stay there while you look. He wouldn't mind, would you Jonathan?"

Immediately noticing the awkward, blank sort of look Jonathan was giving his mother Reese jumped in to try and help his cause. "It's fine," she shook her head. "I can manage on my own."

"Nonsense Reese," the older woman said with a wave of her hand. "You guys could use each other."

Reese and Jonathan made eye contact, unaware of how extremely true that statement was.