It ain't common Beat went without seein' Serena at least once in a day, even if it was jus' for a little while. It was frequent enough that not bumpin' into her actually caught his attention. He didn't think much of it, of course, but he did eventually decide to head over an' at least check if she was in her room or somethin'. If she was busy, he'd figure that out real quick.
He knew better than to jus' barge in. Instead, he stopped jus' outside an' knocked on the frame, loud enough that he thought she might hear him if she was in there.
She was inclined to ignore the knock, knowing she wasn't fit for company, heart stopping at the suddenness of the sound. Until she heard Beat's voice, though, she hadn't realized how desperately she wanted to see him, if only just to know he hadn't gone, too. She swallowed hard, half sitting before she rubbed roughly at her eyes, keenly aware now that she must have looked like a mess. She couldn't entirely bring herself to care.
"I'm here," she said, her voice cracking a little, unused. Again she swallowed, trying for more volume now. "Come in."
If he hadn't noticed somethin' was wrong by the way she was talkin', he knew by the time he headed in an' saw her. He'd seen Serena upset a couple of times, but it was different this time, an' he had a feelin' that ain't a good thing.
"Serena?" he asked, already goin' to her side. He didn't know what else to do. "Hey, Serena, what's wrong?"
There was no reason to it, the way her mind worked right then, and somehow seeing him only brought to mind that he could have been one of the others. It was an oppressive relief. She sat up as he moved toward her, legs tucked under, and put her arms around him as soon as she was able, burying her face against his chest. As much as she'd needed to be alone, she needed this, too - just the solid warmth of him, the reminder that she hadn't lost everything. It was a lot, too much, but she still had the others. All the same, her throat tightened and ached again at the concern in his voice and the thought of answering his question. Forcing herself to take a deep breath and another, breathing him in, she opened her mouth to answer and shook her head against him instead.
Another breath, in and shakily out, and she pulled back. "Lyla and Dan, they're -" She stopped, pressing her hand to her mouth, like that could make her stop trembling or take the words away, make them untrue.
Comments 28
He knew better than to jus' barge in. Instead, he stopped jus' outside an' knocked on the frame, loud enough that he thought she might hear him if she was in there.
"Serena?" he called out. "You 'round?"
Reply
"I'm here," she said, her voice cracking a little, unused. Again she swallowed, trying for more volume now. "Come in."
Reply
"Serena?" he asked, already goin' to her side. He didn't know what else to do. "Hey, Serena, what's wrong?"
Reply
Another breath, in and shakily out, and she pulled back. "Lyla and Dan, they're -" She stopped, pressing her hand to her mouth, like that could make her stop trembling or take the words away, make them untrue.
Reply
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