it's one hell of a drug !!!

i  want  to  help.  the  words  rang  out  inside  of  her  head  as  her  gaze  stayed  fixed  on  his,  as  if  looking  for  any  suggestion  that  he  might  not  mean  them.  but  even  florence  couldn’t  see  that,  despite  her  best  efforts.  how  could  he  help  her ?  could  he  go  back  in  time  and  undo  everything  she  had  done  to  get  to  this  point ?  could  he  stop  her  from  ever  needing  to  run  in  the  first  place ?  in  her  mind,  she  didn’t deserve  any  sort  of  help.  this  was  the  life  she’d  crafted  for  herself,  and  she  had  to live  with  it.  unless  she didn’t.  her  mind  raced  with  a  million  different  thoughts,  excuses,  scenarios,  most  of  them  telling  her  to  just go.  but  she  was tired  of  running  so  much,  especially  if  someone  so great  wanted  to  be  there  for  her.  ❝  okay.  ❞  she  even  surprised  herself  with  the  word,  admitting  that  perhaps  having  heath  in  her  life  was  for  the better  rather  than  for  the worst.  ❝  i  don’t  want  to  keep  pushing  people  away.  i  don’t  want  to  keep running.  ❞  she  finally  admitted,  like  a  weigh  lifting  off  of  her  shoulders  that  she’d  been  carrying  for  far  too  long. 

son, are you a danger to yourself?

ALL LIGHTS TURNED OFF; CAN BE TURNED ON.

both concern and relief are warring for lead emotion in her chest, because florence might have been through a nightmare, but now she was standing next to cecelia, whole and safe and alive, holding onto cecelia's arm in a way cecelia doesn't want to let go of just yet, " not to sound like a cliche but, it's okay if you're not, you know that right ? "

cecelia moves the blonde's hand off of her arm just so she can hold her hand, squeezing in what she hopes is grounding, because she can still remember the way matthew held her, everytime he held her like he could shelter her from the world with just his arms " you might not have been hurt, but what you went through, what you all went through was a lot .. would you feel better if i checked you out, make sure you're really okay ? "

..

florence  had  thought  that  perhaps  she’d  seen  enough  in  her  life  ––  but  the  universe  had  a  way  of  shifting  reality  from  time  to  time,  reminding  you  that  there  was  nothing  that  was  out  of  the  realm  of  possibility.  staring  down  the  barrel  of  a  gun,  unsure  as  to  whether  they’d  get  out  alive  or  not,  hadn’t  been  on  her  bingo  card  of  things  to  experience.  she  was  grateful  that  of  all  the  people  to  be  checking  on  her  now  that  they  were  free  from  the  ordeal,  was  cecelia. 

❝ okay.  ❞  it  certainly  gave  her  some  more  peace  of  mind,  knowing  that  perhaps  a friend  ticking  the  boxes  to  confirm  that  she  was  alright  would  be  an  easier  one  to  navigate  than  one  with  a  stranger.  ❝  just  don’t  waste  too  much  time,  okay ?  i  know  that  everyone  is  really  busy  and  there  are  some  people  who  i  think  might  actually  need  it  more  than  me.  ❞

"I wasn't hungry a moment ago," Adri admits. Sometimes they leave shifts starving and ravenous. Sometimes, like today, Adri is so numb they have to convince themself to at least have a protein bar.

it  was  the  least  she  could  do,  at  least  in  her  mind.  it  was quid  pro  quo,  so  hitting  up  a  drive  thru  to  help  out  the  other  was  a  detour  that  she  didn’t  mind  doing.  that,  and  a  slight  hankering  for  a  milkshake  of  her  own  had  hit  her,  so  it  meant  she’d  be  able  to  satisfy  that  craving  at  the  same  time.