𝙿𝙰𝚁𝙸𝙰𝙷 .

There was a very subtle nod of her head, but Sam remained to retract herself briefly away from the other girl --- it made her anxious when people snapped, made her think of his father’s loud voice and her sister’s red hands, gravely, and she recalled even being nervous around Andie after she’d gone a little bit harsh with the blond dude in the basement. It was just something she couldn’t ever escape, she thought. “Yeah,” she wasn’t sure if she could trust Alice; how was she going to survive without her sister here? She stared at her nails. “Are you -- okay?”

“Wow.” She leaned back a little. “That was really fast. You asked me what was the problem and then tried to shut me up when I gave you the answer. Is your ego really that fragile?” Safe distance, safe distance, plus there ought to be a guard nearby. Maybe if she did this, Heather would stay too.

“I feel safe with Andie --- I don’t know, I don’t know if that’s enough, but at least I have someone that I can count on. I know that she’s just as strong as my sister, if not more, seeing how, uh, off Heather had been these past couple of days. And she makes things feel okay.” She was still anxious, though, she didn’t know what would happen if she had an episode and her sister and mother were no longer around. “I hope she isn’t going to leave, too.”

Her only response, at first, was a huge sigh of her own and roll of her eyes; she stayed for a few more seconds, continuing on the work her sister had created for her instead before finally mumbling, quietly. “You’re annoying, and a bully who gets all pissy and childish when no one’s giving you any attention.”

Sam flinched at the tone; she hadn’t meant to bother anyone, kind of, she’d just been agitated lately ever since heard about Heather’s depature--she felt more angry, bottled up, and betrayed. “I’m sorry, I just--” she fumbled, “thought it was okay to talk to you.”

There was a petite, lackadaisical smile on her face when she watched the two play, though not saying anything much until they were slightly separated, not wanting to invade and ruin the fun. “Careful, there’s a lot of rocks there.” Sam had tripped a few times around here during her physiotherapy. “How old is she?” 

To put it simply, Sam hadn’t been having the most wondrous week; the news of her sister’s upcoming departure still left a taste so bitter on her tongue she hadn’t been able to speak much without altering her tone into something spiteful --- not necessarily all that was borne out of rage, she wasn’t Heather, it was more of a sock to the inmost slope of her stomach -- deep and reeling and coated with hatred she couldn’t even entirely pinpoint towards whom. She’d rather hide when she was in this state, she didn’t want Andie to catch her while she was like this, that was why she’d been avoiding most of the people bustling up for the visit week and focused on her father, as well as herself. After managing to actually finish her breakfast today, she decided to go to the bathroom to pluck away some pieces she’d buried within her pockets, but stopped when she heard a trail of shaky, quievering breath. “Chris?” Okay. So this was Chris--sassy Chris as her sister, shit, as her sister would say, not Andie-Chris. She carefully hovered above him, unsure of what to do, knowing how terrible she was at comfort. “Should I call a nurse?”

“Oh --- oh yeah, I know Alexander.” The name used to make her blush, but now that she hadn’t seen in him in such a long while, the effect had faded, replaced by another. “Alex. I don’t think I’ve seen him but he might be out with his friends or my sister. Are you his mom?”

“Um--” honestly, all Sam wanted to do was hide herself in her room, scoop up and wait for her father to knock the door, but she knew they wouldn’t be permitting it until six at least. “Maybe. Can you tell me their names?”

She shook her head. “You look far from innocent right now. I’ll just,” she sat on the nearest slope, away from him, but still enough to hear his voice, “be here. Okay?”

“Find someone else to bother, Cory. I said no.” She spoke out, once she was sure the distance between them was far enough so he wouldn’t be able to---reach her, or anything. “You’re only going to pester the hell out of me again.”

The bathroom hadn’t even been her destination; she’d just been venturing about relaxing her legs, as suggested by her psychologist, no matter how much she despised walking for more than fifteen minutes --- but she couldn’t just seem to escape his gaze today. Glad to have been given a break, at least, she went to the farthest corner, noticing a very ruffled Dawsyn. She considered not tailing her, but maybe her pyschologist would expand the break if he found out she was out there socializing with someone. “Hey,” she called out, “is everything okay?”

The crooks of her mouth ticked upwards, curling into a smile sculpted of both relief and genuine delight upon seeing Alice again---she had always been nice to spend time with, and her judgement towards her hadn’t changed, she was a friendly face who’d been nothing but kind to her friends. “Thanks, Alice.” She felt timid, still, but relaxed while she shifted to awkwardly sit next to the girl. “Where have you been? Haven’t seen you in awhile.”

“Yeah. It’s honestly one of the best things about being in this place. They’re all here,” if only they weren’t rounded up in such an inmical hole, but beggars couldn’t be choosers and she’d rather trade the outside for the opportunity to see her siblings all gathered again. “Heather. Yeah. I’m sure you’ve seen her, she’s loud.” She eventually began to color, although talking to admittedly felt more intriguing. “No, but then again sometimes I couldn’t be sure if it was one of the machines or just, you know, an imagination. It’s alright, it’s progressing faster than the physiotherapy for my legs. How’s your--thing?” whatever his diagnosis was.