@ac1num || continued from here.
Esme can't pretend she's not scared, either. It wouldn't do anyone any good if she pretended that everything was fine; sometimes the bravest thing to do was admit your fears, no matter how terrifying it felt. Her hands offer Alice's a squeeze in return, Esme's own, unsure smile finding her lips in reply to Alice's own.
"I wish I could say yes," Esme replied, her own doubts causing her gaze to fall to the floor between them. "I wish I could assure everyone that we'll come out the other side unscathed, but the truth is that I don't know. No-one can, not even you, my dear."
A shaky exhale followed, Esme's fingers briefly coming to brush through Alice's hair before her arms fell to her side again once more. "But despite not knowing, that doesn't mean we can't try, right? That's all we can do, and historically, something we're incredibly good at, no?"









