#drabble..

Beca swipes her tongue swiftly across her bottom lip. She twists the rings on her fingers anxiously. Her heart hammers against her chest, finding an uncomfortable rhythm.

Chloe just wants to be kissed tonight. That’s the woman’s only wish. And from the looks of things, she’s trying to subtly hint it to the guy she’s chatting to at the party they’re at. But true to form, the guy hasn’t noticed.

With a sharp intake of breath followed by a sharp exhale, Beca decides to take matters into her own hands. She makes a beeline for her best friend, ignoring the people around her.

“So do you go here much?” Chloe asks with a huge smile, rocking back and forth on her heels, trying her best to flirt with the guy before her. But he’s totally oblivious. How is he so oblivious?!

She feels a familiar hand grab her elbow, and sees Beca come into her eyeline. Then suddenly Chloe’s eyes snap shut, the world around her disappearing. Because Beca’s mouth presses firmly against hers, their lips like two puzzle pieces connecting: the perfect match.

     Her darkest thoughts reminded her of here, but even if the landscape almost felt familiar, Litchi couldn’t help the tension in her brow, the knot in her heart.

Only something tragic could have befallen here, she could feel it. Or, maybe she simply expected tragedy these days. Regardless of the real reason, she still felt torn. Beyond being ripped from her familiar, treacherous city, she was preoccupied with this sorry site.

There had to be people here who were hurt.

Drab, dark gray flickered by the windows as they drove. She was grateful for the chauffeur’s silence. She wasn’t in the mood to converse, odd considering how willing she was to put on a smile and entertain whoever was near. No, the attic of her mind beckoned, cobwebs tangling around her and threatening to choke. It was in this unfamiliar world where she was free to stew.

Who was she to help them? She couldn’t help herself. She couldn’t help him. She hurt more than she healed, a dark presence that took and took like a parasite and left its host a hollow husk. She broke a good man’s heart. She left children to die. She abandoned the people who needed her. She didn’t have a right to good intentions.

She knew this... yet she couldn’t stop her soul’s desire to save.

The driver was trying to get her attention. They’d pulled up to her residence a minute ago. The pamphlet lay untouched next to her. Litchi stared forward now, then looked at the one trying to get her attention.

If she couldn’t stop herself, maybe she could still be redeemed.