#eye emoji...

in  truth,   emily  cannot  remember  exactly  where  the  bruises  came  from.   the  concern  is  genuine.   pointed.   she  knows  very  well,   judging  by  the  size  of  the  welts,   that  she  should  have  a  story  for  how  they  got  there;   but  her  mind  draws  a  blank  when  she  thinks  back  to  the  past  night.

a  mind  is  a  terrible  thing  to  lose.   she  feels  fuzzy  when  she  tries  to  recall  the  last  several  hours.   something  worse  than  the  lingering  pain  of  the  marks.   maybe  the  answer  was  in  her  nightmares,   but  then . . .    how  is  any  of  it  real?

❝    i  don’t  know,    ❞    she  murmurs  whilst  softly  touching  one  of  the  rainbow  of  colors  bleeding  into  her  flesh.   the  dark  purple  mark  flushes  and  smarts  sorely,   and  she  clenches  her  teeth  tightly  to  avoid  a  pained  hiss  as  the  blood  moves.    ❝    guess  i  fucked  myself  up  in  the  middle  of  the  night.    ❞

maybe  they’d  slipped  something  into  her  food  or  drink,   and  she’d  passed  out,   none  the  wiser  until  the  next  morning.   emily’s  brow  knits  at  the  possibility  as  she  thinks  back  to  mealtime.   but  who,   when,   where?   unwilling  to  contemplate  such  a  morbid  avenue  any  further,   she  slips  her  grey  shirt  over  the  tank  top,   hiding  the  imperfect  skin  from  view.

❝    just . . .    don’t  mention  it  to  the  doctors.    promise?    ❞

ask prompt : accepting !

It’s okay – it’s okay. Those words of assurance continue to guide him from his feverish nightmare. It seemed too real – he had lived through this before. But reality was beckoning for him to return, his memories fazing out yet again.

The sensation of terror, however, remains – as Link snaps awake. His body in a cold sweat,  he tries to find something – anything to signify that he was awake. It took a moment before he could find the young man beside him. “I.. I’m okay.” Relieved, he musters between staggered breaths, unsure if that was to assure the other or himself.