#not formatted.

random asks? always accepting.

her throat burns as she tries to catch her breath, chest & legs aching. she glances to andre, making sure he’s alright before she turns her head towards john. his question makes it hard for her to keep a straight face.

“no!” she frowns at him before shoulders shrug and head tilts to the side. “he’s my husband, we got six kids together.” a harmless joke that has her snorting in laughter, though she can tell john finds no humor in her words. evie raises her hands in defense. “i’m joking. he’s my friend, you can call him t-bone.” when john makes yet another comment, evie’s good mood shifts slightly and a spark of anger lights.

“and why not? last time i checked, my mum was the person in charge there. not you.” hearing her own words just ignites the flame even more. evie dramatically gasps. “oh! is it because he’s on the enemy team? then i suppose i  can’t go to the foxhole either!” she doesn’t mean to snap at john but her anger is something that’s easy to test. it was the one thing evie hates about herself, she hate show it brings back the memories of her step-dad and how short is fuse was when it came to tempers.

Evelyn is quiet as Andre inpects the photograph, and then comes the questions. She gently rubs the hand she punched the tree with. "His name is John, and he's the closest thing I got to a dad." Her voice is scratchy, throat aching from the yelling she did, only Andre would ever see Evelyn like this. Seeing her exhausted and emotionally drained... eyes close when he questions the break out stunt they did. swallowing down the raw emotions desperately wanting to pour out, Evie takes a deep breath, eyes opening to meet his gaze. 

"Yeah. He is. I couldn't just leave him there! You know the treatment those people get! Mickey and Lou, they...treat them like animals. I can't see John getting treated like that." She pulls her gaze away from his to instead look down at her hands. "Even if he just sees' me as the enemy now..." Her hand moves to rub at the snake tattoo on her arm, rubbing her hand against it to bring some comfort. 

random stuff? always accepting.

The Lord truly is testing her anger right now as his words only fuel the flame, and he's getting dangerously close to being burned. She glances to Andre then to John. When he speaks of Elizabeth, Evelyn can only laugh bitterly at him. 

"Oh, right. Because you always knew what my mother wanted, that's why when I was a kid, I'd see her come back to our room and cry over YOU. I had to hug her, comfort her as she cried about her insecurity, chasing a man who would never love her." 

Green eyes meet blue ones and her voice drips with venom. "Just. Like. MARK." She knows how he felt about the man. "You never hit me, you never made me cry, but Mark hit her, Mark made her cry and never feel good enough after Alex." For a moment, there's regret on her face for comparing to John to such an evil, but there's anger as he insults the people she rides with. They've become family, for fuck's sake! She met her best friend through them! There's a tense silence before Evelyn lets out a yell, punching the tree beside her, knuckles scraping against the bark, her head lowers. 

elizabeth   freezes,   her   gaze   immediately   moves   down   to   her   abdomen   where,   sure   enough,   crimson   stains   her   shirt,   must   be   the   adrenaline   that’s   keeping   her   going.   she   can’t   keep   up   with   the   thoughts   racing   through   her   head,   no...   get   it   together  !   coraline   needs   you  !

  slowly,   and   painfully,   elizabeth   moves   to   sit   up,   a   small   cry   of   pain   comes   from   her   as   she   moves   but   she   bites   her   tongue   as   only   faint   whimpers   escape   from   her.   quick,   pressure  !   immediately,   elizabeth   places   her   hands   on   her   wound,   applying   pressure   to   stop   the   bleeding.   she’s   also   quick   to   look   at   coraline,   seeing   the   underlying   panic   in   her   eyes.   “  hey,   look   at   me.  ”   it’s   a   plea.   “  it’s   not   that   bad,   i   promise.  ”   a   white   lie   because   god   does   it   fucking   hurt...   “  i’m   going   to   be   fine,   love.  ”   clearing   her   throat,   she   glances   around   the   room   they’re   shut   in.

my muse has no recollection of who yours is, or what significance yours has to them. what would yours tell mine to try to make them remember?

YOU’RE MY MOM.

the words echo in elizabeth’s head but she remains staring at the young woman; confusion clear in her expression. lips part, “i’m...your mum?” she shakes her head slowly, but it soon turns to panic. “n..no, i...i only have one daughter, evelyn. i don’t---” her breaths become labored as a headache begins to form.

a hand is placed upon her shoulder & she glances up, a smile appears but it doesn’t match her eyes as there’s a small spark that goes off when mark squeezes her shoulder. “mark...” his name comes out breathless but he’s not looking at elizabeth, no... his eyes are locked on the girl.

“ah, coraline.” the name is coated in venom as mark gives her a sweet smile. “you know her?” elizabeth questions cautiously, hands grabbing his in attempts to feel safe. “why of course. she and i go way back.” his smile is almost mocking towards coraline.

“i think miss jones is confused. she’s clearly mistaken you for someone else.” her leans into elizabeth, whispering soothing words to her, but her eye twitches ever so slightly as she continues to stare at coraline.

death was something evie was growing accustomed to. as she stares at the wooden cross with the name ‘ELIZABETH’ carved into it, she can’t help a bitterness growing in her chest.

she hears footsteps approaching her, then a voice, greeting her. it’s john, of course it is. she feels...empty. she doesn’t take her gaze off the grave. “did you know when my brother died, the day we found him; i saw his body?” her words are soft. “he didn’t even look like my baby brother. his face was so pale and his stomach....there was blood everywhere. yet he looked like he was sleeping.” there’s a pause. “i had nightmares for weeks. while i got the help i needed, mum got all the blame and she only got worse.” voice wavers as she brings her hand to grab his, holding it tightly to the point her knuckles were pale.

“mum’s body... the blood, the arrow..yet she looked like she was sleeping... the same way alexander did..” evie’s visibly shaking as she recalls the state elizabeth was in when she arrived to the foxhole, she finally pries her gaze away from the cross to stare up at john, watching as he tells her those four words.

IT WASN’T YOUR FAULT.

there’s a bitter scoff as she takes her hand away, instead wrapping arms around herself to try and bring some comfort. “i joined a group of people who were known to killing those who wouldn’t comply. those same people came here and killed my mother. i wasn’t the one who lodged an arrow in her chest but i was part of them. they were like a family to me and they murdered my mum...” she spits the words out in seething anger. “it’s my fault i wasn’t here. IT’S MY FAULT I LEFT HER.” no, stay calm, evelyn.

john’s words echo in the room, bouncing off the walls and they’re targeting elizabeth as she just sits there. he’s judging her. isn’t that his job as a baptist? to judge the sinners, to judge what their sin is to carve into flesh? usually she’d be angry for him judging her, but all she can do it sit and hold the bottle in her hands that contain her escape ticket.

BLISS.