Isla
There is space - Isla just hadn't been certain if it had been made for her or not. (And if that isn't a metaphor for everything happening right now, she doesn't know what is). At least she knows better than to treat this version of Ever as someone willing to make humour, because what he says next could certainly be a joke if she were dealing with the man he'd become under The Family's influence. Instead, she merely offers a quiet smile and a nod. "Perhaps you might also rank them by difficulty in travel," she suggests softly. "Some places may involve routes through other areas."
Only once he has placed the cup - her cup - before her does she reach for it, ensuring his trembling fingers are out of range despite the way she wants to seize his hands, to press desperate kisses to his fingertips and to peel back the layers of ice that have formed over the man she loves. "Thank you," she murmurs, hazarding another smile that he'll never see. "I noticed." What she doesn't say is that this is where she likes to sit precisely because of its trajectory to where Ever had liked to sit, the light dappling perfectly through his curls on the lazy mornings they'd spent at this table.
"I hope you wouldn't take it personally," she murmurs, sipping from her tea without needing to wait for it to cool. "I decided on an hour because that felt like a finite time that wouldn't be overstaying, but neither would it feel like I was trying to get away from you. You don't need to say it for me to know this is stressful for you, Ever. And I don't want to hurt you ever again. So this really is up to you, and I won't take it personally either."
Only once he has placed the cup - her cup - before her does she reach for it, ensuring his trembling fingers are out of range despite the way she wants to seize his hands, to press desperate kisses to his fingertips and to peel back the layers of ice that have formed over the man she loves. "Thank you," she murmurs, hazarding another smile that he'll never see. "I noticed." What she doesn't say is that this is where she likes to sit precisely because of its trajectory to where Ever had liked to sit, the light dappling perfectly through his curls on the lazy mornings they'd spent at this table.
"I hope you wouldn't take it personally," she murmurs, sipping from her tea without needing to wait for it to cool. "I decided on an hour because that felt like a finite time that wouldn't be overstaying, but neither would it feel like I was trying to get away from you. You don't need to say it for me to know this is stressful for you, Ever. And I don't want to hurt you ever again. So this really is up to you, and I won't take it personally either."
sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything
and try forgetting everything
