Love can make you scream,
Delphine had never made it to Torchline, or anywhere else. She'd packed, and then... she just didn't make it through packing. She took up residence in Ezekiel's room again and tried her best not to slip back into old habits. It was hard. For a while, the old habits threatened her every waking moment. She itched for a smoke; she itched for a drink; she itched to feel cool metal across her flesh.
She missed him, and... she mostly withdrew in on herself. She painted the first week or two, that was all she did. She painted the demons that wanted to claw their way out of her head, and left the paintings half finished, littering the room that was hers.
The room she didn't want.
She talked to Noah, but as much as she wanted things the way they had been, she tried not to get too close. Especially when she was still feeling self-destructive urges. Her promise to herself had been, if she could redirect those urges, she could have a date night.
Poe eventually convinced her to leave the house, to help people how she could. Poe was bored, so he drove her nuts until she finally left the house. As a healer, she was fairly useful, and once she figured that out and gained confidence in this, things started to be okay again. She had a purpose that wasn't just 'make him love me'.
Tonight, she was dressed casually, though still nice. Nicer than she'd been dressed in a while. She was cooking for two, hoping that he'd come home tonight. She didn't know where he was staying; she didn't try to find out. She wanted to work on herself before she tried to fix them.
The woman's hair was in a messy, tangled bun as she danced around in the kitchen, covered in flour and honey. She'd baked a cake for dessert, and while her stew featured more vegetables than anything else, she had made meat to go in it. She knew what he liked, after all.
She heard the door open, and she called, "Dinner just finished, can you eat with me tonight?" She was in a good mood; she'd struggled for a bit, learning how to sleep without him there to hold her, but there was no sign of that struggle on her face. No bags under her eyes, no weight loss.
Delphine was... functional, perhaps more functional than she'd ever been in her life. She left the house everyday now, to run errands for those who couldn't, heal those who needed it, and sometimes she'd cook for families in their homes. She knew more people now and was no longer as shy around strangers or crowds.
She didn't exit the kitchen, stirring the stew one last time before removing it from the stovetop. She ladled herself a bow of stew as she moved to set the table. Usually she made dinner and left his dinner where he could see it, but she rarely waited for him, or hoped he'd join her.
It had been awkward, and that'd been partially her fault.
Noah
She missed him, and... she mostly withdrew in on herself. She painted the first week or two, that was all she did. She painted the demons that wanted to claw their way out of her head, and left the paintings half finished, littering the room that was hers.
The room she didn't want.
She talked to Noah, but as much as she wanted things the way they had been, she tried not to get too close. Especially when she was still feeling self-destructive urges. Her promise to herself had been, if she could redirect those urges, she could have a date night.
Poe eventually convinced her to leave the house, to help people how she could. Poe was bored, so he drove her nuts until she finally left the house. As a healer, she was fairly useful, and once she figured that out and gained confidence in this, things started to be okay again. She had a purpose that wasn't just 'make him love me'.
Tonight, she was dressed casually, though still nice. Nicer than she'd been dressed in a while. She was cooking for two, hoping that he'd come home tonight. She didn't know where he was staying; she didn't try to find out. She wanted to work on herself before she tried to fix them.
The woman's hair was in a messy, tangled bun as she danced around in the kitchen, covered in flour and honey. She'd baked a cake for dessert, and while her stew featured more vegetables than anything else, she had made meat to go in it. She knew what he liked, after all.
She heard the door open, and she called, "Dinner just finished, can you eat with me tonight?" She was in a good mood; she'd struggled for a bit, learning how to sleep without him there to hold her, but there was no sign of that struggle on her face. No bags under her eyes, no weight loss.
Delphine was... functional, perhaps more functional than she'd ever been in her life. She left the house everyday now, to run errands for those who couldn't, heal those who needed it, and sometimes she'd cook for families in their homes. She knew more people now and was no longer as shy around strangers or crowds.
She didn't exit the kitchen, stirring the stew one last time before removing it from the stovetop. She ladled herself a bow of stew as she moved to set the table. Usually she made dinner and left his dinner where he could see it, but she rarely waited for him, or hoped he'd join her.
It had been awkward, and that'd been partially her fault.
Noah
And it can leave you speechless.
