AURELIA
and my hands aren't clean
maybe they never will be
maybe they never will be
Aurelia was disappointed by his answer, a bit evident in the way her shoulders slumped and her nostrils flared, not that it was any of her choice what he does or doesn't reveal to his family. But it's a reflection of a deeper worry she has in her heart; that her father lied to her mother, lied to his daughters, lied to her in the name of... keeping them safe. And perhaps keeping himself safe from their judgement, their worry, their... lack of understanding. Aurelia's fingers squeezed around Milo's for a moment, What did he do that was so bad he couldn't tell us? But she let go and let Milo run his rough hand over hers. She looked away with pursed lips, mentally cursing herself for taking her own pain out on him.
"I'm sorry," she said softly, voice croaking involuntarily. She eyed him from her peripheral, spotting the tension in his jaw. But she let him finish explaining how Zephyr was like a father to him, how he had made his own kind of family with the smugglers and the kids that played on the docks.
Sighing, she met his gaze as it shined with bright, yellowish light in the sunrise. She took his fingers in her own and intertwined them, smiling softly and shaking her head. "You know, I've met Zeph'. On the Ark, when I first got here." She chuckled softly at the words that followed, "I got the deck so sudsy that I slipped and fell right into all of it. Got absolutely covered in soapy water. Great first impression..." She rolled her eyes. "But he seems like a good guy. He barely even laughed at me when he helped me up."
Shifting, she let go of his hand and retrieved the box of cigarettes in her pocket. She grabbed two and offered him one, lighting a match to hold it out for him. The silence that followed the lighting of her cigarette was and felt deep, as she let her mind wander across the beach toward the ocean. She breathed out, exhaling a plume of smoke and swiveling a more serious gaze over at Milo. "I'm sorry for.. uh, asking you all that. You don't have to explain yourself to me - or anyone else, if you don't want to. It's not my place to tell you what you should do. I just..." She shook her head again and pressed the cigarette back to her lips, taking a drag and using it as an excuse to cut herself off.
"I'm sorry," she said softly, voice croaking involuntarily. She eyed him from her peripheral, spotting the tension in his jaw. But she let him finish explaining how Zephyr was like a father to him, how he had made his own kind of family with the smugglers and the kids that played on the docks.
Sighing, she met his gaze as it shined with bright, yellowish light in the sunrise. She took his fingers in her own and intertwined them, smiling softly and shaking her head. "You know, I've met Zeph'. On the Ark, when I first got here." She chuckled softly at the words that followed, "I got the deck so sudsy that I slipped and fell right into all of it. Got absolutely covered in soapy water. Great first impression..." She rolled her eyes. "But he seems like a good guy. He barely even laughed at me when he helped me up."
Shifting, she let go of his hand and retrieved the box of cigarettes in her pocket. She grabbed two and offered him one, lighting a match to hold it out for him. The silence that followed the lighting of her cigarette was and felt deep, as she let her mind wander across the beach toward the ocean. She breathed out, exhaling a plume of smoke and swiveling a more serious gaze over at Milo. "I'm sorry for.. uh, asking you all that. You don't have to explain yourself to me - or anyone else, if you don't want to. It's not my place to tell you what you should do. I just..." She shook her head again and pressed the cigarette back to her lips, taking a drag and using it as an excuse to cut herself off.
but they can still carry you home
when you're ready to sleep
when you're ready to sleep
