Project V (Clementine X Male Reader Book 4)

I'll Be There

Clementine and her warm smile, her comforting touch, her way of knowing just how to make your feel better. It's all going to go away. In a year's time, she'll be dead or too far gone that she might as well be dead. Her mind will decay until there's nothing left but a husk that will inevitably be left on life support for a few days. She'll forget, then she won't be able to function on her own, and then it'll get so bad she'll forget to breathe and force herself to have a stroke or a heart attack or...

You open the door to the cabin. It's dark. You lean back against the door as it closes and slump down to the floor. You're so exhausted. You stayed with Clementine until she fell asleep. You don't even know how long you were there, but you stayed for as long as you could. You curl your legs up to your chest, lower your head down to your knees, and let a few tears slip out.

Brooklyn: Y/N?!

You lift your head up and look around. You don't see her.

Brooklyn: That's you, right?!

She's calling from the bedroom.

You stand up, wipe your eyes clean, straighten your clothes, and take a deep breath to calm yourself. Days not over yet, even though you wish it could just shrivel up and crumble out of existence. Tomorrow, reality can reset itself, and you'll be completely fine with whatever role you got.

You: Hi.

You step into the room and shut the door behind you. She's already lying in bed, closest to the door. You'd rather that be your side in case something were to happen, but she likes being closer to the door. Countless times you've tried to convince her to let you have that side, every time you lose.

Brooklyn: You were there for a while.

You: I stayed until Clementine went to sleep.

You collapse onto the bed. A bit of pain erupts from your chest, but you don't care.

Brooklyn: Easy. You'll break it, and then we won't have anywhere to sleep.

You bury your face in your pillow. It's so welcoming. It's sucking you in. You could fall asleep right now and forget anything is happening for a few hours.

Brooklyn: I take it you didn't tell her.

You shake your head. She takes in a deep breath.

Brooklyn: Violet broke things off completely.

You unbury yourself so you can see her.

You: I'm sorry.

She smiles and looks away toward the ceiling.

Brooklyn: I knew it was coming. It still hurt.

You turn over onto your back. She grabs your right hand in her left.

Brooklyn: Apparently, while we were gone, she dragged all my things over here. She already planned it, and there was no convincing her otherwise.

She squeezes your hand.

Brooklyn: This feeling really sucks. I hurt her, Y/N. I hurt her really bad.

You stay quiet. There's nothing for you to say... She just wants you to listen anyway.

Brooklyn: Like, I still love her, ya know?... I never meant to hurt her.

She turns over and looks at you. She's on the verge of crying.

Brooklyn: Enough about me.

She raises your entwined hands in the air and then brings them back onto the bed.