angel eyes, ethan landry

𝟐𝟏.

༒
"𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬?"
...

CORA'S CHEST HEAVED as she examined ethan's facial expression, wiping the tears that cascaded down her face.

she didn't want to have to tell him, but she knew it was for the best.

a minute silence passed through the two individuals, cora too heartbroken to get any words out and ethan, in a state of pure shock.

"and- and your sure that's the final sentence?" ethan said, his voice quiet but firm, as if he was trying his best not to break down.

cora paused, pressing her lips into a thin line and sniffing loudly. she wished they could've just ran away when they had the chance, and left their shitty traumatic lives behind them.

"i'm sure." she croaked, grabbing his hand and bowing her head, slumping in the chair positioned beside the bed.

ethan swallowed, tracing his hand along his jawline, shutting his eyes and trying his best to cope in a way that wouldn't scare her.
he wanted to smash everything in that room for being so stupid to go along with his fathers plan, and throw away the life he had with her, and all of their friends.

now he was truly, and utterly fucked, and there was no way to change or make things right at this stage.

"i'm really sorry, cora." he said, shaking his head slightly, his eyes shut tightly.

cora didn't know what to say to him, if she had to be honest. she had spent so many days trying to work up how she would tell him, and when she finally felt confident to say it without breaking down, she realised that she couldn't.

"i know." she said, blinking slowly and letting her eyes hit the floor, hiding from his broken brown eyes.

there was a moment of silence between the couple, both of them basking in their own grief, too upset and empty to say anything else.
they both knew there was no point in trying to comfort each other, because in the end, what good would it do?

ethan was still going to prison, and cora was still going to have to be fifteen years without him.

"h-how long?—" ethan paused briefly, "—before they send me away?" his voice shuddered slightly, the sound of cora's sobs not helping him feel one bit better.

"...as soon as you're well enough." she said, running a hand through her hair, looking sleep deprived and exhausted from thinking too much.

ethan stared at her.
why did she care so much about him, after every misery he put her through?
she was supposed to hate him, want to kill him, but somehow, she was so terribly affected by his misfortune in a way he couldn't put his finger on.

cora blinked once or twice, rather quickly, working up the courage to say the next sentence.

"the—the nurse who's helping you told me.."
she hesitated, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"she told me that you'll be ready to leave within a week, e." she said, her voice barely a whisper, not daring to look up at her boyfriends reaction.

"a week?" he questioned, leaning forward slightly to wipe the tears from under her eyes.

she nodded, letting out a cry before moving over to him, engulfing him into a hug.

he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her hair and running a hand through it.

"we'll be okay, cor. i promise." he mumbled, letting her slump down on top of him, all the lack of sleep finally getting to her head.

...

sam, tara, mindy and chad all stood around the sitting room in sam's apartment, no one speaking or making any attempt to do so.

tara let out a deep sigh, shutting her eyes.
she wasn't going to let this ruin her best friend.

"that boy is a death trap." mindy said, rubbing her hands together, hoping that no one would turn to look at her.

sam nodded softly, walking over to the couch to sit down.

ever since ethan had woken up cora hadn't eaten, or slept, or drank, all she did was sit by that bed and talk to him, or watch him doze off in silence.

sam had made an attempt to get a few hours alone with her, just to let her take a nap and heal, but she refused, claiming if sam was a 'real friend' she'd understand.

ethan had completely brainwashed her.
he hadn't said anything to her about discarding her friends, but cora felt like she had to do so to prove to him that she loved him more than anyone, or anything.

it was almost as if she was worried he didn't know how much she cared about him, which was so painfully obvious due to how she reacted when seeing him for the first time since he woke up.

the group stood helpless in the room, missing the last person that made their 'core five'.

"what are we going to do?" tara said, her voice quiet and altered in a questioning tone.

"that's the problem. there's nothing we can do." chad said, shaking his head and letting his eyes lower to the ground, his mind out of solutions.

"we can wait." sam muttered, crossing her hands over her lap.

the three other people turned to face her, each one possessing the same amount of confusion toward sam's quiet sentence.

"what do you mean, wait?" mindy asked, crossing his arms over her chest, pressing her lips together.

sam hesitated—
"it won't be long before the cops take ethan to that place he's going to, or whatever, and cora can't go with him, no matter what. she can also only visit him for a certain amount of time.
she'll have no choice." the woman said, her brown eyes gleaming slightly.

"she'll have to come back to us."

...