The weekend, and Demi's mourning, ended on Monday. That morning she and Selena walked the halls of her kingdom, Demi feeling empty. For the rest of their Saturday, and all of their Sunday, Selena was invested in making Demi feel better, she stopped the tears but the heartache was still present.
Selena watched Demi as she put up a front, saying her hellos to anyone who bothered. No one saw how broken she was. Selena could though, even if she wasn't there that day she would've noticed the change, she would've noticed the dimmed sparkle in her eyes, she would've seen the way her shoulders slouched uncharacteristically as if she carried the world on them. Most of all, she noticed her attempts at normalcy, the way she tried to smile like nothing happened, it didn't reach her eyes. It's almost like watching a storm brew in the sky, the world below is untouched and relatively peaceful, but in the sky above there are so many things going on at once.
"How are you doing?"
"I'm fine." Demi looked everything but fine.
"Are you really?" Selena worried after her.
"Yes, Sel. I'm trying to forget about it all." Demi ran a hand through her hair, a tell that she was frustrated.
"Don't forget Demi, you don't have to do that. He was your pet, you should remember him for what he was, what he meant to you." Selena looked her in the eye, having paused their walking for this conversation. "You don't need to forget the other thing too... You're still here right now, you might be wounded now but later you'll look back to this and see what you've overcome."
Demi stared at the brunette, her frustration reaching its ending.
"How can you think I can just see it that way Selena? He's gone. I can't get him back and the only thing I can remember from this is that my uncle did it. He did it out of anger, out of hate, he took him away from me." she slammed her fist on the nearest locker, her voice raising, chest rising and falling rapidly, nostrils flaring. "You'll never be able to understand that, no matter how hard you try. So stop telling me what to do, let me forget everything. Maybe one day the pain will be nonexistent, until then I'm pretending that day is today."
She finished her rant, her eyes wandering the halls, the few people watching Demi's outburst turned away when she looked at them. She let out a shaky breath and ran her hand through her hair again. She looked at Selena the apology clear in her eyes, Selena put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay." she said, the simplicity of it speaking volumes.
"What if it isn't?" her voice was so quiet, she sounded small, like a scared child. "What if he does it again? What if one day he doesn't stop and.. and.."
"Don't say that." Selena interrupted. "Don't you ever say that. I'm here for you, my mom is here for you. We'll help you find a way out of this. Calling the police is always an option, and I know you don't want to do that, but it sounds like the best one you have right now."
"Sel, I can't. He's the closest thing I have to a family, I can't let him go just like that.. He's all I have left of them." tears brimmed her eyes but she forcefully wiped them, refusing to show any signs of vulnerability in this place, she built up an image here and she wasn't going to break it down today.
Selena pulled her into her arms and that image dwindled right then and there, she cried earning the stares of everyone around them. Selena pulled away after a few seconds, keeping her at arms length. She wiped her tears away then hugged her again.
"Feel better?" she asked, still holding Demi. She nodded, actually feeling better but not fully okay. "Good." she squeezed her one last time, her attention averted to something behind her, "Your boyfriends here."
