𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓷𝓼 • 𝒜𝓇𝓇ℴ𝓌

0.5| 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝒶𝓇𝓈

-🌹-

He'd be disgusted by you.

For all her trying Chloé just couldn't get the words out of her head. She knew that he would, who wouldn't be? But she was just doing what she had to in order to survive, that was that. It was the only way she had to escape from Vivienné's never ending rage, always directed at her, because she was the oldest. And she had to protect her brother and sister.

That was her duty-her shackle. She was only doing the best she could, it was the only way she had to protect herself. To escape from her burden from the agony that came with it. She knew he would be disgusted but she was doing what she had to in order to survive.

Yet the longer Théo stood there staring at her, the deeper those words seem to cut. She knew she deserved it, there was no real excuse for it or any way to excuse what exactly she was doing in 8-year old Liliane's room, with a box Liliane had been keeping a collection of old drawings and crayons in which had been replaced by a packet of Morphine which had only two tablets left in.

And Chloé couldn't ever remember a time she'd seen such a look of disgust and hate on his face. 'What the fuck is wrong with you?' He demanded from her in French in a harsh, strangely level voice. 'In your own sister's fucking room?'

Chloé put the lid of the box back on and kicked it under the bed. Slowly standing up, 'Well I didn't have much of a choice considering all my other stashes mysteriously vanished.' She snapped at him, 'and I know it wasn't mère.'

'So you do this?!' Théo snapped in a harsh whisper, shoving at her, knocking her back into the wardrobe which shuddered. 'What if Lys had found it?! What if she'd-' His voice broke and she knew what he wanted to say. 'What the hell would you have done then, huh? What if she'd died?!'

'I-' Chloé wanted to say something, anything. But she couldn't. 'I don't know.' She couldn't keep the shake from her voice. Could not look him in the eyes.

'How much lower are you going to have to sink before you admit that you're an addict?' Théo demanded through clenched teeth. 'Just-just let me help. Please, Chloé. We only have each other.'

But they didn't, that was it. It was her job to protect him, to keep him safe not the other way around. He could turn to her but she had nobody to turn to because she was the one who had to stand up and be there for them.

Even so, she wanted to talk to him. Wanted to scream and cry. She really did. She knew how disgusting, how vile and horrible she truly was. 'I-' Her voice broke, 'I can't.' She bit down on her lip, turning away from him and down the corridor.

She knew she was disgusting; she just didn't care.

Chloé could only stare, mouth hanging open as she blinked owlishly, the very world around her moving in slow motion as she forget to even breath for several heartbeats.

'Chloé!' Oliver belted, snapping her harshly from her shocked daze. 'John, needs you help!'

Steeling her nerves, she snapped into action, 'Right!' She answered, thrusting her gun back into it's holster as took John's other arm 'Where was he hit?'

'Right shoulder, the bullet's poisoned, but I have a cure. Where's your car?' Oliver demanded, Chloé grit her teeth, moving forwards.

'This way.' She said, her and Oliver working together to heave John to her car, Chloé tossing Oliver the keys, as she climbed into the back with John, stripping off his jacket, tearing his shirt open. Reaching under the seat, she withdrew the emergency first aid kit, fingers flying as she worked to stem the bleeding and keep John stable, ripping his shirt to use as a makeshift tourniquet around his shoulder 'Where are we going?'