She Is Gone, But She Used To Be Mine

2: Oeca - He Is Broken And Won't Ask For Help

For the record, I was listening to the Waitress album while writing this and it made it very awkward.

also TW for dissociation and mass amounts of hugs in this chapter, it's only for a moment but I'm putting this here just in case. 

Oeca is not okay man (I love him so i put him through copious amounts of trauma <3)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Squidney sat at the base of her bed, carefully threading a needle through the red and white shirt she wore the day she died. It was only a few pieces of fabric, stained with dirt at that point, but she could make it work. It was her favourite.

She held it up in triumph, internally cheering. There were still a few spots of dirt, and the stitches looked wonky, and it would never be the same as before, but that was okay. She was mostly grateful for the sewing lessons Graecie gave her.

Those memories always sent a spike of pain through her heart, the distant memories of happiness long since disappeared. While it was safe here, with no grievers or ropes or levers, it was lonely. Always too quiet, too calm for the place she had grown to love over the years.

Could she call it home? It seemed to fit the label.

She sighed, standing to look out the window. The gates were closed, as they always were. The sun was setting, the sky painted with pinks and oranges.

Even in death, she was stuck here. Like some tower in the fairytales her dad used to read her.

She moved to turn away, but paused when she saw a shadow in the corner of her eye. She leaned over the window sill, straining her eyes to see in the rapidly descending darkness. It was still for a moment before she saw it again. A rustling in the bush before a small shadow rushed out of the foliage, darting for the trees.

If she still had one, her heart would have been beating out of her chest as she climbed down the ladder, skipping the last few steps and rushing after the figure. It wasn't an animal, even if they had any in the clearing it was much too big to be a human.

Besides, she would know that red shirt anywhere.

Squidney brushed aside the branches, cursing under her breath as a partially thorny branch poked her in the face, the cut healing over in a few seconds. That was a perk of whatever this place was, injuries never lasted. Her fingers were littered with pink dots where she had poked herself with the sewing needle. She stumbled over the tree roots, the snapping of leaves and sticks getting closer. She shoved aside another tree limb, and the clearing where she arrived came into view. There he stood, glancing around in a panic for an exit.

Oeca.

He was a wreck, bruised and battered all over. He spun around and caught sight of his pursuer, and for just a moment his face lit up with relief and joy. Then, his expression morphed into something unfamiliar, something that looked out of place on his usually impish face.

Terror.

He was terrified.

"What..." "Oeca, what are you doing here?! What happened?" Squidney reached out, pulling back when Oeca violently flinched backward, nearly hitting his head on the tree behind him. His eyes were wide, and now that she looked, glazed over. He shrunk in on himself, pulling his knees close to his chest as he hyperventilated.

"Oeca, it's me. Squidney. Whatever you see, it's not there, it's only me." Squidney moved towards him, and he shook even more, mumbling words that were barely audible. "No, no, no, I'm sorry I'm sorry no please-" "Oeca," Her heart broke. "Please, it's okay. You're safe, I'm not going to hurt you." Oeca's head shot up, and he pushed himself away, his back hitting the back of the tree trunk. "I'm sorry I'm sorry please don't hurt me!" He gasped, tears running down his cheeks as he held his hands over his head like he was trying to block whatever hit the imaginary person was preparing. "I didn't do anything why are you still hurting me please-"