❀ 𝐄𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 ❀

~ Tainted Haven ~

⚠️ - Slight TW for death and self injury

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Aoife remained in the tent for most of the late afternoon into the early evening. Both Lori and Amy attempted to coax her out, bribing her with the promise of freshly cooked fish for dinner, but to no avail.

She lay, knees brought up to her chest with her hands curled in the crook of her neck, listening to the chatter and laughter coming from around the now cracking campfire.

Jacqui ate her meal in silence, pushing pieces of fish around with her plastic fork until the portion was shredded to pieces on her plate and the fork ends snapped off.

None of the group had heard exactly what was said during the argument earlier, and any prying questions had quickly been shut down by a shake of the head from the woman.

Silence fell over the group as Aoife's presence was made known by the crunching gravel behind them. Jacqui looked up to see her daughter, standing a few feet away, her eyes puffy and red as she pulled at the hems of her sleeve.

Aoife opened her mouth to speak, but was lost on what to say, and simply dug the toe of her shoe into the dirt, shame washing over her.
Wordlessly, Jacqui held out an arm, beckoning her over. Aoife complied, and the woman pulled her in for a hug, setting down her plate so Aoife could rest her head on her lap. 

As the awkward tension faded and conversations resumed again, Aoife turned her head to look up at her mother.

“I'm sorry.” she whispered, a tear escaping the corner of her eye and rolling down into her ear, which would've usually annoyed her to no end, but didn't matter at that moment.

“I don't blame you.” Jacqui replied, stroking her daughter's cheek softly, an action she repeated frequently when Aoife was upset and couldn't sleep. 

“You're my real mom, I shouldn't have said that.” Aoife mumbled, using the pad of her thumb to trace the edge of a button on Jacqui's shirt, the repetitive motion soothing her slightly.

“Do you remember, the day you turned up on my door?” Jacqui asked, to which Aoife raised an eyebrow, confused as to where she was going with this, but nodded nonetheless.

“You were so small, so scared, and I just wanted to scoop you up and protect you from everything. I made a promise, when I adopted you, a promise that I would always be there to look after you, that I would be a permanent pillar in your life.” Jacqui paused for a moment, letting out a breath as tears welled in her eyes.

“I broke that promise today. When I was trapped in that store, all I could think about was you, and how, if I didn't get out alive, I'd be leaving you behind. I shouldn't have gone, sweetheart, you were right. I'm meant to protect you, that's my job, and even though there's so many people here that love you, you still need a mom, right?” Jacqui looked down at her daughter, who nodded, sniffling quietly. “So, no more supply runs for me, I'm not leaving you again, OK?”

“I love you, mom.” Aoife whispered, taking Jacqui's hand.

“I love you more, peach.” the woman replied, stroking Aoife's hand with her thumb.

“You hungry? You haven't had dinner yet and I'm guessing you ain't eaten all day.” Jacqui asked, suddenly becoming concerned at her daughter's lack of food intake. Aoife shook her head.

“I'm good.” she replied, ignoring the gnawing feeling in her stomach, not wanting to leave her mother's arms despite her hunger.

“Alright, but you're having a big breakfast tomorrow, deal?” she insisted.