The Baneflower

Chapter 13

Morley
She knows too much. But at this moment, I couldn't care less. I had to spill everything out or I would explode inside till I feel nothing. Nothing, like I'll lose my sanity.
She looks surprised. Did I spill everything out like a waterfall? Probably, but she can handle it. Maybe.

I felt raw, I felt refreshed. Now I understood why people needed communication. It was all support. What if Riley leaves me after I tell her everything? If she did, I would regret all the words.

But she looked at me with her brown eyes, full of understanding. She was kind to me.
I was relieved, and I felt half a smile.

Riley
I didn't know what to say. Especially when he told me about Sasha. I was choked up because never in my life have I ever heard someone reveal so much at once.

A lot of people came to me for problems, as if I was a counselor. Apparently I was a great listener, and I am supportive enough to actually make people feel better. I wasn't sure if they were only saying that to make me feel good or they were being honest. I listened but I never told. That's how I roll. I did tell some people little things about what happened in my life, but not everything.

It's not safe to do that, I mean, they could judge. It's not good to lean on people all the time.
Right now, I felt good, that someone like Morley would trust me. I listened, and I was good at that.

Morley
I told her every memory.
Like when Maralynn first came home.
-
I was seven years old, and dad went to jail for Sasha's death. It revealed why she decided to leave this world. She was being harassed, abused, everything that if I have known what happened, I would tell the right people and end the crime. It was too late.
Mama was shocked, and kicked him out of the house. She had the right. My grandmother owned the house anyway, and everything was by her name.
Mama met someone new. Someone named Robert. That's when Maralynn came, and when she came, I didn't like her. She was... always yelling at me.
Each hit, each time she threw the eight year old me around and around like a ragdoll. Robert left and went to Alberta to earn money for our household. Then he stopped sending the money, and we were desperate, and-

The bell rang and I felt relief. Riley smiled and said everything was going to be okay, like a typical person. She doesn't understand. Nothing will be okay.

Riley

Everything won't be okay, but I told the opposite. The damage won't heal. It could be suspended, but the trauma still lies deep in someone.
I sounded shallow, but what else am I supposed to say?
It's so hard to find words for this.