cemetery ☞ n.m

xv

they would be torn together, is what she'd say.

meeting nate was the only thing that felt pure, the only thing that made things feel as if her life was ought to go the way it did. and everything felt less painful.

he was the only person that made her less afraid, less afraid of everything. and they'd only known each other for a short amount of time at that point. she couldn't help but feel safe in his presence.

anna-marie smiles at the thought, acknowledging that she's met someone who purported to care for her half as much as sammy did. she trusts nate, oddly. she never usually just trusts someone that she'd just met so easily. but something about how broken he was, and how broken she was, that made them have a connection.

"what?" nate laughs, noticing her stare. her eyes widen as she shakes her head, chuckling to herself.

"n-nothing. i was just, uh, thinking." she smiles weakly, tracing her foot along the pavement in which they sat.

"thinking about what?" he asks, regaining her attention. "thinking about sammy?"

anna-marie licks her lips nervously, though, there was no reason for her to be nervous. biting down on her lip as she takes a deep breath. "no," she breathes. "about, about this." she motions between them. "a-and i kind of just wanted to say, uh, t-thank you."

nate's eyebrows knit together as she moves closer to her, trying to get a better look at her face. he pulls his hand up to the side of her face, pushing a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "for what?"

she sighs again, finally, looking back into his piercing eyes that burned holes into the sides of her face. she smiles wearily, resting her hand on his hesitantly. "nothing, ju-just, thank you, nate." she smiles. he smiled back, even though he was still confused as to why she was thanking him. he didn't know if that was her way of saying goodbye. everything she was saying felt so final, and that feeling worried him.

"for understanding."