Making a choice

PhD Pepper and Honey Buddha Chips

"Seven?" She called out as she peered around the door frame into the hall. It felt odd to call out to him without holding her phone, she frowned at the thought. The sound of the tv coming on in the middle of some sappy movie playing filled the space and her fingers tightened around the wood of the door frame. She could faintly make out the sound of a few women talking to one another over the music playing in the background. The sound raising her brows as she tilted her head slightly, she had expected Seven to change the channel quickly but he left it alone.

She made her way slowly down the hallway until she stood in the entryway to both the kitchen and the front room. She could see a messy head of red hair poking up from the couch as Seven sat on it, his back to her and his shoulders hunched as he worked away on a laptop. She rubbed her arm as her eyes darted up to the tv instead of the back of his head, it was some comedy about four girls living together in the big city. The show made living with roommates look like some fun chaotic mess that was never ending.

"Hey." Her attention was pulled back to him, the first thing she noticed as she took in his face was his grey and yellow striped glasses that were pushed up on the bridge of his nose. The next thing she noticed was the concerned frown on his lips. "I heard the tap running when I came in so I figured I would wait. Need to talk about it?" She looked down, her eyes closing as she did so. She didn't want to talk about it, she didn't want to think about it. She just wanted someone to pet her back and tell her it was all okay now, but her brother and her mother were both far away from her and she was stuck in this apartment without any way of going to them.

Warm arms were around her shoulders before she even realized that tears were running down her cheeks once again. Seven's hold seemed awkward, like he wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to hug someone and was simply going through the motions. She glanced up to see his own face twisted with concern, golden eyes staring down at her as his brows furrowed and his lips twisted. He noticed her gaze and gave her a small smile before pulling away and grabbing her wrist to lead her to the couch. She was sat down with a bag of chips placed in her hand as a chilled Phd Pepper rested before her.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked after she became at ease enough around him to reach out for the condensation covered can. She paused, glancing his way before pulling the can to her lips.

"Yeah, it was just a nightmare." She answered after drinking half of what was in the can. He raised a brow as he looked at her over the laptop before turning his attention to the screen once again. She smiled nervously as she placed the can down and turned away from his gaze to sigh softly. "You, probably know about what happened with my parent's... right?" She mumbled.

"It's standard during background checks for court cases to come up." He gave her a small nod as he spoke. She looked away from him once again, locking her eyes on the screen as she let out a small sigh.

"I was sent to live with my dad..." She began.

"During the first case, then your mom got you in the second correct? Two years between them..." He paused to let out a low whistle, "must've been confusing for you." She shook her head slowly at his words.

"No, not confusing... no. Just..." she let her voice fade away as she pulled her legs towards her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Her eyes found the front door as her chin rested upon her knees. Seven glanced up at her once again before sighing and running his hand through his hair.

"You don't have to say anything, I get it..." He adjusted his glasses as he spoke, and she saw a quick glimpse of the laptop screen reflected in them as he did so.

"Are you looking up my medical history?" She asked.

"Well... I am still running your background. Malnutrition and a broken femur. That's an odd combination." His voice dipped into a low mumble as he typed away.