Affliction | ✓

vi | her | 2

warning: this chapter is a huge bitch so good luck with that. you'll know why soon.
hint: 😕+😔+😏+😥+😭

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2.5 months before NYE, 2016

she wakes slowly and for a second, she forgets where she is. for a second, she dreams that elio's gonna wake her up with a kiss on her forehead and cinnamon buns on the table but the harsh reality sets in when she takes in the pale blue colour of her ceiling.

she pulls her phone out and sees that it's barely 8 am. she sits up, stretching her limbs, her eyes rake over her room when she catches sight of his sleeping form.

her first thought is: he can't be comfortable like that. watching him sprawled on the floor, his neck at an odd angle on the ottoman makes her feel jittery. she hadn't really thought about his sleeping conditions but watching him quivering in his sleep whilst being slumped against her tiny ottoman seat makes her feel bad no matter how much she hates him.

why hadn't he said anything? why didn't that doofus move? she watches as he shakes in his sleep, a pained expression across his face. she goes from observing him to being concerned because she had never seen a face that contorted due to something they were merely dreaming about.

"hey, hey," she says as she shakes him out of his nightmare. "it's just a dream, wake up."

his eyes dart open and he stares in shock for a while, trying to readjust to the real world. her hand's still on his shoulder blade as he takes slow breaths, obviously shaken up.

"sorry." he says shortly. he seems so rigid and robotic. he twists his head so his neck pops, she winces at all the noises that can be heard.

"why did you sleep on the floor, you moron?" she asks, her face is still close to his but she moves her hand away.

"personal punishment, I guess?" he looks away. she doesn't know why but she bursts into laughter because that's... that's just crazy.

his eyes are trained on her face and she realises their proximity so she moves back several steps. "are you ready for day two?" she asks.

"what's the worst that could happen?" he says.

she just laughs in reply.

***

she can see him dying and she wants to laugh in glee, honestly this is why elio had agreed and she had thought it would be appropriate to get him along because her family was mean and prodded repeatedly into a surface until it cracked.

her aunts had begun their usual questionnaire with her and had indirectly mentioned how she was a good-for-nothing whore several times. she smiles because these insults just seem to bounce off her skin now.

she glances over at him and sees one of her homophobic uncles give him a sucker punch right across his jaw. his head lolls to the side and she's scared, she runs towards him and glares at her uncle. "why did you do that?!" she says angrily.

"this faggot was trying to explain his philosophies to us." her uncle tony says, his voice shakes in anger. "if this bastard steps anywhere next to me, he'll get another one, you tell him that." with that, uncle tony swivels around. there's a small crowd gathering around them and they don't help, they don't say anything. what had she expected anyway?

she grabs his hand, "come on, there's ice in the kitchen." there's also surprisingly nobody else in the kitchen which suits her just fine.