•
Liquorice drank expensive champagne, talking about nothing and everything to the family over dinner. Liquorice limited her drinks so she wouldn't get too full into details about her messy life.
Meanwhile, John watched with dark eyes, watching as her lips move as she talked, savouring the way she pronounced the words.
Then, Joseph's turn to talk came up.
He told Liquorice about The Voice speaking to him for the first time. Liquorice's eyes were soft as he described it almost as if he was reliving it.
He spoke of the collapse. This scared Liquorice more than everything, the thought of the world becoming nothing but rubble. She had heard of him talking about these topics at the church before, but hearing him up close had a bigger effect on her.
"You okay, L?" Faith asks her quietly as Joseph mingled with his brothers.
"I'm fine, F." Liquorice replies just as quietly, looking afraid.
Faith grabs one of Liquorice's hands and squeezes them gently, reassuringly.
"I love you, L. Don't forget that." Faith says, looking into Liquorice's eyes with sad, brown eyes.
"I love you the most, F."
From the corners of her eyes, she could see Jacob Seed eyeing them, and it made Liquorice nervous. She pulled her hands away from Faith's and looked down to her plate.
"Excuse me." Liquorice quickly wiped the corners of her mouth before standing. "I need to go to the restroom."
Joseph dismissed her from the table, in which Liquorice quietly made her way to where she had seen a washroom.
When she was in the washroom, she sighed, looking at her reflection. Liquorice fixed her false lashes in front of the mirror.
"Why am I getting nervous." Liquorice quietly says to herself, fanning her flushed cheeks with her hand.
She was probably drunk. Liquorice Converse was probably drunk with expensive liquor.
•
Liquorice managed to make it through the dinner without blurting something obscure about herself. She wasn't ready to face her past.
She walked beside John to the black vehicle a while away.
"I noticed you looked nervous, Lana." John says. "Is there anything bothering you?"
Liquorice gulps. She was still shaken up by the whole collapse thing, but she was also shaken up about Jacob checking her out.
"I guess hearing more privately about the Collapse stirred me up." Liquorice says. She looks at John.
"Is there anything in particular about hearing about it that scared you?" He asks, looking at her with soft baby blue eyes that made Liquorice melt.
"I-uh haven't told anyone this, but the thought of m-my mother." Liquorice struggles to say, stumbling over words she would usually say happily. Liquorice felt something in her chest, and it hurt.
"The thought of my mother ending along with the rest of the world scares me." Liquorice blinks away the mist from her eyes. "The thought of losing my family to something so tragic, so painful makes my head spin."
John grabbed her hand, stopping them from walking any farther.
"I've abandoned them, J." Liquorice feels tears well up in her eyes. "I just left New York without telling them I'll be leaving."
John looks taken aback. He pulls Liquorice into his arms.
"Think of it this way: everyone who has ever done you wrong will cease to exist because of The Collapse." John says. "Letting go is the hardest part, but when you do, I will be here for you. I will be your family. We will be your family."
Liquorice wipes the mascara off of her cheeks. She looks at John. "F...Faith told me you're taking it slow on me." She blinks away tears. "Why's that?"
John pulls away from her. He grabs Liquorice's hand and pulls her away from the view of the large house behind them.
"Lana, I care about you." He says softly. He looks behind his shoulder. "I am not a good man. I have hurt people."
Liquorice's eyes soften.
"When I am out, that is what usually happens. I can not bear the thought of me hurting you. You are pure as you are, Lana."
"I-I don't know what to say, J." Liquorice's bottom lip shakes.
"Do not say anything if you do not have the words." John states. "Usually, I do this without thought."
"Tell me what you usually do. I'm not officially part of the family without this, J. I can handle it, I'm a strong girl." Liquorice says, unaware.
John's lips are slightly parted when Liquorice Converse says these words.
"I will tell you later, when we have more time."
Liquorice nods, understanding but afraid.
Liquorice looks at John. She wanted to know what fuelled him when he did these things, what made him do it without thought, but she stayed silent.
They both did.
————
a/n
soft j is a great j 💞
YOU ARE READING
the siren † john seed
Fanfiction» maybe she was the one he longed for. « Liquorice Converse is fresh meat, a breath of fresh air. She was young, innocent, and pure, a woman made from heaven themselves. John Seed was nothing but.
