Forced to grow up in a world that picked away who she was, Esmeralda travels down a dark hole whilst trying to hold onto love, her family, and a fragile mental health as she hopes for someone or something to save her.
Based off of the song, 'Pretty...
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"Why do you keep bouncing your leg?" They drove through the dimly lit streets as the sound of rain continued to beat down on the exterior of the car harder and harder, with lightning booming through the sky every here and there. The windshield wipers did their best to keep the view clear, but proved to be barely enough with how heavy the downpour hit.
The scenery outside of the car had seemed to spotlight the moods she had been feeling all day. The storm was mimicking everything going on in her head, just as chaotic and unsettling. The details Esmeralda was trying so hard to suppress had seemingly been laid bare on the table. The four year anniversary was starting to taunt her and she was almost sure it wouldn't stop until the day had passed.
"Huh?" She had heard him clearly, but it came out instinctively because of how engulfed in her own thoughts she was.
"You keep shaking your leg like you're anxious or something. You were doing it at the meeting, on our way to the park, and now— why?"
"I guess it's a habit." She hadn't even realized she was doing it until he said something about it. It made her wonder if her body's way of trying to balance her emotions was as evident to everyone else around her.
Kyndel would attempt to glance over, but for no longer than a second because he needed to focus on the road. "Are you okay?" He asked whilst his fingers gripped the steering to better help him navigate through the rainy city.
"Yea, I'm fine." Short and simple with her words always seemed like a good route to go because it barely left room for people to pry.
He could tell something was bothering her and whatever it was would probably have her on edge until she let it out, "talk to me."
"No really, I'm okay Kyndel," Esmeralda retorted, trying to sound as casual and promising as possible. Instead of trying to pry he continued to drive, letting the music from his playlist fill the silence. The rain had only seemed to be getting worst the longer they drove, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, it was a bit alarming to her. "You can pull over if you want and let the rain settle, I'm not in a rush or anything and it looks bad."
"I live like two minutes away; we might be better off making it there," Kyndel suggested. Parking on the side of the road seemed unreasonable when he knew he could get them to an actual shelter.
"Okay," she nodded in agreement with him. She didn't mind going to his house. With everything that had happened between them, a sense of trust had developed and Esmeralda was sure he wasn't one to put her in a bad position.
Soon enough, after passing through the security gates at the top of the neighborhood and many turns down the long road, they were pulling into his garage. When he noticed how the lights didn't automatically turn on when the garage door opened, creases in his forehead formed out of confusion. He hoped that it had only been an old lightbulb that needed to be replaced and not the storm's doings like his subconscious was hinting at.
