Change || The Promised Neverland

♪ Chapter Eight: You ♪

<< Why is it that I would give up everything for you? >>

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[Name]'s eyes widened. Her body was shocked still, as if she was paralyzed. Isabella's face was mere inches away, her steely purple eyes boring into [Name]'s own. Her back was pressed up against the counter.

Just like before, [Name] took her time to read the situation. She had a bad habit of doing that.

If Isabella was this serious about going to the gate, then...

She swallowed thickly. To get the answers she needed, she had to be honest, and provoke it out of Isabella. Lying didn't have any benefits in her situation.

"Yes," she admitted, not breaking eye contact with her foster mother.

Mama's not a bad person.

"Mama," [Name] said slowly, almost desperately. "What's going on?"

Say that everything's okay.

Say that it was just a nightmare.

Please, Mama.

Tell me it isn't true.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked, frantically pushing down her tears. "Were we just raised to die?"

Isabella's lack of response only built up her fear. She just had to say something, anything. [Name] wanted comfort, to be reassured. She didn't know what to do, and the only person she could find comfort in, could be her enemy.

"Was everything a lie?"

Finally, she got a response. Isabella's eyes widened, a foreign emotion [Name] didn't recognize flickering in her eyes. How badly she wanted to comfort her foster daughter, to hold her close and tell her that everything was alright. To be the mother she played as.

But now that she knew, she couldn't do anything. The illusion had been shattered, and all she could do was stare coldly down at the four-year-old, trying her hardest not to cry at the reality before her.

She was too young. They all were. Too young for this kind of truth.

If only she knew nothing; if only her eyes weren't as keen as they were. If only.

[Name]'s face turned crestfallen. That wasn't the Mama she knew. Mama wasn't this. Mama was kind, she was comforting, she was a mother.

[Name]'s eyes widened. Oh. 

Once we figure out, she doesn't...

Her gaze dropped to her lap. That was confirmation on its own. She knew what she needed to do.

"Okay." She drew a breath, meeting Isabella's eyes. "Mother. Let's make a deal."

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[Name] peeked around the branches of the trees, her eyes scanning the forest floor for three particular people. Her face brightened when she caught sight of the familiar trio of black, white, and orange.

Carefully jumping from branch to branch, she finally came to the tree behind Emma.

"Do you think [Name]'s okay?" Emma asked worriedly. Ray groaned in frustration.

"That's the 15th time you've asked us," he snapped. "For the last time, she'll be fine."

Norman, who wasn't paying attention to the conversation, noticed [Name] hiding among the trees. He shot her a confused look, which only worsened when she put a finger to her lips. He shrugged, returning his attention to his bickering friends.