Wallace
You've been gone.
The words fell hard and solid between them, the thump of iron at their feet, weighted down in her hollow voice by the depth of pain she buried away from their prying eyes. Even to her ears, it sounded like a cold accusation, sharp and biting and hurt. You left me.
Her breath had caught when she saw him, the familiar sight not as welcome as she wanted it to be. A stab mercilessly punched deep into her breast. She had nearly turned away, had almost not approached and gone back to her stupid cave filled with memories of crying alone, sleeping alone, dying alone. Of learning that she was pregnant, slowly growing painfully bigger and hating each morning more and more for it. Alone. And now with twins; white and purple and nothing like her. And everything like him.
The sting of abandonment swelled within her, though she knew it was not fair for her to feel it. He owed her nothing, was not even a friend. Just a boy she had met and enjoyed time with. Just a man that had stayed away from a disgrace that only got what she deserved and no more.
Her jaw clenched tight as a lump formed in her throat, and sharp and wounded brown eyes held his evenly with a shadow of a challenge in them. Why didn't you just stay gone? Why did you bother to come back. She faced him squarely with a petite body, purposefully shielding the lace at her hips from easy view. The addition of his wings were ignored, and the fiery wildness in his eyes, too. He had always been impressive; these changes didn't alter that though she wished they would have.
She suddenly couldn't stay any longer, couldn't be in his presence. Her lace revealed as she turned, reminding him that she was used and worthless, but she didn't care. An impossibly soft and flowing tail whipped at her flank, a gift from Ashley as he'd grown out her hair that had always been so matted and tangled and then chopped clean off. Like a child's.
She threw the words over her shoulder.
And somehow she made Welcome home sound like Go to hell.
