Are You Ok?

Hands folded in her lap, eyes downcast, face rather pale - Evangeline was deep in thought, and not exactly having a pleasant time. There was something on her mind, something she'd been contemplating ever since it occurred, and the more time went by the more it weighed on her. She'd been so bogged down by the simple reality of what was happening to her that she'd been avoiding everyone, and she knew it.

However, all of a sudden she was dragged out of this rather depressed stupor by a knock. Her first instinct was the door, yet it sounded more like... the window? Surprised, she slowly stood to her feet, and as soon as she saw the face at the window and heard the voice that accompanied it, she smiled in spite of herself. Shiro - someone who somehow always managed to make her smile, even in times like this.

Rushing over to the window, she pulled it open and spoke - however, despite her relief at seeing a friendly face, her voice was still strained.

"Shiro! Goodness, you surprised me - come in!" She stepped aside, allowing her friend to pass through.

A strained, but still genuine giggle escaped Evangeline as Shiro pinched her cheeks. She hadn't realized how pale she was looking, and immediately knew why, but she wasn't prepared to say it just yet.

"Ah, well... some ice cream would be nice..." she said absentmindedly, before sighing and giving a somewhat sad smile. "I must not look the best, huh?"

Walking over go her bed, she sat down and heaved another sigh. "It's just... been a long week, I guess." A long week was right. She couldn't even begin to express her thoughts about it all.

Evangeline laughed a little, knowing that her friend was indeed the local "moody goth chick." Ice cream certainly did sound good at the moment - a welcome distraction from the things going on in her life. So, she obeyed and sat, watching as Shiro opened ip her windows and let in some welcome fresh air. However, when asked what was bothering, she froze up.

Should she say something? Should she tell her? Eva had thus far planned to tell absolutely no one about the letter, even if it was killing her from the inside out. Here her friend was, though, and she was obviously concerned. Perhaps... it wouldn't hurt to tell just one person.

"I hope you can keep a secret..." she muttered, more to herself than anyone else. However, after a moment she did her best to look at Shiro in the eye. "Have I... ever tols you anything about my mother? Or where I came from before I lived here?"

Normally, Evangeline would feel extremely nervous at such physical interaction, especially in her upset state. For some reason, though, because it came from Shiro it had the opposite effect. She felt comforted, and subconsciously leaned into the snuggles as she gathered the courage to talk. Eventually, she took a deep breath and went forward with what she intended to say.

"My mother was... well..." It felt absolutely horrible to say anything bad about her mother, even though she knew the things that happened while she lived with her were in fact wrong. Choking up slightly, she attempted to continue. "She... well... hurt me. A lot. The... the people I used to live with said she used me, really. I was her toy for fame - she forced me to use my ability in front of her friends, she denied me meals when I didn't want to do it, she yelled at me and called me names and flat out ignored me when she didn't need my ability. I was... taken from her on charges of child neglect and abuse."

It had taken all her strength to confess that much, and Eva could feel tears welling at the corners of her eyes. However, despite her shaking voice she continued, knowing she'd never finish if she stopped now.

"When I got a letter from the academy... when I moved here... I thought that was it. I would be far away, I could start again and everything would be different. But... I just received this."

Slowly, with trembling hands, Eva reached to the bedside table and picked up a piece of paper, before handing it to Shiro and burying her face in her hands, unable to say anything more.

It was a letter. A letter from her mother, no less. It detailed that her mother missed her greatly - missed her so much that she was now moving to the island with intentions of seeing her again. Eva wasn't sure what part of this letter hurt her most - but she did know that seeing the words "I love you" written on that page was almost more than she could handle.

Eva leaned into Shiro's hugs, and a soft smile flickered across her face. It felt nice just to be in the arms of her friend, to feel the comfort and warmth of someone she cared about after everything had felt cold for so long. However, when Shiro mentioned that she needed to tell someone, a part of her felt immensely hesitant. She couldn't for the life of her put a finger on why, but she felt pulled by a part of her that said not to tell anyone.

"I... don't know. I just don't know." She took a deep breath and tried to steady herself, before staring at the letter and reading lines of it over and over again. "I... don't know what I want to do. A part of me does think I should tell someone. But... a part of me also wants to see her again. To talk to her again. To... see what she's become, and show her what I've become."