Private Finished While there's still something left to save

Jasmine shuddered and looked up at Angelo, really looking at him for the first time. His scar still freaked her out on some unconscious level, but she'd seen worse. She'd done worse to herself.

It took her what felt like forever to form a response. Seconds dragged out like minutes and she could feel her tongue drying out again in real time. So she swallowed and tried again.

"I- my dad never really talked about his faith with me. He said his beliefs were personal and it wasn't his place to try and push his own ideals onto me."

She didn't know where she was going with this... but she wonder I d if what Angelo was saying was something her own father believed. She could believe that - to hey both seemed like really kind men.

"I just don't want to feel so bad anymore. It feels like all I have are negative thoughts lately... and I'm losing all the ground I had under my feet. My dad... my friends..."

"I... guess..."

Jasmine sat for a few seconds, letting Angelo's words sink in and trying to make sense of them. It was okay to feel bad. To not be strong and on top of things all the time. She couldn't really wrap her head around that, not completely anyway. It made sense for other people, but she was Jasmine Kennedy.

After what felt like a brief eternity, she looked over at him again, focusing on his shoulder and chest rather than his face. The scar still unsettled her a lot.

"I... sorry if this is weird but... ah, could I- I mean... if you don't mind and like, if it wouldn't be weird... I ah-" She paused, taking a moment to catch her breath and stop stumbling over her words.

"I could really use a hug, I think..."

Jasmine did cry. A lot. Once he had his arms around her, she broke down in a way she hadn't really done in a long time. There was no box cutter to dull against those emotions this time.

She didn't quite know how long she cried for. But when she was finished and he asked his question, Jasmine felt a bizarre combination of drained and elated. "I-"

She didn't know how to start, really. She desperately wanted to say yes. To get out of the dorms. But she also felt like such a massive change so quickly could make things worse as easily as they could make them better.

"Ah, could I- I mean. Have some time, after I get out, to think about it?"

Jasmine nodded, sniffing a bit and fighting back renewed sobbing as she held herself close to Angelo. "I'll think about it, I promise."

"You've been really kind to me, even if we don't talk much. I appreciate it a lot. I'm just in a really weird spot."

She laughed a bit - a small, dry laugh that was more a sharp exhale than anything. "Obviously."

Jasmine nodded, rubbing at her eyes to push away the tears that she'd cried. It felt good to cry. She felt lighter for doing it. "I will," she said, her voice still small as she looked back up at Angelo. Like always, seeing his face made her heart leap into her throat and she had to remind herself that he wasn't her dad.

But maybe he could be something for her. She needed to talk to her therapist about it. They were smart. They would know what to do. "Have you told the other Angelo about... this? Does he know?" Was he going to come visit? Jasmine didn't know if she could handle that right now. She had her own hang ups about that Angelo, and how much more accomplished he was than her when they were around the same age.