PENANCE IC INBOX

[whichiest]

Hello, this is Belladonna! I'm sorry to have missed you on such a lovely day. Please leave a message, and I'll return your call as soon as I can.

Comments

[whichiest]

[He's only gone for a moment, but it feels like so much longer, and when he returns she's pacing again, looking for the life of her like a lost child in a grocery, on the verge of bursting back into tears any instant. What's he going to think? What's he going to say? Will he look at her with disgust or disappointment or fear?

And shouldn't it be a delight to be looked at that way?

Not when it's a friend, and not when she's already so ashamed of herself.

Despite how quiet he is, she jolts like she's been slapped when he says her name, and anxiety is plain on her face as she forces herself to look at him.]

What?

[His words don't line up in her head like anything that makes sense, not for a few solid seconds. She blinks rapidly, trying to refocus, and stammers.]

Oh. Oh, yes. My goodness, I'm a mess. I'm sorry, I'm such a mess. Aren't I just...

[Not that she makes any movement to go anywhere. Now that she has him here, what happens when she's alone again, with her own self-loathing? The hate that she's always felt for herself is tainted a different color, now, and Belladonna still isn't sure quite how to address it.]

[mcfuckup]

[Masaomi hasn't figured out how to deal with her obvious shock, not yet. She's even more scattered than usual, even more hesitant, even more apologetic. That's to be expected. This kind of trauma is not something he can make go away with a few choice words.

The corpse though? He can get rid of that before she finishes in the shower. That one is an achievable goal, and he has to focus on that if he wants to get through this with his sanity intact.]

Bella? Babe? [He will repeat her name as many times as he has to, anything to keep her grounded and responsive.] You can do it. I know you can. Do you... Do you have any music around here? Would that help?