Forced Withdrawals [Nox's Building]

[Marta]

Marta giggled as Elyse continued to do the eyeliner. This was going to be fun. ”Yeah - it should be fun, and it would be a good idea to get others involved too I think. Some of the family are going to a physical school now. Not that they wouldn’t show up.” At least she hoped some would - Jackson particularly. Maybe by then they’d both be comfortable enough to go to a dance together. ”But more people would mean more fun, and the homeschooled and online school folks don’t get as much of a chance to get out as much.”

Elyse stepped back and let Marta look in a mirror to see her eyeliner. It was gold fading into green on the bottom. Marta smiled as Elyse spoke. ”Maybe the Second Chances site will have a place you could do it. I bet the teens there would like something like that too.”

Marta turned to Sterling, not only so she could talk, but so Sterling could see the make up. ”You know, that’s not a bad idea, and you know Nox would make it happen, assuming they have a space we could do it.”

[Tatyana]

Tatyana could hear him moving and approaching her. She didn’t look up or flinch. She just sat on the floor and continued to sob. Hayden put his arm around her. She flinched slightly, but didn’t push Hayden away. The flinch was more of a reflex. She hadn’t been touched like this in a long time.

Tatyana kept sobbing. The deluge wouldn’t stop. Eventually she leaned in and turned, putting her face in his shoulder. Her other hand went to his open shoulder - an awkward attempt at a hug. She cried, but it didn’t help. The pain didn’t go away and neither did the cravings. But the contact felt nice.

”It’s so hard,” she said in between sobs, and not looking up. ”And it hurts so bad.” she didn’t say more. She felt very vulnerable - more vulnerable than she had felt in a long time. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.