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Don’t worry about it, man, he’d say.
I did get him back, with tattoos.
I always tried to get him back, even when he never asked for an IOU.
“Donnelly,” he grits out, putting me in a submission lock on the kitchen floor. “Just stop.”
I can’t. I struggle against him, and we’re not teenagers anymore. He’s thirty. I’m twenty-nine. He shifts again, until he’s sitting up against the cabinets, his leg like an anchor fastening mine to the floor. My back is against his chest, and his arm goes around my windpipe—but he never chokes me too tight.
“Breathe,” he urges.
I can’t.
“Talk to me.”
I can’t.
I wanna scream, but the violent noise is like my nightmare, just soundless inside me. “I…need it to stop.”
“What to stop?”
“This…feeling, man.” I grind my teeth, eyes burning. I cover my face, and Farrow adjusts, knelt on one knee in front of me, gripping the back of my head. Before he says anything, I choke out, “Just go. You’re gonna have another baby.” I’ve said it before, but he doesn’t need to deal with me and my shit. I’ve never wanted to drag him down with me, and I’m doing it now.
“Look at me,” Farrow urges, his clutch strong on my skull.
I let my hand fall off my hot face.
And with everything inside him, he tells me, “You are my family.” Tears gather in both our eyes, tears I don’t think we’ve ever shared like this. “That’s never changing.”
It splits me open, and I bawl into my hand, into his chest. Glimpses of that night try to tear through me, and I just cry. It gushes out of me, and I can’t stop it any better than I could cut the anger. This time, though, the weight is releasing bit by bit.
Easing off me slowly.
I breathe.
After some time, my tear ducts run dry and throat feels hoarse. Then Farrow snags waters out of the fridge, and we’re leaning on the cabinets side-by-side.
I swig, the rush of water cooling my throat, and I spin the cap back and forth on the plastic bottle. “I woke up thrashing.”
“You haven’t slept,” Farrow says, hushed in the quiet of the kitchen. “Being overtired can cause night terrors.”
My nose flares, emotion funneling back into me. “It’s Ulic Qel-Droma.”
“Who?” Farrow makes a face like I’m speaking gobbledygook.
“He’s a Jedi Knight.”
“Luna,” Farrow realizes.
“I read some of the comics in the hospital, while I was waiting for her to wake up, and Ulic—even with his good intentions, he was consumed with rage.” I rest my arms on my knees like Farrow and look out at the kitchen island. “I walked into that row house, and I genuinely thought nothin’ could hold me back from the light. I’ve walked through so much shit my whole life, and nothing has latched on to me like this. But seeing her there—I brought it back with me.”
He extends a comforting arm over my shoulder. “We’ll get through it, and being honest, PTSD is a typical outcome with what happened.”
“PTS-who?” I play dumb. “I just told you I’m a Jedi Knight.”
“Shut the fuck up.” We’re both smiling, but with a softer one, he pinches the kyber crystal off my chest.
“Hales,” I say.
“Gotta love them,” he says.
“Truths.” I take another deep gulp of water.
“Technically, I’m not your doctor—”
“You don’t say?”
“—but you do need a sleep study, like I’ve told you for years, and therapy might help.”
I tried therapy once and didn’t like how every time I joked, the therapist would prod me to be more serious. Which is the point, but I’d rather be in my happy place with people I like than endure a therapy session with someone I hardly know. It works for some, but it’s not for me.
“I might just go grab a bagel at Lucky’s.” The diner is open 24/7. “Incognito and shit.” Since no one can know I’m out of jail yet.
Farrow picks himself off the floor. “I’ll drive. You text Oscar, see if he’s awake.”
“No phone.”
He tosses me his.
I look up at my best friend.
The closest thing I’ll ever have to a brother. And I know I’m gonna be okay, even if it takes some time. Bagel. Friends. Easier nights. Better tomorrows.
He clasps my hand, and I rise.
FANATICON FORUM
WE ARE CALLOWAY
Posted by @lorensfavtaco616 #wac-mod
HALES’ OFFICIAL STATEMENT MEGATHREAD 8
Discuss the most recent official statement released by the Hales’ (i.e. their publicists) regarding Lily Calloway’s assault & Luna Hale’s kidnapping. This includes the part about Paul Donnelly not being associated with the attack and that he has not been fired from their security team, like some of you speculated. (Official statement linked.) Please be respectful of each other and the families and do not repost images of Lily Calloway after the attack, or you will be banned from the WAC forum.
@charliezbiggestcrush: There are photos of the ass-wiper coming out of the house where Luna was taken. Handcuffed. Then put in a cop car. It’s not a deep-fake. He’s clearly a part of this. What are they doing???
