I like to pretend I do my best not to hurt my characters and then do this to my poor child:
Before she knows it, Alma is at that pond. She hears rustling in the bushes and lets out another gag and another and another, all of them feeling like they’re ripping through her throat and lasting far longer than they should. Nothing comes out of her stomach or the bushes. She quickly paces back and forth rocking her torso as she does so. It’s all wrong. It shouldn’t be like this. Things were good. We had a plan, and it’s all ruined, and I’m ruined, and it’s all wrong.
And this:
Alma stays in bed until dinner, where she barely talks. It’s not like anyone notices as Kaleb goes on and on about his internship. Alma’s dad is enthralled by Kaleb’s stories, hanging on every single word in a way he doesn’t ever do with Alma. He doesn’t care about her hobbies or interests like this at all. One time, Alma was sitting with him outside. They were camping in the backyard, and Kaleb had gone inside to grab the marshmallows. In that brief moment alone, Alma tried to tell her dad about the constellations in the way that her mom had told her. He just hmmed in fake interest. When Alma finally looked over at him, he was scrolling around on his tablet. The memory hits Alma like a brick in the chest. She excuses herself from the table and returns to bed. She wants to grab her tent and flee into the woods, but that requires far more energy than she has. Instead, she lays in bed doing nothing because everything else seems far more boring than staring up at her ceiling when she isn’t drifting into fitful naps.
I feel so bad. But like, she has her dog, so can I get a little win?
Reddington butts Alma’s hand with his head and gives her a huge lick on the nose. She taught him how to do that as a puppy. She’d touch her nose to his and then make two kissing sounds and ask for a smooch. He eventually understood what she was saying. Now, when he knows she’s feeling down, he gives her a nose lick the way that she rubs her nose to his because she wants to let him know she loves him with everything in her. She giggles and puts her nose to his before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into another hug. She didn’t realize how much she missed having Red around every day. Every weekend she chooses to avoid her family, she’s also missing out on seeing him. She wants to see him more, to thank him in-person.
Give me points! I promise she'll be happier soon!
She puts her hook and yarn down on her desk and lays in bed. Red jumps up beside her, forcing her to scooch until her back is against her wall to give him enough space to lay out on her twin bed. She doesn’t mind though because he lets her use him as a body pillow. She makes a note to give him a bath before she goes back to school because he’s starting to get a little smelly. He must be rolling around in the grass again. It’s Red’s favorite thing to do when he finds a warm spot he wants to lay in. When the school is safe again, Alma is going to fight for Reddington to be allowed to stay with her. There has to be some sort of exception for familiars on campus.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be stuck here spending most days alone much longer, Red. I promise you that.” Alma says as she strokes his head.
Reddington’s only response is a particularly loud snore that wakes him up. For the first time in days, Alma smiles genuinely.
