I've Endured Your Paradise

Andy Buchanan An uncertain Gunner with a heart of gold... that he tends to wear on his sleeve.

[enduredparadise]

(Matthew) “ we all have our secrets, huh?”

[Prompt]

"I suppose," Olivia sighed, running a hand through her hair as she leaned onto the table between them. She had never held any pride being a Gunner - their reputation preceded them - and yet she had still let herself be blinded by caps in her desperation.

"Feels like nowadays secrets are just things we're not wanting to admit to ourselves."

[enduredparadise]

“The meanest thing you can do to yourself is hate somebody else.”

[Prompt]

"What about hating yourself?" Andy half-murmured quietly, his face pressed against the couch pillow as he lay there, legs tucked against the back of the couch so Holly could sit more comfortably.

[enduredparadise]

A Matter of Mettle

“I wasn’t filled in on the explicit details, if that’s what you’re asking,” Duke replied, frown forming and brows furrowing with clear irritation, “but I was aware there was big plans - as they put it - for Quincy, yes.

It wouldn’t be the first time the Gunners took control of a settlement, and we didn’t need one of our own caught up in the confusion unawares. There would be enough bloodshed as it is, and it’s not as though you perform well under pressure, Andy, let alone if you had to participate with no preparation. Which is why you were given the instruction to keep your ass away from Quincy.”

The Captain crossed his arms over his chest and raised a brow at the Scout, his disapproval of the entire conversation palpable. At this point, he was practically radiating annoyance.

“Now, private, why don’t you explain to me why you disobeyed a direct order and stuck your nose where it didn’t belong?”

It was the tone that struck Andy the hardest: Duke spoke as if the Gunners had simply woken up one morning and put their socks on before their boots. As though laying waste to an entire settlement - those fighting and fleeing alike - was an entirely normal, everyday occurrence. That it was okay. That it was expected and encouraged.

It wasn’t the first time Andy had felt absolute disgust towards the Gunners - towards Duke, even, - but it was the first time guilt didn’t swiftly replace it. In fact, guilt was no where to be seen. In guilt’s place was anger.

“I had friends in Quincy,” Andy said, voice low and almost pleading, hopeful that Duke would listen to him, not as a Captain, but as his father.

It didn’t work.

“I asked you why you disobeyed.”

Andy had always known in his heart he wasn’t a Gunner. This just proved it.

He couldn’t stay here any longer. He had to get out.

Even if it cost him everything.

[enduredparadise]

(Starling) “ how you feeling?”

[Prompt]

“Exhausted,” she said with a sigh and an empty smile, leaning her head against the back of the chair and closing her eyes, grateful for the warm coffee Starling had offered her. 

Olivia had started the trek to Tidings almost immediately after she had woken at the Gunner base to find Andy gone; a note left scrawled for her saying he couldn’t stay, but he couldn’t risk her getting in trouble for going AWOL with him. 

The note had begged her to stay. 

Olivia left anyway.

She had seen Andy the night before when he had come back from his last outing, looking positively ill. After forcing him to sit and drink and eat and let her give him a once over to make sure it wasn’t radsickness, Andy had overflowed with what he had learned about the Gunners, about Quincy. 

The shock and disgust had settled deep within her stomach, had kept her up half the night, had gnawed itself down to her very soul. 

Andy was what kept her at the base that night. If he had said he was leaving, Olivia would have followed right after without a second thought. But he had confessed to be terrified of being alone, that he didn’t know who he was outside of the Gunners, if he was anyone. Despite her assurances that the Gunners actions were not Andy’s actions and didn’t reflect on him personally, Andy was still distraught, had said he had more to think about, more to figure out before he could let go of all he knew. That maybe, just maybe - he had no choice but to stay.

But Andy was gone before daybreak and all that was left of him was a piece of paper.

[enduredparadise]

“ anything i can do?”

[Prompt]

Olivia was trying not to show how deep her concern was on her face, but she couldn’t hide it completely, not with the way her brows were furrowed, her mouth set in a firm frown, how her eyes seemed to dart around, as if hoping to see Andy coming around a corner any minute.

She was so sure he would have come here first.

But maybe he was more afraid of Tidings finding out who had raised him than he had been previously. After all, there were people here who had lost more than Olivia could ever imagine to the Gunners. Maybe they wouldn’t think twice to treat Andy with the same ‘kindness’ the Gunners had shown them.

“Keep an eye out,” she offered after a moment, trying - and somewhat succeeding - in offering Holly a hopeful smile. “I’m sure he’ll make his way here eventually, I think he’s just...”

She trailed off, unsure of what to say without worrying Holly further. Although from the way she had been greeted, Olivia was certain Holly had been restless since the moment Andy left.

“I think he’s just trying to get his head settled. A lot happened all at once. He’s probably trying to sort it all out. There’s still some settlements we’d stop at and some hideout-type places we’d camp at in between,” she explained, reaching up to run a hand through her hair, swiping the loose strands from her face. “He’s probably just at one I didn’t think to look at first.”

Olivia let out a short, frustrated sigh, trying not to let her nerves get to her. It seemed odd that Andy wouldn’t have come to Tidings first, but then again, the whole situation was a shit show.

“As soon as I find him, I’ll send word,” she promised, a soft, genuine smile offered to the trader, “and then I’ll bring him here... bring him home.”

[saltyspitfire]

[lean on me] sender lets receiver lean on them for support

Louisa made it to the water spigot on the old, ill-fitting prosthesis. She had gone further with it before without complaint, but between the discomfort from the prosthesis itself, and the phantom pains that had been shooting through the limb since before sunrise, she couldn’t take another step. She half fell, half lowered herself to the ground, and practically tore the old leg off.

With massage, the pains had subsided some, at least to the point of being tolerable, but she could not bring herself to put the leg back on. To her relief, Andy had come along and offered to help her back to the clinic. It was still hard accepting help like this, but it was that or crawl back on her hands and knees. There was more dignity in the former, in her opinion. Andy helped her up off the ground, and held her up with one arm, and grabbed the old prosthetic with the other, while Louisa held on to him. It felt clumsy and awkward, as it always did when someone helped her likes this, but it worked.

Together they made their way slowly, and carefully back to the cabin, and once inside Louisa let out an audible sigh of relief. She gestured across the room, to the one comfortable chair they had, “Over by the bookshelf is good, thank you.”

Once seated, she closed her eyes for a few moments and sunk back into the chair, trying to figure out if the pain was coming back. Another stabbing jolted through the limb, giving her a clear answer. When she opened her eyes, Andy stood in front of her, a deep, worried frown settled on his face.

“I’ll be alright it’s just…a bad day,” she offered a pained smile, “Would you mind getting me a dose of med-x? It’s on the top shelf over there, by Jim’s desk…I’d appreciate it…”

[enduredparadise]

saltyspitfire​:

enduredparadise​:

The trek had been awkward, as Andy had never had to assist someone like that before, and he couldn’t help but worry that he might only be making matters worse. Fortunately, before the guilt could settle into his bones, they were back at the cabin and Louisa was sat down, eyes closed and doing her best to relax.

Despite her not having said anything about staying, Andy stood patiently, brows furrowed with concern, waiting to see if there was anymore he could do to help. Upon her instruction, he moved quickly, not wanting her to have to wait any longer than she already had for some relief. He picked up the med-x and carried it carefully - he was always wary around needles - and held it out for her to take.

“Of course, here. If there’s anything else, just let me know.”

After a moment’s thought, his curiosity got the better of him, and he sat down in a chair close by, studying her for any sign of increased discomfort. Eventually, he found his voice again.

“How… uh… - if it’s okay to ask - um… how… did that happen?” Andy tentatively, almost painful in his hesitation, managed to ask, and motioned briefly to her missing limb. It was clear in his expression that he meant no ill will with his question, and even more clear that right as the words left his mouth, he regretted allowing them to do so.

“I’m sorry. That’s… that was…” he stumbled, shaking his head and growing red in the face. “You don’t gotta answer that. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Louisa almost hesitated when she reached for the syringe. Med-X made her nervous. She’d seen too many who became addicted to it, and trying to get clean was no easy task, but there was not much else to be done for the phantom pains. Massage helped some, but not enough to make a real difference. it had been several days since the last dose, so there seemed to be little risk for now.

Sweat beaded on her forehead as she reached for a bottle of alcohol and a piece of cotton to swab her leg, before injecting the Med-X. After setting the now empty syringe aside, she sat back in the chair again, and let out a slow breath. The question took a moment for her to process, but once she had she looked up at him in surprise. She only needed one hand to count he people who had ever asked about that.

“No, it’s alright,I don’t mind, you don’t need to apologize. Holly asked me one time too, when she was hurt after the raiders had her,” she offered a stiff smile, now sitting forward to massage her leg while she waited for the med-x to kick in, “It’s just…not a pleasant story. Not that there’s a nice way to lose a limb. And I don’t all of it.”

 Jim had told her afterwards, when she woke up in an abandoned house with him with her leg missing. The last thing she recalled was helping an old man up off the ground, and leading him through Quincy, after that it was blank. 

“It was a uh…frag grenade, in Quincy,” she glanced up at him for a moment, studying his face, then back down at her leg, “I was living there for a while, used to be a caravan guard. When the Gunners attacked, I helped defend the settlement until they got in, then I was just trying to help people escape before…,” she paused, swallowing against a lump in her throat. She took a few moments steady herself, “I was helping this man, he was already hurt, couldn’t walk on his own…one of the Gunners threw a grenade. The…man died, I was wounded. Jim saw it happen, he carried me out and saved me.”

Andy listened quietly, not wanting to interrupt and still feeling heavy with guilt from asking in the first place. It wasn’t his business, and it wasn’t as though it was going to be a good story. No one had good stories about injuries they had received.

At the mention of Quincy, his brows furrowed slightly, but not with understanding - with confusion. He hadn’t known of anything that had occurred in Quincy. He had been a few times, though not for a while now, and the people there had been as pleasant as most in the Wastes. It occurred to him that he hadn’t been to Quincy in months due to Duke’s instruction - having been told another crew was going to head the trades with the settlement from now on and Duke didn’t need anyone complaining to the higher ups that some scout from another group was hanging around. It was bad manners, after all.

The mention of Gunners, however, froze the blood in his veins, and his eyes widened. It felt like the world had stopped spinning.

Attacked. The Gunners had attacked Quincy?

Andy lost focus and felt blind - not quite able to see Louisa past the panic and confusion screaming in his head. His chest squeezed as he thought about the settlement being ravaged by Gunners - the people there would have had no chance, especially if they had been caught off guard. They would have been massacred.

Feeling his throat tighten with the silence that gripped the room, Andy stood suddenly, unsteadily, and opened his mouth to say something - anything - to Louisa, but no sound came out. He must have looked stupid, standing with his mouth agape, but he wasn’t thinking about that. He was still trying to comprehend what she was telling him.

A thundering crash of nausea rolled over him as his brain picked up on something Louisa had said at the beginning - “Holly asked me one time too” – and the knowledge that Holly knew the Gunners had maimed Louisa, had done worse to a perfectly innocent settlement was enough to bring breakfast to his throat.

Andy let out a strangled gasp, tears streaming down his face though he wasn’t sure when they had started, and he stumbled his way out of the cabin, chest heaving with panic as he did.

[enduredparadise]

(Grant) “I got a plan. I mean, I’m capable of coming up with a plan.”

[Prompt]

“Yeah?” Olivia asked, back pressed up against a concrete barricade as the sound of raiders and super mutants trading gunfire on either side of the pair bounced off the crumbled buildings.

“Now would be a great time for a plan!”

[enduredparadise]

(Slim) “There’s nothing in my jellies.“

[Prompt]

“Hey, I hear you loud and clear,” Olivia agreed, bringing her hands up to her chest in mock-defense. The knowing smirk on her face remained, however, and she shrugged her shoulders, glancing over at the bright-eyed young woman Slim had been looking at.

“I’m just saying... it’d be a shame to miss out because you never tried.”

[enduredparadise]

(Grant) “I haven’t been really nice to you.”

[Prompt]

Andy froze at the voice, but made no effort to turn his head to face Grant. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to even if he wanted to do it. He thought about pretending he hadn’t heard the man, but he also knew Grant would notice his stiffness and would just repeat himself - and having to repeat those words would probably make him mad.

“Uh, that’s... it’s okay. I get it.”

[enduredparadise]

saltyspitfire​:

It was true that she didn’t have a real understanding of how things worked with the Gunners. Maybe it was more complicated than she knew. Maybe they did own you in a way. Not in a slave collar wearing kind of way, but something else. Maybe there was some bullshit they all went through when they joined up that bound them to their officers. If that was so, it was foul. However, that would match right up with everything she’d heard about them.

Nothing she had said seemed to be helping, and she hated herself a bit for it. She wanted to encourage him; not to push – although the thought of Andy leaving the Gunners, even just knowing that he wanted to, brought some strange excitement and relief to her – but, to support whatever he chose to do. So that he didn’t feel alone in it.

“Look, I’ve been happy in my life before. I know what that feels like, and when it’s real and true, you know it. You know that you’re happy. You might be afraid every day of losin’ it, but you know,” she hesitated, more uncertain of her words than ever, but proceeded, “So, if you don’t know…you probably ain’t. If you got this much doubt in your heart on all this, I don’t think that’s happiness.”

That all felt wrong too. 

Like she was telling him how he ought to feel, or how he did feel. And it wasn’t like happiness was an easy thing in the shithole of a world they were living in. A lot of folks lived their whole lives on just surviving. Making it from one day to the next without getting dead, there wasn’t time for feeling happy. But it seemed to her that even if the best you could get was surviving, you could at least not hate yourself for the things you did to do it. You could hover on survival and not feel guilty and doubtful.

Holly looked at him curled into himself, and again wanted to wrap her arms around him, but was not sure if her touch was wanted. Or if he would even find comfort in it. Instead, she settled for resting her hand on his shoulder. It felt like too small a gesture to matter, but it was something. A quiet reminder than she was there with him.

“You been with ‘em a long time, ain’t you?” she had wondered about that for a long time, but had never let herself ask before, “How’d you end up a Gunner? It’s…it’s alright if you don’t wanna tell me though…I’ve just always wondered.”

Holly was right and Andy knew it. That’s what was so heartbreaking, so terrifying, about it all. He wasn’t happy. He had spent his entire life chasing happiness, except it turned out it wasn’t happiness at all. It was something else entirely, something that pretended to be happiness. It was like he had been given the wrong definition of the word with the hopes that he’d never pick up a dictionary once he could read.

The gentle weight of her hand was enough to bring Andy from the brink of tears, though they didn’t stop from welling in his eyes. Ashamed, he kept his head down, but he did reach up to loosely grasp at her fingers, almost desperately, as a means to further ground himself in the moment. Nothing good would come from him breaking down. Not now, not ever. At least he was sure of that.

The question was something he had been expecting... for a long time, if he was honest. Surprised it hadn’t been asked before, but Holly had never pried or prodded at his past and he had extended the same courtesy to her. But there was no reason she couldn’t know. Maybe... maybe if she knew, she’d somehow understand. Maybe if she knew, she wouldn’t be as disgusted by him anymore.

“When I was little,” he started, bringing his head up to look at the quiet chaos of Holly’s porch and all it’s goods, and he had to pause to keep tears from spilling as he took a shaky breath and continued,

“...my parents... left me. They were in trouble... bad trouble, and I was barely out of diapers. I don’t... I don’t remember them much at all. But... well, they didn’t want me getting hurt and they knew bad stuff was coming for ‘em, so they took me to a Gunner compound and left me there.”

Andy looked down at his boots, and brought his free arm up to wipe his eyes on his sleeves. He had time to grieve this loss, but he rarely told anyone about it. Only a handful of people knew, and most of them were Gunners themselves.

“Duke, my dad - my commander - he took on the task of keeping me out of trouble and getting me settled in the ranks. He, uh, he said they tried tracking my parents down to help, but... by the time they were found they were.... they were already gone.”

His voice broke, and he grit his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut. It felt stupid, being upset about people he didn’t know, but that was half the problem - he didn’t know them, and he never would. After a couple of deep breaths, he cleared his throat and kept on,

“So, uh, Duke took me in as his own. Raised me from a toddler to a man, taught me everything he knew - even if I was never really good at any of it,” he added with a dry laugh and a shake of his head. “I... I owe everything to him. I wouldn’t be here, now, if it weren’t for him... and the Gunners. They’re the only family I’ve ever had, at least the only ones that never left me. So, that’s... that’s why I’ve never left them.”

[enduredparadise]

(Matthew) “You want a coffee? 'Cause I could use a coffee.“

[Prompt]

“Coffee would be wonderful,” Olivia half-groaned at the end of her stretch. She reached up to rub the sleep from her eyes, squinting in the bright morning light. While she would always miss a good mattress, there was something invigorating about camping out in the Wastes. It was probably a bad thing.

“I’ve got some biscuits I can warm up, and a few sausage links, if you’re alright with pork.”

[saltyspitfire]

[lean on me] sender lets receiver lean on them for support

Louisa made it to the water spigot on the old, ill-fitting prosthesis. She had gone further with it before without complaint, but between the discomfort from the prosthesis itself, and the phantom pains that had been shooting through the limb since before sunrise, she couldn't take another step. She half fell, half lowered herself to the ground, and practically tore the old leg off.

With massage, the pains had subsided some, at least to the point of being tolerable, but she could not bring herself to put the leg back on. To her relief, Andy had come along and offered to help her back to the clinic. It was still hard accepting help like this, but it was that or crawl back on her hands and knees. There was more dignity in the former, in her opinion. Andy helped her up off the ground, and held her up with one arm, and grabbed the old prosthetic with the other, while Louisa held on to him. It felt clumsy and awkward, as it always did when someone helped her likes this, but it worked.

Together they made their way slowly, and carefully back to the cabin, and once inside Louisa let out an audible sigh of relief. She gestured across the room, to the one comfortable chair they had, "Over by the bookshelf is good, thank you."

Once seated, she closed her eyes for a few moments and sunk back into the chair, trying to figure out if the pain was coming back. Another stabbing jolted through the limb, giving her a clear answer. When she opened her eyes, Andy stood in front of her, a deep, worried frown settled on his face.

"I'll be alright it's just...a bad day," she offered a pained smile, "Would you mind getting me a dose of med-x? It's on the top shelf over there, by Jim's desk...I'd appreciate it..."

[enduredparadise]

The trek had been awkward, as Andy had never had to assist someone like that before, and he couldn’t help but worry that he might only be making matters worse. Fortunately, before the guilt could settle into his bones, they were back at the cabin and Louisa was sat down, eyes closed and doing her best to relax.

Despite her not having said anything about staying, Andy stood patiently, brows furrowed with concern, waiting to see if there was anymore he could do to help. Upon her instruction, he moved quickly, not wanting her to have to wait any longer than she already had for some relief. He picked up the med-x and carried it carefully - he was always wary around needles - and held it out for her to take.

“Of course, here. If there’s anything else, just let me know.”

After a moment’s thought, his curiosity got the better of him, and he sat down in a chair close by, studying her for any sign of increased discomfort. Eventually, he found his voice again.

“How... uh... - if it’s okay to ask - um... how... did that happen?” Andy tentatively, almost painful in his hesitation, managed to ask, and motioned briefly to her missing limb. It was clear in his expression that he meant no ill will with his question, and even more clear that right as the words left his mouth, he regretted allowing them to do so.

“I’m sorry. That’s... that was...” he stumbled, shaking his head and growing red in the face. “You don’t gotta answer that. I shouldn’t have asked.”

[enduredparadise]

“I’m worried about you.“

[Prompt]

“I’m fine,” he lied, offering the trader a bright smile despite the dim sadness in his eyes. “Just didn’t sleep too great last night. But I’ve gotta head back or my crew will start asking questions. I’ll be back here before you know it.”

[enduredparadise]

saltyspitfire​:

Holly knew the weight of walking away from the only thing you’ve ever known. The pain, and gut wrenching fear that came with it. Of course, she’d had little say in the matter. For Andy this was simply him wanting something different. No matter what, it would still be hard, and it would still hurt.

Andy described this man Bishop, and what had happened with him, and Holly’s stomach twisted and turned. It was no wonder he was so terrified, so reluctant to decided to leave and go. He might be walking away from the Gunners, but they would be looming overhead for as long as he was in the commonwealth. No doubt it would feel like an axe hanging over his head. One misstep and it would come swinging down. To hear him talk of threats, beatings, and tolls owed, and then to call these people family did not sit right with her. It wasn’t anger, exactly. Worry maybe. Worry that he had maybe never had a real family. People who cared about him without expecting unwavering loyalty and service in return. That was not what family was. She had known for a long time that not everyone was as lucky as she had been in that. But to think that this was the only sort of family Andy had ever known made her heart ache. He deserved better than that.

“Hey, you’re smart. And you’re good with people. Helluva lot better’n me. Not that that’s sayin’ a whole lot,” she gave a slight wheeze – what had been meant as a short, breathy laugh – and nudged him gently with her shoulder, “But you could learn to do whatever you wanted, and be good at it, I got no doubt on that.”

She hesitated, trying to figure out how to work her way through her opinions on the matter without hurting him. To her, these people – with the exception of Olivia – were not a real family to him, though being that that was all he knew, saying that outright might come off as an insult, and he’d had enough of that from her already.

“…Maybe they’re the only family you’ve had, but…that don’t mean you couldn’t have another family someplace else.  And it don’t mean they own you, or that you gotta walk the same path as them forever. It don’t mean your life ain’t yours,” she spoke gently, placed a hand between his shoulders, rubbing soft circles with her fingers, “I understand it ain’t so easy as just sayin’ ”I’m done” and walkin’ away, but, Andy, if you want somethin’ else, you owe it to yourself to try.” 

She looked at him, brows furrowing, “…Are you…happy with them?”

Holly meant well, and maybe she knew better than he did, but Andy didn’t feel like he was smart or good or capable of whatever he put his mind too. All he knew was the Gunners, and he wasn’t even considered a good Gunner.

The thought of having another family of his own - one he had made or found - had crossed his mind. More and more frequently every time he visited Tidings and was met with Holly’s smiling face, Jake’s rapid-fire cursing between words or Jay’s quiet and sincere questions about his travel.

But he couldn’t have any of that. Not with the Gunners. And he wasn’t sure he was capable of walking away.

“I... don’t know,” he admitted finally, letting out a defeated sigh and seeming to shrink into himself. Andy had spent so much of his life trying to be what Duke wanted of him, he had no idea who he was. All he knew was he was tired of pretending.

[enduredparadise]

Holly had been thinking about it all day, but now that they had found a place to camp for the night and had settled in it seemed like as good a time as any. Leaving her warm place by the fire, she went over to her pile of supplies and grabbed a bag which she’d tied shut with a very tattered and faded bow.

Inside he would find a pair of socks, a scarf, and a hat with ear flaps; all in the same shade of dark green yarn, and all knitted by hand. Tucked in the socks was an old multi-tool knife, a little rough but still in decent condition. A small canvas pouch, which when unrolled revealed a few wire brushes of varying size and shape, for gun cleaning. And finally, three Silver Shroud comic books.

Holly set the bag down in front of Andy, then sat down beside him, pulling her blanket back up over her shoulders. She offered a nervous smile, and bumped her shoulder against his, “Ain’t real pretty or special or nothin’, but Merry Christmas.”

[enduredparadise]

Holly had been hoping to run into Andy before it was time to head back to the settlement, and it seemed she was in luck. She approached, offering a small, slightly nervous smile.

“Hey, I been lookin’ for you, Bucko,” she began, pulling Ginger and Edna to a stop. She walked around to the other side of the brahmin, and began loosening the ropes, “Got some things I been puttin’ aside for you for a bit…”

Holly lifted a knapsack down from the pack saddle. Inside were a few comics, an old joke book, and a holotape of some Old World comedian she’d never heard of, but she’d thought maybe Andy would enjoy listening to. A couple of plain bandanas were also inside, as well as a dark knitted hat with ear flaps. She was uncertain about the hat, but found herself worrying about his head and ears being cold during the winter months.

Standing next to him, she opened the bag and pulled out a hefty revolver. It was old, but if you looked closely you could still see faint engravings along the frame, cylinder, and barrel. She held it out to him, “Found this couple weeks ago, don’t know why but I thought of you. There’s some rounds in the bag. And uh…” she paused, fishing a small leather pouch out of the bag which she offered out to him too, “Made this for your pocket watch. Thought it’d help keep it from gettin’ banged up, y'know?”

She held the bag for a moment, before holding it out for him. It felt like a lot. Too much maybe, but she tried not to think on that too much. Holly cleared her throat, and smiled, “I wanted to tell you too…if y'ain’t got no place else to be, you’re welcome at my place for Christmas. If you want. Ain’t likely to be real excitin’ or nothin’, but I’d feed you. Might be nice. Anyway um…Merry Christmas.”

[enduredparadise]

(Matthew) “ hello? is anybody there?”

[Prompt]

“Just Olivia,” she called out, poking her head from out of the room to offer Matthew a smile. “I’m just getting changed and then I’ll be out of your hair.”