Would it be selfish of her to do just that? To have walked into this place with intent on helping, but end up just leaving with her daughter - alive? To run and never look back at whatever destruction was unfolding, to just ensure that neither one of them lost the other yet again?
     She had spent so long convincing herself that her daughter was gone, that she wasnât ever coming back and honestly? It had changed her as a person. But now she was here right in front of her, her hands were on either side of her arms, where sheâd placed them to pull her from the center of everything and she didnât ever want to risk letting her go again. Though of course she knew that for all this time that they had been apart, someone must have been looking after Sophia, keeping her safe when she wasnât there to be the one doing that. Whether it had been these people all that time or not, could she really just let them all inevitably die like this?
     The expression etched onto her features displayed the conflict running through her mind, and she knew that they didnât have much time to deliberate on things. They needed to be fast, smart, if they wanted to survive. Eyes shifted from her girl briefly, needing to take in their surroundings before they were on her again, brows furrowed in a mix of worry, concernâŠ
     âIf we runâŠâ Even if she knew they didnât have time, it was the strangest thing in the world to think that the last time she saw her, was through tear filled eyes as she lay under that car on the highway - Lori holding her back from what would have probably caused both of their deaths. Sophia had just been a little girl then, but was now someone she was having to talk to so differently, she was older, and she had missed all that in between part. For all she knew, Sophia could have changed dramatically as a person just as she had too.
     âIf we run⊠These people here they⊠They might not make it.â Itâs harsh but itâs the truth and she needs Sophia to be aware of that before they make a decision. âI- I could help them.â Thereâs a nod of her head, sheâs capable of that now. Sheâs just caught between going and ensuring her daughterâs safety, or saving those that very well could be the reason Sophia was still alive.
There was a pause as Sophia took in her motherâs words, dark eyes fixed on her motherâs expression as shallow breaths escaped her lips. She wanted nothing more than to run, to be safe and free, away from the madness and commotion around them. If they stayed, they would surely die. She had always been a meek kid, and her mother had never truly been a confident woman.
But the thought of leaving her family, her new family, to die.. she couldnât do it.
Tears spilled down her cheeks, fear pulsing through her every vein. What if her mother tried to help and got killed in the process? How could Sophia live with the knowledge that she had found the one person she cared about more than anything, only to have them snatched away?
How could she live with the thought that sheâd leave innocent people to die?
âI donât know how to help them. I-I canât.â