before it falls apart, oh / help me piece it all together when & where: june 5th, late afternoon, church grounds in manglaralto closed to @thedevilupright
It’s hot in this little town, but rainy, too. That had been their biggest obstacle in finding missing photographs so far. Lailani had long since given up on avoiding the rain, instead ducking out from under their umbrella and letting raindrops soak into her sweater as she bent over the ground to pick up stray pictures. Her hair got so slick and heavy with water that she had to hold it back every time she reaches down, but she didn’t care. Progress was slow going anyway. They had returned a few photos, but the ones they’d found yet were muddied, and the ones still missing would need to be found, or summoned, if that was possible.
It didn’t help that she got distracted every few minutes peering over her shoulder at Rose. She was never good at reading people but she knew Rose well enough by now, through talks and touches and whatever else besides, that it wasn’t difficult to see the tension holding her up by the spine.
She wandered back to where Rose stood, her shoes sinking into the grass beneath her. “We can go soon,” she offered, tucking her wet hair behind her ear. “Tomorrow we can get the rest done... It shouldn’t take too long. I think.” The faster they could leave this place the better, if Rose’s tight shoulders had anything to say about it.