@sadauroras (mari) sent: ❛ how can you simply be friends with someone when every time you look at them, you’re thinking about how much more you really want ? ❜
SILENCE WAS LIKE A PLAGUE, LINGERING IN THE CORNER without fully being seen yet recognized in the subtle cracks of every passing second. Terrorizing in a way that started off as minimal only to fester and grow before it screamed for attention and spread quickly throughout the small surface of space. Lottie stands erect with hands clasped together, worry upon her face when she hears Mari's confession and she knows exactly what it means without having to ask for further detail.
A flutter of eyelids that don't quite close in full and lips slowly coming to part. But it's that silence which remains most palpable, because for the longest time, she doesn't quite know what to say in turn. She can't very well say that she doesn't feel the same way; there was always a strong bond between them, even back then. Mari remained one of her biggest supporters, her most trusted confidant and friend when no one else chose to be there even when Lottie was forced away.
Her letters and every written word resonated in such a way that it filled the woman's heart with such joy whenever she read them and she did read them, more than once. They were still in the confines of her personal possession, used as a placement to keep herself grounded when times seemed tough if only to remind herself that there was at least one person out there who still believed in her. To say that she didn't feel the same, would have been a lie and she has no intention of insinuating otherwise. Not when Mari has taken that brave step in speaking her truth out loud.
So, naturally, Lottie takes the seat beside the other and places a single hand upon her back, slowly brushing down the length of her spine while the other takes hold of Mari's own hand and squeezes tightly. ❝ Mari… ❞ she whispers the woman's name, ❝ it's alright. Just, say it. Whatever it is that you're feeling, right now. Say it. ❞ Another brief pause, eyes almost pleading, ❝ Please. ❞