Home is hell - Irlandais & Sweetnothings

Eva bit her lip, regretting saying anything. She felt like she hit a nerve with Richard. She frowned softly and ran a hand through her orange hair. She cleared her throat so she could pay attention to Richard. She listened closely while she tapped her fingers on the table. "I understand now, but I just wanna know why they're getting divorced. Why did they start fighting all of a sudden? Do you know why?" She said soon after. She watched his eyebrows raise, and she suddenly felt really shy. She should just take the answer and deal with it. That was all he was probably going to give her. He still saw her as a child, someone who wouldn't be able to handle harsh truths.

She sniffled lightly, sighing heavily. She hated getting emotional in front of people. Especially people she had not seen in three years. Eva glanced up at Richard she saw him move to place a handkerchief in front of it. She reluctantly took it and wiped her eyes with it. She set it back on the table for him to take. "Thanks." She muttered. She didn't care if her makeup smudged on her shirt. She hated her beauty products anyway. She tapped her fingers to a song she played in her head. "How am I going to do that if none of my parents want to talk to me? Every time I try to talk to them, they ignore me." She admitted. She huffed and rubbed her eyes with a frustrated motion. "I just wish I could know, so everything would be better for me."

(Merry Christmas!)

Dealing with people's emotional outbursts had never been a strong point of Richard's, and topping the list of uncomfortable situations for him was being seated in a crowded restaurant with a crying woman. What were the other patrons thinking? That hed'd been cruel to her, or perhaps that he'd broken up with her? That was just exactly what he needed today after being so kind as to invite her to stay with him a while, a whole room of people judging him because she was unable to hold herself together. The thought was a selfish one a richard knew it, but when Eva was pushing at him the way she was now it was difficult to feel much sympathy for her. In truth after seeing Eva living alone and working to support herself it was almost impossible to think of her as a child, but with little outbursts in this fashion he had to wonder if that judgement hadn't been a little misplaced.

When she did seem to calm down and wipe her eyes with the handkerchief Richard listened as she explained wanting to know the cause and how it might make things better. It wasn't an idea he really agreed with in truth, some things hurt more once you actually understand them. "Eva it might be that they don't want to tell you because they feel like the reason is something that might upset you or blame one of them, not knowing might actually be easier for everyone. But for what it is worth I still need to call your dad and tell him I checked up on you, I can try and tell him that it would be a good idea to tell you if you want". Taking family advice from a man who he hadn't seen in years was unlikely for Morgan, but Richard was not a liar, if Eva did want him to ask then he would.

Eva felt terrible. Here she was in front of some man crying. She didn't want people to think poorly of Richard. What if they blamed him for her misfortune? What would he think of her when people started accusing him of doing something terrible to a young girl like her? Call her what you may, but she thought about other people. She probably worried a little too much about other people than she should. Eva wanted people to think highly of someone she was friends with. She didn't mind what they thought of her. She did mind, however, what Richard thought of her. Sitting in front of him in the crowded pizza parlor with tears streaming down her face wasn't the best second impression. She wanted to make it up to him. She wanted him to see she could handle bad situations.

It wasn't totally true what Eva said. She could handle the truth about why her parents were divorcing if it wasn't that devastating, but she wouldn't be able to handle it if it was devastating. She tucked her hands in her hoodie's pockets and watched him as he spoke. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was better for her not to know the truth. She sighed softly, contemplating whether she should tell him she wanted him to ask her father. It seemed a dirty thing to do, but the idea of knowing the truth compelled her to find out. "I want you to ask him. I need to know, even it's going to bad." She said softly, a little hesitant from her recent decision.

Richard nodded at Eva's decision, at same time weighing both a new respect for her and a slight amount of annoyance. He'd been hoping that she would just accept that she might not want to find out and move on, but at the same time he had to admit it made her seem more adult to want to know anyway. Richard would ask, he may not get an answer, but ask he would. All he could really do after that was hope that Eva wasn't just a child wearing an adults clothing and break down if the answer wasn't forthcoming or one she liked. It could make living with her rather unpleasant, and richard still didn't know how long this arrangement would last for.

They had been in the pizza place for a while now and yet nobody had come to take their order, perhaps due to wanting to give the girl some space while she finished crying. It was a fact that Richard's empty stomach as acutely aware of and seemed intent on reminding him of every few moments, but now that she had stopped and wiped away her tears on the handkerchief she looked remarkably presentable still and there was no reason for them to be sitting here hungry. Now that Eva had stopped crying and the conversation seemed to have drawn to a natural lull Richard caught the eye of a passing waiter from across the room and tapped the menu and smiled, indicating that they were ready to order. The man nodded and went off to no doubt fetch a notepad, once again leaving the two at the table a moment of peace. Not wanting to restart any heavy conversation so soon after asking for a waiter and risking an interrupted conversation Richard was a little stuck for something to say, what can you say to a girl you haven't met in four years and is eleven years younger than you?

In the end he fell back to an old favourite, it was easy and didn't really risk another outbreak of tears. It was a friday and the weekend was coming up - an easy conversation starter for anyone. I probably couldn't be more obvious that this meant that in Richard's eyes the previous topic was finished. "So, Eva, do you have any plans for this weekend?" he never considered how it might sound like an offer for her to come and do something with him.

Eva tapped her fingers on the table. She looked around the restaurant. She was pretty sure she was done crying, yet no one had come to get their order. Was it because of her? She shouldn't have brought herself tears. Did they think they should give her time to recuperate? She felt like a nuisance for Richard. He had to deal with her for an unknown period of time until she got back on her feet. She felt terrible to be honest. She bit her lip and glanced down at her menu, remembering what she was going to order. She ran a hand through her hair as she was a little nervous. She had most likely ruined any chance of earning his respect. He probably thought of her as an annoying brat who always gets what she wants. She glanced between the menu and her phone to see if she got any messages from her father. She had texted him a few hours before to see when she could go back home. It seemed unlikely now, however. She heard the tapping sound of Richard's finger on his menu. She looked over her shoulder to see the waiter he gestured to. 'Good. We're finally going to eat.' She thought to herself.

Eva suddenly really insecure. What did Richard think of her? She didn't have the guts to ask him, but she needed to know. It was different than wanting to know why her parents were divorcing. She wanted Richard to like her. She wanted him to like her as much as she liked him. She snapped out of her thoughts and peered up at him from her lap. "O-oh. Not really. My friends and I didn't come up with any plans." It was sort of a lie. She had one or two friends, but they weren't close enough to hang out with other than school days.

Richard noticed Eva once again tapping her finger on the table, a nervous habit? He conceded that he’d probably been a little selfish and had mostly been thinking about himself over the course of the two of them sitting there. It was Eva who was having to live through her parents breaking up, Eva who had just been evicted and now Eva who was probably worrying about having cried in front of a restaurant full of strangers. She had every right to be nervous, though Richard just wished that he could do something to help assuage his guilt and make the girl feel a bit better. Luckily the chance for him to redeem himself thrust into his reach before long, it didn’t hurt either that it removed the possibility of having a teenager moping around his house all alone for the weekend.

It hadn’t been intended as an offer at first, but something as simple as offering to make weekend plans with Eva might be a little reassuring in both that he didn’t see her as a nuisance and that she could still enjoy herself even with what she was going through. So he offered “we should do something together, we’re going to be living together so it would be nice to get a bit more familiar with each other” capping it with the smile that he had already noticed seemed to be able to draw a blush from Eva. Before he could suggest what they would be doing however the waiter appeared by his side and looked expectantly at them to prompt their order. Richard relayed the choice of pizza he had already made, deciding to go with a glass of lemonade in place of the wine he would have ordered for Eva’s sake.

Eva's mind drifted to when she was younger when her parents were happy with one another. She learned how to tap her finger on the table repeatedly when she saw her father nervous about something. Being a daddy's girl, she wanted to be just like him. Now, everything becoming a reality for Eva made her more nervous than ever. She didn't want these people to have seen her crying. She didn't know them. They were making quick judgement calls even if they didn't know what exactly happened. They were probably pointing fingers at Richard, blaming him for her tears. She didn't want that. She just wanted to eat peacefully with Richard while they discussed important issues that needed to be discussed. She wanted to heard what was going on in his life, but she couldn't if these people were going to be staring the two of them down.

Honestly, she wished she had plans for the weekend. Everyone at school had plans every weekend with their friends whereas she usually stayed home and listened to her parents bicker. She played with the laminate covering of the menu before gazing up at Richard. She smiled softly and nodded. That smile. It was enough to make her go crazy. Eva's cheeks quickly turned red. "I would like to. Thank you, Richard." She said before the waiter came over. She looked up at him and smiled. She opened her menu to what she wanted. She ordered the Caesar salad with a personal Pepperoni pizza with a sweet tea. She closed her menu and gave it to the waiter.

As Eva finished ordering and handed the menu over Richard did the same and thanked the waiter, waiting until he had moved away a little before picking up the conversation again only slightly disrupted by the interruption. Quickly it came back to him where they had left off, Eva offering him a soft smile that had seemed to makes his own warm up a little more. “Careful” he thought to himself teasingly “we don’t need two people blushing at every smile, one is enough”. He let his mind settle back to what they had been talking about fully, and realized that he didn’t really know what she might like to do for a day out together. He could just do what he had done today and ask her where she wanted to go, but after letting Eva choose the restaurant it somehow felt like his ‘turn’ to decide something for them.

It was perhaps more difficult than usual for him since the age gap between them was apparent, usually he might have considered taking a woman out to dinner and for drinks, but Eva was too young to be drinking and Dinner was already something that they were doing. With a small start Richard realized that he had been thinking in terms of what he would do for a date, sitting across from the fiery haired girl it was hard not to forget that now they were just here as friends. A smile spread across his face again, a thought crossing his mind that could either be seen as a fairly childish idea or something that Eva might just find fun to do together depending on how she looked at it. “How about going to a funfair? I think there’s one open not too far away from where I live, it could be something…different”.

Eva smiled at the waiter. He was definitely cute. She blushed slightly and turned towards Richard. He was the one she had a crush on, so she figured she shouldn't be looking at other guys. She wondered if she even had a chance. She looked at him, seeing his cheeks turn slightly red. Did she make him blush? She certainly hoped so. She grinned to herself as she crossed her legs under the table. It was normal for her to get bored quickly while at dinner. She glanced around the pizza parlor, studying people she saw. She wondered what he would pick to do. She thought about it. Wasn't there a fair in town? Maybe that was next week. What was this week? It was something she really wanted to do, but she totally forgot what it was. She shook her head to herself as she leaned back into her seat.

While Richard was contemplating what to do, Eva took out her phone. There weren't any messages from her father or mother. Maybe they were avoiding her again? They usually did that when they had a big fight and didn't want to get their anger out on her. It was understandable, but she wished she could talk it out with her parents. They didn't tell her anything. She didn't have a say on what was going on. She just had to accept what was happening. It sucked. She frowned softly, and she decided to distract her unpleasant thoughts with playing a game on her phone. She smiled softly when she won. She put it in her pocket, glancing up at him. "The funfair? Yeah. I remember getting a flyer for it. That sounds perfect." It sounded more like a date thing to do, but she'd do anything with Richard to get close to him. She wanted to have a chance.

It had barely taken Richard a moment to decide what to ask, but since he saw Eva on the phone he had waited before posing the question. She had been checking it a few times while they had been moving boxes as well, no doubt trying to get in touch with her parents. So he said nothing as she seemed intent on the mobile, asssuming that she had finally elicited a response and was now trying to sort out something important like the fact that she had found somewhere else to stay for a while and wouldn't be coming home right away. So instead when he saw the soft smile and the screen of her phone briefly as she looked up and saw a game, Richard was in utter disbelief. Was his company so disinteresting that the only way for her to keep herself entertained was some digital escapism? If he had actually seen a woman do that on a date Richard knew what his reaction would be, he would simply flag down a waited, ask for the bill, pay only his half and then leave alone without exchanging phone numbers. Perhaps he really had misjudged Eva is she was quite so rude.

He didn't let any of that show on his face though, he knew that Eva was still little more than a teenager and perhaps shouldn't quite be held to the same standards that he had come to expect. So as she accepted his offer Richard smiled and kept his tone cheerful "Great, Looking forwards to it" but was thankfully interrupted yet again by the arrival of their food. Another thing he loved about this kind of place was the short wait, if he'd gone to any of his usual business lunch spots with Eva they would likely have been waiting on hour for food - time she would no doubt have spent playing games on her phone. Richard thanked the waiter as he set their food and drinks down, then smiled at Eva but remained silent as he did, deciding that it was her turn to make conversation for a change.

Eva knew how rude it must've been on Richard's part. She'd have to explain later that she didn't mean to be rude. It was just something she did often to distract her thoughts on her parents. They usually didn't end well. Most of them ended up someone getting hurt, most likely killed. Her morbid thoughts didn't suit her well most of the time. When she was playing the game, she got a text from her dad. She briefly looked at it. 'You're mother is on her way to the hospital. Get there when you can.' At first, the horrifying thought as to why was that her father did something. Then came another text right on cue as to shift her thoughts over. 'She tried to kill herself.' The text only made her more worrisome. Eva was horrified that she would do such a thing. Was it getting really bad that she decided to end her life? Was her own mother so selfish that she didn't consider what it would do to her daughter? Eva thought all those things. She only faked the smile to keep Richard from asking her sudden sadness. Indeed she wanted to tell him, but that would only cause tears and an irritant for him.

Eva by now had lost her appetite. She didn't feel hungry anymore. She frowned softly and stared out the window, wondering why this was happening to her. She moved the straw around, unsure how to tell Richard. She only thought it was fair to tell him. He was letting her stay at his house, so it was right to keep him updated on her parents' situation. Even his cheerful tone didn't help ease her mind. She looked at the tray of their food. She smiled weakly. She didn't want to say outright she wasn't hungry anymore. That seemed rude. She took our her fork and pushed around the salad. She sighed softly and took a piece of her personal pizza. She took a bite, forcing herself to eat. She wanted to look normal to Richard for the time being. Finding it hard to withstand their silence, she looked at Richard. "My mom is in the hospital. She tried to kill herself." She told him as her fingers tapped the glass of her drink.

Richard didn’t have her figured as a heavy eater exactly, but the way that Eva was just toying with her food more than eating it seemed off even to him. In the end he just put it down to nervousness over both being with him for the first time in so long combined with worry for her parents, that didn’t stop him from eating his own meal though. He was hoping to some extent that seeing him eat would just persuade Eva that it was perfectly fine to do the same, but when she eventually spoke up it wasn’t at all what he had been expecting. His appetite vanished just as quickly as Eva’s had and Richard set down his cutlery, his blood seeming to run a little colder in his veins.

Things were just going from bad to worse today, for both Eva and Richard. Honestly he had no idea what he could say, realistically there was nothing that he could say that would help. “Eva I’m so sorry, would you like me to drive you to the hospital? I can just pay and we could leave, we’d be there before you knew it”.

Eva stared at the table blankly. Why did this have to happen to her of all days? She just wanted to have a nice lunch/dinner with Richard. She was sure he already thought of poorly of her. Her fork continued pushing the food her plate during the long, silent pause between her and him after she spoke. She wished her phone would ring, her father calling her to tell her that her mother was all right. Was she? She didn't even know. At the moment, Eva thought her mother was a selfish bitch, not even considering what the loss of her would mean to her own daughter. At the thought of it, Eva gripped her fork tightly with tears pricking her eyes.

She ran a shaky hand through her long, orange hair. She nodded as a few tears ran down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away, not wanting anybody to make quick judgments again. "T-that'd be good. I-I'd like that." She murmured. She grabbed her jacket and pulled it on. She felt bad she had wasted perfectly good food over her something like her parent's, but they had too. She needed to see her mother.

Richard couldn't have cared less about the food, there were so many other more pressing concerns that hinged on what he had just heard that the thought never even crossed his mind. With his tone soft Richard tried to comfort her a little as he pushed back his chair and stood "Eva I'm sure she's going to be just fine, but we'll be there in no time and you can see that for yourself". With that he quickly made his way over to the bar and asked for the bill, getting an odd look from the waiter who ahd only just served them with their food. It was not his story to share so richard just ignored the man, paying as quickly as he could before making his way back to Eva and leading the two of them out of the restaurant.

There was only one hospital in the immdediate area of where both Richard and Eva's mother lived, so he didn't need to ask where to go as he got into the car and waited for Eva do the same. 'sure she's going to be fine' he had said... perhaps that was true in terms of her physical state, but how bad had it gotten if she was trying to kill herself? With a slight shake of his head Richard cleared the thought and started to drive, perhaps a little faster than he might normally have done.

By the time they arrived he knew one thing, he couldn't face Morgan and his wife after what had happened between them all, even if that did mean sending Eva in alone. Taking out his wallet his pulled several notes free and pressed them into her hand. "I think this is more of a family moment sweetie, I'd be intruding if I came in with you and the doctors likely wouldn't let me anyway. I'll go ahead and drive back to my place with your things and unload all of your things from the car, that should be more than enough for a taxi back to my place". He took out a pen from his glove compartment and quickly scrawled down the address on a scrap of paper and handed it over.

Eva stood by the door, constantly glancing down at her phone to see if she had gotten any messages. 'How was my mom doing? What did she do to herself to cause this? Was she seriously hurt? I hope she's not in pain.' Thoughts ran through her mine, she didn't know what was happening. Her father hadn't called her or texted her to update her on her mother's condition. Eva looked at Richard skeptically, but nodded anyway. "I hope you're right." She muttered as she stared out the window seldom. It was rare for her to do such things. It was becoming an occurrence however with her parent's situation.

As she followed Richard out to the parking lot, she realized she forgot to ask what hospital she was out. She did some figures in her head. 'There was the Evergreen hospital that is close. They must be there.' She thought. She was going to tell him, but it seemed he had figured it out, too. She got into the car and buckled up the seat belt, though she didn't want too. She would be getting out soon anyway. She stared out the window the whole time, wondering what could be waiting for her in the hospital.

Eva didn't know if Richard was going in to see her parents, Morgan and Jennifer. Secretly, she wished he would. When he was around, she felt safe for once. She felt like she had someone to lean on. She hasn't had someone like that in a long time. She only had been in a few relationships in her years in high school. She looked at him as he gave her several notes. She clutched them in her hand and frowned softly when he explained what they were for. She took the scrap of paper and shoved it in her a pocket, a little forcefully. "I'll see you later I guess." She said, letting some of her disappointment seep through her words. She opened the door and got out. She closed it harder than she would've liked, but she started walking regardless of her actions that had taken place. She walked to the sliding glass doors and walked inside, asking for her mother's room.

Richard winced a little at the way the door almost slammed, though not for any fear over the state of his car. It was the mood that Eva had left in that had him on edge, though it was still far preferable than having to be in a small hospital room with Morgan and Jennifer. It was a confrontation that would not end well for any of them. It made the choice to send Eva in alone a little easier, but the better part of Richard knew that he was still sending in a kid alone to a situation where she probably needed someone that she could rely on right now. “see you later then Eva” he agreed, “I’m sure everything will be just fine”. Eva didn’t seem intent on listening though as she started walking right away. Perhaps she might start talking to her family in the hospital and end up moving home, that might be best for all of them.

With a last parting sigh Richard started his car again and started the drive home, accompanied by Eva’s boxed up possessions. As ever he was greeted by a large and empty seeming home, and as he started to unload the boxes from his car into the house Richard reflected that it might not be so bad after all having Eva live with him, even given the circumstances. Maybe she would never even find out…

Eva could never admit how upset and offended she was. More than ever, she needed someone she could trust. And at the moment, it was Richard. She couldn't trust either of her parents. First, her mother decided to do something drastic that could change her life forever. Second, her dad didn't give her any updates. She was left worrying if Jennifer had died. She wanted to do something so crude to Richard, but it would only give him a worse impression of her. She crossed her arms under her chest as she walked to the elevator, taking it up to the 3rd floor where her mother was. She looked at the room numbers. "323, 324, 325." She didn't bother knocking as she opened it. She walked inside slowly.

"Eva?" Her father said as he looked up from his mother. She sighed softly and looked at her mother. She saw her mother laying in the bed, on a ventilator with her wrists bandaged. She covered her mouth as tears threatened to slide down. "Eva..." Morgan stood and walked over, placing a hand on her shoulder. She pulled away from him harshly. "Don't touch me. It's your fault! You wouldn't tell me anything, you and mom were fighting all the time, and look at her now!" She yelled at him. All she had to do was see her mother's condition and give her father a piece of her mind. "Look, I-"

"Don't give me that shit, dad. I'm over it. I'm going to Richard's." She shook her head and walked out of the room. "Richard's? He was only supposed to check up on you." There was a hint of irritation and betrayal in his words. "Well, I'm staying with him. I can't live by myself, and he's the only one who understands. You're being an asshole, and mom tried to kill herself. I think I'm staying with him for a while." She scoffed and walked out of the room. She wasn't spending anymore time in there. She needed to get to his house and help him unpack.

By the time Eva arrived at his house Richard had long since finished moving the boxes out of his car into his home, but for the sake of her privacy he hadn’t actually unpacked any of them as it seemed to be too much of a personal thing to be going through her belongings. Besides, after the way that they had parted he wasn’t even sure that she would end up staying with him in the end, he might end up just helping put the boxes into Morgan’s car any moment now as he came to take his daughter home. So as the doorbell chimed he sighed and made his way to the door, resigning himself to whatever his old business partner would say. What would the first complaint be, that he’d not rung back after visiting Eva, the fact that he’d offered to put her u[ without asking him, or god forbid, it could be… no, he didn’t know that, he couldn’t.

So when the door opened and Richard found himself face to face with Eva on her own he was a little surprised to say the least, but more than that he was both happy to see her and relieved. Skipping right to the heart of the matter he asked what they were both probably thinking about “How is she? Is your Mother okay?” and then a little belatedly added “And are you alright too?” As he waited for an answer Richard stepped aside from the doorway so that Eva had room to come into the house, giving Eva her first view of the interior. For now he ignored the need to show her around and listened to her as he made his way off to the right, into the sitting room that joined onto the foyer expecting her to follow him to where they could sit and talk comfortably.

It might not have seemed like it from his earlier actions but Richard really did care whether Eva’s mother was going to be okay, little arguments over work aside the two of them had always gotten on very well up to now. Perhaps a little too well for Morgan’s tastes if the only half joking comments about Richard being a “womanizing skirt-chaser” were anything to go by. Richard himself took a seat on one of the sofas, waiting for Eva to either sit next to him or on the sofa opposite the one he was on before continuing with anything else.

(I took the liberty of writing it as if she had already arrived at his house if that’s okay, I know you didn’t write it that way but otherwise it would have just been another post of “Richard sat and waited”.)

Throughout the whole ride to Richard's house, Eva was crying. Everything was falling apart for her. She felt like her whole life was ending. Her mother looked like she was dying, her father didn't tell her anything. All she could tell from what her mother looked like was that she had cut herself deep enough to put her in a coma. She didn't bother staying to find out. She was over it. She preferred to be with Richard rather than her own parents. She could trust him right now. She could trust him with anything. She paid the fare from the taxi ride and walked up the steps to Richard's mansion. She reached out and rang the doorbell. It was obvious she had been crying a lot. Around her eyes was red, and she looked paler, possibly a little sick.

Eva was a little startled when the door suddenly opened. She looked up at Richard, tempted to throw her arms around him and cry. She resisted the temptation though it was hard. She had her hands in her pockets. She was happy to see him. Just being in his presence made her feel a little better. She took a moment to calm herself down to answer his questions. "S-she's in a coma. I-I guess I'm fine." She managed out. She ran hand through her hair and walked inside his house. It was beautiful, but getting a tour was not a priority to her right now. She took her shoes off and left them by the door. She kept her socks on, however. She took her time walking into the living room. She wanted to study the place. She took a seat next to Richard on his sofas. She let out a quivering sigh before she finally let it go. It didn't matter to her if Richard thought she was a cry baby. She needed to cry. She held her head in her hands as she cried. "It's not fair, Richard. Why do I have to go through this? I've never done anything terrible in my life. I have a mother in a coma, who I don't know is going to live." She said through her cries.

(I don't mind that you wrote it out like that. I understand not wanting to make a post where he sits and waits. I'm okay with that.)

It really was difficult not to sigh as Eva started to cry yet again, there was only a certain number of times and different ways that Richard could say 'it'll be alright' before the words started to ring hollow. Even now he feared that they might have already passed that point. Instead he adopted a different approach this time, ignoring the problem at hand and going for simple comfort. Richard let the arm closer to the girl come out and circle around the back of her shoulders, giving her a gentle nudge towards himself to let her know that if she wanted to she could hug him without forcing it. "I'm sorry sweetie, I really am" he said softly, genuine sympathy in his voice, hoping Eva knew just exactly how much he meant those words.

Richard knew exactly what it was like to be in the middle of a divorce, everything bad seemed like it was happening to you. In realilty though Eva was still overlooking that both of her parents had it far worse than she did, right now her mother most of all. He knew that pointing this out though would only make Eva feel selfish and worse than ever though, so he kept it to himself and just rubbed his hand against the back of her shoulders a little in what he hoped was a comforting way. Thinking back to how alone he'd felt during the separation of his own parents Richard decided something. He was going to be there for Eva for this, it might not always be pleasant for him bet he certainly didn't want her to feel alone and neglected like he had.

Eva had a feeling that Richard was getting annoyed with her crying. She didn't blame him. He probably thought she was an annoying brat who didn't get what she wanted. The thought only depressed her further. She slouched against the couch, wishing she could be doing anything else but crying. Then again, it was hard. She only wanted to be next to him as she cried. No one else could provide her that comfort that she now felt. She sniffled softly after he apologized. She wiped her eyes on her shoulder slowly. "It's fine. It's not your fault anyway." She mumbled as she rested her head against his shoulder, her body leaning against his. This was almost a dream come true for her. She always wanted to be this close to him, but not in these circumstances.

Eva realized how selfish she was. She wasn't the one lying in the hospital bed on a ventilator. She wasn't the one who was worried sick about two people. Eva felt a sense of dread come over her. She felt like a stuck up jerk who only thought of herself. Out of her family, her father and mother were fairing way worse than she was right now. She didn't try to kill herself. She wasn't the one to go through a divorce. She frowned softly. She had to do something to forget about this. She pulled away from Richard. "I have to unpack my stuff. You're welcome to help." She told him. She needed to do something to forget about what was happening at the moment. This seemed like the perfect solution. She grabbed some boxes that were labelled bedroom. She needed to stop thinking about what was happening.