open wounds (alex x farmer, leah x farmer, harvey x farmer)

beaten down

The day had been, up until the assault, rather pleasant.

Farmer Erin had breezed through her chores, went shopping and fishing, and as the sun set, she headed up to the mountains for some early-summer foraging. The colors of the dusk at that altitude were really worth the hike.

Darkness soon crept up, but Erin didn't mind the trek home, as she had the light of her ring to guide her, and the muscle memory of the town under her feet. She held a basket in small but strong arms, filled with spice berries and wild grapes and several flower types she'd yet to properly identify.

The roof of Evelyn and George's house came into view as she headed southwest across the river, followed by the glowing warmth of the Stardrop Saloon, though it must have been rather vacant on a Monday evening like this. She considered stopping as she passed by Penny's mom's trailer, if only to chat with whoever might be inside. The thought was interrupted.

A hand connected with the back of her shoulder and shoved. Distracted by herself, Erin was shaken back to reality as she stumbled forward, her feet slipping on damp grass, and she hit the ground, hard.

Her basket went sprawling away from her, the day's foraging items scattered and damaged. She got her palms underneath her and pushed, flipping onto her back and pulling herself to sit up, all the while trying to get a look at the person responsible and give them a piece of her mind.

People, rather. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness ahead of her, she saw two male figures ahead of her. Sam was yelling at her, closer to her, and likely the one who knocked her down. Alex stood behind him, arms crossed and brows lowered.

She focused on Sam's mouth, ready to fire back if she needed to.

"Don't you know it's rude to ignore someone if they're calling for you?" He snapped, his lips just a little hard to read in the darkness.

Erin wanted to roll her eyes, but didn't. She felt behind her for her basket, watching Alex and his lackey with an unamused glare.

"Guess we forgot you're too stupid to hear," Sam added, before glancing to his friend as though searching for approval. Alex snorted.

She should have seen this coming, unfortunately. She looked down and began to gather the items she could salvage, before placing the basket aside and shakily bringing herself up to her feet with a sigh. She didn't have time for this; she still had to make dinner.

"What do you want, Alex," Erin spoke finally, not all the words very clear, as was expected with her accent. She crossed her arms, too, mirroring him.

He scoffed, shaking his head, his brown hair flopping in front of his eyes for a moment. "You know what this is about."

"I don't."

He ground his teeth. "Come on."

She didn't budge, shrugging her shoulders with a rising amount of annoyance. She had an inkling, but she wanted to hear it.

"Friday night."

"What about it?"

She saw his jaw tense at her response, a vein on his neck bulging slightly. Sam patted Alex's arm with the back of his hand.

"It meant nothing to you, then." He huffed in disbelief. Maybe hurt.

Her shoulders softened slightly, and she dropped her arms with an exhale. "Alex, it..." she tried to find the words. "It was nice. Really."

"But?" He sneered.

"But, I didn't think it was that... serious," she tread carefully, eyeing the tension in his arms. "We didn't do much," she rubbed the back of her arm. She wished she could look away, but that would end the conversation.