Broken, Honest, Beautiful

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"Do you want food?" Dinah offered the girl in her arms

Lauren shook her head into Dinah's chest without looking at her

"You know you have to eat babe, you need to keep up your strength." Dinah smiled sympathetically

"What strength do I have left exactly?" Lauren challenged

"None if you don't eat something." Dinah retorted jokingly to which Lauren gave a ghost of a smile for a second before dropping it

"I'm not hungry." Lauren buried her head in Dinah's neck balling her fists into Dinah's top

Dinah frowned and gripped Lauren's hand in hers comfortingly

"Can you hear them again?" Dinah asked subtly, knowing Lauren would understand what she meant

Lauren nodded with closed eyes whispering inaudible things to herself

"Lauren open your eyes and look at me." Dinah shook her lightly and Lauren did as she asked breathing shakily

"Breathe, in and out babe just like me." Dinah demonstrated her breathing to which Lauren copied and calmed herself down on Dinah's instructions

"Thank you." Lauren's voice was laced thick with emotion which relieved Dinah, Lauren was coming back.
Slowly but surely.

"Come here you." Dinah pulled her into a tight hug as they laid down, Dinah played with Lauren's hair

"Why did you stay? Why didn't you give up on me like the others?" Lauren asked, now with no emotion again

Dinah felt her heard shatter at the words and the tone of Lauren's voice

"Because I love you and I promised you, I'd never give up on you Lauren. Neither have they, they just want you to get better, to be the Lauren we used to know again."

"She's gone Dinah. She's in way too deep to come back." Lauren replied defensively

"That's not true Lauren. Talk to me, tell me what you're feeling." Dinah urged

Lauren gulped and stared at Dinah contemplating the idea before hesitantly shaking her head and resting it back on Dinah's chest

"I can't, I really can't but can you just, hold me? I'd like that." Lauren begged

"I'll hold you for as long as you want me to Lauren. No more questions okay? I'm here, no strings attached."

Lauren snuggled up gratefully to Dinah who kissed her forehead once she was in a comfortable position

"I love you." Lauren said, Dinah could hear in her voice that she meant it

"I love you too." Dinah reciprocated with a smile

"Dinah?" Lauren said in a small voice

"Yeah?" Dinah turned her attention away from her phone

"What are people saying about me?" Lauren asked warily

Dinah glanced back at the screen and the trending topics on Twitter and quickly locked her phone

"Nothing. It's all boring on there." Dinah played it off simply

"Fine. If you won't tell me then I'll look myself." Lauren got out her phone scrolling through her replies, biting her lip anxiously

Dinah stared at Lauren's phone nervously, she knew Lauren shouldn't be seeing this stuff but Dinah also knew it would only be a matter of time before she looked anyway