"Hey Will."
The wind blew whispers of fall through the red hairs on Aeron's head as she slid her fingers across the cool stone. William's grave wasn't anything huge, just a headstone that went up to her mid-thigh with a bit of trim that made it look like it was growing vines already.
Aeron had made a habit of coming to Will's grave whenever she wanted to feel at home. He had seen her at her lowest moments, even though he wasn't really there. The first few weeks were the hardest for her, constantly questioning and blaming herself for why she never went after him that night. Sometimes she ran out at midnight just to cry with him, profusely apologizing for everything.
It wasn't like anyone else was blaming her, even Miss Dommers came around and treats her and Sen like daughters, but it was her fault. No matter how many people told her it wasn't.
She lived with her mom and Diane, slowly getting used to not living on the run. She felt comfortable, and having her mother around made her happier than she had ever been, though that wasn't a very high bar. Senka lived in the forest sometimes, but had a home with Ms. Dommers. Sen and Aeron were working on finding things they had in common that were normal, even though neither of them really were.
Aeron was snapped from her thoughts when she heard a twig break behind her. She went into panic mode, quickly grabbing the dark figure and pinning it to the ground.
"Woah! Aeron! It's just me!" Senka squeaked
"Oh my god," Aeron quickly got off of her "Jesus sen." Aeron leaned her head back, raking a breath.
"Sorry, I just- I went to your house and Diane told me you were here, and I guess I just wanted to come see him."
Aeron nodded as Senka kneeled down next to her.
"How have you been?" Senka spoke up after a few moments of silence.
"Better," Aeron looked up to her friend. "Diane got me into therapy. It's a lot, but...I need it."
Senka nodded. Her eyes softened as they met aerons. "It's not your fault you know. Nobody blames you."
Aeron began shaking her head "Yes it is. I told you not to go after him, I should have-"
"Aeron, stop." Senka put her hands on Aerons shoulders, forcing her to look at her. "You can't do this to yourself. You deserve to be happy after everything youve gone through. It'll take time, yeah, but you do. So many people love you, I love you. I want you to be okay." Senka's lips curled into a small smile, and Aeron gave a weak one in response, placing her hand onto Senkas.
"I'll be okay."
And for once, she actually believed it.
YOU ARE READING
Winter's Burn
General Fiction"Her amber eyes turned almost black as the shadows overtook her thin frame. Tree branches became spindly hands wrapping their serpentine fingers around his body, vines twisting and knotting to pin him to the ground. He could have sworn he saw her le...
