Forget-me-not

Cynthia

A/N: Trigger warning for use of starvation and silent treatment as a form of manipulation.

_ _ _

Cynthia left the cell phone, the one that Flora had finally returned after a few days, on the arm of the couch. Flora was in her room and Cynthia had to go to the bathroom. It's not like she hadn't done it before. She went to the bathroom, came back, and went back on her phone.

However, this time was different. When she came out of the bathroom, Flora was standing by the couch with Cynthia's phone in her hand. Her eyes met Cynthia's and just by the silence that lingered between them, Cynthia knew she fucked up.

After meeting with Hyunjin the previous day, he helped her set up multiple things on her phone. This included putting a password on the device, so she was the only one who could get into it. It'd be harder for Flora to access the interior now.

"What the hell did you do?" Flora's voice came out softly. Her eyes never left Cynthia's. Even though her voice came out normal, Cynthia understood the dire situation she was in.

"I put a password on my phone."

"Why did you do that?"

"You don't need to snoop through my phone."

"Do you have any idea why I snoop through your phone?"

Cynthia stayed quiet, but her nostrils flared.

"I try to keep you safe, so you won't get hurt. You know that man you were talking to? He just got arrested the other day for murdering a woman. The two of you were the same age. If I wouldn't have blocked him, it could have been you. What are you hiding this time?"

"Nothing."

Flora's eyes narrowed at her. Cynthia forced herself to keep her composure. Now she knew Flora was lying because Hyunjin was harmless. She made sure of it when she did multiple Google searches for him. She watched his interviews, his dancing videos, his vlogs, and listened to his songs. If he was arrested, it would have popped up.

"Let me into your phone."

"No."

"You have no fear, do you? Really? You want to know how people will treat you outside?"

"What are you talking about?"

Flora stared at her, but didn't respond. Cynthia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but Flora remained silent. The two shared a silent locked eye contact until Cynthia broke it. "What are you doing?"

Flora stayed quiet.

"Fine, I'll unlock my phone," Cynthia grumbled. She couldn't stand the sudden silence or the utter disappointment that was filling Flora's face. She typed in the password and handed it over to Flora.

Flora stared at the phone, but didn't take it. Instead of uttering a word, she turned around and headed towards the hall. Confused, Cynthia headed after her. "Flora, where are you going? What are you doing?"

Flora refused to speak. She continued to walk and Cynthia followed her. Her bare feet padded along behind Flora and echoed in the empty hall. "Seriously, what are you doing?" She asked again. "Flora, this isn't funny."

Without looking back, Flora slipped into her bedroom and slammed the door shut in Cynthia's face. Cynthia blinked in shock and looked the door up and down. Before she could reach for the handle, there was the click of the lock. Cynthia backed up and stared at the door.

Pouring through thoughts in her head, she decided it'd be best to give Flora some space. Instead of bothering her, she took her phone and went back into her bedroom. Flora's behavior was odd considering she was usually attached to Cynthia. Surely, it wouldn't last that long.

Hours later, Cynthia's stomach growled for the third time. Flora hadn't gone grocery shopping and the pair was basically out of everything. Cynthia searched the kitchen trying to find proper food, but besides a packet of applesauce and condiments, she gave up. Most of the remaining food was frozen and any attempt to use the oven would cause Flora's anger to increase.

Timidly, she approached Flora's door and knocked. The only sound she received was the sound of silence. Her stomach growled again and she shifted her weight to her other foot. Again, she reached up and let her knuckles rap against the wood.

"Flora? I'm really sorry for what I did earlier. It won't happen again, I swear. I'll show you my phone when you want to see it. Can you come out, so we can talk?"

Silence.

"Please, Flora, I'm hungry and we're basically out of everything."

Still nothing.

With hunger pains twisting her empty stomach and a frown, Cynthia left her alone. She stayed in her room for another hour until she came back and tried again and then again and then again. Flora had been in her room without a peep for over five hours.

The evening had turned into night. The apartment was dark and so was the inch of space beneath Flora's door. Hunger pains were something that Cynthia had never had to deal with before. The last time she ate, she had brunch because Flora made it.

"Flora, please," she begged, "I'm sorry! How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

The silence was so loud, she could have heard a pin drop. The frustration and hunger pains were mixing together. She leaned forward and placed her forehead against the wooden door. "Flora, I'm sorry. I swear, I won't do it again. Please just come out, so we can talk."

When there wasn't a response, tears began to fill Cynthia's eyes. She couldn't handle the hunger and the sudden isolation. It was confusing to deal with. Flora swore she loved her, so why was she treating her like this?

She felt like a dog that had been cast aside by its owners and left to fend for itself in the wild. The thought that the owners would come back slipped further and further away the longer the dog was by itself until it realized it was alone. All alone, without food, without a family, and without love.

"F-Flora," her voice wobbled, "I'm sorry." She sniffled and held her breath hoping Flora would finally feel remorse and open her door. Unfortunately for Cynthia, she never did. Warm tears dripped down her cheeks.

"Flora!" She cried out and knocked on the door harder. The swell of desperation broke against the dam of rationality. "Flora, please!" A sob fell from her mouth. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She banged her fists hard against the wood.

Gripping the brass handle, she attempted to tug it down, but it remained still and locked. "Flora, please!" Her breathing picked up when she realized Flora wasn't coming out. Who knew when Flora would decide to exit her room. If she wanted to be really cruel, she could stay there all night.

The overwhelming thought caused Cynthia's legs to give out. Her fingers curled desperate to find something to hold onto. Long nails raked across the wooden door as she fell to the floor. A choked sob ripped through her throat and filled the air. In an act of pure desperation, she shakily pulled out her phone to text Hyunjin while she attempted to reach Flora a final time.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

The strain in Cynthia's voice was enough to make anyone cave, but Flora wasn't just anyone. Behind the door, Flora rolled her eyes and went back to scrolling on her phone. In her head, this was a way to teach Cynthia a hard, but necessary lesson.

She needed Cynthia to solely depend on her. She needed Cynthia to trust her and only her. If she couldn't break Cynthia down now, she'd never get to. So far, Cynthia hadn't remembered the past. If she was lucky, it'd stay that way. Otherwise, who knew what extreme measures would need to be taken.

Cynthia could live without Flora, but Flora couldn't live without Cynthia. Cynthia had become Flora's everything; her only reason for living, her only reason for still fighting, her only reason to keep breathing. If Cynthia went away, Flora would have nobody and she couldn't stand that thought.

She needed to be reassured. She needed to be supported. She needed to be befriended and babied. She needed Cynthia's undying love and attention. She wanted someone hopelessly devoted to her. She wanted to cloud Cynthia's brain and take over her thoughts. She wanted to be the only thing Cynthia thought about.

If you were in love with someone, wouldn't you want that too?