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"I fall apart, down to my core."
Odette walked into her childhood home having just left the Hargreeves mansion. She walked to her room and placed her purse on top of her dresser, putting her keys beside it. Odette sat down at the edge of her bed and put her heads into her hands wishing she had never known about the apocalypse.
She took a deep breath then lifted her head back up. Her eyes immediately noticed the unopened cardboard box of her daughter's belongings. Odette slowly walked towards the box and mumbled to herself, "At least I'll be back with Graciella."
She carefully cut open the box with her keys and reached inside, pulling out the blanket her daughter would never sleep without. Odette breathed a shaky breath as she held the blanket up to her chest. For a moment, she could not breathe as the smell of roses that once belonged to her daughter, lingered onto the piece of fabric.
With every breath she took, she felt as if someone was choking her. The airway to her lungs closing on her, her heart racing fast and faster, her body sweating while her hands are freezing. Dizzy, Odette looked for her phone and immediately called Diego.
"Diego?" Odette whispered, her voice breaking just a little bit while she continued hyperventilating.
From the other side of the call, Diego knew something was wrong, "I'll be there in five minutes."
Before Odette could say thank you, he turned off his phone. She walked over to her speaker and raised the volume as high as she could, allowing the lyrics of 'I Fall Apart' to take over the loudness of her breathing.
She dropped to the ground, the blanket still in her hand, and she pulled her legs towards her then rested her head against her knees. Rocking back and forth, tears were now streaming down her face and yet, she couldn't catch her breath.
The door swung open to Diego running in and crouching down in front of her, "Odette? Hey, c'mon, give me your hand."
"I can't move it," she whispered through her sobs and heavy breathing. Diego sighed and pulled her hair out of her face, lightly tying it with a hairband that he found on her dresser.
He grabbed her calves, "Odette, you're fine, okay? There is nothing that is gonna harm you in any way, do you hear me? It'll pass. You're fine, sweetheart."
Odette shook her head and Diego tried to get her to life it, "If you don't put your head up, you won't be able to breathe. Odette, just look at me and you'll be okay. I promise."
She slowly lifted her head and looked at Diego, the tears still running down her face. She put her head back against furniture and tried to take deep breaths as Diego looked around her room.
He looked at her right hand and noticed the piece of fabric she had taken out of the box earlier. Diego noticed the cardboard box with the name Graciella written across it. He let out a sad sigh and turned back to Odette who had calmed down and was now taking deep breaths, with her eyes closed.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Diego asked her, placing his hand on top of Odette's hand.
She nodded her head and opened her eyes, "I opened that stupid box and as soon as I picked up one thing, all of the memories of losing Gracie came back. Then the whole apocalypse news, and seeing you struggling over the loss of your mom and Detective Patch. It's just too much for me right now."
Diego flashed a small smile, "You don't have to worry about me anymore, I'm not the same kid I was when we were younger."
"To me, you are. I'm always gonna worry about you, asshole." Odette told him, lightly hitting his arm.
Diego smiled at her, "I know you are, but you've been through enough. You shouldn't have to live my pain, too. It's not your job to save me from myself, Odette."
Odette's eyes watered up, "If I don't try to save you, then who will?"
Diego stuttered over his words, "I don't- I don't know."
Diego moved from his position to sit next to her and she immediately rested her head on his broad shoulders. The two friends sat in silence for what seemed like forever, until Diego's stomach began to growl.
"You haven't eaten today?" Odette asked him, not bothering to move her head up.
Diego chuckled, "I ate a lot, but I'm still hungry."
"Of course you are." Odette whispered back, trying to not fall asleep on him.
Diego moved her head up, "C'mon let's go get food, I'll get you coffee."
(a/n)! I literally had not written a new chapter for this book for two weeks and this is not the best, but i realized i hadn't really talked about the death of Odette's daughter so here's a chapter about that!!
The reason why the chapter is mainly based off of it though is because in life, you may think that you have made peace with the death of someone you once loved, but the pain of losing them can hit you years after.
