You've reached Ms. Lalonde. Unfortunately, I'm in no position to take your call right now. Please, do leave me a message and I shall get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you for your time.
[ She nearly chokes on that last word, but she says it. She says it and almost immediately falls silent, but that silence lasts for all of two seconds because her grip on her composure is slipping fast. ]
He can't die, Roxy! He just, he can't! That can't be true! I can't -- [ She can't bear it, the thought. Doesn't want to. Doesn't want to have to for so very many reasons. ]
He just can't! [ And she can't help the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes either. They're coming, whether she wants them to or not. ]
[For the second time, Mom just quietly hugs Val, but this one is a tight embrace. She knows Val doesn't want to hear it, but...but this is the only time she thinks it's best for her to know the truth.
And she might not get another opportunity to in the future.]
I'm so sorry, Val, but...I think he's right. He's...he's not the only one who dies in our universe, though.
[Mom hesitates before continuing on. She has to or she never will and that's so unfair to Val, but she needs to know.]
I...I am, too. When I came here, I had already....
[ It's those four words that have Valeria tensing. 'I think he's right.' He's right about what? Leaving? Dying? She's more than ready to start shaking her head again, but then, Roxy keeps going and the things she says, the words that come out of her mouth makes the blood in Valeria's veins run cold. He's not the only one? She turns widening eyes to look at the woman.
Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. Her stomach twists violently with suspicion, her heart thundering in her ears. 'Don't,' she wants to say, but the word doesn't come. Roxanne's do and what she says, what she's saying is... it's too much. She can't even kid herself this time, can't write it off as a cruel joke because Roxanne, she doesn't play like that. Her hesitation, her tone, it's...
Gods, she's going to lose them. She's going to lose both of them. If they disappear, they'll be gone and she won't be able to get them back and she can't, she won't accept that because she loves --
She loves them. She isn't sure how else to describe what she feels for them, just... that she loves them. And in the short amount of time that she's known them, they've become home. 'Home,' that precious four letter word like 'love' that she doesn't dare use lightly because when you do and you lose them, everything changes. Nothing is ever the same and -- and she imagines the same could be said for someone who has died. Nothing will ever be the same for them either and Roxanne... ]
You can't leave.
[ Her voice is quiet to start, but it scarcely remains so as she wraps her arms around the other woman and hugs her tightly, so tightly. She can scarcely see for the tears in her eyes, but she can feel her and she's not letting go. ]
You can't leave, do you hear me? I mean it, Roxy. You can't. I... I won't let you.
[She just holds onto Val, afraid that if she let's go, she'll lose her. Mom has become very attached to her, and Bro, too. She can't bear to see them go, either.
She can't promise anything, and yet....]
I don't want to leave, either.
[Because, to be quite honest, Mom is afraid. She has no idea what might come after, what might be in store for her. It's something she doesn't like to think about very often.]
But I'm not leaving here, Cerulean, without you and Bro and everyone else.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[ACTION] 4/21 - Post-conversation with Bro
[She's trying very hard to just use a calm, gentle, reasonable tone of voice, and she's not sure it's working at the moment.]
[ACTION] 4/21 - Post-conversation with Bro
[ She nearly chokes on that last word, but she says it. She says it and almost immediately falls silent, but that silence lasts for all of two seconds because her grip on her composure is slipping fast. ]
He can't die, Roxy! He just, he can't! That can't be true! I can't -- [ She can't bear it, the thought. Doesn't want to. Doesn't want to have to for so very many reasons. ]
He just can't! [ And she can't help the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes either. They're coming, whether she wants them to or not. ]
[ACTION] 4/21 - Post-conversation with Bro
And she might not get another opportunity to in the future.]
I'm so sorry, Val, but...I think he's right. He's...he's not the only one who dies in our universe, though.
[Mom hesitates before continuing on. She has to or she never will and that's so unfair to Val, but she needs to know.]
I...I am, too. When I came here, I had already....
[She doesn't finish that. She doesn't need to.]
[ACTION] 4/21 - Post-conversation with Bro
Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. Her stomach twists violently with suspicion, her heart thundering in her ears. 'Don't,' she wants to say, but the word doesn't come. Roxanne's do and what she says, what she's saying is... it's too much. She can't even kid herself this time, can't write it off as a cruel joke because Roxanne, she doesn't play like that. Her hesitation, her tone, it's...
Gods, she's going to lose them. She's going to lose both of them. If they disappear, they'll be gone and she won't be able to get them back and she can't, she won't accept that because she loves --
She loves them. She isn't sure how else to describe what she feels for them, just... that she loves them. And in the short amount of time that she's known them, they've become home. 'Home,' that precious four letter word like 'love' that she doesn't dare use lightly because when you do and you lose them, everything changes. Nothing is ever the same and -- and she imagines the same could be said for someone who has died. Nothing will ever be the same for them either and Roxanne... ]
You can't leave.
[ Her voice is quiet to start, but it scarcely remains so as she wraps her arms around the other woman and hugs her tightly, so tightly. She can scarcely see for the tears in her eyes, but she can feel her and she's not letting go. ]
You can't leave, do you hear me? I mean it, Roxy. You can't. I... I won't let you.
[ACTION] 4/21 - Post-conversation with Bro
She can't promise anything, and yet....]
I don't want to leave, either.
[Because, to be quite honest, Mom is afraid. She has no idea what might come after, what might be in store for her. It's something she doesn't like to think about very often.]
But I'm not leaving here, Cerulean, without you and Bro and everyone else.