"At this point, I'll be grateful for your pieces."
Jessica Franklin is at her wit ends, literally. With two sisters depending on her and a mountain of debts on her neck, she needs a way out before she breaks down...
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You should definitely listen to these songs while reading because, I was listening to them while writing! 7 years/Latch Tiktok remix. Night Changes by One Direction. Love me like you do by Ellie Goulding. Car's Outside by James Arthur. Enjoy!
As she narrates her past, I listen with rapt attention, my fears quickly turning to horror as I see what she's been through. Tears stream down her eyes, but she doesn't stop talking, her gaze fixed on the dark sea before us. How did one person go through all of that?
"So that's it..." She finally concludes, her voice shaky and hoarse. "All you wanted to know. I don't care what you think of me. What I want you to know is I have no regrets about what I did, and if I had the chance to redo it, I wouldn't change a thing. It's just..." She trails off, hurriedly wiping the tears from her face before burying her face in her hands and sobbing. I just stare at her, too shocked to say anything.
"You probably hate me right now." She whimpers, her voice muffled.
"Hate you? Why would I think that? I could never hate..." Cutting myself off, I move towards her, pulling her hands away from her face and gazing at her teary eyes. "I could never hate you, Jessica. If anything, I love you even more right now," I tell her. I'm shocked at my blunder, but at this point, I'm past caring.
She stares at me, her eyes widening in surprise before tearing her gaze away and trying to move away from me. "Y-you can't love someone like me," she whispers, her voice thick with emotions. "I'm too broken for you. You don't know what I've been through, the things I have done..."
"At this point, I would be grateful for your pieces," I mutter and feel her stiffen. "And what makes you think that I don't know what you've been through?" I ask, a broken chuckle escaping from my lips even as my eyes brim with tears. She gazes at me for a while before her face crumples, and she starts crying anew. Loud, heart-wrenching sobs. I pull her closer, wrapping my arms around her even as her body shakes with sobs. In the quiet of the night, all I can hear is her soft sniffles, and my heart breaks further.
"It's okay. You're going to be okay. We're going to be okay," I whisper gently, feeling her warmth against me as I softly kiss her hair, trying to offer some comfort. Gradually, her wailing subsides into soft whimpering, and I hold her at arm's length, gazing at her tear-streaked face.
"So..." she starts, her voice still shaky from emotion. "So, you're not going to kick me out?" She whispers, her voice wobbly.
"Why would I?" I ask, leaning my forehead against hers.
"Not send me to jail?"
"Never. Not on my life," I assure her, my hands cupping her cheeks, my heart aching for her pain.
"You don't hate me?" She whispers, her voice tiny.
"If anything, I think you're the bravest, most selfless person I've ever met, and I'm glad I did. I love you, Jessica, and I always will." I tell her.
