turn the hands of TIME [open]

[Acacia Redrum]

Despite the fact that she was sitting alone in a pew, she wasn't religious.

No, she couldn't be religious. Not after what she had seen for so many years. What kind of God would do such terrible things to good people? Nobody deserves to die, not even those that want to do nothing but kill. So why did God let people slip away? It just...didn't make sense. It wasn't fair.

The golden cross glittered around her neck, and her red hair fanned her face and shaded her eyes. Her expression was dark. To any passerby, it would look almost as if she was praying. Her hands were folded in her lap and she was looking down, the common pose of repentance. But in reality, Acacia's gaze was focused on her watch.

The secondhand ticked ever so slowly, moving at a snail's pace. But every second that passed was a second that she could never retrieve, she could never get back. The thought made her slightly sick to her stomach. No matter how much she wished for it, she wasn't going to get as many seconds as most of the others. It was unfair. God was unfair. So why the hell was she in a place of prayer when all she thought of God was disgust? Her icy blue eyes narrowed as she sat back, her head falling against the back of the pew as she looked up.

She was dying. There was no other way to say it.

The cancer that was eating away slowly at her body was unoperable. She went regularly for treatment, but she knew and the doctor knew that they were only delaying the inevitable. Acacia wasn't planning on living much longer.

She sighed through her nose, barely breathing after that. The almost silent ticks of her watch echoed like gunfire in the completely silent and empty church. It made her feel woozy, yet it comforted her at the same time. No matter who would leave, who would return, who would live or die, time would always be a constant. Time wasn't going to stop for anybody, not even her.

Footsteps suddenly echoed in the church, and Case sat upright, her fight or flight response kicking in from years of being a part of the FBI. Her gaze traveled behind her, and her eyes narrowed. It wasn't like she could ask what they were doing here...after all, this was a public place, and some people needed to escape from the outside world.

OOC

angstangstangst. xD opennnn. <3[/center][/size]

[Aiko Summers]

Aiko didn't know why the hell she was going to a church. She wasn't religious, infact, she hated God-for giving her the worst mother, abusive and drunk.

She sighed, maybe she just wanted some place to be alone so she could think. She had run from her mother once again, and once again it was for the same reason. She looked down at her bare arms, and sighed as she rubbed the red marks. Her mother had once again had a go at her for no reason, and hit her. And she was only wearing her tank, so she wanted to be alone so no one saw these marks. She was cold, the night air had chilled her throughout the walk to the church, and she just hoped that she could warm up.

She walked into the church, her converse making a slight noise, which echoed through the silent church. She smiled to herself, it looked empty. Just what she wanted...needed. She made her way past the empty pews, thinking of whether to sit at the front or the back. If she was at the back, she would be cold, catching the slight breeze which blew through the church...at least, Aiko thought it was a breeze. She wasn't much of a ghost believer.

Aiko almost jumped out of her skin though, when a woman, definatly older than herself, appeared from the pews. Aiko, wide mouthed stood still, still catching her breath that had been scared away. Could she go back now? She had never seen this woman before, and Arden Falls was a small place. But then again, Aiko only knew two people, Ty and Aaron...and she wanted to socialize with a woman, so she decided to stay...and once she caught her breath back she would talk.

She looked the woman up and down, everything looked normal about her, from her pretty cropped red hair to her athletic perhaps figure. Although, one thing about her made Aiko curious, and quite sad, even if she didn't know this woman yet. There was a certain sadness about her. Maybe she was mourning a loss.

Aiko smiled, and moved towards the woman, not wanting to scare her, so she slowly walked. The breeze seeped through her ripped jeans and she tried to hide her chattering teeth. When she was at a comfortable distance away from the woman, she could see that it wasn't the darkness playing tricks on her, she was really sad.
"Are you ok?" Aiko said softly, so quiet, if it wasn't for the echo, she wouldn't have been heard.

She thought that it might have been a little rude, delving into someones personal feelings like that, especially when she didn't even know. She bit her lip, a habit of hers and decided to talk again.
"Sorry, that was rude of me," She wanted to look mature, seeing as the woman infront of her looked almost double her age. "I'll leave you alone if you want."

Aiko walked to the front of the church, and sat down at the pew. She knew that she could have stayed with the woman and waited for her to answer her, but again, on the other hand, the woman, if she wanted to communicate, could always follow Aiko and sit next to her. Aiko looked up to the statues and religious things in the church. She was foreign to this kind of environment, quiet, peaceful place.But perhaps this is what she needed. Somewhere so she could let herself think.

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[Acacia Redrum]

Acacia looked behind her, seeing the girl from a distance. She seemed a bit shocked to see somebody else in the church, and she was pretty sure her own expression was a perfect mirror of the girl's. Her eyes were still icy, staring curiously at the girl that didn't seem like one of the "religious" type. She only really thought that the religious would come into a church at godawful hours of the night...wait, what time was it anyway?

She glanced down at her watch, blue eyes flickering and reflecting a greenish glow as she turned on the backlight. Good God. Twelve twenty-two in the morning.

The glow illuminated the darkness of the church, and illuminated the girl a little bit more. The red marks on her skin were practically highlighters on her arms, they were so bright. Acacia blinked in surprise, but knew it was probably best to not say anything. At least, not for now.

The girl spoke, her voice quiet. The echo finally reached her ears, and she smiled faintly, the expression not meeting her eyes. "I'm fine, thank you," she said simply, her head tilted to one side. What the hell, could people see that she was sick? Smell it? The one thing she feared most in the world was looking vulnerable...that was something she could never live with, and the cancer that was soon going to eat away at her body wasn't going to do anything to make her cause better.

The girl suddenly apologized, making Case's red eyebrows furrow a bit. She quickly walked away, making Acacia rise to follow her. "What do you mean? You didn't do anything," she responded, her gaze penetrating and her voice monotonous. She let her hands fall into the pockets of her dark jeans as she sat next to her.

"What're you doing here so late, anyway? Isn't this past curfew?" After seeing those markings, Case couldn't help but feel a small amount of concern for the girl...

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[Aiko Summers]

Aiko didn't turn when she walked toward the pew. If the woman would follow, she would follow, and Aiko wouldn't mind if she would rather be by herself. For she had basically intruded in her solitude. They were both shocked to see another person in the church, and Aiko felt like the person in front of her was perhaps like her-not religious. Well, that was one thing they had in common, maybe Aiko could socialize with this woman, and not come across distant due to what had just happened to her.

Aiko was unaware of the time, she knew that it was late...early in the morning, because she had spent hours shouting and screaming at her mother, and it was about midnight when she had stormed out of her home. She saw a hint glow illuminating in the dark church, and Aiko turned around slightly to see the woman looking at her glowing wrist, a watch. She turned back around, and closed her eyes. She saw that the stranger could see the red markings on her arms, and also caught the surprise that lingered in her eyes. With closed eyes, a tear still escaped, and dripped down on her arms which she held close to her body.

She knew that when the woman answered her question, that she wasn't being honest. Aiko was like a detective when it came to that sort of stuff, she had been told many lies and fallen for most of them, and learned from them too. She knew that the woman wasn't intending to lie, she just didn't want to share her problems with a stranger, especially a young one of Aiko's age. Aiko was in the same position, she could tell that it was obvious that the woman was curious as to how she had acquired large red markings on her arms, but knew that it was rude to intrude.

Aiko had heard footsteps briskly walking after her. She had followed. That was good and bad. It was good because Aiko would have felt awkward being in the church with her, there would be a tense atmosphere lingering around, and Aiko hated them. But it was bad because, Aiko would have to explain why her arms were standing out, sore and red, and Aiko really didn't want to delve deep inside her head to let the memories back out, because it had taken her time to bury them. Aiko knew that she was close, without having to look at her and follow her movements. She could hear her voice, and it was close. "What do you mean? You didn't do anything," Aiko's brow furrowed. She was expecting more life in the voice of the woman, instead of a monotone, no emotion inside of it. Maybe it was because they were strangers, and she was being distant.

Aiko remained silent, even when the woman sat down next to her, hands in her pockets. Aiko didn't look at her, she just sighed and opened her eyes again. They were watery and the blue sea inside of them was freezing with ice, a result of the sadness inside of them. She finally turned her face to look at the older woman, and she knew that their faces resembled each other. Both sad, no smile. It was unusual for Aiko to not be smiling, for she was always bouncing around, being random and always smiling. But the physical pain of her arms, and emotional pain that came with it, had wiped away her smile and prevented it from coming back.

"What're you doing here so late, anyway? Isn't this past curfew?" Aiko couldn't help but let out a laugh, although it was not a happy laugh. It was more of a sarcastic laugh. She was not being rude to the woman, at least not wanting to. She was just laughing at the words.
"I don't think my mother cares. And if she hadn't have seen me walk out of the house, she wouldn't even know I'm gone." Although she had laughed, Aiko had no smile painted on her face. She rubbed her arms again. She didn't want to draw any attention to them, but they were just so sore, she had to soothe them.

[Acacia Redrum]

Acacia wasn't stupid - despite the fact that she wasn't the most...social one of the small town of Arden Falls, she could figure out that something was up with this girl. Just the look in her eyes screamed a hidden sorrow that she tried to cover up with a smile. She seemed to be on a one track road - she didn't even bother to look back out of curiosity at Case, even though she seemed to have many questions on what she was doing here and why she looked so sad. There must've been many different things on the girl's mind, she surmised. Judging from the bright red welts on her arms, there was a lot more to her story than what met the eye.

The tear escaped the girl, but didn't escape Acacia's observant and distant eyes. Her red arms were hugged close to her body - they did look like they hurt. She herself wasn't a doctor (she left all of the doctoring to Jeff), but the sores were angry and looked as if they had just been made. Her analytical side automatically looked for evidence of previous abuse, wondering if the wounds were self inflicted or if somebody else had hurt the girl's arms.

Blue eyes narrowed gently in slight concern. Case could tell that the tear she saw wasn't meant to be seen, but that didn't stop her heart to ache for the girl. What secrets were lying behind her dark eyes, screaming to be spoken? Case couldn't help but feel a certain kinship with her - she too had many secrets that she was dying to just shout out at the top of her lungs; the loss of her sister, her love for Jeff, the tumors slowly eating away at her body...

Their expressions mirrored each other, making Acacia suddenly feel chilled. She could tell that the girl was thinking the same exact thing. She was so young...what could possibly be wrong with her? What was going on? Just the possibilities suddenly made her blood boil. Injustice and maltreatment were her fire starters - after all, she wasn't an FBI agent just for the jacket. Her fists balled up, her eyes suddenly flaring and swirling into a deeper blue.

The girl spoke about her mother, and the pieces of the puzzle were soon fitting into place. Her jaw was set as she sat in silence, feeling a sudden surge of sorrow. The girl was laughing, but it was a laugh that Acacia knew well - it had no feeling behind it, it wasn't used for joy. This was almost...regretful. Hatred and venom laced her tones as she spoke of her, and Acacia soon figured that it was probably her mother that was either causing the girl to do things to herself, or her mother herself was the one that was beating her.

"What's your name?" Acacia suddenly asked, staring directly at the girl. She had the sudden urge to help her as best as she could - it was better than sitting around and doing nothing...because that was all she could do for herself.

OOC
*lols at the fact that my posts are getting smaller and smaller* xDDD

[Aiko Summers]

Aiko could tell, unfortunalty, that the woman could see that something was wrong with her. It was Aiko's fault, seeing as she basically exposed her arms to the public. What were people thinking, that she was a self harmer? Why would Aiko do that? But the woman infront of her couldn't critise her for her sad look, seeing as the woman too held a sorrow glint in her eyes and no smile on her lips. But her problem was more subtle than Aiko's, and lingered as a secret in the air.

She knew that the lady saw her crying, and knew that she had two distant eyes fixed on the way she was looking, her arms held tightly to her body, as she hugged herself. Oh how her arms ached at the moment, the red sores stinging her as if she was circled by jelly fish, no way to get out. Aiko had lived her entire life like that, no way to get out, in a prison with an evil mother, abusing her and preventing her from being free. Aiko wondered what the woman did for a living, and if perhaps she was a doctor, or knew the medical side of life. Either way, Aiko's sores would deffinaltly go unmissed by her eyes.

Aiko didn't want the older woman to feel sorry for her. Because Aiko hated it when people felt sorry for her. The word "sorry" cannot erase the markings, cannot make everything go away. She knew one person that could take her pain away and turn it into sweet things, Aaron. He was like her big brother, and always knew how to make her happy and always came to her rescue when she needed to get away from her mother. Aiko saw more concern in the woman's face...the secrets from both of their hearts flying around the air, teasing one another.

Whatever the woman's job was, Aiko knew that the minute she let her secrets known, the lady would do something. But Aiko didn't want that...but she did. It was weird. She wanted her mother to go away, and be punished for what she had done to her, but then again, she had nowhere to go, no other family member to be with. So she would be an orphan. And Aiko knew that she would be moved far away from Arden Falls...which she didn't want. Her life had just started to heal a bit, meeting Aaron and Ty, they had seemed to accept her. So she didn't want that taken away from her when it had just begun. Aiko suddenly noticed fists balling up, and she turned to look at them, then her brow furrowed slightly. Her gaze then moved up to meet blue eyes, but there was something different in them. They no longer had no color, no sorrow in them. They were flaming, with possible anger, the blue deepening like the deep ocean. Had Aiko done something? She hadn't even said something, so the possibilty of her angering the woman was an unlikely story, which was placed at the back of Aiko's worry list.

Aiko had given away the clues of the mystery when she had spoken about her mother, and as her vicious laugh for her mother ended, she could see the woman's mind working, figuring out what had happened to her. Too bad Aiko had nothing to work on for the woman's secret...But Aiko had no right into digging into her feelings like that uninvited.

"What's your name?" Aiko let go of her arms and let them rest at her sides and looked deep into her blue eyes.
"Aiko...Summers."Her voice was weak, and more of a whisper. She knew that perhaps she should introduce her full name, seeing as the woman was much older than her. A soft smile edged at her lips, but it made no new shape to them, let alone reaching her eyes. "And yours?" It was about time they let some of their secrets out.

((OOC: xD s'ok...mine seems to have "shrunk in the wash"))[/size]

[Acacia Redrum]

Feeling sorry for people normally wasn't on the long to-do list Acacia kept in the back of her mind. Especially not now - she had way too much to do before she died, and feeling sorry for people was not one of them. Case didn't even feel sorry for this girl standing before her, with so much hate in her eyes that she could tell she was trying to hold back...no. She didn't feel pity for the girl - she wasn't an abandoned puppy on the street. That was something you could pity. Humans just aren't meant to be pitied.

No, she felt something much different for this girl.

She felt...protective.

She felt this sudden, almost overwhelming urge to just protect this teenager. Why, she had no idea. They were both hurting inside, their insides were both darkened by secrets long overdue to be spoken aloud. They both held a hidden sorrow in their eyes...it was like Acacia was looking into a mirror. Frankly, it scared her, but she also felt a slight kinship with her...

What was she thinking? She barely even knew her and now she was thinking almost as if she was gonna adopt her or something. Acacia shook her head, trying to rid herself of these childish thoughts. But her blue eyes still flamed, her jaw was still set. The fury...the fury was still there. The fury kindled by the fact that a mother could do this to a child. Their child. Flesh and blood.

She had been in the FBI for over ten years, and yet she still could never get over how somebody could treat somebody else so harshly, so cruelly. Her hand gravitated towards the golden cross that symbolized a faith that she didn't even have anymore. Her pale fingers toyed with it lightly as she suddenly felt, not heard, the girl speak.

"Acacia," she replied to Aiko. She smiled a bit. "Redrum," she added, giving her last name as well. Her eyes darted to the side, watching Aiko's arms drop to her sides. She knew that Case knew what was happening...at least, that was the vibe she was getting. Her red hair fell on her face as she let her head fall back on the edge of the pew silently. Her gaze was directed upward once again, just in the way as it was before Aiko had entered into the church.

Her mind was already beginning to wander back to the days when she could actually go out into the field as an FBI agent. The adrenaline rush felt so wonderful - it was almost exilerating even now as she thought about it. Maybe her pulse was visibly beating a bit faster under the pale skin of her neck, but she wasn't sure. A quiet smile lifted her sad expression a little bit.

"You working anywhere, Aiko?" she asked casually. Whatever she did, the girl probably needed to get away from her mother if Acacia's assumptions were correct.

OOC
xD But at least they're not sounding like they're forced. Unlike SOME people's posts...*glares at self* Ngh, no muse. all finished

[Aiko Summers]

Aiko should be the one pushing her problems away and feeling sympathy for the older woman sat next to her. She was in a church, at the early hours of the morning, with no emotion but sadness in her body language. She must be grieving something, someone, or must be trying to talk to god. Maybe she was having problems with her husband, although Aiko couldn’t see a diamond ring glinting in the midnight glow. Aiko knew that it was pointless to throw all these reasons around her head, like a baseball game, and if the woman wanted to share her secret with Aiko, she would be ready to understand, and show her sympathy. Although, they were only strangers, and it would be a little fake if she tried too hard to make her feel better.

There was something about this woman though, Aiko suddenly felt like she had been here before…not literally, for she never stepped foot inside a church before, not in a long time anyway. But when she met Aaron Garrison, the minute she had met him she felt a sudden feeling, and that feeling was safety. She knew that Aaron would look after her, take a brotherly role, and keep her away from harms way. As if she was witnessing déjà vu, she felt that this woman too, may protect her. Of course, like with Aaron Aiko protects him too, she would help this woman with whatever she is going through, and return the favour.

She saw movement in the corner of her eyes. Was the woman shaking her head? It was only subtle so Aiko thought it was the darkness playing tricks on her, but she was sure that she had seen movement. It was strange seeing as Aiko hadn’t said anything at that time. Nevertheless, she let the curiosity fade into the darkness. She was slightly scared at the flames inside the stranger’s eyes, the fury rising in them. she felt slightly uneasy around her, although it was just Aiko being silly…surely the woman wouldn’t harm her. Although, that’s what many people think about mothers. That they are kind and wouldn’t harm a fly. Well Aiko’s mother would get bored of a fly…and turn on her own daughter.

From the fury in her eyes, Aiko thought that maybe the woman would make a good cop, or someone in that line of business, considering that her eyes showed that she had feeling deep inside, and that she would try her hardest to bring justice But again, this was a vague guess. She saw her reach for the gold cross that Aiko saw so many people wear. She wouldn’t wear one of course, considering her faith died the minute she got her fist scar from her mother. She then turned to look at her properly, when she heard her break the silence.


Acacia Redrum. The woman had smiled slightly at Aiko, and she forced one to appear on her own face…although she didn’t feel like smiling. But she was only doing it to be polite. As eyes fell on her again, Aiko couldn’t hide any movement from the woman, who was obviously good at catching people’s movements. A sigh of relief accidently escaped her lips though when Acacia’s eyes moved forward, to come across the front of the church. But from the way she dropped her head before this, Aiko knew that something was going through her mind. Aiko wasn’t a stranger to having flashbacks, and normally when she had them she drifted off into a daydream…or a day nightmare if it was her mother plaguing her thoughts, and it normally was. And she normally always bowed her head.

Thinking about this triggered back bad memories. Memories of Aiko’s younger childhood, how she always escaped from her mother’s wrath with Danny, her friends. but she couldn’t stay there forever and she had to go back to her house, back to her mother. When she walked the streets, a young Aiko was victimised to thousands of eyes on her, curious and sympathetic for the markings that were standing out like a sore thumb. To be honest, Aiko hadn’t grown up much…or changed for that matter. She still escaped from her mother’s wrath with Aaron, and if he was busy, she would walk the streets alone, anything was safer than staying with an abuser. A soft smile grew on Aiko’s face as she remembered how she had so much fun with her “older brother” Aaron. She looked at Acacia, and was shocked that they were so alike…the same sadness in their eyes, and now, the same soft smile on their lips.

You working anywhere, Aiko. A casual question from Acacia broke Aiko away from her reverie, and she blinked several times and she gradually moved back into reality. She had to pause slightly before answering, trying to remember what the question actually was. Work…a light bulb suddenly lit up in her head. “No…I don’t…I guess I have been to consumed in trying to get…” she paused, not wanting to say ‘away from her mother’ which would bring more memories. She shook her head. “No. I guess I should though, maybe work in a coffee shop. Any excuse for more coffee.” Aiko let out a soft chuckle and smiled at the woman infront of her. Then a question popped into her head and in order to get it out, Aiko would have to build up her confidence, and ask her, even if she felt it was intruding…although, she was asked the same question. “Do you work?”

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[Acacia Redrum]

For some reason, whenever she looked at this girl, something glinting in Aiko's eyes made Acacia's heart tug. There was a glimmer of hope - a darkened innocence. Obviously her home life wasn't the best - in fact, if Acacia had anything to say about it, this girl's mother would be prosecuted - but this girl's hope remained. Case blinked quietly, her brow furrowing. What could it be that made Aiko keep on going, even when it seemed that all sense of hope was lost? What made her want to get up in the morning and face the day anew?

Her mind toyed with the idea. Maybe it was a friend, a boyfriend, maybe another family member. Her father, possibly? Of course, she could be completely wrong. This hope could be just built in to the teen automatically: just another facet of her personality. This was just like how Acacia was with analyzing things. She tried to not do it, especially when she was diagnosed with her cancer, but it was just so automatic, so built in. It was who she was, and it was something she couldn't stop.

Her hand rose to pinch the bridge of her nose where her eyes were. She squeezed them shut, feeling a sudden shooting of pain into her head. Headaches...the doctor said something about them being common in this stage - the tumor was probably growing, pressing against her sinus cavities as she thought about it. She bit her lip and let her hand fall. No, she wasn't going to show her weakness around this girl. Not yet. Maybe later...if there even was a later.

But for some reason, Acacia was almost sure there would be. There was something that was drawing them to this place, and both of them had two very different problems that couldn't really be solved. They could only be looked at, and the only thing either of them could do would be to run for the rest of their lives, or face their problems head on and shout "I'm not afraid...!"

Hm, if only Acacia had that kind of courage...the only thing she could do would be to bury it as deep within her soul as possible. Nobody could know, nobody could see. And yet, she felt like with every breath she took, the whole world knew. There must have been something in her eyes, something that tipped others off to know...or maybe she was just insanely paranoid.

She stared off blankly, her mind beginning to run. The fury had subsided, the calm before the storm. God, if she could just meet this girl's mother, she'd have her in jail within the hour. Her fists relaxed at the thought of the neglecter in a prison cell, where she belonged.

Her eyes glanced back to Aiko, and it almost looked as if she was awakening from a dream when she responded to her previous question. Did Acacia whisk her out of memories? Were they good memories or bad? Her head tilted to the side slightly in curiosity before she winced. Blood rushed to her head, and she could barely hear anything over the roar of the blood pounding in her ears.

God, this hurts...

She gave a fake smile at the joke, not really listening. The pain was all-consuming, making it hard for her to concentrate. Her eyes flicked to some spot on the wall, trying to keep her throbbing mind on Aiko's words. "I used to, yes. In the FBI," she said, her voice slightly rough from the pain. Was she pale? God, she hoped not.

OOC
omnomnomnomnom.

[Aiko Summers]

Aiko had never met anyone, apart from her mother, of this Acacia’s age. And her mother was abusive, so she hadn’t met anyone who was nice of her age. She wanted to meet someone who could take the role of a mentor, something her mother should have done. As she looked at Acacia she saw that in her. A mentor. She knew that she wasn’t alone, that she had Aaron, who was like her big brother, and had taking her into his home, away from her home, away from her abusive evil mother. But Aiko’s physical and mental scars still had to heal, and she had to build her life up again. But Aiko kept on going, no matter what her mother threw at her...which was mainly punches. She didn’t know what made her do this though, but she had hope in herself, and had too much talent, had come this far, there was no point in turning back and giving up now.

They still had too many secrets hidden underneath the surface. Aiko couldn’t pin point their relationship at that very moment, because it would take time. Acacia still didn’t know about Aiko’s mother and her childhood, and Aiko didn’t know why the woman looked so very sad, and was sat in the middle of the cold church in the early hours alone. Aiko didn’t think now was the time, nor the place, to start digging deep inside the elder woman’s deepest secrets. Especially when she had no right to do so.

She watched the woman silently. She saw her pinch her nose, probably the signs of her getting a headache. Aiko was tired, so she wiped her eyes and yawned slightly, before watching her again. As she opened her eyes she saw that Acacia’s were shut. She saw pain in the woman’s face and Aiko’s brows furrowed. Are you ok Acacia? She didn’t know why she asked her if she was ok, because it wasn’t as if she could help her if something bad was wrong. She had no meds on her. but Aiko was polite, and the woman seriously looked like she was enduring something painful, but putting on a brave face for Aiko’s sake….and for her own sake.

Just as there had been a reason why Aiko had met Aaron, there must have been a reason why these two females had met. The two of them must have had two different, but bad probably, reasons to have to go to a church in the early hours of the morning. But something about the two, a certain vibe from them, showed that they shared something deeper in common. They were both strong, determined to not give up and not show the world that they were afraid of what their lives threw at them.

Aiko was like that. She put on a brave face in order to not be sad all the time. If she let her mother’s lashes get the better off her, she would hide behind her hair, and not talk. That was not Aiko whatsoever. She used her past to build her, to make her stronger, and to make her more determined to fight her way away from her mother…to be free. But why would this woman what to be strong? Surely she should be married, probably have kids and a good job. All these things should make someone proud and strong. She watched her as she stared off into space, and wondered what on earth was going through her head.

She suddenly looked back at her, as she was brought back to reality. She saw her cock her head to the side before doing something unusual. As Aiko awaited an answer she saw Acacia wince. Did Aiko bring back a bad memory from her job? Did something bad happen, or was it another reaction to the probably headache that Aiko thought she had been suffering from. She hoped that the woman was ok.

Please be ok…

She saw her smile though, probably at Aiko’s coffee joke, but then again, she thought that the smile was forced, seeing as the wince before didn’t convince Aiko that the woman was happy. Something about her looked like she was far out of it, or trying her hardest to stay awake. She must have been tired, like Aiko was. I used to, yes. In the FBI She had said used…and Aiko had to say her thoughts. A woman her age, young, shouldn’t just drop out of something so good as the FBI. Used to? How come you don’t work there anymore. If your don’t mind me asking. She added the last part just incase she was intruding and being rude…as she looked at the woman’s delicate face. Was it the low light and moon that was making her face look so very pale?

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