[color=red]ScarletRain
[u]Day 17 - Afternoon - Lvl 15[/u]
[@Zelosse][@Haeo]

Scarlet kept her gaze fixed on the ground as silence seemed to fall over the group. After a moment, she could hear her grandfather's voice, and something in her chest ached to hear the sad tone in it. She knew that he had only been trying to make her happy. She knew that he was trying to help her heal from it all. But even so... Things weren't going to just get better. Nothing was going to go away, especially this pain. The feeling that she drove her parents away just by being born lingered with her always. Why didn't she tell him? Well...

[b]"I tried to tell you."[/b] Her voice practically came out as a whisper. [b]"I tried to tell Mom, too. You both just kept insisting that it wasn't my fault, that everything would be fine... Here, have another piece of cake. Here, let's go see a movie on a weekday. Nothing's wrong, everything's fine, nothing fucking terrible happened..."[/b] The tears fell even harder as her shoulders shook under the weight of her grief. [b]"I wanted to talk about it... not pretend it had never happened. Mom didn't want me to have to face it, and neither did you. But ignoring it and just going about our business..."[/b] Her gaze looked up sharply at Dom, then, filled with pain and discomfort. [b]"You sent me to fucking school! The day after my mom abandoned me! You said I shouldn't let it hold me back, that I shouldn't be sad from Mom's mistake, but... damn it, I wasn't ready to move on! I'm still not!"[/b]

Without warning, she leapt forward and hugged her grandpa tightly with both arms, something she hadn't done since her mom was around years ago. [b]"I-I want my mom and dad! I-I didn't want to drive them away... I-I tried to be good... I-I tried..."[/b] Scarlet felt all of the aching and pain from her life in this moment, and all she could do was cling to Dom in a desperate cry for comfort. After her dad had left, as a child, she turned to her grandpa for anything she would have asked him. He was more of a dad to her than he seemed to understand. But he stopped all of the little things she had loved when her mom left. Though they still spent time together, it wasn't her reaching out to him but rather him reaching out to her. She wasn't watching Letterman with him, he was watching whatever Disney show she wanted. She wasn't sneaking cookies behind his back, she was being given them for no reason. They were slight differences, where she would get what she wanted, but it wasn't as enjoyable. Something about getting what she wanted didn't feel as real. Life felt fake and the virtual world felt real. It was fucked up, and in this moment she realized that she did not want that, anymore.

Scarlet was surprised to hear what the old man said about failing as a parent. Did he really think he'd failed? No, he had done a great job. The problem was when he changed without realizing it. He had altered his parenting to suite her special case of abandonment, which was not what she wanted. [b]"You didn't fail, Grandpappi..."[/b] She sniffled, looking up at him. [b]"I... I really loved Daddy... H-He's the one who made the stupid choice, right...?"[/b] Tenderly, she wiped her eyes and then took a step back to see him more clearly. A little smile formed on her lips. [b]"D-Didn't you always tell me that...? Whenever I even thought Daddy leaving might be my fault... or Mom..."[/b] She now took a moment to compose herself before placing a finger on the middle of his forehead. [b]"Besides... Like hell I could forget a crazy old bat like you."[/b] Scarlet gave her grandpa a genuine smile now, the first in a long time, as she felt a warmth close over her heart. [b]"I don't hate you, Grandpa... I'm sorry..."[/b]

She felt better, honestly. All she had really needed was to cry, a bit. It felt good to get all of this off her chest. Now he understood... Was there time to fix anything? She didn't know. What she did know was that she knew her grandpa just a little bit better, and she knew that he did love her. That was most important, right now. Hopefully he understood that she cared for him, as well. Not that she'd ever call him Dad or anything like that... but she did appreciate him. [i]I know those times aren't ever coming back... I know my parents won't ever come home...[/i] A bit of her heart still felt sad, but the patches were sewn one by one. This was real healing.

Now her attention was drawn to Smart, who appeared rather... sad. And in pain. If anyone of the two looked old, it was him. She slowly made her way over to him, not quite sure what to say but knowing that she needed to say something. After all, she had practically been raised by him, as well. He always had her best interests at heart, even if he was not as direct about it as her grandfather had been. Smart was sort of how Dom used to be to her, in the way that she felt she could go to him when she needed. Yet, something about him not being blood family kept her from ever really doing that. Even if he had always been there caring for her... She sort of realized, in this moment, how little she had opened up to him. Perhaps it was because she had been bitter about her mom dumping her in that home, she didn't want anything to do with the things - or [i]people[/i] - around her.

Shyly, she walked up to Smart and stood in front of him, gazing at her feet as she shifted nervously. Scarlet sort of looked like a child getting in trouble, in this moment. [b]"U-Uhm... D-Dan..."[/b] Once she had his attention, she looked up at him with an awkward smile. [b]"You... You don't need to worry."[/b] Slowly, he hand went up to cover her injured eye. She knew. His expression always gave away what he was thinking, and right now she knew that he was worried about the eerie cloudiness she had revealed. [b]"I mean... I don't think it'll be alright. Not this time. But that's... that's okay, right...?"[/b] Tears filled her eyes as, for the first time, she opened herself up to Smart. [b]"I-I know I never really went to you when I had problems... Y-You were always there, and I never talked to you... I-I'm sorry..."[/b] Gently, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder to hide the fresh tears. [b]"I'm sorry, U-Uncle Dan..."[/b][/color]