This was a nightmare. Besca stood there, watching as Quinn collapsed into the beginnings of a breakdown. The hard swallowing, closing her eye, the way her voice shook and how she palmed at her face like her mind was wet clay that wouldn’t stay in form. The emptiness. 

Her phone buzzed. She declined the call. 

God, and she’d managed to swerve the question about her life in Hovvi so well, too. She’d managed to do [i]everything[/i] so well, so far, considering how badly things had gone for her this morning. Besca wasn’t sure if it was the question about the duel itself that had done her in, or if that was just the last straw. Maybe it was a bit of both. It didn’t really matter.

Another call. It took a sincere effort not to hurl her phone into the wall. 

“Of course, honey, of course,” Mona said gently, and turned to the cameras. “Folks we’re gonna take a quick commercial break now, and we’ll be back with you in a moment. Stay tuned for the rest of the interview!”

She gave a brief wave before there was another beep. The crew scattered, though there was a certain awkwardness to their shuffling as they went about preparing for the end of the break. 

Besca hurried to the set, ready to grab Quinn up and bolt for the exit. Fuck this. Fuck the interview, fuck the Board’s ridiculous demands, and fuck everyone who was going to see what just happened and judge Quinn for it. But she couldn’t. Not only because she’d never get away with it, but because her [i]god damned phone rang again[/i].

Incensed, Besca whirled around and pulled the phone from her pocket. Through gritted teeth, in a whisper strangled with anger, she answered: “[color=gray]Someone better be [i]dead[/i].[/color]”

Back at the table, Mona refilled Quinn’s glass. “Everything alright, sweetheart?” She asked, and surprisingly her voice was absent any frustration or annoyance. She seemed genuinely concerned, if a bit confused. “Did I say something wrong? You didn’t mention not wanting to talk about the duel so I just figured it’d be alright. Are you feeling sick? Do you have a headache? We can probably push the break an extra few minutes if you need.”