Kate had to swallow her protest as Seth’s hand moved out to push the sheet aside, half expecting something to shift and she’d see Richie burn from the inside out. A tension radiated through her whole body as she watched, unwilling to even breathe as Richie’s skin was exposed to the searing sun. Nothing. Not even a flinch from him as she heard the audible rush of air when she dared to exhale again.
Maybe she should have been mad, or offended on Richie’s behalf, at the way Seth maneuvered himself between them both but there was a quiet relief that eased the tension in her chest now that she had Seth to all but hide behind. She’d known of course, what Richie had become. It had been the thing that had tormented Seth for so long that she hadn’t been able to escape that reality but knowing and seeing? That was two very different things and the barrier that was Seth’s body, allowed her to brace for the sight of it.
Even trying to be prepared didn’t take the shock out of it completely, a soft inhale of air as Richie’s features morphed and she felt an ache begin to build behind her ribcage, a grief that was hard to fully experience when he wasn’t truly dead. Still, she worked hard to keep it from showing on her face, grateful then that Richie’s focus appeared to be on his brother and it wasn’t till Seth turned back to look at her that she could drag herself back into the present.
Lines creased her forehead as he took her in, her gaze flitting away and then back again and she felt very much exposed with the way he looked at her; like he was trying to find some imperceptible flaw in her existence, the proof he needed that all of this was in his mind. Though why he’d even be dreaming about her in the first place...
“If this is a dream, I’m in it too.” In it, not part of it as she suspected he was thinking, but he wasn’t the only one looking at her now and Kate’s weight shifted from one foot to the other as she struggled with being the focal point of this conversation. "Do I need to pinch both of you." A slight edge to her voice, as if to point out they were doing it again.
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Maybe she should have been mad, or offended on Richie’s behalf, at the way Seth maneuvered himself between them both but there was a quiet relief that eased the tension in her chest now that she had Seth to all but hide behind. She’d known of course, what Richie had become. It had been the thing that had tormented Seth for so long that she hadn’t been able to escape that reality but knowing and seeing? That was two very different things and the barrier that was Seth’s body, allowed her to brace for the sight of it.
Even trying to be prepared didn’t take the shock out of it completely, a soft inhale of air as Richie’s features morphed and she felt an ache begin to build behind her ribcage, a grief that was hard to fully experience when he wasn’t truly dead. Still, she worked hard to keep it from showing on her face, grateful then that Richie’s focus appeared to be on his brother and it wasn’t till Seth turned back to look at her that she could drag herself back into the present.
Lines creased her forehead as he took her in, her gaze flitting away and then back again and she felt very much exposed with the way he looked at her; like he was trying to find some imperceptible flaw in her existence, the proof he needed that all of this was in his mind. Though why he’d even be dreaming about her in the first place...
“If this is a dream, I’m in it too.” In it, not part of it as she suspected he was thinking, but he wasn’t the only one looking at her now and Kate’s weight shifted from one foot to the other as she struggled with being the focal point of this conversation. "Do I need to pinch both of you." A slight edge to her voice, as if to point out they were doing it again.