Leah Stone (reapinghavok) wrote in immune_ic, @ 2012-11-13 01:13:00 |
|
|||
The past three days had been tense. For Marigold’s sake, Leah had returned home on the evening of the 10th, and she’d kept up the appearance of being okay. She didn’t seek out anyone’s company, though, mostly because she didn’t want her sour mood to be contagious. If people engaged her in conversation, she was friendly, if not forthcoming with how she was feeling. Because she wasn’t even sure what was going on. Initially, Leah did believe that her outbursts stemmed from jealousy towards Rae and the attention the new baby was getting. It was jealousy, but it wasn’t for that reason. Leah adored EJ, so he couldn’t possibly have been the problem. Which was why Leah had withdrawn into herself, doing everything she could to avoid the subject until she could figure out exactly what was wrong. Today, three days later, it finally dawned on her. She and Rae weren’t the only mothers in the compound, but while Rae was pregnant, it had put them on common ground. Rae had been the most vulnerable, the one who required a constant bodyguard. Not many people knew about Leah’s situation, but as the months marched on, more and more people would find out… and she’d be the vulnerable one. It was something she dreaded most of all: not being able to defend herself. That particular fear also coincided with the most recent argument she’d had with Evan over his decision to let the treacherous Lexi and her two friends stick around. Leah didn’t feel safe with that choice. She had a feeling they were the ones behind the disturbing gifts people had gotten a few weeks back, and that meant that somebody had told them. Or they’d found out about her somehow. Leah sat in bed, covered to the waist with warm blankets, a gun magazine open on her lap. She chewed thoughtfully on the end of her index finger as she flipped through the pages. Leah had never been a fan of guns. They were loud and her slight nearsightedness was enough of a hindrance to her aim that she’d never trusted herself to handle a long-range weapon. Her machetes were locked safely away so that Marigold couldn’t get to them, but she’d taken to keeping a switchblade on her. Just in case. It didn’t feel like enough protection, though. A knife, unless it was thrown, required close combat. Too much of a risk now. She wanted something else. Something to help her feel more secure. It would probably be a mistake to mention that to Evan, though. Guns were dangerous. And besides that, they still hadn’t really discussed the issue of why she’d exploded at him that day. Maybe today, though. While Marigold was napping. Leah tended to have an easier time controlling her temper when her daughter was within earshot. |