Patty stayed silent with her eyes falling downcast as Barry stood, her heart sinking into her stomach. It was closure, and she thought that that was supposed to make things better, but it was just worse. It all felt worse, like he had ripped a scab off of a wound that was just starting to heal, and she could feel her eyes starting to burn again with the threat of tears that, this time, she was having trouble holding back.
"I will," she managed to force out, her voice tiny, and despite how much she knew she shouldn't have meant it, she did. She knew that there was no way she was going to be able to stay away from Barry now that he was here, she gravitated towards him. It would have been healthy for her to never speak to him again but Patty couldn't let go of him that easily, not when he was standing right there, so real and, for the first time, so honest. She couldn't promise him a friendship in that moment, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to keep herself from forgiving him. She hated that part of herself.
At first she was just going to let him walk away as she concentrated on containing herself until he was gone, but with a sudden gasp she looked up as if words were trying to escape her before she could bite them back. "Barry?" She called out to him, still sitting on the log, and when she saw his face Patty stared at him with a silent plead in her eyes. A stray tear finally managed to escape, rolling hotly down her cheek. Her lips parted silently and when she found her voice it was rasped, and cracked.