Re: [Orchard: Bea & Holly]
She stopped so that she was out of reach, and when he moved to meet her she shifted on her back heel in case he closed the gap. When he did not, she spread her stance and stood still, her eyes narrowing slightly on his face and the purple mess. She wasn't surprised that she didn't recognize him, or that his expression was something that she hadn't seen before on his face. Before he'd left, she'd discovered that he wasn't who she'd thought he was, that there were hidden aspects to his life that he had not wanted to share with her, that she secretly was unsure she'd ever really wanted to know.
Her expression soured when he greeted her with a question, like she was a stranger, but she didn't address it directly. If he thought that the foreignness of his meat grinder of a face might be in his favor, he was a little right: not because she felt sorry for him, but because he looked like more of a stranger than ever. Bea set her lips together against the pain of seeing him. It was forthright, immediate. She expected it. IT hurt to look at him, though. Him standing there like he'd never left. It was like all that grief and the loneliness hadn't mattered at all. Noah had been there for her then, and just ended up lying as soon as Holly came back, like the man was a specter there to ruin anything good she had.
"I don't know how any of this is going to help me, Holly." She spoke to him familiarly, almost aggressive in that familiarity. He might not remember who she was, but she knew who he was. She shrugged at his offer. "Okay." Here, there. It didn't matter, if he wanted to walk, she'd walk. She didn't drop her arms, but turned in a random direction. "Who'd you get into a fight with?