☆:**:.linger.:**:☆

fine

june 19th, 1987

seattle, washington

molly awoke with a start, the back if her neck drenched in sweet.

not moving from the position she was in, she reached a hand to her right, feeling around for another body.

nothing.

rolling over, the girl looked at the empty space in the bed.

she hadn't had another bad dream. in fact, she hadn't had another dream at all. molly had been drifting in and out of conciseness for however much time had passed since she'd closed her eyes, wrapped in layne's arms- never quite falling back asleep.

yet he wasn't here now.

molly frowned and sat up

what time was it?

she glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table- 4 pm already?

sighing, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, walking to the attached bathroom to assess last night's damage.

flipping on the light switch and stepping in front of the mirror, she gasped.

the girl had a bruise on her cheekbone, right below her eye- swollen and black and blue.

gingerly feeling around her head, she felt a bump, crusted blood around the wound.

the hangover wasn't helping much either.

molly sighed and pulled the shower curtain back, turning the water to the hottest temperature.

stripping, then stepping under the steamy water, she allowed her mind to remain blank, choosing to ignore the constant replay of last nights events on her mind and the finger shaped bruises on her arm. she focused only on the feeling of shampoo being massaged into her hair.

shutting the water off and wrapping a towel around herself, molly sat on the edge of the counter and got started on her makeup.

covering the bruise was simple- she'd done it many times before- but the pain did not go away as easily.

when she was done, molly glanced in her bag. hesitating for a second, she reached for the little altoids box that rested at the bottom.

'it was just in case of emergencies,' she told herself.

and this sure seemed to qualify.

picking one of little blue pills out, molly held a cupped hand under the running faucet and swallowed it.

she grabbed one of chris' old black sabbath shirts from the drawer his clothes still remained in and slipped it on, along with a worn pair of denim jeans and her rings.

molly heard soft music and the murmur of voices as she trotted down the wooden steps.

turning the corner to the kitchen and living room area, she spotted two people sitting at the island.

they stopped their conversation as soon as they saw her.

when they said nothing after a second, she walked to the fridge, swinging the door open.

their eyes followed as she reached inside, grabbing the orange juice and taking a swig right from the bottle.

she slowly lowered it, noticing their stares.

"um... hi?"

andy opened his mouth but still said nothing.

"what are you losers staring at?"

chris finally broke and rolled his eyes.

she set the carton down on the counter and pushed herself up next to it.

"so we're playing the quiet game? so fun, i'm good at this one."

it was andy's turn to roll his eyes, while chris scoffed.

"that wasn't silence. i think that means you lose christopher."

"hey, what? you just talked, you lose."

"i'm pretty sure any sound counts, dude."

"so i win?" andy interjected, smiling.

"we're not playing the fucking quiet game!" chris groaned, putting his palm against his forehead.

"so why'd you get all silent when i came downstairs?"

one again, the duo said nothing, but molly caught chris' pained gaze glance over her arm.

instinctively, she crossed her arms as to cover the dark bruises, almost in defense.

"i'm fine, chris," she huffed.

he slammed his fist on the counter suddenly, causing molly to jump.

"how can you say that?" he angrily said, standing, "how can you you act like everything's okay? how can you act like what he did was okay?"

"none of it is fucking okay, chris!" she snapped, jumping off the counter, "i am not fucking okay. but i don't- i don't know... i don't know how to..." she trailed off, hands raised in the air.

"i don't know what else to do. i don't know how else to cope."

"then talk to me, molls. tell me what's going on inside that head," he pleaded, stepping towards her.

molly said said nothing for a minute, then, softly, "why didn't you come back last night?"

chris' shoulders sagged slightly, "i was so mad," he avoided her eyes, gazing at the kitchen tile, "i just wanted to hurt him too, make him feel the pain he gave to you. i couldn't fucking see straight, molly. i wanted to make him bleed. i needed... i needed to get out. blow off some steam, y'know? punch a wall or two," he said, finally looking up and giving her a sad smile.

she almost smirked at his lame attempt of a joke.

molly glanced down at his hands, wondering if he really did go punch a wall.

his knuckles were the same shade as her cheek, prior to the makeup, but she couldn't tell if it was from plaster or jon's face.

"i'm fine, molly" he said, repeating her words from earlier.

evidently, he had noticed her stare.

"are you sure chris?"

"are you sure molly?"

they were interrupted by the shrill sound of the phone ringing.

"i'll get it," chris mumbled, trudging away.

molly sighed and sat down in the chair he previously occupied.

"are you molly?" andy asked softy.

she rested her chin in her hand and gave him a questioning look.

"are you really okay?"

"i will be andy," she sighed again, "i always am."

hey guys! i'm so sorry it's been so long since i've updated :( i really hope you like the new chapter though. drop a vote and/or comment if you want, they're always appreciated. hope you all have an amazing morning/day/night <3