Tatum, the only daughter of Gale Weathers and Dewey Riley, couldn't wait to leave the horrors of Woodsboro behind and set out for New York City with her surviving friends.
Despite her hopes of starting anew, Tate soon finds herself face to face wit...
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LIFE DOESN'T SEEM REAL. Ethan takes Tatum to the nearest IHOP, where they're both eyed up and down as they enter the restaurant. Tatum looks pretty roughed up with her hair in disarray and her clothes covered in dirt and bloodstains. The waitress approaches them with a concerned look on her face.
"Are you alright, sweetie? Do you need me to call someone?" she asks.
Tatum laughs off the concern. "If you're trying to ask if Shaggy here is abusing me or something, don't worry about it. Just got attacked by a serial killer a few hours ago, that's all."
The waitress looks horrified and apologizes before taking their orders. Tatum orders buttermilk pancakes, while Ethan goes for the cupcake pancakes.
"Nothing says 'Sorry you almost died' like IHOP, huh?" she says with a hint of sarcasm.
Ethan's expression turns somber as he realizes how close Tatum was to death. She got hurt even with him telling his dad to focus on Tara and Sam. Ethan felt a rising sense of frustration and guilt, a mixture of emotions he'd never experienced before, not as strongly, at least.
Of course he couldn't fucking trust his dad to keep his promise.
A liar always lies.
"Are you hurt?" he asks, very much aware that his concern is written all over his face.
Tatum nods and runs her fingers through her hair, revealing a cut on her forehead and some empty spaces on her scalp where hair used to be. "It looks worse than it is," she assures him.
Her wrist is bleeding and awfully irritated, as are her cuticles. He doesn't think those wounds came from the attack.
He immediately takes some napkins from the dispenser and moistens them with water from his glass, then he delicately cleans the blood from her wrist and fingers with a gentle touch. Tatum flinches at first as he touches the raw, tender skin, but then relaxes.
"Is it painful?" Ethan asks softly, looking up at her.
"A little," Tatum admits. She looks away, unable to meet his eyes.
Ethan looks up at her. "You should clean it better later, with like, soap, you know, so it doesn't get infected," he says.
Tatum only nods, but he thinks he might've seen the shadow of a smile on her lips.
"Are you feeling any better?" he asks. Tatum nods, words apparently stuck down her throat.
Ethan hands her a fresh napkin to dry her hands and then picks up his fork to eat. "These pancakes are really good, eat, go on." he says with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood.
For the next few minutes, they eat in comfortable silence. It's strange, he thinks to himself, how comfortable it feels. He's always been a talkative person, but with Tatum, he doesn't feel the need to fill the quiet moments with meaningless chatter. He's content just being with her, even if they're not saying anything at all.
