A knife to the chest

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January 15th
On my own

~ Based on the song "On My Own" from "Les Miserables" ~

•••••

Peter wandered through the train, gripping his suitcase in his hand and peering into each and every compartment he passed.

The train had started moving by this point, and despite enjoying university, he was glad to be going home for the holidays, especially the Christmas holidays, they were always the most magical.

He was on the hunt for Susan, who should be on the train he was currently searching. With Susan at Oxford and Peter at Cambridge, they'd somehow managed to get it so they were both eventually on the same train, and Peter was extremely happy to be back with family again after so long.

Finally he came across his sister, who greeted him with a huge smile and a hug, clearly very happy to see him too.

Peter threw his suitcase above and flopped down on the seat opposite Susan, letting out a warm sigh. "Homeward bound." He murmured under his breath, glancing out the window for a second.

"Good term?" Susan asked, already putting her book away.

Peter chuckled lightly. "Yeah definitely." He breathed. "A lot of work, but it'll be worth it."

Susan smiled.

"What about you? First term good?" Peter asked.

Susan nodded. "Yeah, I'm actually really enjoying it, more than I thought I would." She admitted. "It's different, but I'm having a good time."

Peter smiled. "Made any friends?" He asked.

"Yeah yeah, the people on my course are really nice." Susan replied somewhat happily, but there was a hint of sadness in her voice that no one would be able to pick up on - no one except Peter anyway.

"What?" He asked.

Susan frowned. "Huh?"

Peter frowned back. "You didn't sound too confident about what you just said." He told her.

Susan hesitated. "No, no everyone is nice and I've made some really good friends." She said.

"So what's the problem?"

"Who said there was a problem?" Susan asked, hating that Peter always noticed every single thing about her.

"I'm not stupid." Peter pointed out. "There is a problem."

Susan stared at him for a moment or two, before shrugging. "There's nothing you can do about it anyway." She sighed, admitting it but still refusing to say anything.

Peter raised an eyebrow.

"Peter trust me, there's nothing you can do about it." Susan added before he tried denying it.

Peter hesitated. "You can still tell me can't you?" He asked slowly.

Susan laughed awkwardly. "I wouldn't say it's something I'd discuss with my older brother." She said.

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