desiderium | t. riddle

xiv. aftermath, after hours

Eva watched apprehensively as the other girl sighed, closed her eyes, and did the same. Her fingers darted to the spoon and shoved the myriad of vegetables between her teeth, not allowing herself to take even the smallest of glances at the contents, scared that she might change her mind at the last moment. She chewed significantly slower and grimaced visibly during the even slower swallow that followed. Her eyes stayed closed throughout.

And that's how the rest of dinner went. Whispers of encouragement, agitated fingers rubbing at the hollows of their own necks, willing the food to go down and stay there. Closed eyelids and hasty spooning before painstakingly cautious chewing ensued from it.

By the time most of the other students had left the Great Hall (in large, military-like groups as a precaution), both girls had gotten through just over half their servings.

"I can't eat anymore. I'll vomit for sure," Cassi whispered, a note of shame tinting her voice. Shame for eating or not being able to eat more? It was impossible to tell.

Eva looked down at her own bowl. She could feel the contents lingering not far behind her throat as well. She looked back up to Cassi.

"That's okay," she assured her softly, not even sure if it was true but knowing it wouldn't do to reprimand her when she was so clearly trying. "I think y- we've done great for today." When Cassi's expression betrayed her doubt, she continued, "It's all about progress, right? Baby steps."

Her eyebrows relaxed and she nodded in return.

"Baby steps," she murmured back in confirmation, her voice barely clinging on and the frustration that was welling up in her eyes held back only by the reassurance of those two words.

─────⋅☾☽⋅─────

That night, Evangeline slipped out of bed as always, the habit too far ingrained into her sleepless mold for her to remember why tonight was different. The only thing she picked up on that held any distinction to other nights was the sound of a furious blood pressure coming from behind the curtains of Cassi's four-poster.

Just before she reached her usual destination, however, the telltale sounds of the piano grew like vines in the air around her, the more somber notes of the night reminding her exactly why she shouldn't return tonight. Images of the black slit on her wrist and the fury that had followed returned to her mind like a breach in the blissful ignorance of a naïve child.

Her feet backtracked, leading her as far as possible from the music that typically lured her straight into its dark-haired perpetrator's arms, but it appeared to be too late to turn back. Tom must have heard her footsteps receding, though; the music pulled to an end, wrapped smoothly into a premature bow.

A taciturn hand came from behind Evangeline to rest on the crook of her arm before she could get far. It felt almost like a feather. She couldn't tell whether this was because of the minimal contact being made or the nonexistent difference in the temperatures of their skin.

A voice spoke then and the hand was retracted, derailing her from heedlessly submerging herself in the touch.

"Made other plans for tonight?"

Eva turned then to assess Tom's expression. His head was tilted in mock curiosity and his hands clasped below his sternum, fiddling with the black and gold ring yet again.

"Well, I certainly wasn't planning on coming back to talk to you," she replied, trying to keep the bite out of her voice. She knew he wanted her to lose her composure in a moment of anger again. A broken limb here and there clearly wasn't a problem for him, seeing as he could so easily fix it with a wave of his wand.