sunshine and cyanide | moon knight

III. a (wo)man without love

Quiet days had been rare for her and when she had woken up that morning and she'd felt light and the weather was warm she had grabbed her daughter and the car keys and driven off to a field of flowers.

James' memories of that day were as clear as the surface of the still lake they've swum in before the ripples of a rock thrown into the water disturbed it.

Her mother had died with a flower crown in her hair and her laughter still lingering in the air and James had learned that day that curses don't rest.

They loom under the surface, ready to emerge as soon as you turn your back.

So James never turned her back.

Her breath caught in her lungs when she tried to sit up, arms shaking under her weight as she managed to lift herself up enough to lean against the headboard.

One glance at her phone and she realised it was already after noon. She needed to eat...but the kitchen was so far away. And her fridge was depressingly empty.

Maybe she could order take out?

Oh. She'd have to feed Gus, too. And she thought she remembered having a frozen pizza in her fridge, too... So later when she'd have to get up to take care of Gus she could throw the pizza into the oven.

The ringing of her phone pulled her out of her pondering but when she looked down to check the caller ID James' stomach twisted horribly and all appetite was spoiled.

Liz.

She turned the screen away from herself, waiting until the ringing died and her phone vibrated once until the notification for the missed call popped up.

She felt a little bad for ignoring the blonde but she wasn't ready to talk to her on an empty stomach. She'd probably ask her if she'd be good to come in on Monday and James didn't want to think that far ahead yet. Not when her arms were burning from exhaustion after lifting herself up.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much else to do for James besides watching cat videos on youtube and scrolling through Twitter to catch up with the newest hot takes and scandals.

Apparently, Captain America was trending because paparazzi pictures of him holding a small dog were released and the internet was going wild because grandpa's holding animals? Adorable.

She scrolled past another meme of the old man when James' screen lit up with Liz's name and then started ringing again. One quick glance into the upper corner of the screen told her that she'd been passing a few hours while on Twitter.

And now that she was no longer distracted she noticed her stomach was starting to ache for hunger. She wondered if Gus' was, too. She'd really have to check on him after she got over herself and answered this call...

With a sigh James pressed the accept button, greeting Liz with a cheery voice.

The woman exclaimed upon hearing her voice, making James' attempt at not sounding absolutely worn through pale in comparison.

"Apologies for calling, Luv. I just wanted to check in if you'll make it on Monday," Liz half screamed into the microphone, the music that was playing in the background and the sounds of shouting and singing making her harder to understand regardless, "If you don't know yet, that's alright. Just promise me you'll give me a ring by tomorrow evening."