Elaine was looking out the window as the sun was beginning to set, holding a warm cup of tea. She was watching and waiting for the others to wake up as she had woken up early. She was shaking after the night terror she had. It was quite scary and she sat down by the couch, looking out the window.
Footsteps came down the stairs and it was Josie, a backpack on her shoulders. "Hey," she said as she went to hug Elaine. Elaine hugged her back, then set her drink down. "You okay?" Josie asked.
"Yeah, I've just been having night terrors again. I'd rather not talk about it." Elaine was pretty closed off when it came to her trauma. She didn't say much about it. It set off bad memories just thinking about it, shuddering from the feeling.
"Okay, If you say so." Josie said. "I love the sunrise too." She said with a bright smile on her face. She glanced at Elaine and wrapped her arms around her for a tight hug.
Josie noticed something in the distance, but ignored it. She went upstairs to her room and laid in bed, closing her eyes as she tried to sleep. She took a three-hour-long nap. She was exhausted.
Elaine got the wood for the fireplace and turned it on, closing the small doors. She sat down on the couch and closed her eyes, falling asleep as well. It was seven a.m. and she wasn't even comfortable on the couch but she was exhausted. Mizuki was asleep in the bedroom, nice and cozy.
At around two in the morning, knocking was heard. Elaine sleepily woke up to open the door. "hello?" she said.
"Hi... I'm your daughter." the girl said. She was drunk and crying then, she noticed and went to high the girl. It was late at night rand Elaine had no reason not to let her in. She didn't know if the girl was homeless or not. All she knew was that she was her daughter. She knew it, remembering the night she set her for adoption. Her name was Veronica.
"V-Veronica?"
"I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable, but I didn't know where else to go. I've been, I had to take a bus to get to Chicago..." Her words slurred heavily and Elaine watched the girl closely.
"So you're.. pregnant, homeless, and a... recovering alcoholic... correct?" Elaine stated.
The girl nodded. "I found your information through the agency." She said. She was struggling obviously.
Elaine still was shocked. "how did you know where to find me?" She asked, remembering the day she put her for adoption. She noticed how ill she looked. She was so skinny. "Have you been eating?" She asked.
The girl shook her head. "The little bit of money I get pays for my phone and some food. Usually only snacks from the gas station."
Elaine sighed. "I'm so sorry I never contacted you. I was so young when I had you that I couldn't keep you. But I'm so glad you're back." Elaine hugged her daughter and then looked into her eyes, realizing that it was truly her. She couldn't believe that her daughter was back; she never thought it was possible. She took a deep breath and held onto her.
Josie walked downstairs because she woke up from all the commotion. "Who's that?" She asked as she stood behind the couch.
"Oh... this is, my daughter..." she stated quietly.
Josie was confused, noticing the girl was pregnant. "What's your name?" She asked quietly.
"Veronica." She said as she sat up on the couch. She was struggling to stay sitting up as she was exhausted.
Elaine patted her shoulder. "Let's get you to the guest room. I should have some clothes that'll fit." She said as she helped the girl up and into the guest room. "You'll be okay."
Veronica sighed and got up on the bed. "I'm sorry about everything. I didn't know if you'd take me or not but I'm grateful to have some warmth from this house." She said as she got comfortable and laid down, being five months pregnant.
She was still pretty buzzed, her tears stained face made her face puffy and irritated. She tried to relax as she waited for Elaine to bring her some clothes.
When Elaine got into the room, V took the clothes as Elaine led her to the bathroom. "There's towels are in the cabinet and soap, shampoo, and conditioner are in the shower." Elaine said.
Veronica smiled. "Thank you... Elaine." She wasn't sure if she could call her mom yet so she didn't say anything and closed the bathroom door as Elaine left. She stood there for a moment before getting undressed and stepping into the shower.
She stared at the walls of the shower and sat on the floor of the tub, closing her eyes as she held her knees and just cried quietly. She had found her birth mother and it scares her deeply if Elaine were to hate her and kick her out. She knew she was probably being an anxious mess. Maybe if she just breathed and relaxed, she would be fine. So eventually she calmed down and washed up, massaging her hair with conditioner.
She stood there out of the shower, staring at herself as she teared up, shocked that she had found her mother. Veronica had been attacked while living with her "boyfriend," his friends and him attacked her. She'd gone as far as she could from them. For the past seven months she had been working odd jobs, sleeping in her car at night, trying to save up money as she moved from city to city.
She cried hard as she began to get dressed. A knock at the door was heard. "Yes?" she sniffled.
"Are you okay, V?" Elaine asked, knocking on the door.
Veronica sighed. "Yes, I'm okay. Just a little bit upset is all." She said honestly. She was exhausted and really wanted to sleep everywhere. She wanted to sleep for a long time.
Elaine wasn't ready to share the news with Josie yet as she was asleep right now, but she had to tell her eventually about what happened. She sighed and rubbed her head.
"Can I come in Veronica," she asked.
The girl finished getting dressed and opened the door, wiping her eyes from the tears. "I'll be fine. It's just trauma..." she said as she looked at her. She began brushing her hair when Elaine hugged her.
"I'm so so sorry I gave you up, but I was sixteen when I had you and I couldn't take care of myself and you... I tried my best, I kept you until you were three. But I was... the person who hurt me came for me again. It wasn't safe to keep you, and I had to move away. I had to give you up, Veronica. I wouldn't have done that if my mom hadn't made me do it." She said as she tried to encourage her daughter that she didn't mean to.
Veronica took a deep breath and got up on the bed. "I believe you. I really... I really do. I need to sleep though." She said as she was exhausted.
Elaine nodded. "Of course, yeah. Get some rest." She said as she patted her head and smiled, leaving the room. As she walked to her room, she checked on Jaimie who was asleep on the couch. She gently picked her up from the couch and carried her to her bedroom, setting her down in bed. She sighed as she left the room. She went back to the living room and looked at Mizuki.
"I didn't know you had a daughter..." she said.
Elaine gulped. "It was when I was sexually assaulted at sixteen."
Mizuki got up and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's waist. "It's okay, we don't have to talk about it. Let's just relax on the couch and watch crime shows like you love." She said and kissed her lips gently, wiping Elaine's tears from her cheeks. "Hey, it's okay." She said softly.
Elaine sighed, "It's just really hard to talk about, even though it was over 20 years ago. It happened when my parents weren't around. They didn't know it happened until I told my mom I was pregnant. She asked how and I told her I was assaulted." She said as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
Mizuki held her and gently picked her up and took her up to their room and relaxed in bed. "We'll be okay. I've got you and nothing bad will happen to us. We can't be torn apart. It's too simple for us to be apart. I love you for you. I don't care what others say." She kissed her forehead and tried to comfort her the best she could.
Mizuki turned the television on and tried to find a crime show to watch. They really enjoyed watching crime shows together. It was their favorite. Mizuki continued to comfort her girlfriend the best she could, running a hand through her hair. Soon enough, Elaine was fast asleep.
— — —
Josie woke up around two in the morning with thoughts running through her head. One of her alters wouldn't shut up. She groaned and closed her eyes. She glanced at her feeding tube feeds and the bag that they were in. It was only half empty. She decided to disconnect early and went to the bathroom to shower.
When Mizuki heard the shower running, she carefully got out of bed and knocked on Josie's door. "Hey, you okay? It's a bit early to be awake."
Josie went to the door and opened it. "Yeah, I just woke up is all. I figured since I haven't showered in a few days, I should shower."
Mizuki nodded. "Just checking. I wasn't sure why you're awake. Elaine just fell asleep. I think she's having a hard time with it all. It's hard finding out you have a daughter you tried to hard to forget about."
Josie nodded. "My alters are driving me nuts. Carter is being an asshole." Oh shut the hell up, Josie. You're being a bitch.
Josie growled slightly. "Yeah, Carter is still being an asshole." She said as she rubbed her head.
"Well I hope he realizes that you're in control." Mizuki said. "But I don't know much about it so I figured you have it under control." She said to her.
Josie nodded. "I'm going to go ahead and shower then." She said to Mizuki.
Mizuki nodded and headed back to the bedroom to check on Elaine and then went to the kitchen to make some coffee, yawning and stretching.
She pulled out the grounds of coffee and poured some in the coffee machine, starting to brew the coffee. She pulled out a mug and set it beside the coffee machine.
She leaned against the counter and beginning to drink the black coffee. She preferred it black since it was stronger and better than with sugar and creamer. She doesn't like it with creamer unless it was something else. She didn't mind it, but she usually goes out and gets iced coffee which tastes better actually.
She slowly sat down on the couch, wrapping up with a blanket, closing her eyes for a minute before drinking more of the coffee. Mizuki closed her eyes as she laid down and tried to take a nap. "I can't do this." She mumbled, noticing Elaine was awake and crying.
"What's wrong? What happened? I'm worried." Her partner said.
"I just had another nightmare. Of my.... abuser." She mumbled as she went and sat next to Mizuki, shaking and shivering, feeling gross as she could feel his body on her. She groaned as she held her stomach, feeling sick from the trauma emerging in her mind. She doubled over as she ran to the toilet to vomit.
Mizuki looked at her and followed her to the bathroom. "Are you okay?" She asked her.
"I guess... it's hard to be okay when I'm remembering him. I think he's in jail..." she said quietly as she flushed the toilet. "I'll be fine." She was cut off.
Mizuki hugged her tightly, hoping it would help her feel better. She was nervous and hoping everything would be okay. "I'm here. You're safe." She told her as she held her. She knew this was a vulnerable time for her so she did her best to keep her comfortable.