Ignasia's eyes opened wide as she looked to the side, slowly. Her eyes locked with the man in front of her, one she knew very well.
Gregory.
"Gregory?" Ignasia didn't know what to say. She was upset, she really was. It was time for her to leave, Ignasia thought, and that she should have the right to leave if she felt she had to.
But Gregory wasn't going to let that happen anytime soon. "Ignasia, don't do this." His words were simple to understand, his voice even. But his eyes were the ones that were pleading. Gregory's eyes were swimming pools of worries. He didn't let any other part show he was afraid for Ignasia.
"Gregory . . ." Ignasia looked down, turning away from him. She could feel Gregory's eyes on her, so she whipped around suddenly and said, "Suicide is a private matter! Could you please close the door?"
There was no door. Gregory wanted to laugh. He really did. He knew that there was still hope the Ignasia he knew was still in there. The Ignasia who made jokes at the worst times. The Ignasia that laughed whenever he tripped. The Ignasia he loved.
But he knew she'd need to be reckoned with. Ignasia had her heart set on leaving, dying.
Gregory gave her a small smile. "Always joking at the wrong times." Gregory shook his head and stroked Ignasia's soft black hair. She turned away, suddenly shy.
"Ignasia, please don't do this," Gregory whispered. His voice was pleading, too. He tried to look at Ignasia, see through her, read her eyes.
"I have to, Gregory."
"No, you don't."
"She's gone."
"I know she is. And I'm sorry."
Ignasia's dark brown eyes suddenly became daggers piercing through Gregory when she turned to face him. "There's no point anymore. My mother's dead. My father is who knows where. And Leela! Where is she? My best friend is missing! Gregory, there is no point!"
Ignasia could hear her voice cracking, feel her eyes growing wet, her body shake. Ignasia collapsed into Gregory's arms and sobbed. She let it all loose. Ignasia grabbed Gregory's cloak, tightened her grip, and kept crying. She didn't know how to stop the tears from coming.
Gregory rubbed Ignasia's back. "It will be okay, dear," he whispered. He'd never thought of what it would be like to lose her, but now he was afraid of the possibility.
Ignasia pulled away and wiped her tears away. Her eyes were sad when she looked at Gregory. "Gregory . . ." Ignasia shook her head and took shelter in Gregory's arms again. She wished she could hide from the world forever in his arms.
"Ignasia, there's so much more to life than you think. I know it's hard," he whispered, "but things will work out." He gave her a smile.
"The sun will come out. It always comes out after the storm." Gregory looked at Ignasia and kissed her head. Ignasia looked at Gregory with her sad eyes, but it felt like the world was opening up for her. "Ignasia," Gregory started.
"Hm?" she said.
"You can't give up now. Think about it. Your friends, your sisters . . . Me." Gregory looked at Ignasia with so much worry, and Ignasia realized she couldn't leave Gregory. She remembered watching him walk through the school with his hood draped over his head, his eyes trained on the ground, his quiet stride. But that had changed.
And she realized he changed because of her.
Ignasia sighed and hugged him again. Gregory kept at it, trying to convince her to stay alive.
"Look, Iggie. You don't deserve any of the things you went through. I wish I had the power to do more for you than just speak to you. But I need you to understand that there's more to life. There's some good in life, things that make living worthwhile. And if you end it . . . then you'll miss out. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem."
"And," Violet continued, "everyone will wonder 'why?' Leela, Gamora, Angelica, Herman, Lawrence, Edgar. Me. We'll all ask ourselves why, what we could've done." Gregory looked Ignasia right in her eyes.
"So what's it going to be?"
Ignasia sighed. She didn't know what to say. All she knew was that she had a lot more thinking to do.