Shared worry

After making some breakfast, you sit down, reading the letter once again. You fight off the urge to panic. As you’re sitting, distracted, Emi emerges from the bedroom. Adorably, she’s wearing one of your t-shirts, big enough to cover her, but only just. You catch a glimpse of her blue panties as she stretches, obviously putting on a bit of a show for you. She walks over, draping herself against your back and resting her chin on your shoulder.

“What’s that?”

You sigh. “Bad news. Here.”

You hand her the letter, and she slides into a chair beside you as she reads. You can see the worry in her mismatched eyes as she looks at you.

“This is…bad. What do we do? I can’t go back! Don’t let them take me, Andy!”

Hearing the rising note of panic in her voice, you take her hands, feeling them tremble. You hold her gaze with your own, seeing the look of fear that you haven’t seen from her since that very first night. You squeeze her hands, speaking calmly.

“You’re going to be okay, Emi. No one is taking you. Everything is going to be okay, I promise.”

Emi takes a few deep breaths, before nodding. “You’re right. But what do we do?”

You look down at the letter. “I think we have two options. One, we go, and hear what he has to say. It’s obvious that we can’t hide from him. Two, we run. We go to Harold, we ask him to protect us. But that’s essentially abandoning everything. And it puts others at risk, like Sam.”

Emi shakes her head. “That’s a last resort. I guess there’s really only one choice.”

You nod. “That’s what I thought. It doesn’t sound hostile, at least. And it’s a public place. That’ll make things safer.”

Emi sighs. “I suppose. I still don’t like it, but we don’t really have a choice.”

You shake your head. “Not really. We’ll hear him out, and go from there.”

You both lapse into silence. You serve up a bit of breakfast for Emi, though she doesn’t end up eating much. After a while, though, Lili comes bouncing out of the bedroom. Despite the mood, neither you nor Emi can avoid smiling at the bouncy, naked harpy, as she hums tunelessly and joins you at the table.

“Good morning-morning! I’m hungry, yes-yes!”

You chuckle and serve her up. Lili claps excitedly, seemingly oblivious to the down mood of you and Emi. You don’t feel like changing that, as making Lili sad or worried feels like kicking a puppy. A glance at Emi shows that she clearly feels the same, a smile on her scarred face. You keep your worries buried for now. No need to discuss it further.