Once Xavier was inside, Persephone was left alone with Rose.  There was only silence.  She couldn't think of anything to say that might not be morbid or depressing.  What was the point?  That question plagued her every waking moment and her dreams.  She couldn't figure out how to live normally.  The scenes of her parents murder echoed in her mind twenty-four-seven. The shattering of glass, the screams and yells, the cold blade against her face... It was a repetitive memory, one she could not shake.  How Rose was able to didn't seem reasonable.  After being inducted into the psych ward and seeing its' terrors, Persephone had begged and pleaded for Xavier to rescue her form its' hellish depths.  He had, and here she was now: moving into a new town  Maybe it would be okay, but a voice inside her head doubted it and created a new layer of sorrow and fear.  She felt as if she were drowning and nobody could see, hear, or understand her.

Rose's voice managed to fill her hearing.  She turned her head to look, perhaps even a quarter of an inch.  "I think the truck with our furniture should be here soon. It'll be fun to decorate the house don't you think? We can make it really nice..." She paused, and Seph knew why: she didn't expect her to respond.  She didn't know what to say anyways.  "I know I want to decorate my room just the way it was at home."  Decorate her room the way it had been? Was she out of her mind?  Persephone didn't care how it was decorated or what it looked like, as long as it didn't resemble her old house!  That was maddening.  Persephone would not enter that room if it looked the same.  The thought caused her skin to crawl as if there were ants on them. She shuddered and remained silent, finding her responses were too bitter.  Despite it all, she envied Rose's optimism and faith.  Persephone wished she had that mindset, but it seemed impossible.

"It's safe." Xavier's unexpected emergence and voice startled her, causing her to jump almost off the porch. Heart hammering, she saw Xavier withhold a sigh. "I'm sorry, Seph." He rubbed her arm gently and escorted inside. He shut the door, since Rose had already entered. He smiled at her encouragingly and patted her shoulder, letting go. He turned to face the both of them, remaining in her field of vision so he wouldn't startle her again. She began to relax, telling herself to breathe deeply and slowly, that there was no danger. As if there was none... She felt as if they were being watched. [i]No, no, don't think that way[/i], she told herself and clenched her fists.

"Wow it's lovely!"Rosaline exclaimed, spinning around to look at everything. Persephone watched her and tried not to feel nauseous. The motion of Rose moving fast was causing her to be sick. She hadn't slept well that night or ate much, and the last thing she wanted was to watch Rose spin in circles. How come she felt so irritated? Seph tried to distance herself from her emotions. If Rose didn't stop soon -no, focus, she told herself and gritted her teeth.  "How cute is that wallpaper! It's so vintage. Xavier you nailed this!"

Persephone glanced around and smiled to herself. "It's really nice," she commented simply, speaking for the first time in what had to be four hours. Perhaps shorter - maybe longer. She had lost track of time.

Xavier smiled at them both, relieved to see Rose's reaction and hear Seph's voice.  "Thank you.  Want to go look around together, you two?" He asked as he began pulling the blinds shut on the windows.  Seph watched him and gently pulled him away.  He looked down at her, blinking.

"Let's focus on the house right now." She told him quietly, nodding.  "We can look around together.  What about you, Rose?" The more she spoke, the more Xavier seemed stunned.  It made her lips curl upwards into almost a smile. his negligence would bite him in the ass.  He might have saved her from the psych ward, but in the end, she would be the one to save herself.  Not him.  No matter how hard he tried, she couldn't fathom him being caring.  Forgiveness would be long hard road that she thought he best start running for now.