'anything you say [Rio]

[Leah Wright]

Leah lay, stomach down on her bed, frowning over her English homework. There was a reason that she was a musician and not a writer. Mainly that she couldn't write. If the teacher had asked her to compose a tune, that would have been fine, but writing a short story, related to 'Loss'? She'd already started and discarded three beginnings, two of which she'd ripped out of her notebook after the first paragraph. The other had lasted an amazing two paragraphs, until she'd re-read it and decided that she didn't want a failing grade. Tapping her pen against the lined paper, she sung along quietly to her iPod. It wasn't her usual type of song; a bit fast and bouncy, but she was trying to broaden her music horizons. She'd (sorta) liked Amy Lee's voice when she'd sung with Maddy, so she'd tried some Evanescence. Some was a bit too rock-y for her, but she liked a few slower songs.

' I'll believe all your lies
Just pretend you love me
Make believe, close your eyes
I'll be anything for you '

She wrote a few words, before ripping that page out - she was really wasting paper today - and crumpling it up, dropping it on her dresser. Pushing her notebook to one side, she rested her head on her arms, continuing to sing softly. It struck her how depressing the song was - it sounded like it was about a stalker or something - and her finger hovered over the 'Next' button for a second. Deciding that it didn't matter, she dropped the music player and closed her eyes, trying to convince herself that singing was the best way to get inspiration for a short story about loss. Well, this song was depressing. Leah decided that she could use it as muse. Which meant that she could continue singing. That sounded better than homework to her.

' Nothing left to make me feel anymore
There's only you, and every day I need more
If you want me, come and find me
I'll do anything you say, just tell me '

Although her music was blaring loudly, she became aware of another presence in the room and flipped over, hoping it was one of her roommates. If it was one, preferably it would be Tylar, purely because she couldn't hear and it was embarrassing to be caught singing into her arms. Leah blushed when she saw Rio, pulling the headphones out of her ears and smiling at him. " Oh! Sorry... I couldn't hear you. " She sat up, leaning against the bedpost and trying to work out what he wanted. Or maybe he'd just come to talk to her... She hoped that was the case, secretly. He was so nice, and it would be cool if he had come to see her. Although, if he did, that might mean that he wanted to be in a relationship with her, which wouldn't be good. As nice as it would be to date him, people being in a relationship would mean that they'd have to do...stuff. Which she didn't want.

[Riordan Shonski]

Rio knocked on the door quietly, but there was no answer. Someone was in there, he could hear the voice singing softly, but apparently they hadn't heard him. He wondered if it was Leah or Layla, Leah's new-ish roommate. Hopefully, it was Leah. Rio didn't know much about Layla, except that she was a good musician and apparently quite scary. Rio knocked on the door again, slightly louder this time, wondering how the person inside react if he just walked in. Leah wouldn't mind, he was fairly sure, and if it was Layla, well, that wouldn't cause him any problems.

Pushing open the door, he glanced around the room, smiling when he saw Leah lying on the bed, singing into her arms, surrounded by crumpled pieces of paper. He stood there for a moment, allowing the door to swing shut quietly behind him, listening to her. She really was a good singer, he thought, and although he hadn't heard her play piano, he was willing to bet she'd be good at that as well. He leaned against the wall by the door, watching her with a faint smile on his face, waiting for her to notice his presence.

After a few seconds, she did, jumping up and tearing her headphones out, blushing slightly. How cute. His smile widened, and he seating himself gracefully on the bed opposite, leaning back on his hands and watching her thoughtfully. "Don't worry, I was enjoying listening to you. You're a really good singer," he told her, sincerity dripping from his voice as he spoke. And it was true. He settled himself back on the bed, and drawled, "I just came here to see you. You're not in the middle of something, are you?" He indicated the papers with a lazy flick of his hands, knowing she'd deny it. Knowing she'd want to keep him here.

[Leah Wright]

Leah blushed, turning her iPod off so she had an excuse to look away. He thought she was a good singer... After a few seconds she looked up, smiling slightly. " Thanks. " He was sweet. She still wished that he could have heard her sing properly (rather than mumbling into her arms) so he'd have a real reason to say she was good. Still, it was really nice of him. What was such a nice kid dong in a place like this? She reminded herself that people considered her to be nice, and her friends back home were probably still wondering why she'd been sent to some psychiatric hospital. What had he said when she'd asked him in a note? PTSD. Well, she could identify with that. It wasn't noticeable on him though, like it was for her - she'd freak out at shouting people, or loud noises. People cracking their knuckles made her want to faint; the sound was scarily similar to ribs breaking.

" No, not doing anything... I mean, I was trying to do homework, but... " Leah rolled her eyes, trying her best to seem cool. Inside, she was singing and dancing and altogether acting like the lead in a Broadway show. He'd just come by to see her! Did that mean he liked her? And what did it mean if he did? She needed more experience with stuff like this. No, experience was bad. Experience meant heartbreak. She adjusted her long-sleeved top, pulling the bottom down so it was covering her stomach, and the sleeves down so they were covering her wrists, and scars. Rio didn't know about them yet, and she wasn't about to casually drop "So, I've tried to kill myself before, cool huh?" into the conversation.

She watched Rio, casually sitting on the bed that had been newly occupied by a...insane girl. Should she warn him? Tylar seemed...special. If she came back to find a strange boy on her bed, she'd probably try and murder him or something. " Um... I wouldn't sit there... My roommate, Tylar -" which was a really weird name " - is, um, pretty weird about stuff like that. " Leah bit her lip. Well, that left him the choice of sitting on Layla's bed (which would probably be okay, she seemed cool enough), sitting on the bed in the opposite corner, or just standing up. Or sitting next to her, of course. " I mean, you can sit there, but...you might get attacked by a paranoid drummer. " She smiled slightly, hoping he wouldn't think that she was joking. It was a serious matter, paranoid, hearing-impaired drummers. They were lethal.

It took her a minute to get up the courage to ask what she'd been wanting to ask for a while. " So, how come you got sent here? You seem pretty normal to me. " Hopefully, he wouldn't take that the wrong way and burst into tears or anything. She paused for a second, before adding to her question: " You aren't sadistic, are you? " She'd already asked that, but she wanted to confirm. Sadistic people were bad, bad news.

[Riordan Shonski]

He smiled and shrugged at her thanks. It was nothing, it's all true, I honestly think that... and he wasn't lying to her. About her singing, anyway. About pretty much everything else, yes. But not her singing. That, at least, he could honestly say he agreed with. Not that it mattered much, or balanced it out... it was just nice, occasionally, having one less lie to keep track of. He pulled a sympathetic face when she mentioned homework. "That sucks. You want me to give you a hand with it? 'Cause, you know.. I did all the classes last year, and I don't mind. Really," he said to her, genuine sincerity plastered all over his face.

When she spoke again, he glanced around. "Tylar? I think I've met her... she didn't like me much." Understatement of the century. Picking himself up, he walked across the room and sat down next to Leah instead, close enough to touch her, but not so close that they actually touched. Casually close. "It must suck, sharing a room with someone like that. She came at me with a bit of glass. She hasn't attacked you, has she?" he asked her as though the thought had only just occurred, looking worried. She spoke again, and he relaxed slightly, laughing. "No, Leah, I'm not sadistic. Tell you the truth, people like that... well, they terrify me. It guess it's because it was a sadist who..." he averted his face, biting on his lip, then looked back at her and attempted a smile. "Nevermind. You don't want to know." Hopefully, it wasn't overkill, but he doubted it. Girls fell for that line, always. All the time. He kept his weak smile for a few seconds, then let it fade, still gazing at her, head on one side.

[Leah Wright]

So he was a year older than her... Sixteen. Would he not like her because she was only fifteen? Sometimes boys were weird about stuff like that. But guys had to be older than her. It was just...right. She considered his offer; it would mean spending time together - which was good - but she'd have to be embarrassed by her writing skills, which were nil. "Maybe, if that's okay... Thanks." He was nice. Leah didn't think she'd met a genuinely nice guy for ages. They were quite a rare breed... Unfortunately. Well, Maddox - Maddy - was nice; and a great singer. She had the feeling that he was not entirely...interested in girls. Just something to do with his skinny jeans.

Why didn't Tylar like Rio? Didn't she understand how lovely he was? She frowned, concerned. She'd attacked him? With a piece of glass? The two were sitting close together; not so close they were touching, but close enough to make her breath come a little faster. "She hasn't done anything to me - aside from glare a bit - but are you okay? What did she do to you?" It was silly that they had to room with people that shared their 'talents'; after all, it didn't mean they were automatically going to be best friends. "She's, um, quite...paranoid." Understatement. The worry that Riordan had shown for her made her smile slightly, looking down at her lap and fiddling with her nails. That meant he cared about her, surely. Which was good...

As Rio laughed, Leah blushed, hoping he wasn't laughing at her. No; more at her question. Leah's eyes grew wide and she watched him anxiously. Sadists terrified him? It was a sadist who what? "Me too...but what happened? Are you okay?" She realized that she'd asked him if he was okay twice - a question that she generally...well, there was badness involved with that question. Mainly due to her being all obsessive about asking it. No, she used to be obsessive over it. She'd stopped all that silliness... Rio was still looking at her and she kept her head down, playing with a strand of her long hair. What had a sadist done to him? He'd said PTSD, like she had. Maybe the same thing had happened? While the thought of having someone to identify with made her heart leap, the thought of Rio having been raped - and attacked - made her feel sick. It was just cruel...he couldn't suffer like that. He was too nice.

[Riordan Shonski]

He shifted slightly, pushing himself further back onto the bed (slightly closer to Leah) and leaned forwards, propping his elbows on his knees and resting his chin on his fist, gazing casually around the room. Paranoid, really? Tylar? No. He smiled at the thought. Turned out, she was a masochist, which was good. A person couldn't be all flawed, could they? Well, that was then, this was now. Leah was practically falling in his lap, he could tell; the little sideways glances, the blush, the way she was fiddling with her hair. A shame she was so shy, but he could handle that. She'd get over it soon enough.

But still, it would be nice if they could move things a little bit faster. He edged closer to her, their arms brushing, and turned his head to look at her, smiling slightly. "Trust me," he murmured. "It's not nice. But I guess... I'm fine. No need to worry about me, really." She looked embarrassed, and also slightly hopefully. What would she do if he kissed her? Almost certainly not complain, he decided, and slipped an arm around her shoulders. She wasn't as skinny as Jess, the last person he'd kissed. That was nice; she had a proper figure, something Rio had often thought Jess had probably once had. Leaning forwards, he brushed his lips gently across Leah's, not wanting to rush her. She was so nervous, he wouldn't have been surprised if she fainted, or ran away... but at least he'd know he'd had an effect.

He pulled back from the kiss and gazed at her, looking for a positive reaction. One hand gently stroked her shoulder, brushing the strands of silky hair that rested there, while his eyes searched her face, waiting for her reaction.

[Leah Wright]

Leah's heart beat faster, her mouth drying up as she felt Rio come slightly closer. She swallowed several times, shifting on her bed to sit cross-legged, a shy glance up at Rio as she moved. He was so cute, a cute boy, just sitting on her bed casually... Was he as nervous as she was? She half-hoped so; it would be reassuring to know that she wasn't the only one. When their arms touched, she jumped, pulling away automatically. "Sorry," she whispered, moving her arm back to touch his. Any sudden, unexpected physical contact always made her jump; that needed to be sorted out, or she'd be crap in a relationship.

That made her start thinking about Rio - did he want to date her? He was being awfully...intimate, not that she minded. That could just be his way, though; he might just like touching people... His words made her heart go out to him, feeling awful for the boy. "If...if you want to, um, talk about it... I don't mind, honestly..." It was hard to get the words out; she was scared that he'd laugh at her offer to listening. Why would I tell you anything, anyway? Stupid little whore... Mark's voice came rushing into her mind as Rio put his arm around her, making her panic for a brief second. She pushed her shoulders and spine back, away from the boy, cursing herself as soon as she'd moved. Awkwardly, Leah moved closer towards him, whispering another apology as his face moved closer to hers.

There was a brief second where her heart was beating so hard she was slightly concerned that she was about to have a stroke (did that come from your heart going too quickly? No, it was something to do with blood clots) before Rio kissed her. It was slow; somehow calming her even as her pulse went off the charts. The kiss didn't last long, and Leah could only just resist the urge to lean closer, to share another kiss. The only thing stopping her was the horrible thought that he might think she was a slut; not something she wanted. She was hyperaware of his hand, moving gently on the shoulder, making it hard to focus her mind on anything aside from his hands. He was looking at her, and she tried to think of something to say; after a second she looked down at her lap, acutely aware she was blushing. Leah couldn't think of what to say. 'Wow' didn't really seem appropriate.

[Riordan Shonski]

She blushed and looked away, and he smiled at her. She was cute, he had to admit. Pretty. But not all that smart, and apparently extremely shy. He raised his other hand, cupped her cheek and gently pulled her face back to his, leaning in for another kiss, now certain she wouldn't object. She wasn't a bad kisser, either, although a little hesitant. His other hand stroked the back of her head, gently smoothing down the hair as he kissed her, their lips staying together for longer this time. His little finger was at the top of her neck, and he could feel her pulse beating wildly as he kissed her. Was he really that good?

Obsessive love, he reminded himself. She was attaching herself to him, meaning that even the slightest touch probably had her excited. And him kissing her? Well, she might have a heart attack if he kept it up. He broke the kiss, still stroking her hair gently, and smiled at her, their faces still close. "I'd rather not. I don't want to upset you," he replied to her finally. "Besides, I kind of... forget about it when I'm with you, and I'd like to keep it that way." He shifted back slightly, not wanting to crowd her. He didn't want to come on too strong and scare her off, after all.

Letting his hand drop from her cheek back onto his lap, he tilted his head slightly, smiling at her. "You don't mind, do you? I mean, the kissing... 'cause if you want me to stop, I will," he told her softly, still looking deep into her eyes. He knew the answer already; she wouldn't want him to. But it was always received well, when he seemed to actually care what she wanted.

[Leah Wright]

Leah stayed completely still, just the sensation of Rio touching her face enough to make her slightly faint. Her eyes drifted closed, her body tingling. It would be nice, she thought, if they could do this for a very, very long time. Soon enough, Layla or Tylar would be back, and she'd have to say goodbye to Rio, but until then... Her hand tentatively rested on the small of his back, not wanting to scare him. He had PTSD, like her, and he might get scared... Well, he seemed to be okay with it, and she grew bolder, moving her other hand to rest it on his leg.

Or was that too bold? What if he thought she was a slut or something? The angle he was sitting at meant her hand was resting at the top of his thigh, making her feel like she was...suggesting something, which she wouldn't do. Leah kept her arm still, not wanting to move it, which might be more suggestive. Rio ended the kiss, but kept a hand stroking her hair gently. Just his touch made her stomach flip, her cheeks still slightly pink. It was hard to think of something to say, and she bit her lip, keeping her eyes down. "I...um, okay. If you want to...don't want to." Her mind began to conjure up all the possibilities; he'd been abused? No, he couldn't have been. He was just too nice...she couldn't stand the thought of that happening to him.

Did she mind kissing Rio? With a slight giggle, she looked up, meeting his eyes briefly before looking back down. "No. I mean...it's nice." She hadn't kissed anyone for a long time; maybe two months, since Louise. Leah realized that in her life, she'd kissed only two people, properly. Well, three now. It really only counted as two; the first was a terrifying, violent sadist. He didn't count. Chewing her lip, she moved her hands back to her lap, entwining her fingers. She wanted to tell Rio about Mark, but he might think that she was a freak... "I sorta, um, got..." Leah couldn't bring herself to say raped. She hadn't told anyone about that, not even Louise... "Attacked. By my old boyfriend. So, I sometimes...don't like being touched. But, I mean, I'm okay. Now. With this." She kept her head down, hair swinging in front of her face. What if he decided to go and find someone that didn't have flashbacks to getting raped every time someone bumped into her in the hall?

[Riordan Shonski]

He felt her hand on her thigh, which slightly surprised him. He had expected her to sit still until it was over, but apparently she wasn't as shy as she first seemed. Once it was there, though, it froze, so maybe he was right. He smiled at her, pleased. "Good. I mean, it's good you don't mind..." his smile faded as she spoke again. "Attacked? Oh, god, that must be..." he let his voice trail off, looking at her with concerned eyes. "You're safe now, though. Nothing's going to happen to you here, don't worry." he smiled at her, and brushed his lips lightly against hers again. "I'll look after you."

Overkill. Inwardly, he winced, fairly sure she'd laugh at him for that. It sounded like a line from a bad Hollywood movie, but hopefully she'd be too wrapped up in... well, him to notice just how awful it sounded. He shifted closer again, wrapping his arm around her slightly more. "If you ever want me to stop touching you, just let me know, 'kay? I won't mind," he told her, smiling into her eyes and wondering whether it would be too much if he kissed her again. He pressed his lips against her forehead and murmured, "I can't imagine why anyone would want to hurt you, Leah. He must've been a real sicko," and nothing on me, he added silently, still hugging her gently.

If she freaked out on him now, he'd a) be very surprised, and b) have wasted a lot of time. She seemed completely infatuated with him now, but it wasn't clever to make snap judgments. You could never quite tell, but he was fairly sure he had her now. Everything was working out fine.

[Leah Wright]

Leah relaxed, Rio's words making her feel safer. She knew he was wrong -if she told about the rape, Mark would get her. Even if she was safe at St. Dympha's, she wasn't staying there forever, was she?- but it was nice of him anyway. She kept her face close to his, her eyes half-closed as he kissed her again, more lightly this time. There was the distinct feeling that their make-out session was coming to a close, which was slightly disappointing. Relieving at the same time -it was fairly stressful, her imminent heart attack- but it had been enjoyable. Of course, they always had another day...lots of them, seeing as they were locked up for years yet. "Thank you. I...thanks."

She felt Rio hold her slightly tighter, and her muscles relaxed; she hadn't noticed they were tense before. It was just so nice to be held... "I...um, I don't think I'll want that. I mean..." She looked down, blushing, wishing she'd thought before she'd spoken, so she could have stopped herself. He might laugh at her for sounding so stupid... His kiss on her forehead convinced her that she was going to die of a heart-attack if he kept this...being amazing-ness up. It was just like something from a cheesy film; but nicer in real life. In films, it was just embarrassing to watch. Well, Rio was an actor. This could be a love scene he'd got from some play... She smiled, moving her head down so it was resting against his chest, just below his collarbone.

Strangely, she did feel safe, cuddled up to Rio. Not completely, but a lot better than she usually did. "He wasn't that bad," automatically defending him. She paused. "Well...he was sadistic. And...that's why I don't like sadists." Her voice shook slightly, as it always did when talking about him. "You don't, um...think I'm weird, do you? I don't...want to be." If he thought she was weird... He'd probably lie about it, if he did. Not many people would say yeah, I think you're a total freak. Mark would have... But not Rio. He was too nice.

[Riordan Shonski]

She cuddled up close to him, burying her head in his chest, and he smiled at her, resting his cheek on the top of her head, holding her to him. It was all very romantic. Rio smiled into space, hugging Leah gently as she snuggled into him. "Good," he purred, "Because I don't want that either," he smiled, allowing contentment to creep into his voice as he held her. Romantic scenes like this were... rare, for him. People these days were all about sex, and it had been a while since a girl had been happy to simply sit and hold onto him. It was calming, soothing. His usual habits could be... stressful, the pressure on him to act right making him tense. But situations like this were easier to handle; a few soft words, an arm around her, and all went fine.

Her ex was sadistic? Interesting. Rio wondered what he was like. He sounded... well, he sounded like most of the sadists out there, really. No class, no style. But then again, he had done more or less what Rio planned to do, so maybe he was misjudging this guy. He continued stroking her hair, the gesture becoming almost unconscious now, as he stared into space, wondering about the future. How long would this last? He knew the answer to that: as long as he wanted it to. As long as it entertained him. Less time, if he couldn't get her into bed, that was for damn sure. But it was never quite certain, and he found himself wondering about what would happen after. Would she continue stalking him, or would she simply stay away from him? He'd noticed that she spent a lot of time with the gay boy, the bipolar. They were an unlikely pair of friends, he thought to himself. The boy was callous, often loud, very rude and not too smart, but he seemed fairly kind. Leah was quiet, shy, and polite. But if that was who she was friends with, he had no business making judgments. It was her he was interested in, not Maddox, after all.

[Leah Wright]

Leah brought her arm up, resting it on Rio's tentatively. He wouldn't think she was a slut, if she just did that? Probably not. Anyway, if he did think she was, it would be more related to the kissing him and everything than just touching his arm. It was so nice, just being so close to him... She was still cross-legged and her legs were begining to ache, so she moved, extending her legs along the bed and twisting her torso to keep her position leaning again Rio. It was slightly uncomfortable... Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she tugged him towards her gently, lying on the bed. He lay next to her, their faces close together again.

Without meaning to, she lent forward and kissed him again; harder and more intense than any of their previous kisses. Her worries about being a slut (mostly) disappeared as she wrapped her arms around his waist, her legs gently touching his. Her pulse, which had calmed down somewhat, increased and she had a sudden thought, hoping he couldn't hear her heart beating. That would be...the most embarrassing thing ever, probably. Smiling slightly at the thought, she resisted the urge to wrap her legs around his. She just wanted...more of him. To be closer to him; wrapped around him. He might think she was a whore if she did that, though... Leah couldn't resist, moving her leg around his. Almost every part of her body was touching his, making her tingle all over. The kiss didn't end for another few seconds, and she stared at him for a second, her mind not working properly for a short while.

When she has (mostly) gained control of her gross motor functions, she looked down, keeping her face close to his. Her thoughts were running through various...scenarios, ones that she wouldn't tell her mother about. It would be so nice if... No. Because that would involve having sex with him, otherwise it'd be pretty pointless. She closed her eyes briefly, trying to stop the smutty thoughts, and was disappointed when they didn't vanish. She pushed herself closer to Rio, her breathing coming slightly faster than usual. God, she was a whore.

[Riordan Shonski]

She shifted, and he moved his head, looking down at her as she moved. She tugged him down onto the bed, surprising him, but he went with it, lying next to her and kissing her back. Interesting. She appeared to be after sex, something he wouldn't have expected of her. Not at all. He kissed her back passionately, shifting so he was slightly above her. There, that was better. Brushing hair out of her face, he tilted his head, kissing her more deeply now, leaning forwards, one hand resting on her waist, the other supporting his torso. She wrapped her leg around him, and he moved his hips slightly, getting closer to her. Their chests were touching, and he could feel her heartbeat through their clothes, thudding away wildly.

The kiss ended, and he smiled at her as she looked down, puzzled when nothing else happened. She'd been angling for sex, almost definitely, but now... she was simply cuddling up to him, burying her head in his chest. Weird. He debated trying to continue it, and decided against the idea. For one thing, she might freak out if he was wrong, and for another, he'd let her set the pace if he was right. Put her at her ease. Burying his face in her hair, he pressed his lips against the top of her head again, lying himself down and wrapping his arm around her, pulling her slightly closer to him. Her heart was still beating madly, and he could feel and hear her breath, coming faster than usual against his chest. He smiled. It was nice to know he was having an effect, even if he wasn't going to get any sex out of it, and it appeared that way, despite her actions of only a few moments ago.

[Leah Wright]

Leah closed her eyes against Rio's chest, breathing in and out slowly, her concerns about a heart attack having not faded. Her breathing was under control after a minute or so, and the two lay in silence, still entwined. His arm began to feel tight around her shoulders, her chest just a little too close to his... Her breathing, which she had just managed to slow, sped up again, a slight adrenaline rush making her muscles tense up. She tried reminding herself that it was just Rio, that he had just promised not to hurt her, but couldn't help her reaction as he kissed the top of her head.

Pushing herself away violently, she kicked her legs out, trying to untangle them from his clumsily. Leah knew that he'd let go, he'd promised he would if she asked, but she couldn't find the words and couldn't trust that he'd know she was scared. With both her hands, she yanked his arm away, it moving easily as he pulled it back towards him. The instant she was free, she lept off the bed, almost falling due to her shaking legs, and stood staring at Rio for a second. He moved and she span around, running for the door and grabbing the handle, but not turning it. It gave her some stability, somewhere to focus her energy, and she slowly turned around, flattening her back against the door. If someone entered the room now, she'd scream...

Leah used every method she'd ever been taught to stop herself descending into a panic attack, counting backwards from ten, slowing her breathing and picturing flowers changing color in her mind all at once. Thankfully, Rio didn't speak; the noise would have set her off more...

It had been nearly ten minutes before she unprised her hands from the doorhandle, the aching in her joints letting her know how tightly she'd been holding onto it. Feeling sick, she lent against the door, closing her eyes for a second before wrenching them open instantly; she wasn't ready to be that vulnerable, not yet. "Um... I'm sorry... I just..." Her face flamed with embarrassment; he'd probably thought she was normal until she'd gone and done that. With one hand, she wiped at her eyes, the other fiddling with the hem of her shirt. Stepping out of the way of the door, she nodded at it with her head. "You can, um, go. If you want. I don't mind." This never happened in Hollywood films, she mused. The love scenes never ended with the heroine having a PTSD flashback and crying, having hit the hero... God, had she really hit him?