even if your heart would listen

[Geneva Stockholm]

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Geneva sighed, closing her eyes and accepting defeat - both of her best intentions and of Anu's logic. She felt Anu rest beside her and stretched her neck wearily, resting her own head on Anu's shoulder and closing her eyes. She felt the warmth of her shoulder beneath her chin and let the feeling enfold her. She had been so cold, from the inside out, since the attack. She had forgotten what it meant to breathe easy, to let something or someone hold her like an anchor to the earth. She had floated in her own sense of fear, drowned in her self-hatred and doubt for weeks. Anu's words no longer fell upon deaf ears. Geneva couldn't help but listen, didn't have the strength to reject the truth in her words. She knew that Anu would never lie to her. And although she had trouble believing in herself, she had no trouble believing in Anu. It came easily to her. She felt like a moon that had finally found its center of gravity orbiting around a planet. It felt like home again, a measure of comfort she hadn't imagined, hadn't believed she deserved. She coughed, clearing her scratchy throat before she spoke. "All the love in the world can't me or anyone else safe from what's out there in the world," she said, her tone thoughtful and only slightly bitter. She wished there was a way to make it true, though. She wished that love was enough, and that love didn't hurt the way it did. The way it hurt them both, cutting them deep into the core. She wished she had the words, the answers, but she didn't.

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