05-01-2020, 07:36 PM
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— usually, upon losing their innocence, people claimed to have lost a piece of themselves with it. they were broken down and left feeling misshapen and horribly out of place due to their pain and suffering. jerome had been raised so sheltered all his life that, as the only place he knew burned to the ground, he couldn’t tell whether his life came to an end or finally started to begin. what an odd feeling, to feel terrified, to lose everything you once knew, and feel so frighteningly liberated all at once. he should’ve fallen apart at the sight- and perhaps for a while, he did. yet it felt like he had nothing to truly lose. he didn’t know his parents enough to feel such overwhelming grief, but merely emptiness. hopelessness when he realized he was now in a world that showed no mercy for the sheltered.
when he met eben, it felt like he truly found himself. without eben, he simply wouldn’t have been able to live. unaware of the world he was currently in, unable to take care of himself… eben’s kindness allowed him to grow. he found himself through eben’s companionship-- which only made it more difficult when eben could so viciously hurt him with his words. there was something sad in finding yourself through the same person that could just as easily knock you down. still, jerome didn’t have it in himself to break apart such a relationship. eben was all he knew. his first friend, his dear friend. he adored the man and all the good times they had together; the good times seemed to effortlessly mask the bad. but jerome was tired. the young man had such a talent for internalizing the saddest thoughts within himself. he didn’t know whether it was dangerous or merely a healthy way to cope. yet it left his mind and heart exhausted, drained from the desperate need to cope with losing parts of himself that he didn’t even think were his.
in this moment, he felt so alive.
”no- i like it. it sounds like your mom was a wise lady.” she smiled, and it was contagious. huffing a short breath, j lowered his gaze towards the edge of the pond in quiet contemplation. even with the small line he recited, it only dawned on him how little he truly knew his own mother. they were the only people in his life, and yet there was very little evidence to show for it. they were strangers in his own life. so little he knew. his parents were distant, mindful to put a small barrier between themselves and their son. jerome never did think much of it. seeing other family units, he figured that was simply what parents did. the distance between jamie and brock seemed to prove it wasn’t uncommon at the very least. though sometimes he would witness other families with bonds without borders. did his own parents ever hold him the way this woman held grace so lovingly in her arms? he didn’t know, but he could only hope so. he stayed quiet on the subject, instead looking at her with a grateful smile for her kind words.
elinor rose. such a beautiful name. “it’s nice to meet you, ellie. grace.” she didn’t even realize the impact she had on this dark day. his mood felt instantly brightened, able to run away from his troubling thoughts with ease.
he couldn’t help but break out into a grin as he gently shook the child’s hand, huffing a short breath of amazement. “she’s beautiful,” he complimented, gaze lingering on grace for only a moment longer. “is she your daughter? how old is she?” he could have easily voiced his awe over the little girl, how her hands were so tiny and her eyes were big with curiosity and wonder. he sobered as he pocketed his hands, the smallest hint of a smile on his features. jerome didn’t have it in him to openly admit his lack of knowledge surrounding adolescence; he was certain that it was fairly evident by then. the man seemed like an open book more often than not, eyes expressive and easily giving away his emotions (most times). he slowly looked back towards ellie, his gaze lingering as she focused on the kid.
his lips twitched at the sight of her. she was beautiful without even trying, and in the most subtle of ways. the gentleness of her laughter and the warmth in her kind smile… she radiated a sort of happiness, enlightening even the darkest of places in jerome’s heart with her smile. to think moments before meeting her, he was down on his luck, feeling close to tears. then she came at such a perfect time, it couldn’t feel like mere coincidence. he felt indescribably lucky to have met her when he did. being around her left him in such a haze; it felt easy to forget that he had been upset in the first place. it wasn’t love at first sight - jerome was painfully careful and rarely used such a term - but it was… something at first sight. eyes grew slightly more somber, ever-present smile growing softer. he was going to hate watching her go.
“my brother, over there-” he looked towards the group. “his partner is silas’ brother, so we’ve come to visit him.” silas overton. he knew very little about the man. from long-time members of the group striking up conversation with him at the bar, j had learned he was quite the character before the trailer park burned down. his interactions with him were fairly minimal, practically nonexistent. he didn’t know much about the man, hadn’t been there long enough to know if ellie and her friends had been made aware of the man’s state-- so he simply hummed in acknowledgement and offered what he could. “he lives over on sweetwater farm. it’s a beautiful place.”
eyes followed the pair’s gaze towards the horses, grace’s wide-eyed wonder making him huff a few notes of laughter. “she really is curious, isn’t she?” he noted with amusement, eyes wandering back towards the horses. “well. sweetwater farm has all sorts of livestock,” he supplied, gesturing in the general direction of the farmland. “i think she’d love all the animals they have there.” jerome, to be frank, rarely frequented the pastures where the livestock were kept. unused to animal care - and getting his hands dirty to do so - he often helped the group in other ways. he wasn’t the most helpful man around, but he tried where he could. perhaps that was why he didn’t take the perfect opportunity to offer to show her around all the livestock. instead, nodded to himself before offering, “you should stop by and see them before you leave.”
sometimes he truly disliked how truly useless he could be.
though useless as he was in certain aspects, he could make up for it in other ways. shifting his weight onto one leg, he tapped his foot shortly before asking, “are you staying for long? we could find you somewhere to stay for the night.” perhaps it was in his own desperation to hold onto this light for as long as he could that he made the offer, or the apparent exhaustion that showed in her gentle features. he just didn’t want to let her go.
— usually, upon losing their innocence, people claimed to have lost a piece of themselves with it. they were broken down and left feeling misshapen and horribly out of place due to their pain and suffering. jerome had been raised so sheltered all his life that, as the only place he knew burned to the ground, he couldn’t tell whether his life came to an end or finally started to begin. what an odd feeling, to feel terrified, to lose everything you once knew, and feel so frighteningly liberated all at once. he should’ve fallen apart at the sight- and perhaps for a while, he did. yet it felt like he had nothing to truly lose. he didn’t know his parents enough to feel such overwhelming grief, but merely emptiness. hopelessness when he realized he was now in a world that showed no mercy for the sheltered.
when he met eben, it felt like he truly found himself. without eben, he simply wouldn’t have been able to live. unaware of the world he was currently in, unable to take care of himself… eben’s kindness allowed him to grow. he found himself through eben’s companionship-- which only made it more difficult when eben could so viciously hurt him with his words. there was something sad in finding yourself through the same person that could just as easily knock you down. still, jerome didn’t have it in himself to break apart such a relationship. eben was all he knew. his first friend, his dear friend. he adored the man and all the good times they had together; the good times seemed to effortlessly mask the bad. but jerome was tired. the young man had such a talent for internalizing the saddest thoughts within himself. he didn’t know whether it was dangerous or merely a healthy way to cope. yet it left his mind and heart exhausted, drained from the desperate need to cope with losing parts of himself that he didn’t even think were his.
in this moment, he felt so alive.
”no- i like it. it sounds like your mom was a wise lady.” she smiled, and it was contagious. huffing a short breath, j lowered his gaze towards the edge of the pond in quiet contemplation. even with the small line he recited, it only dawned on him how little he truly knew his own mother. they were the only people in his life, and yet there was very little evidence to show for it. they were strangers in his own life. so little he knew. his parents were distant, mindful to put a small barrier between themselves and their son. jerome never did think much of it. seeing other family units, he figured that was simply what parents did. the distance between jamie and brock seemed to prove it wasn’t uncommon at the very least. though sometimes he would witness other families with bonds without borders. did his own parents ever hold him the way this woman held grace so lovingly in her arms? he didn’t know, but he could only hope so. he stayed quiet on the subject, instead looking at her with a grateful smile for her kind words.
elinor rose. such a beautiful name. “it’s nice to meet you, ellie. grace.” she didn’t even realize the impact she had on this dark day. his mood felt instantly brightened, able to run away from his troubling thoughts with ease.
he couldn’t help but break out into a grin as he gently shook the child’s hand, huffing a short breath of amazement. “she’s beautiful,” he complimented, gaze lingering on grace for only a moment longer. “is she your daughter? how old is she?” he could have easily voiced his awe over the little girl, how her hands were so tiny and her eyes were big with curiosity and wonder. he sobered as he pocketed his hands, the smallest hint of a smile on his features. jerome didn’t have it in him to openly admit his lack of knowledge surrounding adolescence; he was certain that it was fairly evident by then. the man seemed like an open book more often than not, eyes expressive and easily giving away his emotions (most times). he slowly looked back towards ellie, his gaze lingering as she focused on the kid.
his lips twitched at the sight of her. she was beautiful without even trying, and in the most subtle of ways. the gentleness of her laughter and the warmth in her kind smile… she radiated a sort of happiness, enlightening even the darkest of places in jerome’s heart with her smile. to think moments before meeting her, he was down on his luck, feeling close to tears. then she came at such a perfect time, it couldn’t feel like mere coincidence. he felt indescribably lucky to have met her when he did. being around her left him in such a haze; it felt easy to forget that he had been upset in the first place. it wasn’t love at first sight - jerome was painfully careful and rarely used such a term - but it was… something at first sight. eyes grew slightly more somber, ever-present smile growing softer. he was going to hate watching her go.
“my brother, over there-” he looked towards the group. “his partner is silas’ brother, so we’ve come to visit him.” silas overton. he knew very little about the man. from long-time members of the group striking up conversation with him at the bar, j had learned he was quite the character before the trailer park burned down. his interactions with him were fairly minimal, practically nonexistent. he didn’t know much about the man, hadn’t been there long enough to know if ellie and her friends had been made aware of the man’s state-- so he simply hummed in acknowledgement and offered what he could. “he lives over on sweetwater farm. it’s a beautiful place.”
eyes followed the pair’s gaze towards the horses, grace’s wide-eyed wonder making him huff a few notes of laughter. “she really is curious, isn’t she?” he noted with amusement, eyes wandering back towards the horses. “well. sweetwater farm has all sorts of livestock,” he supplied, gesturing in the general direction of the farmland. “i think she’d love all the animals they have there.” jerome, to be frank, rarely frequented the pastures where the livestock were kept. unused to animal care - and getting his hands dirty to do so - he often helped the group in other ways. he wasn’t the most helpful man around, but he tried where he could. perhaps that was why he didn’t take the perfect opportunity to offer to show her around all the livestock. instead, nodded to himself before offering, “you should stop by and see them before you leave.”
sometimes he truly disliked how truly useless he could be.
though useless as he was in certain aspects, he could make up for it in other ways. shifting his weight onto one leg, he tapped his foot shortly before asking, “are you staying for long? we could find you somewhere to stay for the night.” perhaps it was in his own desperation to hold onto this light for as long as he could that he made the offer, or the apparent exhaustion that showed in her gentle features. he just didn’t want to let her go.
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HOW COULD I KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T SHOW?
[abbr=31 years old, male, bluestem prairie]—[/abbr] surely you've had enough of always thinking you're right. . .
[abbr=31 years old, male, bluestem prairie]—[/abbr] surely you've had enough of always thinking you're right. . .