Blacktail Deer Plateau I want reasons to stay

The closer Raleska got to Rosalyn, the more she realized it was disingenuous and an insult to their relationship for her to fake it. Rosalyn's warm demeanor was met with a softening of Raleska's hardened mien; she tried to smile, but the emotion was but a feeble wisp on her face, no more tangible than smoke torn by the wind.

She sighed, and heavily at that. There was no use dogging the bullet. No use pretending things were okay. Rosalyn had a right to know -- she ought to know -- for her life had collided with Caiaphas years before Raleska had ever even been born.

And she had been hard to find. And she hadn't been okay. And that was on her, not Rosalyn. She sucked in another breath, preparing for the inevitable. "She's dead." She blurted. It came out rough and shaky and quick, with none of the composure she had imagined in her head. "My mom, I mean." Her gaze trailed the ground as tears welled in her eyes, for she could not bear to look at Rosalyn in this moment.