in this world it's hard to get it right.

Seconds after she said it, Fin shut her eyes and braced herself for what would come next, this was when the yelling began; when he would berate her for daring to ask him to stay when it was her who'd screamed at him to leave in the first place. Any moment the insults would come, each one more deserved than the next. And then it would be her turn to explain, to apologize, to plead with him not to go. She'd go instead, and then everyone could forget this whole thing and go on with their lives with one less disaster walking amongst them.

But, none of it came. Finley set her eyes upon Elwood as he spoke, not even raising his voice as he said some of the sweetest words she'd ever heard. He came towards her then and she felt her heart beating faster. Her tongue wove itself into even tighter knots in her mouth, so she too decided to take a couple of timid steps forward, taking the moment to pull some other buzz words from her overly crowded mind.

"I didn't mean any of it. I was such a complete idiot," she continued softly, "Can you ever forgive me?" she didn't dare now to take her eyes off of him. She felt almost as though she were just pushing her luck now by even asking it. The tears that had pooled just behind her eyes were there again at the forefront, but she held them back as determinedly as she could. As pathetic and vulnerable as she was, it still terrified her the idea of being in this state in front of him, even if it was the type of situation that required it.