Conceal Don't Feel [Liara]

With a soft step Nathalia her way to her new, forever home. She wore a loose blank tank top with the word "Catch me." In italic cursive with a white dove attached to the me; flying away. Light blue skinny jeans and white Vans. Her hair down in loose brown curls she carried a small box in her hands and a larger floral fabric backpack over her shoulders. She sighed and walked to her destination. The world outside was dark and chilly, her arms covered in small ridges created by the cold. Stepping around the pool she kept her eyes forward with a blank stare ahead. She was thinking about Cole and her life...the car accident, how she had never been important to anyone in her mind. The zone out of reality caused her to stumble and trip over a breach chair on the deck of the pool and she tossed the box slightly as she was bent over the chair and pushed herself back up and looked up at the starry sky. That's what she did..look up to stop the tears from crashing to earth. They were forced to stay inside as gravity pulled them down Into her body instead of out. Looking ahead again Nathalia walked around the chair and picked up the fragile box and set it on the ground before sitting next to it. Opening it she examined the contents closely. A few pictures of she and Cole, the glass covering it shattered just as her heart had been. The silence in the area creating an even sadder atmosphere. One finger was traced along the cracks in the glass as a single tear dropped onto it; soaking into the cracks and creating a blotch on the Image. "No, no, no no no no." She whined and dug her finger nail into the crack of the glass and dug a piece out before knocking the rest out, cutting her hand a few times in the process though she didn't care. One thing was on her mind; fixing the image. The wet blotch on the image scattered some ink in crazy lines a bit but their faces remained. She took her shirt and tried to dab softly only to smear the ink a bit more. She bit her bottom lip. What a great way to start my first day here. she thought and sighed deeply.

"The weight of a simple human emotion weighs me down.."

Taking the image out of the frame and placing the frame down on the broken glass shards she looked numbly at the image; tearing sliding down her cheeks, to the corner of her mouth and down her chin before dripping onto her jeans. She rubbed her soft thumb over Cole's head before the tears stopped she could've kept crying but tears just wouldn't come out. The wind began picking up and whistled in Nathalia's ears as she slowly scooped up the glass and frame; setting it into the box and then the distorted image. She stood and wiped her eyes gently not to smear her waterproof makeup and picked the bag up and continued toward the door she wanted to enter. As she took the key out of her pocket and bent her knee and pressed it against the door and rested the box on her thigh as a makeshift table and attempted to open the door. Her hands shaking as she broke down again; trying so badly to get herself together so she'd didn't seem weak or vulnerable. But sometimes you just break down, you know? She dropped the key, of course. As she fumbled to reach it the box fell and she stopped crying and grabbed the key; putting it in and unlocking the door she grabbed the box and threw it inside; it opened and the contents spilled over the floor. She shut the door behind her after grabbing the key and took the image of Cole and her before cry shouting. "Why'd you have to leave me? You knew I wouldn't be able to handle you leaving but you left me anyways!" She fell back against the wall and slid down, her hands on the side of her eyes and gripping her hair  as she sobbed toward the floor. Blaming Cole for his death was stupid but right now Nathalia didn't know what else to do. "I never should've let you get so close to me. I never should've fallen in love..,it always ends in heartbreak. I can't take it one more time. I won't let anyone else in....I'm not strong enough." She whispered to herself and Cole; who she was unsure could hear her or not.

A few minutes passed as Nathalia stood; went to the bathroom of her new apartment and fixed her makeup. Taking her bag from her shoulders she placed it on the counter and got out the small bag with her makeup inside. She wasn't much of a makeup lover but she did it anyway...I mean..she didn't have to. It's like she was dressing to impress anybody-not anymore. After the makeup was reapplied the airman grabbed her wallet, phone and key before slipping them in her jeans pocket. She shut the lights off and moved about the dim lit room; the moon shining through the blinds slightly. She moved out the door and wiped her cheek before setting off to find some alcohol. Alcohol can fix a broken heart, right?

As a customary measure Liara had always taken to walking around the Airman grounds. She wanted to make sure the apartment was taking care of her people, while also making sure there was no graffiti or damage to the property itself. On this particular day, the sun was shining and the wind was a crisp small gust. It was the perfect day, at least in her mind. There were other seasons she liked as well, like autumn, when the leaves changed colors and covered the floor in a beautiful litter of natural colors. It was the perfect weather for watching movies, cuddled up on the couch and drinking hot cocoa. The only problem with her favorite season was she had nobody to cuddle with. Svet had disappeared from her life, sent away on a mission much higher than what Liara could control. She missed the old Major more than anyone, almost. Caleb had been gone for a long time now, but she never forgot him. As she wandered around the back side of the apartments, she heard a strange cry within the pool area. Walking slowly, she watched the interaction of the Airman she had recently accepted into her ranks and a box which seemed more than important to her. She stood back for a moment, allowing the girl to gather her things, and herself. But no matter how Nathalia tried, it seemed her life was falling apart. Being able to understand this kind of thing, Liara headed for her apartment door after her. When she made it to the young Airman's room, the door opened. Liara offered a warm smile to the female, hoping that would help slightly. "Hello Nathalia, I was just in the area and was wondering if you would like to share a bottle of wine and get to know one another better. It seems you could use a drink or two." She smiled gently, offering her hand in the direction to where she wanted to go. She would lead the girl to the office, grab her bottles and then make their way to wherever she wanted to go.

As she finally stopped crying and began collecting herself she turned the light off, looking down at her pockets; making sure everything was secure. As she heard a voice, a voice she'd recognize anywhere she looked up and almost ran into the General. With a small whine she turned away and wiped her cheeks and under her eyes, trying to get rid of anything that would hint toward the fact that she was just crying. As the airman looked back toward her General she listened closely and remained perfectly still and silent. "Hello General Liara.." She said as she looked into her eyes, Nathalia's eyes pleaded for relief from the pain she felt daily. Her smile and laugh told people entirely different stories. "I'd love to drink a bottle of wine with you..." Her voice trailed off as did her eyes, to behind Liara as she sighed and closed her eyes for a few seconds and looked back at Liara and smiled wide. "I could use a drink..or seven." She chuckled softly, she was so used to fake smiling and laughing she did it without even thinking. A second ago she was crying and now she's smiling as if the whole world had never hurt her and Cole had never died. Her eyes trailed to the Generals hand as she pointed and Nathalia nodded softly before taking a small step in the direction until she was right next to Liara. With a small sigh she smiled toward her and walked a few steps ahead and waited so Liara could lead the way. Nathalia needed to drink, relax, unwind and forget about Cole for a while. She came here to find relief from him and in a sense forget about him. Not think about him every second of every waking day and want to curl up and cry forever, to never see anyone and just be alone. She needed change and she had a feeling she'd find it here, or so she hoped. But she's off to a rough start...that's all.

"Well, with drinking habits like that, we may need more bottles," she laughed as she looked to Nathalia. As they walked inside, Liara led the way towards the bottles of wine. "I would suggest we go back to my place, but it's a far walk and with all these, we will definitely need a short trip." She grabbed a couple bottles, laying them in her arms and started walking out again. "We should go to your room, just in case any of the other airmen show up and want some wine. I've been addicted to wine for years now. Svet used to call me a wine-o." She gave a soft smile to the other as she thought of Svet and Caleb. The two of them had been so close to her, and she lost them both. She pushed the thoughts of them back and walked back to Nathalia's door. "Would you be able to get that for me, please?" She smiled brightly, holding the bottles tight to her body so they would not fall.