TW:: Mentions of coughing up bl00d/*heavy* implication (Also just a general CW </3) --- Character: Steph Where: Her office, bathroom When: Unspecified, recent --- Another nightmare. How many nights had it been since she had a good dream? The eyes that were on the walls in her sleep didn’t seem to disappear in her waking either– but she didn’t stress herself about it. She knew they weren’t real. The same few nightmares had been looping for the past few days, and in every single one, she lost someone. But she could never see their face. She sat up, the room felt as though it spun around when she did. Her head felt empty and hollow, like if she stood, her knees would buckle instantly, but she knew she had to get up. She had work to get done, she couldn’t just lay in bed all day no matter how she was feeling. As she swung her legs over the side of the bed, and brought herself to her feet, the ground felt like it was mid-way to giving out, causing her to stagger towards the desk and balance herself against it. She stayed there for a moment, squeezing her eyes shut as the room seemed to swirl. When it stopped, she pushed herself off the desk, standing straight and leaving her office– going towards the bathroom. Upon entering the bathroom, she moved towards the sink, staring at her reflection. She studied her own eyes for a moment, gritting her teeth, before suddenly choking. B100d splattered into the sink as she coughed, and she leaned against the end of the sink for support. She stared at the splatter, cursing under her breath, “Again…” She brushed her hand through her hair, looking back up at her reflection of the red that dripped from her lips, “You disgust me… what are you even doing… weak little…” She mumbled to herself, “You can barely handle getting up… how pathetic is that…” She chuckled faintly, but her smile faded quickly. “Stupid… get it together, Steph. You’re… supposed to be the… strong one.” She lightly hit the top of her head with her wrist, scolding herself, though it only caused her to cough again, harsher this time. “Mm– ugh…” She grumbled, rubbing her mouth clean and turning on the sink to wash the b100d away. “You’re strong… you’re happy… you can handle this…” She mumbled to herself, breath hoarse. She stood straight, shoving her fingers against the edges of her mouth, forcing up a smile. Her pupils widened, and she took her hands away, still smiling, “You’re fine just… get through the day. Don’t let anyone…” She paused, hesitating before shaking her head, “Just don’t let them see. Got it?”
'You never did get much better, did you?' 'Why won't you just give yourself a break?' "Every single f[BARK][BARK]g morning now..." "It only gets worse from here.. doesn't it. I should've just given up a long time ago,"
