This isn't because of you..
People around her overworking themselves wasn't anything new to Roselyn, but this time it was more personal than she thought it would be
Author's Notes
Time-line wise, this is connected to "A rescuer's injury" and "Atonement" (a fic that Jadyn/cleansinghearts wrote) but it takes place after both fics.
Also Jadyn may or may not end up being ooc since im so bad at personality writing. If they are, my bad /srs
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize what was up, and it definitely didn’t take much from an injured rescuer to realize what was going on either. Although Roselyn still couldn’t participate in matches due to fear of worsening her injury, watching the match replays were enough.
Watching another match replay of Jadyn’s with Joseph, she casually leaned back against the couch. Normally, she’d be more willing to listen to her brother gush about Jadyn and their rescues, but not this time. This time, she was more focused on how exhausted the runner had seemed. Being exhausted from rescues was something the still-injured survivor knew all too well but even for her standards, she was still concerned.
Making a note to talk to Jadyn the next chance she got, that next chance came sooner than Roselyn thought when she heard the sound of survivors celebrating. Getting up and waving goodbye to Joseph, she carefully walked over towards the sound and smiled.
Seeing the other survivors celebrate after a win was something that always made her happy and this time was no exception. Scanning the room, Roselyn sighed in relief, noticing Jadyn walk in, clearly exhausted but with no obvious injuries. It didn’t take long for her to notice the others had left, just leaving the two survivors in the room.
“You got a bit?” Not expecting anyone else to be there, Jadyn jumped for a brief moment before relaxing when they noticed Roselyn. Despite being super exhausted and ready for a nap, they tried to send a cheerful smile her way but one look from Roselyn told them she wasn’t falling for it.
“What’s going on? Is there another match I gotta do? Does someone need a rescuer-” Crossing her arms and leaning against the wall, Roselyn sighed. To everyone else, except those the runner was close with, they may not have noticed Jadyn trying to overwork themselves to rescue but she did. Especially when she’s been rescuing for so long.
“The only thing you need right now is a break. You’re exhausted, that much is obvious. And besides, there’s one thing I gotta know…” Taking a breath, Roselyn paused, adjusting slightly when she felt a pain in her back. Even when she was younger, confrontation wasn’t something she was good at but this time it mattered.
“Why are you overworking yourself so much?” At her question, Roselyn could’ve sworn she saw Jadyn flinch but she kept quiet. After all, this was already being sprung out of nowhere, the last thing Roselyn wanted was for the other survivor to feel pressured to answer.
“...I have to.” Jadyn’s answer was quiet but Roselyn still heard it clearly. Noticing it was once again silent, the latter took the chance to wrack her brain to think of why Jadyn felt like they had to overwork. As hard as she tried though, nothing came to mind.
“Jadyn.. You don’t have to overwork. If anyone said anything to you, Joseph and I can-”
“No one said anything..” Jadyn normally wasn’t one to interrupt but as Roselyn noticed tears in the former’s eyes, she chose to forget she was even interrupted. As much as she didn’t want to pry, she needed to. The former wasn’t about to let someone she cared about overwork themselves so much.
“If no one said anything then, what is it? Look, I won’t tell anyone if you tell me.”
“I… I should’ve been there..” At that response, Roselyn’s eyes widened as the dots quickly connected themselves. As she started to realize the timing of her injury and Jadyn overworking themselves wasn’t a coincidence, she cursed herself for not noticing.
“Jadyn, you being there wouldn’t have changed anything-”
“You’d be okay if I had been there!” At Jadyn’s outburst, she flinched only slightly. Following their outburst, the room had been silent as Jadyn tried to calm their breathing and Roselyn was just frozen in shock. She had heard that the runner didn’t take the news of her injuries well, and she knew of the runner’s self-sacrificial nature, but she didn’t realize how bad it was until that moment.
“Me getting injured is not your fault. If you’re gonna blame anyone then blame me. I was the one who ran into the pallet without paying attention.” Roselyn’s words seemed to fall on deaf ears as the room was silent before Jadyn clung onto the other survivor, letting their tears soak the latter’s shirt.
Making sure to hide the pain in her ribs from the runner suddenly attaching themselves to her, Roselyn reached up to rub Jadyn’s back. Outside of Jadyn’s sobbing and them repeatedly muttering apologies, the room was silent. During those moments, Roselyn swore to find the survivor who injured her and make them pay, not for her injuries but for upsetting someone dear to her.