florenceandmachines:

“You won’t come back?”
“Never,” said Rachelle. “I will die first. I promise.”
“Good.” Her mother opened her mouth, then shut it, and turned to stride away.
Rachelle’s chest hurt. She took a step after her.
“Mother,” she called out.
Her mother stopped. Without looking back, she said, “Yes?”
Rachelle didn’t know what she was going to say until the words formed in her mouth. “Thank you. For asking me to help.”
“I knew you lived,” her mother said after a moment. “Any daughter of mine would be ruthless enough.”