Notes – Done for pw_contest, under the prompt "Pretend" and with a limit of 300 words or less. Set post-T&T and contains spoilers for that game.
Iris told herself that she deserved what she got.
Other people told her that the situation had been too harsh on her, that she'd been a tool in someone else's plans, but in Iris's mind if the law said she should be in prison then that's where she should be.
But that didn't stop her from yearning, though.
Her life had been a sheltered one, raised for the most part on the mountains with only sister Bikini to keep her company. She'd never known that she'd gone without. But now that she knew she couldn't stop herself from thinking about it.
Some days she'd sit in her cell and stare at the walls, pretending that they were not there. Instead she imagined that she was free to go wherever she liked – back to the mountains or anywhere else.
There to hold her hand would be that guy… The one who she'd deceived on her sister's demands, but couldn't help being attracted to. He didn't blame her for what had happened; even after all he had been through because of it.
Some nights, when the delusions got worse, she'd pretend that they were together, settling down, doing all those things that couples that Iris never had a chance to do then.
And would now never have a chance to do at all.
The nights would shift and her pretend-world would dissolve into a dream-world, the difference being hard to spot. Then in the morning she would have got through another day.
She told herself that this was her coping method - never stopping to realise that she'd actually forgotten how long she'd been there or how long she had left.
But still… maybe someone would visit her and pull her out of her fantasy.
She could always hope for that.