It was so familiar as he held her, as if no time had passed between them. He stroked her arm gently with a thumb. "I'm not here, I'm not... anywhere, I was just..." he trailed off. When she bit her lip, his resolve fell apart. He leaned in, inches from her face, watching her mouth as she spoke. He could almost believe it was just a game, just a flirtation, nothing else. Nothing bad had happened. No one had died. He could almost believe it was just the two of them. When she pulled away, the spell was lifted. The two of them didn't exist. He made sure of that.
When she told him that she was alone, his heart dropped in his chest. What the hell was he doing? She was in mourning and he was smiling like an idiot. Her father would kill him if he knew. Oscar ran his fingers through his hair, looking at his feet. It wasn't right. None of this was right. He could fix any problem in the world but this one. She asked for the bottle with a hiccup and he pulled himself out of his thoughts.
"That bottle's down your throat by the looks of it," he said, slipping behind her to catch her if she fell. He placed his hands around her waist to steady her. "Look, you've had enough. Let me take you inside and we'll get you to bed," He leaned close to her cheek and whispered softly in her ear, "And you're not alone... The people here love you,"