Lianna's face is hard to read. She looks a little sad, but she almost always looks a little sad, so maybe that doesn't mean anything?
"And then a movie," you continue, pushing ahead with your plan. "If my phone has enough battery to make it. So, uh, maybe we could watch a short? Like one of those shorts that come before Pixar and Disney movies. You remember those, right?"
Lianna flinches a little at that and looks away. "A date," she repeats. "Dinner and a movie. You know, I…didn't really have this in high school." Lianna's voice is very quiet, and she's still gazing off into the distance. "I was so screwed up that…that wasn't really my life."
Oh no. You wanted to give her something that she missed, and you ended up just reminding her of everything she didn't have in her former life, and everything that she left behind.
"We don't have to do it!" you say quickly. "We can just talk!" You put your arms around her, trying to soothe away the sadness that has settled over her.
"It's okay," Lianna says, holding you close. "I like cake. And…thank you for trying. I know you wanted to make me happy."
But you didn't.
So much for a classic date. But she remembers some of the happy times, too. "My cousin Maggie—"
"Your cousin?" you ask gently. It's the first time Lianna has volunteered any information about her family.
Lianna's' eyes widen with some of the same surprise as yours, even though she's the one who said it. "Yeah," she continues, a little slower. "We were real close. Like siblings."
"Do you want to talk more about her?"
Lianna has to think about that for a few seconds more before she realizes, "Yeah. Yeah, I do. I miss her a lot." She lets her eyes slip closed, half in sorrow and half in relief. It hurts to think about the people she misses, but she can talk about her family: you're safe to talk to, and with you, she can dig into those places in her mind she kept hidden before, even from herself.
So you hear all about Lianna's cousin: the games they made up when they were kids, the way they protected each other from bullies, the note Lianna left for her before running away.
And by the end of it, Lianna is smiling again, lost in some of the few happy memories from her past.
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