Ever since earlier that day, Aqua has been trying to avoid attention. Cotton could see her being to open her mouth to say something. Even hours later, the filly did not do much. It was obvious that the filly was stopping herself from playing with anything, especially not something that could make a loud sound.
As the pegasus carried Aqua through hallways to her room, she thought back to earlier. She's obviously miserable. At least we can talk in a moment.
Cotton opened Aqua's door and closed it behind her.
Apparently, Aqua winced as she took notice. "Uh. Why did you close the door? I've been able to get up myself for nearly a month now."
Waiting till after she laid Aqua on the bed, Cotton responded. "Aqua, I want to ask about what you said earlier today."
The filly, already not looking at Cotton, faced her forehooves. "Y-yeah?"
Cotton sighed. "How do you know what a hookup is?"
"I uh... I used to watch people a lot. When watching, y-you also tend to hear a lot..." She responded quickly.
Cotton leaned in. "Are you sure?"
Aqua was fiddling her hooves together. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" The next part, mumbled, "What happened to letting them come to you?"
Cotton sighed even deeper. Might as well peel off the bandage. "Aqua, do you know of the term abuse?"
Aqua scrunched her nose. "I- uh. Yeah... What does that have to do with anything..?"
"Aqua, were you abused?"
The filly shook her head quickly. "No! No... I'm fine. Well, not truly fine, given everything, but you get my point..."
Cotton heard sniffling coming from the filly. Just as she had done earlier, she laid a wing over Aqua's withers.
"I- I don't want to make it about me. You shouldn't worry... I-... Nevermind."
Cotton leaned in as she hugged Aqua tighter. "Is it was happened to you?"
The filly curled tighter. "Well, yes, but... no."
"Your eyes?"
The filly jerked. "It isn't related to my past," Aqua said loudly. "I just..." She groaned audibly. "Why is it so hard?"
Cotton took a second to respond, "I don't know, but I'll be there with you."
The filly quietly responded, "Thanks, Cotton." The two of them leaned into each other for a few as Aqua's sniffling came and went a few times. After a while, she slowly spoke up again, "I'm kinda tired. Can I go to sleep?"
Cotton nodded slowly. "Okay... Goodnight, Aqua. I hope you feel better." The pegasus squeezed the filly once more before getting up off the bed. Once she reached the door, she heard a quiet voice speak up behind her.
"Cotton?"
Looking back, the filly was facing her with sad, sparkling eyes, face stained purple. "Yeah?"
"I-... I just woke up with my eyes gone..."
"I-..." What do I say to that? Cotton stood there, frozen. After a few seconds, the filly began to curl into a ball, hugging her tail close. Cotton decided not to use her words, and instead headed back to the bed. Climbing atop, she pulled her close, both wings surrounding the filly.
The filly mumbled into Cotton's chest, "... the same day I woke up here..."
Once more, Cotton hugged the filly closer.
The filly cried as she mumbled into Cotton's fur for a few minutes, though she could not parse anything other than the phrase, "I miss them."
Eventually, she became quiet. Cotton could hear and feel the filly's now-quiet breathing slow down.
Cotton looked up, through the window, spotting the moon, hidden behind a few white clouds. The face upon the surface peeked over the cover.
A thought came to mind about the filly as she looked up, Same as the other night...