Waving to Gage and Sapphire, he says his farewells. "Catch you two later at work. Been fun."
Watching the couple walk away, Gage turns back to Sapphire and nods. "Yeah... yeah, I still want to come."
He heads for her car and waits for it to be unlocked before getting in. Though so often quiet, the ride to TJY seemed even more quiet than normal. Gage seemed lost in his own world again.
Arriving to the Elite headquarters, Gage hesitates before getting out of the car with Sapphire. There were a lot of reasons he didn't like this place. He'd been cooped up for so long. Whether he knew these were good people or not, it hadn't been the most pleasant experience being here.
He finally does follow Sapphire though, his walk one of defeat. Entering the building and making it down to the main floor, he looks across the cubicles. A few people had left early. But most everyone was still working for the afternoon. He sees Jason wandering back down the hall, Susanne on her way to make copies, and Reese disappearing into his office at the far end. Nothing much had changed.
Looking to Sapphire, Gage gives a little nod. "I'll let you know when I'm leaving. Thanks for the lift."
Once separated, he just stands for the longest time, his mind working through the purpose for which he was here. Eventually he steps forward, feeling like his feet were lead weights. But he knew where he needed to go. After Jamie's talk and after witnessing her friendship with Carson.. something told him this was right. And he wanted to do what was right.
Arriving to the little cubicle, he stands in the doorway for several moments, hearing the keys on the keyboard clicking in rhythm with the typing. Finding the nerve to knock on the wall, he does, waiting to be seen. "Katie?"
Getting her attention, he stares her in the eye, his own expression hard to read. "I didn't want to bother you," he mentions quietly. "I just... I came with Sapphire and..." His eyes roam her face. He sees the marks that would always be a reminder of what had happened. Was this what Carson felt? Or did it ever go away? He swallows hard, his mouth having gone dry.
"...I... I just wanted to...um... say I'm... I'm sorry." He looks at her lamely, really not knowing what else to say. "For... for hurting you." He knew that he hadn't been the one to actually do most of the damage, but his participation was bad enough. His eyes drop to the floor, half expecting Katie to turn him away. He didn't deserve forgiveness.
"Whoa, sorry." Jim's eyes widen slightly as he startles Annie. "I didn't mean to sneak."
Glancing over to see Sparky and Faith laughing at another table, he looks back to Annie, his voice still quiet. "Riding double with his arms around her? Do guests normally kiss us when they get off the horse?"
His eyebrow quirks, showing that he was positive now from watching the two's behavior that there was more there than just casual friendship. "I'm not saying anything's wrong," he emphasizes. "It's..."
Letting his sentence trail off, he eases down into a chair next to his sister. "I don't know. Something just feels off. Like I don't know... you know Faith a whole lot better than anybody else and I try not to judge people before I know them but... I don't know... is she... looking for someone to take care of her? Or... help out after her surgery or something? I just..."
He really didn't want it to sound like he thought Faith had bad intentions. He didn't believe she was that kind of person - he was just trying to figure out motives here. "...I don't want anybody to get hurt. Sparky's been down lately and I would hate to see him jump in the wrong direction. I mean... I know age doesn't always matter but..."
He sighs, trying to sum up what he really meant. "I'm just concerned. I want to make sure that there's some wisdom here and not just a whim or some tactic we don't know about." He searches Annie's face. "Am I wrong to be concerned?"
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