Moving on

Hearing his sister finally pick up the phone, Scott now really doesn't know what to say. He tries to stay as composed as he can in his state, taking a deep, shaky breath. "Yeah, I'm... I.... I'm okay... I think... I mean... I don't know."

A tear escapes to roll off the side of his face onto his pillow. "It's always so real," he whispers. "It's like I'm there again and... and I can't wake up and... and it just happens all... all over again."

He sniffs and swipes at his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm sorry... for calling you so late. I just, um..." He clears his throat, trying so hard to not fall to pieces. "Just wanted to make sure it was... um... that it was just a... a dream."


Eli shakes his head. "Naw, I think he'll be okay." He smirks a little. "He threw up enough on the way home I don't think he'll have much left."

Sighing, he leans back, trying to figure it all out as well. "Yeah... I thought he was stronger than this too. Figured he'd gotten mad enough to keep his head up, not take a nosedive."

Still thinking, he recalls some of the things Leo had said. "He mentioned you, then some other new friend or something. A woman. Said she wanted to be his girlfriend or something but when I pursued it, he laughed at me and said she'd just get stolen from him anyway."

Eli shrugs lamely. "Sounds to me like he's just having a hard time moving on at all, or trusting someone else again."