Nightmare

Though Hunter grinned at Katie, he wasn't laughing as much as she. He wasn't quite sure if she was covering up the pain or if it was the alcohol loosening her up. Either way, her words of sinking herself didn't set with him too well. Not that he'd overreact, but it wasn't easy seeing her like this. 

"Don't sink yourself." He shakes his head and winks at her. "I'd miss you."

He picks up his empty beer bottle. "As far as another one goes... I got a few drops left." He clinks it against Katie's bottle. "To freedom. And friendship." 

Watching her carefully, he cocks his head, noting that she was just about done with her second beer. At the speed she was drinking, he feared it wouldn't take much longer for her to slide right off the stool onto the floor. She was still speaking clearly though... but even so, he finds himself continuing to watch her. Why he was so concerned, he wasn't really sure. He didn't usually care about what people did in bars, let alone feel responsible. But Katie was different. And it's just the way it was. 

Tipping back his head, he coaxes the last remaining drops of beer from his bottle. "Well..." He resumes the conversation in the hopes that Katie would talk out whatever she needed to. "Whether you feel like it or not, you're not broken. Things will look better tomorrow, and you might even find out you don't need that rock to stand on anymore." 

It was late. The grounds were already dark, and crickets made the only quiet sounds. But Garret was far from sleep. Walking almost silently across the veranda and through the garden, his pace is slow and wandering. If anybody asked, he'd just tell them he was battling insomnia. The truth though, was that he was battling his conscience. 

Eventually he finds himself slipping towards the secret hiding place. For such a small location, it had much drawing power that he was rarely able to resist. Hands in pockets, his ears pick up all the sounds needed to avoid the detection of the security cameras. It was second nature by now. 

His boots move quietly through the grass, almost in silence. But his mind was nowhere near quiet. He had not seen Victoria since earlier that day when he'd returned. In truth, he had avoided her. He didn't know what he'd say. How he'd act. There had been a few other times when he had regretted his actions. But today was the worst he'd ever experienced. And Victoria was suffering for it. 

Coming upon the old swing, Garret is slightly startled to see Victoria's form. He wouldn't have thought she'd be out here at this late hour. He couldn't turn back though - he knew she would have already spotted him.

Approaching slowly until he was in front of her, a lump rises in his throat. Taking a knee and looking up into her face that was cradled in soft moonlight, he searches her dark eyes. "I'm so sorry," he whispers. "I don't deserve your love - I never did. I won't hold it against you if you blame me for today." 

Carson sits bolt upright in bed, sweat pouring down his face and neck. His heart thumped so hard, it felt as though it would beat right out of his chest. Staring into the dark bedroom, he glances to the side, hoping he hadn't just woken Misty. He couldn't tell. What time was it? It felt like he'd only been asleep for an hour or two.

Slipping out of bed, he pads quietly to the bathroom. Leaning on the sink, he splashes cold water on his face, trying to calm his breathing. He shook all over as the panic attack ran its course. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had that nightmare. He had never wanted to see it again. But it was back. He knew why. He knew it was stress that brought it on. But still, he'd been unprepared to see those images all over again... to revisit those memories.

Still leaning on the sink, water drips from his face to swirl down the drain, along with the running water from the faucet. Continuing to shake, he just wants it to pass before he went back to bed. Not that he would sleep after this.