Phone Message

Hunter didn't like how quiet the ride was. He didn't like how quiet things were between him and Katie right now either, but there wasn't a whole lot he could do about that now. 

Heading back to the ranch, the sun started to just barely peek over the horizon, lighting the way. Unfortunately, it also told of what time it was, and Hunter's original plan of being back before anyone else was up... well... yeah, that plan was shot to pieces. 

Managing to stay awake and drive safely, once back to the ranch, Hunter parks near the garage once more. The barn was already alive with a handful of people. The ranch was waking up. 

Only after glancing to where Katie parked and seeing disinterest, he heads to his bunkhouse alone. 

"Well, good morning." It was Mick who had spotted Katie first. He'd already seen her car and Hunter's bike gone and had wondered what had been happening this morning so early. Someone else had suggested perhaps they'd gone out to watch the sunrise, but even then, there still wasn't a reason for both vehicles being gone. 

Having wandered from the barn, Mick cocks his head at his niece. "Everything okay? Noticed your car gone and we weren't sure what had happened." 

Staring out the window at the rain, Alec felt a mixture of boredom and depression. He had more work to do in the shed, but with the weather like this, he wouldn't be able to fix the windows or patch the roof. It would have to wait, leaving him with some odd jobs around the house. But his mind was far from the tasks. Instead, he wished he had lunch plans. Or a dinner date. Or just a plan to hang out this evening... with Ryan. Would he ever be able to forget? Would he ever be able to move on? It didn't seem fair that every day she was all he could think about. She was gone. He'd messed up. It was over. There was nothing he could do about it. If only he could just say he was sorry.

Glancing over to the phone, he bites his lip. Could he?

"I got it, I got it."

"No you don't. Here, let me help."

"I got it!"

"Stubborn."

Tal gives Eli a grin and nods. "Yes. Now open the door and let me in."

Standing at the apartment door, Eli throws his sister a withering look. "Your boyfriend doesn't know when to quit."

Tal smirks, shifting the two pizza boxes in his arm so he could carry them more easily. He was so tired of not having been able to do ANYthing, that finally being off crutches, he was bound and determined to at least help with something, even if it was just carrying pizza. His right leg was still in a knee-high air cast but at least he could put weight on it again, and he had therapy twice a week for a while until he could gain back full mobility. He didn't have to wear a neck brace anymore, and though still experiencing some pain, his spine was healing well. As far as his right hand went, he'd had to have several more surgeries on it, so for now, it was still wrapped and in a brace to keep it immobile. He didn't complain though, priding himself in getting so good at doing things with his left hand. In truth, he was bored out of his mind, being off work so long. When alone, he let himself feel depressed, but he tried to never let on to Ryan or Eli. They were still being way too kind to him for him to give them the impression he didn't appreciate it. "I'll quit when I'm dead."

"Yeah, yeah." Juggling the bottle of pop and six pack of beer, Eli gets the door open, ushering in Tal and Ryan, taking a big whiff of the chicken wings as she passed with the box. "Mmmm, I could eat a whole herd of chickens."

"Herd?" Tal snickers as he sets the pizza down on the kitchen table. "Don't you mean flock?"

Eli pauses a moment and blinks before shrugging and shutting the door. "Whatever."

Tal laughs and throws Ryan a wink. "Somebody missed that day in school when they learned about animals."

"Oh, hush." Eli swats his shoulder before depositing the drinks on the counter. "Ryan, you wanna get the plates and stuff?" He wanders into the living room, tossing the rented DVD on the table and going to the answering machine in the corner. Seeing one message, he hits play before wandering away to throw his keys where they belonged and listen at the same time.

"Hey, Ryan... it's Alec..."

Eli stops in his tracks and turns back around to stare at the machine, taken off guard by the familiar voice.

In the kitchen, Tal pauses what he's doing, lifting his eyebrows slightly and glancing at Ryan. Alec had called? Why?

The apartment grows quiet as the message plays.

"Um... I know you're at work.. I... I just um... I don't know... I can't even begin to tell you how much I miss you." His voice cracks and there's a slight pause. "I have never felt lower in my life and... if it weren't for my sister-in-law, I'd probably be living under a bridge right about now. I'm... I'm not telling you this so you'll feel sorry for me. I just... I want you to know that I'm sincere. Um... I'm not calling 'cause I want anything... I know you're settled and happy without me in your life. But, um... I guess I just wanted you to know that I miss you. I never knew a man could live with his heart torn in two, but I guess I'm walking proof. Doesn't seem much like living though."

With his leg starting to throb from standing too long, Tal sinks quietly into a kitchen chair, keeping an eye on Ryan, and wondering what this phone message might be making her feel.

"They say you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone and... it's so true. I've been a complete fool and if I could only find a way to go back in time, I would. There are so many things I'd do differently. I never would have left. I never would have hurt you or said the things I did, or hurt someone you cared about. I... I never would have let you go. I feel as though I was given the most precious gift in the world... you. And I rejected that gift, tramping it in the dirt. And never have I felt more despicable."

As there's another pause, Eli rests on the arm of the couch, listening carefully. Was this guy serious? Or was this another ploy? Alec was a good actor, but Eli couldn't remember when he'd heard Alec's voice quite like this... so desperate... so.... broken.

"I can't believe the things I did and I know you never want to see me again - I deserve that... and more. All I've done is hurt you, and... I just... if I never got another chance to say it, I just want you to know how incredibly sorry I am. I... I apologize to you... Eli... and Tal." His voice cracks once more, but this time he doesn't stop, the tears evident in his wavering tone. "You're the only woman I've ever loved, Ryan... and thank you... for giving that to me. Thank you for teaching me how to love... and be loved. I know your feelings for me are gone. All I have is an awful ache, wishing I just had one more chance. And knowing I never will makes my life a miserable one."

There's a slight moment of quiet as he sniffs. "I hope that someday you can find it in your heart to forgive me, even though I don't deserve it. I don't deserve you - I never have. I... I love you, Ryan. I just don't know how not to. If I ever -"

Beeeeeep

The recorder had cut the message off at the maximum amount of time, leaving the end of Alec's thought lost. There was no second message - he hadn't called back to finish.

Tal looks down at his hands before glancing back up to Ryan again and swallowing hard. Never had he heard a more pitiful... hurt... sorrowful voice in all his life. Personally, he was scared to death of Alec. He hadn't told anyone that, but it was true. He wouldn't let Alec run his life, but just Alec's voice made his hair stand on end. Even so, somewhere deep down, his heart felt a little pang for this man who had gone so far down the wrong path, that surely it must be a depressing place to live. And if it panged his own heart... what did it do to Ryan's?