Obvious Silence

Mick sighs deeply and shakes his head. He knew where Chad was coming from. He could see both sides. "I know you're not trying to disrespect anybody. I don't have any problems with you or you being here." His fingers pick at a chip in the fence rail. "I do think you're wrong about one thing though..."

His eyes return to Chad's. "I think you might find that Rosalyn wouldn't be too upset if you were to leave. I'm not saying she doesn't care - I can tell she does. But at this point, having you here is just causing a lot of unnecessary stress. She'd probably much rather drive into town to spend peaceful time with you, than have you stay here and always have to look over her shoulder."

He pauses, choosing his words carefully. "It's too early in the game to make her choose between you and her father. If you don't loosen your grip for a while, you risk her breaking things off just to end the tension and fighting. I know you two have a lot of fast-forming feelings for each other, but those can be the most dangerous. Don't rush it. If you decide to stay in town, Rosalyn's not going to blame you. Instead, I'd wager she'd be relieved."


Left alone again,  Eric eases back into his pillow, a smile on his lips. Not too long ago, he would have rolled his eyes at someone saying they'd check on him. He would have said he could take care of himself and didn't need a nursemaid. Today though... having Stacy care enough to want to come check on him... well, he couldn't deny that it made him feel good.

Now to get this silly leg to calm down, and he could actually enjoy the weekend.


"Those don't sound like kid things," Jared muses. The zoo and museums were just as interesting to adults as kids, at least in his mind. 

Grace's question brings about a strange sort of silence. He should have known better than to start this conversation, but he hadn't thought about it being turned around to him. Taking another bite of chicken, he stalls.

Eventually, he shrugs. "I dunno." His eyes remain on his food. There were a lot of things he used to like to do, but... none of them seemed to be very appropriate to mention now. They were things Grace wouldn't do, and probably wouldn't approve of, either. They were things he'd think twice about now, and most likely turn down. Otherwise though...what was there? 

A sidelong glance in Grace's direction gives his eyes the chance to betray him. Was the silence as obvious as it felt? 

"I like listening to music," he finally answers. "And... I like walks on the beach, and..." His voice softens. "I like being with you."


Scott slowly makes his way into TJY, taking the back route. It was late morning - late enough that probably anyone who might have noticed his absence would have guessed he was staying home again. But...he'd told Justin he'd come today, so he'd forced himself to get out of bed several hours late, even though he felt like he'd been run over by a truck. Despite being exhausted, the night had not been an easy one.

Making it to the office without having to talk to anybody, he slips inside. And seeing Dalton, he could kick himself for having forgotten his friend would be back to work.

"Hey..." He forces a smile as he comes over to the desk and finds his chair. "Welcome back."

Turning on his monitor, he tries to mask his body language so Dalton wouldn't think anything was wrong. There was no point in worrying him. "So have I missed anything exciting today?"