As Bree settled back in to sleep, Gunner's brow furrowed. Why was this bothering her so much? Hadn't what he'd just said been enough? Hadn't his words implied that he just had some stuff on his mind he was working through? The worst part was seeing Bree's feelings hurt and not understanding how to fix it.
Sinking in the couch a little more, he laid an arm over her and set his feet up on the coffee table. If he had to get up again, it would be less of an entanglement this way. Thankfully though, the rest of the night was quiet. Gunner didn't get much sleep, but he got a little, and he avoided anymore nightmares...
"Hey..." The couch moved slightly from being bumped. "I know vampires sleep during the day, but what time do you need to be at work?"
"Hmm?" Gunner blinked and stretched, finding Bree's head still in his lap and his legs aching from being propped up half the night.
JT tossed Gunner's t-shirt to him. "I said, what time do you need to be at work? I didn't want to leave and have a guilty conscience for not waking you up."
Gunner yawned and took his shirt, though he looked at it, confused. "Um...eight...I think."
"Well, you better get a move on. It's just after seven now."
"Yeah...yeah, okay, thanks." Gunner rubbed his face and tried to wake up.
JT shook his head as he gained a wry grin. "You're welcome. There's coffee. I gotta head to the hospital."
"Right." Gunner yawned again and ruffled Bree's hair. "Hey, sweet thing. I'm getting kicked out." He pulled on his shirt, still in a bit of a daze, before prying himself from the couch, careful not to jostle Bree around too much. Stretching tall, his back popped in several places and he groaned. "Hawaii's sounding better and better," he mumbled. Leaning down, he gave Bree a quick kiss. "I gotta go. See you at supper? Or lunch? What day is it?"
Jared gave Grace a sheepish grin, and a little color came to his cheeks - it was just something about the way she was pleased to see the effort he'd made. "I'm alright...better now that you're here."
Movement caught his eye and he glanced down the hall to smirk at his mother, who was watching intently. Lydia rolled her eyes before turning to go back to the kitchen.
Jared's gaze returned to Grace, and he bit his lip. "I, um...only got one problem." He'd been leaning on the door frame for a reason. "I made it this far but I didn't make a plan for how I was gonna get back to the bed again."
"Here."
By now, Scott was rather used to the not-so-pleasant-tasting
juices that Justin made, so he accepted the drink without complaint.
Sitting at his kitchen table, he drank half the glass before setting it
down and catching his breath. He wiped some sweat from his brow before
just folding his arms and setting his head down on them.
Justin grinned a little and joined him at the table with his own
drink. Today it had been a vigorous game of frisbee at the park to get
Scott up and moving. "You alright?"
Scott kept his head down, but nodded.
It had been a week since Justin had been here last - the longest
amount of time between visits than they'd had in a while. After Scott
had started to backslide, Justin had kept a close eye on him, and though
things didn't appear to be much better now, he sensed some of the fog
was starting to lift. "So how's work going?"
Scott slowly raised his head and took another sip of his drink.
"Alright, I guess. Mostly just helping Dalton with stuff. Reese knows I
can't handle anything else."
"Can't? Or just don't want to yet?"
Scott shrugged. His eyes were downcast. "Maybe I'm just afraid I can't handle any more," he admitted.
Justin
nodded knowingly. It was Scott's choice and only he knew how far he
could go right now, but Justin would continue to gently push. "And
Hope?"
"What about her?"
"Seen much of her lately?"
Another
shrug was Scott's answer. "Just in passing at work." No lunches. No
suppers. No walks in the park. They were just...coworkers.
"And...how do you feel about that?"
"Lonely."
Scott swallowed hard. There was no point in trying to deny the truth.
His eyes only moved when Domino put her front paws on his leg for
attention. His hand went to her head to appease her.
Justin
sat back and studied him for several quiet moments. "You
know...sometimes settling for what we think is our lot in life, is just
us choosing to make it so."
Scott frowned. "You mean I'm choosing to be lonely?"
"I think you're choosing loneliness over happiness because of fear, yes."
"We've been over this."
Justin
sighed. He understood, but he just wished Scott would lower those
walls. "I know. But that doesn't mean I'll quit trying."
"What are you trying to be? A matchmaker?"
Justin
rolled his eyes. "That was a cheap shot and you know it. If you could
give me one good reason for avoiding someone like Hope, who still loves
you by the way, I'd leave you alone and never bring up the subject
again. But so far, you haven't given me a good enough reason."
"Why do you care anyway? What's so important about whether or not I'm dating Hope?"
"It's not about you and Hope, Scott. It's about you having a
relationship with anybody. You've got me...you've got Dalton...but
you're keeping your circle of friends at arm's length. Even your
sister."
Scott fiddled with his glass before finishing his drink. Things
were okay with Sapphire lately. He talked to her at work, and once in a
while on the phone. They rarely got together and did anything though.
Gage was always around, and though Scott wasn't upset over that anymore,
it was still an awkward enough situation for him to avoid. "Can't I
survive without a bigger circle of friends?"
"Sure. You've proven that. But why would you want to? Because
it's easier? Safer? Why not live in a box the rest of your life? Or
better yet, why not go back to Brookshire?"
Scott's eyes snapped up angrily. "You're pushing it today, Justin. Back off."
Justin sighed and sat back in his chair. He knew where Scott's
limits were well enough to know he hadn't crossed the line yet. Scott
needed a gentle hand, but also needed good firm shoves sometimes too.
"Look...I know life can suck and be confusing. But you took yours back.
You've fought tooth and toenail to beat the odds - don't sell yourself
short now. Don't stop when you've gained back so much already..."
It was over. He was out.
Kip
sat on the edge of his bed, feeling like crying but denying himself
that pleasure. He'd just gotten off the phone with Kyle. He hadn't
wanted a meeting...hadn't wanted a group discussion. He knew the band
would be better off without him, so he had quit. And now...it was done.
"Kip,
I'm making chicken salad sandwiches, do you..." Gram's voice trailed
off as she poked her head into the open bedroom and saw his downcast
face. "Is something wrong?"
Kip shrugged. "Not really. I just quit the band is all."
"Quit?" Gram's eyes widened and she came in to sit next to him on the bed. "Why? I thought you loved it."
"I do. Did." Kip shook his head. "I just don't think I'm cut out for anything more than a garage band."
"Well why on earth would you think that? I've heard you play and you do a great job."
"Yeah,
I play okay I guess." He thought for a moment then shrugged again.
"When we started out here, I had trouble memorizing stuff and I'd mess
up all the time and just couldn't concentrate. Blamed it on my
hyperactivity and everybody had a cure. Eat better. Burn off my energy.
Try harder. So I did...and things got better, but it just made it worse
for me in here, ya know?" He tapped his chest over his heart. "After a
while it just made me miserable 'cause I was trying so hard to keep up
and do it right. Then I started forgetting practices and being late and I
never did it on purpose, it just...happened."
He
flopped onto his back and stared at the ceiling. "They've all been
irritated with me and I'm letting them down right and left so I finally
decided it was time to quit. They'll be better off without me."
Gram
frowned, sorry to see her pseudo-grandson like this. "I guess I've
never been to one of your practices, so I can't judge, but I'd be rather
surprised if the rest of the band thought they'd be better off without
you. But...it is your life. What are you going to do now?"
Kip smirked. "Find a real job so I can keep paying you rent or find my own place so I can finally get out of your hair."
"Hush
your mouth." Gram swatted his leg. "You know you can stay here as long
as you need. Me and Gramps love having you around here."
Kip shifted a little to look up at her. "Really?"
"Well
of course! And not just because you do the oddjobs around here. We were
without kids for so long, then the grandkids - especially Kyle - hung
out here a lot, but now they're all doing their own things. It's kind of
nice to have you around to fill that hole."
He managed a grateful smile. "Thanks. I like it here too. But I still need a job and I don't even know where to start."
"You
start on a full stomach, that's where." Gram stood up after patting
Kip's knee. "Come on. Lunch in five minutes. Maybe Gramps will have some
ideas for you."
Kyle sighed and picked up
the paint roller again. His hands and old clothes were speckled with
paint - evidence of the work he was doing at the house. Not much needed
to be done, but he and Alice were incorporating their own tastes. Today
though, the excitement was tainted by Kip's call. He hadn't been
surprised, but it hurt. They'd just lost a band member, and he wasn't
even sure why.
"So...you're going to Kyle's
wedding Saturday, right?" Hunter fiddled with his straw wrapper while
waiting for their food. He and Katie had a lunch date today, and while
he was thoroughly enjoying himself, there was a tiny part of his heart
that was hurting. Not because Kyle was getting married...but because the
man who had once been his best friend was having one of the most
important days of his life...and Hunter knew he would not be welcome.
And he was sorry.
