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 Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 6:55 pm
Maia paused at the confession. "I haven't since I came here," she admitted. "It makes me miss you." More than ever. The necklace around her neck did that too; she hadn't even considered taking it off. It wasn't an option. She was tempted to tell him the plan. That all of this had been Dari's idea. That she wanted to come home.
"I will! It might make him feel better, I'm sure he's lonely without me." She was sure Toby was, too. She certainly was without him. "Nothings the same."
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 6:59 pm
Anything she said afterward didn't matter. She missed him. Stargazing wasn't that sort of friendly 'missing' either. He knew it wasn't. So she wasn't getting any better about her feelings for him? He sighed and chewed the inside of his lower lip.
"Yeah. I'll tell Lori." His voice was different indeterminably. His hand came out of his pocket. "Hey, I gotta go, but it was nice to talk."
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 7:04 pm
Maia hesitated. Wait, what? "Okay..." She said, saddened. They'd just been having a good conversation! She must have said something to upset him. "Yeah. Nice talking to you. I'll call again tomorrow."
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 7:07 pm
"Alright, sure. Talk to you then." Maybe. If he picked up. Maybe he should distance himself even further. "Bye, Maia."
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 7:20 pm
A few days after, Toby hadn't picked up the phone. She'd called him twice, let it ring, and it went to voice mail. She didn't leave a message either time.
She opened her laptop and hit the Skype icon as soon as she signed on. She hoped Dari would be on--he was. She double clicked his name and hit the call button. Was Toby alright? Why wasn't he answering his calls? Maybe he couldn't? Maybe he'd lost the phone.
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 7:31 pm
Dari still left the computer around the house with Skype up. He could hear it from any room, so it was pretty safe in the living room. He responded after a few rings and sat down on the couch.
"Hello." He offered a smile. "You're calling early today." He saw patterns. It was hard to not with an eidetic memory.
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 7:38 pm
"Toby isn't answering my phone calls!" Maia announced in English, and then, realizing this, quickly switched to Gaelic. "I'm worried about him. He said I could call him two days ago and I did, but no answer. I tried yesterday too." She fidgeted, concern apparent.
"Is he alright?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 7:58 pm
Dari's smile fell and he looked suddenly thoughtful. Toby hadn't been answering? He'd been so sure the man would cling to the phone like a maniac. This wasn't working out at all like he had planned, but there was still a chance! It just might take longer than originally thought. He thought a while, and then responded in Gaelic.
"He's the same as usual. Actually, no, he is a little sullen." He looked around as if for Toby, but the werewolf was nowhere to be seen.
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 8:02 pm
"And...there isn't any chance he lost the phone?" Maia asked. He wasn't just avoiding her, was he? "I think I said something that upset him the other day. We were having such a good time. Planning visits and he seemed happy." She hesitated and added, "He told me he misses me. Well, cooking with me."
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 8:25 pm
"No. No, he has his phone," Dari said. He wished he didn't have to admit it, but it was true. Toby was avoiding her. "Oh? He didn't even tell me you called." A pause and a brief flicker of frustration. "He misses that and more. He doesn't like to talk about you, but when he does I can see it in him. Not even a fourth dimension, just... in him. It's obvious."
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 8:30 pm
Maia sighed. "I was hoping he'd lost it," she admitted. Toby was avoiding her and she didn't know how to make things better. She'd try to call him again later. "Somehow I seem to make him more unhappy by being here, but he doesn't seem to want me around either." She puzzled over this. "Do you think we ought to give up?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 8:49 pm
"No," Dari said sternly, "That sort of conflict is what we're looking for. Sooner or later the scales will tip." He thought. He hoped. No, he knew. He knew Toby like the sludge in his own head. It would tip. He just wasn't sure how much time it would take.
"It's not that he doesn't want you around, it's that being reminded that you aren't around hurts him. He won't eat spaghetti. He won't go to the lake. He misses you."
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 8:58 pm
"He won't stargaze," Maia said, sighing. "He told me. I don't like him hurting, Dari. Do you really think he wouldn't realize with me being there?" She wanted to go home. She wanted to fix Toby. "I'm going to ask Lori to set up a Skype call for me and Seamus. I miss him."
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 9:09 pm
Dari nodded. It was true. He barely glanced upward at all.
"At this point it would break him. Something bad would happen. Trust me, it will work. He just needs some time." More time than this, apparently. Then, back to Seamus. "I could always do one for you. I think he misses you too." He definitely hadn't been very happy when they'd told him Maia was gone.
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 9:19 pm
Maia sighed, nodding. Dari knew Toby better, he was probably right. "Really?" she asked. "Could you do that tomorrow? I want to see him."
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