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 Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 8:26 pm
Chase figured that if Vanessa really wanted to find out what happened, or at least was supposedly happened, she could look for it. He knew the articles were online, they haunted him often, because he looked for them. He didn't know when he became a glutton for punishment, but he found himself unable to move past this mark on his ledger.
Could it be because it was the first time he killed a senshi? Or because it was also the day he killed his father? (It was an accident, unintentional he swears, he swears.)
"Yeah," he mumbled running his thumbs over each other absentmindedly. "She's never been good at being alone."
His head snapped up and his bright orange eyes met hers. "I'm sorry," he said, because what else was there to say about it? "Glad he's okay though, the scare must have been rough." Probably like the scare his mother experienced when he turned up broken in the hospital. "Make sure he takes it easy, because you can relapse sooner than you think." He spoke from experience, though the health issues were different.
It was only recently that he was able to get everything actually under control.
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 9:14 pm
"It was."
Rough. Terrifying. Earth-shattering.
Vanessa had vague memories of her father from when she was a little girl, drunk and heaving his guts into the bathroom toilet, his newborn son's cries ringing in the background. All three of their lives had hung in the balance then, after her mother's death.
Mr. Rae had pulled through, but Vanessa had never wanted to see him so weak again.
Suddenly the sugar in her coffee didn't taste so great.
"I'm taking care of him," she said again, and couldn't help being frightened by the prospect of the relapse Chase proposed. "We eat vegetables loads more now."
The Rae household had never been so devoid of red meat and fatty foods. Vanessa and John Jr secretly missed cheeseburgers, but they were both adamant about their father's having a healthy diet. As a family, they had agreed to change their lifestyles.
"Don't think I'll ever like celery, though. That stuff is vile."
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 9:31 pm
He hadn't meant to return the dark undertones back to their conversation but when you spent as much time in the dark as he did, it was practically second nature. "Sorry, it's just...hard to maintain a lifestyle change." Unless it was a negative one.
He was lucky that his hadn't included drugs or smoking or drinking. He'd long since given up drinking. (Three years in the making?) They weren't lifestyle choices he wanted for himself.
"Celery is like lettuce, empty calories really because it's 80% water. Technically you burn more calories eating it than you get from the stick itself because it takes so much effort to eat," he explained, rattling off nonsense. He spent a lot of time doing his research when it came to food once he got himself back on track.
In a lot of ways he was like an anorexia survivor and if he was honest, he spent too much time thinking about what he ate and how it would effect him. If he didn't have someone who would cook for him, then he probably would have relapsed worse.
"Try it with peanut butter and raisins, if you like them. Makes it a bit sweeter. Nice snack too." A snack of his childhood.
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 9:54 pm
"You don't need to be sorry," Vanessa said, feeling guilty for the tone she'd taken with Chase. She recognized that he was just trying to help, and smiled at him to demonstrate how grateful she was. This time, it met her eyes.
"It's not your fault."
She set her coffee back down on the table unfinished, having heard that caffeine wasn't a healthy choice, and knowing that sugar definitely wasn't. Vanessa ran her fingers through her hair, red curls floating around her head, and tried not to think about her father's heart condition.
"I don't really like raisins either, but thank you for the advice," she said, "I'm glad you decided to come say 'hi.' It's been nice talking to you again."
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 10:02 pm
"It was," he paused, looking rather conflicted before he forced the word out, "nice." It wasn't that the meeting had been unpleasant but it had reminded him of the bad place he had been in when he was nineteen. Two years was long but not long enough.
The Pacific Rim theme song began to play and Chase looked startled, scooting back in his seat while he fished his phone out of his pocket. The screen was illuminated with an incoming call and he furrowed his brow. "Sorry, I need to take this and..." he paused to look up at her as he stood. "I should go, it's later than I thought." His watch read about four in the afternoon, he had plans with his mother and work was phoning him.
"I'll see you later." It was said as more of a question than a statement but his expression was blank, uncertain. "Take care and I hope your father continues to get better," he told her as sincerely as he could muster before he snagged his empty cup from the table. He glanced at her one more time before turning and making his way to the door. The cup was tossed in the trash as he pushed the door open, waving his hand at her in farewell.
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