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 Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2023 7:37 pm
Did it sound okay? Yes, sort of. In an ideal world, where things like this wouldn’t have happened anyway. Ariel felt like he was sinking in mud.
He’d kept to a path for so long, a very specific path, and for the most part he’d stayed out of trouble. He’d managed to live something of a life. Maybe this had just been too much. It felt like he’d strayed off the path, right into a bog of water and mud, waiting to swallow him up.
He felt like he was drowning.
Poor Casey was still trying to hold on.
“Tea sounds nice,” Ariel answered softly. He didn’t know if it did or not, he just didn’t want to see that sad look in Casey’s eyes.
The car rolled to a stop and the driver raised a hand. Morgan mimicked it, but the softness in his smile was gone. It was a private thing, it had overstayed its welcome. It wasn’t something to share, anyway.
A dampness clung to the air, sticking to everything it could. It would probably rain later. Best to get them home now before their day could get any more uncomfortable.
“You’ll be safe with him, just give him the address and he’ll get you back safely. You two take care. I’ll see you around. Take care of each other.”
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2023 6:34 am
Okay… okay. They would be going home. Casey greeted the man in the car with a smile and apologized for Harrison since, well, not everyone was okay with a dog in their car, but she was a good girl! And he even quickly pulled off his sweater so he could use it to wipe off Harrison’s feet before letting her into the car. He would just wash his clothes later, no big. Being a bit chilly was a small price to pay for someone to be content while doing them a favor.
Harrison was more than happy to jump into the car, despite having rarely been in one. Although maybe that was why she was so enthusiastic. He held the door open for Ariel and made sure he got in safely as well. Casey wasn’t convinced that everything was okay. In fact, he was pretty sure things definitely weren’t okay, but he didn’t know what to say or do to help make things better.
He didn’t mean to look back up at Morgan with a clear expression of worry and desperation. He meant to show his appreciation with a smile, but it ended up wobbling and looking strained.
“Thank you. See you,” he said once he’d managed to rearrange his expression to be a little more relaxed. He climbed into the car as well, and shut the door behind him.
And while his hand groped for Ariel’s, he couldn’t help but watch Morgan as they pulled away.
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