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 Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 9:44 am
It freaked him out slightly that she was leaning into his shoulder, but he wasn't about to shove her off. He found himself listening to her after that little shock subsided, and was becoming quite fascinated by her story.
A family, torn apart by the death of her sister... though she was still sore about it, so he wouldn't press further.
"I see. I'm sorry about that. My parents divorced when I was young, so I was raised by my mother. Only kid in the house, too, and we had it tough."
He couldn't relate to her money, or her pain, but in some way at least they could connect by saying their lives hadn't been normal and pain-free.
"But you should be searching for a solution instead of just letting things play out. You'd be surprised how many things can be prevented if you just take lie by the horns, you know?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 10:21 am
"Oh believe me I know..." She sighed. She wouldn't mention how much she could relate with him on those things. Things were tough for her family. They had come form literally nothing and that's what angered her most.
She missed how happy they were with nothing.
"Its more like...I dunno....I was the strong one in the family when she died..." Jes had never really confided this before but for some reason felt comfortable enough with Alex to open up a bit. She chuckled a little, looking down at her feet. "To be honest... I haven't cried once since she died...aside from small unrelated outbursts like you saw earlier...I'm sorry about that by the way...please just forget it happened. I detest crying..." She furrowed her brow.
"My parents were devastated so i became the one stable thing in our lives for awhile...My father lost himself in his work and mother lost herself in material things. All the while they never realized I was going through my own personal hell... But even though i didnt want them to know...I did? You know?" She swallowed a little and looked up at the cloudy sky. Occasionally there was a break in the smog to see a few twinkling stars.
"I guess now I'm just sick of it...I get tired of feeling the same wretched feelings in my chest that wont go away for some reason...so ...I Guess I just keep myself in the spotlight and on the scene so I always have my guard up..." She looked down, suddenly realizing however her guard was down now.
"...I've never told anyone this." She shot up a look at him wide eyed. "you probably think its crazy..." She laughed sadly as she looked away again, embarassed.
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- Pocket Full of Ashes - Crew
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 10:37 am
"How can I think it's crazy? It's just what you're going through, what you're feeling. "
Alex couldn't help but think that she was just being stupid, especially if she thought everything she felt was just nothing. Everyone had a right to be tired and worn out, and his mind immediately went to his mother.
"But crying is just something that should make you feel better. It's like letting the pressure out. It's healthy. So..."
Not that it was becoming awkward, but he didn't know what else to say. He wanted to help, and yet he couldn't find the words to properly express what it was he wanted to convey...
"Here's the real question, though: what will you do to make all this better? Because I'm not going to be having shoes thrown at me every time you come around to the cafe."
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 10:43 am
She laughed again. She shook her head and just laughed, looking up at him with a lovely genuine smile.
"I'm sorry about that...I really am...its all part of my image...a cut throat b***h..." She sighed shaking her head as she looked away a bit to distract herself. "Well...now that i know you're not a complete a**....I promise I wont throw shoes at you..." She looked up at him apologetically before looking away again.
"...If it'd be alright... could I stop by occasionally and just say hello? You know just somehting to do to take a break from the everyday you know?" She shrugged, not wanting to seem like she was hitting on him. She just enjoyed how despite how almost sharply opinionated he could be, he was still...friendly. He made her feel comfortable which was a rarity in her world.
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- Pocket Full of Ashes - Crew
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 1:55 pm
Alex looked at her, and very, very subtly, he smiled.
"You making me a proposition? You want to be my friend?"
And that smile on her face and the way her eyes were mimicking it said yes. "Well alright then. But you have to promise me two things," he said, holding his fingers out in front of him to count off. "Dress more conservatively so you won't distract my customers with your heaving cleavage and... smile."
Somehow he thought the first one would be more difficult to follow than the last, but Alex had faith in her that she would at least try. He was helping her, after all. Even if she wouldn't answer his questions straightforwardly. This girl just needed a friend.
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 4:13 pm
She couldn't help bu smile just at that alone. She opened up his jacket a little and looked down at herself, her cheeks red. "I...really don't normally dress this way..." She confided embarrassingly. "Its just...not me... but it does the job alright..." She sighed, smirking a bit. "My other just about had a heart attack before I went out..." She shook her head and smiled distantly as she seemed to think fora moment but nodded.
"So it's alright then?" She met his eyes again and nodded, her slight smile growing again. She looked down at her knees before standing again, glancing down at her phone to check the time. "Ah--...well I think I've stalled enough hm?" She looked over to the exit of the park, knowing she would go call a taxi soon and be on her way. "It was nice meeting you...Thanks for sticking with me. No one's really done that in awhile." Her eyes softened as she just held his gaze a moment before realizing she was still wearing his coat. "Ah here..." She slipped the warmth from her shoulders, holding it out to him, her overall vibe seeming much more placid and chill than before.
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- Pocket Full of Ashes - Crew
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 4:28 pm
It was a start. But, Alex still had one more thing up his sleeve.
"You know what?" he said, placing his hands over hers on the jacket as she held it out to him. "You wear this home, to keep you warm. But give it back to me when you come to the cafe."
This way, he thought, she had to come back. At the very least, she could come back, return his coat, and leave if she had second thoughts about any of this. But most importantly, if he didn't get his coat back, he could get a solid reason to doubt her character and never have to worry about her ever again.
"Promise?" he said, giving her a smile.
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 4:37 pm
Her eyes sparked a moment as if ignited by the continuous acts of kindness he seemed to have an endless supply of. "R-really? well...thank you Alex....." She smiled big, her cheeks pink as she slipped it back on.
"Well... I should be going then...I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled, though instead of turning to walk away, she leaned down and pecked his cheek gently, pulling away to head towards the exit.
She only looked back to wave once more before a taxi pulled up in front of her. "Another benefit of dressing that way. No cab could ignore you. With one last look, she slipped into the car, and was gone.
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- Pocket Full of Ashes - Crew
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:16 pm
---
Kitty arrived in the dark pathway, looking breathless and flushed. Nathan had called her sounding so odd that something must have been wrong.
"Nathan?" she called out, not knowing where he was exactly. He could have been anywhere in the expanse of gardens and fountains.
Being there alone made her nervous, and Kitty hated being there at night even more. She called out his name again, but softer so she wouldn't attract any unwanted attention.
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:25 pm
Thankfully, Samson wasnt too far away. He had been pacing the length of the park, finally lingeirng near the end of the park that he figured she'd be coming from since she'd be arriving from the store.
"Kitty He heard her call and came out form a little pathway near her, looking breathless, frantic, and had a black eye. "Kitty thank God...are you alright?" He asked, gently taking hold of her shouldes.
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- Pocket Full of Ashes - Crew
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:34 pm
"Nathan!" At first she thought his eye was just a shadow being cast from the lights above, but as she grew closer, she saw that was not the case.
"Oh no... what happened to you? You should come back with me and we'll take care of that. Are you alright?"
Silly question to ask someone with a black eye, but Kitty couldn't help but pour over him. Maybe her earlier guess at his business dealings wasn't so far off from the truth.
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:49 pm
He grimaced and pulled away from her touch, furrowing his brow. "Kitty..." He took her hands in his, working a thousand ways this could go before he settled on one. "...I like you...a lot..." His eyes were soft and genuine.
"I mean no one has ever made me feel the way you do..." He smiled but it seemed so sad and desperate as if he knew what he was about to say would make all her feelings for him unravel.
"But I haven't been honest with you..." He glanced over at a near by bench and led her over, setting her down.
"First off...My name's..not Nathan..." He winced not pausing enough to let her chew on that information. "I'm a conartist. Have been since I was a teen, I've coasted my whole life working so hard to not work.." he chuckeled at that but kept going. "Though recently I've been determind to pull myself out of this circus and try my hand at honest living, ecspecially after I met you...Though I've been trying to cut off my shady employers which would be easier if I had finished the job they hired me for..." He swallowed hard, as he began to pace.
"That book...the one you have in your shop? The one I had been asking baout that you have for display? Thats what they want. I was hired to do what I do best. Swoop in, get whoever I can to put their guard down, then make off with whatever valuable I was hired to retrieve and get my money." He looked for the first time in his life, guilty.
"But I cant steal from you Kitty, I just cant..." He clenched at his heart. "You're such a beautiful, sweet, caring person and-" He stopped himself. They were running out of time. "I wanted to get to know you...and I wanted you to get to know the real me...So I went to tell them the deal's off...that they should just forget the book....But they wouldn't have it..." He shook his head, gignerly touching his eye. "They told me they gave me time to do things my way...quietly and with discression but now they've grown impatient and-" He was out of breath, hands on his head as he stared up at the sky.
"I was terrified they were going to go after you....Thats where we stand now Kitty..." He furrowed his brow looking utterly guilt ridden and pleading.
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- Pocket Full of Ashes - Crew
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:58 pm
Kitty had watched him with mouth slightly agape and eyes misting up. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, but it just kept coming. One thing after another that just made more sense as he went on.
When he finally ended his explanation, Kitty sat on the bench looking as rigid as the metal underneath her. When her voice came through the slightly illuminated dark, it was hushed with tears. "So what was real? Any of that?" she asked.
The kisses, feeling so special day after day. She remembered the night at the ballroom, the kisses in the limo, the coffee they had shared.
But she was such an idiot to think any of it could have been genuine in such a short amount of time. In her story, she had played the fool. She was the character everyone pitied and watched as she destroyed herself, knowing everything and seeing the sense in things when it was too late.
"What's your real name?" she asked, though her voice sounded stronger than it had before. She wanted to know so she could yell at him properly.
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 8:11 pm
"...My name is Samson...I dont even know my last name...it's been so long..." He kept his eyes downcast, not able to meet hers. He knew he hurt her...badly...
He knew he oculdnt jsut amgically make it better. Eventually he'd attempt to rebuild trust with her if she allowed him too..because he did feel soemhting during these past few weeks. Something he had never felt before...and he didnt want to just lose it now...
"No one knows my real name Kitty...except you.." He swallowed hard, attempting to meet her eyes.
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- Pocket Full of Ashes - Crew
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 8:19 pm
Kitty sat still for a minute before even daring to speak. She had to formulate the thoughts she would voice as they fell into perfect order in her mind.
"Samson."
She had to say it once to have it make sense. "Do I even have to say anything? You think you have a dream come true and then..."
Her shaking wasn't even apparent to her until she stood up again. She'd run out into the night of Veratia to have this happen? And now she was alone with a man she barely knew. Maybe he had lured her there. Maybe this was this big climax of the entire adventure when he would do away with her entirely.
The very idea sent a panic through her mind that made her steps falter, but she recovered with a vengeance.
"Who are you?" she demanded suddenly. Kitty faced him with eyes no longer hurt, but burning. "Who are you to just walk into my life and shower me with affection, and all for some damn book that someone else wants? Who are you to think you can do that to people and then.. strip away whoever you're pretending to be, just to get away with it all?"
Because she was sure that was what he did. It all made such sense.
"I don't want your counterfeit romance, or your affections! I don't want you to step one foot into my shop unless you're trying to undo everything with as much heart as you can possibly put into it!" she cried.
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