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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 17 2017, 12:14 PM (14 Views) | |
| Brook Walker | Nov 17 2017, 12:14 PM Post #1 |
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Brook worried a lot. Everyone said that was what sisters did. They worried because that was what their mothers taught them to do, that their mothers taught them to think of men as incapable without them or something like that. But Brook had never really looked at that. She didn't worry about the few men she met. She worried mildly about her few guy friends. But she really worried about her brothers. When she had been small, her brothers had been a lot older than her. Everitt had been eight by the time she was born while Denny had been twelve. All of them had been accidents, according to Denny. Denny always liked to say that if they had been planned, they would have been born closer in age, rather than wildly inaccurate. Personally, Brook thought that maybe they could have been planned. With Denny being older than Everitt, with the both of them being that much older than her, they were both out of the age that needed constant attention for their age group. That made sense to her. Why deal with three children that were all toddlers? That sounded tiring, especially considering their parents. It had been Denny and Everitt who had taken care of her. It had been Denny who stole her toys because her mother had refused to buy them because if she did her children would learn to be ungrateful for what they had. It had been Everitt who had held her hand to walk her to school and who had stood in front of her when people had tried to bully her for being smart. Her parents had never done that for any of them. Their father had been too much of a drunk, drinking away his problems, while their mother had been trying to live a child free life with three children and at the same time acting like some kind of...guru of child care. <p> God, the years they had spent together thinking that things would get better. The silly idea that if they got to Paris, things would suddenly become what they wanted in life because they were in a new place without their mother or father. And to be fair, they had <i>tried</i> to make something of their life. Denny had tried to be a school psychologist, actually. He had gone to school for it and he had made plans, but something happened there that Brook couldn't be sure of because she had been too young. She knew the money had run out, she knew that a scholarship was no longer an option. When she asked, though, Denny got really quiet and said he made a stupid mistake that had closed a lot of doors to him. He couldn't even dream of going to help kids anymore. What had followed was a string of retail jobs that he despised, that had made him bitter and angry, not that she could blame him. What she <i>could</i> blame him for was the path he chose after that. He had admitted to making a bad mistake but he had just kept making more of them. He was her big brother, but she didn't like hearing that he had been arrested, that he had been in and out of jail for so many things. As far as she knew he wasn't a drunk and he didn't take drugs...but the police didn't just round people up by the looks of them. At least not when they were white passing, she had found. The Walker siblings had been "blessed" with the fact that unless you put their mother right by them, they were always considered a family that just tanned really well. Maybe that was the reason Denny was only circling in and out of jail rather than sitting there permanently. <p> But she worried more about Everitt. Denny she loved and adored, but it was hard to feel fully bad for a man that chose to time and again make poor choices. Everitt, though, had tried. He had gone out and become a cop. He had laughed when she asked if he had always wanted to be one and if he was going to thwart all the criminals. He just wanted to help people, that was all. He wanted to do good with his life. As far as she knew he was decently liked in his precinct, he put in a good effort...and then he had met a girl and they had hit it off and gotten married. Brook had had her reservations about her (she seemed to...flaky for her brother; she seemed to head in the clouds for a man that liked to keep things organized), but Everitt had loved her. Loved her enough to have a little girl who was the most precious girl Brook had ever met. Then one day, Denny had called to tell her to get to the hospital <i>now</i> because Everitt had had a horrible break down. His daughter was dead, was what Everitt said. Some child murderer that had been spotted off and on had come to the park that Everitt happened to be at and had taken his daughter. Things had spiraled. Everitt lost his job in a way that people didn't <i>want</i> him to lose it but there was little choice, Everitt had started drinking, his wife had started filing for divorce...and then his wife had committed suicide. It had all happened at once and Brook couldn't be upset with him because he was trying to cope. She could be upset for his coping mechanisms, but what else had they learned when they were kids? Drink away the problem? Learn to deal with it yourself? <p> That was why she tried to check on him. Every so often she would try calling him, she would take him out for dinner or breakfast or just to get groceries. She told him to shave because he would scare small children, she told him to shower because he smelled like the entirety of the New York subway. Sometimes he didn't answer his phone or his door and that was when Brook had learned to pick locks. Sometimes Everitt was too sick or his body just had enough of his abuse from his years as a cop, from his time working as a private investigator. She wasn't going to let her brother suffer because he was too stupid to ask for help. What she hadn't expected was that at any point in his life he would pick up another partner, male or female. He had never mentioned anything. There had been a brief discussion of a man that he had lost his job for but nothing more than that. Maybe she was going to have to yell at him to be a little more upfront about that. Especially since she didn't exactly <i>want</i> to walk in on a man wearing only a shirt in no pants. At least the shirt had been big enough to cover everything...but <i>still</i>. Still she didn't want to see her brother's <i>boyfriend</i> without pants, thank you. God, all they had been able to do was stare at each other before she had started apologizing and he had yelled to Everitt that there was a small girl in his home. What had happened next was rushed introductions – she was Everitt's sister, he was Everitt's boyfriend – and then the boyfriend (Hayden) had snarked so much that Everitt had announced he was going to get coffee. It had left Brook in the very awkward situation of being with a man she hardly even knew. "<b>I'm <i>really</i> sorry I didn't...call or something. I wasn't expecting Everitt to have company.</b>" |
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| Hayden Cunningham | Nov 17 2017, 12:14 PM Post #2 |
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A lot of strange things had happened lately. In a way, it left Hayden's head still spinning. After all, what were the odds that his parents would somehow manage to hire the man who had changed his entire life eight years earlier? Most people would think that they would have somehow realized who Everitt was. That they wouldn't have hired a man that had caused them to kick their only son out, who they had accused of sexual harassment. Hayden - and Everitt - knew why. The fact of the matter was that his parents honestly hadn't even registered Everitt as a person. He was a tool to be used. It could also be said that eight years - rough years, if you looked at Everitt hard - changed a person but Hayden knew it was simply more that he had been something to control and then dismiss. He had only even really been a man to them when they had caught him and Everitt in a compromising position. So they had simply found a private investigator that would work for them and they had hired him to try and keep some sort of tabs on Hayden, probably to try and find some way to... well, Hayden didn't know. Change him? Give him some kind of ultimatum? In the end, it didn't matter because Everitt had really been more content to take the money and sleep the investigative time away in his car rather than do anything. Then Hayden had taken matters into his own hands and gotten in a few petty hits on his parents... and he had gotten a boyfriend out of it. It had been rough on the both of them, at least at first. They'd had to learn to adjust to a lot of things. Hayden had to learn to adjust to a man who was tired, beat down and had lost a lot of hope. A man who lived on a liquid diet of alcohol, with bones and joints that protested the years of abuse he had put them through, a man who had once had a wife and a daughter. Hayden had stormed through all of the information like a whirlwind and he had actually made some good changes in Everitt's life because he cared, God help him. Everitt actually ate food for breakfast and lunch now. Because his job wasn't a consistently physical thing anymore, his bones and joints got a bit of a break. Hayden was an egotistical man - egoism born of the fact that he was a genius, thank you very much - but he didn't think he could rightfully claim that he had completely changed Everitt's life... but he had definitely done some good, even if it was just making sure he actually put fuel in his body that wasn't liquor or spoiled food from three weeks ago. And Everitt, well. Everitt had been forced to learn how to deal with Hayden. All of his anger and conceitedness. All of his snobbery. All of his tendency to just say things without thinking how they would affect people and his tendency to just take control of a situation even if he wasn't precisely welcome to do so. Everitt had been forced to learn to adapt to someone who was deaf without the receiver for his implants, who had a disorder that meant some days he couldn't walk or use a hand, who had a mind that kept spinning into the early morning hours and meant he had to be up and creating. It had been hard on the both of them but, surprisingly, they had adapted. Surprisingly, they had grown close and Hayden spent more time with Everitt - either at Everitt's apartment or at his own apartment - than he did by himself nowadays. Today had been one of the rare days where Hayden had not only not had work of some sort - either official or of his own doing - but he had also been able to just shut his brain off. He had been able to enjoy being with Everitt physically and emotionally. He had been able to just shut his brain off and to lie in bed with the older man. For once, he had been content with that. The only pressing needs were ones of the body and that was easily satisfied with a quick trip to grab a few drinks or snacks. It was possibly one of the few times he had... indulged, he supposed. At least in this. He was finding that he enjoyed it. He enjoyed doing nothing but just lying with Everitt, sometimes dozing, sometimes talking, sometimes just kissing. It was such a vast difference from how all of his previous attempts at relationships had gone. He had only reluctantly decided that his thirst outweighed his desire to stay where he was after a few hours and he had gotten up from the bed and pulled on one of Everitt's far too big and long shirts - at least far too big and long for him. He didn't even know why he had. He supposed there was still a shred of the feeling of the fact that he shouldn't be walking around the place wholly naked and Everitt's shirt was long enough that it covered everything important on him, although it left little to the imagination on his thighs. What he had expected was to go to the kitchen, fish out the few drinks that were there, and then return to the bedroom. He hadn't expected to run across a petite young woman standing in the middle of the apartment. They had just stared at each other for a long minute or two before she had actually slapped her hands over her eyes with a squeak and apologized. It had taken Hayden a moment to find his voice and when he did he could only say the first thing that came to his mind - a loud yell for Everitt to tell him that there was a small girl that had broken into the apartment. Everitt had come in, looking vaguely worried. The worry had dissipated after a few seconds and there had been a sigh in his words as he introduced the girl as his sister. Hayden was honestly tired of finding out about Everitt's siblings because they had broken into his apartment. Hayden had gotten understandably snarky before Everitt had just grabbed the back of his neck for a brief moment. Then Hayden had huffed, had gone to put on a pair of pants in addition to the shirt. Then he had come back and Everitt had announced - for some insane reason - that he was going to get coffee and he left Hayden here alone with a girl who had broken into the apartment and was Everitt's sister. Somehow Everitt expected him to make conversation? It was like he had forgotten who Hayden was. He gave a huff at the apology. "You know, normal people knock." A tiny part of him said he knew better. Everitt might not answer the door at a knock - sometimes because he didn't want to and sometimes because he simply couldn't. His day had been interrupted, though, and Hayden was never a particularly gracious person. He wasn't well known for being kind and generous in his personality by anyone's standards. |
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| Brook Walker | Nov 17 2017, 12:14 PM Post #3 |
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Brook felt a lot of confusing emotions when Everitt had introduced Hayden. She had been confused – because she understood that people could be bisexual, but since when had <i>Everitt</i> been bisexual? He had never had boyfriends before. She had been annoyed – since when did he have this boyfriend? It all seemed awfully sudden and Everitt was not a sudden man by any means. And selfishly, she had been jealous – again, when did he get this boyfriend? Why hadn't he told Brook? Why hadn't he just gone 'hey I'm seeing someone new'? She could understand getting swept up in heady feelings but...but Everitt was her big brother and they were close. It wasn't like they had shut doors on each other; not like Denny and even then Denny still kept doors open in other ways. She tried to keep it from coloring everything about Hayden. She tried to look at him and not see him as someone who had stolen Everitt away. She hadn't done that with Everitt's wife, had she? Maybe that was because Everitt's wife had seemed instantly wrong for Everitt. The first Brook had met her, she had shaken her hand and listened to her talk and found herself questioning what Everitt saw in her to marry her. If Everitt had been a different man, Brook would have assumed he married her because of the child they had. But Hayden...she had watched the two of them before Everitt had left and while she couldn't without a doubt say that Hayden was good for him, she could see that Hayden was leaps and bounds better than the wife. Not that that was hard, but still, it was a step in the right direction, right? <p> She crossed her arms over her chest as Hayden spoke. "<b>Well, normal people don't have brothers that have been known to be drowning in their own sick or being unable to move,</b>" she pointed out. That was just how it had been since the wife and daughter fiasco. As much as she tried to give him space and leeway, when she had come in to find that the reason he hadn't been answering his phone or door had been because he had vomited out most of his insides and had been almost choking on it. He tried to demand what if he wandered around the apartment naked and she had said she didn't care. She didn't care what was going on because if he wasn't answering door or phone when it was <i>her</i>, she was going to panic. She was <i>going</i> to find a way in. Typical Everitt had thrown an arm around her neck and pulled her in close and she hadn't even realized she was crying. She didn't want to lose Everitt, she had told him. He had just said he would be fine, but if it made her feel better, more power to her. He just wasn't going to change his routine for her. And that was the major factor that Everitt's wife had never understood. She had seemed to get it in her head that love changed people into what you wanted; she had thought because she said something, Everitt would change. Everitt was an ox, Brook always thought. He always seemed firmly in the idea of 'fine you do that, I'm doing this'. He didn't change easily, he didn't go out of his way to make changes when something worked. The wife had been flighty enough to change every few days. <p> "<b>So, you're my brother's boyfriend.</b>" Saying the words out loud herself made it all somehow suddenly a lot more real. As if Hayden coming out in Everitt's shirt – in a shirt Brook remembered getting him for some holiday or his birthday – hadn't been enough. Maybe she had somehow expected them to still just be roommates? When she had been in college the first time in the dorm rooms, the other girls had done a lot of things because they were just...around girls. Even the ones that liked other girls in some form or other. They had seemed proud of announcing and just all of them had been 'whatever, we're all women'. Guys had to have the same sort of mentality, right? Except Denny always use to say that guys didn't do that because...well, they weren't gay or if they <i>were</i> gay, nobody wanted anyone seeing each other's parts. But that was just Denny, she had assumed. Everitt had always been more relaxed on that, he always said 'whatever' in the face of that. When people were said to be flirting with him, man or woman, his response was always just 'good for them'. "<b>I want to say that he never told me about you, but that's a lot meaner than I mean to be. We haven't spoken much lately...have you been dating long?</b>" She didn't <i>want</i> to antagonize him. They had both been busy in their lives. Everitt had been struggling with work (but she assumed getting better) and she had been going to school and then she had gotten a job and then she had been going to school <i>again</i> and...there hadn't been time for them to go out like they use to. There had been no 'let's go out to eat and talk'. You didn't just say 'oh by the by' with that. <p> This all felt really awkward. She could at least say that Everitt's former wife had never walked around the apartment without pants on. Even as she thought that, she knew she needed to stop the comparisons. She needed to treat Hayden like his own person, but at the same time, Everitt's wife had been the lowest common denominator. She had just been this perfect picture of someone who was wrong for Everitt. Everyone would get compared for the same signs. But in the end, what would she do? What would she do if Hayden turned out to be like the former wife? "<b>What do you do for a living?</b>" she questioned. Part of her wondered why she was trying, part of her said that she should just sit quietly and wait for Everitt to get home and then they would take it from there. But the problem with that was for better or for worse, this was Everitt's boyfriend now. He was going to pop up here and there, he was going to be a fixture in their lives. The only reason she would have to <i>not</i> interact with him was if he was some kind of insufferable jerk. And right now, he was sort of being a jerk, but on the other hand, she <i>had</i> just broken into the apartment. Everitt was use to that, but Hayden wasn't. Or if he was, he didn't <i>like</i> it. |
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| Hayden Cunningham | Nov 17 2017, 12:15 PM Post #4 |
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Hayden was trying to be nice. It was something that he had found himself almost subconsciously doing ever since he had met Everitt. It had been aided along by the fact that Everitt had grabbed the back of his neck, had basically come up with a marginally subtle way of telling him when he was being a dick. He had come to start to recognize these things a bit more. The results were... mixed. Some days, he actually noticed when he was getting condescending or catty. Some days, he never realized he had dipped into insulting territory. Right now, he knew he should be nice. This girl was Everitt's sister. That meant that she was a family member that Hayden would probably see more of. The thought was almost despairing. He had met Everitt's brother and the result hadn't been pretty. Neither of them could stand the other and it was just one step away from total war every time they were together. Only the fact that Everitt was caught in the middle had ever kept Hayden from getting nastier. He wondered if this was going to be the same. He didn't think he could handle two siblings who broke into the apartment and drove him absolutely batty. His resolve was bound to break with one or the other if that kept happening. He didn't want to do something that might chase Everitt away - he never wanted to chase Everitt away, he didn't think he could handle it - but there was only so much that he could put up with before his temper became frayed. He couldn't stop himself from narrowing his eyes and giving a little huff as the girl - Brook, Everitt had said her name was - crossed her arms over her chest and pointed out, quite rightly, that her brother had a tendency to do things that meant you pretty much had to break in to check on him. Hadn't Hayden had to essentially do the same thing? Of course, he hadn't actually broken in. He had gotten in legally - or mostly legally - by telling the landlord he was worried about his friend and it hadn't been a lie. He had been worried. He had just exaggerated the length of time was all. It was one of the reasons that Hayden had ended up bullying a key out of Everitt. He wasn't always over there but he didn't want to have to break in or bully the landlord into letting him in if Everitt was sick or couldn't get out of bed again. It made it easier on both of them for him to have a key. "That's true but you could have knocked at least once," he huffed the words out again. If she had knocked, Everitt would have heard it even if Hayden hadn't. There would have been warning and he wouldn't have walked in practically naked on a complete stranger in his boyfriend's apartment. Thank God Everitt was so much taller and broader than he was. It meant the shirt had covered everything it needed to cover, even if it left little else to the imagination. If he'd had warning, though, he would have put real clothing on. The biggest issue, he supposed, was the simple fact that this was the one day they had just done nothing. They were going to do nothing but lie in bed together and just relax and that had been jarred spectacularly. There was no hope of going back to that and it made him grouchy. He couldn't stop himself from bristling just a little as Brook started off by saying that he was her brother's boyfriend. It was a lead in that he had heard before from countless people and usually it didn't mean anything good. It was usually someone trying to find something nice to say and getting ready to judge. He should know. Not only was he quick to judge people - another thing Everitt was always chiding him about - but he had been on the receiving end more than once. He had to wonder if she was judging him based off of the fact that her brother had a boyfriend, on his looks, on his attitude or if it was the very obvious implant. He had gotten used to it over the years, but he was still quite able to hone in on when people were fixating on it. It always got his blood up. "Yes," he spoke finally, hearing the haughtiness in his tone already creeping in. "I'm his boyfriend." It was still amazing, in a way. That he should meet Everitt, of all people, again after eight years and for neither of them to hold a grudge and to still be attracted to one another. He bristled again as Brook began to speak again but when she continued on he found it hard to be mad about that, at least. She had clarified herself quickly. The problem was that he didn't quite know what to say. They'd sort of dated and never really broken up eight years ago but they didn't and they did? How much did she know about what had happened? She seemed startled her brother even had a boyfriend, which didn't exactly put him in the best of moods either. "A bit," he hedged on. It had been a few months, so a bit was more than correct... and they'd had the weird fluctuating time between when they had fucked the first time and then Hayden had hired him on, too. He wasn't quite sure when to really start counting the time, honestly. He shifted uncomfortably. Just because he had a tendency to breeze into and through things - and to just say whatever he wanted - didn't mean that he didn't feel awkwardness, too. It had certainly been getting much more notice after Everitt. He had opened Hayden's eyes to quite a bit. He shifted just a little more and then straightened up on the couch as Brook asked him what he did for a living. "I'm a research engineer, focused on computers." Though he knew he shouldn't, his tone couldn't help but to say 'but you wouldn't understand that now, would you'. It wasn't that she was a girl or a younger sister or anything like that. It was the simple fact that Hayden had always been considered special and on top of things. He had always been highly ranked in his classes and he had even finished college early and gotten a very good job. He was used to being considered better than everyone else and it still came through even when he was actively trying to curb it. Belatedly, he realized it was also considered rude to talk just about yourself and he supposed since Everitt hadn't told him a damn thing about his brother until he had broken in it wasn't as if Everitt was going to just jump in and tell him things about his sister, either. He cleared his throat awkwardly before he spoke, his words a bit stilted. "And you?" |
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| Brook Walker | Nov 17 2017, 12:15 PM Post #5 |
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Hayden narrowed his eyes at her and personally, Brook was surprised that Everitt had found someone like this. Was this the kind of person he liked? All right, so maybe she was being a little unkind. She and Hayden had only just met and realistically speaking, it wasn't the best circumstances. She raised an eyebrow as he huffed out that she could have knocked at least once. "<b>Would you guys have even heard it?</b>" Everitt was a werecoyote, just like her, but they couldn't deny they were also urban humans as well. They were use to odd noises and were use to turning down their senses – especially when they wanted to focus on something else. And then the moment passed, the moment of pouty sullenness eased back. "<b>You're right, though,</b>" she sighed a little to herself. "<b>I'm sorry. It's just...I've gotten so use to Everitt being alone and not having anyone there for him that I just wasn't thinking.</b>" One of the few lessons she had actually taken from her mother was that it never hurt to apologize. It was a social grace that many people lacked, that a lot of <i>boys</i> lacked and that was why girls needed to be a bit more on the ball. She might have dismissed the words years down the road if Everitt and even Denny hadn't stressed that was important. Denny wasn't exactly the best at apologizing, but she had seen him do it (with his nose bloody and the other man's eye swollen but they were still somehow friends). She had heard Everitt apologize too; stiffly as if it hurt him to say, with sincerity that said he understood he had done wrong. The fact of the matter was she <i>had</i> just burst in on her brother and his boyfriend. She supposed Hayden was welcome to be annoyed and she was understanding that an apology would at least start a bridge. <p> Maybe if she had knocked and waited Hayden would have been a bit more receptive to her. What had she walked in on, honestly? Everitt hadn't seemed all that bothered, but Hayden <i>had</i> been wearing his shirt and Everitt was usually pretty laid back about a <i>lot</i> of things. She tried to remind herself that Hayden had a reason to be snippy, even when she felt she didn't deserve the tone he was taking. "<b>Well, that's great. It's been so long since he's had anyone, I was starting to worry,</b>" she offered with a smile. It seemed a bit...odd that Everitt was dating a man, but it wasn't unheard of. It wasn't like their family had ever sat down and talked about what their preferences were, after all. Their father had been closed off from them, their mother probably would have pushed them into things they didn't want. And between siblings? Well, she didn't <i>need</i> to know that her brothers were gay, straight, bisexual, or whatever. The fact was just that Everitt was dating a man while previously he had been married to a woman. That was his business. Brook's only business was being assured that Everitt was taken care of. "<b>Well, I have to say I'm kind of relieved to hear it's only been a bit. I'm sure that makes me terrible, but I think I would have felt like a horrible sister if you guys had been dating for years and I hadn't known.</b>" Everit would make excuses, he would say she had been busy or he was being private, but that didn't excuse anything. She could have made time, she could have called him and made him talk to her. If he and Hayden had been dating for longer...that would have been inexcusable. A more recent dating could be played off. <p> She wished Everitt would come back. She wished he would come and sweep Hayden up or just relax the atmosphere because he was there. She wished he would come home and tell her she should head out or Hayden needed to calm down. Anything to fix things. But then Hayden answered her question and she could feel herself brighten. "<b>A research engineer! That's so exciting! So I take it your all out of school then? I've heard it can take quite a few years depending...everyone always makes it to sound like it's almost ten years, but...but still! You must have breezed right through it to say it so nonchalantly.</b>" She laughed lightly. Because Hayden had said it nonchalantly. He had said it with the air of someone who had done it and it was <i>easy</i>. Hearing this made her feel like the baby sister all over again, eagerly chasing after someone else who might have shown the same interest as her and her wanting to dig her hands into it and hold on. It felt like so few people who <i>were</i> engineering students ever wanted to talk to her. Not because of any major reason, she felt. It was more she didn't get to the same classes as they all did, stuck having to do as many online courses as she could get. Personally, if she only saw a person once or twice in a class, she wouldn't think they were very serious either. That was the downfall, she supposed. <p> A moment later and Hayden finally asked her what she did. A little self consciously she tucked a bit of hair behind her ear. "<b>Oh I'm nanny,</b>" she offered, "<b>I watch three kids most of the week from like eight until five. The money's good, the kids are pretty well behaved and the parents are understanding.</b>" Denny had been almost disappointed in her, asking her how she could do that sort of thing because she was worth a lot more. She couldn't deny that it was fun, though. She liked it for what it was. "<b>But,</b>" she continued on, "<b>I'm also going to school for biomedical engineering.</b>" she beamed at him, so proud that they had something to talk about. Granted, he was computers, but they were still both engineers. Though...then again, odds were good that because he was all ready graduated, he wouldn't want to talk with her. IT was being that kid sister sort of thing. |
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| Hayden Cunningham | Nov 17 2017, 12:16 PM Post #6 |
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Hayden did his best to not bristle as the young woman raised an eyebrow at his statement. He didn't think it was that big of a deal to ask for a simple courtesy like someone knocking before they broke into their family member's house out of concern. Hell, Hayden had knocked more than once the one time he had been forced to go and get the landlord. A part of him wanted to be prickly and offended at the insinuation that he wouldn't hear anything but she had said 'you guys' and not 'you'. It was just ingrained into him to be prickly about things involving hearing nowadays. "Yes, we would have," he answered confidently. He was certain that they would have simply because they hadn't been doing anything. Hayden had just been lying and letting his mind go blank for the first time in days and Everitt had honestly been dozing. It had only been the fact that he was thirsty that had even gotten Hayden to crawl out of the bed. Another morning, maybe he wouldn't have heard because they would have been... indisposed. Today, though, he was confident that one or both of them would have heard a knock on the door. Especially Everitt. He frowned a little at the heavy sigh and then as Brook apologized and said she had gotten used to Everitt being alone. He didn't like hearing that at all but he knew it was fact. Everitt had been alone for years. Eight years, if he hadn't really had any company since the first time that the two of them had met. He didn't want to be forgiving because his day had been rudely thrown off and interrupted but he knew he couldn't be too mad about that specifically. If she was worried about her brother and was used to him being alone, well, she probably didn't care what she did so long as she had a chance to find out that he was okay. He gave a sigh of his own. "I guess it would happen," he grumbled the words out. It was as close to an 'it's okay' as she was likely to get. Hayden wasn't exactly the most open in admitting he was wrong or in forgiveness. He had been trying to change that... somewhat. Hayden just eyed Brook for a long moment as she said it had been awhile since Everitt had had anyone. He knew it was true. It wasn't even because of a cocky sort of thought that of course Everitt wouldn't have had anyone after him. It had been eight years. Hayden would honestly expect him to have had something. Hayden had, after all. It was the way that she said it that gave him pause. As if Everitt hadn't had anyone. Had he been celibate? Had he just had short flings? Had he dated anyone? The more he thought about it, the more Hayden honestly began to wonder. He wasn't so egotistical that he thought that Everitt was so torn up about what had happened eight years ago that he wanted no one else but he wondered if maybe Everitt just hadn't decided it was too much effort because look where it had gotten him. "I guess we both had a dry spell for awhile," he finally said. It wasn't quite true. Hayden had fooled around and dated here and there. In terms of long lasting, meaningful relationships though... well, he definitely hadn't had one of those since Everitt. He had tried once or twice but it had never worked out and so he had just stopped trying. He wanted to find a way to take offense to the girl's words as she said that she was happy that they had only been dating soon. He knew that was just his being contrary and out of sorts since his day had been interrupted. Before, he probably wouldn't have acknowledged that but Everitt had changed some things about him. He shifted just a little on the couch, wondering how much she knew and if he should even divulge anything. It was his story, but it was Everitt's story, too. Maybe he didn't want his sister to know about what had happened between them in the past. Maybe he'd told her all about it and if she knew he was that person she would decide he was awful. Finally, he just shrugged a little. "We dated once before. A long time ago. Neither of us talked about it much then or now so I guess it would be hard to know." It wasn't that he was ashamed or even scared - not now - but his life with Everitt was his life with Everitt and not someone else's. In his opinion, no one needed to get nosy and get details. He was starting to falter. He was never good at social niceties. He had always been too stuck up and rude for most people to want to hang around and he had honestly never learned some of the social cues until he was older. Another thing to thank his parents for, he supposed. Keeping him away from other children for so long had seemed good enough at the time - after all, they had told him over and over, he was special - but it hadn't helped him make any friends. Acquaintances, people that had to be nice to him, sure. He couldn't ever remember having someone that was a friend, though. No one had wanted to be and no one had ever really seemed to care what he did until Everitt. It was wrong of him to not try more than what he was doing, to be so short with Brook. It was also wrong of him to blink in surprise as the girl brightened up at him rather than looking confused. He had honestly thought she would have no idea what he was even talking about. "Ah, yeah. I started college early and I graduated early." It had been a good thing, too. He had lost the support of his parents when he was twenty and been forced to pay for the remainder of his college on his own. Thankfully he had been smart with his money but it still would have been tight if he hadn't gotten done so quickly and out into the working world early on. When she said she was a nanny of all things he was ready to just dismiss her altogether. She had been excited to hear he was a research engineer but maybe that had all been for show. She could pick locks, obviously, so maybe she was very good at pretending like she knew about things. Honestly, he hadn't known people even hired nannies even more. Oh, sure, he had had one but that was twenty some odd years ago and he hadn't kept her that long. Once he had hit six or so she had been dismissed. He couldn't imagine people still had nannies nowadays. "Ah," was all he said to that. He didn't want to chase her off simply because he realized Everitt would probably be mad at him. He hadn't seemed that bothered when Hayden and his older brother had been at odds but little sisters were different, he was sure. Maybe. Hayden wouldn't know since he had never had siblings. But then Brook continued to speak, beaming at him as she said she was studying engineering as well - biomedical engineering, no less. Though horribly rude - rude enough that even he recognized it as so - he gaped at her for a moment. "You are?" he finally asked, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice. |
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8:37 AM Jul 11