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Post by Tiff on Jan 17, 2011 23:27:22 GMT -5
Avery parked in front of the apartment complex where the Conner's family lived and with a great burden on his shoulders he walked up to her door. It was such a shock, walking up to a door that wasn't familiar, although the person behind it was. He knocked and stood with his hands in his pocket, he'd made a decision one that could put there relationship in the trash bin, but in his mind there was no time like the present to tell her what he'd done with Sara than now. At least if things were going to end, she'd have an opportunity to start over in this new town than if he waited.
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Post by Kelli-wa on Jan 17, 2011 23:59:09 GMT -5
Gracie had figured that Avery would come over today. They'd been back to normal since the day he was sick, or as normal as you could be after a hurricane that had destroyed your home at least. She smiled as she opened the door and saw him, "Hey, babe, come on in, we can go to my room, Tally's out exploring right now..." She looked at him and winked before she started back toward the bedroom expecting him to follow her.
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Post by Tiff on Jan 18, 2011 0:15:18 GMT -5
Avery followed her, he wasn't going to interrupt her while she was talking and he'd feel more comfortable telling her in her room than outside. At least inside she could break down without anyone else seeing her, without further humiliation and if she wanted she could beat the crap out of him without other's coming to stop her and her becoming the villain and him the victim. "Is she liking the new town?" He asked.
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Post by Kelli-wa on Jan 18, 2011 0:20:19 GMT -5
Gracie sat down on her bed and nodded at his question, "Yeah, she is, actually. I think she's happy anywhere Zane is, though. She's taking this move way better than our last. I think its because she has someone other than her family that she could take with her." She smiled softly at him and patted the bed next to her, urging him to sit down. She sighed, "How are you doing, do you like it here?"
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Post by Tiff on Jan 18, 2011 0:31:45 GMT -5
Avery sat down next to her and put his arm around her. He couldn't help but show her affection, not even with this heavy burden sitting on his shoulders. "I'm glad to hear it." He sighed and shrugged at her question. "I'm..." He wasn't ready to tell her, he needed to, but he just didn't want to not yet. "I'm doing alright I suppose. I miss Cadence, but you know she wouldn't have wanted me to dwell on it. I like the town, I like that it has a college-y feel to it and of the few people I've met so far, I'm glad that they are all so friendly and accommodating. It would suck if they weren't so friendly to strangers." He looked her in the eyes and wished he didn't have to tell her. Sara was gone and as far as he knew so was Malachi, no one would tell her, and he could take it to his grave, but he'd always feel the guilt.
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Post by Kelli-wa on Jan 18, 2011 0:57:30 GMT -5
She nodded as he said that he missed Cadence. She looked back at him and smiled, "Yeah, I miss Martin too," she said her eyes shining with a few tears as she smiled lightly and looked down. She licked her lips and shrugged, "I think he'd be disappointed if I wasn't strong, though." She smiled and swallowed, but nodded, she'd had the same experience around town. "Yeah, have you gone to that little diner yet? Mom took us the other night, trying to be nice I guess," she said with a shrug. She smiled at him and swallowed softly, "But they are really friendly..."
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Post by Tiff on Jan 18, 2011 1:10:25 GMT -5
Avery smiled back. "Yeah I wandered in there, I swear the milkshakes are going to whip me out of shape they are so addicting." He laughed. "Has your mom found another job yet, or is that not top priority." He looked down at his shoes. "I think I saw a help wanted sign in the window when I was wandering. The owner's sister helps out, but the girl is apparently taking six classes at the university..." He knew this because he'd listened in to Abby, the owner, talking to one of the locals. "I can't imagine taking that many classes and trying to work, probably why I'm joining the military, huh?" He felt awful for every word coming out of his mouth, he didn't want to leave Gracie now, not with all the crap that they were dealing with, leaving her in a new town and eventually with the weight of his unfaithfulness sitting on her shoulders, it would just be too much for her, well it would be too much for him if he was in her situation. "I can't believe it's only a few months out."
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Post by Kelli-wa on Jan 18, 2011 1:24:02 GMT -5
Gracie giggled at his words and shook her head, pushing his shoulder a little, "Oh, yeah right, Ave," she said, shaking her head. "You couldn't get out of shape if you wanted to, you've imbedded the routine too far into your brain to quit." She let herself lean her head against his shoulder softly, "Well, she's looking, but it isn't urgent. We have the insurance money from the house which paid for Martin's--bills..." she said softly. "But since we've got the apartment there's still a lot of that insurance left. We'll be fine for a while... I think she saw the sign which is why she took us there, even though she didn't tell us that..." She licked her lips and smiled, "Yeah, good thing..." She shook her head lightly, she wanted these next few months to last as long as possible and was honestly praying for more time, even though she knew she wouldn't get it. "I know... It's so soon..."
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Post by Tiff on Jan 18, 2011 1:46:56 GMT -5
Gracie's giggled made him happy, no matter how grave the situation was, no matter what horrific he felt. "I wasn't trying to push or anything, I just don't want you to suffer you know. I'm glad to hear you're doing alright though and that your mom isn't drowning in debt." He put both of his arms around her and hugged her tighter. "My mom is putting herself into her work and spending any extra time she has working on redecorating the house. Dad's been locked in his makeshift dark room since we moved in, he didn't lose much, he scanned all of his pictures into the computer and saved them to a flash drive years ago, problem is he forgot to label them, so after we unpacked the necessities he's been going through each one trying to find all the pictures of her and reprint them you know." Avery couldn't believe he was able to hold it together, any talk of Cadence before sent him straight into a tear fest. "Lexington has decided he's staying in Chicago, you wouldn't know it, but he and Cadence were a lot closer than even she and I were, so he's taking it pretty hard." He cleared his throat. "I have to tell you something." He rested his lips on the top of her soft hair and stared at the wall.
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Post by Kelli-wa on Jan 18, 2011 2:06:13 GMT -5
Gracie shook her head and smiled at him, "Dont apoologize or anything, pushing means you care," she said lightly. "We're suffering as little as possible, but everything is hard. Mom tries to stay strong but you can hear her crying in her bedroom. Honestly I wish she'd tell Tally and I, but she was finished crying together right after... The funeral," she said, finding no way around it. He shrugged lightly in his embrace happy to have his warm, strong arms around her. A small tear fell on her cheek but she wiped it away quickly and licked her lips. She smiled, "I bet they're having a blast back in MABtown, they're probably together. I bet they don't even miss us," she said lightly with a soft giggle at the happy little thought. She smiled at his last statement and wrappe her arms around his middle, "Oh yeah? And what is that?"
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Post by Tiff on Jan 18, 2011 2:24:51 GMT -5
Avery fought the tears that were forming as she spoke of her family's dealing with the loss. He laughed at her little joke. "Yeah, they better not be having too much fun." He believed in God and Heaven and all and seriously hoped that the two of them were together up there or where ever. She was snuggled in his arms and he was so comfortable with her the way they were, he was terrified of how she would take the news or if she'd even believe the words he was going to say.
He hadn't told Monte about it, but his brother had known, he'd told Sara to get the hell out of his room and that if she fucked things up for him and Gracie, he wouldn't hold back, he'd mess her up. Turns out the weather did it for him, but when he returned to his own room to take care of Avery's head and tell him about what he knew, he knew exactly what Sara had really done to him. "I know she raped you." Monte said, as he lifted him up and switched out the towel. Avery had tried to tell him she hadn't, but Monte shook his head. "The fuck she didn't. I know it's some badge of courage and a pride thing with you, you're this tough, soon to be Airman and you don't want anyone to see you as some weakling, well the people who care about you aren't going to think it, so admit it, say it. She raped you and you couldn't do anything about it unless you hurt her and we both know you wouldn't do that, no matter how much she hurt you."
"You remember when I was sick?" It wouldn't be too hard to recall, he was never sick and it hadn't been that long ago in the first place, so it was more of a rhetorical question, but he left it, he didn't continue, he was already choking on the lump in his throat and needed all the extra time he could get where she wasn't hurling fists at him.
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Post by Kelli-wa on Jan 18, 2011 2:32:12 GMT -5
Gracie smiled at his statement and shook her head, "I'll bet they are, just because they can," she said with a giggle. She didn't mind what they were insinuating. It happened and she didn't care at all in the end. She sighed lightly and licked her lips, thinking of all the wonderful things she loved about her brother and Cadence. She let out a light sigh and closed her eyes. She bit her lip lightly and let her hand trace the design on his shirt while he asked her about the time she'd been sick, "Oh yeah, I remember," she said with a grin. "I still can't believe I didn't catch that, it seems impossible, I'm always sick."
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Post by Tiff on Jan 18, 2011 2:43:12 GMT -5
Avery scratched the back of his head with her comment about not catching it. "It would have been hard for you to catch what I had, unless you'd taken part in some sexual activity that wasn't with your boyfriend." He lifted his head from the top of her head and looked at the other wall. "I was raped Gracie." He said quietly, still finding it hard to say the words Monte had told him to say. "By Sara." This was even quieter, almost inaudible. "I was sick with guilt and disgust with myself and with her...and though the actual intercourse only happened once, she went beyond that, she tormented me at school, she'd only just left me when you found me in front of the bathroom and that day when you called and Monte told you I was asleep because we'd just come from getting my stitches, she'd crawled into my bed and scared me so bad I busted my head open on the corner of my bedside table." He felt dirty all over again and waited for the blows or the accusations that he was lying.
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Post by Kelli-wa on Jan 18, 2011 3:02:03 GMT -5
Gracie moved her body away from him a little with his first words, not quite sure she wanted the rest of the story. When he said what had happened she licked her lips and shook her head, she honestly didn't think it was possible for men to get raped. She shook her head and opened her mouth, "I... I don't understand. She raped you? Monte knew that she did? She shook her head. I don't get it... Did she like tie you down or something?" she asked softly. She searched his eyes for the answers. She didn't think she could be mad at him no matter what had happened. Not right now. "Avery, why didn't you just tell me that? I could have done something or--" She shook her head, she couldn't have done anything besides stay with him as much as possible, but that didn't stop Sara from finding him alone in the halls. She let a hand press through her hair. "Ave... Why didn't you let me know? I want to know when you're in trouble," she said as tears threatened at the corners of her eyes.
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Post by Tiff on Jan 18, 2011 3:15:49 GMT -5
His face was instantly red as she moved away from him, a new emptiness opening up inside of him as the warmth of her body left him. He felt like a deep hole had opened, a sink hole and he was caving in from the inside. He wanted to disappear, to back track, and not tell her anything. "I couldn't tell anyone." He said, his voice breaking and pitching. "Monte just knew." He assumed she'd pick up on the fact that he was a twin. He explained to her the events of that night, how she'd called him to go running and how he'd fallen into her trap, how his body had willingly reacted to the stimulation and how his body had refused to listen to the screams from his head not to. He admitted to being black mailed into agreeing to further acts of intercourse in order to protect Gracie, and that Malachi had found out and made him promise not to do it again, making the entire ordeal a hundred times more complicated. "I'm sorry." He couldn't hold her, she was too far away and his resolve was crumbling, he thought he'd be stronger with Sara being gone, but he wasn't in the clear and even if Gracie forgave him, he was sure he'd still be troubled with the entire ordeal.
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