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Nick chuckled at his reaction.“I’m sorry if I startled you. I always seem to forget how engrossed one can become in a good book.”
He nodded slightly and then took a seat.
“I know what you mean. I usually do the same thing. I haven’t read anything in awhile though. I’ve been too preoccupied to spend time with my books.” Nick shrugged and sipped his drink.
“So. How have you been? It’s been a little while since we spoke last. Have any more interesting cars entered your garage?” He looked over at Dean with a curious eye as he swirled his drink in his hand absentmindedly.
“Oh no, man you’re good.” He’d been a little jumpy anyway. There had been mentions of hard pain killers in the book he was reading and it was setting of a mild trigger. He was hoping the beer and the burger would stave off his want of hard narcotics. Rubbing a hand over the crook of his elbow he shot a questioning look to Nick.
“Oh, really? Preoccupied good or preoccupied bad?” Dean asked, hoping the question wasn’t to personal. Nick had said that he was unemployed previously and Dean was genuinely curious as to what he had been doing with his time. Especially given the comfortable lifestyle the man seemed to live.
“Just that Caddy, although a spoiled rotten college kid came in with a pristine 65 Mustang fastback for a tune up before he left on spring break. Thought I probably should judge since I’ve driven my car since I was in high school.”
(Source: ramblingmechanic)
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Nick had been busy the past few weeks receiving calls from his contacts in Chicago. Things had been rough there for a bit, but he’d been able to smooth things out and avoid conflict this time. He doubted he’d be as lucky next time. When tension rose again, he had a feeling that he’d be making a trip back to Chicago for a little while.At the moment though, Chicago was far from his mind. He’d been stuck inside of his apartment for far too long and was feeling rather stir crazy. On a whim, he’d decided to go out and get a drink and let himself relax for a little while. The calls could wait until tomorrow.
He still hadn’t explored much of Lawrence since he’d arrived, so he picked a random bar to check out and stepped inside. He ordered a Jack on the rocks and stood off to the side for a moment as he surveyed the room. He didn’t know most of the people in this town, so no one stood out to him at first. When he took a second glance, he noticed a familiar face behind a book sitting in a booth.
Nick smirked slightly and walked over, leaning on the nearest wall before he sipped his drink.
“Good book, I’m guessing?”
Totally engrossed in his book, Dean doesn’t realize that he’s being shadowed until Nick speaks. He looks up with a jolt and then smiles, a little embarrassed at his reaction. He’s surprised to see someone else out during business hours for a second then remembers that Nick had said he was looking for work.
“It’s a great book. Le Carré is the quintessential spy novelist.” He stops short, aware that he was about to ramble like he tended to when people asked him about books. “Uh, the movie came out and I like to reread them after.”
Dean straightened in his seat, moving his feet down as he gestured to the open bench across from him. He wasn’t used to company being the town’s social pariah but Nick hadn’t seemed to know of his past the last time they had talked and the fact that he was here now probably meant he didn’t know or didn’t care.
(Source: ramblingmechanic)
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Lawrence is a ghost town. Spring Break has cleared it of all the students and Dean’s only one of a few people walking around downtown. Usually there would be college kids filling the coffee shops and running errands but not today. It had been so slow at the shop he hadn’t felt guilty at all leaving a note on the door with his mobile number and heading out.
His midterms had gone so well he was going to treat himself to a couple of beers and something completely unhealthy to eat. He slips into a bar and settles into a seat, lifting a hand to get the bartender’s attention.
Once a beer is in hand and a bacon cheese burger is on the way, he pull out a battered Le Carré novel and settles back in this booth, kicking his feet up on the bench.
Dream with the feathers of angels stuffed beneath your head…
(Source: awfullyfabulous.com, via sharptongueddevil)
#music #the regulator #clutch #((OMG an RPer who knows clutch))
Just Get It To Stop! | Dean and Abella
Abella nodded her head slowly, feeling as if she was going to cry again. “O-Okay,” she whimpered, wiping the edges of her eyes. With a shaky breath she held her legs to her chest, feeling as though nearly everything she knew about herself was falling apart.Dean was right, though, and she knew he was, so she couldn’t ignore the advice. She’d end up getting hurt and would make an ass of herself for not listening to him in the first place.
Dean was so surprised she had actually heard him out he nearly called out, really, but instead he offered her a smile and rubbed his hand down her shoulder. She needed a break from all the excitement. With a sigh he realized he’d be babysitting two tonight.
“Do you have anything to help you sleep, I’ll sack out on the couch in case Mr. Fussy wakes back up. You’re going to need to have a fresh mind in the morning.”
Just Get It To Stop! | Dean and Abella
Abella frowned deeply at the mention of her student, suddenly feeling a pit form in the bottom of her stomach. Was she doing something wrong? Had she handled the situation correctly? “I’m not changing my tune about him, I just-…I won’t be able to sleep at night if I don’t even try to help him. M-Maybe he just needs someone to reach out to him, y’know?”
She had the same thoughts when it came to her student, but she could tell that Dean just wasn’t having any of it. Maybe distancing yourself from people was easy for him, but it definitely wasn’t for her. As much as she wanted to take his advice, everything that she knew about herself and, well, everything else, was telling her not to. Honestly, she was just completely unsure of what to do.
Dean chewed his lip, unable to think of anything else to say that would convince her that this was not good. Well anything else that didn’t involve bringing up himself. It made him uncomfortable to talk about himself. He shakily drug his hand through his hair with an exhale.
“I have voluntarily told you more about myself than anyone else ever.” He sighed. Dean knew he may have hit a dead end with her but at least he knew he had thrown every punch. “I speak from experience when I say there is no amount of talking or reaching out you can do. People change when they want to. No one was there for me. I did it on my own, when everyone had left me. Sometimes a little tough love is what they need.”
Just Get It To Stop! | Dean and Abella
Abella squeezed her eyes shut, feeling her body tense a bit as he got more upset. She knew she should’ve never said anything in the first place and she was near ready to just apologize to him for bothering him with it. She wasn’t sure if he really wanted an apology, though, for all she knew apologizing could just make matters worse and that wasn’t something she was going to chance.“I know he does,” she whispered, keeping her eyes closed a moment before she took in a deep breath and forced herself to relax. She sat back and starred at a random spot on the floor, taking in another shaky breath. “He won’t get help, though…which is why I want to help, try to get him to go see someone.”
“You’re going to get yourself killed or seriously hurt Abella,” He kept his voice steady and even, not wanting to yell at her. “You can’t save everyone, it’s not possible to even try. This is just like that kid at school that groped you, and sense you didn’t say anything about how that went I’m guessing it didn’t go well.”
Dean sucked in a breath. “You’re afraid of him and you should be, so don’t play this brave little soldier crap. Stay away from him. Get the restraining order. You obviously didn’t want him to find you, so why change your tune about him now?”
Just Get It To Stop! | Dean and Abella
Abella bit down on her bottom lip, glancing up to meet his eyes. “I don’t want him getting in trouble,” she murmured, brow furrowing just a little at the thought. “I-I just want to help.” Abella knew that she probably sounded like a total moron, but she didn’t care. She’d feel terribly if she got him into trouble, no matter what had happened in the past.
She crossed her legs under her and propped her elbows up on her knees, looking straight ahead for a moment. She really didn’t want to get hurt, but at the same time she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if he was just put away. She still felt that he deserved to have someone try to reach out and help him, no matter what the previous circumstances were.
“You don’t want to get him in trouble?” Dean gave Abella an incredulous look, unable to believe what he was hearing. He pushed away from her, allowing himself to fall on the armrest. He scrubbed a hand over his face, this wasn’t going to end well. “You personally can’t help people like that. You’re going to get yourself hurt. Or killed.”
He was almost angry now. He took a few deep breaths reminding himself that someone who had been abused by a love one would not appreciate his exasperation. ”He needs help sure, but he needs professional help. To be under the care of a psychiatrist.”
Dean pushed aside the voice in his head reminding him that he was a hypocrite for saying it when he should be as well. It had taken him three years to get tested for diseases after he kicked. He figured his brain could wait as well.
Just Get It To Stop! | Dean and Abella
Dean listened attentively, continuing to stroke Abella’s back. His throat went dry and his whole body tensed. She didn’t need to go into any detail to explain the ‘other stuff’. He knew what she was talking about without asking. He had enough hard life experiences, been on the receiving end of such brutality and although he’d been able to fight back, he’d been dope sick and weak most of the time. Maybe he’d bring it up to her, later, so she would know but now she needed to talk, get it all out.
“You’re not going to go back to that.” Dean stated firmly. He drew in a deep breath to try and calm himself. There was no way he’d be able to help her if he was concentrating on his past.
“Do you have a restraining order against him?”
Abella shook her head, letting out a shaky breath that resembled all too closely to a sob. “No,” she mumbled, not really planning on getting one, either. She really didn’t want the guy to go to jail…she just wanted to help him, but she couldn’t go back to what had happened to her. She just couldn’t. She wouldn’t be able to handle it- right when her life was starting to get stable, things began to fall to pieces.
She brought her hands up to wipe the edges of her eyes, beginning to feel as though her life might never be normal. Even when she moved away from everything, it still came coming back for her. …Maybe she should try talking to the guy. Maybe she could figure it out on her own…maybe she could help.
“If you’re in danger, you’re going to have to get one.” Dean kept the steady tone to his voice. He hadn’t had much luck with Abella taking his advice before and he had a funny feeling this wasn’t going to work out much better. If there was anything he had learned in his life it was that if people didn’t want to take your help there was no use in wasting your energy.
Dean situated himself on the couch so that he was more comfortable. He hated to see someone so stressed and miserable but he had learned a while ago that you can’t save everyone. It was obvious that this was Abella’s subconscious intentions. It was going to be a long, painful road for her if she didn’t come to that realization soon.
