readsinbytes | (no subject)

[ Honestly, Charlie's trying to not stress herself too much over her foolish choice. Foolish to her, at the very least. She's dragging someone into her own issues, and that doesn't feel right.

Don't worry; a small part of her is in fact telling her she's being stupid by worrying too much about this. So, in a tone that's a lot more truthful than the one she'd used before, she speaks. ]

Yeah....I think that'd be very helpful. Thank you, Eli. See you in a bit?

[ Okay, she wants company. He can tell by the tone in her voice. ]

Yeah. I'm leaving now.

* * *

And he does leave right away. Charlie's important to him.

* * *

It's about a half an hour before Eli shows up at the big villa. Although he knocks at the outer doors, it's just to let them know he's here. He lets himself in and sends Charlie a quick voice message via phone to say

I'm here. Where are you?

while waiting in the courtyard.

In the kitchen is the quick voice reply. She'll be found there trying to find something to eat. So far, it doesn't look like she's found anything. Or she just can't focus enough to find anything interesting. Shortly after sending Eli her message, she starts relaxing a bit more. It's easier to remember that Neil is in good hands, that he'll be home and fine soon. She isn't sure why Eli gives her that sense of peace, or why it's so much easier for her to breathe, but she certainly appreciates whatever it is.

A few moments later, Eli enters the kitchen from the courtyard. "Hey," he says and reaches for Charlie to pull her into a hug. He's not even sure if she'd want a hug, but it seems like she could use one.

All he could find by tracking Regina's phone is that Neil's sick, Regina's scared, and she's really carefully managing what she's telling the kids. He's not planning to ask any questions until he's sure she's steadier.

She's absolutely okay with the hug, her arms going around his waist and her face pressed against his shoulder. This wasn't fair, really. She was upset that Neil was sick, she was annoyed at how helpless it made her feel. And she's terrified. She might be shaking just a faint bit, most of her focus on keeping her abilities in check.

After some silence from her, her eyes closed tightly, she finally steps back out of the hug and looks at Eli.

"Sorry...uh...thanks for coming by. I'm really glad you're here."

Eli's surprised by how relieved he feels when Charlie lets him hug her, and it feels pretty good to know he's helping her. He doesn't really want to let go, either, so he keeps a hand on her arm when she steps back.

"Nothing to be sorry for," he reassures her. "What can I do?"

She kind of shrugs, hands reaching up to run through her own hair in frustration. This was all a terrible and horrible and very bad idea, and part of her wants to tell Eli to just go home because she's being stupid. But she knows he'd refuse, and that makes her want him around even more.

"Are you hungry?" She asks after a moment of nervous silence, hands dropping from her hair and leaving some of it mildly wild looking. "I mean, I'm not, but I like cooking when I'm stressed and kinda...wanna show you something in the process. It's nothing bad, but...you're my best friend. I think you should see this."

Eli'd been just about to offer to cook, and now he's caught off-guard. His gaze drops slightly and he starts out dully, "Um."

It only takes him a second or two to shake that off and smile wryly at himself. "Sorry, yeah." He runs his hand through his hair and of course it falls right back down. "I was going to make something for you and the kids. But it's cool. You can do it. Or..."

Another little smile. "We can do it together and you can show me whatever."

(no subject)

Re: 11/19 - after texting with regina - audio

Re: 11/19 - after texting with regina - audio

Re: 11/19 - after texting with regina - audio

Re: 11/19 - after texting with regina - audio

11/19 - so this got lost in my spam folder and i'm p/ annoyed.

Re: 11/19 - 'm sorry! should've told you I'd tagged

Re: 11/19 - it's ok! real life ate me, anyway. here! have a tag.

Re: 11/19 - it's ok! real life ate me, anyway. here! have a tag.