InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "You'll shoot your eye out!"

Abigail Therese Hart (lapislazuli) wrote in haunted_roads,
@ 2008-03-22 16:14:00

Entry tags:

abigail, anthony

WEEK FOUR: Monday
Who: Abigail and Anthony
Where: 13th Floor, Old Town Towers
When: Monday night

Abigail couldn't sleep, again. The dream had come early that night, almost directly after she'd laid her head on the pillow, without even a minute of uninterrupted darkness to lull her into a false sense of security. It had seemed sharper, too - the blood darker, thicker...when she'd woken, she could have sworn she'd seen a figure hovering by her bed a moment, before her mind cleared and she realised it was just her full length mirror, reflecting shadow.

Her heart was beating too fast in her chest, and she'd been sweating, even though it was still chilly in her small apartment. After half an hour of pacing around her living room, distractedly, she'd decided it might be a good idea to get out of the house. Not a particularly rational thing to do, at just shy of midnight, but she was still groggy from sleep and dizzy with the scraps of disturbing images from her dream.

She slipped on her bathing suit, a tshirt and a pair of faded pinstripe pants, grabbed a towel, and headed out. She never went up to the pool, during the day. It made her feel awkward, parading around in barely any clothing at all, in front of an audience. She rolled her eyes, inwardly, as she stepped sleepily in to the lift. Stupid of her to think she'd ever have made a good artists model, given how uncomfortable she was with her own body. Ah well, that was certainly a lesson learned.

The thirteenth floor was, as she'd hoped, deserted. Nobody was lurking in the roof-top garden, tonight, and the pool was still and clear. One toe dipped in the water determined that it was far too cold, despite being heated. But the spa seemed inviting. She'd just slip in for a few minutes, try and relax a little, then go back downstairs. Maybe if she took the time to unwind, the dream wouldn't bother her again, tonight.

She couldn't help looking around the deserted pool area several more times before slipping off her tshirt and wriggling out of her pants. She felt exposed, in the black bikini, even with nobody watching. She slipped hurriedly in to the warm water, pressing the button and allowing a flurry of bubbles to engulf her, tipping her head back to look up at the sky, too cloudy for stars, tonight.

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shadowwhisper
2008-03-22 07:50 am UTC (link)

He had fed well that evening. Though, it had not lasted nearly as long as he had wanted, but the clubs just were not doing anything for him that evening. And it had been far too easy for him to find a meal. Some cute little number that he left in the backseat of her car. It was always easier to let their own minds come up with an excuse for what happened than to try and make one after all.

When he got back to the Towers, he rested in his condo for a little bit, before the restlessness came back to him. He was used to having some scheme or another to work out, but that evening he only had the desire for a meal. And once that was done… he literally had nothing else to do. And for the first time in a long time, Anthony found himself bored.

So, he decided to go make use of the Towers facilities. At the very least, the upper floor was good for one thing. Even dead, the muscles in his body tended to knot up. A nice dip into the hot tub was just what a doctor would have ordered. So, he got himself a suit, and put it on. Mortals always caused a stir when doing such things in public au natural. If nobody else was up there, he figured he’d do things how he wished, but if there was, it was always better safe than sorry.

It would be several minutes after Abigail was in the water when Tony stepped out of the elevator. He threw his towel over his shoulder and walked over toward the spa, and paused when he spotted someone already there. He shook his head a little bit as he regarded the figure, but decided to go ahead anyway.

When he recognized her, a smile touched his lips. Perfect. Maybe the evening would not be a total waste after all. Stepping to the side of the spa, Tony glanced toward her as he laid his towel out on one of the benches. “Evening. Didn’t think anyone else would be up here tonight…”

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lapislazuli
2008-03-22 08:00 am UTC (link)

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice anyone approaching her, at all. Her eyes had slid shut several minutes after immersing herself in the water, allowing her to drift dreamily, her thoughts only touching the corners of the disturbing images from her dream, managing to shy away from recalling them properly.

She jumped when she heard a voice near her, her eyes flicking open rapidly, the colour draining from her face when she saw him. Oh. Great. Wonderful. Fantastic.

She was at a loss for words for a few ridiculously lengthy seconds, glad of the bubbles in the spa that provided her with some measure of cover. It put her in an awkward position, however. She wanted nothing more than to get up and leave, immediately, but if she did...well, she really didn't want him to see her in a bathing suit. Ever.

"...hi." she managed, eventually, trying her best not to stare at him, given the fact that he was practically in his underwear. Why were bathing suits so damned immodest? It made her feel like a pervert, just making eye contact. "...yeah, I couldn't sleep, so..." she shrugged, lamely. "I don't really like coming up here during the day. Too busy." the last two words said pointedly, as she glanced up at him, an eyebrow quirked.

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shadowwhisper
2008-03-22 08:09 am UTC (link)

“You don’t need to feel so awkward, you know. You weren’t the first young lady to run out of my studio.” Tony said with a soft chuckle and a shake of his head. “Hope you don’t mind if I join you?” Not that he waited for an answer, but it was always polite to ask, after all. If he noticed her looks toward him, he did not show it as he slipped into the water opposite of her.

“Definitely way too busy during the day. You won’t ever catch me here then. As much as I like crowds, time in a spa is meant for smaller groups.” He wanted to say ‘more intimate’, but he knew that would run her off, and he didn’t want that just yet.

He let himself submerge for a moment, before he broke the surface. He reached up to brush his wet hair back as he closed his eyes and leaned back against the edge of the tub. “Oh, that’s much nicer.” He said in that soft voice of his.

He was silent for a moment, before those brown eyes of his opened and glanced back toward her. “Can’t sleep? Trouble at school? Or just bad dreams?”

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lapislazuli
2008-03-22 08:15 am UTC (link)

She declined to comment, when he mentioned their previous meeting. It wasn't something she liked to think about. Truth be told, she was quite embarrassed by it, although in retrospect, she still maintained it had been the right thing to do. Not worth making yourself uncomfortable.

Even if that was what she was doing right now. But she saw no way to extricate herself from the situation, just yet. She was trapped. She momentarily considered hurrying out of the pool for the brief moment he was under the water, but there wasn't enough time, and she'd probably end up slipping over and cracking her head open on the tiles, in her haste. And that really would be embarrassing.

Instead, she settled for drawing her knees close to her body, under the water, and wrapping her arms around them defensively. So much for a nice relaxing spa.

When he mentioned dreams, she twitched, involuntarily.

"Mm." she shrugged, noncommittally. "I'm a partial insomniac." she bit her lip, looking at him, for some reason feeling obliged to admit to having 'bad dreams', regardless of the fact that she really didn't want to. "...yeah. Bad dreams, I guess. Bit of an understatement."

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shadowwhisper
2008-03-22 08:25 am UTC (link)

He did his best not to show his amusement at her reaction to his presence. It was not difficult to see how nervous she was, after all. A nicer person might’ve left, but Tony was definitely not a nice person. Instead, he just let himself relish in her reactions, and her skittishness.

“Bit of an understatement?” he asked as he arched a brow toward her, and he tilted his head to the side as his own eyes searched her face. Almost as if trying to make sense out of her words. “The dreams are that bad, huh? I hope I wasn’t the cause of any of them.” He stretched his arms out on the edge of the tub as he continued to watch her.

“Have they been going on long?” Tony then asked as he let his gaze shift away from her. He took in the rest of the spa slowly, as he made sure that nobody else was around at the moment, before he glanced back toward her. “Have you told anyone about them? I’ve been told its always a good thing to talk about stuff that bothers you in dreams and all that. Some mental mumbo jumbo, but I’ve met some philosophy majors who swear by it.”

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lapislazuli
2008-03-22 08:31 am UTC (link)

I hope I wasn't the cause of any of them...

Why did that sit badly with her? Something about the way he said it made her heart skip a beat, awkwardly, and she drew her knees even closer to her, in response.

Stupid thought. He hadn't meant it like that, of course. And it was silly to even attempt to figure out whether or not he matched the look of the person in her dream. The person in her dream was in shadow. And besides, the person in her dream did not exist. It was just the product of an stressed mind, or something. A very, very stressed mind.

"Awhile..." she admitted, her mouth forming the words without her consent, causing her to frown at herself, irritated at how easily she was spilling out what had previously been closely guarded secrets. "...since I moved here. I imagine it's just stress. Pressure from University, that kind of thing." but that never bothered you before you moved here...and they're hardly the typical 'oh crap my I've turned up to class naked without my assignment' dreams...

"I don't like to talk about them." she finished, quietly, looking away from him, awkwardly. "Fuck psychology. I can cope."

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shadowwhisper
2008-03-22 08:41 am UTC (link)

The more compact and defensive position she was in told him as much as he needed to know. She would hate him when she found out the truth, but that didn’t bother Tony at all. One angry mortal was as much the same as any other mortal to him.

“A while?” he asked as he hmmed softly, as if he was giving the matter some thought. “That doesn’t sound so good… I wonder what the problem might be…” The last bit brought a small smile to his face. “Best we can ever do is cope, isn’t it? All most of us can hope for..”

Tony then gave her a nod of his head. “I understand. I am after all, a stranger. Creepy one at that, right?” She did, after all, run out on the photo-shoot meeting. “If you don’t want to tell me anything, you don’t need to…”

“You seem upset enough at my presence as it is anyway. I wouldn’t want to make you even more uncomfortable than you already are.” He did keep smiling, however, as he spoke and watched her.

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lapislazuli
2008-03-22 08:51 am UTC (link)

"I don't get along well with people." she bristled, defensively. "You're no exception, so please don't get carried away and think you're...I don't know...special, or something. I'm socially awkward, and I don't like telling people things." she frowned, again, hoping that little spiel had sounded convincing. It was more or less the truth, although she usually didn't have quite such violent emotional reactions to people, as she did to him. Her gut, and the little voice in her head, just wouldn't shut up about how dangerous he was. Which was silly, really. He hadn't said or done anything that would give her to believe something like that - apart from being vaguely lewd last time they'd met. Generally lewd men didn't bother her that much - tell them to fuck off, and get the hell out of there. But there was just something...unsettling, about him.

"You're not creepy." she lied "I'm just not cut out to be a model, and that entire situation made me uncomfortable. It's fine, now." another lie. She hoped she sounded convincing.

"The dreams are fucked up, that's all." she shrugged, still wondering why the hell she was opening up to him about it. "Recurring, same images, same themes. Not all that pleasant."

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shadowwhisper
2008-03-22 09:02 am UTC (link)

His hands came up at her rant, almost as if to say ‘I surrender’. “Wasn’t thinking anything, Abigail. It’s the middle of the night and something’s bothering you… that’s the only thing crossing my mind.” He was tempted, however, to sneak into her mind. But, for the moment, he was going to be a good boy and play ‘fair’. As fair as anyone would be in the situation.

“And you’re not a very good liar.” Tony said with a soft chuckle and a shake of his head. “You had me pegged for some sleazy photographer trolling college campuses for easy women. I admit I should have been good, rather than play into what you thought of me that night. Might’ve gone better.”

He was then silent as he considered her words, before he nodded his head. “Fucked up recurring images… yeah, that doesn’t sound like a good thing. What images?” he then asked as he shifted himself back in the tub to fully rest against the side of it. All so that he could focus his attention on her more.

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lapislazuli
2008-03-27 02:12 pm UTC (link)

So he'd been playing with her, had he? Pretending to be something he wasn't just to freak her out, or get a rise out of her?

Well. ha ha. It had worked.

She scowled at him briefly, still irked and unsettled by his presence. It was ridiculous, really, how much of a dislike she had for this man. He'd been quite nice to her, all things considered. And he was certainly behaving, now, as if he were genuinely concerned about her.

Perhaps that was what seemed wrong. Why should he care? He didn't know her for a bunch of grapes.

Yet still, her lips parted, forming words, carrying on with her story despite herself.

"Eh..." she shrugged, stalling, trying to stop herself from continuing. But it was impossible. Perhaps she really did want to tell someone. Perhaps in doing so, she'd feel some relief. Some catharsis. Perhaps the dreams would stop.

Did she want them to stop?

She looked away from him, to the fairy-lights and lanterns flickering in the roof top garden.

"Violent stuff." she murmured, quietly, the images stealing unbidden in to her mind, obscuring the garden, and the lights. "Shadows. Just a dark space, and then a figure...and then...blood. All that blood..."

She shivered, trailing off, staring listlessly in to space as if bewitched.

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shadowwhisper
2008-03-29 06:41 am UTC (link)

The scowl brought a smile to Tony’s lips. Her entire reaction amused him, though he was quick to turn the smile back to a consoling expression as he watched her. He didn’t need to read her mind, in order to read her reactions. They, so far, seemed to be quite in line with what he had come to expect.

“Eh… that is not an answer…” he said softly as he watched her. He tilted his head a little as he let his eyes wander over her face. Though, from time to time they did fall down along the length of her neck, before they returned to her expression.

When she described her dreams, he was silent for the duration. As if he was thinking about them, and how she was putting them, and just how they might actually look as if he was having them himself. When she stopped, he leaned his head back, and gave a soft hmm sound.

“Shadows… blood… violence… those cannot be god dreams…” He lifted his head as he glanced back toward her. The shiver she gave, made him stare at her for just a moment as he reached out with his mind. And he gave her a nudge with his powers, a nudge to make the memories seem that much more real. If even only for a moment.

“Sounds like something real dark… I don’t know if I’d be able to sleep with dreams like that. At least, you’re not tied down to some bed.. that might mean you had some serious issues…”

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lapislazuli
2008-04-01 01:44 pm UTC (link)

Abby, despite all the reading she had done, was not well practiced in the art of shielding her mind. Furthermore, her on-again off-again skepticism made it difficult for her to believe that doing such a thing would ever really be necessary - certainly, she would never have deemed it necessary in this situation.

Tony's brief invasion in to her mind, therefore, was entirely successful.

She shivered visibly, even though her body was still almost completely submerged in the warm water. It seemed as if, just for a second, reality had shifted - the scene in front of her, the garden, the lights, suddenly warping in to something else. A dark room, her body - bruised, bleeding from a gash somewhere, though she couldn't be sure where. Her wrists were tied. She couldn't move.

And then just like that, the world came back in to focus.

She shook her head, closing her eyes tight for a second as her head throbbed in sudden, inexplicable pain.

And then she became aware of him, again. His words.

...at least you're not tied down to some bed...

Her eyes snapped open rapidly, fixing him with a stare that was half bemused, half horrified. Nervousness and embarrassment be damned - she had to get out of here now.

She slipped out of the water wordlessly, scrambling up on to the marble pavement beside the jaccuzzi, reaching rapidly for her towel. She wound it around her, not bothering - not daring - to look back at him as she gathered up her clothes and headed directly for the lifts.

In that moment, it didn't seem possible at all that what he'd said was a coincidence. He knew something. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably, and she swallowed heavily, veins constricting, legs shaking terribly as she halted before the lifts, jabbing her index finger violently on the call button.

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shadowwhisper
2008-04-03 06:23 am UTC (link)

Mortals were always so entertaining. They always had such interesting reactions when it came to such images. Tony grinned when he watched the shiver run through her body.

But by the time she opened her eyes, that grin was gone, and he was once again just sitting there and watching her reaction. He tilted his head as she stared at him.

“What? What’s wrong?” he asked, though she was already getting out of the water. He started to lean forward, but he stopped halfway through the motion.

He didn’t say anything further, though, and instead just watched her as she made her escape. He just sat there quietly until the elevator door had closed. And then, Tony was laughing. He shook his head.

That was a worthy ending to an evening. A very worthy ending. It might take some time, but sooner or later she would be back. The look in her eyes told him that. After all, she just might get curious as to what he really knew about her dreams. And just what those dreams were about.

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