nishka//loki (nishka) wrote in repose, @ 2018-02-21 17:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | *narrative, nishka bariss |
Log: Nish/NPC
Who: Nish and Rob [NPC]
What: Nish makes a decision, and finally stops lying to herself.
Where: Nish’s room at the B&B
When: Wednesday, February 21, 2018
She chewed on her thumbnail as the phone rang, two, three, four rings. She thought hopefully that he was busy, maybe unable to answer because he was working, but she knew she wouldn’t be that lucky. She didn’t want to have this conversation with him, but she also had to.
“Hello?” he answered, and she felt her heart leap in her chest, anxiety making her hesitate before speaking.
“Can you talk?” she asked carefully, always aware that he may be with people who weren’t supposed to know he had a sister. She heard movement, a door closing, and then a soft sigh. “Yeah, for a bit, what’s up?” he asked. More hesitation, and then she finally steeled herself and came out with it.
“I think I’m going to stay here, Rob,” she said finally, wincing a little in anticipation of his reply.
“What? Why?” he asked, his voice hushed a little, as if there were other people who may overhear in another room. She sighed softly.
“Rob, I’m tired,” she said, “and I could go back home, near you, but...I know how it will be,” she explained, suddenly needing him to understand what she still didn’t. Not quite. “Your work is just as important to you as mine is to me. I’d be moving back just to be alone most of the time. And...there’s memories there. I moved away for a reason, after all,” she reminded him. Stephen could find her again if she moved home. A restraining order wouldn’t stop him, she knew that. And everything in that town reminded her of him. And of Heather, and their parents.
He sighed, and she knew he was nodding. “I know,” he said. “I was hoping to take myself out of cover work once you got here, spend some time with you.” She chuckled softly.
“And be miserable?” she asked. “Rob, you’re just like me. Your work is important to you, and you’d be miserable if you couldn’t do it.” She let out a short bark of laughter as she thought about what she’d just said. “Hell, these past three months have been bad enough after what happened, but with no work to focus on, it’s been even worse.”
“Do you have a job lined up there?”
“I have an interview on Monday,” she said with a nod, “a small firm in the Capital, just outside of town.”
“They’d be stupid not to hire you,” he said, and she smirked.
“Don’t worry, they will,” she said with probably too much certainty. Because of her gift, she’d never been to a job interview where she didn’t get the job. Maybe it was unethical, but the firm was always happy to have her regardless.
He chuckled in answer. “Look, Nish, I just want you to be happy. And if staying there will make you happy, then go for it,” he said.
“Well, I don’t know if it’ll make me happy,” she smiled, “but...I think I need to decompress for a while. And I can do that here. It’s a small town I can disappear in, and I still haven’t found all the answers I’m looking for.” Rob made a sound in the affirmative.
“Well don’t drive yourself crazy looking too hard,” he warned, “and take care of yourself, okay?” There was a pause of companionable silence. "You're sounding better," he commented. She smiled just a little.
"I'm dealing. It's...different than when Heather died. Or when Mom and Dad died. With them...there was shock, there was pain, but...losing family is different than losing a fiancee," she sighed.
"I know. And it will get better, you just need time," he said, his voice softening. She nodded, but just then she could hear a soft knocking wherever he was. He sighed in frustration. “Look, I gotta go, but I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Alright...I’ll let you know when I’m settled,” she said, used to his hasty ends to their calls, but grateful that he'd seemed to understand. Now all she had to do was find a place.