February 14
Olivia & Andrew & Tristan Some shit bar Late night, post letter-writing meltdown.
Andrew Moreau 7:06 pm He was 25 years old. It shouldn’t have felt like his life was over. It sure shouldn’t have been one of many times he had endured the feeling. It was beginning to be something of a trend though. Every high seemed to be followed by a new low, and this latest was impressively profound. Melisande didn’t want him near her, and he couldn’t blame her for that. Kaylee was doing that thing she did, where she hovered and worried. He appreciated the sentiment, but he was glad she wasn’t old enough to follow him here. She wouldn’t have approved of the gin he nursed in front of him. It was his fourth one tonight and he was slowing down a little, wringing out the lime wedge into the glass.
This was the second bar he had tried tonight. The first one, some girl had come up to him complaining about a lacking return phone call. He wasn’t up for dealing with that. What Gabriel had done to his reputation was probably beyond fixing, but he wished it was the worst of his problems. Aegis was running smoothly. It had recovered too well from what should have been a crippling blow, but maybe the new leadership, some guy named Kitriel, was just that good. The Sidhe were dealing with Gabriel, and he had faith that the sentence would be harsher than anything he could carry out, but he felt detached from the supposed “justice” that had been promised. Once they found the bastard. At least Mel was safe. And Hailey, she was still getting sick periodically, and no one could figure out why. Kaylee was under coven guard constantly, and that was just great, having them show up at his house…
Everything was piling up around him but no one actually needed him for any of it. So here he sat, drinking away the hours, and mulling over one failed idea at a solution after another. He had started out trying to be productive in his thinking at first, but now it was mostly reminiscing. Thinking about her didn’t do anyone any good, but he couldn’t help it. How had he thought distance was the solution to keeping her safe? If he had just been there, Gabriel never would have had his opening. She would have known exactly where he was those nights. Not that it mattered if she believed him now. It had become about more than fidelity. The monster had used his face for his game. He couldn’t imagine someone getting past that, even with his vague understanding that she had been through worse.
The real Andrew didn't touch Jameson. Gin was his go-to, but whiskey and beer were the two things he never touched. He wasn't clean-shaven today either. He just didn't have the energy for that kind of thing,and he didn't even bother with a tie to go with the button-down. He was slumped over the bar, and quite frankly he looked like shit. He wasn't about to seduce anyone, the way Gabriel sought to.
Olivia Hamilton 7:21 pm Olivia had just walked into her favorite bar, and once the bartender saw her, he had the low-ball glass of Jameson poured once she reached her normal spot. Olivia needed what she thought of as her medication. It curbed her appetite, and it was becoming an everyday thing. Olivia had seen better days. Today, her hair was a mess, her eyes slightly reddened, the circles under her eyes had a slightly yellow-brown color, and her cheeks were more prominent than usual. It was obvious she hadn't fed in a few days now. Since her run-in with Andrew a couple nights ago, she hadn't been the same. Him saying that they would've had a beautiful child, reminding her of that day...it killed her. She always felt it was her fault. Her fault for staying late at work. For not using the skills that Andrew had given to her as a human. For not having her finger on her phone, or even calling him, on the way to her car. She killed herself, and their unborn child. She, essentially, killed them.
Olivia was feeling defeated and broken, and it showed. She saddled up onto the barstool, and hungrily grabbed onto the glass of Jameson. The bartender said his hellos, saying her name outloud so the man who was slumped over the bar would hear it if he so choosed. She knew she had to eat, and she would...eventually...but it was her way of punishing herself. "What's the matter with this guy?" she spoke gruffly. Her voice slightly hoarse. "Fuck if I know," said the bartender. "Looks like shit. Either he lost someone, or ist just some drug addict needing a drink. As long as he pays, I don't give a shit."
Olivia offered the bartender a nod, the edge of her lip curing up to look like it was going to smile. She could smell his blood, and it made her hungry, but once she started drinking, she felt better.
Andrew Moreau 7:22 pm ((Okay, so if it makes a difference, it would be a few weeks after that run-in, because I have it after Mel is safe. I couldn't get him interacting before that, because he was too crazy.lol))
Olivia Hamilton 7:22 pm [[no worries.]]
Andrew Moreau 7:27 pm He did hear, and he sighed into his drink. Of all the goddamn luck… He couldn’t handle Kaylee right now, so how the hell was he going to handle this? He stood to pull out his wallet, making sure not to turn to face Olivia. He dropped the cash on the bar, more than enough to cover his drinks. The bartender’s careless comments didn’t exactly warrant a tip, but he only had twenties and he wasn’t going to wait around for change. He did down the gin left in the glass.
He wouldn’t be driving to the next bar, that was for goddamn sure. He hadn’t realized how much he’d had until he stood up, and then he gripped the bar for a moment to gather his wits. If he was going to walk a straight line to the door, he’d have to focus. He’d always been good at pulling it together, but he was running on empty here. He had hardly eaten in weeks, and his tolerance was down. That happy life of his hadn’t warranted much time at bars, and he’d always been the one driving from the parties they went to. Throw in sleep deprivation and the gin was getting the best of him in no time.
Olivia Hamilton 7:32 pm Olivia watched the man trip over himself, sure that he had had too much. Of what, she had no idea. It could be a multitude of things. Drinks, drugs...fuck! Even life. She steadied one foot on the floor as she slightly stood up, putting her arm out to help steady him.
"Woah there, buddy," she said. "You okay? You need me to call you a cab or something?"
She hadn't seen his face yet, so she had no idea that it was Andrew. She'd always been the friendly type, and it was a hard habit to break. Even with strangers.
Andrew Moreau 7:37 pm He shook her off, waving a hand in dismissal. If he could just walk away. He didn't sare say a word to her. He didn't give a damn how he looked, but Christ, he couldn't handle anything else now. He couldn't deal with it. He tried not to think about any of it, to just focus on walking away. The door was so close.
He could call his own cab. Hell, he should go home. Poor Kaylee was woried out of her mind. Although him showing up like this, would that really help matters? He still had a key to Mel's... He could go there. And now that he thought of it, he wanted to. The thought of it was almost enough to choke him. He had avoided those reminders, but now all of a sudden he craved them, the comfort and the pain alike. Maybe it would be an intrusion, but the house would be empty more likely than not. She wouldn't be there and the coven probably wasn't bothering either. And if they were, well... Easier to deal with them than his sister right now.
Olivia Hamilton 7:46 pm Olivia set down her drink and stood up completely from her barstool. She wanted to help the guy at least to the door. "Let me just help you to the door, then what you do from there is your thing," she said to him. "C'mon."
Olivia tightened her grip on his elbow. She was strong, but not so much so that she could crush him. "It's a dangerous world out there," she whispered to him. "You don't want to get hurt. Just be careful."
Andrew Moreau 7:50 pm It sure as hell sounded like a threat coming from a vampire. He was in no condition to be fighting, so if her idea was to go outside with him then he would be stupid to let it happen. Even with his mind clouded as it was, he was a Hunter in some sense of the word. His arm tensed under her touch, and he stopped, letting those exhausted eyes slip shut for a moment.
Goddamnit.
Nothing could just go smoothly. So he gave up, and spoke up. "Let go of me." He managed, somehow, not to slur, though the words were a little too concise to be natural, a sure sign they were taking mroe effort than usual.
Olivia Hamilton 7:56 pm That voice. She knew that voice too well. What happened in the last several days? Or was it weeks now? Time had been such a blur. Then he was so calm and sweet. Nice, even. She was confused and didn't understand what in God's green earth was happening. "A-Andrew?" she asked, tucking her mussed hair behind an ear. "Are you okay? It's me...Olivia."
She didn't know what to really do or say at this point. Her confusion was only growing. If this was the Andrew she spoke to not all that long ago, why was he being this way? Why was he not looking at her and being rude?
Andrew Moreau 8:02 pm "I know who you are." He snapped it, which was unlike him, ever. He actually pulled back, and it wasn't graceful like he always was. This Andrew, ironically, seemed less like himself than Gabriel had. Another imposter in his skin. He certainly didn't feel like himself.
"This how you get your fix these days?" It was uncalled for. He wouldn't deny that. He just didn't care.
Olivia Hamilton 8:06 pm "My fix? What are you talking about?" she asked, still confused. Her brows furrowed, lips pursed. "Wh....what the hell is going on?"
The last question wasn't meant for him. It was just a general question out of confusion. Olivia looked to the bartender who only shrugged at her. To him, the man wasn't his problem. The bartender liked Olivia. Thought she was pretty, but all the same, she didn't get mixed up in people's personal lives. "Why are you being so mean all of a sudden?"
Andrew Moreau 8:12 pm He glanced to the bartender, still coherent enough not to go rambling about blood and vampires in a human establishment. Maybe he should have gone somewhere on the other side of the Veil, but those places tended to be awfully high energy. "All of a sudden?"
He should have put it together but he wasn't exactly in any shape to be deducing anything. It seemed unlikely that Gabriel had run into her. Could even he have that miserable luck? "Hey, while we're having this cute little talk." He emphasized the last word sharply, an unsteady gesture accompanying it. "Where do you get off talking to Melisande?"
He wasn't allowed near her, but he could still be overprotective.
Olivia Hamilton 8:19 pm Olivia was taken back, standing straight and backing off him a bit. "What the hell? So I'm not allowed to talk to people you know now? We bumped into each other while walking opposite directions. It was talking, and then I kept on my path. I would never do anything to her." She said the last sentence firmly. She knew things would be like this between them. Maybe that night was a fluke, Maybe he was on ecstasy or something. Hell, she didn't know. Stranger things could happen, right? "I'm sorry for walking down a street."
Andrew Moreau 8:26 pm "Wouldn't you?" He stood his ground, angrily, for a moment. Then the anger abandoned him too and he just looked exhausted again. He shook his head, as if that could clear up the world. He felt sick and it wasn't just the liquor.
"Stay away from her. After everything I did for you, you can do this one thing for me." It was quieter, as he was turning away from her again, debating the door.
Olivia Hamilton 8:32 pm "No, I wouldnt," she said firmly. "Believe it or not, I wouldn't. She was my friend once, too. I told you I was sorry for everything. What happened in the last couple weeks, Andrew? You were so nice, we had closure, and now? You're acting like a huge jerk." She was beyond angry at this point. Hurt, confused, angry. Those weren't good combinations for a hungry vampire. She could never physically hurt people she knew and/or cared about though. At least by taking their blood. "You know what, Andrew? Get over yourself. Not everyone is out to get your and your precious girlfriend."
She turned and went back to the bar, sitting down in her spot and grabbed onto her drink. Whatever he had to say, she didn't even want to hear it now. For all she cared anymore, he could go out there and the world would take care of him how it see fit. It certainly giving her every bit of her dues, and had been, over the years. None of which were good at all.
Andrew Moreau 8:36 pm "The last couple of weeks..." He said that with a terrible desperation. So much had happened. "The last couple of weeks... When?" He rounded on her, which he regretted, grabbing the back of a chair to keep from falling. It was a pretty real risk. He laughed, pulling the chair out to sink down with an elbow propped on the table.
"Christ, he was busy..."
Olivia Hamilton 8:40 pm "I don't know, two weeks ago? Three? Shit's become a blur. You asked me if I still loved you. You said we could've had a beautiful child. All in all, it brought closure. You were nice and sweet to me, which was surprising because I know how you hold a grudge. Should've known that wasn't going to last. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a bottle of Jameson to kill. Don't hurt yourself out there."
Olivia threw back the rest of her drink, holding it forward for the bartender to fill. He was there, almost immediately, the spout emptying its delicious and comforting liquid into her drink.
Andrew Moreau 8:44 pm "I didn't..." He winced a little at that, and despite his anger moments before, he was sorry that she had been toyed with that way. His luck was insanely awful.
"Come here, I need to talk to you." It was somewhere between a request and a demand, but at least it was soft-spoken. If she did come to the table, where the conversation could be between just the two of them, he continued. "So everything you've seen, I expect you can believe me when I say that wasn't me three weeks ago. It was a Gancanaugh. One that I pissed off pretty royally... And a few days after you ran into Melisande, he took her. I don't know what all he said to you, but he's still out there, so you need to be careful. If he thinks going after you will get at me... I don't know."
Olivia Hamilton 8:53 pm [i would NEVER piss off spiderman in that case. OMG. I would rather pull my teeth out with a fork." *]
Olivia Hamilton 9:00 pm Olivia was thoughroughly confused now. The haze between not feeding, the liquor hitting her a bit easier, and him being here was beginning to be all too much. She hesitated to follow him, letting out a big sigh. She threw down a fifty dollar bill, more than enough, and asked the bartender for just the entire bottle of Jameson. He obliged, handing it to her, and that's when she followed Andrew.
Olivia drank the rest of her low-ball glass on her way to the table, pouring another one once she sat down. She let the full glass sit there as she sat back in her chair, arms folded across her chest. She didn't look at him, but instead past him.
"A what?" she asked at the name of what the creature was. "But he-he looked just like you. Smelled like you...his voice was yours. Those eyes. The things he said. What I said to him." Her sentences were short as she was trying to make sense of things. She bit her bottom lip as it quivered. She did't want to cry. No. Not over this. Not over him. She couldn't do it anymore.
Andrew Moreau 9:06 pm "It's a type of dark Sidhe. And that was all magic, playing on your memories. They employ a...toxin..." He waved a hand in the air, wiggling his fingers. Evidently that symbolized magic. There was no cheer in the joke though. There didn't seem to be any left to him at all. "He did the same thing to her."
He let his hand drop, looking solemnly to the table and lowering his voice. "Only she didn't get off so easy as you did." She wasn't wrong about him being caught up in himself. He was so torn up over his own suffering right now that he was blind to hers. If he was even avoiding Kaylee, that certainly meant this had to be rock bottom for him.
"And he kept up the illusion the whole goddamn time. I mean, how can I expect she'll ever be able to look at me after that?" It wasn't really a question. He didn't expect anyone to have answers for him. He figured he already knew the answer.
Olivia Hamilton 9:12 pm Olivia didn't know what else to say or do at that moment other than lift her drink up and chug it down. It burned, but she just wanted to make sure she still had feeling. Olivia had absolutely no idea how much the world was wacked. This was probably only the surface, too.
"Magic..." she trailed off. She was still angry, not so much at the real Andrew now, but more at the fake one. Tricked. Nice. Real nice. "So he took on your identity and fucked up your reputation, which in turn Melisande believed, now he has her and he used me to get information as well? Jesus Christ. Can there be one day of normal? Just one?"
Olivia took a deep breath and looked back to Andrew. "Can I help in any way? I want to find her. For you. If you love her, I don't want this one to get away."
Andrew Moreau 9:19 pm He laughed again. There was no humor in that either. He was just too drunk to keep it down anymore. "He leaned against the table, face cradled in his hands, muffling his reply. "We found her. I've lost her, but she's safe now."
He knew all of this because they had found her. Even though he had only seen her form a distance . That was a comfort, it truly was, but the aftermath wasn't exactly sunshiney. "I meant it before." He dropped his hands to look at her. "About staying away from her. Even if you mean well, you know what you are now and what that could mean. She's afraid of that and she's right to be. If you want to do something for me, then just promise me that."
Olivia Hamilton 9:22 pm "Fine," she said. "Done."
Olivia didn't like being told what to do as if she were a child. She hadn't gone actively seeking Melisande out. They truly had bumpped into one another. Two girls on their respective cell phones not watching at all where they were going. If Andrew wanted Olivia to avoid her, fine. She could do that. She wouldn't harm her, and she had meant those words, but all the same. "Anything else?"
Andrew Moreau 9:24 pm He shook his head, then tilted it back, eyes on the ceiling, the dim lights. "No."
What else was there? "Drink yourself into oblivion, honey, don't let me disrupt you. Just watch out if I show up all sweet and friendly again. Ain't really like me, you know that." He was pushing himself up again now. Slow and steady. Or, steady enough...
Olivia Hamilton 9:30 pm Olivia plastered a fake smile on her face. It was more like one of those 'fuck you very much' types, but all the same. "Believe me, I will. Thanks."
She watched him struggle a bit to get up, but she herself did not move. She sat there, staring straight ahead at the opposite wall as she tried to keep her composure. What he had told her felt like a swift kick to the head. She wished herself that rather than the other in all honesty, though. Every bit of bad that happened in her life carved at her future self. She was becoming more and more angry and bitter by the day. It wasn't a good look to her, but she didn't know what else she had.
Andrew Moreau 9:35 pm Normally, he would have considered that one more of his responsibilities, but Andrew had lost sight of his faith in people and in happy endings. In himself, most of all.
He couldn't save anyone. But he would at least call a cab, and do his waiting outside.