Annie Brown (once Pravett) (annie_brown) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2009-07-23 20:41:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-06-09 |
Who: Annie and Harrison
What: A phone call, then meeting
Where: On the phone, after that Sarah's Place
When: Late afternoon, 4:30ish
Hal had told her that he'd left messages for Harri, messages that were never returned. Annie had no idea what to make of that; it could have been anything from Harri disliking Hal, which made sense given Hal's attitude, to Harri not wanting to get involved. Kaye had visited, but Harri didn't come with her either. Annie picked up the phone, and set it back down for the sixth time in a row. She just...wanted to know if Kaye had found him alright, if everything was well. Plus, she'd glimpsed two of his business cards on supernaturals that had visited her diner. Neither wanted to talk about it, and she didn't ask questions, but she wondered why he was giving them out. Was he treating those people on the side? It made sense; he was the sort to find those who needed the most help and couldn't get it. She sighed. Hal would say she was romanticizing the issue, making Harri sound more noble than he was.
But no matter what, Annie knew Harri wasn't alright. It had only taken one meeting to tell her that, and it had been weighing on her ever since. She just hadn't figured out a way to approach him. Being his ex wasn't enough. If they'd had a child together, it would be different, but there was nothing like that to require them to stay in contact. Until now, she'd honored that, not trying to track him down or find out too much about his life. Until Lillian had called, of course. And then Kaye had come to town. All the signs were pointing to the fact that Harri was in distress.
Surely, though, his family knew better than her how to deal with it...didn't they? She'd been absent from his life for years now, and the fact that he'd been hiding who he was during their marriage made her feel even more a stranger. But if his family was helping, she just needed confirmation. It was still Harri. She couldn't stand by and do nothing. Resolutely, she picked up the phone a seventh time and dialed the cell that she'd spotted on his business card.
Harrison was heading out to his truck when his phone rang. He wasn't thinking and didn't look at it before answering. "Hello?" He asked as he put the keys into the door.
For a brief second, Annie hesitated. She had been half-hoping, half-dreading getting his voicemail. Which made his actual answering the same mixture of those two. Thankfully, her voice didn't crack when she said, "Harri....it's Annie. Are you....you're off work, then?" She was loathe to interrupt him at work and always had been. It just wasn't professional. Glancing up at the clock, she figured it could go either way.
His head hit the door of his truck and he leaned forward into it. He was going to have to note that number in his phone. "Yea. I'm off." Well at least he'd left her be, but if she were the one calling Hal couldn't come back and yell at him. Not that he was afraid of the man, he just didn't like being yelled at.
His tone didn't tell her much one way or the other if he was happy to hear from her, or irritated. Annie bit her lower lip, before answering, "I didn't want to bother you at work, but I wasn't quite sure when you got out." She'd thought about calling the clinic to find out, but that seemed underhanded. It still took a lot of effort to say next, "If you're free....I wanted to know if you'd be willing to stop by Sarah's, for some coffee. You said that you like Sarah's, right?"
"I'm going to be there anyhow." It wasn't a direct invite as more a statement of fact. It was after work. After work he went to Sarah's for dinner. That was that.
Annie sighed. He was going to make her work for this. "Harri, help me out here," she said, a bit wryly. "Would you mind if I came by Sarah's and had coffee with you? Because you're going to have to tell me one way or the other."
"Annie, you're a responsible woman who can make these choices for yourself. If you want to come, you'll come." Harrison said hanging up the phone. Honestly he didn't know what he'd want. There was a part of him that missed her deeply, but being around her reminded him of everything he'd lost and how his life was slowly falling apart. He didn't know if she was going to show or not, but whatever she decided he'd deal with.
Surprised, Annie held the phone out, looking at it like it would give her an explanation. Gritting her teeth, she said, to the dial tone, "Sure, I lace my own shoes and everything." Fuming for a moment, she added, a bit loudly, "Oh, I could have died and everything, don't be all concerned at once." It was unsatisfying, and she replaced the receiver in the cradle a bit harder than she intended. Damn him. No matter what, he wanted to push her away.
Well, today she wasn't getting the message. There was more going on, things that were affecting him badly. Namely and most likely, his job. Annie didn't flatter herself that his decision to put his work overseas ahead of their marriage was a difficult choice. If he'd still wanted to be with her at all, he wouldn't be acting like being across town was the same as being on another continent. Fair enough. But he needed something, perhaps something a friend could provide, and she could do that much. And with that, perhaps she could figure out a way to forget about Harrison Pravett once and for all.
In a half hour, she was at Sarah's, parking the car and heading inside. She'd dressed similar to the last time she'd seen him, in jeans, but this time the heat meant she wore a tank top with it. Hiding her hand wasn't something she thought about now; he'd already seen it. Sliding her sunglasses on top of her head, she took a fortifying breath and looked around for him.
Harrison was in his normal booth, holding his head in his hands over his cup of coffee as he waited for his dinner to be delivered. He was wearing a black t-shirt- the chain of his dogtags showing around the neckline, a pair of torn dark blue jeans, and black boots, his leather jacket was sitting on the seat beside him.
Since he didn't look up at her, Annie made her way over to the table. She wasn't sure if his posture was meant to convey that he didn't want to be bothered, or...he'd had a long day. Choosing to think it was the latter, she slipped into the bench seat opposite him, laying her purse beside her in a mimic of where his jacket lay. He looked like...someone who didn't like socializing. The black was new to her. Strangely, it suited him.
"Hey," she said, folding her hands on the table.
"So you made up your mind." Harrison said, without looking up. "So why did you want to meet so bad?" He asked, getting right to the point. The sooner he did the sooner he'd be able to move on or whatever- at least Hal wouldn't be up his ass about not leaving her alone.
Annie was stone still for a moment, feeling the coldness of his reply wash over her. She thought it would spark anger. She felt like she should be angry, as if she didn't need this. But there was...nothing. Just a cold spot in her heart.
Clearing her throat, she said, "I was just...worried about you, Harri, to be honest. Your mother and Kaye both seeking you out here, probably still wondering why you aren't with the Corps...I thought you might be having a hard time." She looked down at her fingers, twisting them in on themselves. "When we spoke before, you obviously weren't happy."
"Lifes kinda shit right now Ann. But I'm still in one piece." More or less. "And I've already spoken with Kaye." He looked up to her finally. "You don't need to be worried about me." You owe me nothing. Of course he was still living in the 'pay by the hour option' motel and he did have just enough for meals until he got paid on Friday.
"Whether I need to or not, I am." She had no idea of his circumstances, or else her worry would have been much worse, but even the little that she knew was enough. "I don't know that I can..do anything, but at least you know me. I'm not a stranger here." She felt a bit more like a stranger to him, but it was what she had to offer. After a moment's pause, she said, "I thought maybe you didn't come to the hospital to visit because of Hal and my mum being there. But they're not here now."
"Hospital?" Harrison asked with a furrowed brow and hidden look of concern.
"It wasn't that long; I got out on Sunday," Annie said, dismissively, not seeing his questioning look at all as she glanced up for the waitress. "Mum left Monday. That was hard, getting her to leave town." She smiled briefly to herself, knowing Harri would get that much, as he knew her mother. "But she's gone now. And Hal's back at work."
"Annie, why were you in the hospital?" Harrison asked, taking a drink of his coffee.
She stared at Harri, perplexed. "Why..." Annie shook her head, but his question still didn't make sense. "Because I was attacked Friday night," she finally added, a bit incredulous. "Hal said he called you. Twice! That he got your voicemail. And Kaye! She was there overnight..."
"Kaye didn't say anything." And he'd deleted Hal's voicemails because it was...Hal and he was expecting just more threats or whatever the man had done earlier. "I didn't know. But you're ok now?" Harrison sounded honestly sympathetic.
"You just...didn't know?" Annie stared at him a long moment, her expression lost. She'd gone through all of that pain and then spent days in the hospital waiting in vain for him to come and at least see her, and he just hadn't known? How could he just ignore the calls? Swallowing hard, Annie looked down, regaining her composure. If she'd died, he would have gone about his life, never the wiser. It seemed like such a...lonely thing all of the sudden. "A werewolf and a hunter came to Sunny's," she finally said, addressing her words to the table. "I was between the two of them. Suffice to say, I had to go to the ER, and Hal managed to find someone who could heal me. Then Sunday, I had to be watched to make sure I didn't change." Her voice sounded distant to her own ears, but she couldn't put into words everything that had happened that weekend. She didn't trust herself to.
His hand reached out to hers. "I'm so sorry. I wish Kaye had said something." But it sounded like she'd had a support team looking out for her. Harri probably would have gotten in the way- especially if Hal was involved.
Annie was surprised at his touch, and saddened that it felt so unfamiliar. When was the last time he'd ever touched her? Before the divorce...she knew that much. "I'm fine now," she heard herself say. "Same as your words...I'm still in one piece, right?" She wished she could tell him how badly she had wanted him to come and see her, how vulnerable she'd felt, but all she said was, "I was wondering why you didn't stop by. I know we don't have a relationship anymore, but..." It just seemed awkward.
He knew he shouldn't say anything, but somehow it just slipped out. "I deleted Hal's messages... he'd come by to tell me to stay away and I thought he was just calling to hit the point home," Harrison said, making a sad face as he realized he probably shouldn't have spoken. It was about then that the waitress brought his plate of food out, and asked Annie if she wanted anything.
Shocked, Annie opened her mouth to reply when the waitress cut her off. Distracted, she ordered a coffee, waiting until the woman was gone again before she managed, "Hal....told you to stay away from me?" God, she knew all too well why. Since Harri had admitted to being a witch, Hal's ire with him seemed to have increased tenfold. Still, she never would have thought. "And you...you decided to follow that advice? What.." She licked her lips, buying time to absorb all of that. "What did he say?"
"He got upset at me for keeping... what I am from you- of course how he knew is completely beyond me." Considering he hadn't told him. Harrison knew that Annie had spilled the beans and even understood why- but that didn't mean he wasn't the slightest bit upset that his secret was being spread... at least spread not on his own terms. "Said you were really upset and that I should leave town- or if not then at least I should stay away from you." There were a few other choice words that Hal had said Harrison didn't feel like repeating.
Annie was torn between guilt, anger, and sadness. Guilt at what she had to confess, anger that Hal would go behind her back like that, even to protect her, and sadness that it had been apparently easy for Harri to follow the words. "I told him, Harri. Because I was upset, and Hal was the only person who I knew would understand." She rubbed at her eyes a moment, although she wasn't teary. Just mixed with her emotions. "I'd wanted to be a witch like the rest of my family for my whole life. You can see how finding out you were one was a blow. And that's not your fault." Except in not telling her, not letting her come to terms with it over the years. "Is that what you want, to stay away from me? Is that...easier on you?" She supposed it was just something she needed to hear from Harri himself. Hal had told her to forget him, but it wasn't that simple.
Harrison sighed. "Nothing's easy right now," he said softly. "I don't know what I want. I just know that I can't keep going how I'm going. As much as I want to go back to the Corps, even if they decide to accept..." He lowered his voice slightly, not knowing who might be listening. "Witches, psychics and the like. I doubt I could really go back and have it be the same. I don't think the guys I worked with could ever look at me the same." He'd kill to get back there, but who was he fooling?
It wasn't the answer Annie either hoped for or expected, but that didn't matter now. He was finally talking about what was truly bothering him, and although she felt sad that she was such an insignificant part of it, it was good that he was willing to bring it all up. "I don't know what the Corps is like from your side, Harri...but it took this long for the community to even expose itself. What with the unrest among the politicians right now, it will probably be a while before they make a decision one way or the other." She wanted to try and comfort him, but she couldn't lie to him either. "You may still be able to go back, and you could easily serve with different people next time...by that point, their tours will be over. But until then...is it so bad working here in Scarlet Oak?" She smiled, briefly. "I won't be offended if you say yes, I'll just point out that your family seems to be doing everything possible to show you that you can go home."
"I'm not sure I -can- keep working here, at least not with something else," Harrison said, frowning. He really didn't want to go into this, didn't want her to worry or anything. "They've frozen my accounts during the investigation." Which hopefully wouldn't last too long. "And the clinic isn't well funded... I'm getting by, but it's nothing I can live with long term. If the investigation doesn't wrap up soon..." Harrison sighed. It wasn't just that he'd been a Witch in an entity that hated things that are different and change, it was that he had hidden it and they wanted to make sure he'd not done anything 'shady' while he'd been overseas. It was very much, for lack of a better term, a witch hunt.
He'd not comment on people not remembering, it didn't matter if the same people were there or not. Things like this traveled a soldier (or a doctor) around everywhere, it's just the way things worked. "Going home is not an option right now. I'd like to stay in one spot, this is a nice town and most people are real nice." And some even let him try out new spells and potions on them, like Julianna.
The news about his financial straits surprised Annie. She wouldn't have expected the Corps to do that to him just because of the Light of May reveal. The fact that he was under investigation explained it, but the idea of Harri of all people under investigation was ridiculous. He'd literally dedicated his life to the Corps. Some reward. "They can't drag it on forever, especially with the actions of businesses coming under scrutiny for unfair practices...the Army will have the ACLU all over it, again, if they don't either end the investigation or they find some cause." Her voice was firm as she added, "And I know they won't find anything to charge you with. I know you, Harri, and the Corps means too much to you to have you ever jeopardize that." Still, that didn't help his situation in the long run, as he'd just said. "You know...what with Kaye and Louise here, for starters, you won't have any problem finding a place to stay if you need to leave the hotel. And Scarlet Oak is a nice town. It's the reason I moved here." She smiled briefly, but it faded back to seriousness. "It's probably something you wouldn't consider, but my house is actually two apartments, and the other one is empty. In the long run, I wanted to convert it back to one big place, but that's not going to happen for a while, and you're welcome to it too, if you don't want to go to Kaye and Louise's place. The point is, you have options. Not that many yet, but some."
"Thank you. Really, thank you. But I can't." It had been how long and Harrison didn't feel like he'd healed at all from the divorce. "I'll be ok, really. I just need one of the many things in motion to happen and I'll be fine."
"I didn't think you would agree," Annie admitted, with a small half-smile, "but I had to offer." She had no idea how she would handle Harri being that close anyway, but she also couldn't stomach him being stuck with nothing after the Corps treated him like it was. "Something will come through." She paused, then said, "I saw two of your business cards on customers of mine. If you can get clients outside the clinic, too, that should help." She couldn't bring up anything else about them in the conversation, though. He had neatly steered any discussion of that away, and all she had now was the knowledge that Hal had spoken with him and made Harri even more leery of her. Maybe...Hal was right, after all.
Harri nodded slowly. "I've noticed that some people who come into the clinic almost didn't go, or were still hiding something. I'd hate to think that someone isn't getting help they need just because they're afraid of some paper trail- especially those who are special." He hadn't touched his food and when the waitress came by again he asked for a to-go carrier. "You know, if I had known you'd been hurt... I'd've been there..."
Realizing that she'd kept him from his dinner, Annie looked down guiltily at her likewise untouched coffee, but her gaze jerked upwards again at his simple admission. "You would?" she asked, quietly, not wanting him to think she didn't believe it, but unable to say anything else. "I had..." She started to say hoped but changed her tack, glancing down at the cup before pushing it away. "It wasn't fun, but I don't think I was in too much danger. I had a punctured lung, that was the worst. I...asked Hal if you had come by, when I woke up, and he told me about leaving the messages."
"I deleted his messages." Harrison admitted.
"I know. It's alright." She could tell he was regretting that decision now, but after what he told her of Hal's conversation and his own expectation of what was in the messages, she understood why.
The waitress brought back the to-go box and Harri slowly started to put his meal into it. "I should probably... Thank you for sitting with me," Harri said as he pulled out his wallet and put fifteen on the table- he tipped pretty well, despite his own lack of funds he knew the waitresses needed it.
"I called you, so I get to say thanks," Annie answered, with a nostalgic smile at what he left for his small order. He'd always been like that, despite her pragmatic advice. Harri always thought about those in need...unfortunately neglecting to include himself in that group, or her for that matter. Somehow, she knew that hadn't changed. Rising from the table, she slipped the strap of her purse over her shoulder with her good right hand. "I hope...if things get to be too much, you'll call."
"Take care of yourself." He said finishing his coffee, which had gotten cold, before grabbing his jacket and take out. "And if you need anything, -you- call." Meaning, not Hal.