Gabe Winters (ex_blindside211) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2010-07-31 18:20:00 |
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Entry tags: | #group scene, 2009-07-21, charlotte |
baby steps
Who: Gabe, Ransom, and Charlotte
When: Early evening
Where: Claire's wake
Charlotte was not a fan of funerals (though, she rationalized, who on earth would be?). They brought back memories of her father's funeral, which had just been devastating, and even her grandmother's. But she was absolutely certain neither of those events had been anywhere near this awkward. In one corner, the absentee-rumored-abusive parents. Upon arriving Charlotte had thought to herself, they don't look anywhere near as upset as they should be. Immediately after she'd been horrified with herself for such a judgmental thought, and silently said a quick prayer of forgiveness. In another corner, the mess that was Madock and Jessalyn. Charlotte had attempted to offer her condolences, but as per the usual, the two were mostly absorbed in themselves. At least today they had a right to be.
Charlotte really hated every moment of this, but she had already vowed to be there every day. Even if Gabe wasn't - she would be there if needed. She was just glad to have Ransom with her.
Ransom did his best to console his sister at home, but here that was Maddock's responsibility. He could only do so much at once, and right now he needed to be with Charlotte, who was there for Gabe. The whole room-splitting thing made the tension in the room palpable, one side clearly finding the other at fault. He still didn't understand how Claire's father could beat her one minute, then pretend to be mourning her death the next, but that wasn't his affair to mess with. He would never completely get away with that drama, considering his sister was mated to Claire's twin, but he could distance himself from it. At the moment he just wanted to stay out of it. He was glad to leave the Korey's side to check on Gabe.
"Hey," he said as they approached him, his fingers linked with Charlotte's. What was he supposed to say here? He'd never been to a funeral before and felt completely out of his element. He knew Gabe had to be going through a horrible loss, but nothing he could think of seemed really helpful. "How're you holding up?"
Today was better than yesterday. At least Gabe could say that. He'd had a few distractions, good friends that played video games with him, let him sleep over, and let him drive their new car. All things that allowed him to escape his misery for just a little while. Being at the wake, though, had a tendency to bring him right back down to rock bottom. At least his friends were there for support. It meant a lot to him, even if he didn't know how to tell them so. "Hey," he said, lifting his head out of his hands as Charlotte and Ransom came over. "Okay, I guess. I mean, I think I made an ass out of myself earlier, but otherwise it's pretty much how it was yesterday."
Charlotte hugged Gabe with one arm without letting go of Ransom's hand. "I don't think anyone expects you to be at the top of your game right now," she pointed out. Thankfully, the wake was cop-free. Charlotte had worried that Valen might end up attending, and she knew that would have been just a big ole' disaster. "What happened earlier?"
"You know Domina Moriarty? The daughter of the guy that handed out scholarships to everyone kidnapped or associated with it? Well, she was here," Gabe said, rolling his eyes. "Not only did I not recognize her, but I managed to go off about how cops are doing shit about the situation. No offense," he added, even though Charlotte's step-father made that list. The man made him uncomfortable, even when he'd been sweet as sugar. It just seemed wrong, like he'd been made a fool of and he couldn't say why. It was the same discomfort Gabe had around Domina.
Ransom didn't remember her, but if they'd met only briefly then that wasn't so much a surprise. He'd been overwhelmed that night and still felt like he'd been unnecessarily gifted with something he didn't deserve. It would have been rude not to accept it though, and he really did need it. It was a situation he still hated to be in. "I heard they donated money for the funeral, too. It seems weird that they're invested in helping people like this... I just don't know why."
"I didn't meet the sisters," Charlotte said, shaking her head. "Just Bram Moriarty himself." And despite it being wildly inappropriate at the time, she'd been rather excited to do that. Perhaps it was naive on Charlotte's part, but she saw the donation of money as a nice gesture at best and typical for rich people who wanted their name to stay in the news at worse. "I guess focus on the bright side? Better that someone came rather than just throwing money around without looking at where it goes." Plus, there was the thing that Charlotte was not going to say. The Moriarty family was made up of weres. Claire's death was a hot issue right now, and one they were probably a little personally invested in - even if they hadn't known the girl herself. At heart, Charlotte was a worrier, and she realized that the worst possible outcome was that Domina had been sent here to feel out Gabe, and try to gauge if he really was guilty. Ugh. Horrible thought.
Ransom might not have remembered that they were weres, but Gabe certainly knew. He'd picked up on it while talking to Domina, even if he had no idea what she was. If she'd been a wolf, or a cat like Bunny, he'd have known, but she was something new to his senses. That made him uncomfortable as well, since she had to have known what he was. Everyone did, if they put the pieces together. The boyfriend had been with Claire during the attack, there had been a werewolf on the scene, and the werewolf was the one talking to the police, giving his side of the story. If Gabe wanted to hide what he was, he wasn't doing a very good job of it. "I guess," Gabe said with a sigh. "I wish I'd made a better impression, though. This isn't really the best time for me to meet people."
"She can't blame you for not being in the best of moods," Ransom pointed out. This was a wake for fuck's sake. What did she expect? If Gabe had been all sunshine and butterflies, then something would have been wrong. He'd just lost his mate and he was holding up pretty damn well in Ransom's opinion. People needed to give him some slack.
"No, she certainly cannot," Charlotte agreed, frowning deeply. She didn't like where her mind was at. Not at all. "How did she treat you? What was she like?" If she was kind, then she told herself she would just take that as a blessing and go from there. "With her life I'm sure she expected you to be shaken, and comments about the cops can hardly be held against you at this point."
"I dunno. She seemed nice, but it was like she made my skin itch. I found myself annoyed with her, even when she didn't say anything to annoy me," Gabe said with a shrug. He couldn't explain the discomfort he'd had when Domina was around, but he figured it was just due to the circumstances at hand. "I guess I was just in a bad mood at the time. I'm sure it's nothing."
Ransom didn't like the sound of that, but suspected that Gabe was easier to annoy than he was. Domina couldn't have come to the wake looking for trouble, so he expected that it was just the situation that had Gabe all wound up. He'd be snapping at everyone if he was in a similar position.
"You don't have to be here, you know," Charlotte suggested, voice gentle. "You can step out and take a break at least, if you need to. No one would fault you for that." She expected this to be a lost cause, but it was worth trying. Gabe was likely far too stubborn to ease up on himself. She wasn't so worried about Domina Moriarty now, though. As long as she'd behaved with Gabe, any other thoughts or concerns regarding the matter could be pushed to the side for now.
Gabe took a deep breath, then shook his head. It was hard to be there, yes, but he didn't like the idea of leaving. He wanted to be there in case... well, he wasn't sure. It just felt so wrong to leave. He wasn't family, but Claire still meant so much to him, more than he could ever communicate. "Not yet. Maybe in a while," he said. "I don't want to leave her." This was all the time he had left, then she'd be gone forever.
Now probably wasn't the time to point out that Claire wouldn't know he was gone, so instead Ransom bit his bottom lip. If he was in Gabe's position, he'd probably be the same way. He figured it wasn't about being near her, so much as being unable to let go. Ransom glanced over towards the open casket, then back to Gabe. "She'll be okay for a few minutes, if you need some fresh air," he said. He wasn't sure if it was comforting or not, but he was pretty sure it was true.
That wasn't a comforting statement to Charlotte. She suddenly had horrible visions of Gabe sleeping in the cemetery at night. He would have to leave her someday. Besides, the remains weren't Claire. Everything that made Claire who she was was gone now, hopefully to a good place. "I think she's with you no matter what, Gabe," she finally said. "But I understand."
"I... maybe I should go," Gabe said, after shooting another look towards the casket. Spending time with her wasn't make him feel any better. Being near her family definitely made things worse. It wasn't that he felt obligated, but that he wasn't really sure what to do. To most people that came in, he was just the boyfriend. Sure, it was supposed to be rough, but they had no way of knowing how strong their bond was. Gabe knew that letting go would make him feel better, but he wasn't ready to. It felt wrong in every way.
Oh, thank God. Charlotte resisted the urge to shoot Ransom a look of relief. Perhaps she was wrong, but she just felt like this place was poison for Gabe right now - and the funeral would be a hundred times worse. She gently squeezed Ransom's hand, and placed her other hand on Gabe's shoulder. "No one will think any less of you for leaving."
Ransom didn't know he'd been holding his breath until he exhaled. This place made him uncomfortable, and he knew it had to be worse for Gabe. He just hadn't felt like he could drag the guy out; they weren't close enough friends for him to get away with that. "Let us... take you to dinner or something. You can unwind a little."
Gabe was normally good at making his own decisions, but this was a case where he needed his friends to tell him it was okay to leave. Without their support, his head was too fuzzy to come to any good conclusions. "Let's do that," he said with a little nod. "It might make me feel better." Probably not, but it was worth a try.
Charlotte squeezed Ransom's hand, feeling her body flood with relief. That sounded like a great idea, even if her thoughts would have mirrored Gabe's. No, it probably wouldn't help. But it was a start, and a step in the right direction. Every little baby step would count right now. And once Gabe was a little closer to normal, they'd find a way to bring Claire justice.