Re: log: blake and graham, thorne house
Blake polished off the brown liquid in the cup with a few short swallows. He didn't even have the decency to cough when he was done, just dropped the empty mug to hang at his side.
He nodded, watching, waiting for a lunge or a punch or...something. Call it a guess, but when Graham's friends had threatened him with murder for broaching the subject of Lorelei, he'd expected something a lot worse than this. Measured tone, asking questions. What the fuck was even happening? He felt disoriented, like he'd just climbed out of bed. Was he back in the place from before again, getting tricks played on his head? Where was he? This unfamiliar-familiar study felt like a dream, and so did Graham, talking about the worst kind of thing with quiet.
"Didn't want you to find it out it was me," he said, licking his lips and biting down, rueful and ridiculous. "My sister told me Lor - her name." He stuttered, halting for a moment. Nothing had pissed off Graham's posse more than daring to speak her name, and even half drunk and morose with lack of sleep, he could manage not to cross that line again. It was a morbid act of respect, small but intact, of the kind he didn't often construct anymore. "I figured you'd ask around eventually and find out she told me." He paused, moving toward the bar cart again. "Stupid," he muttered. It sounded even dumber when he said it out loud.
"Despite what most people think about me, I do know when I fuck up," he said. He set the glass down and picked up a bottle of vodka from the bottom shelf by the neck. He unscrewed the cap. "I fucked up." He tipped the neck in cheers to his companion. "Nostrovia."
He took a short swallow from the bottle and wrinkled his nose. One way or another, he was going to sleep tonight. He swallowed and sat down slowly on the arm of one of those oversized leatherbound chairs. Then he extended the bottle to Graham, not quite meeting his eye. "Anyway, you're in my house. I figured you ought to know if you were going to stick around, or so you could decide not to.