edanwinters (edanwinters) wrote in rrinitiative, @ 2013-01-19 09:43:00 |
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Entry tags: | brady, brady and edan, day ten, edan |
Don't Worry
Characters: Edan and Brady
Setting: Cafeteria, Dinner
Edan had slept for a few hours, still in her bathing suit and Matt’s shirt, curled under his blanket. When she woke she didn’t feel much better, but the shower helped slightly as did getting out of her bathing suit and into real underwear, which she was relieved Matt had thought to bring her.
Her entire day was off, which left her out of sorts, out of focus and thinking of her brother, wishing he was here, to give her a gentle push in the right direction, to reassure her she wasn’t crazy, because she was pretty sure she was, in fact, very crazy. Of course thinking of her twin like she was, searching for the feeling that he was still there probably wasn’t a tick in the ‘not crazy’ column.
It was her stomach growling that reminded her she hadn’t eaten and she took a pause from Matt’s room, headed downstairs, still dressed in Matt’s shirt, but back in her own shorts. She wanted to get to something to eat, focus on that instead of everything else swirling around in her head and when she grabbed her plate she was barely looking at what Carmel had put out, just putting food on her plate.
It had been a long day, all things considered. Between the nooses, catching a few hours sleep this morning, his talk with Meg and then Jae, Brady not only had a lot to think about, but he was more than ready for today to be done and over with. Tomorrow things would undoubtedly change, and even though he was looking forward to those changes, he was also just a little apprehensive about it all. He couldn’t help it, being a natural pessimist.
Food would hopefully be a good distraction. Brady grabbed himself a plate and then went to find a seat. Catching sight of Edan sitting alone, he detoured toward her, sitting across from her and setting his plate on the table before ignoring it, just studying her for a moment. She definitely looked off, and he had to wonder if it was residual from the night before. “You doin’ okay?” he asked her.
Much to her own disgust, Edan jumped when Brady sat down with her. She glanced up at him, staring at him for a moment before really registering who he was. She shook her head once she figured it out, tangling one hand in her hair and propping her elbow on the table. “Not entirely. You?”
“Been better, been worse. Got a lot to think about. What’s going on with you?” he asked, figuring he’d get into passing on some warnings to her after he found out just what was bothering her.
Where did Edan even start with what was wrong with her. The fight with Evan, her room trashed, and Matt, everything so complicated with Matt. “My room got trashed,” she settled for.
Well, that pushed everything else to the back of his mind for the moment. “The fuck? When? Do you know who did it?” he asked, those feeling like the most important questions to ask first.
She was still thinking about Matt, because even mentioning her room brought thoughts back around to him. Looking up she watched Brady for a moment then shook her head. “This morning. I have an idea, but I can’t actually say one way or another.”
Brady quirked a brow at that, finding it a bit odd that she wouldn’t say even though she did have an idea. Even though this was very different from his conversation with Aaron, his conversation with Jae was still fresh in his mind, and so he held back, not wanting to try to force Edan to give him an answer. “All right, but you figure out more, you’ll let me know?” he requested.
Edan wasn’t saying because of what Matt had done. That was resting very heavily on her, knowing that what she’d said had led to an outbreak of violence from someone who she hadn’t seen be violent. Someone who didn’t regret what he’d done until she got upset about it. “Sure, I will.” Probably not. The last thing she needed was Brady going after Pippa too.
Although he wasn’t sure he quite believed her, he gave a mental shrug, opting to take her at her word this time. If nothing else, he’d ask her about it again sometime. “You got somewhere to stay tonight?” he asked after a few moments of silence, the question coming out even as it occurred to him. “Cause you know my room’s always open to ya. I got no problem sleeping on the couch.” And he was pretty sure no one would fuck with his room.
“I’m staying with Matt,” Edan said with a nod. A decision she was second guessing when she let herself think about it too much. “But thanks.”
Well, that was something, he supposed. He couldn’t help but wonder what was going on there after her... attachment to Asher the previous night. It still didn’t make much sense to him, but the last thing he wanted to do was sit there wondering what was going on in Edan’s love life, so he pushed the thoughts away. “It’s an open offer,” he told her, not pushing but wanting to make sure she knew. “Do me a favor and be careful, though? Someone’s been makin’ more threats - not to me, but publicly, and it’s some pretty fucked up shit,” he told her first. He wanted to warn her about what had happened to Meg, but he just hadn’t figured out how to word it without breaking his promise to Meg not to tell anyone about their conversation.
“Threats?” Edan asked, looking up again. “Like the message you got?”
“Well, one of the new ones was similar. A guy got a threat painted on his door, but the other one? It’s worse. When I left the music room this morning, I saw a couple nooses hanging from one of the trees with a couple names carved in a heart on the tree trunk,” he explained. It had been ominous and disturbing, and he was still very worried about Autumn. Mazie too, really. Sure, she seemed pretty tough, but against an unknown enemy? Who knew what would happen, and it was unsettling.
Edan paled a little. “Which couple?” Brady wouldn’t talk around it being her right? Who else was in a relationship though. She really didn’t know. Maybe she wasn’t paying attention.
“Autumn and Mazie,” he answered, remembering belatedly that she’d been there that day at the pool and knew Mazie at least.
Edan considered it then it sunk in and her eyebrow raised. “The duo from the pool? That’s awful.” She looked at her plate, pushing food around. She’d eaten some of it, but not much.
“Yeah, it is,” Brady agreed. He hadn’t meant to stress her out further, but she needed to know that there were threats out there. Forewarned meant being prepared, being armed and ready for whatever might come your way. “You still got that ice pick on you?” he asked, hoping the answer would be yes.
Edan reached into the seat beside her and produced the pick. Evan’s messages had gotten that part across at least. Even if the rest of it had gone to shit. She turned it over in her hand and then put it away again. “Haven’t gotten rid of it yet. You think I’m going to need it?”
When she produced the ice pick, Brady nodded in approval, glad to see she had it on her. “Good, keep it on you. And I don’t know, but better have it and not need it,” he said. He hoped she wouldn’t need it, but considering what had happened to Meg, he wasn’t going to write it off. “There’s some fucked up people here, and I don’t want you to be caught unaware,” he admitted. He couldn’t help but feel protective over her, and he knew it almost felt like a way to repay her brother for saving his life all those years ago.
It was like listening to a broken record. Everyone was dangerous. And yet the people she was closest to she couldn’t trust either. “I usually have it. I won’t leave it behind again.” Even if she was getting an urge to stab something with it, not sure what but something.
Although Brady gave a short nod and a muttered “Good” at her answered, he couldn’t help but press the point just a little more. “Look, someone’s already been sexually assaulted here. They don’t know who did it, and from the way they tell it, it looks like the admins are protecting their attacker’s identity, so I worry, okay?” he elaborating, pitching his voice lower in case anyone else was trying to listen in to their conversation.
“What?” she asked, voice raising up a pitch. And Evan was worried about her being around Matt. “I’ll be careful. Promise.” Was there anywhere she was safe?
“Yeah,” he said, pressing the point with a nod of his head. He wasn’t going to go into more details, as he thought it would make it far too easy to give details that Meg has specifically asked him not to give. Better not to say anymore at all. “Please do. I’m thinkin’ about teaching Autumn some self defense stuff, if you want to get in on that, too.”
Edan looked up at Brady, hardly amused. “You don’t think Evan didn’t teach me plenty?” she asked, thinking about her brother. He had made sure she was safe if he couldn’t be around. “I’ll be fine.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Edan, I wasn’t saying you don’t know any,” he said without any real heat, rolling his eyes. “Just asked if you wanted to get in on it. You could give me a hand with demonstrations or, fuck, I don’t know.” He shrugged. It had just been an idea for her to get involved, and he hadn’t meant to imply how.
She shook her head and waved him off. “I know. I’m sorry. I’ve just...had a long day. Whatever you need. I’ll see what I can do.” Edan looked at her food again and realized she wasn’t going to eat anymore. She knew what she needed to do. She’d just have to find a way. Getting up she reached for her plate. “I’m sorry. Thanks though. For worrying. I’ll...talk to you later.”
“Okay,” he said simply. He was surprised, though, when she got up rather abruptly. “Yeah, sure,” he said, brows furrowing in confusion. He wondered where she was going and what she would do, but not enough that he was going to follow her. He wasn’t a fucking stalker, after all.