Re: Rylee and Lem
Ah, a soldier then. Lem wouldn’t have guessed that, judging by all the tattoos and how scared Carson had looked through all this, but she supposed she didn’t know much about soldiers. She’d never known any, as far as she knew. Maybe having a leg blown off and getting a brain injury and then weird shared telepathic monster dreams and then getting bitten by a werewolf would set anyone on edge. “Probably because of you,” Lem said matter-of-factly. She gave a shrug. “It’s amazing what people can get through with the right support.” She and Vex were living proof of that, though Lem wasn’t going to lay out their whole history to Rylee. “Plus, y’know ... keeping your shit together for someone else is as good a reason as any to keep your shit together. For a while I did it just for spite, and then I found Vex. And now Nic. So. People make a difference. The right people.”
Rylee drank some more from her glass, feeling her cheeks burn a little. She hadn't been as supportive as she should have been in the beginning. She had been a bit selfish and made shit about her. It made her feel guilty to think about now, but she was hoping Carson knew he could depend on her. No more secrets. She just wished she could do more. "I've been trying really hard to keep my shit together," Rylee explained after setting the glass back on the table. "I don't really feel like I have the right to lose it. None of this is about me. Losing control won't help Carson, so... I don't." Taking a breath, Rylee exhaled slowly and smiled faintly at Lem. "Are you and Nic...? I mean, are you friends?" She was becoming nosy again, but she was afraid if she kept talking about Carson she might let something slip, and she didn't need a stranger knowing her business. If it got out, Rylee would have to... hell, she didn't even know what would happen. She didn't want to find out either.
Lem was of the opinion that anybody was entitled to lose it when they felt like they needed to, but sometimes it was best to lose it in private. Or at least not around the person you were trying to be strong for. But she was the last person to counsel anyone on how to live their lives or deal with their emotions, so she wasn’t going to try to coach Rylee. She seemed nice. She would figure it out, or she wouldn’t. She seemed to need a subject change though, and Lem couldn’t help the little smile that crossed her face at the question. “Yeah, we’re friends ... but we’re fucking, too,” Lem said, looking rather pleased about it. Because she was. “I saved him from getting run over by a car. And he doesn’t mind Vex and helped us figure out werewolf stuff and made me flowers and feathers out of nothing, so ... yeah.” He also wasn’t pressuring Lem to put any kind of label on whatever they had, which was another plus in her book.
Rylee's blonde brows lifted in surprise but she huffed out a short laugh at Lem's bluntness. "Wow," she said, trying to imagine Nic making a girl flowers. Lem really didn't seem like Nic's type, but maybe that was a good thing. He deserved to be happy too after everything he had been through. "That's great. We were pretty close in high school and he's a really good guy. He's been going through the same dream stuff as Carson, which obviously isn't a good thing, but... I don't know. He's dependable, so I'm glad Carson has someone to talk to, someone who knows what it's like. I only recently found out he was a witch." Rylee laughed again and rubbed her hands over her face. "You hear all these rumors about the place where you live and they're all crazy stories because you think everyone is fucking bored out of their minds, but... then you realize the stories are true and your friends are witches and your cousin is a werewolf and what the fuck, you know?"