Toby Mitchell (likeacannonball) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2021-01-25 21:37:00 |
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Entry tags: | #june 2018, silas, silas x toby, toby |
Who: Toby and Silas
Where: The Rayner House
When: Saturday afternoon, June 2
Status: Complete
It was a relatively nice day for the first day of June and as Toby climbed out of his car and walked towards the Rayner house, he idly wished that he had a patient that could go for a walk and enjoy the weather. Maybe if there was a nice breeze, he could open up the windows. Now that summer was setting in, working the long hours of two separate jobs was getting harder, and Toby had started considering cutting back a bit, provided Silas could find someone else to help care for his father. It wasn’t a hard job, but it seemed like one that might last forever, and Toby knew he couldn’t keep this up that long.
There was also the added stress of AIR being out there somewhere, watching him, waiting for his next move as they had yet to figure out theirs. It put him on edge, even on his best days, making it harder to keep his powers in check. Being in the Rayner house had started to spook him lately, but he couldn’t say why without pressing for answers, something he was really trying not to do. He told himself it was the dead bodies. He was used to working with live ones. Maybe the dead ones had bad vibes. That had to be it.
As he rang the bell, an odd, unsettling feeling took him over and he looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching him. The street was quiet. The commotion was inside, distant, but growing closer. Though it was just someone coming to answer the door, Toby mentally braced himself, worried about what might come next. His gut was never wrong.
There was a first time for everything and this time was not it. Silas hadn't slept and he looked the part. It was tempting to not answer, to ignore whoever was outside but he could see Toby's car out the window and the realization they had completely neglected to call him crashed down on him with waves of panic. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to look normal when he opened the door. "Toby, oh my god, we forgot to- you don't have to come in today," he babbled while silently cursing himself for forgetting. They'd been so worried about someone seeing Elijah and their father out and about, they didn't think of the fact that Toby was working. It was insufferably stupid and he wasn't doing a fantastic job of fixing it now. He knew he looked haunted, that Toby easily picked up on that something was wrong and he had no idea what story to tell him to cover up the truth. "I'm so sorry, we'll pay you for tonight and let you know when we need you again." He supposed he could say Edgar had been moved to the hospital, not Mercy but some... facility. But what if he turned up somewhere, this made him and Addie look very guilty.
The energy that Silas was radiating was so strong that Toby took a step back, taken aback how distressed he seemed. As long as he’d known him, Silas had always been put together, polished in his own quirky way. It was a quality that Toby admired when he wasn’t busy being jealous of it. “Is everything okay?” he asked reflexively, since it certainly didn’t seem that way. “Did Edgar wake up?” If so, they’d probably admitted him to Mercy, just to make sure everything was okay. For as long as he’d been out, a doctor would most definitely want to see and observe him for a few hours, if not overnight. As these things ran through Toby’s mind, other thoughts filtered in, bits and pieces that weren’t his own. By the time he realized it, it was too late and that sickening feeling suddenly made sense. “He’s gone?” he asked, whispering this time. Even though he already knew the answer, he realized it was a secret to be kept quiet.
Silas's eyes widened for a moment and he shook his head and waved his hands frantically. "Oh! No, no, he's- he's fine. He's not, he didn't pass away." God he hoped he was fine, Elijah would never hurt Edgar, he loved him in his own, strange way. Silas had decided to believe that he was just making a misguided attempt at waking him up somehow though he didn't really want to think too hard about the logistics of how something like Elijah would do that. "There's other things- we would just prefer keeping the house family only for a few days, nothing personal. We're dealing with- there's just some things." He'd never known himself to stutter but then this development was so odd and nerve wracking that he supposed there was a first time for everything.
Toby didn’t know if Silas was just really loudly emoting or if he himself had his radar up to full volume, but he was picking up so much more than Silas was saying that it was just plain confusing. He’d never meant to imply that Edgar might be dead, but if that had been the case, he would have thought that Silas would have just come out and say it. It wasn’t like it would change, plus his line of business had to make that kind of news a bit more common place, even if it was his father. The real issue was that Toby somehow knew that Edgar was… not there, in the house. Either he’d woken up and walked out, which seemed highly improbable, or someone had taken him, which was what Toby thought Silas was leaning towards himself. Toby knew he wasn’t supposed to know some of that, but with Silas stuttering and himself slightly flustered, it was hard to keep in line what he’d actually heard with his ears and not his mind. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. If you find him, just give me a call,” he said, fingers running into his hair. “I could do with some time off.”
Silas watched him with a bewildered frown, opening his mouth a few times like a fish on dry land as he tried to think of a reply to that. He caught movement from the corner of his eye, a neighbor backing their car out of their driveway, and it startled him enough that he reached out to grab Toby and pull him inside. Tilting the door behind him he stared at Toby intensely. "How do you know he's... Gone?" he asked urgently and the thought that Toby might for some bizarre reason be involved somewhat crossed his mind. "I never said he was gone."
The sudden movement left Toby shaking as he fed off Silas's startled reaction like a sponge, suddenly sure that there was someone out there watching him. He moved to the window and peered out from behind the curtain, trying to lay eyes on whatever it was that Silas had seen, but nothing stood out to him, no danger that he could discern. It was maddening and only escalated his senses further. "What?" he asked, brows drawing together in a flash of confusion. "Didn't you?" Shit. Shitshitshit. Toby groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face. "Well, he is, isn't he?"
Oh wonderful, now they were both a mess and Silas had no idea just what was going on with Toby. He didn't want to believe he was involved, it made no damn sense, but he looked so guilty, like he was absolutely hiding something. "I did not," he said firmly, searching Toby's face for answers while trying to think of what answers to give him back because nobody could know and yet not calling the police made them look so bad. "Do you know something, Toby? Have you seen him?" Had he seen Elijah? God, every time Silas let himself drift down that path of thinking his stomach dropped and his heart felt overloaded. It was just too much, too damn much.
"What? No. Who?" Toby asked, feeling far too confused to follow the conversation. It felt like they were yelling, even while both their voices remained at a normal, yet distressed, level. "Sorry, I'm a little out of my head today," he sighed, trying to forcibly calm himself. It wasn't very effective, but if he didn't do something he was going to continue to make matters worse. "I don't know where your father is. Last I saw him, he was in his bed, upstairs. I had no reason to believe he was going anywhere anytime soon, I swear." As far as Toby had been able to tell, he was a vegetable, but then he'd kind of gone out of his way not to pick up anything from him. The man gave off creepy vibes that discouraged him from reading him, if at all possible.
Toby looked every bit as confused as Silas felt and him asking 'who' just baffled Silas further because they hadn't talked about anyone but Edgar. "Toby," he said with a very strained calm. "What aren't you telling me?" Because there was something he was holding back, Silas just couldn't imagine what it was. It didn't make any sense for Toby to have somehow been involved in this, especially since Silas knew it was Elijah who had taken Edgar. Especially since Toby then showed up at the house and reacted like he did. Surely if he was actually guilty of something he would have made an effort to look less so. But what if he somehow knew about Elijah? What if he'd gone snooping and found Elijah and called someone and now he was only flustered because his proof was gone. Silas felt like he was going crazy - more crazy at least, since he'd been steadily feeling like he was losing his shit since he watched the recording of Elijah carrying Edgar out of his room - and he was doing his damndest at not falling apart.
Toby cringed as he looked back at Silas, the tension in him becoming worse with every second that passed. He wanted to scream at him to shut up, but recognized that his mouth was shut and that everything he was picking up from him was mental and saying anything would make him sound crazy. Was it their proximity? Was it because Silas had touched him when he’d pulled him inside the house? Or was it just his escalating paranoia making him so much worse? Toby didn’t know, but he knew he needed to somehow assure Silas that he wasn’t guilty of taking his father, even if the thought was just ridiculous. “I might be a little bit psychic,” he said, holding up his thumb and first finger an inch apart to indicate how small his psychic abilities were. “I got struck by lightning as a kid. I’ve been like this ever since. And you’re, like, projecting big time. Who’s Elijah?”
Silas could practically feel himself clamp up mentally at that admission and he straightened up, turning defensive immediately because of course he believed that. He knew all sorts of strange things were real, it wasn't even a matter of belief anymore, it made perfect sense that Toby was 'a little bit psychic'. "It's unimportant," he said almost mechanically as he tried to stop projecting. He didn't need to have a psychic gift himself to understand what Toby meant by that, he was practically radiating stress, no wonder Toby was taken back by it all. "Toby," he said then with strained calm, clasping his hands together as he stared intently at him, trying to read his reaction. "I really need you to act like nothing is wrong, I know it sounds crazy but we can't- we cannot involve anyone in this. We're doing what we can to find him but things are a little bit complicated and I really, really need you to keep this secret. Can you do that for me?" Every word felt like he was shoveling himself deeper into his own grave. Now Toby was a potential witness to everything and if something horrible happened to Edgar, Silas and Addie were on thin ice. God, he was not going to survive going to prison, not even for a hot minute and just the thought of it made him want to throw up and cry simultaneously. "Things are just a little strange right now."
Toby could see the immediate change in Silas, something he’d learned to read as revulsion and fear, even if that wasn’t quite accurate. Nobody wanted a psychic around when they had something to hide and everyone had secrets. Some weren’t as big as missing comatose fathers, but that didn’t matter. This was why he didn’t tell people, other than the fact that it could help AIR find him. It drove people away. Toby immediately regretted not lying. “I’m a better actor than you ever gave me credit for,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Things are always strange. I have no reason to tell anyone anything. I can keep a secret when I need to.” The real question in his mind was if Silas could too. Maybe no one would believe him, but he still didn’t need him telling anyone what he could do.
"That's good to know," Silas said stiffly and none of this was making him feel any more at ease but there was a possibility that crossed his mind and he eyed Toby curiously, fidgeting a bit with the hem of his shirt. "Do you- since you're a little bit psychic, can you sense something? About where he is?" He huffed softly and rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry if that is just the worst question but..." He eyed Toby again, a bit of hope there mixed in with all the panicking. "Can you?" If Toby could find Edgar, he might find Elijah too and that might not be a good thing. It might not be a bad thing either. Silas barely knew what was what anymore, everything felt upside down and inside out and he was free-falling in the middle of all the chaos.
“Um… maybe,” Toby said, relaxing just a touch. He’d been able to read people from afar in the past, but he was usually in a better mental state when he did it. And they weren’t comatose. Not that Edgar was right now. At least, Toby didn’t think someone was dragging around his comatose body. Taking a deep breath, Toby closed his eyes and tried to focus. It took a moment for him to zero in on him, but when he did a chill came over him. “Something’s wrong,” he frowned. “I don’t know where he is, but… I dunno, I get a bad feeling about it all.” He opened his eyes and looked back at Silas. “Sorry, that’s super not helpful. And probably not right. I’ve had my wires crossed lately. Things’re… weird.” It was so frustrating. When he actually needed to be helpful, he couldn’t seem to manage it.
"We live in Point Pleasant, things are always weird," Silas said quietly. "I'm very sorry for, well, for accusing you of-" he pursed his lips and blew air out when he found his words failing, then inhaled deeply through his nose, almost dramatically. "Would you like some tea? You look shaken, or maybe I'm projecting. I could use some tea. And some bourbon, or cognac. Or a whole lot of sleep." He shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment then focused on Toby again. "Tea? I'd hate for you to leave like this." He had better people skills than this, usually, and he'd fret for hours about Toby as well if he thought he was leaving on bad terms. He was absolutely fretting enough already.
Toby expected to be dismissed and sent on his way at this point, so the offer to stay for tea caught him off guard. "I'd take 'em all," he said. "But maybe just some tea. And bourbon." If he wasn't going to be working, why the hell not? It might tame rein his abilities in, something that he desperately needed, plus it would tame his nerves. "Sorry for making things worse. I've just been having one of those days and... I'm not at my best." It wasn't something he liked to admit, but it was plainly obvious today. It helped that Silas wasn't exactly in top form himself, something Toby rarely witnessed, but he had good reason. If he'd been the one to somehow lose Edgar, he'd be freaking out too. The man shouldn't have been able to go anywhere in his condition.
"Oh honey, I don't think anyone here is at their best lately," Silas said with a sigh as he ushered him inside. "My sister is beside herself, I'm somewhere reeling in the cosmos, I don't think there's enough valium in the world to help me tackle this so there's no need to be sorry." He actually thought the service the next day - the one he'd been dreading - might help. Putting on a professional face made it easier to ignore the insanity that was his life, he could reduce himself to the nice, professional and well dressed man who took care of everything for someone else who was suffering. Right now he was as far from that character as he possibly could be.
“Well, it certainly wasn’t my intent to make matters worse. I just knew something was—I dunno—wrong,” Toby said with a soft snort. “Have you called anyone? Or… I guess that would be awkward.” He doubted Silas wanted to call the police. It was almost like losing a body, even if this one was alive, and that would be seriously damaging to their reputation. Toby wondered again who Elijah was, but decided against asking again. He’d much rather Silas volunteer that information than pick it from his brain. The name seemed familiar and Toby felt like he should know it, but he couldn’t seem to put it all together, not without a little more information.
Silas led the way into the kitchen and made a beeline for the kettle to get the water started and no matter how hard he tried to calm his mind and not project too much mental noise at Toby it was hard to rein it all in. "It's a complicated situation," he said once he'd filled the kettle, not wanting to speak over the din of water. "We know how he's missing, we just don't know where to or why exactly. There's a... a relative involved. Calling someone would be detrimental to everyone involved, including Edgar. I really need you to just... just trust me and keep this to yourself. If we don't find him in the next few days we'll... We'll have to call someone, yes." He'd been over all of this with Addie already - a few times already - and it had felt more like hysterically running in circles than really discussing it. Thinking of everything that could go wrong and having no idea how to react if they did.
“I swear,” Toby said with all sincerity. “I’m not going to tell anyone. This isn’t a hospital. No one’s holding me accountable. Except you, but obviously you’re not going to call the cops on me.” He took a seat at the table and watched as Silas busied himself with making tea. He was familiar with the kitchen, having spent at least one meal a day there for the last six months, but he let Silas do his thing. With them both as wound up as they were, they’d likely step all over each other. “So, do you think he’s awake or…?” He was trying to imagine anyone carrying him off and kept running into the same issue, that it would be so plainly obvious that it would’ve been reported by now. And then he came back to the blank he’d run into while trying to get a sense of where he was. It was all weird and creepy and unsettling as fuck.
Making tea and sipping bourbon seemed to be all Silas could do lately and he went through the motions again just like he had with his sister - only with her he could at least freak out as openly as he wanted. "I don't know," he said quietly. "I don't think so." It would be so much easier to just tell Toby about Elijah, he wasn't sure if the current story sounded worse or better with all the unknown factors because what kind of a lunatic relative would steal away a comatose person? "We're doing what we can and tomorrow night, if all else fails, we'll involve the police. I just need a little time." He just needed a lot of time, he wasn't sure he could stop pushing this ahead of himself and trying to make it somehow magically go away but eventually he would have to and their world might come crumbling down.
Toby didn’t say what he was thinking—that it would look even worse that they’d waited—because he knew it wouldn’t help things. If he was in the same position, he’d wait to wait too, as there was always a chance things would resolve themselves before the authorities got involved. He just wasn’t sure what that would look like, since most people that stole bodies didn’t return them and the feeling he got when he tried to focus on Edgar was nowhere near good. “You have time,” he said. “Twenty-four to forty-eight hours, maybe longer, so long as he’s not exposed to the elements at night.” The days were warm, but the nights were still chilly. At least it wasn’t winter or this would be a different level of crisis. “Are you okay? I mean, obviously not, but… is there anything I can do? Want me to drive around with you?”
Silas was tempted, there was still a part of him that strongly believed that if he just did a better job of searching he would find Edgar and Elijah and everything would be okay but he recognized it as that compulsion of checking the same spot over and over again even if he knew nothing was there. He shook his head and sighed softly. The time he had didn't reassure him at all but at least Toby didn't feel like he had to report this. "There is a service tomorrow I need to prepare for," he said, grabbing the tea from the overhead cupboard and fetching some mugs. "I don't want to throw everything off balance until after that, after it is over I can freak out and call the police and let them swarm the house if they want to but... It's a delicate service tomorrow. I don't want to upset those people further.
“Yeah, I get that,” Toby said with a little nod. Working in the hospital, he dealt with death from time to time and it was never easy. What he was exposed to was the initial shock, but it was Silas’s job to help people mourn and put their loved ones to rest. The commotion this would cause would upset any funeral service, let alone a difficult one. “I don’t think they’ll swarm the place. He’s obviously not here or you wouldn’t call them. But, just in case, if you have anything you want to hide, like a sex dungeon in the basement, you might want to clean up first.” He didn’t think that was the case, but it was just in his nature to insert a little levity into a heavy conversation.
Silas let out a startled laugh at that because no, there were no sex dungeons in the house. A weird little room for his demonic big brother, yes, and that would be hard to explain and yet the thought of emptying it out for appearances sake was terrifying. "I don't think a sex dungeon would be against the law, strictly speaking," he said. "But yes, not the best place for one." He turned off the kettle when the water started boiling and poured some into their cups before joining Toby at the kitchen table. "With your ... Thing. How much do you know already?" he asked tired and he might be doing his best to shield his thoughts but it wasn't like he was trained in doing so.
“Not against the law, but it might start some lovely gossip,” Toby smiled. “That could work to your advantage, actually. Might distract from the crisis.” People loved to latch on to a scandal, though it was up in the air which was worse—a missing body or a sex room at the funeral home. Toby drummed his fingers on the table, quieter now that the conversation had turned towards his own issue. His thing. “I dunno,” he said with a half shrug. “There’s… there’s someone else involved. Elijah. But… I dunno. Something about it creeps me out. I don’t know if it’s him, or the circumstances, or that I’m just projecting my own issues onto yours.” He’d been unsettled lately and it made things blur together sometimes. Freaking out around someone else who was freaking out never went well for him.
The anxiety of someone finding out about Elijah was crushing, even if that someone was Toby who so far seemed very understanding. Silas knew better than to trust it but what he didn't know was how to keep that information out of Toby's head. "For now just try not to think about it," he said, motioning with his hands to Toby almost imploringly. "I know that's asking a lot but Adalyn and I will try to take care of this and hopefully you won't have to keep this a secret for long." And don't think about Elijah's empty eyes and sunken cheeks and unnatural body. Elijah could be a cousin, an uncle, anyone but Their Elijah, Toby didn't have to know unless he was reading Silas's mind and Silas was trying so hard to stop himself from thinking too closely about the truth.
There were things Toby picked up on, even if he didn’t want to. Elijah was family. Elijah was wrong. Elijah was someone he might’ve met, or should possibly know, but he couldn’t remember and he didn’t want to. There was more going on here than Edgar going missing, but that was already more than he should know. Toby had no desire to play detective. The Rayners were his employers, but they were also friends and picking their secrets out of thin air was an intrusion he wanted to avoid. “I can handle it,” he promised. “I’m sorry for—for being all up in your business. I’m usually not this, um, perceptive, but—but I’m worried that someone might be looking for me and it’s got my radio on full blast. Or something like that. Comparisons are hard.”
Silas tilted his head curiously, more than happy to shift the focus onto Toby's problems. "I should have called you and told you not to come this weekend," he muttered to make sure Toby knew he wasn't at fault here but his curiosity got the better of him after that. "Who do you think is looking for you?" It certainly didn't sound like a benign thing, not if he was wary of it. If not for the fact they'd gone to school together for years, Silas might have wondered if Toby was someone on the run, hiding out in a small town in the north from something shady. But he was a local and that didn't make a whole lot of sense. "Are you in trouble, Toby?"
“Of course I am,” Toby laughed. “I’m always in trouble for something.” He continued to smile, but it was clearly fake, a ruse that he couldn’t maintain as well as he used to. The stress level was clearly getting to him. It was probably good he was getting some time off, otherwise half the town would know about his issues by the end of the week. At this rate, anyways. “I’m mildly concerned that someone may have gotten wind of what I’m able to do, which is clearly less impressive than it sounds if I can’t even find your father. I don’t know if it’s a mob boss or some government agency or what, but it’s making me a little crazy. And not in the fun, let’s go party way.” Maybe he should go party though. That might help him calm down a bit.
None of this served to make Silas feel any calmer because a 'mob boss' looking for the guy who'd been taking care of his sick father was disconcerting at best. He was having trouble gauging if Toby was joking about that part or not but he had a feeling he wasn't. "What makes you think that?" he asked, his eyes wide with worry and his chest feeling awfully tight again. The last thing he and Addie needed was some strike team hitting their home to search for a psychic, but thankfully the idea of that seemed so outlandish it didn't really add to his paranoia as much as it probably should have.
Toby was trying to spin a story that was less worrisome than the truth, but only belatedly realized that any story where someone was trying to track him down was probably alarming, no matter how far fetched. Saying that he received a threatening note with someone’s finger or ear inside it wouldn’t make anything better. Why did his brain only provide lies that were as bad as the truth? “I dunno. I feel like I’m being watched? I’m sure I’m making too much of it all. I could just have a stalker. Or a secret admirer. My wires get all crossed when I try to get readings on myself, like by knowing all the options I’m opening up a can of worms. It’s better when there’s more people involved, other points of focus. Or something.” He was rambling, but that happened a lot when he had to talk about what he could do. Especially when he was only half speaking the truth. “It’s really nothing you should worry about,” he said. “You’ve got your hands full.”
Silas definitely felt like Toby was withholding information or maybe even plain lying about something but he was right, Silas had his hands full already and if Toby wanted to keep it a secret, that was fine for now. He couldn't take on more if he wanted to, not right at this moment. "Secret admirers that make you feel paranoid are commonly regarded as stalkers," he muttered deadpan before sipping his tea, eyeing Toby with concern. "I hope it's nothing, Toby. Or that you can ask for help if you need it." He wasn't so sure he'd be the guy to ask, or even who would be and it was kind of rich coming from him who didn't want to call the police when Edgar went missing. "Well," he huffed. "We're just a couple of god damned disasters, aren't we."
There were people Toby could call upon for help if he needed it. Or… well, he could at least make them crave cookies. But if he had his phone, he could reach out to them. The thing was, he had nothing real to report. Just a bad feeling that he couldn’t read as internal or external. He was too close to the matter, needed to get it out of his head to see it properly, but he hadn’t figured out a way to make that happen. Maybe taking some time off would help. He’d become far too high strung for his liking. “Honey, we’ve always been a couple of god damn disasters,” he laughed lightly. “But we’re performers, aren’t we? Even now? We’ll get through it. You’ve gotta keep it together for Addie, and your patrons. I’ve got… my patients, I guess.” And maybe the other AIR survivors, though he hadn’t managed a good first impression with any of them thus far. He didn’t feel good about the situation and saw no reason to hide it when it came to them.
Silas nodded at that and it was the damned truth. They were performers. Sometimes performing was the only thing that got him through tough situations, putting on a nice mask and disconnecting from it. It might not be a healthy way to cope but it got him through and that was all that mattered to him. Toby's words were a good reminder and he wondered if he could use this coping mechanism now, even if he wasn't actively trying to hide his personality from Toby. "So that hasn't changed since high school," he murmured. "The performing. It's easier with strangers around, isn't it. Putting on a costume and reciting your lines."
“Always is,” Toby agreed softly. “The people you know are more likely to see through the lies. They see the signs. But… most of the time they let you do it anyways. ‘Cause it helps, you know? Sometimes all that matters is getting to the next act.” When they were on stage, they knew what to say and do. They knew what came next. That wasn’t the case in reality, but Toby found the same techniques got him through many a crisis. He’d done it since he was a child, lying to the authorities about where he’d been and what he’d done. They still didn’t know the truth. “You were always a good actor,” he said with a lopsided smile. “I just didn’t like you upstaging me.”
"Oh, same," Silas retorted with feeling before adding a joking and catty: "You bitch." He smiled again and it was weird to think of that small high school rivalry now. Rather than embrace the fact that there was another gay guy at school, he'd seen it as competition and that felt incredibly dumb in hindsight. But then again if he wasn't allowed to be stupid in high school then when! "God, we were such sexy little idiots back then," he murmured and it was easier to reminisce than it was to think about the present, at least while the present was nothing but stress. "We had no idea how good we had it," he sighed and for now he opted to not think about the things that were actually difficult back then.
“That’s the grace of high school, isn’t it? Your problems are petty, the drama is mostly self manufactured, and when shit hits the fan you can almost guarantee it won’t matter next week,” Toby snickered. Everything had felt so important back then, every little event, every word of gossip, all of it spread so quickly. The drama had been fantastic and Toby had loved it, even when it had driven him crazy. His lies had fed the chaos and he hadn’t batted an eye at it. Looking back he knew how horrible he’d been, but he hadn’t ruined anyone’s life over it. “I miss it sometimes. Not the school work, but it was just so damn fun. And easy. I had no idea how hard adulting could be.”
Oh to be fifteen again, on a day with no chores, sprawled in his best friend's bedroom with not a care in the world except manufactured drama. Silas gave a wistful sigh at that and reminiscing did make him feel a little bit calmer. The anxiety was still there, that constant inner berating that if he just looked harder he would find Edgar and that he was wasting time sitting at home still loud in his head, but his body was a little less tense. The tea helped too, no doubt and he sipped more of it, letting the warmth spread through his stomach. "Education is so wasted on teenagers," he murmured. "There were so many things I had no interest in back then but now I find myself curious about it and looking it up. Typical."
“Same,” Toby said with a little laugh. “I’d love some of the classes that used to put me to sleep. World history? I used to think it was a snore fest, but now I really wish I’d paid more attention. And I’d love to have another go at the books we read back then. I think I’d enjoy them so much more a second time around.” He’d enjoyed the Shakespeare, but there was so much more that he’d just relied on the Cliff Notes for and now he wished he had time to actually read. Maybe he did, especially now that he was getting a little vacation. “I think that’s the way it always is. Kids take those things for granted. The social aspect seems so much more important. It feels like the castles we build will stand forever, when in reality they crumble the second we graduate.”
"Right? And I swear time moved slower," Silas said with a sigh. "Whole afternoons of boredom. I'd actually like those back, please." Then again, time had been moving painfully slowly this weekend but it hit different when he was stressed and not just bored. "I really wish you hadn't gotten involved, but I'm kind of glad you're here anyway," he admitted because despite the initial near panic, Toby's presence was a bit soothing at the moment. Maybe because there was a little less secrecy involved, one fewer people to lie to. At least about Edgar being missing. He just had to be careful not to think of the unthinkable things.
“I really didn’t mean to,” Toby said with a little smile. “I don’t make a practice of telling people what I can do. It… It tends to make things difficult. But if there’s anything I can do, even just having tea, I’m glad I could help.” He didn’t understand why his powers were so useless at the moment, but he thought it had to do with things he didn’t quite understand and probably shouldn’t know. He seemed to have Silas’s trust for the moment and wasn’t willing to risk throwing it away so quickly. If there was more Silas wanted him to know, he’d tell him.
"There is one thing you can do," Silas told him. "If you see my dad, please call me. No matter how strange the circumstances, no matter if your gut tells you to call the police or step in to help, don't do anything if he's not alone Just... Call me. Please?" It was cryptic as hell but he couldn't exactly start explaining just what it was Toby might see, how horrified he might be at the sight of Elijah, how predatory it might look. But while Silas knew Elijah would never hurt Edgar, not in a million years, he couldn't be as sure that he wouldn't hurt Toby if he tried to interfere.
“Of course,” Toby answered, though he was always concerned when someone asked him not to follow his gut. Toby didn’t completely understand his own powers, but they’d always kept him safe. Ignoring them felt like a horrible idea. But he understood that there was more to this situation than he understood and that Silas was asking this of him for a reason. If he happened upon Edgar, he’d call Silas immediately, no one else, no matter what. In Toby’s mind, the best solution to his problem was for him to not find Edgar. That way he wouldn’t be faced with his own moral dilemma. “I don’t expect to just stumble upon him, but… if he is alone, do you still want me to keep away?”
Silas opened his mouth to answer and then didn't, looking pained as he started overthinking it, a rasp of a noise coming from his throat. Would seeing Elijah there just make Toby think Edgar was in danger? Did a strange undead person constitute as 'someone'? He could sometimes look deceptively human when he wasn't moving strangely, or hunched over in that way he usually was. "Just no matter what, please call me," he finally blurted out. "It might all seem very strange." The odds of Toby finding Edgar were slim so he decided no, he wasn't going to elaborate further, his expression still a bit pained as he sipped his tea.
It was far more complicated than Toby realized and he knew that without having all the answers. Whatever Silas was hiding, it had the potential to be dangerous, so Toby just had to hope none of this would really matter to him. He’d gone on his way and they’d call him if they needed him again. “Of course,” he said. “Luckily, strange is pretty normal around here. I’m sure you’ll find him soon enough.” He tried to give Silas a hopeful smile, but the whole thing felt off to him. A comatose man had gone missing. Even for Point Pleasant, that was pretty damn weird.
Silas knew he had no choice but to trust that Toby was being earnest and not just buying time until he was out of the house and able to call the police. He didn't really believe he would but even if he did, what options did he have? He wasn't going to kidnap or hurt Toby to keep him from leaving so he just had to trust that he meant what he was saying. "I'm sure he's okay," he said firmly, or as firmly as he could with how unsure he himself felt. "I love my father, I would never intentionally leave him in danger, I hope you know that." He got a little misty eyed as he spoke and tried to steel himself, to put on his professional face for this even if this didn't feel like a professional setting in any way. Toby didn't feel like just a hired nurse anymore, he'd been around the house a lot and they had so much in common, he was really beginning to feel like more of a friend.
“I know,” Toby said softly, and he wished that they were close enough friends that he could hug Silas and it not feel weird. It didn’t take his abilities to know that Silas was telling the truth, though he could feel them in the background, emphasizing the point. He had the feeling that Silas had done everything he could short of calling the police and the only reason he hadn’t taken that step was because that would truly push things into crisis mode. He wasn’t there yet, but if Edgar didn’t come home, he’d get there eventually. Toby hoped it wouldn’t come to that, and yet… he didn’t want to go looking for Edgar. He might actually find him if he did and just thinking about it gave him a bad feeling in his stomach. This was something he wanted to stay away from, if at all possible. He took another sip of his tea and, even though he wasn’t finished with it, it felt time to excuse himself. “I should probably let you go,” he said. “But if you need anything, give me a call, okay? Anything at all.”
Silas put his cup of tea down and nodded before slowly getting up. It wasn't long until it would be dark again and once Addie returned they'd go search again. He wasn't feeling hopeful at all anymore but that didn't mean they didn't have to try. "Thank you so much," he said. "I'll let you know if anything changes too." At this point it went beyond Toby's need to know status as an employee, he was understandably worried too and Silas didn't want to inflict that on anyone. "You'll get paid for today," he added. "I won't take no for an answer. You could have made other plans and we neglected to inform you you weren't needed." He didn't feel like it was necessary as such but maybe it would help with making sure Toby kept this all to himself and it would look better on paper, like Edgar had still been at home this afternoon.
“No, you will take no for an answer,” Toby said firmly. “We hung out, you gave me tea and liquor, and now I have a day to chill. I don’t need the money. Save it for drinks when things calm down a little.” He understood that it was only polite for Silas to offer, but their arrangement had always been flexible. And even though he’d have never wished this on the Rayners, this was a blessing of sorts—he could go back to a forty hour work week, at least until they needed him again. In truth, he hadn’t expected Edgar to remain in a coma for so long, and he could use the break. He just wished it hadn’t gone down like this. It was weird and they deserved better. Toby stood and slung his bag back over his shoulder, giving Silas a small smile. “You take care, okay? I’m sure we’ll talk soon.”
Silas didn't think Toby would have much say in it if he just went ahead and paid him but he knew better than to argue now and was honestly in no shape to be firm in his stance on anything. "We will," he replied and walked Toby to the door, smothering that fear that he might actually call the police or some welfare services on him. The last thing they needed were outsiders meddling in their lives because there really was no rational way to explain Elijah. He gave Toby a strained smile as he waved him off, watching him leave for a moment before he closed the door. He trusted him, he could feel it in his gut that he wasn't wrong to trust him, but there was still that fear that maybe he couldn't trust himself to make that decision. Only time would tell.