It's a Fever Dream (feverdream) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2022-11-03 03:54:00 |
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Entry tags: | #july 2018, amelia, amelia x ruby, ruby |
Who: Ruby & Amelia
Where: Harris-Lucas residence, Sycamore Street
When: Night, Tuesday, July 3rd
It was weird staying at Jasper’s house, but not for the reasons that Ruby might have expected. The biggest one was that it wasn’t his father’s house. She felt more like a guest in Charlie’s house than she ever had in Gavin Lucas’s house. She knew where nothing was and felt weird rummaging around the place looking for things, especially the kitchen. She planned just to stay nights after that first day, and not for too long if she could help it, but knew that showing up around bedtime was going to be awkward. And lastly, Jasper’s room wasn’t his own. Sure, it was his now, but it wasn’t what she remembered. Nothing was the same and if it rattled her, then she was sure it had to have bothered Jasper, even if he was used to it by now.
Ruby knew she couldn’t stay there forever, but having someone so close by helped more than she could say. Jasper wouldn’t let that thing get her, and if something did happen, then he could help get her to the ER. His father would understand, as he’d seen the Dark Man himself. Her father would be safe and oblivious, at least to this, for as long as she could stretch it. She knew he’d be furious if he found out, but what he didn’t know hopefully couldn’t hurt him and Ruby wasn’t taking any chances. He knew she was staying with a friend and likely assumed it was Clint, and she did nothing to correct him. Another lie, but this one worked to her advantage. He wouldn’t stop her from sleeping over at her “boyfriend’s” house and he wouldn’t ask questions. Ruby was too tired to even feel guilty about it.
After getting high and passing out, Ruby had slept most of the day, and thus wasn’t really tired when it actually became night. Instead, she curled up on the sofa and was flipping through channels on the television when she heard someone shuffling around upstairs. It was probably just Gavin or Charlie, but Ruby found herself aware of every noise around her when it was dark. For some reason, she didn’t think the Dark Man could get her during the daylight, but at night, when a shadow lingered in every corner, that’s when he could come out of nowhere. Footsteps creaked on the stairs and her heart began to race. There was no reason to run, not yet. But she was ready.
Amelia had tried to check on Ruby during her dad's birthday party after Jasper told her she was there and not feeling well but Ruby had been fast asleep and Amelia hadn't wanted to wake her. Maybe it was soothing to know there were so many people in the house mulling about and chatting, Amelia could relate to sleeping better when someone was home and in the early days of returning she'd even left her door open on the regular so she could hear the TV when Gavin was still awake. Things were so different now that they lived with Charlie. Gavin went to sleep earlier, woke up earlier, and drank less. It was a good thing, but sometimes she missed having someone awake in the dead of night and that only really happened when he worked late.
She'd gone to her room when all the guests started leaving and lost track of time until Jasper came up to tell her he was driving Logan home and that Ruby was downstairs. Amelia didn't know what was going on with her but she kind of got the feeling he wanted her to check on her - without being too blatant about it. So after he left she put on some more comfortable clothes than the jeans and top she'd been wearing and headed downstairs.
Ruby kind of looked like she'd seen a ghost when Amelia appeared in the doorway and she gave her a reassuring smile and a little wave. "Hey you," she said, pulling her hoodie tighter around herself. "Did you help yourself to some cake yet?"
Ruby breathed a sigh of relief when Amelia came into view, her heart still beating hard in her chest. When she’d seen the Dark Man in person it had spooked her, but it was nothing like this. She’d had the illusion of safety before, but now that was gone. Even her dreams were a danger zone. But there was no danger now, and she always felt safer when she wasn’t alone. “Hey,” she said with a little smile. “I mooched off the leftover food, but I hadn’t made it to the cake yet. Is it good?” She wasn’t a huge cake fan, but thought something sweet might be nice. It might help her mood, like a pick me up for a child. She wished it was that simple, that a bit of sugar could scare away all the nightmares. “How was the party?”
"I didn't try all the desserts yet," Amelia said with a little grin that said she was up for the challenge now. "The pie is really good warm and with ice cream, we can probably stick it in the microwave and see if it holds up." She moved to sit down on the couch, pulling her feet up to cross them and cover her feet. "The party was nice, dad seemed happy with it, the food was good." And some people had been acting a little weird but she wasn't sure why. "Jasper said you weren't feeling well and you were gonna stay here for a couple of nights. Are you okay? Do you need to talk?"
“What kind of pie?” Ruby asked with a little smile. “Apple?” It seemed impossible to be scared over a piece of warm apple pie and ice cream. That appealed to her far more than cake did. Even if it fell apart in the microwave, it would still probably be good. “I’m… I’m okay at the moment,” she sighed, trying to decide how much to tell Amelia. She’d been to hell and back and could probably handle anything, but she kind of hated to add to the burden. Then again, she was probably one of the strongest women Ruby knew. It was weird to think she’d been a child less than a year ago. “It’s kinda like… everything happened at once. Found out my boyfriend was cheating on me. Thought I saw someone that—that I know is dead. And then had this horrible nightmare. I just didn’t want to be alone, you know?”
It was a lot and Amelia frowned as she listened, shaking her head in disapproval at Ruby's boyfriend. "I'm gonna go get us apple pie and ice cream," she said firmly because this was clearly a conversation that called for something sweet and Ruby needed some good things now. "Do you want the dogs down here when you go to sleep?" she added and she knew they'd be happy to have company, she just wasn't sure where they were at the moment. Maybe in her dad's room, but if they weren't in a closed room she was sure they'd come running as soon as she started doing something in the kitchen. "The dogs always help me when I'm feeling bad," she added, reaching over to give Ruby's arm a gentle squeeze before she got up.
“I’ll go with,” Ruby said, giving Amelia a little smile as she rose to her feet. “It might be nice to have the dogs nearby. I could use a cuddle and—and I’ve always heard that animals have a sixth sense. Like, they can feel danger that was can’t.” She would take a dog nipping her awake if it meant waking from a dangerous dream. She’d been fine all day, but now it was dark. Having one curled up next to her might make her feel safe when everyone else was asleep. “Maybe I should get a dog. I was trying to talk my dad into getting one, if I moved out, so the house wouldn’t feel so empty, but now I’m thinking it’s me that needs one.” And maybe she’d stay home a while longer. It wasn’t like she had anyone lined up to live with.
"Dogs are amazing," Amelia said and sure, they were a lot of work but so were people and people weren't nearly as loyal as dogs. She led the way to the kitchen and gathered some of the leftovers from the fridge to put them in the microwave, then let Ruby pick something to drink. "I'm surprised they got all this stuff in here," she commented as she looked at the fridge but she had a feeling Gavin had put a bunch of things in the fridge in the garage to make space for the party stuff. "Do you want a beer or a soda?" she added and made a twirling motion toward the pile of cans at the bottom. "I don't think anyone will miss the alcohol if you want some."
“If I have a beer, will you have one with me?” Ruby asked with a tiny smile as she nabbed a can of beer off the lower shelf. One drink wouldn’t do much more than mellow her out, but she could probably use it. She was far too jumpy and that wasn’t likely to change. It was still weird to ask Amelia if she’d have a drink with her, but it was starting to feel more and more normal these days. Ruby just didn’t quite connect her to the little girl she’d been last year. She felt like a different person, one who had lived through far worse than what Ruby had had to deal with. Popping the top on the beer, Ruby leaned back against the counter as Amelia heated up the food. “Do you still have nightmares?” she asked softly.
"Mm, I'll have a cider," Amelia decided. "It goes better with pie." She grabbed a cider from the pile of cans, then peeked at the microwave to see how it was coming along before getting some ice cream from the fridge. She could hear the dogs before she saw them, though to their credit they weren't falling all over each other to get to the kitchen. They knew people were sleeping so it was just the click clack of nails on the floor that clued her in that they were coming, hoping for some snacks. She wasn't supposed to give them any, but she would anyway, she knew that and they knew that. "I'm so sorry about Clint," she murmured as she ducked down to gently ruffle all three of them. "He didn't really seem good enough for you anyway." Was she avoiding the question? Maybe, but she felt instantly bad about it, glancing up at Ruby with a faint smile. "And yeah, I have nightmares all the time. It's getting better though."
The sound of the dogs hurrying towards the kitchen was comforting in the weirdest way—they sounded like dogs, creatures scurrying, a noise with absolutely no connection to any of the things that scared her. Footsteps could be terrifying in their slow, constant rhythm, but the dogs sounded like nothing but dogs to her. “I thought he was a good guy,” Ruby sighed. “Turns out he’s just a guy, like all the other guys I’ve dated. His timing could have been better.” He could have waited a month. Or broken up with her at the beginning of the summer. Why put himself in that position? Probably because he’d been thinking with his dick and nothing else. It made her mad how often that seemed to happen, made her wish he had a friend she could sleep with just so he could see how it felt. Not that he’d know, or even care. “Have any of your nightmares ever hurt you?”
"Hurt me?" Amelia asked with concern as straightened up again, looking at Ruby curiously. "Hurt me how?" This really sounded more like a set-up for something Ruby wanted to say than it did a question, it was such a strange way to put it. She'd been hurt in dreams plenty of times to the point where the pain had felt real until she woke up, she'd also been hurt by dream in the sense that she woke up crying, but was that what Ruby meant? "Have they hurt you?" she asked, reaching out to lightly touch Ruby's arm. Whatever was eating at her, Amelia hoped she could share it. They already have plenty of secrets between them.
Ruby knew it was a weird question to ask, but she found herself wondering if this was caused by the Dark Man or just Point Pleasant in general. If she left Point Pleasant, she might still have nightmares about him, but would he be able to hurt her the same way? And had this ever happened where the Dark Man wasn’t involved? She couldn’t exactly poll people without sounding crazy. “The thing that was chasing me in my dreams last night grabbed my ankle, right before I woke up,” she said, then tugged up the leg of her sweat pants. Her ankle was wrapped and bandaged, so Amelia couldn’t exactly see the damage, but it was obvious that it was more than a dream. “When I woke up, it was like it really happened. So I’m… having trouble sleeping.”
The dogs were as curious about the bandages as Amelia was, sniffing at Ruby's leg with Max even letting out a little whimper before he licked her knee as if to comfort her. Amelia leaned down to look, even if she couldn't see through the bandages, her chest tight as she considered the implications of this. "Wait, did you hurt yourself in your sleep? Or did... did the dream actually hurt you?" she asked hesitantly and with someone else she might have expected derision for asking such a stupid question, but Ruby wasn't like that. She might laugh, but she wouldn't be mean about it and yet Amelia would still feel stupid for asking.
It was a valid question, one any sane person would ask if they lived in any other place other than Point Pleasant. Because dreams simply did not attack you with lasting repercussions. You might wake up scared, but not actually hurt. Except this time Ruby was confident the Dark Man was responsible for her injuries. “I don’t think I’m even capable of messing up my ankle like that without a razor blade,” she said with a small sigh. “I also have a few bruises from where I ran into things. I mean, maybe I fucked myself up in my sleep and it happened to match, but I’m pretty sure it was the dream, even if that shouldn’t be possible.”
"This town doesn't care about what's possible," Amelia said with a frown. "You're definitely keeping the dogs with you tonight, they'll keep you safe." She didn't know that, but she needed to believe it. Animals were more observant than humans and she always felt like they had a sense for the supernatural as well. Max might be a coward but Rudy and Bosco were brave and protective and Max was comforting despite how much of a scaredy cat he was. "You know, if Jasper's not around or he gets too high and sleeps too tight, you can always come to my room," she told Ruby firmly and reached out to give her arm a reassuring squeeze." I'll make space for you."
Ruby didn’t know if the dogs would really keep her safe, but she liked to think so. It was a comforting thought and she was grasping at the things that comforted her right now, trying to find a balance. Her life had tipped a touch too far into the depths of fear, paranoia, and misery, and she’d take what she could get to pull herself back out again. Left on her own, she might have drowned. She felt lucky to have friends like Jasper and Amelia, friends who understood. “If Jasper’s not around, I might take you up on that,” she said with a little smile. “My plan was to get high and pass out, just to try and prevent dreaming, but I’m not as tired as I should be after sleeping all day. I got my sleep schedule all out of whack.”
"Yeah, that happens in this house a lot," Amelia said with a little nose wrinkle. She was guilty of that too sometimes, staying up all night and sleeping during the day when everyone else was awake. It was comforting hearing signs of life all around her, she slept better in the noise than she did in the quiet of night. Jasper was no better, she didn't know if it was their trauma or some genetic thing because if she recalled correctly, both their parents weren't much better. There had been some semblance of order in the last few weeks, she was working and Gavin was... happy? But even then it didn't take much to set those schedules askew. She gave the dogs some treats before she and Ruby headed back to the living room with their own treats and after she set it all up on the table and got them comfortable under one of Charlie's soft, large blankets she popped open her cider and clanked it lightly against Ruby's can of beer. "To no dreams."
“I’m in good company then,” Ruby said. It was part of why she’d come to Jasper in the first place. Very few of her friends had experienced anything like what she’d gone through and she knew some of them would scoff at the idea that she’d been hurt by a dream. Maybe that meant they weren’t really friends. Either way, she didn’t want to deal with that bullshit. She’d known Jasper would believe her, as would Amelia, and that itself was a comfort. She knew she couldn’t intrude on their lives for long, but she hoped a couple nights rest without Dark Man nightmares would make her feel safe enough to go home. “To no dreams,” she smiled, taking a sip after clinking her drink against Amelia’s. It seemed a lot to ask for, but she was still willing to hope.
Amelia decided not to bring up Rebecca and the way she'd been swept to another dimension just like Amelia had. Maybe Jasper had already told her, but if he hadn't then there was no need for Ruby to know that right now. She was already terrified of a dream monster stalking her and hurting her for real, being reminded that she might stumble into some horror dimension by accident wouldn't help her state of mind. At least Amelia now knew they could find people that happened to. It was a small reassurance in light of everything. She enjoyed her pie and ice cream instead, pulling her bare feet up on the couch and trying to ignore the dogs who wanted a bite of her food. They weren't pushy about it, but it could be hard to ignore those looks they gave her. "So you think you'll get a dog?" she asked, side eyeing Max who was trying his best pleading smile on her currently. "You know how hard it is to keep from feeding them all the things all the time?"
“I’ve been thinking about it,” Ruby said with a small smile. “It started with me thinking my dad could use one, so he’d have company after I move out, but the more I think about it, the more I think I’m the one that needs one.” She wasn’t even all that sure she was moving out anymore. She couldn’t afford an apartment without a roommate and she hadn’t found someone she thought she could actually live without and still remain friends. She could also save more money if she lived at home. It wasn’t optimal, but nothing really was. “I’d like the company. And the cuddles. They make me feel safe. So they’ll probably be better fed than I am.” She’d need to find out what foods not to feed dogs. She knew chocolate was a no, but there was probably more than that.
"Look at that goofy grin," Amelia said with a laugh and shielded her eyes from Max while shaking her head. "They kept me safe in the fog. I was home alone, I can't even imagine how freaked out I would have been if they hadn't been there. Just Max and Rudy back then, Baxter is Charlie's dog." Ruby probably already knew that but that was okay. "I mean, Max wasn't really a big guardian for me but he was more afraid than I was so I got this protective feeling and that is weirdly soothing, you know? Being strong for someone else." That was a dark topic to explore though and she didn't think they needed dark things tonight so she switched the topic pretty fast. "Do you think you'll adopt? Or get a puppy?"
“It’s weird how that works. It’s easier to be strong for someone else, than for yourself. At least, for me it is,” Ruby said. Her mind immediately went to Jules and how she’d defended her against her step-father without even thinking of the consequences. There hadn’t been time to feel afraid. If she’d hesitated, Jules might have been dead. And then Edward likely would have come after her. Ruby’s mind drifted back to the carnival, to seeing his face grinning back at her as the ride spun around, and she pulled her legs up and under her, hugging a pillow into her lap. Could she defend anyone against a ghost? Especially if no one else had seen it? “A puppy would be fun, but probably more than I can handle right now. I know there are a lot of sweet dogs out there that need adopting, so I’ll probably check there first.”
"Adopting is great, they'll find someone who suits you," Amelia agreed but that wasn't always the case, of course. Her dad would know who to talk to, though she wasn't so sure bringing him along would be a good idea. Having three dogs in the house was already chaotic enough without him melting down and getting another one. "Oh hey, you weren't here for the big news," she added as thinking of her dad reminded her of the events of the day. "Dad and Charlie are getting married. He told everyone today, even gave a little speech." It had been a very short and awkward speech but it was more than she'd ever seen him do. Charlie was definitely a strong influence on him for the better. "Jasper and I were just like - at each other," she added and pulled a wide-eyed and surprised look to clarify what she meant.
“Oh wow, that’s great,” Ruby smiled, happy to turn her attention towards something positive. Mr. Lucas and Ms. Harris still struck her as an odd couple, but that was mostly because she thought of them as Jasper’s dad, who had always had a rocky relationship with Jasper’s mom, and her English teacher. Teachers never seemed like people with real lives when they were teachers. “Did he propose? Is there a ring? Are you excited about it?” A lot had happened over the past year, including Amelia aging ten years in a very short amount of time. Ruby had to constantly remind herself that it actually took ten years on Amelia’s end, not just ten days. She was a different person, one who was much more on her level than the little girl had ever been. She wondered if all of this felt sudden, or like something that was bound to happen once they moved in together.
"I don't know who proposed," Amelia admitted. "There is a ring and yeah, it's pretty exciting. It's not like I ever hoped mom would come back." She was sad and angry about her mother leaving, but ultimately she was glad. Life was simpler without her, there hadn't been any fighting or yelling or passive aggressive guilt trips, there were plenty of problems but her family wasn't currently one of them. "I like Charlie a lot, she's been so supportive of me, you know? Almost like... Well, no. She's not like the mom I didn't have or anything, she's just..." She shrugged and smiled. "She's just Charlie. And she's so good for dad."
Like Amelia, Ruby had gone through most of her life without a good mother figure. The circumstances were different—hers had truly disappeared—but she understood. Charlie wasn’t going to replace her mom, but she probably felt like one. She seemed warm and caring. Kind. An odd match for a Lucas, at least from the outside. “I’m happy for them,” she smiled. “So that means you’ve got two weddings coming up? That could be fun.” It had been a long time since she’d been to a wedding, but she’d always enjoyed the few she’d been to. She imagined it would be even more fun if you were part of the family and knew everyone in attendance. “I know things were rough for a while there. I’m glad things settled down… a bit.” She knew they were still rough for Jasper, but his situation was unique and at least not family related.
To Amelia, it felt like things were always rough. Something was always going on and sometimes it wasn't even anything she was aware of - she could just feel it like tension in the air. People didn't always share what was going on with them, she sure as hell didn't, so she never knew if something was really happening around her that she just didn't know about or if something awful was lurking around the corner, keeping her on her toes. Today was a good example. Everything seemed fine, except her dad had apparently hurt himself somehow (nothing serious, he said) but then it turned out that Ruby might be in grave danger so there was never really any peace and quiet. Maybe that was a good thing in a way, maybe if she truly let her guard down something really horrible might happen. Was it better to be prepared for it? "It's always a mix, isn't it," she said with a wan smile. "Good and bad all twirled up in a chaos soup."
“Yeah,” Ruby said with a little nod. “Even when things seem okay for me, I can tell they’re not across the board. There’s always something around here.” As good as the spring had seemed, Jasper had been missing that whole time and there were still little incidents from time to time. There was never a day when all felt right in the world. Just because she didn’t know what was happening didn’t mean it wasn’t going on. She felt that more now than she had before, every day more aware of the danger Point Pleasant posed. And yet she wasn’t sure that leaving would help. What was to say that anywhere else was different? She could face it all here because she had friends there. She couldn’t imagine trying to deal with this kind of shit alone. “Sorry for being such a downer tonight,” she said. “I just need a few days, I think. And a few good night’s sleep.”
"You're not a downer," Amelia admonished her, and even if she had been it was totally justified. Ruby had been through a traumatic event that still cast a shadow of fear over her, and even not unjustified fear at that. Amelia herself felt a little afraid that they would find her dead in the morning, torn apart by some monster in her dreams and there was not a thing she could do to prevent it. All she could do was try to keep her calm and leave the dogs with her in an attempt to guard her, it made her feel stupidly useless. "You should get more protective tattoos, maybe," she said as she worried at her lip. "Like dad gave me and Jasper for Christmas."
“How do those work?” Ruby asked. She’d wanted to get one for a while now, but didn’t really understand how to go about it. “Are they protective because of the design? Or do they have to be imbued with magic or something?” She knew there were witches in Point Pleasant, but she wasn’t sure how to go about finding one. It seemed unlikely that the tattoo artist just happened to be a witch, though if protective tattoos worked, then that could be a pretty lucrative business deal. “I like the idea,” she said. “I just don’t know where to start. It seems like the kind of thing you need to get from a legit source, not, like, Google.”
"I don't really know," Amelia admitted and if she was fully honest, she wasn't even sure they worked. Her dad seemed certain they did something and she rode the coat-tails of his faith in them and hoped that gave them some added strength. "Dad just gave me and Jasper a symbol," she added and patted her flank where her tattoo was located. "He has so many tattoos, it's probably hard to tell which ones are actually doing the protecting but he said this one was strong. He knows some people who know about that kinda stuff, I'd have to ask him but you know what he's like." Cagey. Her dad was not a chatty person but he'd been making a concentrated effort in the last few months, especially after Jasper came back home. "I will totally interrogate him for you."
“If it works, it’s worth it,” Ruby said. “Even if it works just a little, it’s better than nothing. I’m pretty much willing to try anything.” If she was still planning to leave, she might not worry as much, just needing to stick it out another month, but Ruby was staying. Maybe she ought to hire a priest to come bless her house, or find a witch to teach her what to do with sage. They did something with sage and other herbs, didn’t they? “Let me know what he says. In the meantime, I might try hunting down one of the local witches and see if they have any advice. I’m sure someone around here knows where I can find one.”
Amelia had always been under the impression that witches were useful but also a pain in the ass. Whenever Gavin mentioned them, which admittedly wasn't often, he got a kind of a pained grimace on his face and it had only gotten worse lately. She wasn't so sure it was easy to tell a good witch from a bad one or even a fake one, and there were always plenty of people ready to lie and cheat for money. "Run an ad in the paper," she said with a grin. "Witches wanted. But no, seriously. I'll ask dad. He doesn't like them much but he knows at least one or two." She wondered if her boss knew any, he'd seen so many weird things by now, he had to have a contact or two that went beyond the normal description of his job. "Sometimes I feel like doing what dad did and just covering up with all the symbols from all the religions, cover all my bases, you know?"
“I’d much rather have a reference. I’m sure there’s a way to tell the difference between the fake ones and the real ones, but I wouldn’t know what to look for,” Ruby said. “I wonder why he doesn’t like them.” Maybe they were the reason this town was all messed up. Maybe they’d help, but only for more money than she could ever afford. Both options seemed probable. “Yeah, I’m sure some of the religions got something right. There’s overlap, you know? But which one? You’d have to cover all your bases to really be safe. I might not go that far with tattoos, but I could carry pendants, or say prayers, I dunno, burn candles and say incantations. If it worked. I’d do just about anything if it worked. But maybe it won’t happen again. Maybe… this was a one time thing.” There would be other things, of course, but she really hoped she could set this particular fear aside because she was defenseless against it.
It certainly wasn't the first time that Amelia felt completely helpless and without answers and it was harder when it was someone else in danger. She wanted to tell Ruby it'd be okay, that she could sleep without the fear of dying, but what did she know? Nothing at all. It was the worst feeling in the world, not knowing, but it was also a feeling she was painfully used to by now. It was easier to go with the flow when she was the only one at risk, she'd already faced death and while she wasn't eager to do it again, there was certain calm in having braced for it. She couldn't stomach the idea of losing someone else and the thought of finding Ruby dead on the couch in the morning made her chest ache. She could hear the desperation in Ruby's voice, no matter how subdued it might be. It was too quiet and calm around them to not pick up on that subtle cadence. "Anything you need, I'll help you," she said though she knew Ruby had no more clues what that might be than she did.
It would be so easy to sink into fear and despair and stay there, cowering in preparation for the worst, but Ruby refused to give in. She was scared and she was desperate, but she couldn’t give up hope that there was a way out of this tangled mess. It was just too hard to see while it had its hooks in her. She hoped she’d be able to see better after a good night’s sleep, assuming that was still possible. Maybe not tonight, or tomorrow night, but eventually. Eventually things would get better, at least until they got worse again. She’d been scared shitless before and survived, so she could do it again. Having a friend there that believed her helped and she gave Amelia a small smile in response. “Thanks,” she said, even if she didn’t know what to ask for. Just her being there was enough.
Sometimes the best thing to do in the face of the horrors was to find something to distract from them, even if it was just for an hour. The human mind wasn't made to be on high alert non-stop and they had entertainment for a reason. Amelia let the conversation die out and found something for them to watch instead, something light and funny but engaging enough to keep their minds somewhat occupied. She knew she wasn't going to be able to stay up very late but she would try anyway, even if she had work. At least until Jasper got his ass home and then Ruby could decide where she wanted to sleep - if she wanted to sleep. It was the best Amelia could do for her right now and she hoped it helped.