misssmalltown (misssmalltown) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-01-29 09:25:00 |
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Entry tags: | #september 2017, sadie |
Who: Fin and Sadie
When: Afternoon, Wednesday, September 27
Where: Sadie's house
Status: Complete
After getting discharged from the hospital early Monday afternoon Fin had gone straight to Books and Beer, thankfully his friend Brad had dropped by his place and picked up some clean clothes and a few other things, he didn’t really want to go home and with the fog still hanging around he decided to save his employees a dangerous trip in the fog and ran the store by himself. The first thing he did was checking to make sure that everything was alright after the blackout on Sunday, thankfully there was nothing perishable and the drinks and kegs had remained cool enough without electricity. After a quick trip out to get some food and a few small errands Fin rearranging sections of the store by himself, doing anything else that would take his mind off the reasons he had ended up in the hospital in the first place. With ‘limited use’ of power on Monday he opened the doors anyway, but only two customers had braved the fog and ventured into the store, mainly to stock up on books in case of another blackout or to keep themselves entertained if the fog hung around. Tuesday felt strange, almost similar in a way to the feeling he had on Sunday - that dread in the pit of his stomach, Fin didn’t venture out in it and kept the lights on, just in case there was customers stupid enough to go outside. None showed, and by dusk he locked the door and sat in one of the booths near the bar - doing more paperwork and talking to his pet tortoise who had spent the last few days with him.
When Wednesday dawned and the fog had disappeared Fin felt relieved, although it didn’t take long for the aftermath of the day before to become clear - even the delivery guy had heard there had been a few deaths and countless injuries, all of which made him glad that he had gotten discharged when he did. Now that things were slowly returning to normal Fin contacted his employees, making sure that they were unharmed and to see if anyone wanted to do the afternoon/evening shift, he was glad when Nat said she’d be happy to take it, that ‘the change of scenery was welcomed after three days stuck inside the house’, he was grateful to have such wonderful staff. Nat took over the running of the store and Fin left, he’d come back for his things (tortoise included) after he had done a few things - the first on his list was to drive by the house that he had looked at online for the past few days, to see what the neighborhood was like and if the external photos were true to form. The street wasn’t too far away and in a pleasant area of town which of course made Fin wonder why the price was so low, yes it needed some work doing to it but was that the only reason? He had asked Madison if she could run a check on the house to make sure there wasn’t any ‘hidden surprises’ that the real estate agent had forgotten to mention.
It was while Fin was sitting out the front of the house in his car taking a few pictures on his phone that he realized how close he was to Sadie’s place on Sycamore Street, he really should visit her, to see how she was coping with Danny’s disappearance and how Lucy was coping as well, hopefully they had both taken it better than he had. Knowing that Sadie would be home from school by now he drove the short distance, only a couple of hundred yards really, and parked on the road outside the house. Getting out of the car he walked up to the front door, took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
With school being cancelled Monday and Tuesday, Sadie had spent most of Wednesday catching up, although most of her students had difficulty concentrating. She couldn't blame him. Sadie had found it difficult as well, not only because of what had happened over the past few days, but because Danny was still missing. She had a terrible feeling in her gut that it wouldn't end well, that he wouldn't just show up again, healthy with some believable story as to why he went MIA for so long. People in Point Pleasant went missing so frequently and the majority never returned... when they did, it was in a body bag. She understood how morbid that was, but it was the truth and Sadie knew being a realist in this town was safer than harboring optimism.
She was home when Fin knocked on her front door, in her kitchen making some hot tea. Sadie thought it might be Jared, so she left the kettle on the stove and walked to the front door, peering out the peephole. When she saw Fin on her porch she quickly unlocked the door and pulled it open. "Hey," she greeted, wondering if he had some news, or was just stopping by. "Come inside."
The chances of Danny showing up alive were slim at best, Fin knew that he was still alive but revealing his source would make him sound like he really had gone mad - a letter from his deceased father (written through a witch who happened to have the ability to talk to the dead) had told him that Danny was not amongst the spirit world, which to Fin meant that whatever had happened at least his friend was alive.
As Sadie opened the door and greeted him, Fin offered a small smile. “Hey.” He said, stepping inside and letting her close the door behind him. “I'm sorry I haven't come around sooner.” Fin offered as a sort of apology, not sure if Sadie knew about his three and a half day hospital stay or the reason behind it, Dan usually brought out the best in him but sometimes it also brought out the worst and Thursday was one of those times.
"It's okay. I heard what happened..." It was a small town and people talked. A lot. Sadie was starting to think the entire town had gone crazy, but it wasn't the first time the thought had crossed her mind. Given what she had heard happened yesterday, it seemed like some had gone crazy. Sadie began to lead Fin down the hall back to her kitchen. "I wanted to come by and see how you were doing, but I thought I would just be in the way. How are you feeling?"
Fin sighed, he knew it was inevitable that he became town gossip but did wonder what was getting said about him, not like anything could be done. Though maybe with the horrors of yesterday people would forget about him, maybe that was just Fin's wishful thinking. “I'm glad you didn't come by though Sadie, as much as I'd appreciate your company wouldn't have wanted you out in that fog, especially not yesterday! “ Following Sadie to the kitchen he thought that at least she had stayed safe during the past few days. ”Well… I'm alive. The rest is a work in progress. How are you holding up?” He had to ask, that was kind of the point of his visit, to see how Sadie was coping.
Everyone was a work in progress. Some just found progress a bit harder to come by, Still, Sadie was relieved to hear Fin was doing okay. That was such a rare thing in this town lately. The kettle had begun to shriek so Sadie reached out to take it off the burner. She had been going a bit stir crazy since Saturday night, but getting out today had helped a little. "I'm doing alright," Sadie said with a small shrug as she pulled two mugs from the cabinet. She hadn't even asked if he wanted tea. She was just going to make it, because she needed something to keep her hands occupied. "Jared came by on Monday, but he didn't really have any news for me. I don't know what else to do at this point. There forming a search party now but I feel like a search party means searching for a body and I hate that."
A cup of tea sounded really good to Fin at that moment, he had a coffee that morning and a bottle of water during his shift but was feeling quite thirsty so he wouldn't say no. He was also glad to hear that Jared had dropped by to update Sadie, even though there wasn't any news. “Madison's doing the same for me, keeping an eye and an ear out.” They both had a cop to keep them updated, it was better than nothing.
Sadie's comment about the search party searching for a body made Fin feel a bit tight in the chest, despite the spiritual reassurance he knew the history of the town and that finding any sign of Danny, or any other missing person would be a miracle. “He's alive Sadie, I know he is. Until I am told otherwise I'm not going to stop believing that he's just stuck in some hospital somewhere with amnesia.” But wasn't that the thought pattern of every single person who loved someone who had disappeared, not only from this town but across the country. Taking a seat at the kitchen table he watched as Sadie made the tea. “I just hope he remembers that there's people who love him and miss him.” Fin still loved Danny, probably more than ‘just friends’ should, it had been roughly nine years since they had started dating and for all those years Danny had a place in Fin's heart, he probably always would. He hated the term soulmates but really what else could describe their bond?
As desperate as Sadie was to hear those words, she wasn't sure if she believed them. If Danny was alive, why hadn't he tried to contact anyone? Was amnesia a real possibility? How many families of missing loved ones had the same belief as Fin? At least until a body was found. She swallowed hard as emotion bubbled up within her and Sadie dumped two tea bags into the cups and poured the hot water over them. Thankfully her hand didn't shake. She breathed in deep to control her voice before glancing at Fin. "Did you know Danny was having blackouts, Fin? That he was waking up in places in strange places with no knowledge as to how he got there?"
“What?” Fin said, his voice showing the shock. Why hadn't Danny told him about the blackouts? Well he knew why, so Fin didn't worry but seriously, could this be the reason for his disappearance? “I knew he was having troubles sleeping, said it was just insomnia and I believed him because he had it when we were together - the stress of Lucy's custody case, but full on blackouts? No, he never said a thing.” The control over his voice wasn't as good as Sadie's and it cracked at the last words, revealing the emotions he was trying to keep hidden, Sadie had more right to be upset about Danny, they were family and Fin was only a friend, a very good friend but still, just a friend. He looked down at the table and wiped at his eyes, trying to wipe away tears that had started to form. Damn you, Danny!
It wasn't terribly surprising to Sadie that Danny kept the blackouts from her, and Fin, and who knew who else. If they had known, they would have pushed him to get them checked out. Jared had asked him to, but it hadn't been Jared's responsibility to follow up, she supposed. Sadie brought the tea over to set one mug in front of Fin. She found the honey and sugar and set them down on the table in case Fin wanted to sweeten his. "He kept it from us," she murmured as she sat, "but there's nothing we can do about it now. All we can do is keep looking. I made sure hospitals in the surrounding areas were notified of the situation, just in case he did have a black out and hurt himself." Or if there was a John Doe found. "At least we know what we're dealing with now."
Fin took the honey, adding a small amount to his tea. He was trying to think of some reason why Danny would be suffering blackouts, and none of them were good. Stirring the tea to dissolve the honey he looked at Sadie. “Keep looking and hoping.” And continue to feel hopeless, could either of them have done anything to stop the disappearance? Not like that could do anything now, but hindsight always brought doubt. Curling his hands around the mug he took a sip. “Other than the obvious… how are things going with you? I had quite a bit of time to think in the hospital and realized that I was focusing on other things and neglecting my friends and that's something I want to rectify, even the strongest foundations can crumble if ignored.”
Sadie knew she couldn't blame herself for Danny going missing. She had dealt with enough horrible things in her life that if she started believing they were all her fault, she would end up in a psychiatric ward somewhere. Sometimes it felt like this town was the one in control and they were all helpless to stop it from doing whatever it wanted, and taking whoever it wanted. A part of her wished she and Jared had stayed in Texas, but she had felt so unbelievably homesick. Point Pleasant had drawn her back in. If she had stayed away, maybe she and Jared would still be married. Sadie didn't know. It just felt like everything bad that happened to her, happened here. Sadie sipped her tea and gave him a small smile. "I'm doing fine, Fin. Everyone has things to deal with, I don't blame you for that. I just hope you're focusing on getting yourself well again.”
While quite a few bad things had happened in this town for Fin, there were just as many good things, and those were the ones that he focused on to get him through the day to day. He too often had the ‘what if’ thoughts about his relationship with Danny, if it wasn't for the stress caused by the custody battle for Lucy maybe they would've stayed together, maybe even got married, not that any of those things mattered now, he had to focus on himself and as Sadie said ‘get himself well’. “I’m taking steps, sometimes it doesn't seem like I'm going anywhere but any progress forward is better than none at all. I'm even thinking of buying a house, settle down a bit and get something stable going.” He hadn't shared his idea of buying a house with many people, in fact Sadie was the third person he had told about it. “There's a place over on Oak that's caught my eye, it needs some work but maybe it is what I need, something other than work to focus on.” He offered a smile while he sipped his tea, either Sadie would say it's a good idea or a horrible one, either way he still wanted to view the house, maybe he'd call the agent after he'd left Sadie's.
"I think that sounds like a solid plan," Sadie said with a small smile. She wrapped her hands around the mug to warm them. "I think I might know what house you're talking about. I take Oak to school almost every day. I think a fixer upper would definitely be a good focus of your energy and time. Constant projects helped me when I was going through the divorce. If you need any help, let me know." Being around friends and family was probably the best thing to do right now. Otherwise Sadie knew she might just pace the house day and night until some actual news about Danny came in. She worried for Lucy too. Their families had gone through so much already.
“It'll be a clean slate, something I can really make mine instead of trying to personalize an apartment that's the same as a dozen others. But you know what I like about the whole idea of buying a house? Having a yard and not some small tiled balcony.” Sadie was right about needing something to focus his attention on, sure there were a few other houses for sale that didn't need any work and Fin could move straight in but none or those drew him in like the little cottage. “I'll let you know if I need some help, even if it's just me coming over and bitching when something isn't going right.” Not that he'd visit Sadie only to bitch, he'd come around to check up on her as well, though he was sure that having people do that and the current bombardment of How are you coping? questions from just about everyone was driving her just as crazy as it was him. Other than getting the word out to hospitals and other police departments in the state (and maybe up into Canada), there wasn't a lot that could be done. Speaking of which. “Do you think it terrible of me if I didn't join in the search party that they're planning?” Fin asked, when he had heard about it he was in two minds - every pair of eyes helped but he also pictured Danny rolling his eyes and telling him to focus on the store instead, then again he didn't want to seem heartless, especially when it came to someone he loved.
Sadie understood. After Jared had moved out, Sadie had tried to redecorate some parts of the house, needing to make it hers in order to move on properly. She hadn’t wanted to erase Jared, but she had needed to feel like she could live in the home without being constantly reminded of her ex-husband. Sadie sipped her tea, feeling a little exhausted from the last few days, but also a bit more optimistic, talking to Fin. It wasn’t like he had convinced her Danny was alive, but having a friend to commiserate with was better than answering questions from strangers, pretending like she was okay. Her brow arched a bit at his question and she carefully set the mug on the table. “I don’t think that would be terrible,” she said after a moment. “I think we’re going to have plenty of people to help look, and… sometimes I think it would be better to have people searching who aren’t emotionally attached to him… just in case…” Just in case they found a body. But she couldn’t bring herself to say that. “I promise I’ll keep you in the loop, though.”
Not having to put on a fake smile and say the rehearsed lines of ‘I'm fine’ to someone was somewhat refreshing, he and Sadie could be honest with one another and not have to hide behind some bravado. Even in the few hours Fin had been at work he still had some of the older customers who knew both he and Danny asking how he was, that and the Looky Lou's wanting to see if Fin was still there, their whispers didn't go unnoticed though he did try to ignore them. “I might help for a bit, just so they can't say I didn't do a thing.” Sadie knew what people in the town were like - gossips and hungry for rumors, not caring who they were hurting. “If I hear something I'll let you know.” Though if he heard something from Madison no doubt Jared would contact let Sadie know. Fin would be there if she needed him, no matter what. “You know I'm here if you need me. “ He added with a small smile before taking another sip of his tea.
"Who cares what they say," Sadie said simply. She had dealt with more than her fair share of gossip, especially after separating from Jared. But Sadie was used to it, given her family history. She had learned to try and drown out the white noise as much as possible. "Do whatever is best for you. It's not going to affect those people at all. Even if you show up, they'll find something else to whisper about." She shrugged before leaning over to touch his arm comfortingly. "I'm here if you need me too. We'll be okay." She never said they would find Danny and he would be okay too, but Sadie couldn't bring herself to say the lie. So she left it at that and sipped her tea, grateful for the company, despite the circumstances.
Sadie was right, ignore the idiots and their rumors and gossip, he'd go insane if he started believing them, not that Fin was in a very stable mental state at the moment. At least he realized how stupid and selfish he had been, who he would've left behind if things had gone the other way. When Sadie placed a hand on his arm Fin rested one of his on top for a moment. “We will. We'll keep batting on.” He'd want us to were the unspoken words rolling in Fin's mind. “If I do end up getting that place on Oak I expect you to come around for dinner at least once a month.” He loved to cook and while he had done some recently - mainly his portioned meals - it had been so long since he had cooked a several course meal for anyone. He just hoped the place had a decent kitchen. “Now that I've got a new guy working I can take a bit more time off, spend time with friends and things like that.” He did find it funny that his two female employees were kind of swooning over the new guy - Mario when they were all together the previous Wednesday, maybe it was that southern charm.
"Of course," Sadie said with a small smile. "I'm never going to say no to dinner that I won't have to cook. It's good that you've got some help in the store. You deserve a break every now and then. We all do. And you know, if you need anything too, just let me know." It wasn't like Sadie had much of a social life at the moment. Maybe she needed to work on changing that. She hadn't had many visitors besides Fin and Jared. "Do you want to stay for dinner?" Sadie asked. She felt compelled to ask, unsure as to when Fin last had a decent meal. Hospital food was known to be the worst.
Fin wasn’t looking forward to the task of having to clean out his fridge and freezer at home, while most things would be okay he didn’t want to risk it with anything containing meat so it looked like the weekend would be filled with cooking and restocking his supply of meals, maybe Madison would appreciate some too. “Good workers are hard to find, I’m lucky to have found three of them.” He said with a smile, he had previous people never last more than a week because they treated it more like their own personal social time instead of a serious job. When Sadie asked him to stay for dinner Fin thought for a minute, hands fiddling with the mug, as much as he’d like to there was a few other things he had to do. “Thank you Sadie but I can’t tonight, Ferdinand isn’t really happy with me at the moment and I better get him home and out of the tub he’s spent the last two days in.” Fin really did love that tortoise, more so at the moment because it was a present from Danny. “Maybe over the weekend or next week come over and I’ll cook you a feast.” He offered, maybe by next week they would have heard something but Fin wasn’t hanging his hopes on it.
Sadie nodded, not at all disappointed as she knew Fin probably had enough to do and deal with. "That sounds great. Just call me or shoot me a text and I'll make sure I have some time set aside for you. And I'll keep you updated on the search." She supposed that was one benefit to being on good terms with her cop ex-husband. Jared had been pretty good at keeping in contact with her, even if there wasn't a lot of news to share. "Just be safe out there and call me if you hear anything." Not that Sadie expected Fin to know anymore than she did, but maybe Danny would call. Maybe. It was a very slim possibility, at least. She had to hold onto some sliver of hope. Until then she was would finish her tea, see Fin out, and then start on grading some papers. Anything to keep her mind off of what was going on. It wouldn't be easy, but it was all she could so at the moment.