Huxley, Iowa, United States
The landing was a little bumpy, being smooth until they actually hit the ground with a slight thud, causing Angela to call back her apologies rather shyly. She hadn't really piloted on her own before, and her lessons where only over the past few months. But Riley, not seeming overly excited at the moment, dragged himself down to get their bags, actually he thought only Cat had things, Angela hadn't yet mentioned she had packed his stuff. When he pulled out Cat's thing's, he stared down at black hold all with a collection of things Angela thought he'd need, clothes, his wallet, his computer, whatever she knew he took with him on his trip to Washington.
He smiled a little, they really where taking charge of his life, maybe it was a good thing, but it felt a little intimidating to know they where doing all this without talking it over with him first. Pulling out the travel bag, he noticed a black back pack, his hand grabbing at it and also yanking the smaller, though somewhat heavier bag to open it and see what was in there. Riley rarely travelled heavy since he could always buy whatever he needed, it would probably do him good to have Catherine around him, he had a total lack of understanding at how hard it was for most people to earn the amount of money he was rewarded each week.
"What's all this? I don't even study any more." All these books where like a nightmare, he was going to his parents for the first time in years and the thought of being able to hide away in his room and study endlessly was too good an excuse to avoid having to deal with questions he couldn't answer. None-the-less he swang the back pack over his shoulders and picked up both hold alls easily while Angela cast Cat a nervous look. She didn't reply to Riley until the two where standing outside the X-Jet, the endless nothing around them making Riley a little uneasy since he was used to more confined spaces.
"Uh.. well.. another thing was.. um.. the Professor wants Cat to study still, when she get's back she still needs to take the exam to pass her classes." Riley stared at Cat quickly since he was fully aware she hasn't been focused on her school work for most of the year. "The Professor says it's a great chance for you to help her, you know.. you are her boyfriend and you are a tutor so he figured.. it'd be good." Angela grinend a little nervously, but Riley, who was used to tutoring, just gave a little shrug to show he didn't mind that. Only really Angela could guess how negatively Cat would react to such an idea.
"Anyway, Riley, ya wallets in ya side pocket of the big bag, you two have fun ok, and don't forget to call!" Angela would have to wait until the couple moved away from the plane before she took off, so after she stepped back onto the plane she stared at them with still her nervous grin as she waved bye.
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
Cat didn't really care about the bumpy landing she was just more then relieved to be back on solid ground again, the sick feeling didn't seem to leave her stomach right away though. She supposed that it would fade once she got outside. She pulled her headphones off and looked across at Angie, stuffing them rather haphazardly back in her bag again, her eyes flitting over to Riley. He stood up, making his way to the back of the plane, reaching down to remove the grate that housed their bags. She watched him pull out a whole host of things .... she'd tried to be sparing in what she packed but it seemed to her that Riley was rather over packed .... did he really need his laptop. She hadn't really been on one for years so she didn't really think much of them even though there was enough games and things on his laptop to keep her entertained for hours without her even having to buy any.
"What's all this? I don't even study any more." He sounded sulky, she guessed that Angela had packed him books to study from or something, other wise he wouldn't be complaining. When they'd been making love after they'd got back from the Washington Dawn had bashed on the door and yelled something about him going back to studying ..... but then all those horrible things had started to happen.
Dragging her feet a little she put her bag over her shoulder and exited the plane, looking around her, her expression dropping a little further. It was so flat and well ... boring, she felt so exposed out here, where were all the buildings? She was far too used to the high rise, high pace lifestyle of living in a city. Hearing Angie begin to talk again she turned around to listen to her.
"Uh.. well.. another thing was.. um.. the Professor wants Cat to study still, when she get's back she still needs to take the exam to pass her classes." Exams? Study? Classes? That didn't sound good. She'd attented about twelve classes this year and on top of not having gone to school for the past four years Cat didn't have a chance in hell of passing any of them.
'Thats hardly fair ... everyone else gets to have their holidays and I have to study for some stupid exams.' Angie could hardly have expected a sympathetic reply from Catherine who could only see the injustice of it all. She looked stroppy and stared down at the floor. "The Professor says it's a great chance for you to help her, you know.. you are her boyfriend and you are a tutor so he figured.. it'd be good." Good? How was studying ever good? Or fun? There was also a feel of embaressment, he'd be bound to find out she had problems with her studying .... he might think she was stupid then. It wasn't like it was her fault though, the words just seemed to jumble up in front of her eyes.
"Anyway, Riley, ya wallets in ya side pocket of the big bag, you two have fun ok, and don't forget to call!" So that was it, she was just leaving them here, in the middle of nowhere so they could both starve to death. There wasn't a fast food place in sight, she was already determined to hate it here, no matter what anyone said or did.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
There was a nervous stare from Riley who was taken back a little by Cat's remark, but when neither seemed to be moving away from the plane, Angela cleared her throat a little and pointed in the direction of the station.
"Walk that way and there's a station, your train tickets are in ya wallet Riley, the Professor helped me get them." She grinned a little more but then closed the door as if she worried they'd try and charge back onto the jet. Riley made a little sigh as he turned around to stare ahead of them, glancing back at Catherine so he wasn't about to walk off on her.
"Well, we better hurry, normally they have little stores at the stations, we can at least have something to eat and drink while we wait." He felt a little odd being left all alone with her now, would she be comfortable? They hadn't been on their own since before the Initiative, Riley himself hasn't been alone with her since the night he fell asleep with her in his arms. What if she wasn't comfortable with being alone with him, but she had agreed to coming here.. she wouldn't come if she was scared of being alone with him, unless she thought she had to since his family was her childs grand parents. The walk was rather quiet, he wasn't sure what to say and maybe she didn't want him to say anything.. So he kept quiet for a while until he began worrying over things again.
"I know you're going to be mad with me since I know this is a bad time to mention it, but I don't know their names or address or anything.." He trailed off as he stared down at the ground, not realizing Angela has written down the address and slipped it into his wallet but forgot to mention it. The plane had left and the station was seen just about 10 minutes ahead of them by the time he was brave enough to mention anything.
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States'Why should I be mad?' She sounded a little out of breath, his legs were much longer than hers and she was having difficulties keeping up with him. She might be fast but she didn't have the stamina to keep up with him over a large distance. 'If this train takes us to Huxley right?' She wasn't really sure what they were doing or where they were going but she was more than happy to just follow along behind him. 'Then someone must know your parents right? The police or something.' She looked ahead, catching a glimpse of the train station in the distance. Not really knowing what Huxley was like but surley they must have a police department or something.
She looked back over her shoulder but the Blackbird was gone, leaving no trace she'd ever been there. It felt odd to be out here with just Riley, especially since they hadn't been alone since the night before he'd woken up as Marc, and that had been a few weeks ago.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States'Why should I be mad?' Well.. maybe because she had a habit of getting mad at him when he says things, not always, but when she does get mad it always ends up with her saying something that makes him feel bad. He hadn't realized he was walking at a pace that would tire her, it was a habit he wasn't aware of mainly because it was drilled into him since he was 14.
'If this train takes us to Huxley right?' She was talking to him, it was so refreshing, the way they where speaking, no stress, just nice calm talking about something that had nothing to do with anything painful. He liked hearing her voice, sometimes he could pretend they where just two normal people that didn't have any problems other then deciding on what to eat and which movies to watch together. When in reality they where always struggling and suffering, normally he had her arms to chase away all the pain but now he didn't even have that.
'Then someone must know your parents right? The police or something.' He smiled, that was hopeful, the fact she wasn't upset made him feel even better, he wasn't sure how she might feel hicking about Iowa without any clue on how to get to their destination. The Station was partly used as a house as well, the shop keepers taking it in turns to spend a few days down there, although they didn't get people often arriving to the station by foot, normally the train would stop and people could grab some snacks or go to the toilet in a ten minute break from the trip. While they walked he seemed to be continuously scanning the area with his eyes, casting a few looks behind them every now and then, unable to shake of his overly cautious attitude. He couldn'y help it really, he was still scared of being stalked by the Initiative, it was too frightening for him to just get over the old feeling and not worry about always being hunted down.
The cement stairs that lead up to the plate form where on the side of the weather board home that doubled as a station, the side of the house where the stairs lead up to was an area with four small round tables that had four seats at each of them. The area was covered by a green shade that formed the extension of the roof over the small 'cafe' like area. Since some people had to get off here to switch trains then the owners had decided to try and make it more comfortable for their guests. The cloth gave a nice shade, Riley placed all the bags down on the ground beside one of the tables and knelt down to unzip one of the pockets to search for his wallet.
When he pulled out his wallet, he flipped it open, the old letter that Cat had sent him from Washington was still on the spot meant for a photo, but he still didn't have one so the letter was all he had to take up the place. Every morning he woke up exhausted because the only reason he fell asleep was cause his body couldn't stay awake any longer. It was the worst feeling, worse then when she was in Washington, because he knew all he had to do was get up and walk down a few halls in order to see her. But he couldn't, he was so terrified that she'd tell him to leave her alone, or that it was late or she'd just look at him.. there's this way she looks at him now, it hurts.. It's not how she used to look at him and she acts like how she used to act about him, so timid and shy.. maybe she was scared.. everyone had said he was so terrible towards Catherine..
"Is.. is there something we need to talk about Catherine?" She hasn't said much to him since he became himself again, and whatever she has said was vague at best, why wouldn't she just talk with him? "Can we work it out?" They where about to go to his parents and he didn't even know if he was allowed to hold her hand, it was like he just picked her up one night and knocked her up without them caring at all about each other. They wouldn't understand all the things that have complicated their relationship, did Cat even still want to be with him? She was acting so uncomfortable around him it was making him uncomfortable, his eyes looked up at her, watching her as he stood up though his posture was slack and depressed.
"Please?" The last thing he ever wanted to do was bring a child into a world when it wasn't garenteed a stable family. But beyond that, getting passed anything that had to do with his kid, losing Catherine, he wouldn't be able to handle that again, he couldn't live without her.
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
Her eyes looked around her, taking in the house with it's rather weather beaten appearance, she could see net curtains at the windows on the upper part of the house and an orange tabby cat was regarding them from the other side of the glass. As she watched it lited a paw and rather laizily spread the pads of it's paw open so it could lick inbetween them with a small pink tounge. Her eyes moved to look at the tables she was standing near and the green shade. It seemed so odd to her to have a set up like this, she was used to large stations full of bustling people who all shoved and jostled each other angrily. Everyone else always in a rush, people going on holiday with suitcases, yelling at their wandering children to keep up or business men running with takeout coffee to catch whatever train they were late for. But here it was so deserted, she was a little afraid of speaking because there seemed to be a silence that had settled over the area.
Her hands nervously playing with the strap on her bag, wondering which direction their train would come from and how they'd know if it was the right one. She glanced nervously across at Riley before she looked away again, she didn't like the emptiness of the place. It felt as if anyone could see you, she hadn't thought about it working the other way, if someone could see you then you could see them, it would make it hard to creep up on you.
"Is.. is there something we need to talk about Catherine?" She gave Riley another swift glance, he'd just pulled open his wallet and seemed to be searching through it. She didn't like the tone in his voice, part of her had been hoping that if she didn't say anything they wouldn't have to have "the talk" but she understood that he didn't really know what had happened when he was Marc .... how could she even begin to explain to him. She didn't want to talk about it anyway, she was trying her very best to pretend that nothing had happened. Everytime she did think about it she couldn't help feeling disgusted with herself and what Jon had done made her feel horribly dirty, as if she could wash herself over and over but she'd never get clean. "Can we work it out?" There was a short silence, Cat shifting nervously from foot to foot, refusing to look him in the eye. "Please?"
There was another and even longer silence, Cat seemed to have focused her eyes upon the track and was looking into the distance as if her life depended upon a train coming that moment. She realised she'd have to give him some kind of answer, he couldn't say that without expecting some kind of reply from her.
'I ... I don ... I don't know.' The words seemed to stammer from her, she didn't know what to say and her brain seemed to have frozen over. Her eyes moved to look down at the ground while her hands gripped onto the strap of her bag, her cheeks had turned a bright pink colour, it wasn't fair she didn't want to talk about this.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
She wasn't saying anything, in the seemingly endless length of silence she didn't even look at him, then her slowly spoken words left a gaping hole in his heart. What did she mean she didn't know? There was this automatic instinct to just blurt out he was sorry, his eyes dropped down to his wallet as his fingers fiddled about, soon busying themselves with removing some money to buy their drinks or snacks, whatever she wanted since he was losing what little appitite he might of had.
"..Do you want to break up with me?" The words where so drenched in fear of what the answer might be that it came out rather softly spoken. "Connor said I was terrible towards you, and I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, I know that doesn't change anything but I really didn't mean to hurt you." She was going to leave him wasn't she? That's probably why she was taking him home, so he'd stay there instead of with her at the school. It suddenly felt like entrapment, maybe he didn't want to go home.. but then again what was the point of staying with her if she didn't want to be around him?
His hand held the wallet closely against his chest, his other hand holding the money out for her to take, he didn't seem not have noticed her desire not to have anything to do with her bank account he made for her, nor the fact she didn't like taking his money. He just wanted her to have everything and share everything he had as well, he wouldn't like to think that she didn't want to share his wealth, what was the point of having money if all he could do was spend it on himself, he didn't even want anything other then her company.
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States"..Do you want to break up with me?" Her eyes darted back to meet his for a moment before they moved away again, it was weird, she'd asumed they'd already broken up after everything that had happened. It seemed however that Riley seemed to have a different outlook upon things. "Connor said I was terrible towards you, and I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, I know that doesn't change anything but I really didn't mean to hurt you."
'I dunno ...' There was a short pause, Cat still desperatley not looking at Riley ... it was like she was divided inside, one part of her felt she'd die without him, another was just confused and the other didn't want him anywhere near her after what Marc and Jon had done. 'Can we see how things go?' She wasn't sure how Riley would take being asked that ... maybe he was looking for a definate yes or no but at the moment she didn't really know how she felt anymore. She suddenly felt really drained, her eyes looking down at the money Riley had outstretched towards her.
"And Riley's an idiot if he doesn't realize you're still just a thief and you're just after his money and sex, you're too selfish to want anything else!" She turned her body, moving a little to the side so she could sit down, her face looking slightly pale and withdrawn. She had her back to him now so he couldn't see her expression.
'He said ...' Her hands nervously twisting upon her lap, they'd not really talked about what had happened before other than her telling him she'd slept with Marc .... she hadn't explianed why she'd done it though, leaving Riley to imagine the worst. 'That I was a slu...' She was about to say a slut but she couldn't bring herself to say it though it was possible he could guess from what little of the word she did speak. 'that I only wanted to be with you because I wanted your money and that I was horrid to you.' She looked down at her bag which she'd just placed on the table in front of her. There were bright tears in her eyes that she was blinking back while she talked, replaying everything over again in her mind as she talked. She hadn't said anything about how he janked her clothes off when they were in the bathroom or the fistful of her hair he grabbed when she'd tried to run away.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
The words 'Can we see how things go' seem to numb his mind a little, how can they do that, they had a child on the way, was she just going to walk out on day without telling him and leave him alone without a chance to see her or his baby?
'He said ...' Riley's eyes lifted but she had moved about so her back was to him, maybe she's upset he came back.. maybe she wanted Marc instead of him.. Maybe she thought Marc was better, not so pushy or demanding, or maybe she didn't like how he was too scared to always speak his mind, he just didn't want her to leave. Marc spoke his mind, they argued a lot, but obviously something happened between them screaming at each other and then ripping off their clothes. Riley was obsessing over what could have happened to her between Marc and Jon, had Marc been able to touch her in the way he couldn't yet, or had Jon done so? Or.. or had then done something she really liked and made her realize just how pittiful he was compared to city guys.. part of him was eager to try and remember what had happened between them, another part never wanted to know.
'That I was a slu...' The gaze gaze snapped up from his wallet, Forrest was overly fond of that word since before he met Kristi most of the girls he dated always ended up cheating on him since he always picked the wrong sort. How could Marc even say that, at the time the only person she had been with was Riley, though Riley was even more angry because it's not like she chose to be with Jon, he stole her and forced her to be with him.
'that I only wanted to be with you because I wanted your money and that I was horrid to you.' Staring down at the note in his hand, he let it drift a little closer to his chest. But that wasn't true right? ..She didn't want him just because he had money..
"..But.. but you had only ever been with me before.. right? And.. and you didn't even know I had money back in the base when we.. and I have still not told you how much I have!" Everything seemed to blurt out of him defensivly, even though it was Catherine who had been insulted he was acting as if he was the one being put down. Well it felt like that, how dare that guy, who was in RILEY's body, hurt both mentally and physically his girlfriend, and even worse, how dare she believe what he says.
"But it's a good thing you're a smart woman who doesn't believe anything he says, what do you want to drink?" He obviously wasn't strong enough to go on with it nor did he want to upset her right now any more then sge was so he stared at his wallet while waiting for her reply.
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States"..But.. but you had only ever been with me before.. right? And.. and you didn't even know I had money back in the base when we.. and I have still not told you how much I have!" What did he mean by phrasing right as if it was a question? Of course she'd never been with anyone before him, her first reaction was to be angry but then there was the spring of doubt in her mind, did that mean he thought she'd been with others, did he agree with Marc? He seemed to be getting all defensive about it and she almost felt as if she'd been the one accusing him.
'Course.' She said in reply to his "had she been with anyone else" type queery. She didn't want him to think she'd ben with anyone else, well not apart from these past two weeks and even then it hadn't really been of her choice to go with Jon or Marc.
"But it's a good thing you're a smart woman who doesn't believe anything he says, what do you want to drink?" He was putting an end to their conversation, just like that he was closing the discussion. It had taken her ages to getting around to talking about this with him and he didn't seem interested in what she had to say. She felt a little ashamed, as if she was wrong in some way for bringing the subject up in the first place, she'd remember not to talk about it in the future. She didn't feel very smart, surley if she was clever she'd have found a way around having to sleep with Marc and she'd have been able to fight Jon off better.
'I don't mind, whatever they've got' Cat's voice was nervous again, her eyes flicking around her and then back down to her bag again. She was thirsty but she wasn't sure what they had, better she leave it open incase they didn't have what she wanted. Her hands smoothed over the fabric of her bag, everything just seemed to be going wrong and she wasn't sure how to get things back on track again .... hadn't part of the reason she'd come here been to sort things out between the two of them. So far it didn't feel like they'd managed to work out anything, they were still where they were with their relationship thanks to her and he didn't seem interested in talking about what had happened to her. She'd been offered councilling at the school but she hadn't taken it, enough people already knew what had happened to her and she didn't want to sit down with some woman in a stuffy room who didn't even know her. Cat would get over what had happened to her, she just needed time and support and getting away from the school was probably exactly what she needed at the moment.
Her eyes looked back up the track again, she wanted the train to get here, she felt tried again and slightly sick and she just wanted to go to sleep for a while. One of her hands dropped to rest over her slim stomach as she thought for a moment about what would happen to her and her baby. If she couldn't look after it would the government take it away from her? She'd been wondering for a few days if when it was born she shouldn't just give it to Riley, it was obvious how much he wanted the child. Cat knew a rather large portion of the reason she'd kept it was because knew Riley was so excited about it. She'd hoped somehow it would bring them closer together but it didn't seem to have worked ... and it didn't help the fact that she tended to get upset when he brought up the baby.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
He hadn't meant to end it so abru,[ty. he felt bad now because she had this awful look in her eyes. But he just couldn't take the thought he hadn't been able to help her, or that asking her such things might upset her more, which he was sure it had.
'I don't mind, whatever they've got' He tried very hard to offer a simple smile at her answer but it looked rather sad, though he wasn't even sure she noticed. Turning about he moved off to the window, when he got close a chime rang through the house, although a happy melody it had caused Riley to step back in alert from the sudden noise. His eyes momentarily darted about the area as if half expecting a swarm of soldiers to flood the station home and drag him off.
"Can I help you?" The woman's voice got Riley's attention quickly as his eyes snapped back to focus on the woman, he had hoped to get a chance to look over the choices before someone came, he got always so nervous since he rarely delt with civilians outside of the school.
"Um.." The woman seemed friendly enough, about her later 30's, long blonde hair platted down her back with a dull red ribbon tied about the bottom with a small sort of bow knot. But still Riley felt a little lost, there was so many choices, he could see the fridge just to the side of the small room. "...Two uh.. orange Juices please." The woman flashed a 'hostess grin' as she turned about and pulled open the glass door, taking hold of two glass bottles with the fruit juice inside.
"There you go hun, anything else?" Slowly Riley's eyes dropped down to scan over the other things on the bench and in boxes on the side. After asking for a few different things, she gathered them into a bag and handed it over to him, seeming rather pleased when he handed her a note and said she could keep the change. Taking a seat at the table across from Cat, he placed her drink in front of her, then put the bag with a collection of mostly chocolate bars, two bottles of water, a packet of chips, bandaids and a small box of Asprin. However he withdrew the two non-food items and stuffed them into his holdall, his hand shortly after grabbing at his orange juice screwing off the lid.
"I guess this is nice.. I got to see your area, now you get to see mine," His right leg was all jittery, the juice in his hand splashed about slightly in the bottle, he seemed to stop after a moment, but his expression seemed a little pale as he stared into space. Her friends had nearly walked in on them making love, he wasn't sre he could handle living any longer if his parents walked in on them. But Riley doubted Catherine would let him close enough to risk being caught like that.. He'd have to also ask her if she wanted his parents to know as soon as they arrive or a day or so after because they tell them about the baby.. But he'll leave that for the train ride, his eyes remained downcast for a while, slowly lifting up to watch Catherine.. He wished she'd talk to him, about anything, he didn't care, whatever she wanted to say, he just wanted to hear her voice but he was scared he'd choose a topic she didn't want to talk about.
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
She looked over her shoulder as Riley moved off, feeling even more exposed and out of place without him next to her. He made the vastness seem a little smaller, safer and more hospitible by just being there. Her eyes tipped up to look at the vast expanse of sky .... she hadn't known there was so much of it. She found it more than a little intimidating, she was so used to it either being broken up by buildings or hills when she was younger.
Cat listened with one ear to the conversation Riley was having with the woman that was behind the counter, it was so strange and odd here, a complete contrast to how she normaly lived. It just marked one of the differences between the two of them. She was a city girl now whereas he was a farmer's son. Catherine glanced up as Riley crossed back over to her, sitting down opposite her, a paper bag in his hands.
"I guess this is nice.. I got to see your area, now you get to see mine," She looked around her, she didn't personally think much of 'his area' it was more than a bit borning in her books, she liked going to the cinema and out clubbing but here it felt like the world just went on and on and on having no end. It was almost as if you could walk all day and the point where you ended up would look exactly the same as the one you'd started from.
'Why's it so flat.' She felt as if she should say something, anything in order to stop one of those uncomfortable silences lapsing again. She wondered what his parents would say about him turning up five days before Christmas. It was almost as if she was determined to have a bad time this Christmas, she didn't see how it could be that interesting. She didn't have Anne and Roger this time and she had to celebrate it with complete strangers. Maybe if she just stayed up in her room all the time they'd leave her alone? She reached over for the orange drink Riley had placed before her, making no move to drink it yet, her fingernails digging under the label so she could tear it off.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
All he could was stare at her after her comment, what kind of responce did she want, he could go into indepth detail about the landscape's design, but he hardly found that interesting himself.
"Uh.. a lot of land here are used as crop farming, the land being so flat makes it a great place to have farms." His fingers where fidgeting with the bottle in his hands, did that mean she didn't like his home? Well he wasn't overly fond of hers either, so he wasn't going to hold it against her or anything, it was just a little disheartening to think she didn't like something that was so important to him.
"This is a remote part, Huxley has streets and buildings and shops.." He trailed off since he wasn't able to remember much of the town, looking a little down at realizing he remembered so little of his home town. Having Catherine here seemed so wonderful and yet she wasn't seeming to be overly joyful of this trip. Riley had to admit the closer they got both the more scared and yet excited he was getting, his eyes lifted up to her again.
"I've never been this close before, I normally never make it to the station.. even when I was going after you I nearly got caught, probably would have if Xavier hadn't been helping me..." He trailed off but slowly stood up, shifting over to be more next to her, dropping his voice a little so there wasn't any chance of ears droppers from the house catching his words.
"It's Christmas soon Catherine, I haven't had a real one since I was 13.. I want my whole family to be around me and be happy.." His hands cupped gently about her own which where still holding her juice bottle "You're my family, and that makes them your family as well, don't you remember the last night we where together?" He looked almost pleaful, which he hated, trying to not seem to needing of her as he spoke "Can't we just.. just be happy like that again? Even if we just try for the next few days? Can we just try?" His eyes dropped to her hands, he missed holding her so much, he wondered if he could just be allowed to get close to her again would that help her remember what it was like to be with him, maybe she forgot, or maybe she didn't think it was as good as she thought it was then, in that case he would try even harder to please her.
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States"Uh.. a lot of land here are used as crop farming, the land being so flat makes it a great place to have farms." For a brief second he didn't make sense since she thought he'd just informed her that the farms had made the land flat, he blushed a little when she realised her mistake. Her eyes looked over into the field behind Riley, see could see some sort of crop growing in it, wondering if it was going to some city somewhere to be eaten by people who'd never wonder where it came from.
"This is a remote part, Huxley has streets and buildings and shops.." She was under the impression his farm must be on the edges of Huxley, she didn't know it was an hours drive to get to his house. At least it meant she'd have something to do around there. She was about to ask him if he remembered it having a cinema, she'd love to go and see a film.
"It's Christmas soon Catherine, I haven't had a real one since I was 13.. I want my whole family to be around me and be happy.." Her eyes looked up at him as he moved over to stand next to her, her face tipping to look up at him as he loomed over her. His hands moving to cover her own, her eyes dropping to watch their progress till they'd scooped up her own. "You're my family, and that makes them your family as well, don't you remember the last night we where together?"
'Yes.' Her voice was a little akward as she spoke, thinking back to the way he'd held her as they'd made love together, then later they'd just lain with their arms around each other and just talked ... she'd liked that ... it was so simple yet perfect. But that had all been before Marc had ruined everything for her.
"Can't we just.. just be happy like that again? Even if we just try for the next few days? Can we just try?" There was such a wretched plea in his voice she didn't have the heart to say I don't know again. Her eyes tilting up to look at him again, his eyes looking down almost desperatley into hers ... she wanted to work things out didn't she, she wanted to be happy again.
'Ok .... But I don't understand what you want me to do.' Her voice seemed to crack a little. 'I don't know how you can even look at me anymore .... I feel so awful ....' She pulled her hands away from Riley's, using them to cover her face, she didn't want him to see her cry. She always seemed to cry in front of him. For once she wanted to be strong but wasn't the easy.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States'Ok .... But I don't understand what you want me to do.' He didn't understand why she thought she had to do anything, just be herself, that's who he had fallen in love with, that's all he needed from her. 'I don't know how you can even look at me anymore .... I feel so awful ....' When her hands yanked away from his he fumbled a little to stop the juice from tipping over the side of the table and falling to the ground. Staring at her with puzzlement and confusion as he pushed the bottle further into the center of the table. He knelled down, his hands gently twisting the seat only a little so she was facing him more, standing on his knees as he reached up for her hands that where covering her face.
"Hey," His voice sounded unsure but also assuring, his fingers gently taking hold of her hands and pulling them away from her face and towards his own. The touch of her palms was almost a forgotten feel, it feels long long since she has held him that it felt just like a wishful dream he had created to comfort himself. One of his hands moved to her cheek, his other hand soon reaching for her other cheek so his palms could rest against them and this thumbs brush away any of her tears.
"I never want to lose sight of you Catherine." There was no way he was going to ever just turn his back on her.. if she told him to leave her then he would, only because she demands it of him. But other then that he would fight so hard to stay close enough to her to be able to always see her at least once every day or so. He knew he'd never be able to just be her friend and feel nothing else for her, but he could still be her friend, still love her, he'd just not be able to share his love with her. That actually scared him now that he thought about it, the chance of spending his life never being able to hold her again.. what was he going to do, who was going to keep him company? He didn't want to ever have anyone else other then her.. there was a loud whistle from the train in the distance, Riley's attention turning off towards the passanger train speeding towards them. It wasn't going to stop for another few minutes, but Riley's hands slipped away from her face, moving down her arms and taking hold of her hands once more.
"I'll bring my car down if you want, that way we can drive into town whenever you want, if I call it in today, we could have it within two days." Now that he thought about it, it could also be good because he could try and go shopping for gifts, he's never gone christmas shopping before, except for Catherine, he knew she'd probably bot be happy but he had gotten her another gift. Well she wasn't even wearing his ring so that gift shouldn't count anyway, it wasn't easy for him on the fact one night he had shared his love for her so wonderful and they had been so calm and loving towards each other, it had seemed so perfect and simple, he wanted every night to end like that. But he woke up and everything had fallen part and he can barely remember why, in honest truth he wasn't trying very hard to remember, when Catherine said she slept with Marc it was around the time Riley gave up asking people questions in order to remember things he had done.
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States"Hey," Riley's hands closed around her smaller ones, easily tugging them away from her face, even though she resisted him slightly. All she seemed to do these days was cry .... over what Marc and Jon had done to her, the fact she'd lost Riley, that she was pregnant. Her eyes looked over at him, but he seemed rather blurred by her tears. His hands pulled hers towards his cheeks, her smooth palms resting against his rougher skin. He'd shaved his stubble off now, seemingly that was something that only Marc liked. She felt so horrible inside. She knew now Marc had tricked her into thinking he was Riley, she didn't get why he'd done it though but she hated the thought he'd seen her naked, that he'd touched her, held her
"I never want to lose sight of you Catherine." His hands were tenderly brushing away the tears that were on her cheeks, more threatening to follow them. They hadn't been this close, either mentaly or physically since before Marc had appeared. She wasn't sure how to act around him now, everything seemed so odd and hard, even talking seemed like a strain. Hearing the whistle of the train in the distance Cat blinked back the tears that were still in her eyes, sniffing slightly, her eyes dropping away from Riley's though her hands remained where he'd left them.
"I'll bring my car down if you want, that way we can drive into town whenever you want, if I call it in today, we could have it within two days." One of her thumbs stroked over his skin in a brief sign of affection towards him. Her hands then withdrew from his face, the palms of her hands rubbing against her eyes to try and get rid of the moisture that clung to her eye lashes.
'I'd like that.' There was a small smile that wavered over her lips for a few moments before it faded away. It sounded like they lived a little way outside the town if they needed a car to get into it. 'If you don't mind ...' She didn't know it was an hour and a half drive either way, even with a car she'd still feel stranded at his home, and very isolated from the rest of the world. She reached over for the orange juice, obviously intending to take it on the train with her, holding it close against her chest, her eyes drifting to look up the track before she looked back at Riley again.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
There was a little smile, though he was finding to difficult to try and look happy for her, hadn't she been through enough, she didn't need him acting insecure and jealous while she was suffering. He missed her body next to his, he'd understand if she didn't want to make love to him, but he still would have felt better if he could have just held her. He hasn't even been able to hold her properly since they left the base, he felt so empty without her, it hurt a little when her hands pylled away from him, any sign of affection from her was amazing since he wasn't even sure if she loved him any more.. Of course she did, she slept with Marc but he was Marc.. in a way.. they shared the same body, that's ll, she just wanted to try and get Riley back, that's what he has convinced himself had happened. Like back in the base, she offered to sleep with him in order to get his memories and personality back, she was just trying to do the same thing then as well, she thought she was helping him, that's all, she didn't love Marc..
His hands soon wondered off to start packing and picking up their things, hearing the train pull to a stop behind him as he pulled himself up to his feet. Was her forcing her to stay with him? He was always scared he's forcing himself on her, but she had said back in Washington that if she didn't want to be with him then she wouldn't be with him.. His heart broke a little more since she had been taken by Jon and given herself to Marc, he knew she didn't want to be with Jon so... Didn't that mean that there was a chance he was still forcing their relationship to stay together when she didn't really want him?
He turned about and moved quietly towards the train, stepping to the side politely as some others walked off, the store owner already at her window once more as she waited hopefully for any more costomers. There was a few people on the train, most coming or going from one place to another in an attempt to get to family or group gatherins for the coming Christmas day. Taking a seat once he placed their things in the overhead storage net and Catherine's holdall by his feet, he sat at the seats that had the door right behind them. His eyes darting about for a moment as he checked if the area was secure though he wasn't really realizing he was doing it.
Lifting his gaze to Catherine as he shifted by the window, glancing out the window in both direction before looking back at her. Dropping his eyes away after a minute, his right leg was anxiously tapping his heel floor though it made no noise, the bag full of chocolates and drinks made some ruffling noises however which caused him to try and relax by shifting through the chocolate bars for something to nibble on. Pulling out one and dropping it onto his lap, he tilted the bag in her direction, offering her something if she wants it.
"Would you like something? It's only about half an hour to get into town I think." His hand ripped the chocolate bar wrapping off and he nervously tried to look calm as he ate, his eyes darting to the window and other passangers often before dropping back to his lap for short pauses.
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
She watched as Riley effeciently packed up the things, her hands stroking over the smooth cool feel of the bottle she held in her hands. Her eyes moved over to look at the train, it didn't look much like the ones in Washington ... but they were a long way from her home and the trains were slightly different. There was a logo on the side that said Amtrak - Southwest cheif, the ones she saw around Washington were mainly Amtrak - Metroliner, it ran between New York and Washington, the other type was still an Amtrak but it had the logo of Cardinal.
It was a silver coloured train with a blue stripe that ran along it. She found herself upon her feet, nervously hovering behind Riley as several people got off the train, her eyes looking over their faces. A man with a deep brown beard smiled at Riley for standing aside as he exited the train, his eyes wandered over towards Cat as he extended the smile to her. She retreated a inch further behind Riley, hurrying after him when a moment later he stepped through the automatic doors and onto the train.
Her eyes flashed quickly around the inside of the train, taking in the green carpet and grey seats, she watched Riley choose their seats. He placed some of their things in the overhead space where you could store baggage before he sat down in a seat next to one of the large windows. Cat gave the few occupants of the train another glance before she sat down opposite Riley, her eyes looking out onto the platform, watching the bearded man as he talked to the woman behind the counter.
"Would you like something? It's only about half an hour to get into town I think." She shook her head as he offered her the bag with chocolate bars, but she did take a couple of mouthfulls of her drink before she replaced the cap and put it down on it's side. Cat slipped her cat boots from her feet, curling her legs up under her, nestling her body down into the corner of her seat and closing her eyes. She fully intended to sleep untill they got to Huxley, her body had stubbornly been demanding sleep since she was on the blackbird.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
When he looked up as Cat snuggled up and preparing to rest, it was probably good her eyes where closed because he looked crushed and hurt that she preared to sleep over there instead of resting against him. When they where in the car on the way back from the Dying star she had snuggled against him and it was only a short drive. He tore his eyes away, pulling his knees up so the heels of his shoes rested on the edge of the seat and his arms where about to wrap about his knees in a depserate attempt of holding something. His head was turned towards the window as he curled up miserably, it was so perfect the last night he remembered sharing with her, why did everything have to fall apart?
His eyes remained staring outside the window, the paper bag disgarded in the space between him and the wall of the train, after a moment his head lifted, shifting about so his eyes could stare across at Catherine. If he was just allowed to hold her, to kiss her and shower her with his love, he could make her remember how she used to feel towards him, couldn't he? All he needed was to give her some time to recover, but he was so scared about all these things that have happened, what if she doesn't want to be with him any more.. What if these next few days where all he had left with her? His arms wrapped a little more tightly about his legs though his eyes where no locked on her pretty face, he wasn't going to waste a single more minute at looking at anything else other then her.
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
Her eyes only opened again when the train slowed to a stop outside the small station in the sleepy town of Huxley. She groaned slightly, lifting one hand to massage the back of her neck where it had become stiff since her head had been belt at a bit of strange angle to she could rest her head upon her shoulder. She rubbed her eyes slightly, yawing and looking across at Riley, giving him a rather sleepy smile. Her body felt a little groggy at having been sleep and now woken up before it was ready to, given half a chance she'd have settled back down again.
Looking out onto the platform she could see a sign that rather proudly stated that this was Huxley. She looked a bit more interested, her eyes staring around the platform, it looked awfully clean to someone who was used to the grime and little of an inner city station. She could see Riley moving about out of the corner of her eye, seeing him take down their bags.
It seemed that there was an inside wating area part and she thought she could see a ticket booth, her eyes moved over the couple of people who were waiting to get on the train. An elderly woman who was walking with the help of a cane and a young couple wouldn't couldn't have been much different in age to her and Riley, they had a pair bags like the ones her and Riley had. As she watched the girl with the short brown hair reached across and whispered something in the boys ear, he seemed to give a laugh, turning his face towards her so he could kiss her. Cat looked away down at the floor, feeling as if she was intruding by looking at them, her eyes looked over and Riley and then back at the couple, her gaze seemed to be drawn back to them against her will. Did they know Riley?
'Do you know them?' She asked over her shoulder as she watched the two break part, the girl smiling prettily. She wondered if he'd been to school with either of them .... had Riley dated anyone in Iowa when he was young?
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
There was a look of jealousy in Riley's eyes as he followed Cat's wondering gaze to stare at a kissing couple, they looked so happy, it wasn't fair..
"Catheine I don't rememeber my own parents, I don't think I will be remembering anyone else anytime soon." He sounded sulky, well he was, he was alone with his girlfriend that sounded as if she wasn't even sure she wanted to be his girlfriend even though she was carrying his child. "Besides, I'm not sure I got to socialize often with others outside my family, farming is hard work and takes a lot of time, plus I was 13 when I left." He had turned 14 a few months later but still, he felt like a baby when he left here, and even though he couldn't remember a whole lot it still felt so small compared to what he was expecting. Then again, he has doubled in size since he was here last, that could have something to do with that nagging feeling. Leaving the train, he glanced about a little lost, staring now down at Catherine as he placed down the bags, what where they to do now?
"So what now.. we ask everyone for directions to the Finn farm?" He sounded a little upset, he had grown up there and he should remember where it was, he hated not knowing such simple and yet important things. "Can we walk for a bit? I just want to have a look around.." His eyes shifted about the area once more, studying all the faces again before he looked down at Catherine to see what she wanted. She probably wasn't in the mood to wonder about aimless, and it did look a little off having him carrying all these bags so effortlessly for any length of time.
His eyes drifted off to the street outside the station, seen through the glass doors, there was a bus pulling up, maybe she prefered that, he looked down at Catherine again to listen to her answer. He wasn't used to be in charge of things when he wasn't sure about every bit of detail involved, but he had to try and be brave, even if it was just to stop Catherine from getting upset with him again.
No matter how long it takes, one day we'll be together and that day will last forever.
Topic Commands
Click to receive email notification of replies
Click to stop receiving email notification of replies
