Apr 05 04:24:18 105 PA
From Chronicles
The current game time is: Sun Apr 05 04:24:18 105 PA.
Dr. Kelley's apartment is beautifully appointed in white limestone and marble with black slate counter-tops. A stainless steel kitchen sits to the right of the doorway, with flowering plants hanging with the pots. To the left, a fireplace burns brightly. Plants climb out of every nook and cranny of the apartment, including some hanging down from a portrait of an alien landscape over the fireplace. Immediately to the left of the entrance, a waist-high white pedestal sits alone, capped by a small, six-inch high white marble pyramid. A corridor leads away from the door and into the living quarters of the apartment. The living room is appointed with utilitarian, yet comfortable, couches - again, in white. The entire floor is done in a pure, thick white carpet that reaches from wall to wall, save for the kitchen and the area immediately in front of the door, a six-by-six area done in black slate. Plants abound in this room. Though stark and cold, it is at the same time very inviting. Looking back into the depths of the hallway, depending on whether the door is open or closed, one might catch a glimpse of a working office, with the words, "Emerald Engineering," displayed proudly in wood. A large picture window dominates the western wall, looking out into the gardens beyond. Also down the hall one can see the master bedroom at the end of the hall, and off to the side, a smaller guest bedroom, both complete with full baths. A half-bath sticks off of the right side of the hallway. A German Shepherd wags playfully at your feet, her tongue lolling to one side, eyes looking at you brightly. Her tag identifies her as, "Betsy." It cannot be missed, either, that sprigs of garlic and wolfbay are liberally scattered around the periphery of the apartment, along with a bucket of wooden stakes and a large crucifix on the counter. Next to the crucifix and bucket is a piece of scrap metal that looks oddly like a rabbit.
It is early the next morning, the sun just beginning to show over the horizon to the east. The garden out the picture window is beginning to come alive with the first openings of the flowers. However, inside, the feeling is dead. Dr. Kelley's cloak lays on the counter where it had been thrown the night before. A slightly muddy track of boots takes one from the door to his cushy chair, where the doctor is still sitting, upright, his head tilted back as if asking the gods for help. His eyes are read, as if from tearing up, yet not from sobbing. His fingers wrap themselves together in his lap and his lips whisper secret things into the morn.
The silence in the room is broken by someone tapping on the door, hesitating before opening it. Aimee, very slowly opens it, dropping her bag on the floor as she closes it behind herself with a quiet click. "Kelley?" She calls, her voice unusually husky, even for her. Her eyes are pink rimmed, and her expression lacks the bright smile or teasing eyes of normal days. She moves into the livingroom, taking in Kelley's appearance and she sighs, leaning her hands on the back of the couch, "Oh Kelley..."
Kelley sits up straight, a look of partial relief on his face, his hands reaching, but not touching. "Hello, Aimee. I wasn't sure that I'd be seeing you again this soon," he says with a sad smile. Unusually his shoulders start to slouch, just the slightest bit. "I don't suppose that you've come back to stay?" his voice almost pleads - almost, but not quite.
Aimee hesitates before answering, her gaze dropping down, the uncertainty showing in her face. "I don't know, Kelley... I need to talk to you, we need to talk." She pulls off her coat, dropping it on top of her bag before moving to curl herself on the couch near him. "I did say I'd come back today,..." She lifts her gaze to his face, her eyes appealing.
"Yes, I know that you said that you'd come back today, and you have no idea how grateful I am that you did." Another sad smile from Dr. Kelley. "But we do have to talk. Things can't keep going the way that they have. For you or for me. It wouldn't be fair. I think.. I think that we both need more trust."
Aimee flinches slightly at the last comment, nodding her head slowly. She slides her trainers off and curls her feet beneath her. "Yes... Kelley, I can't work there, I'm really sorry, I know you put in effort to get me that job, but I hate it, I hate the people talking..." The words tumble out of her, as if she is afraid she won't speak them if they don't leave her quickly. "I'm looking for work, looking for something where I can be myself..."
Though he wants to argue that the rumors will follow her wherever she goes, Kelley remains mute on the subject, figuring that the girl will be better off to discover that on her own. "I understand," is all that he says. But then, "Will you be staying here? Or.. returning to your flat?"
Aimee 's eyes drop down again, and she curls her arms around her bent knees. "I don't know... what did you need to change, Kelley? It isn't just me in this relationship, and I know I'm not perfect..." The eyes that fix on his face are worried, nervous of this conversation.
"Honestly? Because I promised that I would always be honest with you.. I need to know that you're not going to run every time we argue. That you'll be here with me, side by side, through thick and thin. But I don't want to hold you down. You're younger than me, I'm sure that you want your freedom," Kelley says, blurting it out in one big chunk, focusing on the muddy carpet at his feet, occasionally glancing up to gauge Aimee's reaction.
Her eyes study him, a burst of relief in them quickly hidden by a sweep of lashes. "I won't run away, but I need some freedom, Ronan. Your apartment is lovely, but it is yours, ..." She trails off, her eyes watching him, the same gauging of reaction in her face that matched his. "I thought if I lived at mine, but spent time with you..."
Kelley hesitates, not quite certain of what Aimee is saying, but trying to parse the phrase. "Aimee, I love you with every fiber of my being. I don't want an on-and-off again sexual relationship. I want a melding of heart and mind. I want you to live here with me. But I understand that you don't want to. You need your freedom, and I'll not try to keep it from you. As they say, if you really love something, set it free. It is more difficult that I ever imagined."
Aimee uncurls herself, sliding from the couch to kneel by his legs, looking up at him. "Ronan, I'm not leaving, not you. Just I'm not the person you can see working there, living here. I need to be able to wear my old clothes, I feel like I can fight back if I'm working some place I feel comfortable." Her eyes search his face, her hands moving to touch his leg, the need for understanding in her gaze.
Dr. Kelley says, "I understand what you're saying, I really do. But if you just go where you're comfortable, will you ever be ready to live here? To make a commitment to this place; a place that you deserve? I know that you're keeping a commitment to me - I understand that, though it's devastating. But if you'll never be comfortable here, with me, how can this relationship work?" Now there is a tear in his eye, and his hands remain firmly fixed on his knees, his eyes gazing into Aimee's.
Aimee hesitates before sitting back on her heels, her hands dropping from his leg. She bites her lower lip, her eyes searching his face. "When you're here, when it's us, and we're doing things, I'm comfortable here... when its just me, or you're working, I feel like I'm a guest, untidy, noisy. I wanted to invite Kid over to talk without someone listening but I can't... it isn't my place, and I don't want you to change it, or force change on it, but I need to be able to hang out with a friend in private..." She doesn't touch on their relationship, carefully explaining her feelings.
"Oh, but it is yours, Aimee. As much as it is mine. I just happen to be the one who's name is on the deed. If you want friends over, you're welcome to invite them. If you want private time, I can go out, or you can use one of the rooms," he says, feeling as if he's grasping at straws. Then, "I hope that at sometime in the future, Aimee, you'll feel comfortable coming back, because I'll not be whole without you at my side. I would hope that you would have passed the stage of sharing secrets - or at least, trusted me to keep them, as well. But I understand. Go, if you must. I'll not prevent you," Kelley says, a single tear running down his cheek.
Aimee shakes her head, putting her hand out to touch his leg again, her eyes appealing, "Not private from you, Ronan, but I can't talk to Kid about the gossip and about us in the burger bar. You said not to have anyone here when you aren't, and I respect that... I do, honest." She looks up at him, her green eyes searching his face. "You've been here before, with serious relationships. I've never had one before...not with someone who didn't want something else."
Kelley keeps his hands firmly affixed on his knees, afraid that if he were to let them free, they would grab Aimee and never let her go. "Well, maybe I should have considered that you would need to have friends over, and not handcuffed you like that. And maybe.. maybe it's time for you to realize that you're ready for a serious relationship with someone who doesn't just want you for the night."
"Aimee, where will we meet? A bar somewhere in Kingsdale where everyone can see us being plutonic with one another? Back here at the apartment where the rumors will just start anew?"
Aimee withdraws her hand, resting both in her lap, his immobility making her uncertain. "It needs to be me going in a relationship, not the person I'm trying to be to please you..." Those words just fall out, her eyes worried, fixed on his face. "You deserve someone nicer, Kelley, not someone like me." His words make her pause and she lifts her hand, brushing the curl from her forehead with her fingertips, "I can handle the rumours if I can be me, Ronan, I can't handle it if I'm trying to be someone ..."
Kelley's hands lash out, not so quickly as to frighten, but the grasp of a man deeply in love, taking her hands in his. "Never say that, Aimee. Whether you end up with me or not. Never say that you are 'just someone like you.' Or that I 'deserve something nicer.' You *are* nice, Aimee. In so many ways. You have a good heart, a sharp mind, a keen wit - you have everything that any man could want. Just because you used to live another lifestyle - that doesn't matter one iota to me. It never even crosses my mind, honestly. And you can be yourself from here. I don't have a dress code. I don't have a code of conduct. Don't you see, I *want* you to be yourself. Yourself is who I fell in love with." He gradually releases her hands, looking soulfully into her eyes.
Aimee 's eyes startle at the sudden movement, a stillness for a second before she realises his intent. She turns her hands around, squeezing his gently. "I'm not nice... you just see that bit of me, you don't see the bitch." She sighs heavily, "I could live with you part of the time, keep my place on so I can go there if I need to?" Her eyes are flickering across his face, pleadingly, "What if I mess up, Kelley? I'm not as perfect as you think, I'm really not..."
Dr. Kelley says, "Well, we're getting somewhere," with a soft smile. "How on Earth could you 'mess up'? I don't think that you're perfect; nobody is perfect. We all have flaws. And I expect to see those flaws from time to time, and would hope that you would accept seeing my flaws from time to time." He reverses his hands, grasping hers this time. "Please, I don't even understand how you could 'mess up' just by being you, living here. I don't have any expectations - other than you being yourself.
"Kelley, can we just go slow? I know you feel strongly, but this scares me. It is a big deal..." She doesn't take her hands away, squeezing his in reply, "No pressure, just us, just how we feel at the time? No promises?" There is almost begging in her eyes, "We date, spend the night when we want... I work in a job I can handle, I can ignore rumours then..."
"If that's what you really want, I understand. Go, if you really want, as I've said, I'll not stop you. But I have to tell you, I'm good at long-term relationships. I'm not sure how good I am dating, spending the night together every once in a while." But I can try. Now the tears are flowing freely, though his voice doesn't crack at all. "Not that I'm implying that I have to power to do this.. but I set you free." He smiles wanly.
She shakes her head, her eyes also brimming with tears. "I can't just leap into this, I'm not saying once in a while, I mean most of the time here. Just sometimes..." She sighs, pulling her hands away, pushing them through her hair. "Sometimes I stay at my place...I'm not saying anything like..." She rises then, dissolving into tears and walking across the room.
Kelley gets up - finally, and goes to stand behind Aimee and put his hands on her shoulders. "Aimee, sweet Aimee. May I suggest this? That you be completely yourself, living completely here - except on the occasions where you might need some alone time, and then you can spend those off-days at your flat? Would that be acceptable?" He goes to lean his forehead against the back of her head, but hesitates.
Aimee leans back into him, her hands rising to rest over his. "We can try it..." She whispers, her head tilted back to look up at him, her eyes still shining with tears. "Slowly, Kelley? I don't want you to feel I don't trust you..." She turns slowly, looking up at him. "Ronan... is that alright?"
For the first time today, he offers a genuine smile. "We can definitely try it. And it's all right, I understand your need for space - though I would hope, that with time, we could come to an agreement where we didn't have to have *as much* space between another. But for now, I understand. And if you tell me that you trust me, that is good enough for me." Kelley turns her around, gently, and lays his forehead against hers. "Aimee, I love you, and that will never change." His face splits into a big grin as he says, "I'm glad that I won't have to go and get blind stinking drunk today."
Aimee returns the smile, hesitantly, worry still in her eyes, "Kelley, I need to tell you something else..." She takes a deep breath, her eyes appealing, worried, "Desmond came over last night and stayed. Nothing happened at all. But I didn't want the rumourmongers to tell you and twist it...If he hadn't come, I might not have told you how I'm feeling." She is almost holding her breath.
Kelley hesitates, not all happy with this turn of events, but trying to do his best not to show it. "If you say that nothing happened, I understand, and I believe you. I'm not quite sure that I understand why it happened, but I don't need to. And to be totally honest, I don't think that I want to. But it's over now. Thank you for telling me." He carefully, gently plants a kiss on her forehead. "Maybe we can move most of your things over here, today, so that you don't feel so much a guest as an owner?"
Aimee nods slowly, her eyes searching his face. "It happened because I needed someone to talk to, to try and figure this out." The words are soft, worry underlying it. "And friends can come in when you aren't here?" That is a checking, as well as a statement, although a small smile curves her lips.
"Absolutely friends can come in when I'm not here - and they're welcome to come in when I am here, as well. I can be very quiet in the background, pay attention to myself, do some work, whatever. This is your place as much as it is mine, okay?" Kelley asks her, bonking the end of her nose with his index finger.
