groovygamers.com

Even if Alicia and Rhys don't go to the movies, I assume they might spend some time together.

OOC: Alicia is more or less absent on Friday.

If Rhys calls her house on Saturday, he'll get Consuelo who archly mentions Alicia said she was going out; she did not deign to say where. Calls to Alicia's cell phone go unanswered.

As to what Alicia is up to that day, just meander over to this post and enjoy the read.  ;D

http://www.groovygamers.com/forum/index.php/topic,1907.msg222221.html#msg222221 (http://www.groovygamers.com/forum/index.php/topic,1907.msg222221.html#msg222221)

Rhys leaves a message for her to call him when she gets back.

Then, hours later, another one, more anxious than the first.

OOC: He wouldn't get a call until Sunday. Would he wait that long?

Actually, since we've already had another thread dealing with Saturday night, let's go with it, if that's all right.

Sunday morning, the phone rings at the Gruffudd residence.

"Ree-is?" It's Alicia, her voice slightly tight. "I'm sorry for not calling you back yesterday. I was... busy."

{Yeah, sorry about being absent for so long, but RL issues conspired against me...}


"Are you all right? I was worried." He sounds genuinely concerned.

OOC: No worries. I'm very much aware how Real Life(tm) can interfere with gaming. ;D


There's a pause on the line. "I'm all right. Stuff... happened. I'm sorry for making you worry." She sounds sincerely contrite.

"Do you want to talk about it? I'm here for you if you need anything; you know that, right?"

Alicia's voice softens. "Yes. Yes, I do.

"Hold on," she says, perking up a bit.

The phone makes the noise of someone putting it down on the table. There is the indistinct murmur of voices, then Alicia comes back on the line.

"I talked to Mom. It'd be all right if you want to come by in the afternoon. I... I'd like to see you." There is a strange hesitation in her words.

"Okay, what time? Two?" If Rhys picks up on the hesitation, he doesn't let on.

"That'll work. See you then." There is a pause on the line, then she says, "Bye."

Rhys fidgets until it's almost time to head over to Alicia's, unable to concentrate on much of anything.

"Dad, I'm going over to Alicia's. She needs to talk about something," he informs his father as he makes his way through the living room, heading for the front door.

Consuelo opens the door at Rhys's knock. She tries to hide the strain of weariness with a welcoming smile, "Hello, Rhys. It's nice to see you."

She gestures inside. "Come right in. Alicia's in her room."

"Hello, Mrs. Vega. It's nice to see you, too." Rhys is old-world polite.


There is a gentle tap on Alicia's door before Rhys opens it just a crack. "Alicia?"

Rhys can hear Alicia call out softly. "Come in."

He'd been in her room before, but last time the light had been off, leaving the room shrouded in darkness.

It's now lit, but in a strange manner. Instead of a lamp, strings of white Christmas lights are strewn around, giving the room just slightly enough illumination to see.

Alicia stands nervously in the center, wearing just a T-shirt and gym pants. A myriad of bruises and scratches are visible on her arms, broken up here and there with white patches of bandages. There is strong evidence that the bruises continue on her body, hidden by her clothes.

Without her shades, the puffiness of developing shiners can be clearly seen around her eyes, and a neatly stitched cut over her left eye is held together with a butterfly bandage.

"Hi," she says shyly, knowing the spectacle she presents.

Rhys' expression melts as he looks at her. He isn't judgemental, just sorry that she got hurt. He approaches her with his arms open, and if she doesn't rebuff him, hugs her as lightly as he possibly can. He sits down on the bed and invites her to tell him all about it.

Alicia lets out the breath she was holding and returns the embrace. Rhys can feel the Ace bandage wrapped around her chest underneath the T-shirt.

She joins him on the bed and begins to relate the events of the past day again. Unlike her previous recitations, though, this time she tells Rhys everything.

She tries to describe to him that feelings of isolation, of not fitting in that had driven her to travel back to Humboldt Park.

She tells of hearing the news of Cristina's death, and the grief she had kept under control slips out and causes her to weep, burying her head in his shoulder as she shakes from her sobs.

Once she's calmed down, she continues. She doesn't say much about the fight, not because she doesn't want to, but because she honestly has only fuzzy memories of what exactly happened.

She shudders slightly as she tells of the abandoned rowhouse falling down on Moncho and her, aware now of how lucky she was to be able to walk away.

She talks about her conversation with Jack, and Rhys can hear the contained excitement in her voice as she repeats her pledge to make a stand against the hoodlums terrorizing the neighborhood.

Finally, she lets him know about her finally letting Consuelo know about her ordeal with the mentalist and his partner in crime.

She lowers her voice to a whisper. "I heard Mom and Jack talking after I went to bed. He sort of let it slip about what I want to do, and she seemed okay with it."

She stops and locks her gaze with Rhys's. "Are you? I mean, am I doing the right thing?" It's obvious she's looking for confirmation.

"You have demons to exorcise. It's not going to be an easy process, but I'll be right here for you the whole time. I'll even come with you when you let me and help in any way I can. I think you're doing something you've needed to do for a long time and you won't ever feel happy, healthy and whole until you've done it. Of course you're doing the right thing: you're doing what it takes to re-join the human race." He smiles - no, he beams at her. "I'm so proud of you."

Alicia looks down self-consciously as she smiles. "Thanks. I... I did think of ways you could help, but that's a long way yet. I have a lot to learn," she winces as she twists a bit, "and some healing to do first."

She brushes an errant strand of hair from his face. "But enough about me. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Still getting used to life in another country, and all that. But I was really worried about you. Even if you don't want me to come along, at least let me know when you're going to go and disappear for a little while so I don't sit wondering what became of you. I was afraid..." He hesitates. "I was afraid you didn't like me anymore," he finishes in a small voice.

Alicia sits silent for a while. Finally she leans over and hugs Rhys tightly for a second before letting go.

"I'm sorry," she says haltingly. "I just... I'm mixed up right now."

She looks down at her hands nervously entwining themselves as she tries to explain. "You make me feel... I want... Argh!"

She groans in frustration and gets up to pace. "Ree-is, I said I love you, and I meant it. But... You know what happened to me, with M-mar..." She swallows without finishing the name.

"It seems every time I go with my feelings, I screw up. With him, with the group, with everybody. I know what I feel when I'm with you."

Her voice tightens with emotion as she stops and looks pleadingly at Rhys. "I l-love you, Ree-is Grif-fiss. But I... I don't know if I should."

She drops her gaze as she hugs herself disconsolately. "I don't want to hurt you. And I can't help feeling that staying with you will."

Rhys mutters something that Alicia's keen ears pick up: "The Doctor is worth the monsters."

"I love you too, Alicia Vega. And I'll take whatever pain comes from that and bear it gladly - I just don't want to lose you to some aspect of your past. Especially not now that you're growing beyond it."

He stands and takes her hands in his, ever so gently.

Alicia bites her lip, still concerned. "That's the thing, though. I'm not sure I'm... 'over' it. So I can't promise I won't get weird over us again."

She moves closer and presses herself against Rhys, her face buried against his shoulder, "I don't want to lose you, either." Even though I'm not sure I deserve to have you in the first place, her mind adds silently.

The small voice in the back of her head is content with only chuckling darkly at the thought.

He returns her embrace, not holding too tightly for fear of hurting her injuries.

"I'm not asking for you to promise that. And I know you're not there yet - but you're on that road, and that's what matters."

He just stands there, holding her.

OOC: Unless you think there's anything else to add, I think we're done here.

{Works for me}

OOC: Ah, screw it. I'm bored. Thread reactivation in three, two one...

Alicia basks in Rhys' arms for a while, her head nestled in the crook of his neck.

Her voice muffled, she calls out tentatively, "Ree-is?"

She raises her head to gaze at him, her eyes filled with indecision.

Biting her lip, she stammers, "Um, were you planning... I mean, are you going... ah, that is... ?"

Finally, she growls in frustration, takes a deep breath, and blurts out her question in one breath. "AreyougoingtotheValentine'sDaydance?"

The words irretrievably said, she clamps her mouth shut and looks down, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.