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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 14, 2008 23:52:24 GMT -5
On the surface, Zachary appeared calm, but in reality, he was anything but. His heart was racing, and his palms were sweating. Damn her... why did she have to show up now? And why did she have this effect on him?
"You're not interrupting," he lied, ignoring Justin's comment. He followed numbly as he was led over to the tables, his eyes fixed on her face. She looked beautiful... so much so that he almost couldn't breathe. There was an angry flush to her cheeks, which was very becoming to her normally pale complexion.
He sat down across from her and just studied her face, only now realizing just how much he'd missed her. It had been more than a month since he'd fled California, and somehow she'd become even more beautiful. But why was she here? What did she want? And where was her fiance? Had he come with her, to finally collect his debt?
"Susie.... Why are you here?" he asked in the same gentle voice.
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Oct 15, 2008 11:00:00 GMT -5
Susie didn't even try to fight Justin. She realized, with his iron grip on her, that it would be futile and she might as well just let him lead her.
She wouldn't look up for a minute, trying to regain her bearings and remember why exactly she was here.
"I don't know," she whispered, answering his question, but not really. "I... you left things unattended to when you... left."
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 15, 2008 11:32:27 GMT -5
It was all he could do not to take her in his arms and kiss the tears from her face. He had known that it would hurt her when he left, but he'd had no choice. But how was he to tell her that? He couldn't... Taylor had warned him not to tell her anything. He wasn't even supposed to speak with her again. And yet, she was here, in front of him, looking so beautiful it hurt.
But... if she was here, did that mean she'd somehow gotten rid of Taylor? Had she broken the engagement?
"I'm sorry I left," he said honestly. "I had... things... to attend to. What happened with Taylor? Does he know you're here?"
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Oct 15, 2008 11:44:14 GMT -5
She shook her head. "He thinks I'm in Paris visiting family." She didn't believe him when he said he was sorry, not when he was so casual and nonchalant about it, and that hurt more, that he would lie to her about something so trivial it seemed. Their relationship had become trivial.
"All right, look." She glanced over her shoulder, pointedly looking at Joanne. "You obviously still have things to attend to, so I will make this quick and we can both be on our way."
She glanced at Justin. He was sitting next to her, blocking her way out. "Please let me out," she said. She wanted to be standing when she said this, so that she coul deliver the news and then run.
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Post by Justin Scotts on Oct 15, 2008 11:50:00 GMT -5
"Nothing doing, sweetheart." Justin gave her a smile but his eyes were hard. She wasn't going to run and he wouldn't stop at casting against her if she tried. "I meant what I said earlier, the fact that you have a fiance doesn't change anything. You might even say you face him or me." Just to prove his point he proped a foot against the edge of the table and put his wand on his lap. Oh no, he wasn't going to let the girl flee like a doe. If that baby was a Scotts... no she wouldn't be running.
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Oct 15, 2008 11:58:51 GMT -5
Susie kept her eyes on him for a long moment. She was going to tell Zach... what happened after that should not be up to Justin.
She licked her lips and turned back to Zach. Depending on how this went, she would claw her way out of this bar.
This bar. She had chased down a man who left her, whom she loved, to tell him she was pregnant, only to be forced to tell him in the back of a dingy pub.
This realization made her start crying all over again, and she pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes.
"I'm pregnant, Zach, and it might be yours."
Sobbing, she turned back to Justin. "Please let me go. I can't do this here."
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 15, 2008 12:22:43 GMT -5
Of all the things she could have said to him at that moment, this was the absolute last thing he'd expected. He expected her to yell at him, to curse his name, to ask him why he left. But this... how was he to deal with this? She had a very jealous fiance, and Zach owed him a lot of money.
He glanced at Justin, realizing that his nephew knew about this before he did, and that he was quite enjoying watching his uncle squirm. For a moment, he was angry at her, and at Justin, because he found out first. But mostly he was angry at himself. He should have been there. He never should have left. He was weak and cowardly and let a few threats and bad debts stand in the way of her.
"Susie," he breathed. "I'm sorry, I--" He stopped and looked at Justin again. The boy didn't deserve to be here for this. This was between Susie and himself, and she shouldn't have to do this here, in the middle of the Leaky Cauldron. He reached across the table and took her hand. "Why don't we go outside and talk about this alone?"
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Oct 15, 2008 12:25:28 GMT -5
She pulled her hand away the second he took it, giving him a heated, angry look. "Don't touch me," she told her, her voice low and dangerous even through her tears. She wasn't going to let him act sweet and caring. Not after leaving her like he had.
"Let me out, damn it!" She added when Justin hadn't moved.
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Post by Justin Scotts on Oct 15, 2008 12:29:56 GMT -5
Justin was enjoying this just a little to much, but he decided that now was a good time to adjourn to the Scotts Estates. Even he didn't want his family's affairs to get too much wind in the public and spoke softly, "I'll move on one condition, you return to the house with us and don't run away. I'll even be a gentleman and let you two have privacy." It seemed an amiable offer if he thought so himself, and his smile didn't slip though his wand didn't move either as he waited for an agreement from the girl.
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Oct 15, 2008 12:32:36 GMT -5
Susie nodded. She just wanted out of here. After that... well, she would figure it out. She didn't have anything in the future planned because it was too overwhelming, so she just figured that she would figure it out when the time came, no matter what the problem was.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 15, 2008 12:38:18 GMT -5
Zachary was in favor of this as well. If they could have some time alone, he'd tell her... well, what would he tell her? What exactly could he say to her? He had a lot of things he wanted to say to her, but he couldn't... Taylor was clearly still in her life. Ultimately, the status quo hadn't changed... it had only become more complicated.
"Yes... let's go back to the house and talk," he agreed quietly.
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Oct 15, 2008 12:56:50 GMT -5
Suzie turned back to Justin, raising her eyebrows in a "Well?" manner. She wasn't sure she wanted to be alone with Zach, but this was... indeed a private matter.
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Post by Justin Scotts on Oct 15, 2008 13:09:57 GMT -5
"Patience is a virtue, sweetheart," he said softly as he rose from the table. He waited for her to stand, though he was still holding his wand in case she though she was going to be cute and run. He waited for her to stand. Once they were ready, however he lightly held her shoulder as he apparated with her along for the ride. Though it seemed like he was being controlling, it was in all actuality his own odd sense of protection for the child that he made sure the girl didn't vanish on them.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 15, 2008 13:14:24 GMT -5
Zachary took a moment to look back where he had left Joanne. Although he had only regarded her as a distraction, he did feel genuinely bad about leaving her on the floor. But she had already picked herself up and moved on by now, probably cursing the Scotts name. Ah, well, it wouldn't be the first time he'd caused that to happen. And it probably wouldn't be the last.
With a sigh, he tossed a few coins on the table--his last ones--for his drink, then apparated after them.
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Oct 15, 2008 13:17:49 GMT -5
Susie liked Justin less and the less the more she was around him, but if she could try and be fair about it, and see things from his perspective, she could understand what he was doing. And yes, she wanted to run. She wanted Zachary to chase her, to hunt her down, but then she wondered if he even would.
When they were back at the Scotts estates, she moved away from him, but only to get his hands off of her, and waited for Zach.
(Continuing in this thread?)
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