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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Apr 29, 2009 23:18:18 GMT -5
She should have known better than to tell him not to worry about her. She was his best friend; of course he was going to worry. She had just lost her partner--a partner who had kissed her a number of times. A partner she had spent Christmas with and argued with and who probably had feelings for her. Of course that would take a toll on her. And of course he was going to worry about her.
"Yeah, I can get you some plain bread," he said simply. He looked around, and, spotting their waiter, waved him over. "Could we get some plain bread and a glass of ginger ale?"
The waiter nodded and hurried off, and Geoffrey turned back to her. "I'll feel better once I see you put something in your stomach. And if you just can't do it, I'm taking you home. No arguments. You need to get up your strength. Don't think I haven't noticed that you didn't answer the question about sleep. Are you even going home at night? I've been knocking on your door at all hours. If it's weird staying there, knowing he's not next door anymore, you could come downstairs to my apartment, you know."
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 29, 2009 23:38:54 GMT -5
Riley just watched him for a moment. Where had she been the last few days? Geoffrey had obviously been trying really hard to reach out to her, and she didn't even know. She'd been so selfish. Other people needed her, and she was nowhere to be found.
Finally, knowing she couldn't lie to him about being in her apartment, she shook her head. "I can't sleep. I keep reliving that night every time I close my eyes, Geoffrey. I've been living off coffee... lots of it. I can't sleep, I can't keep any food down. I'm just..." So lost.
Her big brown eyes looked up and met his, and those two words were evident there.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Apr 29, 2009 23:47:17 GMT -5
"Oh, Merlin..." Geoffrey gasped. This was what he had worried about. He hated to think of her going through this alone. After all, she was the only one who had actually been there that night. She had witnessed it. Of course that had to weigh on her mind.
He moved over to the chair next to her, throwing his arms around her. "Listen, you know I'm here for you. Anytime you need anything, just knock on my door, and I'm there for you. Whatever you need. Seriously."
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 29, 2009 23:56:00 GMT -5
He shouldn't have done that. It was enough to finally send Rile over the edge. All of the stress and exhaustion, guilt, anger, sorrow... all of it seemed to finally reach it's limit with her, and Geoffrey opened the pressure valve.
She put her arms around him, and not caring that they were in the middle of a restaurant, or that she wanted to be strong for him, she started to cry. And once she started, she couldn't stop. She was being quiet, to her credit, but her whole body was shaking in his arms.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Apr 30, 2009 0:18:33 GMT -5
Geoffrey was glad that she was finally letting it out. As far as he was concerned, she needed to get this out of her system. Maybe a part of her would always be sad, would always hurt, would always regret what happened, but she needed to release the emotions that she had been bottling up. Maybe then she wouldn't feel so sick.
People were staring, and Geoffrey gave them dirty looks. There was nothing wrong with giving in to grief. They had both lost someone.
"That's it, Riley... just let it out."
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 30, 2009 0:37:28 GMT -5
The waiter came back, and seeing them, set the ginger ale and the bread on the table.
"Should I get a to go box for you?" He asked Geoffrey quietly, thinking perhaps they'd be more comfortable somewhere else.
Riley didn't even hear the waiter. She was just gone. She was too tired and too miserable to care. She was holding onto Geoffrey as a lifeline. She thought she might honestly drown in her own misery if she didn't hold on to him. She wanted out. She didn't want to feel like this anymore.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Apr 30, 2009 0:50:55 GMT -5
Geoffrey nodded discreetly. Even though he wanted Riley to drink a little of the ginger ale and eat a little of the bread before they left, his soup was getting cold. And he wasn't going to eat any of it while Riley ws clinging to him. She needed him, and he was going to be there for her, for whatever she needed. He just hoped that she would feel a little better once she let it all out. if not... well, he heard that the new counselor at the school was quite good...
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 30, 2009 1:02:13 GMT -5
The day he mentoned the counselor to Riley, if he did, would be a fight like he'd never had with her before, and Geoffrey had seen quite a range of her anger. Lucky for him, he was rarely on the receiving end, but that would do it.
A couple minutes after the waiter set a couple of boxes at their table, Riley pulled back and wiped at her eyes. She wasn't really done by any means, but she remembered where they were, and she really didn't want to go on with her break down here. Her eyes were blurry, and her cheeks tear stained. There was a very wet spot on Geoffrey's robes. She didn't apologize for any of it.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Apr 30, 2009 1:14:00 GMT -5
One look at her, and Geoffrey knew he wasn't going to get her to eat any bread. Ginger ale was the best he could hope for. He'd just have to bring the bread home with him and hope she could eat it later.
He wouldn't have even accepted an apology for her breakdown. She ws entitled to it, as far as he could see. He'd wanted her to do it. "Look.... why don't you take a couple of sips of ginger ale, and then i'll take you home."
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 30, 2009 6:48:06 GMT -5
Riley was still feeling queasy enough that the ginger ale sounded like a good idea, so she nodded and wiped at her eyes again, then took the glass and started taking tiny sips. She saw the boxes and knew they could take the bread, so she didn't feel bad about the fact that she simply couldn't eat it right now.
But the gingerale tasted all right. Between sips, she looked at Geoffrey. "Please don't take me back to my apartment. I can't..." She trailed off, her voice thick.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Apr 30, 2009 15:20:26 GMT -5
Geoffrey frowned. "I'm not bringing you back to work, Riley. Not in this condition. I'll take you to my apartment, if you want. I have the spare bedroom made up, in case Christine ever wants to stay over. Or is there somewhere else you want to go? I just really want you to get some rest. Please, say you'll do it, OK? I'm worried about you. And if Roland could see you right now, he'd say the same thing, you need rest."
As he spoke, he pulled out a handful of muggle money to pay the bill, which the waiter had considerately brought to the table with their leftover boxes.
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 30, 2009 15:26:26 GMT -5
Riley blinked at that last sentence, and then she slowly started to smile. Finally, she laughed. She couldn't help it. How utterly ridiculous...
"If Roland could see me now," she repeated, and her laughter sort of turned into tears, and even she didn't know if she was laughing or crying now. "No, I'll go back to my apartment, all right?" She stood up, pushing her seat in and wiping at her eyes again. She didn't mean to make a show of things. She just was too stressed.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Apr 30, 2009 15:51:35 GMT -5
Geoffrey wasn't entirely sure why she was laughin, or if she actually was laughing at all. But at any rate, he had managed to get her to agree to go home, instead of to work. And that was a big victory, as far as he was concerned.
"OK," he said. "All right, then, let's go." He gathered up the leftover boxes and then reached out for her hand to help her up. "I'll explain to Angelique. I'm sure she'll understand. And I can stay with you, if you want."
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 30, 2009 16:00:41 GMT -5
Riley shook her head. "No, it's all right. I'm probably just going to crawl into bed and sleep anyway. You don't have to stay."
When they were both on their feet, she held his hand still and walked with him to the door. "Thank you for trying to get me lunch. I'll... I'll be better about it next time. And I'm sorry. I know you're mourning too... let me know if I can do anything for you too, okay?"
All these words were sort of rushed, but she meant it. She'd help him if she could.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Apr 30, 2009 16:10:32 GMT -5
"Hey, I'm fine," Geoffrey said. "I mean... I'm sad, and I'm going to miss him like hell. I don't think I even realized that until now. But talking about him helped. I just feel like... well, I didn't really help you all that much. But if I can get you to get some rest, then I guess that's a start."
He squeezed her hand as they walked. It was only a few blocks to the apartment building. "You sure you're OK to walk, or should we duck down an alley and apparate?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 30, 2009 16:16:39 GMT -5
"I'm fine, Geoff. And I'm going to be fine. I'm not breakable." She gave him a gentle smile. He of all people, should know how much she hated to be treated like she was delicate. "And I promise you won't see me at work for the rest of the day."
He'd probably drag her out if he did, anyway. Even she couldn't deny how good a nap sounded, and maybe she'd be able to eat a little when she woke up.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Apr 30, 2009 17:34:17 GMT -5
Geoffrey shook his head. "I know you're not. But you should also know me well enough to know that I can't help asking. It's just my luck that all the females in my life are tougher than I am."
He gave a short laugh at that. It wasn't entirely true; although Geoffrey was a sensitive guy, he was not exactly weak. He came from pretty strong stock, and if ever anyone he cared about was threatened, he, like anyone else in his family, would come out swinging. But sometimes it truly did seem as if he was surrounded by tough females--his mother, his sister, his aunts, cousins, and Riley. It could be a bit humbling at times.
They walked in silence for a while, and he glanced sideways at her. He couldn't quite stop thinking about the way she had turned positively green at the smell of the soup. If he didn't know better..
No. Of course not. He was crazy for even thinking it. It was just stress. Merlin knew she was under quite a lot of it.
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 30, 2009 19:08:19 GMT -5
When they reached the apartment building, Riley squeezed Geoff's hand and turned to him.
"You're a real sweetheart, you know that?" She said, standing on her toes to hug him, and she kissed his cheek. "I'll get better, I promise."
He was a great friend, and she felt bad that she couldn't return the favor right now. One day, she would. She'd make it up to all of them one day.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Apr 30, 2009 22:05:13 GMT -5
Geoffrey waved off the "sweetheart" comment. Instead he just smiled and gave her a quick hug. "You'd better. That's an order, you hear me? Get some sleep, take some anti-nausea potion and call me in the morning. Orders from Dr. Geoffrey."
He winked at her. "I'll give your excuses to Angelique. She'll understand. I'll see you tomorrow, OK?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 30, 2009 22:47:33 GMT -5
Riley smiled and even laughed a little. "Yes, sir. And Angelique will probably give you some kind of medal for getting me to take the rest of the day off. She's been trying since it happened. I'm sure I could use it, after all. I just hate not working."
She gave him another smile, and thanked him again, and then paused. "Geoffrey..." she said. "He didn't die alone and miserable. I was there, you know?" She frowned, unsure how much she should tell him, and admitted, "I kissed him right before. We kissed, I mean."
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