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Post by Ross Anderson on Sept 15, 2009 15:53:58 GMT -5
It was Brad who talked Ross into going out. Ross had just been sitting around his apartment after work thinking about going over to see Danny, but whenever Brad came over, his mind was made up. It didn't take but the words 'Let's go get a drink' for Ross to get up off the couch and leave his apartment.
He had suggested that he and Brad stop by Geoffrey's house so they could drag him out. The poor guy had been in his house the entire time he was released from the hospital and he needed some time out. Maybe a little bit of fresh air and different scenery would do him so good.
Before he and Brad left his apartment, Ross scribbled down on a piece of paper telling Vic to meet them at Stu's since they were stopping by Geoffrey's to bring him with them. Once the owl was sent, they left.
There was no way that Ross was going to take 'no' for an answer. If he had to, he would literally pull Geoffrey out. Once Ross and Brad apparated to Geoffrey's house, Ross raised his hand and knocked on the door.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Sept 15, 2009 22:19:21 GMT -5
Of course, it was Jensen the butler who answered the door. He was rather hoping that it would be the lovely Miss Alison stopping by for a visit, even though it was not the day she usually came over. But Geoffrey always seemed brighter when she was there.
Instead, he saw two young men that he did not recognize. Had they been a little younger, Jensen would have assumed that they were suitors for Christine or Samantha. And he certainly hoped they weren't more illegitimate sons of Master Edward's.
"May I help you?" he asked formally.
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Post by Ross Anderson on Sept 16, 2009 8:01:54 GMT -5
Ross half expected Geoffrey to answer the door but it was someone he guessed was their butler on the other side. "Good Evening sir," he said politely. "I'm Ross Anderson and this is Brad O'Dell. We're friends of Geoffrey and we thought that we'd stop by and see him."
He felt kinda bad that he hadn't stopped by sooner than what he had to see how Geoffrey was doing but he figured that now was a good of a time as any. It had been too long since they had seen their friend and that was going to change.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Sept 17, 2009 23:58:15 GMT -5
Jensen brightened. It was not Alison or Riley, but any friends of Master Geoffrey would always be welcome. Ever the careful butler, Jensen took careful note of both of their names so that he could repeat them to Geoffrey. Perhaps these young men could convince him to leave the house, which he hadn't done since he was released from the hospital.
"Yes, of course. Please come in. I'll show you to the sitting room, and then inform Master Geoffrey that you have come over for a visit."
He stood aside to let them both enter.
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Post by Brad O'Dell on Sept 20, 2009 14:12:51 GMT -5
"Thank you," Brad answered before Ross could. Following the two into the house, he couldn't help but look around. It was a lot nicer than majority of houses that he had ever been in.
Following Ross and the butler to the sitting room, Brad exchanged looks with Ross and then stood with his hands behind his back. Once Jensen was gone, he leaned toward his friend and whispered, "Do you think that we're gonna hafta drag 'em out, or do you think that he'll go without a problem?"
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Sept 22, 2009 0:36:33 GMT -5
Geoffrey, as it turned out, had just finished a workout and a shower. He was wrapped in a robe and walking back up to his room from the basement gym when Jensen found him and told him that two of his friends were there to see him.
"OK, great," he said. "Go in and tell them I'll be right down. Just let me get dressed and everything, and I'll be down. Offer them some drinks or something."
He was gone, and Jensen returned to the sitting room. "Master Geoffrey will be down shortly. Is there anything I can bring for you? Drinks, tea?"
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Post by Ross Anderson on Sept 22, 2009 8:50:43 GMT -5
The two men had taken a seat on a couch in the sitting room while they waited for either Jensen to return or Geoffrey to appear.
Once the butler returned, Ross gave a look to Brad. He looked like he was going to request something to drink, but Ross beat him in saying anything. "No thank you. We're fine," he said then gave a look to Brad. "We're not going to be here that long," Ross whispered to his friend before rolling his eyes.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Sept 24, 2009 23:58:23 GMT -5
Jensen gave no reaction to the exchange between the two men. He simply nodded briskly. "Very good, sir," he replied. "Master Geoffrey will be down shortly." With that, the butler left the room and went about his regular duties.
It was a good ten minutes before Geoffrey appeared. He was showered and dressed and looking quite well, though the smile still seemed forced. He figured that if he kept forcing it, eventually it would become real.
"Hey, guys," he said brightly. "It's good to see you. What's going on?"
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Post by Ross Anderson on Sept 25, 2009 12:54:06 GMT -5
Ross had known Geoffrey long enough to know that his smile was a little too bright, but not wanting to acknowledge the fact, Ross put on a smile and stood up. He extended his hand out for Geoffrey to shake.
"Hey Geoff," he said. "Eh, you know, the same old stuff has been going on. Nothing special. It's good to see you too. I take it things have been going pretty good. You look like you're doing okay."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Sept 26, 2009 1:31:41 GMT -5
Geoffrey lifted his shoulder in a one-sided shrug. "Oh, you know. I'm hanging in there, I guess," he said.
He was far from OK, and he knew it. And it was getting harder to pretend otherwise. Christine knew he was not doing well, and so did Riley, but for everyone else, he felt the need to keep acting as though everything was fine.
"I've been catching up on my exercise and doing a lot of swimming," he continued. "I take it the Ministry hasn't fallen apart without my important work in the Floo Network Department?"
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Post by Ross Anderson on Sept 26, 2009 15:24:25 GMT -5
"That's good. Soon, you'll probably be back one hundred percent," Ross said optimistically. He only hoped that Geoffrey would be back to his old self again soon, although Ross wasn't sure that Geoffrey would ever be completely back to his old self.
"At least you haven't turned into a complete couch potato. As for the Ministry, it has been staying together pretty well. Although, Brad here, has cried almost every day because you haven't been there." He laughed as he looked toward his friend.
"So, Geoff, are you planning anything for tonight?"
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Sept 26, 2009 16:15:45 GMT -5
Geoffrey thought that by acting like his old self, it would eventually be true, and he wouldn't be acting any more. This was a mistake. It was possible that Geoffrey would never be back to the person he'd been before the attack, and that he would have to learn how to find peace with the person he was now. But right now, he was very far from that place.
"Tonight?" he said. "Oh, probably just have dinner and then play pool with Christine. Maybe watch a movie."
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Post by Ross Anderson on Sept 26, 2009 16:26:35 GMT -5
"Well, while that sounds all fun and joyful and everything, Brad and I were planning on taking you out for a little bit. Vic is even going to meet with us. We promise not to have you out too late. After all, we haven't hung out in a while."
Ross gave a shrug. "So what do you say? Want to go, or do we have to drag you out?" He gave a grin. "We'll have a little bit of fun, plus you need to go out for a little while instead of exercising and being in the house all the time."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Sept 27, 2009 0:14:54 GMT -5
Geoffrey hated the feeling of terror that jolted through him at the idea of going out. So far, no one--not Alison, not Riley, not even Christine--had suggested that he go out. He just wasn't ready. But Merlin, he wanted to be. He hated being afraid all the time. And how could he pretend that everything was OK if he refused to leave the house?
"Oh... I don't know, guys," he said. "We could just stay here and hang out..."
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Post by Brad O'Dell on Sept 27, 2009 10:01:16 GMT -5
"We need ter go out," Brad spoke up. "We ain't been out in ages and you look like you need a good night out. Like Ross said, Vic is gonna meet with up with us. You'll be with the three of us tonight."
He wasn't going to let Geoffrey back out of going out. The poor guy needed to get out and have some fresh air rather than be cooped up inside watching movies and exercising all day.
"Besides, I think you'd have a lotta fun. Grab yer cloak and come on."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Sept 27, 2009 18:19:08 GMT -5
Going out did not sound like fun at all. It sounded terrifying. It shouldn't have been, but it was. And it was making him feel really disgusted with himself. He felt like a little kid who was afraid of monsters in his closet.
One thing was for certain, he couldn't very well admit to these guys that the idea of leaving the house made him feel sick to his stomach.
Sighing, he replied. "OK. Um, let me just get changed. I don't really look good enough to go out right now."
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Post by Ross Anderson on Sept 27, 2009 19:32:00 GMT -5
Ross nodded. "Alright, well, go get changed and hurry back down here. We can't keep Vic waiting all night long for us to get there."
He wouldn't have laughed if Geoffrey said that he was terrified of going out. Although, Ross would have done whatever he could to convince Geoffrey that going out with friends for a little while wouldn't hurt. Fresh air sometimes seemed to help.
"Don't worry about putting on anything fancy. We're not going to a club tonight, just so you know."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Sept 27, 2009 20:33:12 GMT -5
"OK, sure," Geoffrey said in a hurried tone. "I'll be right back."
He left the room rather abruptly, stopping outside the closed doors and taking a few deep, calming breaths. You can do this, he told himself. It's no big deal, nothing bad will happen.
He rushed upstairs, changing into jeans and a nice shirt, forcing himself to concentrate on the process of getting changed and not on the fact that he was getting ready to go outside.
"The fresh air will be good for me," he said aloud, staring at his reflection. Had he always been so pale? "Nothing bad will happen. Everything will be fine."
He only wished he could make himself believe it.
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Post by Ross Anderson on Sept 28, 2009 12:33:37 GMT -5
His eyebrows rose as Geoffrey left the room abruptly. Glancing to Brad, he gave a worry expression to him. Ross wasn't sure what exactly was going on with Geoffrey, but he knew that Geoffrey wasn't just going to tell him what was going on in his head.
"Well," he said after Geoffrey left. Ross gave a shake of his head. He was going to entertain Geoffrey and continue to act like things were okay.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Sept 28, 2009 15:38:53 GMT -5
When he was finished getting changed and groomed, Geoffrey stood at the mirror for a few minutes, just staring at his reflection. He even looked different. He barely even recognized himself. Despite the fact that his appetite had not diminished, he still looked thin, perhaps from too much exercise. He was too pale, and his eyes seemed almost sunken into his head. And even when he tried to smile, it very obviously looked fake to him.
Who was this guy? It wasn't him. It couldn't be. How could one incident change him so completely? He felt used and empty, and, when he thought about it, it was almost how he imagined a rape victim might feel. Someone had controlled him, forced him to do something against his will, and now he was fighting to regain control of his own life. The trouble was, he didn't know how. He had always had everything he ever wanted in life.... everything had come so easily for him. Now he had to struggle and fight and he didn't even know what he was fighting for.
He rubbed a hand along his face and let out a sigh. Well, maybe tonight he could take control. Maybe he could start to find his way back again. It was worth a shot.
"It's going to be fine," he told himself again. "Nothing bad will happen."
Turning away from the mirror, he hurried out of the room and back downstairs. "OK, guys, let's go," he said.
Before I change my mind....
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