|
|
Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Aug 21, 2010 21:59:24 GMT -5
This was pretty much the last place Geoffrey should be right now. He knew that. But he was having a hard time making himself care about that. After all, it hardly seemed like he had anything left to lose.
He had lost Riley, that was certain. She and Roland were the perfect couple; they were getting married and having a baby, and they were desperately in love. How on earth could Geoffrey hope to compete with that, especially when she only thought of him as her best friend? He was practically a girl in her eyes.
And then there was Alison. She had been the one good thing in his life; she could have saved him, if he'd only let her. But it wasn't fair to her. He needed to get over whatever it was he felt for Riley, and he needed to figure out how to put his life back together on his own. He couldn't expect her to do it for him.
That's what he should have been doing at this moment; trying to figure out how to fix his life. He should not be walking back into the same bar where he had already self-destructed with the intentions of trashing his life even further. But here he was. Hey, at least he was out of the house, right?
Geoffrey slunk into a seat at a table in the back, not even bothering to look around. He didn't even know what he was doing here....
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Aug 25, 2010 2:01:58 GMT -5
If there was one thing that Nathalia was good at, it was acting like nothing happened. She was the perfect girl to forget your troubles with, because she wouldn't try to owl the next day, and if she saw you again, she'd just smile and ask how you were. That's why, she figured, guys liked her. There were no string attached with Nathalia.
So when the door to Stu's opened, and Nathalia's eyes landed on Geoffrey, she gave him a smile that said she recognized him, but wasn't unlike a smile she might give to a total stranger who walked in the door.
Uncertain if he even saw her, she pilled herself up from the bar, where she was just kind of relaxing on this slow night, and headed over towards where Geoffrey had hidden himself in the corner.
"Hey good lookin'," She said with an even brighter smile, especially seeing how down he looked. That could mean nothing good. "What can I get for you?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Aug 28, 2010 0:30:35 GMT -5
Geoffrey raised his head and looked up at her. Although he had been quite drunk that night, he did remember her and he remembered all too clearly what had happened between them. He felt a fresh wave of guilt sweep over him. She seemed like a perfectly nice girl, and he had treated her badly, by making her into the "other woman."
"Hey," he said, his voice sounding strangely faint. "Nathalia, right?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Oct 12, 2010 15:07:57 GMT -5
Nathalia's smile almost faltered, but she held it anyway. He barely even remembered her name.... Merlin, what was she doing with her life? This was ridiculous and she needed to re-evaluate her life. This was actually becoming way too common of a problem these days. And was it bad that her thoughts went to Hayden (who, coincidentally, was somehow a distant cousin of Geoffrey?)
She nodded. "Yeah, it's Nathalia," she told him. "Good to see you again, Geoffrey. Can I.... you look like you've had a rough day. Can I get you something?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Nov 12, 2010 2:13:57 GMT -5
It wasn't anything personal against her that he wasn't sure of her name. He'd been so out of it that night that he was lucky he'd remembered his own name, let alone hers. He was not proud of this fact, or of his behavior that night. Or, really, of himself at all. He had hurt Alison, who was as patient as a saint, and he'd lost his best friend, and he had used Nathalia for... what, exactly? Some sort of balm to his wounded soul? And why was he here now, anyway? He'd always thought of himself as an upstanding sort of guy, the guy who believed in honor and treating people with respect. He was not behaving that way now. He should walk out that door and not ask any more from Nathalia.
But he didn't. He ran a hand over his tired face. "Yeah, things have been.... rough lately. Actually, that's an understatement. Things have been dragon dung lately. I feel like I'm free-falling into a bottomless pit and I don't know how I'm ever going to get back up."
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Mar 24, 2011 17:03:04 GMT -5
Nathalia actually laughed at his response, but bit it back and quickly apologized.
"Wow... sorry, I'm not laughing at you. It's just, I'm not used to such honest answers before someone starts drinking. You want to talk about it? I'm pretty good at listening, and pretty good with advice. Should I start you off with a firewhiskey?"
Truth was, things had kind of been dragon dung for her lately too... listening to someone else might actually help her. And whatever Geoffrey thought was going through her head, she was not holding that other night against him. It was fun, he'd needed it.... that's all there was to it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Mar 31, 2011 0:08:57 GMT -5
Geoffrey's lips twisted into a sort of grim half-smile. "Yeah, that's my curse. I'm too honest most of the time... People can see right through me when I lie, and I've never been good at keeping secrets."
And yet, he had no choice but to keep the secret of Roland's faked death from the people he loved. Even now that he was back, if he revealed to Christine that he'd known for weeks before Roland's return that he was really alive, he would lose her trust. And right now, she needed someone she could trust. It was just one more thing weighing on him.
"Firewhiskey sounds good," he said tiredly, running his head. "You know, I never used to drink... Now I do it all the time."
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on May 10, 2011 17:54:24 GMT -5
"Nathalia shrugged, bringing out a glass and filling it three quarters full of firewhiskey.
"There's nothing wrong with a drink or two, Geoffrey. Just make sure it doesn't run your life. The thing about drowning your troubles is that they know how to swim."
She leaned on the bar, chin in hand. "So what is it? Girls, work?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 15, 2011 22:54:06 GMT -5
Geoffrey's smile was sad. She was right, of course. He supposed she knew that from experience, but he didn't ask her that. But he'd been trying so hard to drink away his problems, only to learn that it wasn't possible to do that. The problems didn't go away, the pain didn't ease, nothing got better. It only ever got worse. And just as he couldn't imagine things getting any worse... they did.
"Maybe I'm waiting to hit bottom," he said. "You know how they say that you've got to reach your lowest point, so you can start to build back up again? Well, I keep thinking I've hit rock bottom... only to get lower than before. It's like in Alice in Wonderland... when she falls into the rabbit hole and it never seems to end? Or do you not know that story?"
He sighed. He sounded like an idiot. A pathetic, self-pitying idiot. He was really starting to hate himself.
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Jun 28, 2011 20:03:39 GMT -5
"I know the story," Nathalia assured him, her voice gentle. "I was Alice for Halloween one year. Ah... a muggle holiday. Wizards have it too, I think. Anyway..."
She trailed off, trying to relate, but not to relate too closely. She felt like she'd been doing her best at flying over an inevitable drop for some time, and her hold loosened every once in a while. She was happy though, right? Doing what she wanted, when she wanted.
"I don't know... maybe you're on your way back up already, and it just doesn't quite feel like it yet? There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. Or so I've been told."
|
|
|
|
Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Oct 10, 2011 16:18:35 GMT -5
Geoffrey had been happy before all of this. He'd had a good, if boring job. He'd had a best friend, a girlfriend, a close family. He had always been able to laugh and see the good in life. But everything had fallen apart, and it wasn't his fault. He'd tried to help a friend, and wound up being cursed, losing his best friend, ruining his relationship with Alison... Maybe he couldn't imagine how the situation would get worse, but he certainly didn't think it was starting to get better, either.
"If I'm on my way back up, I'm moving very slowly," he said. "I think maybe I'm just... stuck. I don't know how to get back up again. It's like I'm looking for the tiny little door to get out."
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Nov 17, 2011 0:06:46 GMT -5
"Yeah, you probably are. And while you're looking for that tiny little door, you're missing the normal sized one right behind you. I know when you're rock bottom, it feels like nothing every changes. Believe me.... I know."
She glanced at the clock and took her apron off. "Come on. I need to count my tips, but you want to play a round of pool with me? Sometimes solutions come while you focus on something else."
She started towards the register, but kept her eyes on Geoffrey.
|
|
|
|
Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Nov 17, 2011 23:23:23 GMT -5
"Well, I left the house," Geoffrey said. "I guess that's some progress, at least. But I still feel so lost. Like... I know I need to put the pieces back together, I just don't know how."
That was how he felt, like a puzzle with a few pieces missing. Even if he could figure out how to put the puzzle together again, there would always be gaps that could never be filled.
But she was right about one thing... sitting here and drinking was not helping him. And being active at home--working out in the gym or playing tennis with Christine--seemed to help a little.
"Yeah, I'm up for it," he said at last, taking a final sip from his drink. "I should warn you, though... we have a pool table at my house, so I've been getting a lot of practice lately."
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Dec 21, 2011 17:28:40 GMT -5
Nathalia tilted her head a touch, a sad smile on her lips. "This won't make you feel any better, but I don't think that feeling ever goes away, Geoffrey. It never feels easier, it just feels.... Different." Nathalia, for different reasons, unknown even to her, had felt lost most of her life. She just learned how to cope with it, and compensated with what appeared to be pure confidence and a strong sense of who she was. "Everyone wears a mask, you know? Eventually, even you'll start to believe it."
She untied her apron, coming around the bar. "Good... Then I won't have to let you win." She winked at him and laughed, grabbing a pool stick for herself. He probably could beat her, but she had spent enough time in bars to at least go down fighting at the game.
"You break."
|
|
|
|
Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Mar 18, 2012 23:46:22 GMT -5
But Geoffrey couldn't help but wonder what sort of mask Roland put on. He always seemed so maddeningly sure of himself, and it didn't seem like an act to Geoffrey. Always calm, always in control... the only time he'd ever really faltered was when he was falling in love with Riley and believed that she didn't want him. Was it any wonder that Geoffrey had enjoyed seeing him that way?
"I didn't always feel this way," Geoffrey replied, pushing all thoughts of Roland from his mind. "I used to be confident and comfortable in my own skin. Now... I'm not even sure who I am anymore."
The trouble was, Geoffrey had never really gone through the typical teenage rebellion stage. He had never questioned or agonized about what he wanted to do; he had simply decided to take his time and experience things... and yet now that he looked back on it, the things he had chosen had been too safe. Too easy. Working for the Ministry in what had to be one of the most boring departments there had just bee taking the easy way out. He should have been more like Christine, sailing all over the world on one of Uncle Christopher's boats. He should have been experiencing life, instead of just existing. Like he was doing now.
Geoffrey removed the rack and set it aside, then lined up a shot, aiming the cue ball at the stack. "I call reds," he said as the balls began to scatter across the table.
|
|
