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Post by Forte! on Mar 19, 2009 16:50:27 GMT -5
Rory couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with Roxy, even though he made a good effort, and was scrutinizing Z. He knew that face, he just didn't know from where. He shook his head slightly in response to the question, "No... I know you from somewhere... I just don't know where..." He was still mulling it over when Roxy spoke, watching her out of the corner of one eye but still unable to look. Her words surprised him, but he didn't negate or confirm them. A slight frown was tracing his lips, slightly sour. He had thought that the world might have finally stopped turning under his feet, might have settled down. That he might finally be, in some sense or another, average, boring. That things might settle, that he could finally stop worrying about his father, all those friends he had left behind. But life was change, and he knew that better than a lot of people.
He shifted his grip on the poinsettias, and only then realized he was still holding them. He set the pot down on the desk, making an honest attempt to glance at Roxy but ending up staring at the creases in his boots. "Happy holidays, by the way," he said, but there was a bitter edge to his voice, corrosive and biting. He bit his cheek to stop himself from saying anything else, and turned his gaze back to Z, sudden realization flooding across his features like ice. In an instant, he blanched, as white as a ghost, and stared a little bit longer, his lips parting slightly and then closing again. He remembered, now, where he knew this man from. He remembered gazing at the picture on the front of the newspaper, the blurry image that seemed ill-gotten, contrived. "Y-you..." he stuttered, "you caught the man who murdered my mother..." The corner of his mouth twitched into a frown, mentally going over the sentence.
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Post by I Am Agent Z on Mar 19, 2009 17:05:19 GMT -5
I... wait... what?! Z thought quickly, now remembering, about 7 or 8 years ago, Z was merely a tennager when he caught the dispicable, and atrocious man who had murdered so many people. He tilted his head, "Well, you're welcome, then... you -may- or -may not,- depends on how your sense of justice is, be glad to know that, that man died in his cell from quite a few fellow jailbirds raiding his cell. I'm just glad I caught the fellow rather than any ofthe people who might have hired him next..." Z said, brushing a hand through his unkempt black hair. He then sighed and said "Well, glad to meet you, in case you didn't know, I've decided to get away from Big City life for a while, a couple months or so... depends on how much I like this place..." He said.
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Post by FalconX on Mar 20, 2009 18:59:48 GMT -5
Roxanne
Roxy flinched like Rory had just threw a knife in her direction instead of merely wishing her happy holidays. It wasn't the words that hurt, it was the emotion hidden only slightly beneath them. She looked up at him from beneath a fringe of her dark hair. Suddenly, his face went white, she almost reached out to steady him but stopped herself from doing so. Worry was in her brown eyes, but she tried to cover it up, not succeeding very well. Her eyes widened when he spoke, Z caught his mother's killer? This situation just kept getting better and better. She looked away from the two men standing in her small cabin.
She gritted her teeth when Z spoke. She didn't believe in people being killed and people saying it was 'justice' because that person had taken peoples lives. Many disagreed with her, but to her, two wrongs didn't make a right. She sighed when the subject of conversation changed to why Z was in town. Not that she really wanted this discussion to happen, but it was, and she would prefer if it stayed on safer topics. Her vision blurred and she started feeling dizzy, Rage whined and put his head right underneath her hand. "It's fine buddy." She mumbled, barely getting the words out before her vision blacked. She crumpled to the floor, Rage nudging her and licking her face trying to get her up.
-bleh, couldn't resist doing something, cause I had no idea what else to do XD-
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Post by Forte! on Mar 21, 2009 9:03:57 GMT -5
Rory glared at Z in fuming silence as he spoke. He already knew, of course. He had spent out every scrap of hatred and fear and anger to find that out. To find that there was no neck for his hands to clutch. And that was alright. He had been young, he had wanted naught but retribution for what that monster had done to so many families, to his family. And it was wrong to want even that. He knew it now. But Rory was angry at Z, despite the rational side of himself telling him that he had no right to be angry. He was angry at this clueless, this despicable man, who walked into a situation where he did not know the proper etiquette and did not bother to find it out. He had said so many things wrong. Rory did not THANK him for solving the mystery. Of course not! Z had been too late! By the time he was there, Rory had been catapulted across the USA, thrown to a loop in which he could never quite regain his footing. And yet Z was pompous, self-assured enough to, quite without provocation, accept his thanks? Rory's nails dug into his own flesh, crossing and re-crossing the purple crescents that had already creased his palm.
He probably would have burst out in indignation, or else caught on fire for swallowing the words that rose in his throat, but out of the corner of his eye, trained on Roxy, he saw something. Her skin grew white, her forehead beaded with sweat. He knew what was coming an instant before it happened, and was halfway to her side when she collapsed on the floor. Hard. the sickening smack of flesh on wood instantly twisted his anger, and a knot formed somewhere in his gut. His lips moved as if to scream her name, but nothing but air passed his tongue. In a moment that he hardly knew was happening, he found himself kneeling at her side, at once afraid to touch her and wanting to help in any way he could. Some distinct, rational part of his brain told him not to move her, to stay calm. She had hit the floor hard, right? That could mean head trauma. And if that was true, moving her would be a bad idea. He remembered his mother (who had been an epitome of knowledge of this sort, being a veterinarian) saying that the blood vessels surrounding the brain could be ruptured even by a slight bump to the head, and that if not given proper time to settle and clot, could cause problems. No moving her. Alright. Think.
"Call the ambulance," he growled, in Z's general direction, as he attempted to push Roxy's dog away from her body, "Now!" he hadn't even looked to see if Z had listened the first time, just assumed he hadn't. The part of his brain that was fighting a million different ways appeared to have shut off, leaving only that quiet, rational voice that called on anything and everything he had ever learned. His anger at Z was forgotten for now. His anger at Roxy and her apparent betrayal was also pushed off to the side. Fear pulsed quietly through his veins, fear for Roxy more than anything else. He lowed an ear to her chest, listening for the sound of her lungs expanding, of her heart. Good. She was still breathing, albeit faintly. Relief struck him, and for a moment he crumpled, shoulders falling, as if helpless. Was this his fault? For showing up here, uninvited, and causing more trouble than he was worth? He cursed himself for being so stupid. Her mother had just died, for goodness' sakes! did he really have to add to that with all of his anger and his own melancholy scars?
((The muse fairy, in the form of Ms. Harper Lee, came and laid gifts at my feet. Thank you, Boo Radley, for supplying me with endless muse that spills over how many words I wanted to write!))
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Post by I Am Agent Z on Mar 21, 2009 9:19:51 GMT -5
((lol.))
Z watched him for a moment, and then realized that Roxy had crumpled to the floor. He was already on his way to the nearest phone about five seconds before Rory told him to call an ambulance. He jumped over furniture, Zig-Zagged, well given to his name, around objects, and then reached a phone. He hastily dialed 9-1-1, "This is the 9-1-1 emergency hotline, please state your emergency." The lady at the pother end said. In a moment of haste, he immediately spilled out everything that had happened concerning Roxy's condition. "We're sending someone now..." The lady said calmly, "I'll stay on the line until they get there if you like..." Z sighed "As long as they get here as fast as possible, I don't really care what you do..." He said very softly, looking over his shoulder at Roxy.
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Post by Spitz on Mar 21, 2009 12:09:14 GMT -5
Chris started the car and revved the engine before driving out of the car park and down the road toward the ranches. He finally reached the driveway up to Coal to Fire Acres and then when his car was parked he got out, locked his car and jogged up to the house with his bag full of everything he would need. He walked into the door and upstairs where everyone was before seeing the girl on the floor with the two men "Dr. Christopher Turner, about Roxy McRae" he said and then walked over to Roxy.
He checked her pulse before finding his bag and propping her feet up on it so the blood would go back to her head. "Has she been under any pressure lately?" he asked the two males who were in the room. He needed to know that especially as it would show eliminate some options of why it was caused and if she needed to go to the hospital.
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Post by Forte! on Mar 21, 2009 12:40:38 GMT -5
Rory's heartbeat didn't slow until he heard the car pull up, and then he let out a breath he hadn't realized that he had been holding. He had been grasping Roxy's limp hand, as if he needed something to hold, to ground him, and he carefully laid it down now, his eyes glittering with concern as he looked at her. His shoulders were trembling slightly with relief and due to the surge of adrenaline that was fading fast. Tenderly, carefully, he moved a lock of hair out of Roxy's eyes and turned to Chris, a light, worried frown creasing his lips. "Nice to meet you. I'm Rory Calder."
He watched as the doctor propped her legs up, looking a bit guarded and protective even though he knew that Chris knew what he was doing. "A lot," Rory murmured, in response to the question, "her mother passed away a month or so ago. She just got back home." he explained quietly, not tearing his eyes away from her. How could he be so stupid? How could he be angry at her, when he had been through the same thing? And he hadn't even let her explain. Sometimes he wished that he wasn't quite so brash, that he might think before he pulled dumb stunts like this. "Is she going to be alright?" he asked. He didn't know what he'd do if she wasn't. Really, Roxy was the first real friend he'd had for a long time. And that counted for a lot. |
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Post by I Am Agent Z on Mar 21, 2009 13:02:39 GMT -5
Z sighed softly "She also said something about finance troubles... may have been struggling with bills or something of the like... that and, the stress of an awkward situation may have contributed a little also..." Z said softly, biting the knuckle of his finger a bit as he thought for a while. He kneeled down a little ways a way, noty too far away, though, near enough he could help if anything was wrong. He then thought, silently Of course, it wasn't an awkward situation until -he- walked in... Silently to himself. Z sighed softly though, and he watched from his distance tentatively, almost timidly, now thinking I certainly hope it wasn't my fault... though, I doubt it... but, for once, I really don't know... he thought silently to himself. At Rory's question of her being OK, his head snapped up as he waited for Chris to answer.
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Post by Spitz on Mar 21, 2009 14:15:01 GMT -5
Daniel nodded and he looked at Roxy carefully before standing "yes, its most likely stress" he said and looked at the guys. He saw the guys were worried about her health so he gave them a smile "she will be fine, but I suggest you do your best to keep her calm. Soothing music and sometimes pets can work" he said to them and then got out a pad to write down what could help and gave it to Z. Chris was sure she would be waking up soon and then he would have to introduce himself again.
She was rather a pretty girl and he smiled but he had already met a wonderful girl, Kenya. He slowly nodded his head and then thought he had heard his patient stir but maybe it was his imagination. He crouched by her and waited for this unconscious girl to wake and start talking to them.
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Post by FalconX on Mar 21, 2009 14:30:12 GMT -5
Roxanne
Roxy could hear what was going on, a shuffling of those standing around, someone near her and then getting up, saying something that she couldn't quite make out. She fought to be able to lift her eyelids, frustrated that she couldn't get her body to do what she wanted. With all the strength she had, she fought to at least do something. She managed to move slightly, stirring as if she was just waking up from a nap. Her fingers twitched, and eyelids fluttered, but didn't open. She was finally gaining a sense of coherency. Her lips parted and small groan escaped them, a throbbing on her head causing this.
Finally, and to her great relief, she managed to open her eyes partially. Because of her current state, she wasn't able to shield her eyes from everything that she was feeling. So everything showed clearly, everything she had tried to hide before. A heart wrenching pain because of her mothers death, depression because she was getting behind in her bills, a sense of loss and confusion because of the situation that had been the final straw. Everything before her eyes finally started to focus, a man, whom she had no idea who he was, in front of her. Her eyes flickered to the side and saw Rory there, concern still obvious in his eyes. She looked around and spotted Z not far away. A dry chuckle came from her mouth. "Really, you guys worry to much." She pushed herself up, wincing as she felt the pain in her head, she touched her scalp gingerly.
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Post by Forte! on Mar 21, 2009 14:46:54 GMT -5
Rory was watching Roxy intensely, scanning for any hint of movement. just the slightest flutter of an eyelash, the parting of the lips... any slight thing that might confirm what Chris said and assure him that she would be okay. Then, he saw it. Just the slightest twitch of one finger, the twitch of one eye. He drew in a breath, waiting. Just waiting. when she groaned, he exhaled, again having forget that he had been holding his breath in the first place. "Roxy," he murmured, his voice soft, low. The worry was evident there, just quavering on the leading edge of the note. A grin crossed his face as the eyes opened, but then faded when he saw the look there. Not good. That was not a happy look. Instantly, he felt ashamed of himself, the tips of his ears flaring and averting his eyes ever-so-slightly. This was all his fault. The fault of all his rashness and brashness and idiocy. his lower lip trembled a little, as if he might cry, like some little embarrassed schoolchild. But he bit his lip and looked back up at her, obviously concerned.
"For heaven's sakes, Roxy, lie back down," he said, a bit surprised to see her sitting up. She was obviously in pain, he could see her wince and reach up. Not good. Not good at all. Fear once again seized him, and he was on the brink of, quite literally, forcing her to get back down before all the blood drained out of her head... or something... To be honest, he didn't know much about head injury. Or any injury, for that matter, that wasn't caused by a horse. "Um... that's Dr. Turner, by the way. You kinda just... collapsed..." he looked nervous, fiddling with thin air. He took his hat off and turned it around in his hands, but set it down when he remembered how he had obtained it. He was surprised to find the anger and the hurt of the previous situation again coming into his mind, albeit shoved off to a corner in his desperation to help his friend. "Er... Do you remember my name...? Or, actually, better yet, his?" he gestured vacantly towards Z. Not that it was hard to remember one letter. But at least he could be certain that it was a short-term memory.
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Post by I Am Agent Z on Mar 21, 2009 15:06:37 GMT -5
Z blinked when she stirred, and crawled up to her, looking relieved that she was alright. He looked over her for a moment. "You OK?" He asked softly, careful not to be too loud. But then was -slightly- offended, but not so much it was visible, at the fact that Rory simply reffered to his name as being so very simple-minded. It may have been a one-letter name, but it was part of a complex code for the house of detectives he worked for. Z was one of the detectives in the Zam-Wham house, which, granted, no normal person ever heard of. But, still, he was part of that house of detectives and he was proud to bear the codename of the first letter for that house, even though it was also the first letter in both his first and last name. He sighed though, let it go, ol' boy... he thought to himself. Oh well, no sense 'crying over spilt milk.' as the saying went.
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Post by FalconX on Mar 21, 2009 15:15:09 GMT -5
Roxanne
When she managed to open her eyes, she saw Z come up closer, and heard Rory and Z murmur something in soft tones. What they said, she wasn't able to hear at the point. She had just regained consciousness after all. She blinked slowly, trying to clear her pounding head. Finally, she was able to hear and see everything like normal. Though the persistent thudding of her headache didn't go away like she wished it would. She struggled to sit up, and was happy when she was finally able to obtain that much. Not that any happiness shown in her eyes. She glanced towards Rory as he told her to lay down. She bit back a comment, knowing that he was only saying that out of worry or her health. "I'm fine honest" She replied, but the comment held no merit as she reached up and touched the part of her head that throbbed.
She glanced towards the person she didn't know, just now introduced as the doctor. She offered him a tired smile. "Nice to meet you, wish we could've met under different circumstances." She looked back to Rory and then at Z, trying to gauge their reaction to everything that was happening. When Rory spoke up, she looked back towards him. She attempted to roll her eyes, but didn't succeed. "Yeah, I know you both. Satisfied?" She answered. Roxy grimaced and went to stand up, wobbling slightly as she stood.
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Post by Forte! on Mar 21, 2009 15:53:17 GMT -5
Rory cocked an eyebrow at her statement, with a quiet shake of his head. "No, you're not," he said, gently, without any hint of lingering malice towards her, "you just passed out and bumped your head. And you've been under a LOT of stress lately..." he broke off, and then chuckled. "Okay, okay. I guess I might be worse off than you at this point." He was surprised how calm Roxy was, considering what had just happened. He supposed he could depend on her for this sort of mediocrity, not showing her emotions very easily, not easily ruffled... Or, at least, he had formerly supposed that she was a constant variable. Too bad such a thing didn't really exist, he could use a giant pillar around which to wrap his arms and, perhaps, stay in one place and stop swinging wildly from anger to sorrow to... somewhere in between. He sighed. He hadn't been a whole lot of in between lately. And he was sorry for that. Right when Roxy needed him most, he had to go off and get angry at nothing and once again attempt to wrestle the life out of anything that rubbed him the wrong way. Real sunshine-y.
He stood up when she did, grasping her elbow to steady her, gently, but firm enough to let her know that if she went down again, he had her. Which would probably annoy her to no end, but he didn't care. He shook his head again when she answered his question, "Nope. Not in the least," he looked rather concerned, but some of the wild desperation in his green eyes had dulled to a mere fearful pulse. "I asked you if you remembered our names. Concussions are bad." He affirmed the last statement with a firm nod, staring her straight in the eyes as he said it. He was completely, utterly serious. "Look. If you think I'm crazy, so be it, but I'm not going to take my eyes off you until I'm absolutely sure that won't happen again when nobody's around to see it." A stubborn glint had entered his eye, as if his mind was made up. And there was no changing or challenging it. "I've pulled enough dumb stunts lately, and I'm not going to do it again."
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Post by I Am Agent Z on Mar 21, 2009 16:28:47 GMT -5
Z was watching them, realizing how much Rory must -really- have loved her. And, overcome with sorrow, he stood, his head lowered, and he walked, well, trudged, out the door. He now realized something he should have noticed long before: Roxy could never love him, they had only -just- met, after all. Rory knew her far longer than he himself had. He sighed as he started out the door. He stood outside on the deck, and looked up into the sky, realizing how long it had been since he last looked up there with such longing and wanting to do so... He then sighed, walking off the deck, deciding to go for a walk, he didn't even bother to look before he walked out onto the road, which had no sidewalks, of course, so, he had virtually no choice but to walk up on the side of the road. Maybe he would have been better off going to Vivian's and staying there. He should have known better, pretty girl like Roxy probably had a few boyfriends...
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