Colin's posts

"Good." Rene said.

"Bout time he received a taste of his own medicine." he told her.

"Dunno if you've been told or not, but he doesn't have that dagger any longer." he then informed her.

"Jaden had it from the attack at your apartment, gave it to his mother, and she's dealing with it." he continued.

"So, at the very least, you won't have THAT threat looming around." he reasoned.

"He no longer has that accursed blade."

"Mmhmm." Rene mumbled.

"Well, we're working on it." he told her.

"Heard a rumour that there's someone out there actively trying to find Deryck and your mother, and deal with them." he said further.

"And no, I don't know anything beyond that." he then stressed.

"It's just something a contact of mine told me." he said.

"So at the very least, looks like they've pissed off someone who intends to seek their own brand of justice."

Rene then sighed heavily.

"Yeah, well." he said.

"You've never slept well." he muttered.

"To you, sleeping's always meant letting your guard down, which Deryck has taken advantage of. A lot." he growled.

"So it doesn't surprise me." he shrugged.

"As long as you're getting enough so that you won't start to deteriorate mentally and physically, that's all I'm asking." he said further. "It's all I've learned to ask for." he added.

Rene just sighed.

"Fair, I guess." he replied.

"And he DID sound a little... uneasy." he admitted.

"But he should be fine on the patio." he reasoned.

"And you'll be fine as well." he added.

"So how have things been for you while here? This incident aside."

They heard nothing more, except for the balcony door opening and closing.

"Welp, he's gone for now." Rene said.

"And I'll help clean." he told Desiree.

"Blood stains. Heavily." he muttered. "So I'll pitch in." he reasoned, as he gave Desiree a small local, and started to work.

"...admittedly, things must be going okay, relatively speaking, if THIS is why I'm being called in." he then told her. "Usually I'm called in for when you've been assaulted by your brother, and I feared that had happened, seeing as all Jaden told me was that you were injured and he could smell a lot of blood."

"Sure thing." Rene responded.

"Jaden! You good!?" he then called to Jaden.

"I'm fine!" Jaden responded, though they could hear his voice shake a little. "Is Desiree okay!?" he asked.

"Cut herself pretty badly while making something, but fine!" Rene responded.

"...so she wasn't attacked by her brother again?" Jaden then inquired.

"Thankfully, no." Rene replied.

"Oh. Well, good." Jaden said. "I'm just going to spend some time on the balcony." he finished.

Rene grimaced a bit.

"Eesh." he muttered.

He then quickly made his way over, and looked at her wound, before nodding.

"Yep, gonna need stitches." he told her.

He then caused a bubble of water to form around her wound, and opened the bag he brought.

"You want to go to OLA? Or stay here?" he asked.

"I can treat it right here if you'd prefer."

Jaden didn't waste time.

He immediately called Rene, and the conversation lasted about 20 seconds, before it was ended.

"He'll be here in 30 seconds." he said.

He then paused and bit his lip. He was scared to ask what had happened, and could guess, anyway. He then opened his mouth to say something further, when a water bubble appeared a few feet in front of him, and then popped, revealing Rene.

"Desiree!?" he called out.

"Where are you!?"

He froze when he smelled the blood. It was clear as day.

And he could smell a lot of it.

"Hey!" he called out.

"You responded! You know I'm here! And can hear me!" he called further.

"Do you need medical help!?" he asked.

"Should I call Rene here!?"

"Hm." Jaden muttered. "I see." he said, figuring it was because of how her life had gone, and how she was probably just naturally scared and wary of letting her guard down so much because of her family.

"Well... hopefully that changes." he said further.

"Sleep is good for you." he reasoned.

"But I'm sure you know that." he shrugged.

"I just hope you feel safe and comfortable here."

"Okay, fair." Jaden replied.

"If you want to connect them to the TV, you can do that too if you want." he offered.

"Basically, feel free to treat this place like your own." he summarised. "I can be pretty laid back with that sort of thing. And from what I can tell of you so far, you're a neat person, so I won't regret saying that." he said.

"Oh, and my bedroom is clearly a no-no without my say so." he then stated.

"I know it's obvious, but... figured I should just add that anyway." he shrugged.

"...oh and you had me mention the hours I keep in terms of sleep, what are YOURS?" he asked her. "Just so I know, and can make attempts to not potentially bother you." he reasoned.

Jaden nodded in response.

"I figured." he said.

"Anyway, oh yeah, and feel free to watch whatever you want on TV." he told her.

"I get ALL the channels, so... yeah. Watch whatever you see is interesting." he continued.

"Even pay-per-views and such. No limits." he went on.

"My TV package is... premium." he chuckled.

Jaden raised an eyebrow.

"Yourself?" he asked.

Inside, he was about ready to explode on how improper that would be, but he realised that he didn't need to overload and scare her right now. He'd save that for later, at a better time, when she was more comfortable, and he was calmer.

"....fair enough." he said.

"Anyway." he muttered.

"I hope you'll sleep well here tonight, at least." he told her.

"The couch is one of the most comfortable ones I could get."

"Oh?" Jaden asked.

"Hmmm." he mumbled.

"I know a stylish that is absolutely brilliant." he told her.

"Seriously, she's a miracle worker. If you want, I can get her in touch with you." he offered.

"She'll make you feel SO pampered." he added with a smile.