Colin's posts

Vincent watched her go, and sighed.

"...right." he said.

He then thought for a moment, and realized he needed to do a few things before he met up with her again, so he went to do so.

About 10 minutes later, Vincent walked into the dining room, where Madison still was. She'd opened the container and inside had been one of the most filling and tasty chicken ceasar salads she'd ever had.

"Hello once more." he greeted her.

"How was the salad?" he asked.

"Seems so." Vincent replied as he started turning on lights.

"Good." he said.

"I'm glad we managed to get out of that." he commented.

"At any rate, feel free to take a seat wherever you like and eat your salad." he told her.

"I'm going to find my first aid kit to tend to some of your injuries." he went on.

"And after that, you can see the apartment downstairs if you like." he then added.

Ryker noticed that Eke had fallen asleep... but he was still hanging onto him.

He then sighed, and gently moved himself (and Eke as well), into a laying down position. He wanted Eke to be comfortable, but he wasn't about to pull away.

Not now.

Eke was very vulnerable right now, so he needed to be there for him.

So as he slept, he just continued to gently rub is back in reassurance, hoping it might help him on some subconscious level.

"You're very welcome." Vincent replied.

With that, they arrived at the diner where Vincent stepped inside for a few minutes, returning with an impressively large takeout container with the salad in it. It wasn't obscenely large or anything, but it was a lot of food. And there was a bottle of water for her as well.

Once he was back, they left the parking lot, and made their way to a very impressive and almost imposing manor. As he parked the car and turned off the vehicle, they heard a few droplets of rain hit the roof of it.

"Come on." he told her.

"Let's get inside quickly."

Vincent just smiled again as Madison said what she did.

"Indeed." he said.

"We look forward to it every year." he told her.

"Regardless, their food is absolutely lovely." he then said.

"We'll grab the food and head back to my manor." he went on, looking skyward.

"Looks like it's going to rain pretty hard, and soon."

"....my friend and I have been through a lot. We've seen a lot." Vincent replied.

"We've seen the world at its best, at its worst." he went on.

"But we keep on living." he told her.

"No matter what kind of year we've had, we've vowed to end the year in each other's company, and start the new year in each other's company as well." he said.

"It's our little tradition. He keeps the diner open past midnight just for the two of us, so we can have that tradition."

Ryker could feel his other side wanting to take hold... wanting to help him indulge in the horrid fantasies that were playing out in his mind. And he would have given into him, had Eke not been there, sobbing, needing him.

'Later.' was all he mentally said.

He then sighed, and held Eke close.

He rubbed his little brothers back, and wrapped his free arm around his waist.

'So that's what they meant.' he then thought.

'Love is a battlefield... and sometimes... you lose that battle. And instead of a broken leg or a broken arm... you get a broken heart.'

Ryker's eyes narrowed, and he gritted his teeth when he heard that, as he returned the hug and held Eke close.

"Bitch." he said.

"Worthless social climber." he said further, venom in his tone.

"I hate her kind." he growled.

"So much." he stated.

"They are nothing more than a smear and a blight on this planet."

Vincent just laughed in response.

"Oh, plenty." he told her.

"I'd say for every 5 people that like me, 1 person doesn't." he said.

"Which... isn't a BAD ratio, but I know a LOT of people." he then muttered.

"But those that don't like me tend to not associate with me, so I'm lucky in that regard." he then added with a shrug.

"And yeah, the man that owns the diner is an old friend of mine, so everyone there knows me, due to my going there to meet up with him for coffee." he explained to her.

"Heck, we do it every December 31st." he added with a small, wistful, nostalgic smile.

Vincent thought for a moment, and nodded with a smirk.

"I know just the place." he said.

"It's a diner. No drive-thru, but it's open late, they make things to go, and they make a mean chicken ceasar salad." he told her, before gesturing to the phone in one of the cup holders.

"PIN for the phone is '1230'." he told her.

He then told her the phone number for the diner.

"Tell them you want a large, with a bottle of water, and tell them it's for Vincent Remmington." he went on.

"They know me there."

"................." Ryker was silent as he saw what Eke did.

'....I can only guess how the night went...' he thought.

He then sighed quietly, and made his way over towards Eke.

He sat down beside him on the bed... and laid a hand on his back.

He was silent, figuring words weren't needed right now.

What WAS needed, was for Eke to know his brother was there for him.

"I may have gotten weird advice." Ryker admitted.

"Regardless, just go for it, kid." he told Eke.

"I'll be back here waitin' for ya." he said further.

"Good luck out there." he went on, before giving Eke a quick hug.

"Make her swoon."

"....understandable." Vincent replied.

The two of them then got into the vehicle, and buckled up.

"Right." he said, starting the car.

"Do you want me to grab you something to eat on the way there?" he asked her.

"As in, from a drive-thru or the like?" he clarified.

"If so, what would you like?" he then inquired as they pulled out of the school parking lot.

".........." Vincent was silent as he looked at Madison, and the injuries she seemed to have sustained.

"Madison...?" he said quietly, before shaking his head.

"Yes." he replied.

"Yes I do." he told her.

"Nobody's been interested at all, probably because I live a little out of the way." he said, pretty much outright lying. But she didn't need to know that.

He DID live out of the way, but that wasn't the reason for the lack of interest.

"I assume you're looking to rent it." he went on.

"If you like, you can come and see it tonight, and if you like it, you can move in right away." he told her further.