Colin's posts

Rene just chuckled in response.

"Naw." he replied.

"That's never been a skill that I've needed to acquire." he assured her.

"Besides, those locks are built to resist picking. The brand is considered one of the best in home security." he said further. "So you're good." he told her further.

"At any rate, feel free to explore the place, learn where everything is." he said.

"And if you hear any mewling, it'll be the strays outside."

"That's fair enough." Rene responded.

He then continued to work on the lock, finishing up the installation, and checking it over.

"Right." he said.

"Here you go." he told her, handing her the pair of keys that had come with the lock.

"Let's test it out." he said. The two of them then made their way to the door, and he stepped outside the room. Kalin then closed the door and locked it. When she said she did, Rene tried to open the door, even trying to force himself into the door to try and break the lock off the wall.

"Seems solid on this end." he commented through the closed door.

Rene just smiled.

"I understand." he said.

"I'll make a note to have some stuff specifically for you." he told her.

"Like, other proteins and such." he clarified.

"Oh, and is the bed comfortable?" he asked. "I know a waterbed isn't for everyone."

"You're welcome." Rene replied.

"And fair warning, I DO tend to order out a lot." he told her.

"Actually... hm, that's not entirely accurate." he then said.

"I eat in more than I order in or go out or whatever, but it's a LOT of fish and seafood." he clarified. "And if you're not big on that, or get tired of that stuff quickly, let me know." he said further.

"I'll either make sure you have funds to order in for yourself, or stock some things specifically for you." he continued.

"That all right?" he asked.

"Which is probably why I wouldn't forgive myself if I'd let things be." Rene responded.

"It really isn't fair that you be thrown into such a treacherous pit in life, without anyone offering a rope." he said.

"And, as fate would have it, that person happened to be me." he went on.

"..." he was then silent, as he went back to installing the lock.

"...and maybe this is for me as well, a chance to start to pay back my past..." he mumbled, remembering what Kalin's mother had said to him.

Rene was silent, before just sighing.

"Well, the short answer is 'because I can'..." he said.

"The longer answer has a lot of variables, some of which even -I- don't know." he admitted.

"I suppose a big contributing factor is that I can't stand to see someone with a bright future ahead of them get forcibly pushed down by those with greater power." he said. "People say that unfairness is a part of life, and bad things happen to good people, but I say screw that." he went on.

"I do what I can to help those I can. But in your case... I dunno, I just feel like if I let things alone with you, I'd never forgive myself." he admitted further.

"Plus, I have... well... let's just say my savings is... sizeable." he then said.

"This REALLY doesn't hurt me financially. Not even slightly."

Rene laughed in response.

"Yes, indeed, coffee really helped me through med school." he told her.

He then brought the coffee over to the endtable by her bed, and set it down. He looked at the lock, before opening it and examining it.

"Yep, gonna need a screwdriver." he mumbled, setting it back down.

He then disappeared from the room for a couple of minutes, returning with the tools he needed.

"Feel free to personalize your desktop computer while I install this." he told her, making his way to the door and taking some measurements.

After a few minutes of her taking in the room, she heard Rene come up the stairs. And she smelled something as well. Something that smelled like... caffeine.

When he stepped into the doorway, she saw he was carrying a tray with some coffee on it, as well as sugar and flavoured creams.

"Figured I'd bring you some coffee." he told her.

"What do you think of the room?" he asked, before noticing she had been looking at the lock.

"And want me to install that for you?"

"Well, that's your prerogative." Rene told her.

"But for now, feel free to go and check out your room." he said.

"Lemme know if anything needs to be changed or altered." he told her further.

When Kalin went upstairs, she saw more than she could have hoped for.

The room was quite sizable, with a queen-sized bed in the corner. There was a dresser with a mirror on it, as well as some drawers, and a door to a closet. There was also a computer desk and a rolling office chair... with a top-line desktop computer on it for her. The decor was as she said she liked, with punk and goth highlights and decorations.

And then she noticed an unopened door lock on the bed, two keys included, with a note beside it.

In case you want more security. Let me know if you want help installing it. it read.

"Well, as long as you can manage." Rene responded.

"Feel free to get acquainted with the place." he told her.

"And I hope you don't mind cats." he said.

"Strays tend to hang around my place, and they meow when they're hungry, despite whether I feed them or not." he muttered.

"Can't bring myself to call animal control, though." he then said with a heavy sigh.

"Well, hopefully you won't need to be used to it for long." Rene told her.

They then made their way inside, and Rene sighed when he closed the door behind him.

"Sadly, all the bedrooms are upstairs." he said.

"If you want, I can try and convert one of the rooms down here." he offered.

"But right now, upstairs is where your room is."

"Yes, human bodies DO need to process a fair amount to function." Rene agreed.

"And no problem." he told her.

"I'm happy to help." he said.

The rest of the drive was in relative silence, with the odd small talk here and there, before they pulled up to the familiar townhouse.

"Gimme a sec." he told her, getting out of the vehicle, getting the crutch, and helping Kalin out of the car.

"I can do chick-fil-a." Rene told her.

"Not a problem at all." he said.

With that, he made his way to the closest restaurant, and made sure he got her plenty. A couple of chicken burgers, some waffle fries, a salad, and pop to drink.

"Feel free to eat in the car." he told her.

"I don't mind." he said, as they pulled away and got back on the road.

"Just be careful with the drink." he chuckled.

"Done deal." Rene told her as they drove out of the parking garage.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Burger? Pizza? Chicken? Anything else?" he asked her further.

"The nice thing about this city is that you can get anything, and it'll be pretty damn good." he chuckled, as he drove down the street they were on.

"So... no limits." he finished with a light chuckle.