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Post by Matilda Stone on Jun 15, 2009 12:04:14 GMT -5
{Mid BD - After New Beginnings}
As Matt sat in Laurie’s car, after their debacle of a first date, it was all that she could do to stare resolutely at the dashboard in front of her, concentrating hard to stop threatening tears from falling. She felt so ashamed of what had happened, ashamed, freaked out, a edging of fear, but mostly she felt guilty for spoiling what had all the promises of a wonderful night. And it had been going so perfectly, but what chance did she have of seeing him again now? Why would someone so nice and good as Laurie want to date someone like her? A tell-tale frown pulled her dark brows down a little, the sparkle that had set her eyes alight earlier in the night completely faded.
It was impossible for her to get anywhere near comfortable in the car with all her muscles all tensed to straining point, so opposed to their journey to the restaurant. She couldn’t believe that this had happened after so long, but maybe that’s what she got for assuming it was over and trying to move on. Perhaps she was being punished for her harsh words to Taz on that overwrought evening a few weeks ago. She thought back to other times that she had thought she had seen her ex-boyfriend over the last few weeks since they had parted from each other and wondered if he had been following her all that time. A shiver rattled her shoulders and she forced herself to change her line of thought.
There was someone else more important to her now than Rory had ever been, sat right next to her being the paragon of an amazing person. If only she had met him a few months ago instead of the other guy. She twisted her hands together anxiously in her lap, breathing in very controlled bursts to stop her tears from escaping. There was no way that Laurie wanted to deal with this, no way that this could be considered the be a ‘good time’, but she hoped with all her heart that he had been having as good at a time as she before the incident.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, very quietly, but as loudly as she could muster at that moment, glancing over at the blonde doctor as she did so. Her heart wrenched horribly as she considered the prospect of him taking her back to La Push right now and forgetting about her. She didn’t think she would ever be able to forget him even if they had only spent a few hours in each others’ exclusive company.
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Post by Laurence Chambers on Jun 16, 2009 12:11:10 GMT -5
Laurence felt a mixture of emotions as they sat silently in his car as they left the restaurant in Port Angeles. The night, their first day, something that was supposed to be special and memorable, had ended up being a nightmare. Laurie felt guilty. He was the one who had suggested they go to Port Angeles for the date and he had picked the restaurant. If he had picked another one, maybe Rory wouldn’t have shown up?
Laurie hated that their date had gone so badly. How could Matt want to see him again after this had so many bad memories brought up. She obviously hadn’t enjoyed herself so why would she want to see him again? This was his one chance to really impress her and he blew it. He knew the date had started out well, even if they were both a bit nervous at the start of it. But now, it was just a disaster.
As he thought over the evening, mostly the incident with Rory, he wondered if there was more that he should’ve done. He hated that Matt had to deal with that but wondered if she had expected more out of him. Maybe he didn’t say enough to defend her. Maybe she wanted him to just immediately get her out of that situation and take her somewhere else. Had he not been quick enough to act? He had so many doubts in his mind, but mostly his heart went out to Matt. He just wanted to hold her and tell her how sorry he was that everything had gone wrong today and beg her for another chance.
Laurie turned his head as he heard her apologize. He wasn’t expecting that from her at all and shook his head completely confused. “No” He told her, looking back to the road. “You have nothing to be sorry for. That wasn’t your fault.” He told her. “I’m sorry it wasn’t a better first date…I should have taken you someplace else”
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Post by Matilda Stone on Jun 16, 2009 20:59:31 GMT -5
Matt’s dark eyes swept up to Laurence’s face as she registered the ‘no’ that he said in response to her apology and for a moment she looked wounded. Her mind had instantly assumed that the negative was a rejection of her apology and she suddenly wondered if he was mad at her for dragging him into it. She wouldn’t blame him if he was, she remembered Leo’s anger when she first told him about it all and he was her brother, not a man on a date with her who probably had no desire to be mixed up in this awful affair. Then again, she didn’t want to be either, that was what the cutting ties with Taz and him was all about, but maybe it wasn’t all that easy to cut the past away like that.
She continued to look at the stunningly handsome profile of his face framed with equally beautiful blonde hair as Laurie drove and continued to speak. His follow up words served to calm her a little anyway, in one way, and she immediately felt bad that he felt partially responsible for her bad time. Now that she had fastened her eyes upon his form, Matt couldn’t pull them away, knowing that this might be the last journey they would take together. She pulled her hands away from each other, to stop the anxious twisting and stared up at the doctor.
“The date part of the date was perfect,” she offered, though the thickness of unshed tears and emotion in her voice made her worry that she sounded down on the whole thing. She extended her left hand and touched his elbow in an extremely soft manner, making sure that it wouldn’t disrupt his driving, but also worried that he wouldn’t appreciate the contact from her now. She needed to make him know that everything he did and had done was perfect, though, that, from what she had seen so far she could call him ‘perfect’ with certainty.
“The restaurant was great, the food was amazing, your company… I loved it, really, I did, but…” she frowned, sitting back in her seat again and twisting her fingers once more to exercise some of the resurging anxious tension. “I – I don’t think… I don’t think it would have stopped him…” she sucked in a long, shaky breath, her defences crumbling as she tried to reassure her companion. “I-if it had been somewhere else… I thought I was being paranoid…”
The frown on Matt’s face deepened now as a stray tear or two escaped and slid down her cheek and she allowed her hair to fall between them, swiping the offending water away, hoping that Laurie hadn’t seen it. Her stomach twisted into awful knots as she contemplated what she had just said and what it meant and she thought of what Rory had actually been saying to her. If only she had been nicer to Taz and given in, like she always did, this would never have happened. She brought one of her hands down and gripped the seat beside her, trying to steel herself.
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Post by Laurence Chambers on Jul 12, 2009 22:59:25 GMT -5
Laurie was finding it hard to come up with many things to say to her right now while still keeping his anger in check. The last thing he wanted to do now was start getting angry and have her believe it was her fault, or worse yet, be as scared by him as she was by Rory when he had shown up. Laurie wanted the chance to show her how different he was. That he wasn't someone who would ever treat her that way, but he was afraid the ruined first date had nixed any chance he'd have to show her anything else.
Laurie looked over at her with surprise as she told him that the date part of their date was perfect. How she could even distinguish the two was surprising to him. "I wanted it to be perfect" He told her, his eyes still apologetic. "I'm sorry I couldn't prevent the rest, or stop it soon enough.."
He would have smiled as she complimented the restaurant and his company if he hadn't still felt the guilt of the way the evening turned out. He wanted to believe that she really had enjoyed herself at least part of the time. He knew that he had. "You weren't being paranoid" He assured her as she mentioned not thinking the location mattered.
Laurie looked over and saw her reach up brushing what he could only assume was a tear from her cheek, hidden by her hair, that hair that she had hid behind when he first saw her at the clinic. His heart broke as he watched her, wanting to hold her and protect her from all harm. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked her, wondering if that would help or just make it worse. "He's the reason we met before, isn't he...? " He said hoping she didn't have more than one person like this in her life.
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Post by Matilda Stone on Aug 23, 2009 21:49:58 GMT -5
Laurie’s quietness was making Matt’s paranoid assumption that the ill-fated date had put him off her for good worse. She couldn’t read his expression very well in profile, she didn’t really know him well enough to take more than an educated guess when she had a proper view of him and the thought made her heart sink. She wanted to see more of him, she wanted to be able to gauge his moods from a glance and to know his mannerisms better than her own – stupid desires for a girl on a very much failed first date. Maybe if she reassured him about the good time that she had been having with him before Rory turned up, maybe that would make him see her in a more positive light – not just as some stupid teenager that can’t shake some other stupid teenager.
“Don’t worry about it,” she responded, bowing her head a little, feeling her throat clog up with emotion again, though now it was a mixture of shocked fear (that was fallout from the night’s events) and a slight tingling pleasure (caused by Laurie’s concerned, apologetic eyes and tone). She tilted her head a little and attempted to lighten her thick voice.
“It’s not your fault, Laurie,” she said gently, a sudden longing to reach out and touch his cheek making her hand tingle. “I should have stopped it myself,” she uttered, her tone making her sound much older than her eighteen years in that moment. A long time ago she added to herself, frowning as the dismal horror of what occurred swept over her again. I wasn’t being paranoid, she repeated to herself in her head and she failed to stifle a freaked out shudder.
Matt nodded, dismally, causing the curtain of dark hair to jiggle between them and she poked it behind her ear once she was satisfied that the tears were effectively erased from her face. She sighed deeply to herself before turning her head to look at her date for the first time in quite some time. “He is,” she told him, her tone now dull. “But you don’t want to hear that story just yet, it’s probably not first date material and I don’t want to ruin your day more than I already have – let’s just say… he’s hard to shake.”
She sniffed again, trying to stop the last few months’ events from overwhelming her again, now remembering the crazy mess she turned into when she spoke to Leo about all this. She didn’t want to appear so helpless before her date, but the fates seemed to want to humiliate her before him for some reason. She pressed her palms into her eyes sockets as she felt more tears well behind them. How could things have gotten so messy so quickly?
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Post by Laurence Chambers on Aug 25, 2009 14:54:23 GMT -5
Even as Matt tried to reassure him that the disaster of a night that their first date was, wasn't his fault, Laurie still felt guilty and bore the weight of the events that occured. He was sure there would have been a way to prevent it. Or at least he should have been man enough to get Rory out of their sight before anything happened to upset her. He hadn't done enough.
"It's not your fault either" Laurie tried to assure her as she in turn said how she should have stopped it. They were a well matched pair both wanting to take on the blame. He wondered if she could see that too, or if she just wanted to forget everything about this night, including him.
Laurie glanced over with a little relieve as he saw the curtain of hair that seperated them moved to the side, as she moved it behind her ear, so that he could see her face. She was letting down one wall, however small. He gave a nod as she confirmed that Rory was the one who had hurt her before. He felt the anger rising up in his chest again but tried to keep it at bay, anger didnt have a place around Matt. She was too good for that.
"You haven't ruined my day, and I think we've already gone beyond the norms of first date material" He told her with a light smile hoping to make things easier. "But if you'd rather not discuss it, I wont pry"
He heard the light sniff and fought back the urge to stop the car and reach over and hug her. He wanted to be able to comfort her, to take her into his arms, but he knew they weren't at that stage yet, no matter how much he already liked this girl.
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Post by Matilda Stone on Sept 15, 2009 7:52:49 GMT -5
Matt managed a weak, rather watery, smile as Laurie tried to reassure her that it wasn’t her fault anymore than it was his. She would have liked to have believed that, but something like this had been a long time coming; she knew that she should have taken some kind of stand later. Or dropped her stand against Taz, as the case might be. She wondered how she was even going to broach that in the next few days; surely the girl would know that she was being insincere?
Her thoughts didn’t continue down this route for long though, just a couple of moments. She realised, with an unpleasant shock, that this could be the last she saw of Laurie unless she was ill. And even then he might request not to treat her if he had personal history with her and resented her mistakes. She glanced across at him, her gaze not quite making it to his face. She somehow couldn’t picture him holding a grudge like that, but she could see how this would all be too complicated for anyone to voluntarily want to be bothered with.
“I guess we have,” she agreed, a soft smile of her own reciprocating the gesture from the man next to her once she had managed to get herself back under some semblance of control. Somehow to comment made her feel better, even though she knew that he was probably just trying to make her feel better, despite her experience with Rory and his infidelity, she couldn’t quite imagine Laurie lying to her, or even just placating her.
“It’s not that complicated really,” she began, falteringly. She actually had no idea how complicated it was, every time she thought over the situation she was confused, but when she put it into the wider realm of things that happened to people it didn’t seem so bad. She took a deep breath, pushing down a rising feeling nausea that came with divulging this humiliating situation.
“Basically, he cheated on me… a lot, but I didn’t know that until I caught him with Taz, my best, well, ex-best friend,” keeping her eyes level at the dashboard so that she could pretend she wasn’t actually talking, she also kept her tone and voice even and clipped. Telling the facts as they stood. Still, though that could stop her voice from shaking, it couldn’t stop the silent tears washing through her eyes. “So I broke up with him, took back his stuff,” she gestured up to her scar. “You saw the result of that. I spoke to Taz, she didn’t agree with me and I guess… she told him. So now I suppose I’ll have to befriend her again…”
She stopped talking and pressed her lips together, frowning. Turning her eyes swiftly to Laurie she gave him an apologetic look as she pressed one of her hands over her convulsing stomach. “Do you mind if we pull over for… a minute?” She really hoped she didn’t vomit, that would just be a perfect end to the night.
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Post by Laurence Chambers on Sept 20, 2009 21:46:30 GMT -5
Though Laurie tried to convince her that what happened today hadn't been her fault, he wasn't sure he got through to her. He could see out of the corner of his eye as he drove that she looked over, and wished he could know what she was thinking. As much as she still felt guilty about the night, he still felt there was more that he should have been able to do for her to keep her from the jerk of an ex who had showed up.
He was grateful even for the smallest of things, that she returned his smile as he mentioned about them already being beyond the norms of a first date. He listened quietly as she explained that it wasn't that complicated. He looked over and could see how uncomfortable even talking about it made her. He listened to her recount how he had cheated on her and his stomach turned over, vividly knowing that feeling all too well. He knew it had to be worse for her, with her best friend, and of course the abuse on top of it, but he did understand some of her pain. "She's an idiot" He replied without thinking as she told him about her friend's reaction. "And he doesnt even deserve to be in the same room with you with how he's treated you"
Laurie looked over as he saw her head move quickly towards him, a look of urgency in her eyes as she asked if he would pull over. He nodded and quickly put on his blinker. "Of course" He told her slowing the car to a stop by the side of the road. He knew this was probably for the best, that they not be moving while they have this talk. He also knew that with her honesty, she deserved to know about his past as well. First date material or not, he didnt think it right for him to keep it hidden.
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Post by Matilda Stone on Sept 21, 2009 13:46:57 GMT -5
Matt’s stoical stare at the dashboard faltered a little as he heard the reaction come from her left, it shook her from her isolation field. Biting her lip, she nodded once, in no disagreement, but her betrayal still hurt. Even the little betrayal of telling her precious boyfriend about what she had told her hurt her when added to the larger one still fresh in her memory. She still couldn’t believe that she had judged her character so wrongly. She shook herself from the self-pitying reverie in time to hear Laurie’s comment about Rory. That she could agree with more verbally.
“I know,” she said, frowning, pulling her mouth into a fraction of a half smile, even if it was a little strained. “Pity I couldn’t have worked that out sooner, huh? Maybe then they wouldn’t have met and…” Her frown intensified a little and she shook her head, trying to dislodge thoughts of what might have happened if things had happened differently. She didn’t know what she would do or how she would react if Taz ended up in the same situation as she, partly because she was still too angry, but she had the feeling that she would feel a little guilt.
“Never mind. I’ll just call Taz, tell her I was wrong and hopefully that’ll make her happy enough to let it go, or at least for him to let it go…” she trailed off a little, her voice dull. She could feel this getting her into some rut, but she didn’t see any alternative. She might have to keep the friendship under duress, but maybe she’d be able to make other friends some day. She didn’t really know yet.
“Thank you,” she said, quietly as her date said he would pull over and did so. As soon as the car stopped, she opened the door a crack, allowing a cool breeze to filter through, the icy air clearing her head a little. She breathed deeply for a moment or two and then turned to look at the handsome blonde next to her, a guilty expression on her face. “I’m so sorry… I swear I’m usually way more fun, barring… stuff.”
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Post by Laurence Chambers on Oct 6, 2009 21:07:17 GMT -5
Laurie hated speaking ill of anyone, always trying to look for the best in people, especially when he didnt know them, but he couldnt help his reaction after hearing about her situation. Anyone who could hurt Matt was an idiot and a jerk, and a lot of other words that weren't suitable to be voiced in front of a lady, which is how Laurie viewed her.
"As hard as it is, you can't live in the past with thinking of what you could have done differently" Laurie said softly. "All you can do is change the future, and get the negative people out of your life. You deserve so much more than that" He told her, still wondering if after tonight if he'd be one of those people still in her life or if he'd have too many negative memories associated with him.
Laurie was shocked to hear Matt say she would call her friend and tell her she was wrong. "Matt, you shouldnt have to do something like that, they're the ones who should be calling you telling you they're sorry and that they've made horrible mistakes" He said, hoping she wouldnt go down that path and demean herself.
He pulled over as soon as she requested and watched as she quickly opened the door for fresh air. He was quiet for a few moments, letting her get the air she needed and calm a bit. "You have nothing to apologize for...maybe we'll just stay here and talk a minute...at least now we can't get interupted" He said with a slight smile knowing Rory couldnt just barge in on them now, even if he pulled over to the side of the road Laurie could get away before he even got a word in.
"With everything you've been through and have told me tonight...I think there's something you should know" Laurie said tentatively. "I didnt think it was good first date material but we're past that I guess"
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Post by Matilda Stone on Oct 19, 2009 7:52:50 GMT -5
Matt turned to meet Laurie’s eyes, or at least his profile, as they sat in the car. He was voicing things that she knew herself, inside, but things that were way easier said than done, and even easier thought than said aloud. It was comforting, though, to have him tell her such things in that calm, exotically accented voice of his. She realised as she listened to him speak, that she was already doing it, that night she was out on a date with someone new and actually nice (she hoped, and she hadn’t yet lost all faith in her ability to find nice people). A flicker of a smile flashed itself to her companion.
“I know,” she said, quietly, fiddling nervously with her watch strap as she wondered whether this would make her sound too big-headed. “I guess a part of tonight was forgetting about the last year and starting again.” She made her tone as optimistic as she could, though she couldn’t help but ponder over how the year didn’t want to leave her behind just yet. She really didn’t want to drag Laurie into this, though; she didn’t want him to be a part of that.
Now Matt met her potential boyfriend’s gaze with the guilt of knowing his wisdom, but having no way out. She honestly didn’t see what she could possibly do. If she didn’t do as he had ‘so politely asked’ she knew that he wouldn’t leave her be until she did; at least if she acquiesced to his will then there was some chance that she could get on with minimal contact. Her fingers curled around the lap part of the seatbelt as she resisted the urge to just cave in – the nervous breakdown look was one that she didn’t want to show off to this man that she was attracted to just yet.
“I know,” she almost whispered, once again unintentionally admitting the cycle of what had been happening for the last few months. She knew she should find the way out, she just couldn’t quite find it. She neutralised her gaze to the dashboard again. “They have, and they should, but they won’t. Rory’s not so easily dissuaded from a task once he’s gotten worked up about it… It’s just easier if I make a show of it. Don’t worry, though, no one else has to get involved.”
Once they were pulled over and a few breezes of chilled air had cleared her head a little and soothed her hot eyes, Matt turned to Laurie once more, better able to keep up. She returned his small smile, knowing that she would enjoy the few minutes of stillness and the security of knowing that they were alone. “I’d like that.”
“Definitely past that,” she confirmed, turning her attention fully to the blonde man, pushing all her tumultuous problems to the back of her mind as she focused upon him. She wondered what kind of issue he had kept back and she immediately felt guilty for being so self-pitying. She worried a little that he had a wife and child back in New York, or even Australia, but she couldn’t see Laurie doing that to someone – he didn’t seem the type to cheat. “What is it?”
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Post by Laurence Chambers on Nov 2, 2009 23:30:07 GMT -5
Despite everything that had happened, Matt still managed to give a little hint of a smile to him, something he cherished, not knowing if after tonight he'd get the chance to see it again. He frowned a little as she said how tonight was supposed to be about forgetting the last year and starting again. "I'm sorry tonight probably didnt help much with forgetting" He said knowing the interuption had just brought back all those memories for her.
As Laurie saw the look in Matt's eyes, looking at him guiltily, he felt horrible for the way he had spoken, having not wanted to come off as though he was telling her how she should live her own life, as if he would know any better. But despite the look, she seemed to agree with him in her next few words. "I do worry about you...you just shouldn't have to do that, it's not right after what they've done"
Once they pulled over things seemed a bit calmer, though Laurie was still worried about her, and wishing he could do more to help her. He nodded as she said how she'd like it if they stayed there for a little while to talk alone. "I'd like it too" He told her. Laurie nodded as she confirmed that they were definitely past first date norms. He was nervous about revealing his past to her, thinking it would be overwhelming and only highlight their age difference, but with all that he knew of her past, he only thought it fair that he let her know of the baggage he brought with him as well.
"I think with all of this, its only right that you know that I understand what you're going through" Laurie told her, trying to figure out the right words, having not planned on telling her tonight and not sure he'd say anything the right way. "Not the abuse of course, but..." He took a deep breath deciding to start from the beginning. "When I was in New York, in medical school, I got engaged...I was in love. We decided to wait until after the wedding..." He said getting a bit embarrassed at revealing this personal detail but knowing she deserved the full story without the details being omitted "We both got residency placements at the same hospital in New York, it was supposed to be the perfect life...2 months before the wedding I walked in on her cheating on me with our attending physician in the on call room. " He told her trying to state it factually to keep himself from getting too lost in the pain of the memories. "It wasn't my best friend, but I know what betrayl's like...and I'm sorry you've had to feel that too"
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Post by Matilda Stone on Nov 5, 2009 8:59:42 GMT -5
“It was just the end of it,” Matt responded to Laurie’s commiserations for the state of the night so far. As she thought about it in that moment she realised that the interruption was actually such a small part of the night; she was still ecstatic about spending time with the attractive doctor, she still wanted to impress him and make him want to see her again. However, it was a short moment as she thought on about what it could mean, that small interruption: it could have made Laurie think that she was just too complicated to be bothered with, it could mean that Rory’s stalking and abusive antics weren’t over, that she would always have to look over her shoulder. A small shudder ran over her shoulders and she forced her mind to blank out on the subject before she scared herself silly.
She shrugged a little in a defeatist, touched by Laurie’s worry for her and impressed by his moralistic attitude. If she had a way to avoid it, she would. At that moment she never wanted to see or hear from Taz again, not only because of the hurt in having her best friend steal her boyfriend (the least hurtful aspect, being that she had been looking to get out of that relationship for weeks), but because she didn’t take her advice when she’d told her just how bad Rory was. She’d hoped to save her friend from the same fate that she’d had, but that clearly wasn’t going to happen.
Matt mustered a more natural smile, somehow becoming more smitten with the doctor on the drive home, happy that they would be able to have some guaranteed time together without interruption. She wondered if it was right, though, falling for a man in this kind of situation… something she wouldn’t give any further thought to just then. “Thank you.”
She looked at him curiously, trying to keep any suspicion from her face and attempting to keep her breathing rate semi-normal. She knew that she liked this man, but on the brink of finding out a secret that could possibly destroy any chance of them being together, she knew she wouldn’t be able to deal with a quasi-break-up. However, the instant that he told her that he understood her position for a reason, her tensed expression melted into sympathy, forgetting her own current pain and empathising with what he had gone through.
As he told his sad story, Matt’s sympathy for him only increased, feeling more sorry for him than for herself, even though she was benefiting from the other girl’s infidelity being with him now. Still, she hadn’t been anywhere near in love with Rory, she hadn’t even contemplated the idea, she’d never written ‘Matilda Au Yeung’ on any of her schoolbooks, nor had she even really talked about him to anyone – friends or family. She’d never been in love with anyone, but she was empathic enough to know that if he had been then it must have hurt more than any of the little physical mishaps that had befallen her in her ‘relationship’ with Rory.
Facing him as he got to the end of his tale, twisting her body so that she was completely open to him, she reached out and put a comforting hand on his arm, without consciously meaning to do so. Her widened dark eyes took her companion in, she shook her head a little. “I don’t know how anyone could do that to you,” she told him, sincerely. She bit her lip, “I was never in love with him, though. I can’t imagine what that would be like… I’m so sorry.” She leant towards him a little automatically, her caring side fully intending to make him feel better with a hug, but she stopped herself before the urge came into effect, knowing that it might be too soon for that kind of contact – and also that it might be a bit weird for him after having just told the story of his ex-fiancée.
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Post by Laurence Chambers on Nov 15, 2009 17:33:01 GMT -5
Laurie was relieved to hear that it was only the end part of their night that Matt saw as bad. He didn't want their enjoyable night before that completely tainted by Rory, and knew that if that was all she could remember of their time together, she probably wouldnt want to attempt a repeat of tonight, but somehow she managed to seperate that event from the rest of it.
"You're welcome" Laurie replied with a light smile of his own to her thanks. He knew that nothing he had done yet had even deserved her thanks. It was just how she should be treated, with respect and kindness from everyone around her.
Laurie could feel his nervousness building as he got ready to tell her of his past. It was something he knew would come out but had been hoping to keep away from the first date. Talk of ex-fiances wasn't exactly the type of conversation that usually drew a girl in. Neither was admitting to being a virgin as a man his age. He didnt want to seem to have too much baggage, that added on to their age gap would be too overwhelming for her when she was already getting out of a complicated relationship. As much as he wanted to ignore his past, he knew it wouldnt be right for him to listen to hers come out, secrets she probably would rather leave hidden as well, and act as though he had no idea what the situation was like when they both shared something similar. It may make him look worse, but he had to let her know.
As he told his story, he was almost afraid to look in her eyes, afraid to see her slowly realizing that his past had more issues than she wanted to deal with, that she needed someone simpler after what she had already gone through with Rory. His eyes were lowered as he finished his story, though he tried to keep emotion from his voice and thoughts, having moved on. As he felt her touch on his arm he looked up, almost surprised that she'd reach out to him instead of pulling away as he feared. "I dont know how anyone could hurt you either...I never would" He told her softly, hating any man that could hurt her emotionally and physically. She leaned foward and he wanted to hold her, to satisfy his own need to hug her but restrained himself not wanting to be selfish. "Thank you...I just thought you deserved to know everything" He told her placing a hand over the one she had placed on his arm and giving it a gentle squeeze.
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Post by Matilda Stone on Jan 3, 2010 8:54:22 GMT -5
As Matt looked at Laurie, her hand lying gently on his arm to offer what comfort he could gain from such a gesture, and she recognised the vague look of surprise on his face. She swallowed nervously, wondering if she was being too forward or whether he still had feelings for his ex-fiancée despite not showing it through his tone when he told the stories. However, when he spoke, instead of a rebuke for being too close and snatching away his arm from under his hand, his voice was soft and reassuring and she felt herself fall further under his thrall, if that was even possible. She knew that she had already fallen for this doctor much further than she ever had for Rory, even before he had shown his true colours.
Stuck, now, in an awkward leaning position, having chickened out of giving her companion a hug, Matt struggled to regain a natural posture without physically looking like she was rearranging himself. She knew it probably wasn’t a big thing, but with all the embarrassing things that had happened so far that night, she didn’t know which blunder would be the one to put him off her for good. However, pleasant distraction was only a moment away as Laurie thanked her and placed his own hand over hers, which was still resting on his arm. An enjoyable buzz of electricity warmed her hand as it was squeezed gently, sparking all the way through her system and jacking up her heartbeat to a rampage.
“You’re welcome,” she responded to him, a smile on her face as she tried to keep too much adoration out of her tone and expression lest she scare him off her. Her dark eyes now reflecting the bright moonlight that now filtered through the car windows as they teared up with compassion and emotion, she looked up at the doctor, unwilling to remove her hand from his hold. “Well, thank you for trusting me enough to tell me about everything… I hope you didn’t feel you had to, but at least that’s all over with now, you know, if we see each other again…” She let the comment lie, though her tone was hopeful.
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