Return for a shower

Alexithymiaa: -Bryan sat on one of the stools at the kitchen counter, his laptop in front of him with his eyes set intently on the screen. His hands flew over the keyboard as he typed, Felix's phone connected to the computer as he tried to ping back to the phone that had texted him in an attempt to get some sort of location or something. Meanwhile, Penny hasnt left Felix's side since Steph wasnt around and that's what she does when Steph isnt around because Felix is the next best thing.-
Covet: Felix was pacing about the kitchen with Penny weaving in and out of his feet, "Anything yet?" He asked looking over at Bryan with a concerned look on his face. He was pissed off at himself for how cavalier he'd been in letting her go with Ash, but he didn't think the fucker was going to drive off with her either.
Alexithymiaa: -Bryan didnt bother looking up from the computer because Felix wasnt that important to look at, his fingers still moving over the keyboard. "Don't you think if I had something, I'd have said it?" He asked with an attitude because he completely blamed Felix for the situation because he's Bryan and it has to be someone's fault, usually Felix's. He put his hand out to stop Isley from walking across his computer. "Cut it out Christmas cat. No one wants you, we're busy." // A black van pulled up in front of the house without pulling into the driveway, stopping behind a couple of trees. Sliding open the side door, Steph climbed out in the same clothes she'd left in two nights ago, her hair pulled down from its bun and unbrushed. Tugging down her sweater dress, she started toward the house, not daring to look back at the van.-
Covet: "I don't fucking know. Stop giving me an attitude over here, you're not making me feel any better about any of this. You dick." Felix told him not caring that he was being blunt, course he wouldn't have cared anyways. He walked over to pick up Isley and set her on the floor, "Move along meow. We're doing important business thing trying to find the zookeeper."
Alexithymiaa: "I don't really give a fuck how you feel. In case that wasnt obvious." He shot back at him, looking down at Harvey weaving his way through his legs, feeling his fur everytime he moved next to his left leg. "How am I supposed to focus when these cats won't leav eme the fuck alone?" He yelled in frustration, trying to shoo him away with his foot. // Steph stepped up the front steps of the house, not having her keys since she'd stepped out without them on Tuesday so she had no choice, but to stop at the front door and knock.-
Covet: "Well it's good to know the feeling is mutual" Felix mumbled then snickered about the cats harassing him. He rose an eyebrow as he looked over at the door, telling Bryan to shut up. "You heard a knock right?" Felix asked as he walked over and started to unlock it, seeing Steph on the other side. "About fucking time. Jesus you had me scared shitless Red." He said walking out to to the porch to give her a big tight hug, trying to keep Penny from running out the door.
Alexithymiaa: -Bryan turned on his stool to look toward the front door when he heard Felix's words, slipping off and doing his Bryan awkward walk over to the front door. "Shortstack... what the fuck?" He asked, holding his arms open on either side of him. // Steph glanced up at Felix when he opened the doo, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him to return the hug. "Why? We were just negotiating. I texted you not to worry..." She said as she tried to brush it off, easing back away from him to see Bryan, blinking in surprise. "Bryan? What the hell are you doing here?" She asked him before excitedly moving into the house and to him to hug him too.-
Covet: "Why? Uh.. because he just drove off without you. Regardless if you messaged me not to worry. I had no idea what was going on. But I'm glad we can call the police up and say you're home." He said pressing a kiss to her head before she walked in to give her brother a hug. He made his way back inside and closed the door locking it up so Peny couldn't flee. " Next time that sonovabitch wants to "negotiate" It happens in a room with witnesses." Felix said with a straight face.
Alexithymiaa: -Bryan hugged Steph tightly before releasing her so he could look down at her. "What the hell am I doing here? This dickface told me Ash basically kidnapped you. Why wouldn't I be here?" // Steph rolled her eyes at Bryan, turning quickly to look at Felix. "You called the police? No... you have to call them right now and tell them it was a false alarm. Right now. Everything was fine. You shouldnt have called anyone."-
Covet: "Yeah, I called the police. A guy.. shows up here, waving a gun around and takes off with you. To assume I wasn't going to call someone, is a ridiculous expectation. I already had them dialed before you even left out the door." Felix said then waved his hand, "But yeah, I'll call them and tell them you're home and safe. " He tried not to sound annoyed because well, he was.
Alexithymiaa: -Bryan crossed his arms over his chest as he listened to the two, raising a brow. "Have you completely lost your mind? Who the fuck wouldnt call the police?" He asked her before beginning to head toward the kitchen. "Did you eat? I'll get you something." // "Nothing was going to happen. He wasnt going to hurt me, we were just discussing the lawsuit and a settlement." She started to pull her scarf off her neck, folding it in half in her hands. "I'm not hungry. I just want to shower and brush my teeth." She said with a sigh, not wanting to tell either of them about the actual settlement as she started for her bedroom.-
Covet: "He could have done that here. He didn't have to take you for two days. The only reason he did that was because he knew he could." Felix grumbled, "Hold up a second, I want to know about how the negotiation went down now, must have been pretty extensive if he kept you for as long as he did." He said crossing his arms.
Alexithymiaa: "Who discusses a lawsuit for two days?" Bryan snapped, turning to start walking behind her. "You can shower after we talk. We want to know what the fuck happened." // She stopped in the doorway of her bedroom, glancing down at her feet. "It just took a while to come to an agreement. But it's fine now. Everyone's happy... the end." She said before stepping into her room, pulling off her shoes and dropping them onto the floor before going into her bathroom to start the water in the shower.-
Covet: Felix turned and looked at Bryan, "I'll be right back..." He said following Steph into her bathroom and shower. " You know.. that really doesn't sound like everyone's happy. What all went down?" He asked as he leaned in the doorway, watching her.
Alexithymiaa: -Bryan let out a huff because he was frustrated that she was writing this off, nodding his head. "If you dont talk some sense into her, I will." // Steph pulled her sweater off over her head, neatly folding it and setting it on the bathroom vanity before turning to look at Felix. "I told you what went down. It just took us a while to come to an agreement that worked for both parties. And now we have, so it's over."-
Covet: "Steph. Please don't keep me in the dark about this. I know there was more to it than that." Felix told her watching her. "So, stop telling me what you think I want to hear, and start telling me what I actually want to hear." He wasn't going to budge on this. as he looked at her, his arms still folded over his chest.
Alexithymiaa: -Bryan wandered off into the kitchen to raid the fridge. // Steph turned to look at Felix when she heard him say her name because that was essentially her indication that he wasnt fucking around. Letting out a sigh, she pulled her arms around herself. "I just think it's better if you didnt know..."-
Covet: Felix set his jaw and nodded his head, "So, keeping secrets is only something you're allowed to do?" He said then shook his head, " Just so you're aware, I'm probably going to be more mad if you don't tell me, than if you do."
Alexithymiaa: "No." She said quickly, wanting to reassure him that secrets werent okay, regardless. Pursing her lips, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror before looking at his. "He said if I didnt drop the suit, that he'd come after you. I guess he knew it was the best leverage he had to get what he wanted." She paused, shifting uncomfortably on her feet and dropping her eyes away from his face. "So I agreed to drop the lawsuit and sign the rights to the song over to him if he agreed to stay away from you."-
Covet: Felix listened to her, then shook his head. "No. You're not dropping it. I don't give a flying fuck if he threatened me. He doesn't get to show up, and force you to do what he wants, when he's the one who fucked up." Felix said "If he didn't want there to be an issue over this song, he never should have put it on his album. He knew exactly what he was doing when he did it. Which is all the more reason I didn't want him trying to negotiate without me there.... Fucking asshole." Felix said loudly.
Alexithymiaa: "You don't have a choice. I already agreed to it and I already talked to my lawyer. You can't change my mind about this. Regardless of whether or not he gets away with what he wanted in the first place, I wasn't going to risk your life over a stupid song." She sucked in a deep breath, turning around to look at him. "I won't."-
Covet: Felix shook his head. "Let that fuckface threaten me. If he does anything the likelihood of him getting caught is way higher than you might think. But now because you complied with his demands, not only does he now know how to control and manipulate you, but he's stolen something of yours and is going to be making money off of it." He said lously,clearly heated about this now, " It's no different than if he was here beating you into submission. But because he can't be physical with you, he's doing it mentally."
Covet: *loudly
Alexithymiaa: "Felix..." SHe said in a small voice, taking a step back away from him gingerly. "I wasnt willing to take that chance. And I'm not going to wait around to find out if he would get caught for hurting you. I don't care about the stupid song as long as I can guarantee nothing is going to happen to you."-
Covet: "Stop." Felix said looking at her. "Stop using me to justify his bullshit. Stop worrying about me, I'm fine. Worry about yourself and your own personal integrity. Worry about some jackass who's still trying to take that away from you because all he has left is threads that he's grasping at. The very least that sonovabitch could have done is traded the song for the rest of what you owe him for the house. It's worth at LEAST that much." He said pacing about. "It's not just a stupid song. It's a piece of you."
Alexithymiaa: -She flinched, her mouth turning down into a deep frown. "I'm not... I..." She stammered, wrapping her arms around her middle uncomfortably. "My decision to agree to the terms have no bearing on my personal integrity... it's not important enough to me to gamble and see if he's bluffing." She paused, staring down at her bare feet. "I was cold, and tired, and gravely uncomfortable. I'm sorry that my only focus was to make sure you were okay..."-
Covet: He turned to look at her seeing that she wasn't taking his response well. It made him feel like a bit of an ass, but he was pissed at Ash. Fuck that guy. "So not only did he kidnap you, but he coerced you to agree with him through mild torture? When is it going to stop? Because you know this isn't going to be the end of it. Are we going to go through this same shit everytime he shows up and wants to make demands?" He asked her trying to be softer. "I appreciate you looking out for me. I do. It means the world. But not when you're compromising yourself all because your ex can't fucking let go, and wants to act like a god damn child. Don't you see when you give into him like that, it only gives him that much more power over you? Power that he sees and clearly has no problem using against you?"
Alexithymiaa: 'He made sure I ate...." She trailed off before realizing she was defending Ash and immediately shaking it off. "What the hell else was I supposed to do, Felix? Regardless of any of that, he threatened to kill you. It's not like some little brat in the sandbox that all the other kids keep giving into. I couldnt not.." Her voice caught in her throat, turning away from him.-
Covet: "Well how nice of him." Felix shot back sarcastically, then realized it wasn't gong to do any good to act like that. He looked at her and walked over to her, " You can stop trying to deal with him on your own. I know you have little faith in the local legal system, but that's no reason for you to continuously make sacrifices to this shit stain, just because he can't let you go. He doesn't want to see you happy. No with him, not with me. And from here on out, you and I both know that he's going to exploit whatever power and control he has over you. I didn't put up with that shit when my mom went through it, and I was a hell of a lot younger then, than I am now. So I'll be damned if I'm expected to put up with it for you. You deserve better than that.
Alexithymiaa: "I was scared..." She said in a small voice, unable to look him in the eye because admitting fear is such a weakness in her eyes. "I thought that if I got him away from you and agreed to whatever he wanted, that I could keep him away from you. I knew he wasnt going to hurt me. I had no idea what he would do to you if I didnt agree.' She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "What would you have done?"-
Covet: Walking over to her he wrapped his arms around her. "I know. Your intentions were good. But never... ever... do that again. Not for me. But for yourself. He already knows the shit you've been through, So to kidnap you and take you away and treat you like he did, is even more dispicable in my eyes, because it means he doesn't give a rats ass about what you want. Only himself. No more." He told her kising the top of her head. "I would have kept him talking until the cops showed up, like I had planned. They were literally on the line listening in when I told you to come inside and talk. I know you believe he wouldn't physically harm you, but he's still hurting you and you know it. So trust me... I know I do a lot of stupid unpredictable shit. But I know how to do the right thing when it counts. Most of the time."
Alexithymiaa: "But I had no idea you had called the police. That's not fair." She pouted before lifting her head to look up at him. "And you called Bryan? I'm happy to see him, but not under these circumstances." She leaned her head forward into his chest, exhaling deeply. "I don't want to go to Boston tomorrow night..."-
Covet: "I know. I would have told you as soon as I could. We just didn't get the chance. I was talking to him while staring at you guys through the window. They showed up minutes after you guys took off." Felix explained to her. "I panicked. I knew he'd have a better idea of what to do." He told her then looked at the shower. "Well, your options are go to Boston, or go to the police station to file a restraining order. I'm going to push for that when you come back either way, but at least Boston will get you out of it for a little while longer.
Covet: *"
Covet: *to them
Alexithymiaa: "I don't really have a choice. The girls have been working so hard for this for so long... if I bail on them, I'd be so disappointed in myself. It doesnt make me want to go, but at least it forces me to." She glanced back at the running shower, easing back away from him so she could unhook her bra and step out of her panties and into the hot water which instantly was nice. "What happens if I file the retraining order, and it pisses him off and he comes after you anyway?"-
Covet: "Then we'll deal with that if it happens. He doesn't have to know it's a thing. Hell, I'll file one too, I'm sure I have plenty of reason to do so. He can find out about it when he breaks it." Felix said with a shrug, he gave no fucks in regards to Ash. " I just don't want him thinking he can come here and do as he pleases, with you, or me. If it'd been put in place before now, last night and the settlement could have gone a hell of a lot differently for you." He told her. "Get in your shower before the water gets cold, I'll be getting the pets taken care of, so we can just curl up in bed when you get out." What he really intended to do was update Bryan and be more expressively mad, since it was not good for Steph.
Alexithymiaa: "I guess..." She said as she started to wash herself and enjoy the shower. Showers make us feel human again. It's nice. // Bryan was mad with Felix.-