She supposed running into a priest or something should be thought of as a sign. Though what kind of sign she wasn’t sure. ( Mum would probably know. ) Perhaps he did this often. Popping up randomly. Maybe it wasn’t a sign but just him as a person. Yeah. No reason to read into it. Sometimes things just happened. And he seemed nice enough, but then again someone in this quiet little town had just murdered her nephew.

“Ten years,” she said, answering his unasked question. “I’ve been away for.. ten years.” ( I’ve missed a lot in those ten years… )

Her hands fidgeted with her phone as she spoke before she stuffed it in her cardigan pocket. He seemed to be trying not to scare her so there was that at least. Keeping his distance and all. Though she liked to think that her time in London had prepared her in case someone ever did try and jump her. That she’d at least be able to make him very uncomfortable for a few days if he tried anything.

“Thank you for the directions,” she says after another few seconds realizing this is quickly getting a bit awkward. Or more awkward. God. She’d just wanted to get outside. Out of that house. Gi didn’t regret telling her mum she’d stay at Beth’s. If she’d been at her mum’s she never would have gotten out the door. All she wanted was some time away from any of her family to just think. To try and deal with some of the emotions that had been boiling up in her since this morning. 

“I think I’d rather be lost for a bit longer,” she admitted. Though now he probably would worry about her in the woods. Great. She just…She couldn’t go back yet. 

“I’m Gi… Georgina. Roper. But most just call me Gi?”

Maybe he should just leave the woman on her own, but it was odd having people out at this time of night. He never saw anyone around apart from the odd drunk on a Friday night staggering about. Listening to how long she’d been away from, Paul just nodded. He had a sense that it had been long but not ten years.

“No it’s not fine. Stop being so nice,” she said, feeling annoyed more at herself than him. “Sorry,” she repeated. “Again.”

“I never thought I’d apologize this much to a priest. My mum would have been happy.”

“I just…I had to tell you. I was just so angry with him,” she continued, trying to find the words. “So hurt. After everything, that he would go and do something like that. After dad and Danny. After mum.” 

Each one she listed hurt more. Geoff’s death has been a big blow back in the day. It was the family’s first touch with death. Danny had been holed up in his room for days. She remembered just going up and giving him lots of cuddles. Telling him all sorts of stories about growing up with Geoff as a dad. Reminding him of his and Mark’s football rivalries. It was probably partly her fault Danny had switched his bed sheets to Manchester City. He and Mark had both loved her dad so much. She’d loved her dad so much. 

Obviously it had hit Liz the hardest. But she’d just barreled on like she always did. She’d been sad a while but having them all living so nearby had definitely helped. When they lost Danny though. It was like losing her dad all over again. It had killed her mum this time. She’d died of the broken heart Beth had felt.

Beth wiped at her eyes slightly with the back of her hands. “Mum would have known what to say to him. She always knew. Especially when I mucked it up.” 

“He found Joe. Did he tell you? I think that’s what pushed him over the edge.”

She still couldn’t believe he’d talked to him. She didn’t think she would have had the strength to look at him ever again. To hold herself back and not run at him. To not try and kill him.

“But I also think…I think it might have helped him?” She was unsure how to put it. Since waking up in the hospital it was almost as if a weight, however so slight, had been lifted off of him. He was still grieving, still devastated, but part of the guilt was gone. “Joe said that Mark couldn’t have stopped it. That Danny was already dead by the time he was in that lot. He’d been….been dead a while actually.”

It was hard not to choke on the words. Instead she just nodded a bit. 

After a few minutes of wandering she’d stopped and spun around. They’d cut down some trees since she’d last been out here. There were more trails now. It was nice to see that someone still made use of them now that she was gone but also a bit confusing. 

Gi was just putting the light on her phone when she heard some leaves crush near her and a voice. It shined directly into the stranger’s face. Her free hand flew up to cover her heart. “Jesus, you gave me a fright,” she said to the stranger. “Sorry,” quickly turning the light off after a moment of fumbling with the controls.

She still took a step back, not recognizing the other. Her eyes were readjusting to the moonlight and she saw his hands raised. Another few seconds and she caught sight of the white of his dog collar. ‘Sorry about saying your boss’ name in vain’ she silently added. 

“I um- I just needed some air. Guess I don’t know these woods as well as I used to.”

“It’s fine, really it is.”Paul spoke as he looked at the woman. He knew it could be frightening bumping into someone like this, especially at night in an unlit area. Paul placed his hands in his pockets. 

Continued from here:

@pculcoates

It wasn’t like him. Normally she couldn’t get him to shut up about how to help Mark. She still felt embarrassed about her words from last time. Ashamed even. The words had just poured from her mouth like poison before she could stop them. 

Then before that about his warning that Mark was going to do something stupid. She hadn’t listened. She’d meant what she said. ‘You can’t rescue someone who doesn’t want to be saved.’ But she had never wanted this to happen. Never thought that this could happen. And now even Paul didn’t seem to have any answers.

Had she broken him too? Had she finally just made him too uncomfortable? Was his hope for them gone?

“I’m sorry,” she finally says into the silence. She’s staring at her hands folded on her knees where they sit. “I know I didn’t listen to you in the past. I should have. But I didn’t. And then I just dump all my toxic thoughts on you. It’s not fair. I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t mean them.”

@pculcoates

After making sure her sister and Mark had gone to sleep, and that Chloe was still out in her room, Georgina had finally convinced her mother to go home. And that ‘No mom. The couch is fine for tonight. Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you in the morning. Please go get some sleep. ’

She’d been alternating between pacing in the kitchen, staring at the electric kettle (which she kept forgetting about when she wandered away from the kitchen so it turned into a vicious cycle of off and on again even though she didn’t actually want the bloody tea), and being curled up on the couch. It was all just distractions.

She didn’t want to have the dream again. Once was enough. And yet every time she closed her eyes all she could see was Danny’s face; all scared and the wind whipping through his hair. She’d never get to mess up that hair again on a fun day out. They’d have no more 99s as they walked along the Thames and people watched. No more climbing the lions at The Square.

Finally giving up on the ruse of trying to sleep she tugged on a cardigan. Air. She needed some air. Quietly letting herself out of the house she pocketed the spare key. It may have been years since she’d wandered the town at night but she still remembered the general layout of the woods.

Hands dug deep into his pockets, his brain far from relaxing and so sleep wasn’t coming any time soon. Paul knew news spread fast and the death of Danny Latimer had already spread like wild fire and it was a shock to the heart of the community. There was no words he could say to help the family, not now.

other tags.

YOU CAN DO IT!!

I AM SO PROUD OF YOU

YOU DID IT!!!!

tag dump: verses. 

@pculcoates​ liked this

     Retrieving his phone from his pocket, Mark brought Paul’s name on the screen. He hesitated for a moment before touching the icon for a video call. Settling himself where he was sitting, a smile tugged on his lips when he saw the familiar face appear on his screen.

        “Hey Paul.”

God, he hoped he wasn’t bothering Mark. Paul didn’t want to bother is friend at all, but he needed help and also to see how things were. It wasn’t as simple as a pop around and see him. Things were so different already but the change was a good change.

     Moving to sit down beside Paul, Becca straightened her skirt, angling her body towards him. An audible sigh of relief left her lips at hearing Mark would be fine. She may barely speak to him these days, but he and his family had been through so much. They didn’t deserve another tragedy.

        “Oh thank god… When I heard…”

     Shaking her head, she paused her thoughts. This wasn’t about her. Not in the slightest.

        “It’s spreading. I already told the staff I have on that if I hear them talking about it that they won’t be getting more shifts any time soon… It’s not going to slow down though… Are you alright? How are you feeling?”

Paul shifted slightly to allow Becca to sit comfortable on the cold stone. His eyes looking at Becca. It was still a lot to take in and the many what ifs that followed by such an event like this. Paul was grateful for the fact that nothing had happened to Mark as he knew no one family would of been able to bounce back from another lose.