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Post by riley pearson on Nov 8, 2008 4:29:11 GMT
"I'm not sure if it'd be the best way to approach them.." I said quietly, thinking about it for a moment, before she started to speak again, saying that she probably shouldn't. I nodded slgihtly, "Um.. yeah.. are you sure that you want to do that though?" I asked looking over to her, wondering if I should go first instead because I'm their dad.. but then Arden did have a point. They did like her better.
[[ yay for not being terrible then, haha.. and this was uberly delayed, i kept forgetting to say something xD ]]
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Post by Arden Patricks on Nov 8, 2008 4:34:26 GMT
((Lmao... just a little delayed, aye. It took me a second to figure out what in the world you were talking about.))
"Not if you don't think it'll work...." I shrug a bit uncomfortably. "But I was going to talk to them anyway, and maybe if I had already...." I shrug again, figuring he'll say something along the lines of 'it's not your fault' again. "All they can do is dislike me."
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Post by Riley Pearson on Nov 8, 2008 4:37:41 GMT
[[ lmao xD .. yeah.. haha... and oops, sorry, lol ^^ ]]
"It um.. It might." I said after a moment, looking over to her again. "Plus, they're probably just mad at me.. They seem to like you quite a bit.. so, they probably still do." I told her, chewinglsightly on my bottom lip for a seocnd or two.
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Post by Arden Patricks on Nov 8, 2008 4:48:11 GMT
"Well, they did anyway, before they thought I was a homewrecker," I mutter, shrugging, then sigh and look over at the doorway again. "But, yes, I'll talk to them. Upstairs, probably?"
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Post by Riley Pearson on Nov 8, 2008 4:51:03 GMT
"I'm sure they don't think of you as a homewrecker..." I told her after she said that. It was probably more of a hate toward me. Just something else to not like me for. It's what they did, not like me.
"Yeah.. upstairs, in Lil's old room.." I said nodding a little bit.
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Post by Arden Patricks on Nov 8, 2008 5:02:45 GMT
I decide not to argue the point - if they do, I don't blame them, especially considering how observant they were about my crush... but I'm not going to argue, just nod and take a deep breath, then kiss him very briefly on the cheek before heading upstairs. I'm terrified of nine-year-olds.
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Post by Riley Pearson on Nov 8, 2008 5:06:41 GMT
I bit my lip slightly agian, startng to think that I should really stop doing that because I do it much too often. She kissed my cheek breifly, and I looked up to her with a small smile. There was definately going to be some getting used to with this. I really liked her.. if not was close to loving her.. but I just had to get used to the fact that it was Arden, as strange as that sounds.
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Post by Arden Patricks on Nov 8, 2008 5:11:53 GMT
I have no idea, once I'm upstairs in the hall, how I expected 'Lil's old room' to jump out at me... but, then again, there's only one closed door, so I knock very lightly on that.
"Hey... Ella? Charlotte? It's me."
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Post by Riley Pearson on Nov 8, 2008 5:16:11 GMT
The girls were in, what was basically their room now, especially now since Lil wasn't here anymore, and hearing the knock on the door, they both looked toward it. The two of them stayed silent for a few moments as they tried to decide what they should be doing exactly. Were they supposed to answer the door? Or were they supposed to stay quiet and pretend they weren't here?
After a few moments though, Lottie got up, the slightly more upset of the two of them, and went to answer the door. She partially opened it and stood in the small corner that she made, blocking out the rest of the room from view.
"What do you want?" She asked raising an eyebrow slightly, while Ella sighed in the backround. Ella, who really wasn't too much upset at all right now, was kind of wishing that she just got up and answered the door.
Ella, unlike Lottie right now, quite liked Arden and she was happy that her dad seemed to be feeling better. Sure she was still mad at him, but she didn't really know what to think anymore. I mean, where was her mum anyway? It's not like she continued visiting them or anything.
"Lottie, don't be so rude." She said to her, staying where she was, sitting on the bed.
"Why shouldn't I be?" Lottie asked Ella, turning arund so she could face her sister.
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Post by Arden Patricks on Nov 9, 2008 2:39:37 GMT
"Well, it's never very nice to be rude," I shrug from the hallway, staring at the barely open doorway... and very, very glad that Ella at least seems likely to listen to me. I have no idea what I would have said in response to Charlotte's hostility if it was backed up by her sister.
"You can dislike me all you like, because it's not really something you can help, anyway," I continue. "But you can decide to be rude or not, so that's different."
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Post by Riley Pearson on Nov 9, 2008 2:43:41 GMT
"Fine." Lottie said simply, turning around and walking back into the room and sitting where she was sitting before. She left the door open, so Arden could come in if she wanted, but she was basically saying that she didn't really want to listen to her and she didn't really like her much right now at all.
Ella watched her sister and stayed where she was, unsure of what really to say.
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Post by Arden Patricks on Nov 9, 2008 2:52:44 GMT
I hesitate slightly, not sure if that's a good sign or not, then take a deep breath and enter the room, leaning against the wall just beside the door so I'm not invading their space too much.
And now I have to try and figure out exactly what I'm up her to say.
"So... um... I take it you do dislike me just a bit then? And probably also your dad?"
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Post by Riley Pearson on Nov 9, 2008 2:58:06 GMT
Lottie looked over to her, not saying anything. "Why shouldn't I? You're completely taking mum's place." Lottie said after a moment, obviously upset by this. "They always get back together and now you're messing it up." She continued before glaring slightly and then looking back down away from Arden, playing slightly with Riyann's locket that she'd been wearing for quite a while.
Ella sighed slightly, "Lottie will you just shut up. Mum's not coming back, deal with it." She said looking over to her sister. Ella wasn't too upset with Arden or her dad right now.
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Post by Arden Patricks on Nov 9, 2008 3:07:45 GMT
I grimace slightly at what Lottie says, biting my lip, and then glance briefly at Ella. She's the one I seem to get along with better, even though, strangely, she reminds more of Riyann and kind of myself, with perhaps a touch too much fatalism and cynicism for a little kid. Lottie seems the more naively idealistic Riley-type of the two.
"Look, I'm not taking anybody's place, okay?" I say quietly. "And if I thought that they could and should get back together again, I'd be helping. But... though that maybe could've been phrased a little less harshly... Ella's pretty much right." I half-wince in anticipation after this, not sure if I'm saying the right things.
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Post by Riley Pearson on Nov 9, 2008 3:13:15 GMT
Lottie frowned even more and hugged tightly onto her pillow. "How do you know?" She asked looking over to Arden again. She didn't really know what else to say and she didn't really want to talk about it, so she just shook her head and looked away and out a window.
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Post by Arden Patricks on Nov 9, 2008 3:20:00 GMT
"Well...." I bite my lip again, looking down at the floor. "Um... your dad wasn't really sure how to tell you, so I said I'd help him out... um... 'cause she's in Azkaban. And... I can't really tell you why they can't get back together, why they wouldn't even if she wasn't...." Would they? "... But... I don't know. It's all a little complicated." And I need to shut up now anyway to guage their responses to this news about their mom.
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Post by Riley Pearson on Nov 9, 2008 3:25:12 GMT
They both looked toward her, staring now as she spoke. They were silent and really didn't know how to respond to that. "What do you mean?" Ella asked looking over to her, her expression anything but calm, "How long has been there?"
"Why can't you tell us?" Lottie asked next. She had their full attention now and they wanted answers.
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Post by Arden Patricks on Nov 9, 2008 3:32:23 GMT
"I... because I don't really know," I shrug, being sure to look at them now so they know I'm being honest instead of looking at the ground. "She... I'm not sure how long she's been there, or how long she will be...." I suddenly realize how I would feel if Meredith had been taken away to Azkaban or somewhere like it when I was still a kid who counted on her and also probably wouldn't be allowed to visit because no nine-year-old child should set foot near dementors... and it doesn't feel good. I think I'd like to go give them both hugs now but I'm not sure how they'd take that.
In the meantime, I still don't think I've answered all their questions properly, but I have to sort the answers out inside my own head first, putting them into a child-friendly format.
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Post by Riley Pearson on Nov 9, 2008 3:43:45 GMT
At her answers, Lottie's eyes widened and she got up and ran out of the room and back downstairs calling out for her dad. More than likely she was planning on yelling and hitting him, but she hadn't gotten there yet, so who knows. Really she surely didn't know what she going to do yet.
Ella looked back at Arden for a moment after watching her sister run out of the room and jumped off the bed too, running after her sister, leaving Arden there.
I saw and heard the girl's coming downstairs and I stood up from where I was sitting, with a slitghtly worried expression. "Dad, why didn't you tell us that mum's in Azkaban?" Lottie said slightly yelling as she got closer to me. "How long has she been there.. You made us believe that she just... abandoned us again." She getting closer to me with some tears in her eyes, eevntually hitting me slightly, but not really hard. Kind of like one of those temper tantrums. I was slighlty shocked and really not sure of what to say, which is why I was slightly panicky right about now.
"Lottie.. lottie, stop." I said as she continued with this, trying an attempt at getting her to calm down and stop hitting me.
Really, they were almost eleven, so I guess that she did have a right to know, but I didn't want to tell them yet. Ella stood further away, with some tears in her eyes too, but just watched.
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Post by Arden Patricks on Nov 9, 2008 16:33:59 GMT
Oh, damn, I think, too startled to be tracking right away when the girls run past me suddenly, Lottie yelling for Riley. Possibly I said all that wrong, I don't know. Naturally, though, I follow them almost immediately, reaching the kitchen just in time to hear her yelling at him. I shrug apologetically at Riley though I don't think he's likely to notice, nd glance over at Ella to see how she's taking it.
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Post by Riley Pearson on Nov 9, 2008 17:23:18 GMT
I glanced over at Arden just in time to see her shrug toward me. Really, this was bound to happen eventually, so better sooner than later maybe? I can't even imagine how they would be acting if I just never told either of them where Riyann was and why she wasn't visiting them.
Eventually, I got ahold of Lottie, trying to talk her into being slightly calmer and a few moments later, just pulled her into a hug. After a moment she slowly stopped hitting me and just started crying, giving into my hug.
Ella looked over to Arden and seeing that her dad seemed to be pre-occupied with Lottie, walked over to Arden and hugged her instead.
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Post by Arden Patricks on Nov 9, 2008 17:28:47 GMT
I'm really not sure what to do, so it's very much a relief when Riley seems to get a handle on the situation... and really surprising, somehow, when Ella walks over and hugs me. But I hug her back anyway, kissing the top of her head. "Hey... it's okay, all right?" I say quietly.
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Post by Riley Pearson on Nov 9, 2008 17:35:26 GMT
As I hugged Lottie, I looked over to Arden, seeing Ella hugging her and Arden then kissing the top of her head. I smiled faintly and then turned my full attention back to Lottie. I pulled some out of the hug and wiped some of the tears off her face. "It's gonna be okay, Lottie.." I said to her quietly, but Lottie didn't nod and just sniffed as she tried to stop crying.
Ella nodded slightly, hugging Arden slgihtly tighter. She didn't really believe that it was going to be alright, but she wasn't in the mood for argueing today and she knew that Arden was trying to help. She was more than upset about this, but really, what was there to do about it?
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Post by Arden Patricks on Nov 10, 2008 3:54:44 GMT
Of course I've no idea why they should believe us. 'It's going to be okay'? Who the hell are we kidding? Their mother is in Azkaban, and they don't know she deserves it. Which, arguably, might be even worse.
I shake my head slightly, wondering a bit at the slightly rambly nature of my thoughts, then hug Ella back a bit more tightly before finally letting go.
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Post by Riley Pearson on Nov 10, 2008 4:06:11 GMT
Neither of us were really sure if it was going to be okay or not, but I honestly didn't want to instill anymore worried feelings on them. Riyann was in Azkaban and I didn't know when she was getting... if she was getting out. And there was no way they were going there to see her while I could stop them. Maybe once they were of age, but until them, no child was going to stepping into that place to see their mom like that.
Lottie wiped her eyes again, frowning more than she was before. She wasn't really sure of what to say herself, which was why she was being to quiet right now. ".. Why her?" She asked eventually, even though this really had nothing to do with Riyann at the moment. I was assuming that she meant Arden. Nevertheless, the way she said that was completely horrible and I couldn't believe she actually said it.
I glanced at Arden before back to Lottie, "Charlotte, I want you to apologise to Arden, now." I said shaking my head slgihtly as I looked at her.
"No." She said back almost instantly. "She's not my mum." She said a little louder before pulling herself out of my grasp and running back to her room. I guess I was just going to have to talk to her later.
Ella was still standing there, "She's just being stubborn.. sorry Arden." She said a moment later, wiping some of her tears again before coming up to me and hugging me and then going back to her room too.
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Post by Arden Patricks on Nov 10, 2008 16:30:41 GMT
I guess I should expect that, but it still makes me wince a little bit, averting my eyes. But I manage a small smile for Ella after a moment, shaking my head. "It's fine... understandable. You two... just know you can talk to me if you want, anytime."
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Post by Riley Pearson on Nov 10, 2008 18:13:50 GMT
Ella nodded and managed a very faint smile to Arden at what she said, even though she didn't necessarily want to talk about it, she wanted answers and she was pretty sure she wasn't going to get them, so why bother talk about it?
"Thanks.." She mumbled quietly and then walked out of the kitchen.
I sighed slightly and ran my hand through my hair, before ruffling it slightly, "Sorry Arden." I said rubbing my head for a moment before looking over to her. "Lottie'll get over it."
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Post by Arden Patricks on Nov 10, 2008 18:17:37 GMT
"Yeah...." I sigh more than say, then shrug. "I really don't blame her at all though, do you?"
Not that I feel guilty anymore... at least not very much. But still.
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Post by Riley Pearson on Nov 10, 2008 18:20:56 GMT
I shrugged faintly and then shook my head a little bit, "No.. I guess I don't.. It's my fault for not telling her sooner.. and I mean," I shrugged a little bit, pausing for a moment. "We do always get back together, I can't really imagine what she's thinking though.."
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Post by Arden Patricks on Nov 10, 2008 18:28:10 GMT
"Probably that I'm a homewrecker," I say again, biting my lip. "I mean... I don't remember if I mentioned this, but they could tell I had a crush on you even when I just got back and was trying not to let on, so... well, what would you think?"
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