Something To Hold Onto

Unit #332 - Cornett Apartment

The single bedroom apartment is quite cozy, but by no means small. The walls have been sponged in a light sandy color, the faux hardwood floors a bleached maple to match. The decor is rather simplistic, though a tad modern - a black leather sofa is set against one wall, an ottoman that doubles as a coffee table set between it and the matching recliner. White curtains with tiny red flowers frame the windows, while red, beige and white throw pillows dot the couch. There is no television in this room, the remaining walls taken up with shelves filled with books and a small stereo system with a decent selection of music.
A sliding glass door leads to a balcony that overlooks the pool courtyard. To the right of the main room is the small kitchen and eating nook, and to the left the hallway that leads toward the bedroom.


The funeral is over, and she's not supposed to be at home. Still, heading where she promised to be during daylight hours is just awkward. So Chloe has come home after leaving the cemetery, the rain having let up for a bit now. She got a small duffel bag out, and is throwing some odds and ends into it. Clothing, jewelry, toiletries, books. Her funeral clothing is still worn, a black business-style suit. Her hair pulled back into a bun, with a black mesh bun-holder over it. Her eyes are red and puffy, and she looks a mess. A determined mess, but still a mess.

And but who should come knocking? Why Mischa, of course. He doesn't look nearly as cheery as he normally does, however. He's got a good amount of stubble going on from days of not shaving, his glasses are off, and he's wearing leather — just a jacket, but it's there. And it makes him seem tougher than normal! "Chloe? It's Mischa." He says into the door, clearing his throat. "Sorry I didn't call firs— oh, I guess I should wait for her to answer the door. I probably look insane."

Coming from the bedroom, it takes a moment for Chloe to answer the door. Were it not the day of her father's funeral, she'd likely laugh at him talking to her door. As it is, she doesn't even verify it's him. She just unlocks the bolt, and opens the door. Then moves into the kitchen to grab a few things. "It's fine. I just got in not long ago."

"Err…" Mischa says as he steps into the apartment, closing the door behind him. "I'm sorry. You just got back, didn't you?" Damn. Double damn. That just makes this harder. He doesn't wait for an invitation. "Are you going to stay with your mom at the hospital?" Mischa asks before he sits down on the couch, furrowing his brows. "You should sit down for a few minutes. If not for your own well being, then because I need to talk to you."

Chloe stops what she's doing and gives Mischa an embarrassed look. "I'll be there during the day. I'm supposed to go to the estate tonight and… well it's not like it was an /order/ but I guess it's to keep me safe." She coughs once, then nods to the couch to sit with him. "What is it, Mischa?" Her voice sounds worried, like she really just can't take much more today.

Mischa doesn't seem impressed with the Estate thing, for one reason or another. He licks his lips and gently reaches out for Chloe's hand. "Here's the deal. I talked to the local pack leader today." There's a moment where he deliberates how to best tell Chloe what he discussed with Eli earlier. "We need to get your mother out of the hospital and back at your home. Or somewhere else safe. And then we're going to have to lock her up overnight, when the full moon comes. For as long as it lasts. We're fairly sure that she's going to change, Chloe. The pack leader isn't happy about whoever has done this to her. And he's taking a personal interest in it. He wants to meet with you. And soon."

"Yes, well I really don't think anyone is all that impressed about what happened to /them/," Chloe says, angrily. Though she dials it back a bit, and sighs. "Whatever you think is best, Mischa. I'll call the hospital in the morning and see if she's well enough to be released, and meet with this man if you want." His lack of being impressed is picked up upon and she just looks at him. "I appreciate your help," she says, tonelessly.

The other librarian is a port in a storm. Sort of. He's at least cool-headed enough to know Chloe isn't really angry at him. He withdraws his hand and nods to her. "The pack is going to look out for her. It's going to be hard. But we'll make sure she gets through this." He smiles at her a little dully before standing up and taking in a breath. "Is there anything I can help you with? I hope that my food helped at the wake…"

Chloe nods solemnly and then looks up at him. "It did. I appreciate that too." Her eyes avert to her lap, and she mumbles, "He's back. He's wearing weird cowboy boots, but he's safe. We didn't risk ourselves for nothing. He said to thank you for your help. He… could tell you were two-natured. That's what he meant by twin-souled." When she looks up, her eyes are watery for whatever reason, more than likely her father. "I just wish we could have saved dad too."

"…Weird cowboy boots?" Mischa asks, as though having a hard time imagining Will in cowboy boots. He shakes his head a few times to will the mental image away before quirking a brow. "Oh? He did? Well… that's.. interesting. Listen, I need you to do me a favor now…" Mischa licks his lips and considers how to word this best — something he's had to do a lot in the past ten minutes. "When we go to meet with the pack leader, play dumb about as much as you can. Not completely innocent, he'll see through it. But just enough. He's worried that our secret will get out. Frankly, so am I." Mischa reaches out, gently putting his hand to Chloe's cheek. "I'm sorry for your dad, Chloe."

Without meaning to, Chloe presses her cheek against the hand. There it is. The comforting touch she's been longing so much lately. The one that tells her things are going to be okay, even if they really won't be. She allows her eyes to drift shut briefly, in part to savor the moment, in part to stop the tears from flooding down. "So, don't tell him I can read minds, play dumb about vampires, witches, and the oogedy boogedy stuff that goes bump in the night, and cow to his will? I can handle that." She thinks. "He said they were Kegan's, or that he got them from Kegan's estate. I don't even know who that is, really, except that he's dead now too."

Mischa leans in, kissing Chloe's forehead very gently. "I don't know who that is either, so at least we're in the dark about something together." He grins and chuckles, nodding to Chloe. "Yes. It's okay to act like you know a little… after all, he wants to meet with you. THe best part is that he doesn't follow the news because he doesn't want to be brainwashed by mainstream media." The idea of that makes Mischa laughed, though it's stilted for a moment.

"I will tell him everything I know about the attack," Chloe says adamantly. "If it was a werewolf, then he should know all the details about it, and that it was sent from the one who kidnapped Mr. Grant, and that this person is now dead." So in truth, they may never know who the wolf is. Chloe shifts on the couch, to just lean against Mischa. She knows it's awful of her to use him in such a manner, but she desires the closeness of another person right now. Mellie has her alcohol and whatever else, Bobby has his girlfriend, and the sad truth of it is, that she's still the middle child and alone as always.

"That's really all he wants to know. If your mother's responsive, he'd like to talk to her too — but it can wait until she's feeling better." Of course, this is inopportune considering that the woman will be changing soon for the first time. "He won't be upset if it's not the work of a werewolf. He just wants to be prepared. That's all. I'm going to help as much as I can." He's content to let Chloe lean against him, wrapping an arm around her. "You know, considering you sacrificed quite a bit to save 'Mister Grant', one would think you'd be on a first name basis with him by now." An idle observation at best.

"I can't guarantee that mama's going to want to talk to anyone. She couldn't go to the funeral, and I know that's set her own recovery back a little bit." The stress of the attack, the stress of the death, and the stress of being unable to say goodbye. Chloe can see how that could affect someone adversely. "His name is Will. And I use it." With him, at the very least. That or his real name, which she will never divulge. "I just feel awkward saying it to other people, I suppose." Reaching behind her head, she begins to unpin her hair, letting it slowly spill about her shoulders. Just desperately wanting to indulge in a few moments of near normalcy and relaxation.

Now is probably not the time to question Chloe's logic. And thus, Mischa won't. He moves away as she starts to unpin her hair, retreating to the front door. "She's going to have to talk about it sooner or later. And sadly, I think it's going to be sooner than later." Pause. "I'll give you a call tomorrow. How long are you taking off work?"

And suddenly her cushion of comfort is gone. Blinking as she finds herself alone, Chloe nods toward the door. "Yes, the full moon is only in a few days. They gave me the rest of the week off for bereavement leave. I will have my cell phone on me, call any time, Mischa. Let me know when the meeting is set up and I will go. I just need your promise that I'll not be harmed."

"Chloe, if you want me to stay again, I will. You can come upstairs, too. My door is always open for you." There's a pause, before Mischa reaches into his pocket and pulls out a key. "I mean that. It may seem strange, but I… I just want you to have some place to go if you can't come back down here for whatever reason. Or if you don't want to be alone." There's a pause, Mischa letting out something of a chuckle. "The pack leader is abrasive in personality but he'd never hurt you."

Chloe walks toward the door, gives him an odd look, then kisses him on the cheek. "Thank you, Mischa." She does not say that he's a good friend for doing it, she won't insult him like that. "I would ask you to stay tonight, I really don't want to be alone, but I made a promise for my safekeeping, and I should keep it rather than cause any more problems for anyone. It is only for a night, and I'll be easily reachable. I promise I'll be there for that meeting, I just want to do what's best for my mother, even if that means doing something I don't like for a little while."

Mischa nods to Chloe and just squeezes one of her hands, smiling at her. "Of course. I'll give you a call tomorrow. Be safe getting wherever you're going, alright? And send me a voicemail when you get there." It's entirely possible he's being a bit too neurotic about her safety at the moment, but… the girl's family was just attacked, and she herself is in trouble. And he cares. He opens up the door and starts to head out.

"I will," she says quietly. Struggling with the need to just grab him and pull him close again; for the comfort. Chloe closes her eyes, waits for him to vacate the apartment, and then counts to three. "Christ, Chloe, what are you doing?" It's not fair to him, and she damned well knows it. Afterward, she just stares at the door. Moving only when she realizes that it will be dark soon and she'll need to get to the estate.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License