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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Oct 5, 2011 18:32:03 GMT -5
I really should have done this sooner, Patricia thought mildly as she pulled her Jaguar into the parking lot of the apartment building. It only made sense that her son was staying here, and a wry smirk curled her lips as she spotted the gleaming white Aventador in the parking lot. Really, if he didn't want her to find out where he was staying, why park such a conspicuous vehicle in the parking lot? There was a slim chance that his Lamborghini was not the only Aventador in the city--his friend had owned one, though it had been orange--but it was definitely slim. Besides, if you owned such a nice and expensive car, why the fuck would you be living in a place like this? Through her anger at him for not answering her calls and trying desperately to avoid her, Trish knew slight pity for her son. Going from living in the mansion to living here? It really was a step down, though she didn't have anything against Nell. She wouldn't look down on the girl.
Her husband had told her, of course, why he had kicked Joshua out of the house. They'd fought about that and she most definitely did not agree--murderer for a girlfriend or not, Joshua was her son and she didn't want him out on the streets. Or, well, living here, which wasn't too much better. She sighed and got out of the car, taking a moment to check her reflection in the sideview mirror. She didn't want to show up at Nell's looking like she'd just battled a hairbrush or anything. She had nothing against the Earth elemental--indeed, the moment she had found out that it was Jane fucking Sinclair that had informed her husband of Nell's status as fugitive, she'd been doubtful as to whether the girl was as bad as the woman made her sound. After all, she'd known Jane in high school. Needless to say, they hadn't gotten along. Fire and Water didn't mix, although Donovan was an unfortunately different story. Using her connections through politics to look into the case, she wasn't sure what to believe about Nell. It was shocking to think that the girl had killed her mother, but Josh trusted her. I'd sooner take my son's word than the media and that... that woman.
After knocking on the door, she waited until Nell answered and then gifted her with a pleasant smile. "Hello, Nell," she said cheerfully. There was nothing in her tone to suggest how angry and resentful she was feeling toward Joshua at the moment. This was pure manipulation--she figured that Nell might just shut the door in her face if she started cussing her boyfriend out in front of her, so she'd play the part of concerned parent until she got her hands on that boy. "Is Joshua here? He's been avoiding my calls and I really would like to speak with him." This wasn't dishonest or anything, right? As a parent she was allowed to use little white lies to corner her kid, right? Oh, she'd worry about the morality of it all at a later date. She was more bent on confronting Josh than on making a good impression. "I noticed his car, may I come in?" Again, it was polite and a completely refuseable request. If Nell said no, she'd find some other way. Angry though she was, Patricia had no desire to force her way into someone else's home.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Oct 5, 2011 21:07:18 GMT -5
 Nell squatted down in front of Pablo, flashcards in her hands and poised in front of the cat’s face. ”Now, when do we use vosotros form?” she asked as if teaching a lesson. And it was a very simple question, one she was sure she went over with the feline before. She just felt like it was review time. Add to that the fact that she was bored, and it meant tutoring for the cat. Pablo blinked at her before returning to cleaning his crotch, and she drew back as if offended by his actions. ”I am a lady, Pablo! Shame on you.” She scratched behind his ears and this got his attention again, and he let out a soft mewl before walking off toward the kitchen, as if it was time for eating. She called after the cat, ”Only in Spain. And so ends our lesson.” Nell placed the cards on the table against the wall, knowing that she would probably never be able to teach Pablo the language. Ironic, consdidering his namesake. She wondered how Picasso was doing, but then that brought thoughts of how she couldn’t ask Josh about his cat.
She decided to go into the kitchen to make some kind of food, since Josh was still in the shower and she needed something in her stomach at all times. Pablo rubbed up against her leg in an attempt to get her to take out the wet food from the fridge, but even though she liked doting on him, she wated him to stay healthy, of course. Over-feeding him didn’t sound like the best option in that case. Overfeeding herself was something else. She didn’t think she could make herself sick with food—okay, there was the okra thing, but that aside, she believed she had something resembling an iron stomach. Nell was in the process of grabbing leftover Chinese—making sure to put the food in a microwave safe plate and not keep it in the box with metal—when she heard the knock on the door. Even though she hadn’t been expecting anyone, she wasn’t too surprised by it. She always had friends dropping by since she told them herself that they didn’t need an invitation. Whenever they wanted to come over, they could. She didn’t even mind that most of them went straight for the kitchen. She had money enough to replace the food, even though she was cooling it a little bit on that front. The girl hated the fact she had sympathy for her father, but when it came to dealing with Jane, she didn’t want him to deal with his daughter on top of that. Way to sympathetic.
Nell was surprised to see that it was Trish who had come knocking. ”Oh hi,” she said, her smile as friendly as ever, matching the woman’s seemingly amiable expression. Nell knew that Josh had been kicked out because his father found out about her, but how much did his mother know? Everything, most likely. It made her sick to think about, but she wwasn’t going to let that show. Instead, when she inquired after her son, she informed Trish, ”Yeah, he’s here. He’s taking a shower though.” However, she wasn’t about to decline the woman a chance to see her son, so she stepped to the side and opened the door wider, hoping that Pablo wouldn’t bound out like he sometimes did to try and escape into the hall. ”Sure, come on in. Can I get you something to drink? I was just nuking Chinese for myself.” She was showing off her hostess skills, still covering for the fact that she felt pretty damn awkward around her boyfriend’s mother, who probably knew all about the matricide, and Nell didn’t know what the woman thought of her. Well, she’s being pleasant and nice. The girl held Trish in a high respect, because she’d always been so kind to her.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Oct 5, 2011 22:06:04 GMT -5
[YOU ARE GOING TO IGNORE HOW LONG THIS GOT O.O]
Nell still seemed as pleasant as ever, though Trish as the girl greeted her at the door with a smile and a hello. She confirmed the fact that Joshua was staying with her and Patricia was struck with a deep sort of anger. Her son had a place to stay, so why was he still ignoring her as if she had contracted some deadly disease and was now set to be the bringer of the plague? She remember how hard it had been last time when he'd left for months without contact and she was damn determined that it wouldn't happen again. She kept her own smile fixed to her features, stepping across the threshold. Catching sight of the almost-familiar cat, she chuckled. "I'll hazard a guess that this is Pablo?" Being that her son had adopted the practical twin bother of the little cat, she could only assume. Picasso had, of course, missed Joshua's presence in the mansion--as had the other pets. Apache had taken to sleeping in front of the door, knowing by the scent that his owner was gone and vigilantly awaiting his return. This only increased her ire toward him. How selfish could you get, ignoring everything just because one asshole--she was not on good terms with her husband right now, thank you very much--was unhappy with you? And Annabel... no, if she let her thoughts get too sullen she might just strangle the boy when he emerged. "Oh, no, it's fine," Patricia said airily as she waved a hand, "I won't intrude on your company for much longer, I just--" She cut herself off abruptly, then dangerously hissed, "You."
Joshua froze in the act of flattening his hair--ever the respectful house guest, he hadn't opted to walk around shirtless but was fully dressed after showering. However, his amiable expression turned to one of utmost horror as he strolled out of the bathroom and caught sight of his mother. Her smile had vanished, and though she wasn't quite scowling the lack of expression was perhaps even scarier. He took an unconscious step backward. "What are you doing here?" he asked, trying to sound calm but his voice coming out quite anxious and worried. He had seen his mother when she was angry before and this was not the sort of state he wanted to see her in after so long. He thought that he knew what this must be about and thus was dreading it. Casting a glance toward Nell, he asked, "How'd she get in? What is she doing here?" It didn't occur to him that Nell had let Trish come inside because he wasn't thinking straight enough to realise his Mum was a good manipulator. The woman, nice as she was, got what she wanted. And right now she looked quite like she wanted him dead, so he made a subtle noise in his throat almost like a cough and said, "Uh, hi Mum."
Completely ignoring the greeting, Patricia abandoned all other pretences of friendliness and stalked toward him. "What am I doing here?" she asked. She didn't sound like she was losing grip but the rage in her eyes was enough. He took another step back as she got closer, aware that there wasn't much room left between himself and the wall. "You're not the one who should be asking the questions, Joshua Donovan Dale!" she snapped, breaking out the full name for effect. He stepped back once more and he found himself against the wall as Patricia closed the rest of the distance and jabbed a manicured nail into his chest. It hurt, but he was more panicked than injured at present. He couldn't even find words to defend himself as she started in at him, "Ignoring my calls, avoiding me in the streets! Oh, yes," she said with a bit of a sneer, noting how he looked alarmed, "I know what you were doing. Do you have any idea how much -- how much it hurts to know my own son won't talk to me?" That cut like a knife. Patricia hardly ever used the guilt trip tactic on him--it was usually his father's speciality, but he found that she could pull it off with ease. "Mum," Josh said, trying to calm her and wincing with the guilt she was assaulting him with, "I'm not--"
Apparently feeling that words were not enough to keep him quiet and let her finish ranting, Patricia lifted a hand and struck him quite hard. It was less painful than the times he'd endured such treatment from Donovan, but unlike with the older man, Joshua could not bring himself to lay a hand on his mother. Though it would have been easy to overpower her, he could never do that to Patricia. She probably knew this, he reflected bitterly, and was using it to her full advantage. It had the desired effect--he didn't pick up on where he'd left off. "Don't try and tell me that you've not been avoiding me," she said angrily, "because I won't buy it!" He opened his mouth, closed it again, then shook his head. She was right, in a sense. He couldn't deny it, because just as he'd turned whenever he'd seen Nell coming and dashed off in the opposite direction, he had done the same whenever he'd been about to run into his mother. "You're a coward!" she snapped at him. "You're an adult, Joshua, and I wish for once that you'd behave like one! You can't just run away from your problems, can't avoid people -- your own mother -- because you don't want to deal with--" And that was as much as he could take before he automatically snapped back, "Dad fucking disowned me, if you've forgotten!" The fact that they were standing in the presence of Nell--in her apartment--didn't seem to occur to either of them as they bickered with one another. "Don't take that tone with me!" Trish drew herself up, and though much shorter than him, in her anger and his defencelessness she was quite frightening. "And watch your mouth."
Being told at nineteen to watch his mouth was both degrading and almost funny in this situation--here they stood in the apartment of a murderer, Joshua without a home or family to go back to, Trish in a towering temper, and she was concerned about his language? But the humour was quick to pass as he glared. "No. According to Dad I'm not a part of the family any more, so you can't--" Before he could finish, Trish let out a strangled sort of noise that was apparently a sob she'd tried to bite back. A very proud woman, she jerked her chin up and looked away from him, trying to disguise the fact that it had upset her. It was so unexpected and even pitiful that it stopped the sentence in his tracks. "Don't cry," he said desperately, eyes widening with distress. "I didn't--" But he never got the chance to apologise, because she started yelling at him again. "Do you think I care what he says?" Trish demanded, obviously indicating Donovan. "Do you think I care about -- about any of that?" Then, with every word punctuated, she said, "You are my son!" Joshua really didn't know how to respond to that, but she didn't seem to be expecting an answer. She ploughed on, "I wanted to help you, Joshua."
She had stopped yelling, and fortunately it seemed like, having said her bit and called him out, she was simmering down. She addressed both Joshua and Nell as she said, "I know what Jane Sinclair is like and I don't believe for a minute that she told the story truthfully." Joshua's own temper flared up immediately at the name. "That's who told him?" he asked loudly, and a wave of uncomfortable heat started to spread through the room. Patricia gave him a look and waved her hand, immediately returning the temperature to normal. Sometimes he forgot that she was not just his Mum, that she had powers and a life just like she did. He remembered Jane mentioning a knowledge of his parents, and it seemed like she and Trish did not get along. Breathing heavily from the force of her anger, Trish stepped away from Joshua and addressed the Earth girl almost apologetically, "I should have given some sort of warning, I'm sorry." Shaking her head, she told her, "I know about... what happened with you." The words were chosen carefully and delicately, because it would never be easy to admit that she knew Nell had killed her own mother. "But Joshua trusts you--' she spoke as if he were part of the wall, "and I'd sooner believe my son over that witch. None of this is your fault."
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Oct 6, 2011 13:59:39 GMT -5
Nell didn’t sense anything amiss with Trish’s demeanor. She was just slightly nervous. And awkward. Because this woman knew. The girl hadn’t noticed Pablo’s entrance until she glanced down and saw the cat. ”Oh! Yes, that’s Pablo. He’s thinking it’s dinnertime.” He sniffed at Trish’s legs before rubbing against them, apparently unaware of her bottled-up rage as well. Like master like animal. Nell was about to politely insist on getting Trsih something when she turned her down, but then the seethed word was spoken. She glanced to see Josh, her eyes wary with the change in Trish’s mood. Her boyfriend was behaving like an animal caught in headlights, and Nell could only lift her shoulders and hold her hands up in confusion. ”I let her in,” she said meekly, now sensing the anger practically rolling off of Trish.
She ducked her head when the woman started in on ‘parent lecture mode’, knowing she shouldn’t be bearing witness to this. Should…should I go? There was only the kitchen really, and she’d feel lame just sitting on the couch while Trish verbally assaulted her son. But standing there listening to the woman chew Josh out was pretty awkward. Nell hadn’ necessarily been aware of the fact that her boyfriend had been avoiding his mother, she simply inferred somee of it. Now it wasbeing confirmed by the irate woman. Suddenly, the bracelets on her wrists became very interesting, and she twisted them around as she pretended that she wasn’t hearing everything being said.
Her eyes lifted from the pattern on her woven bracelet when she heard the slap, but darted them back down quickly. She knew better than to think that every expression of anger and an upset mother was outright abuse, but she still felt sorry for Josh. Actually, she didn’t know who to feel more sorry for. The son being torn into by his mother or the mother being ignored by her son. All she knew was that she wish she had more bracelets. With only a loose thread in her jeans to distract herself with now, she was tempted to start whistling. No, that’d just be more conspicuous. She definitely did not want to be noticed by the temperamental Fire elementals right now—though this was her first time bearing witness to Trish’s true wrath. When it seemed that said woman was about to cry, even Nell’s gut twisted. I wonder how the laces got so dirty? Nell stared hard at her feet as she clasped her hands in from of her stomach, a gesture of hers she used to make pretend she wasn’t anxious.
Nell’s head instantly jerked up upon hearing Jane’s name, and she felt the sweltering heat at the same time, as if speaking the woman’s name truly was summoning the devil. But with Trish’s hand mothion, the girl realized it had been Josh’s temper quite literally flaring. Of course it was Jane. She was like a woman possessed. Nell felt the bitterness in the pit of her stomach thinking of the woman, along with the fear that always came with the thought of how much power she seemed to have. When Josh’s mother spoke to her, she replied nervously and rather pathetically. ”I figured that you’d have found out. I'm sorry for lying...but...” It was easy to understand where that train of that was going. That she was a murderer on the run from the law, and she felt like she was being put under a microscope right now. Trish was a politician, and it was like speaking to someone at the complete opposite end of the legal spectrum. Nell looked into the woman’s eyes then, questioning, ”You know my aunt?” It was…eerie, really. She couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that possessed her as she kept her hands in front of her uneasy stomach. ”Thank you, anyway. You’re right not to believe my aunt. Or anyone in America.” She didn’t want to say too much, to make it seem like she was just saving her skin here. Nell was just telling the truth, more than her family had ever done.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Oct 6, 2011 14:44:45 GMT -5
Both Joshua and his very irate mother were shaking slightly after the explosive encounter, though for drastically different reasons. Josh was trembling from nerves, having been thoroughly caught off guard by the assault of words and the hard slap which still stung residually but which he found easy to ignore in the face of everything his mother had said to him. Or, rather, yelled at him. Patricia, like her son when he worked himself into a temper, was shaking with the sole effort of suppressing her rage. She was much better at it than he was, however, and would be calm and completely normal in a matter of minutes. It was hard for Joshua not to envy his mother. He had inherited the combined temper issues of both of his parents, something that was rather difficult to deal with. Patricia shook her head when Nell apologised, waving a hand. "You don't have an obligation to tell me anything,"
[/colour] she pointed out, then rounded on her son--he flinched instinctively. "Now you, on the other hand..." Though he definitely did not want her to start shouting again--Nell had neighbours and it wasn't pleasant even if there was no one around to hear it--he still couldn't help but to get a little defensive. He knew that any argument with his mother was going to turn out to be a losing battle, but he argued anyway. "I can't just go around telling people Nell's business!" he said, casting an apologetic glance at the girl in question. He would never reveal to anyone that his girlfriend was a fugitive, not unless she sat down with him and demanded that he do so, which didn't seem likely in the near future. Patricia, however, rolled her eyes. "You think that's what this is about? I don't care about what Nell's done, this is about what you have been doing."Completely dumbfounded, Joshua merely blinked at her. He couldn't even muster up the sensibility to ask what the hell that was supposed to mean, but that was alright because it seemed like Trish was going to explain anyway. Turning to Nell, the woman gave an exasperated shake of her head. "I really am sorry for this," she said, and though some might doubt it she was being genuine, even if she was rather enraged right now. "I have been trying to get a hold of him for weeks now, and he hasn't done a thing. You can't pretend you didn't know, Joshua," she added, narrowing her bright blue eyes in his direction, "because rest assured, I am not that stupid." Josh said nothing at first, then slowly pointed out, "I ignored Nell too, at -- at first." He glanced at his girlfriend with a grimace, knowing that she'd probably remember this time just as well as he did. I missed her birthday, for God's sakes. That was no minor thing, even if Nell had waved it away pretty quickly. He felt bad for everything, really. But he didn't like the feeling of being ganged up on and attacked by his mother, either, especially not in front of Nell. It was embarrassing, really. Trish snorted and spoke, yet again, to the girl rather than her son, "Alarming amount of tact he's got, right?" It was purely sarcastic and accompanied by the same venom Joshua often used in his own tone when snarking someone. Like mother, like son. He felt discomfited by the similarities sometimes. Understanding that she had probably intruded upon Nell's company for long enough, and having gotten the things she wanted to say out of the way regardless, Patricia might have left if not for the question. She seemed to struggle for a moment, deciding which choice words could describe how she felt, and then she forced herself to smile. "We... ah, we attended the Academy at the same time." Josh gave Nell an almost amused glance and mouthed, 'That means she hates her.' It probably wouldn't have been obvious to someone that hadn't grown up around the woman. "Anyway," said Trish, pretending to check the time on her phone as if she had something to attend to (Josh guessed she was just looking for a way to duck out of the situation), "I've got to dash. You will answer the phone the next time I call? I want to help you, Joshua, how difficult is that to understand?" Not really knowing how to respond to that--he found it very hard to talk to his mother, sometimes--Josh just nodded and didn't release his pent up breath until he was sure that they were safe. "I am so sorry," he said regretfully, and the apology came a little easier because he was apologising on behalf of his Mum's behaviour rather than anything else. "I didn't know she'd -- I didn't expect that." Running a hand through his black hair, he gave a half-hearted smile and said, "Well, at least she doesn't seem to care too much about the fact that I'm dating you." No, she was only in a rage about every minuscule thing he'd ever done to offend her. He knew his mother, knew she'd probably stored it all up, and knew he'd get the full force of it when she cornered him away from the public eye. "She's got a strong arm," he said jokingly, working his jaw a little. If it were his father he would have been bitter about it, but with Patricia it was just... different. "Mothers," he sighed. "So what did I -- or she, really -- interrupt?"[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify][/size] |
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Oct 6, 2011 19:21:38 GMT -5
Nell nodded at Trish’s words, even though she felt she did have an obligation to tell the world about what she did. So people would know who they were dealing with. But if she applied that logic to her entire life, she’d have no secrets and so she used that thought to calm her other pressing worries. Instead, she was focusing on the fact that the woman was just so easily waving away this. Her son is dating a murderer? Fine, whatever, she’s just going to verbally abuse him for avoiding her. So Nell figured that it really was just his father who had made the decision to kick him out, and his father alone.
Snapping away from those thoughts, Nell waved her hands from side to side a bit lamely. ”It’s okay, really.” Not awkward at all, don’t worry about it. She really didn’t mind though. It was clear Trish was upset with Josh, and Nell wasn’t about to interfere with family stuff like that just so she wouldn’t feel like a third wheel in the argument. Not only that, she wouldn’t want to have the woman round on her. She was scary when mad. But when Trish’s ire returned to her son again, Nell once more felt as if maybe she should slink out of the room and leave them alone. Instead, she looked between the two of them, her eyes darting back and forth. She did catch Josh’s eye when he mentioned that he’d avoided her for a while, missing her birthday—which honestly, she didn’t mind. She probably wouldn’t even celebrate next year. Maybe won’t be able to, since she could be going to prison and Josh’s parents knew that and she stopped thinking about it then because her stomach began to churn. ”Uh…” was all Nell could get out when Trish gave her dry remark, wanting to be polite and respond to the frightening woman, but not wanting to say anything bad about her boyfriend. Her hands were still up in a semi-defensive gesture, eyes a little wide.
Apparently, the two went to the Academy together and Nell had to remind herself that Jane had a life outside of tormenting her. Still, it was still unnerving to know that Trish was acquainted with the woman. And judging by Josh’s silent words, hated her too. Does anyone like her? Nell knew that her father and his family didn’t, and neither did Trish or Josh. ”O…kay,” she said, still processing the information. Try not to be so creeped out by your boyfriend’s mother knowing your psychotic aunt. It wasn’t working too well, but thankfully Trish appeared to be heading somewhere. Or maybe she just wanted to leave, either way, Nell reclaimed her usual bright smile and said, ”It was nice seeing you.” I guess? Well, she did like the woman…when she wasn’t yelling at Josh. That was something else that had perturbed her, but she knew that even the nicest of people couldn’t be nice all the time. When Trish left, the Earth girl was once again waving her hands in a dismissive gesture. ”It’s fine. Seriously.” It was especially fine that Trish wasn’t biting her head off. Not that she enjoyed her boyfriend being lectured by his mother, but she really did expect his mother to be concerned about her status as a murderous fugitive. And add to the fact that she was a mother herself, and Nell felt more uncomfortable. She had to wonder what Trish really thought, as a mother who loved her children. Josh seemed to have read her mind and she said, her words carrying a little bit of dazed shock, ”It’s nice to have her….approval?” Or simply acceptance she guessed. Please don’t let her hate me. She nodded numbly at his words saying, ”Mean right hook.” She knew something about mothers and violence and she could agree with mothers. She seemed to consider his words for a moment before starting and saying, ”Oh right, I was nuking Chinese.” And she realized that she left it out on the counter and groaned when she noticed Pablo missing. ”Oh, that cat better not be on the counter…” she mumbled as she walked back into the kitchen.
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