03.2023 | WELCOME BACK! Hello friends old and new! I'm so excited to welcome you all back to SITW! I've made some changes to the plot and added the ability to play supernatural charcaters! So come and check it out! I can't wait to jump back into this little town with all of you!
A strange history surrounds the town, it is a place where mysterious and supernatural things have been known to happen. The reputation of the town reguarly draws in visitors and newcomers alike. While some residents avidly believe in the supernatural, others are far more skeptical. What do you believe?
And then she did drop her gaze and swallowed. Yes? He was seeing someone? He had moved on? Finally decided that she wasn't worth waiting on? She guessed that part of her had always believed that one day he'd see her side of things. He'd decide that their love was worth more than his reputation, that no one would really judge him for being with her. In an instant all of those beliefs were shattered, scattered across the floor of her diner.
She looked back up as he clarified, swallowing again and forcing a smile. "Oh? Well that's nice. When is your date? Gonna take her someplace nice?" It was a little bit of a relief that they hadn't gone out yet, but it didn't change the way she felt about it. Who was this woman?
"Friday." He was digging a hole. Lying was a terrible, terrible thing. Not his habit at all. "And I haven't decided yet. Would you be okay if I brought her here?" He was still looking at her. He had the thought that this was mean, but maybe it wasn't. Maybe she didn't care. She sounded happy for him. Yeah right, light she cared about his happiness. She never would have left him if she did. He hated this stiff civility. He'd seen her naked more times than he could count. They weren't just acquaintances or old friends. There was too much history to ever try to pretend. Yet here they were, pretending. Brodie felt a little sick. He forced himself to take a bite of his burger.
"Here?" She asked. He must be messing with her now, or rubbing it on purpose. Unless he truly believed that they were now just friends and that the history between them meant nothing. That the spark and longing between them was truly only one-sided and he didn't miss her at all. "It's not the most romantic location." She said, not really answering his question and looking down at her plate to take a bite of her burger.
"I was thinking of going to the drive-in this weekend." She said after a minute, attempting to change the subject. "Do you have any idea what's playing?"
Brodie chewed his burger slowly. It took him a moment to clear his mouth before he could answer her.
"There aren't many romantic places in Sweetwater." He pointed out. He'd have to go to the town over if he wanted romantic, and he hated leaving Sweetwater. Besides, it was a first date. No need to set unrealistic expectations from the beginning. Her changing of the subject wasn't smooth, but he found himself eager to move on too.
"No idea." He wasn't much of a movie guy--not unless it was with the right person. "Take Aurelia so you aren't alone, huh?" He used his tongue to dislodge some beef from his teeth as he looked at Kate.
Kate dipped a fry in the ketchup on her plate, moving it around in a soft swirling motion and nodded slowly at his suggestion. She would like to go with Aurelia, though the girl was growing up. "She would probably rather hang out with her friends than her Aunt." She said with a one shouldered shrug and a smile, not looking up from her plate. "You could go with me if you want..."
Brodie was taking a bite of his burger when she said he could go with her. He shoved more of the burger in, giving himself longer to chew, to think, to recover. He didn't cough and sputter on his. He nodded his head, as if he heard her, but then raised a finger so she'd give him a moment.
Did she just ask him out? It seemed like a friendly sort of thing. He was eager to respond in the positive, but he knew he had to play his cards right. After all, he was now supposedly going on a date with someone else.
"I'll have to see," he said after swallowing, "if I'm on duty. But Saturday night could work." He made sure his tone was extremely nonchalant. He followed his words with a drink and a fry.
Kate's lips lifted into a half smile as she looked at her plate, only able to hide the smile enough by not using her full lips. She nodded and picked up another fry. "Ok, just let me know." She too was trying to sound casual while also going through all the outfits in her closest in her mind. Maybe if she proved that even a chill Saturday movie after a Friday date was better with her than with whoever this chick was...no, she was getting ahead of herself.
She finally looked up and took a bite of her burger. She smiled at Brodie. She really did miss him. "So, how are the kids?" She asked after swallowing.
Brodie concealed his pleasure with another bite of burger, but he was already thinking about what he might possibly say to her at the movie to make her move back in. Or maybe just kiss him. Or maybe... she was more to him than a release, but that had surely been one of the most invigorating parts of their relationship.
The subject change was welcome. Again.
"They're the same. Good. A struggle." He was thinking particularly about his son when he said that. He smiled. "Nothing much has changed, Kate." He didn't go into details.
She smiled softly and nodded. "It'll get better. You know everything is just a phase. Before you know it they'll be grown and out on their own." It was a happy thought but also a sad one. She wondered their lives would look like. Would they go to college? What for? Where would they work? Would they get married? Have kids of their own? She smiled to herself at the thought of Brodie walking Aurelia down the isle.
"My son's twenty-two. The phase is supposed to end at nineteen. I don't understand him at all." That wasn't supposed to be how the father-son relationship was. He was supposed to be just like daddy. They were supposed to enjoy fishing together. Brodie was supposed to teach him how to shoot a gun...
"I'm just glad they're here. I don't want them to leave Sweetwater." He admitted. They had everything they needed in Sweetwater. The last beloved family member to leave never came back. No, Brodie didn't want to ever say goodbye to his children. Not them, too.
Kate nodded, I guess that was true. She still thought of his son as a young kid still in high school. It was crazy to think he was already twenty-two. It was sad to see that Brodie wasn't closer with his kids, especially since their mother was gone, her sister. This poor little family had suffered so much. And then on top of that left Brodie. She hadn't left the family, she was still close with the kids. As far as they knew of course she would move out again one day. They didn't need her as much anymore.
But she still had the overwhelming desire to fix Brodie, to be the balm for his emotional wounds. She had let him down. But he had let her down too, hadn't he?
"I'm glad they're here too." She replied. "Tell me more about this Michael kid. How long has he been living with you guys?"
Brodie had a lot he wanted to say. They hadn't said everything that night before she moved out. Surely there was more. He wondered if he'd said different things if he could have gotten her to stay. If he was a lying man he would have told her he'd marry her one day. But...he just wasn't sure. This time when she changed the subject he didn't like it. He took another big bite, finishing his burger. He cleared his mouth before speaking.
"I know his uncle. He's a cop in another county. The kid ran away from home and needs a place to be put up. The situation's...complicated." She'd likely heard that many times from him. He was never allowed to tell her everything, though he told her as much as he could. "He's had a rough go of life. Needed someone." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's all very new."
Given what little information that Brodie gave her Kate wasn't sure to feel bad for the kid or cautious from him. Had he run away because he was a hooligan of a child or because he had to get out of a bad situation. She knew better than to ask for more details and ultimately decided there was no point in judging the kid before she met him.
"Well I hope things get better." She stirred her drink up with her straw, creating a small funneling effect as she did so and leaned back in her seat, full from her food though it wasn't gone, but not eager to leave either. It was nice to sit and talk to him.
"They will." Brodie assured her, smiling at her as she sat back. She was beautiful. It was nice for him to be with her, too. This felt normal. More than normal, this felt right.
He couldn't hep himself. He'd resolved not to bring anything up, but sitting here with her, thinking about them, he couldn't help the words as they left his mouth:
"You never should have left." It was a very quiet whisper, and from his expression it was obvious that he was disappointed in himself for saying it. He sighed and looked down at his plate, resolved to finish all his fries.
Kate frowned. Of all the times to bring this up she would have never have thought he would do it here, in the middle of the diner. She dropped her gaze. What could she say here? "I miss being there." was all she could manage, because it was the truth and wouldn't spill their secret in front of the people here. Wasn't that what he was most afraid of.