Topic: Every Summer Rose has its thorns

Summer Daniels

Date: 2013-03-07 08:41 EST
It should have been the monitors that woke her with their insistent beeping, or maybe the nurses that came and went. Instead it was the steady glare of Jacks that woke her to full consciousness. She didn?t open her eyes, not right off, she wanted to gather at least some of her wits before she had to deal with the man. His stare felt like it was boring a hole through her head, maybe that?s what Trent Reznor was experiencing when he wrote the song?

?I know you are awake.? His deep baritone was muted, there must be other people nearby, and edged, he was gods awful mad.

?I know you do Jacks. Just wanted to gather myself a bit because we all know that apologizing ain?t exactly one of my strengths.? Her voice sounded weak and that surprised her nearly as much as the pain that shot through the left side of her face when she moved it.

?Your cheekbone is cracked. From your expression I gather the pain medications have worn off.? He didn?t move to get her more, he was not interested in easing her pain. His ice-blue eyes were fixed on her face, his expression flat and cold. ?You do not think that will suffice, do you??

It was fair. If anyone she?d cared about had been so colossally stubborn or stupid she wouldn?t have let them get away with just that. ?I know I was wrong, Jacks. I shouldn?t?ve sent your guys away. I?d say what I was thinking but it obviously wasn?t of the right things.? She peered over his shoulder and saw unfamiliar faces. ?New guards? You didn?t fire the other guys, it wasn?t their fault.?

He held up a hand to quiet her and for a miracle it worked. ?You were brought to a hospital where knights watch. Harper was the one that got you lifted here.? He paused and then there was something added to his tone that said this next part she really deserved for her transgressions. ?After Ford and Colt found you.?

She knew her face tried to do something because it hurt like hell. ?Ford...and Colt... which means my whole family. What...what do they think happened?? What the hell was she going to tell them? The truth? Gods no, that would put them in danger. Had she already done that by not telling them enough. ?Damnit.? There was more on the tip of her tongue but when she looked at Jacks there was something in his gaze that stopped her and made her change the words. ?Jacks, I really am sorry. I know I?m impossible. I?m a pain and a stubborn, selfish, prideful fool.?

His hand moved faster than her eye could follow and was clutching her wrist in a grip just shy of painful. ?Do not do that again. Promise me Summer. Promise me you will not compromise your security again. And use words that you will not twist. Promise me or I am going to hand off the assignment to someone else.?

She?d wounded him a lot deeper than she'd thought and that was far more painful than a cracked bone. This was part of the reason she had so much trouble letting people get close, and why all the wounds she?d taken in the Void or otherwise were nothing but something to endure until they healed; physical wounds did that, they healed, the emotional ones?

?Jacks.? She moved her free hand to rest on top of his and gently squeezed. ?I promise I will try my best not to put you in this position again. I don?t want to cause you or anyone else to worry about me, I just...? Was inept at being a proper human girl? Would do better if she were made of wood and had someone tugging her strings? ?I can?t stop being who I am but I can try not to keep putting up barricades against the people I care about.?

Jacks was silent as he mulled over her response. ?You drive me toward the cliffs of insanity far too often, Summer. It is alright to admit that people care for you and to keep that in mind before you do something stupid.?

?Yeah, I get that. You should hire yourself a giant to help you climb those cliffs, or a man in black. But... I?m about to unplug these machines and find a way to get back to my house. So...? It wasn?t smart, but the last thing she wanted was to be in a hospital. She?d done a quick inventory of her state and she was weak -- dehydration she figured -- and in a bit of pain in her face, just a cracked cheekbone, and her side, the stitches would have been redone, and decided none of that required an extended stay in this place.

?No.? Flatly stated, commanding.

?Oh yeah, yeah, Jacks. And you know that I mean what I say. You can either help me get back to my house and set me up with the proper post-hospital care or... I will wait until sunrise and do it then, with the guards with me, but still... will be going home.?

He growled at her, feeling his temper rise, but also realizing that this was her way of keeping him in charge, if only vaguely. ?You are going to tell your cousins about what you do?? He said even as he shot off a text to a few people and hit the button for a nurse; if the machines and IV were going to come out he?d prefer it be done by a professional and not Summer just tearing them free.

?Been trying to tell them for awhile. Just isn?t something that is easy to explain and I haven?t really gotten the ride-along to the Void down. Without showing people what it is there is no real sense of why anyone would want it badly enough to do something like... this.? A wave of her hand to indicate her face.

?You should try harder. You all should. For a family that is so close you keep a lot of secrets.? He said, acknowledging the fact that Summer wasn?t the only one holding out. He could understand to a point, he had abandoned his family rather than tell them what he had become.

She made no response, there wasn?t one required. Her thoughts turned to getting out of the hospital, that was first on the list, the rest of it could follow when she was home.

Summer Daniels

Date: 2013-03-07 20:02 EST
There was a bag of half melted ice next to her that had been on her face but it was hurting her nearly as much as the damage she was trying to mitigate. She was also bored, and on lockdown until Jacks was convinced he could protect her when she went out.

?New phone you are pretty but you aren?t my old phone. I know, it?s hard to hear about a persons ex...but I wanted to start this relationship off honestly.? Her new phone was alien made and really sweet, but... not her old phone. She thumbed through the numbers she had in there as Galaxy Quest started up on her television. The scrolling stopped when she got to one of the contacts, Cooper, and she stared at it. ?You... really shouldn?t.?

You there?

Was typed and sent before she could think about it. ?Damn it all girl, I said shouldn?t. Like should not!?

Whatever?s left of me. Yeah. What?s up?

She stared at the reply. ?Stupid, now he?s going to expect an answer. Just say something like... was just saying hi, or something.?

The leftovers of you is still like twice of me, so that?ll do.

?Good, that?s good, now follow up with just saying hi.?

You busy tomorrow night?

?WHAT? Oh for the love of Grabthar?s hammer!? Mimicking the movie in the background, she loved it and had seen it enough times she could repeat the words verbatim. ?How many of the pain pills did I take? Please say you?re busy. Pleaseplease say you?re busy.? She held the phone up and prayed to it.

I?m never busy anymore. Just depends on how much get-up-and-go I?ve got. Could do something, maybe.

?Sh*t. You are not earning brownie points here with me phone. Ok, this is still salvageable.? One hand rose to touch the left side of her face. She looked like some kind of female Two-Face with the left side purple and swollen and the right side nearly normal.

Mad max marathon?

I think I could be down with that.

?Really? What?s the game plan here, Summer? Do you want him to see you like this?? She poked at her face hard enough to make herself wince. The guard on duty stirred and made like he was about to get up and come closer to her. ?I?m good! But if you wouldn?t mind getting me another pain pill?? Her side ached horribly. The goons hadn?t been satisfied just reopening the wound, they?d done a whole lot more damage and there was a nasty purple-black bruise from her hip up to just under her arm from the internal bleeding. ?I know, scare him.?

You OK with coming to my house? My bodyguards will be here so they can protect you if you fear me trying to collect on the bounty.

?Haha. Me trying to collect on the bounty.? Pause. A whisper. ?I wouldn?t be doing it for the bounty.? Blink. ?For the love of that beast on Enok 7.? Still using the movie in the background as inspiration for her monologue. ?He doesn?t wa... he hasn?t given you any signa... just no.? She reached for her orange crush to take a sip.

Since I don?t have a T.V. currently, yeah. And I imagine if anything happened, I doubt they?d try to stop you. They?re on your payroll afterall. Haha.

She choked on the orange crush. Misha, the bodyguard, was back with a pill and looking at her with huge brown eyes that were full of concern. ?Miss Summer?? Pat-pat-pat on her back as gentle as a spring breeze, like that would dislodge anything. She waved a hand at him, indicated he should give her the pill. ?Good.? Gasp. ?You can go back to reading.? Gasp.

My bodyguards are a little... hmm, let?s call it upset with me. Got a tiny favor to ask. Small. Nearly invisible.

Okay?

Summer Daniels

Date: 2013-03-07 20:43 EST
I look a little beat up.

?A little? Way to downplay that Quasimodo.?

Would rather not spin some elaborate, magical, technically truthful but really just semantically confusing tale. I also don?t want to tell you the truth. So if you could just accept that and not ask, and try not to cringe when you see me, that?d be great.

?Seriously? What is wrong with you? Whywhywhywhy are you inviting him over?? She popped the pain pill while waiting for a reply.

Could probably do you one better. How bad is it?

There was one horrifying moment where her brain wanted to make it a competition. The two foot bruise up her left side should win her that right? ?No... no don?t do that.?

Hmm, was considering wearing a mask, that give you an idea of it?

?You should mention you already have the masks because you like to cosplay superheroes, that?ll scare him off.?

Anything broken?

Cracked my cheekbone.

Yeah. Could probably do you one better.

How so?

Hard to explain. You?d have to see to understand.

... ... She stared at the phone and what it was saying. He wasn?t as broad as he?d been the first time she had seen him maybe a year ago? He was still tall, and there was something about him that obviously drew her attention. When was the last time she?d even considered a man in that way? Like a year ago and that had worked out so well... she?d found out he was not just not single, but living with someone at the time he was proclaiming his interest in her. ?He isn?t offering to do a striptease for you Summer, probably just show you like a scar on his leg or something.?

Have we moved into sexting?

?OH GODS! Stupid brain.? She hadn?t typed that it had gone straight from her implant in her brain to the phone. It was how she did a lot of her computer work but she tried not to do it for things like texting, it usually ended with things like that going out into the world.

That was a joke,haha. ha.

Ha. No. Sadly I make for poor carnal company these days. Much to the chagrin of the scores of women trying to cash in on Franco?s bounty.

Her head was buried in a pillow, that only lasted a moment as her face screamed a bloody protest at the pain it caused. ?You can still salvage this Summer. Just stop saying stupid things.?

You completely opposed to someone using you as a cushion while you watch movies on a couch? And I won?t be hurt if you say no... I?m still not as fragile as I look, despite what I?ve been told a zillion times by Jacks in the past few days.

There was more staring at the phone, this time at what it was she sent. ?That... and...? And if she was honest with herself, which she could be -- often brutally at times -- the thought of it was one that was nice. There were certain things that she missed, having someone to just lean against while watching a movie was among them. She didn?t need a man. The past three years without one had proven that, right? Didn?t mean she didn?t miss some things.

I?m not exactly the comfortable sort these days. Not enough stuffing and too many hard angles, but I won?t feel put out if you don?t mind it being uncomfortable.

?OK, you suck text. I need more than that to tell what he means by that. Is that a polite way of saying stay off? It could be... but he seems the the type to say what he means.? It was something she really appreciated about the man.

Kind of need a bit of time with someone that doesn?t want to yell at me, if you can imagine that. Figure it?ll take one or two more times hanging out with me and you?ll be in that boat. Funny that you started with telling me I?d run away screaming if I got to know you, pretty sure at this point I have things to say that?d invoke that reaction from you. I?m selfish sometimes. It?s why I don?t want to... I don?t know. Don?t want to send you away screaming, even if I should. So, scores of women, huh?

The entire paragraph had gone straight from her thoughts to the phone and she was seriously thinking she should just turn the damn thing off. She was high on pain meds and spilling her guts in a very un-Summer-like manner.

Run? Probably not. I don?t run so easy these days I don?t run so good. After ten years of Rhy?din there isn?t a whole lot that surprises me. Hurts? Yeah. Saddens? Plenty. Surprises? Not exactly. And I?m sure there are scores of women out there willing to jump my bones for 1000 silver. That?s a lot of cash.

?Would do it for free.? Not even loud enough to be considered a whisper.

I make enough money I don?t need to do that, thankfully.
Sent and a microsecond later followed by another.
I mean, not that the thought of doing that with you is so horrible.
Less than a microsecond later followed by another.
I mean, not that I?m thinking about that!
A few seconds passed before the last of the series.
Someone should take my phone away from me.

The pain meds were really doing a number on her filters. Oh sure, it was the pain meds that were putting those images in her head. Had nothing to do with the fact she hadn?t been with a guy in for... EVER, or that she was undeniably attracted to Cooper, nope.

The rest of the conversation was pretty normal. Confirm of the time for movie watching and settling on some pizza for dinner. She drifted off in the middle of some thought but it couldn?t have been that important.

Her dreams were a hodge-podge of good and bad, or perhaps it woudl be a better description to say that it was some really good bad stuff.

(Adapted from play with CGallows)

Summer Daniels

Date: 2013-03-11 10:29 EST
It was a bad idea to be in the Void already but it was the one place that she could feel like herself. The irony that she used an avatar of a male faerie was not lost on her but the impish attitude and confidence in her mastery of the environment was something she could only express in this place.

The pain of her body was a problem, she had stopped taking the pain medication so that her mind would be clear but the pain infused the whole of her being and was effecting her thoughts. Sitting on her bike in the center of her territory she was brooding again and that was not a productive use of her time so she shook herself out of it and focused on a task.

The building she was in was going to be the focus of an event she had been planning for nearly a year, by for now it was a large, open space that had been prepared for the reams of code.

It would go from a neon lighted space to an elaborate reproduction of the forest set outside of Athens and starring in the play A Midsummers Night Dream. She had created the characters with painstaking precision, they would be unrecognizable as programs, most would mistake them for avatars and they would be wrong excepting, of course, that she would be there as Puck. The event was scheduled for a little over a month from now, the calendar for the Void varying by months from that of Rhy?din or Earth, and she had no intention of allowing the recent incident to effect that.

One hand moved through the air and the underlying code for the area was displayed, thousands of lines of code flew by her eyes as she searched for chinks in the armor she had crafted. This was the heart of who she was, the depth of soul that she poured into the creation made her feel a little bit like Dr. Frankenstein looking at a lightning born monster. It breathed, the heart of it beat to a rhythm that only an elite group of people could hear or understand, and in her eyes it was perfect.

It was good that she had this place as the rest of her life stood in stark contrast to its success. In this place she found success and harmony, out there? There was a small possibility that she could f*ck up her personal life more spectacularly but she?d have had to try really hard. The event three years ago still hovered in the shadows, still taunted her with the shattered pieces of her psyche from a time when there was little left to fill the emptiness inside. It was a knife wound in an old scar that the man she found interesting was so very unavailable.

The creature stirred in the shadows, waiting to break apart the fragile stability she had achieved over the past few years. Turning her eye inward to stare it down, force it back where it could sulk but do no harm, not now... she was stronger than she had been then and if she was going to break it wouldn?t be for that. Re-forged by fire and suffering, who knew that actually worked sometimes?

Her recent decisions were suspect and she could stand apart from them now, in this place, to view them with a cold, calculated logic that she wrapped herself in more often than not. Her enjoyment of Coopers company was genuine, she liked him. What type of future could that have? The honest answer was that it probably couldn?t. Even if he changed his mind and decided that she was worth taking a chance on, something that did not seem likely, where would it go? Maybe she had learned something from the soul shattering event, and maybe she was finally able to accept the possibility she was ready to try again?

There was something in the code that drew her attention back to the scroll and she paused it, the line of code hovered in space as she read and reread the string. There was something wrong, something subtle and she had nearly missed it. When she sorted out what it was she laughed, it echoed through the building and several passersby, on their way to one bar or another in the district, felt a chill run up their spine at the sound that was full of dread promise.

She had found the hook in her code that would have given away her identity outside the void. It was brilliant, nearly as brilliant as herself, the difference would be that the avatar responsible was nowhere near her level of competence in the Void and now that she had his scent he was about to experience why she was one of the Kingpings, and he was not.