beach break

Phoebe

"Don't apologize. You didn't make me uncomfortable." she said quickly, the same soft, melancholic smile she had worn before curving her lips. Quite the contrary actually. It had been nice. Physical affection given without request? Simply because he wished to give it? Because he thought she had some worth or wanted her or any number of things? It was what she had been yearning for after all. But...she couldn't have it. She couldn't chase it. She had made those mistakes too many times already.

Phoebe swallowed a lump in her throat as he continued though, staring down at her hands as they rested on the towel she had been about to roll up. Not too long ago a pretty ring had sat upon one of those fingers. Not long before those hands had prepared to hold a child. And what did they have now? Nothing. Such was her fate. She could not drag another down with her again. "Trust me when I say you don't want a chance with me." she said, almost a whisper. "It'd be like a sailor chasing a siren on a rocky shore." she said, that same sad smile curving her lips as she glanced back up at him.

"You can ask anyone who knows me. The governor. The man who owns the boxing ring...even Frey." she said quietly. No, she was not a woman to be chased for a chance or yearned for. All pursuit of romance did was bring sorrow to all involved.

I can see your sad story eyes,
So how do you have no words to say

Elias

Elias pursed his lips, moving to set his basket down, as he listened to her. "I'll take my chances." He got it; so much had happened in the past, she didn't think that she could have someone who truly cared about her.

"You told me that you felt like a shadow, in a sea of color," more or less the gist of her words. He straightened, lips curving in an honest smile. "But Phoebe, listen. You're anything but a shadow. And... maybe you're out of chances to give, or you think you're out of chances to receive." He paused his gaze wandering the beach.

"I'm not out of either." Elias falls into silence for a moment, watching the ocean, sunlight reflecting off the waves.

"Every drop of water in that ocean comes from somewhere else. But together, the ocean is whole and beautiful. Things happen, and it loses water, but then... sometimes, it rains." He's smiling, as he studies the water, "The clouds in the sky are similar, in fact, most of the world is a puzzle piece. When there's an eruption," A relevant statement, "Things go chaotic for a little while. But eventually, they get better, a new ecosystem might develop, or maybe it gets cleaned up. But it does get better."

He reached for his basket again, turning to face her, brushing a stray hair from his eyes as the wind blew, "The good cannot exist without the bad, Phoebe, and too much of the bad can blind you to the good."

I'm so tired of the shore, let me in, baby,
You're an ocean beautiful and blue, I wanna swim in you.

Phoebe

As he spoke, her own lips pursed and she began to roll up her towel. Poetic as his words were, as much as she yearned to believe them and wallow in the comfort they gave, she recoiled. "It is easy to look at something with a pretty exterior and see only beauty. But the most beautiful things can be the most dangerous." she said, gaze and voice distant. "Foxglove. Belladonna. Larkspur. Oleander. Wolfsbane. They are the most beautiful of blooms, and the faintest taste can drop a fully grown man." she said, placing her towel and book in her bag.

She pulled on a loose, thin, very flowy coverup sort of dress that barely reached just above her knees, still speckled with perfectly round scars. "You ought to talk to my ex-husband before you take any chances. He will give you the truth you cannot see." she said, lips pulling to a thin line. She didn't like this. It hurt to put this part of her on display. She didn't want him to talk to Sunjata, to hear about how horrible she was and could be - she wanted to believe that maybe, this time, a man meant what he said.

But precedent was against him, and she did not know his character well enough to know the depths of his honesty. "Don't waste your chances chasing me. I'm not worth it. Nothing you do or say will change that."

I can see your sad story eyes,
So how do you have no words to say

Elias

Elias's lips pursed, as she attacked. Vicious, a viper in a dress. But, he just smiled. "One day you'll lower your walls, Phoebe." The man was patient, and he could appreciate that she didn't know him well enough to believe him.

"I'm not going to speak to your ex-husband, because it does not matter how he saw you, because it'll not be how I do." He stated, undoing his hair as he watched her.

"Who says chances run out?" With those words, Elias turned and he started off, basket in hand. "One day, you'll give me that date," he called, sounding far too cheerful for a man who'd just been shot down.

She was stubborn, but she'd provided him clues. Frey, the governor. He'd attempt to talk to them; but he'd not listen to a word her ex-husband had to say.

Elias Vaughn could be just as stubborn, and he'd make sure she realized that.

I'm so tired of the shore, let me in, baby,
You're an ocean beautiful and blue, I wanna swim in you.

Phoebe

It was grating, his stubbornness. Her brows furrowed as she held his gaze. "I'm very tired of men, especially those older than me, telling me all about the things I will and won't do some day. That isn't for you to decide, Elias." she said sharply. She was putting these walls up for both their sakes. But she was young and female and so everyone seemed to think they had a leg to stand on telling her what to do.

"If you're not willing to have your rose colored view of me and the world tarnished by speaking with Sunjata then you won't get a date." she said simply, shaking her head. "I like you, Elias. You're smart, kind, have a big heart clearly...but you don't know me or what I have been through. So do refrain from lecturing me until you have the full scope, thank you very much." she said, turning on her heel to leave.

I can see your sad story eyes,
So how do you have no words to say

Elias

He stopped walking, turning to study her, pursing his lips in thought. "Well, I suppose I've got to talk to Sunjata, then. Find out who I'm trying to court." He offered a wave, "You'll see me soon, little wallflower." His confidence hardly wavered. She'd find it hard to sway him, especially when he's set his mind on something.

Stubborn is as stubborn does, though.

"Have a safe evening, Phoebe." With those words, he was on his way.

-FIN-

I'm so tired of the shore, let me in, baby,
You're an ocean beautiful and blue, I wanna swim in you.