can't leave now, I'm haunted (Open)

Loren not afraid to use every trick in the book Rexanna smiled back at Loren, so he must’ve done something right. It didn’t feel that way, but he’d take whatever small victory he could. The next smile she gave him simply puzzled the librarian, but not as much as the woman’s comment that she was fine with what Zariah had done. Loren didn’t know much, but he knew that Zariah’s actions had a way of lasting far past what she’d intended. Of course, that was partially a result of her own stubborn shortsightedness. Still, who was he to deny Rexanna her peace. “If you say so.” His voice came out hesitantly. Then, because even after all this time, he still felt compelled to clean up his family’s mistakes, so he added, “but if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, let me know.” Some things would never change, it seemed; the Launceleyns had saddled him with a terrible reputation that he’d have to work hard to overcome. He hadn’t helped matters by disappearing like he did. As Rexanna revealed more details, Loren ran a hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up in parts. The Launceleyn didn’t notice, nor did he care. The days of caring about his appearance—not that he’d ever been too concerned with it—were long gone. “Oh. I...see. That would’ve done it, but I guess it all worked out in the end anyway.” Actually, Loren didn’t see, not really, nor did he understand half of what the blue-eyed woman had just said, but he wasn’t going to pry for more details, given Zariah’s involvement in it all. Then a familiar name came up and Loren bit his lip. “People keep telling me about this new relative of mine, but I’ve never met him.” The librarian’s tone came out more exasperated than he’d intended; between Beatrix's dislike of the mystery man, Peter’s complete lack of presence at the manor, and now this revelation that Zariah had not only basically shanghai’d someone into the family for reasons unknown, but also had tried to marry him off to boot, Loren was not getting the best picture of the man. But the summoner would hold off judgment until they’d actually met. At Rexanna’s comment about the past, Loren paused. “For some of us more than others,” he said softly. And even for those who'd successfully left their past behind, remnants of it still seemed to haunt them. Loren himself was a living, breathing symbol of that. He hesitated, not really sure what he was looking for, and wary of saying anything about Zariah for obvious reasons. “I don’t know, honestly. I figure she wasn’t the type to keep notes, but maybe she changed while I was...gone.” Although he really needed to find a better way to explain his absence, gone seemed as good a word as any. “So just anything she left behind, I guess.” Loren shrugged, slightly embarrassed: now that he was forced to say it out loud, it all sounded rather silly. To cover his chagrin, he bent down to look under the bar again, giving the spider a wide berth.