Loss

Kirk rolled his eyes and ran a finger along Adison's arm. "I never want you to leave, you know that." He might have been stressed and cranky lately, but he still needed her desperately. Still a little sleepy, he yawned again and glanced over at the wall clock. His stomach gave a little growl, confirming the time, and he gave Adison a sheepish look. "How about ordering in Chinese and watching a movie? Unless you're tired of this old, lumpy seat." Pausing, he smirked. "I'm talking about the couch."


In all honesty, Misty's words confused Alec. He'd known they were friends. Close friends maybe? But he never would have expected this reaction. Maybe because while being held captive, he had ended up assuming no one really cared since no one had come for him. This was... hard for some reason. 

He found himself looking down at Misty's hand which still held his own in a tight grip. Still listening, his eyes shot up quickly. She and Carson were back together? That was wonderful news. And a house? He tried to smile. Things... really had changed in the last few months. He was thrilled, he really was. And yet... for some reason, he was finding it hard to express that. 

Shifting a little, he gave her more room to be on the bed with him. Again, another surprise. But... it did feel awfully nice to have someone close to him again. "Wow, that's... that's really great. I'm really happy for you guys. You deserve it." After all she'd been through, she really did deserve to be happy. Alec just hoped that Carson actually was finished with the games he'd been playing. When all was said and done though... where did that leave Alec now? When he was released from the hospital, where would he even go? What else had changed? If he was thought to be dead, did that mean nothing of his was even left? It felt too awkward to outright ask those things, so he just forced another smile instead. 

"I wouldn't turn down something other than hospital food," he added. Pausing, he tried to slow his mind down, which was going every direction at top speed. "So Carson, he... doesn't know I'm alive yet either?" It was hard to believe. They'd been getting along well before Alec had left, but... he wasn't convinced his brother would be all that excited about this. 


Dylan gave the giant a wry grin. That was a lot of information. "I like just about any kind of pizza and... actually, some water would be great."

He wandered inside a ways with Dalton before ambling over to the very large DVD collection and browsing the titles. It seemed Dalton had a wide interest in genres. Dylan wondered how many people misread him just because of his size. It was easy to do.

Glancing at a few framed photos, he saw one of Dalton with a young woman who had to be Dani. She looked a lot like Carson, and it was obvious from the picture that she and Dalton were close. Still quiet, he just took in the rest of the apartment. He didn't mind his bunkhouse back at the ranch, but sometimes he liked to think about living somewhere else and having his own place that actually had a separate bedroom and a kitchen. Maybe someday.

Once Dalton came back with the drinks, he thanked him and resumed looking over the DVDs, but fell quiet again. He wasn't used to being at other people's places, let alone having to come up with small talk.


Zan gave Ryan a nod, appreciating the encouragement, but still not so sure about this. He hadn't beaten Thunder in a normal race before... why did he think tonight would be any different? Returning Destiny's kiss, he automatically smiled. "Right..." Taking a deep breath, he turned to get into his car. "See you at the finish." 

As he drove slowly through the crowd to get to the starting line, Hunter furrowed his brow. "His head's not in it tonight... I hope he pulls through." He gestured to Destiny. "Come on. Let's go find a better spot to watch."

No sooner had they found a good vantage point, when they were joined by someone else. "Hey." Jett ambled up to them and gave Destiny's arm a bump with his elbow. "Fancy meeting you here." He was in far better shape than he had been several days ago, but he had purposely gotten here later than normal. He really didn't want the criticism or teasing after what had happened, and the longer he could avoid it the better. 

It wasn't too long before a shot rang out and the cars were speeding out into the desert. Zan shot out immediately in first place, which was a surprise. "Come on," Hunter encouraged under his breath. "Hold her steady." 

One could have predicted that Thunder would fight for first place, and he did. He was quick to slide up into second, and as all the cars came around the far curve, he made his move. 

Hunter looked through his binoculars and gritted his teeth. "Zan, stay on the inside... don't... aw, crap." Thunder had taken the inside and had sped right up beside him. Now heading back, they were side by side. Thunder crept closer and closer to Zan's car as he drove just as aggressively as always, then made a sudden move, curving out a little, then back in, aiming straight for the side of Zan's car as if to ram him.

Watching it all unfold, Hunter's arm dropped. There was no need to keep watching through the binoculars. Zan had reacted to Thunder's bluff, swerving to the side and losing just enough speed to lose his place. And by the time the group hit the finish line, he'd fallen clear back into third place. 

Hunter sighed and glanced at the others. Jett pursed his lips and shrugged. Zan hadn't beaten Thunder in this level of racing yet... obviously tonight just proved he still couldn't. And it was going to be very hard now to convince anyone here that he could ever do it now. Thunder had just won back his position, and people would soon forget about the novice race where he'd been put in his place. He had succeeded in gaining back ground tonight. 

Coming to a halt behind the other drivers, Zan smacked his steering wheel in frustration. What had happened? He'd started off so well. He'd had that race in the palm of his hand. Then Thunder had played dirty. Again. Why hadn't he seen it coming? 

Not bothering to even hang with the winners tonight, he started forward again and drove off to the side, near where they'd started out at. Shutting off the engine, he simply sat, upset with the race and upset with himself. So much for proving anything tonight.