Sick Day || Vaughn & Chelsea
Chelsea tried too hard not to make a mountain out of a molehill. Really, she did. But with the way Vaughn easily shrugged off the conversation, even when she herself had redirected it, made her feel.. hurt. She bit back a frown and instead chose to turn away from him, leaning her back against the bedside and hugging her knees to her chest.
“Mhm,” She murmured into her arms, and tried to think of her grandmother’s farm instead. The summers she spent there, the sights and sounds that were unique to the farm.. “I spent every summer there, remember? I loved doing farmwork even as a kid.”
Silence fell around them as she tried to think of something else to say, her mind still too bothered about the previous ordeal to focus on the task at hand. “She only used t’have one dog. It was a big sheepdog that loved to tackle me.”
Laughter fell from her lips as she recalled the memory. “Then, one summer, one of nana’s friends in town had a collie that had puppies, so gave one of the girls t’us. … I remember her son wasn’t too happy about it, so he was always at the farm ‘keeping an eye’ on her, but I think he just wanted to play with us.”
“I think he was one of the only friends I had back then,” She murmured, staring at the floor. “Or at least, I think we were friends. You wouldn’t hold on t’someone without any intention of letting go if you weren’t, right?”
She chuckled under her breath. “His mother had to pry him off me when he found out they were moving away. Apparently he freaked out and ran off to find me.”
Normally Vaughn would have noticed her shift in attitude, but since he was sick, he didn’t quite catch it. Even when she mentioned having told him about her going to her grandmas during the summer before, it didn’t really sink in that he’d forgotten that. It just seemed like new information for the moment. Despite the return of his calm demeanor, he was still not completely well.
“Ah... Sheepdog. Yeah, those are usually really friendly.” Vaughn replied with a softer expression. He recalled most of the ones he’d transported being that way, and imagining Chel being jumped by one of those fluffy happy dogs was a cute image. However, instead of mentioning this, he simply listened quietly to her story.
A boy... Well, it was good that she had a friend at least. The cowboy could never remember having any people other than his parents that he was close to. It didn’t mean he didn’t, he just... Didn’t remember. The peaceful days when he lived on his family’s ranch were so far away now. Maybe he did have friends at some point, but after everything that happened he probably shut them out entirely.
“He must have really liked you. I don’t know if that’s normal for kids, I never had any friends like that at least, but it’s good to know you did.” Vaughn knew quite well the feeling of wanting to hold on without ever letting go however, so in that way he sympathized with the kid. Would he have reacted the same way had He and Chel been friends when they were younger? Maybe. There was no way of knowing now, but it was an interesting thought. “... I get the feeling of not wanting to let go of someone though...”
After a brief pause, Vaughn leaned lightly against Chel. He was grateful that there were people with her every step of the way when he wasn’t. Her life hadn’t been perfect by any means, but at least she wasn’t alone through the struggle. She had plenty of people who cared about her. It was something he would have been jealous of before, but now was just content knowing she didn’t have to suffer the way he had.
“... So I hope you’ll forgive me if I keep a tight grip on you.” The words spilled thoughtlessly out of Vaughn’s mouth, but his expression said he wasn’t kidding. He had no intention of letting Chel slip away. He had always been somewhat possessive, and the brunette was certainly no exception to this. If anything, she was the person he’d be the most protective of. So whether she forgave him for it or not, she was stuck with it.