Discover Top Posts Tagged with #raphaeltheredturtle

protectorraphael replied to your post: I can’t sleep for some reason.

Nachos and a movie.

Reigh and I were watching a movie, but she fell asleep and I don't want to wake her up. Nachos would be pretty awesome if I had them...

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protectorraphael replied to your post: One time in high school, this girl started some...

WTF man?

Haley has interesting ways of getting revenge, all the while keeping her anonymity.

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raphaelthespookyturtle replied to your post: I found Reighann.

Good! And how is she?

Honestly, not so great.

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Finding Reighann

He knew where she was. There really was nowhere else she could be. She was going home. Alex decided to take the trip on his own. Scott and Jean protested quite a bit, saying that it would be safer, Jean could help find her, but he wanted to do it alone. He drove in silence, listening to nothing but the sound of his own reverberating thoughts. He was beyond angry that she would leave; that she would be so inconsiderate. What gave her that right? He never left her when things got tough; he stuck it out for her. It should be raining. He thought. That would just be icing on the cake. It would set the mood. But instead the air was cold and dry; the kind of weather they both hated. Perhaps he hadn’t realized how much she meant to him, because his own investment into this surprised him. All he cared about was finding her. He needed her to be okay, even if that meant away from him, he just wanted her to be okay. The trip ahead of him was long, 20 hours at a minimum, but he would drive it. He was ready to drive without stopping. He wanted to get to her as fast as he could. Maybe the logical thing would’ve been to find her father’s phone number and contact him, but that family was so backwoods it was hardly possible to find their town, let alone their phone number. He pulled out his phone and carefully typed “Oakville Alabama” into the GPS. He didn’t look at how many miles away it was or how many more hours it would take, he just followed the little red line as it curved along the tiny image. He turned on his music and drove. For 20+ more hours. It was nearly evening. Alex had stopped at some fast food restaurant called “Jack’s” and grabbed something to eat a while ago. It was the first time he’d eaten since he left, and it was the only decent looking restaurant around. He really didn’t feel like the single-wide mobile home with “Pete’s Pork” spray painted on the side would be the best place for him to stop. He had been driving down Highway 57 for nearly an hour, and his turn was supposed to be near. He had his music up as loud as it would go, and a cup of coffee in hopes he would stay awake enough not to miss it. All the roads here looked the same; County Rd. 567, County Rd. 349, all woods, all run down houses. It looked about how he would expect it to. Not Alabama in general, but Reighann’s home. Finally, he found the turn. It was a barely paved road that led down even more woods. None of the streets had names, just county road numbers. He wasn’t used to so many trees in one place. He passed a few chicken houses and a lot of cows. They seemed to be the closest thing that somewhat resembled civilization anywhere around. The next turn led him down a completely dirt road. There was nothing but a few rundown buildings, two churches, and a deer processing plant. Fitting. He thought again. Finally, he came upon a sign that said “Oakville Indian Mounds.” He knew he had reached the right place. The problem was, he had no idea what her house looked like or where it was. He decided to wing it. She always told him that everyone knew where the “Hood House” was. If he got lost, he wasn’t above asking at this point. He was exhausted and tired of driving, his pride could hold off a bit. After driving a few more miles, he saw an old piece of wood nailed to a tree with the word “HOOD” carved into it raggedly. He said a silent prayer of gratitude to a god he didn’t believe in, and turned down past the tree. The driveway was long and made of dirt, and dust clouded behind his car as he drove. There were trees on either side of the driveway, and finally, he found an old wooden house with two old rocking chairs sitting on the front porch. A floppy bloodhound slowly stood up on the porch and began to bark with all his might, which wasn’t much. He sounded old and weak. Alex parked next to a rusty blue Dodge pick-up, and began to walk towards the front door. More dogs, swarmed him and nipped at his ankles as he made his way up the creaking steps of the old wooden porch. There were bags of water hanging along the screen door, and several large clay pots lined the porch. The wooden door behind the screen was open, so he knocked on the metal siding, hoping it was loud enough for someone to hear. This is probably her grandfather’s house. He thought, suddenly beginning to panic. “Shut up, Ole Jed!” Reighann yelled at the old bloodhound who was barking away on the front porch. She thought she heard knocking, but she wasn’t sure. Either way, she had to do something to shut the dogs up, so she walked to the front door. Whoever it was, they obviously didn’t know the proper etiquette. No one ever used the front door. She kicked a blanket out of the way and looked at the door. Her heart stopped when she saw him standing out there. He looked exhausted. Oh my god. She thought. He drove here. S She immediately opened the screen door. “What the hell are you doing here?” She asked, the shock in her voice making her almost sound angry. “Looking for you.” Alex answered. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for two days, Baby.” He was too tired to say much else. “So you followed me?” She didn’t know if she should be flattered by it or pissed off. She was both. “I didn’t follow you. I just hoped you would be here.” He was really hoping she would let him inside. It was kind of chilly outside. He had been under the impression that it didn’t get cold in Alabama. “Well, damn, I guess you have good instincts.” She was trying not to be flattered. Trying really hard. There was a silence for a moment, and they both just looked at each other. Ole Jed barked a few times, but it didn’t seem to break the thickness of their quiet. “Are you gonna let me in, or just make me stand here? I’ve been driving for the past 23 hours.” “Oh, uh, yeah, you can come in. Sorry…” She held the screen door open wide enough to let him in. “Daddy’s out back. It’s a wonder he didn’t hear you dive up.” Alex looked around the house. It was a lot like he expected it would be; old, battered wooden flooring, painted wood paneled walls, and an old plaid sofa and floral arm chair sat side by side against one of the walls. A rocking chair was across from them, and a knitted pillow was placed carefully on the cushions. Glasses of tea were scattered along every open table, along with old ash trays and empty beer bottles. A large skin of some sort covered the floor in front of the sofa, and Ole Jed made himself perfectly comfortable on top of it. “So this is where you grew up, huh?” Alex asked as he looked around, trying to avoid eye contact with the large animals mounted on the walls. “Sure is.” She led him to the sofa. “You want anything to drink?” “Nah,” He protested. “I’m good. I just drank my weight in cheap coffee.” He was ready to get down to business. Why did she run away? It was evident that she was trying to avoid the matter. She picked up one of the more full glasses of sweet tea off of the table and began to sip on it as she sat down across from him in the floral arm chair. She tucked her feet under her and pulled her oversized flannel shirt closer to her body. “So what brings you here?” She asked awkwardly. He was too tired to deal with this. He wanted answers. He was angry. “Why did you run away, Reighann? Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice was louder than he anticipated. She quickly tensed her muscles at his words. “I needed to come home.” She replied, matter-of-factly. “You couldn’t tell me? You couldn’t tell me that you wanted to go home? We have one fight, and you run? Tell me how that’s okay, Reighann.” “I wasn’t running from you!” She spewed. “I didn’t run because of you! I just couldn’t tell you. You don’t get it. I couldn’t take it anymore, and for some reason, that pushed me, okay?” “Oh, right,” He laughed. “We get in one fight, and that pushed you away? What about me, huh? You didn’t stop to think that maybe I and all of your friends would be worried sick about you?” “You don’t have to worry about me. You should know I’ll be fine.” She stood up from the chair and walked over to the open window. “Sorry. I forgot that the all-powerful Reighann could always take care of herself. You know, you always brag about how tough you are, and you always tell people how to handle things, but you can’t handle yourself. One thing goes against you and you run. This isn’t the first time. You always run from me. So please, baby, if you actually love me like you say you do, either stick around or quit stringing me on. I can’t keep playing cat and mouse like this.” The words flew from his mouth before he even realized what he said. Almost immediately, a wave of regret hit him. She stared at him, jaw clenched and arms crossed. His words pounded on her. She couldn’t let herself admit that he was right, but he was. She did always run from him. But she wasn’t always just running away. This time she was running home. “Maybe it’s not all about you, Alex. Have you thought of that? Maybe it’s about the fact that my mother died four months ago, and my dad is here all alone, living in her memory. He’s stuck with everything about her, and he can’t let her go.” Alex understood that. He knew what it was like to have to be there for the only people who were left, but that didn’t excuse her. “Baby, I know this isn’t easy.” He walked up to her and put his arms around her waist. “But you can’t keep me out of your life when things get tough and then let me back in when everything is alright. You either want me, or you don’t.” Tears began to rim her eyes. She bit her lip and stiffened her body in hopes of stopping them, and she pulled away from his embrace, turning again to face the window. She didn’t know what she was feeling. She couldn’t explain it. Everything hurt. “I do want you. You should know that.” He sighed. “I should just know? Why? We’re not some eloquently written romance novel, Reighann. Things aren’t just going to magically work out because we are so ‘in love’ that we can’t help but be together. This is our life, and our life sucks. This part of it is going to suck too if you keep assuming that I know everything, and that I’m just going to keep chasing. You’ve got to put in effort too.” Her tears began to pour with full force and she dropped to her knees as she sobbed. “I’m sorry.” She barely managed to get the words out through the deep, billowing breaths. “I try, Alex. I really try to pretend that I’m making it, but I’m not. I can’t be there for you like you want me to be. I can’t be here for myself. I’m fucking broken.” She cried. Alex kneeled down beside her and took her in his arms. “We’re all broken.” He said. He felt stupid for saying it, like he was trying to be a character from a movie or something, but he really meant it. He didn’t know anyone who was holding themselves together. “And if we are going to work together, we just have to deal with it and accept it. We can’t hide it from each other.” “Look who’s talking.” She managed to laugh. “I still don’t know what happened to you.” “We’ll talk about it later, okay?” He helped her to her feet. “Right now it’s your turn to be broken.”

#I haven't actually read this #so it probably sucks))#spookypetit #raphaeltheredturtle #lumens-secret-place

I'm out.

Later.

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raphaelthespookyturtle replied to your post: By the way, I’m going to be Captain Eagle, aka...

When flattery gets you flattened it’s no longer worth it

He'll love it. Last year I was Scott. I think he found it to be extremely flattering.

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