Glass Houses [Closed] - Printable Version

Glass Houses [Closed] - Printable Version

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RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 06-30-2017

Anita wasn’t as susceptible to Cain’s playful nature as he likely wanted her to be. She looked down at her finger which drew circles in the wrinkled sheets and her tail slid back and forth across the bed. She chewed at her cheek, looking like a near-perfect pensive mirror of their father downstairs. She pouted like this until she was taken under Cain’s arm. Wiggling against him, she tried to fight because that’s what you do when your ornery sibling grabs you. She didn’t try too hard, making a face as he pressed a kiss to her hair and pushed her away.

She didn’t immediately follow after Cain. She watched him walk away and when she heard his footsteps on the stairs she slipped out of the bed and into the bathroom. Her brother would not be happy about her smoking inside the house, but she’d crack a window and spritz some body spray and just maybe get away with it.

Downstairs, Julianna’s ears twitched to the sound of Cain coming downstairs. She glanced down at her feet to watch Daisy pick up and take off towards the incoming body. Soon after, Cain appeared in the alcove and she turned her attention back to the skillet where she was frying eggs. Bacon sizzled in another pan and the toaster was full.

“Good morning, dear.” Julianna leaned back slightly as if she was trying to see something around Cain. He quickly moved out of the way when Owen addressed him, revealing an empty space. Her head turned to Owen, tail swaying. She watched father watch son for a few moments.

“Where’s Anita?” This question was quickly followed up by another, as her attention was pulled to different topics. "Have you talked to Akiko?"

RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 07-13-2017

Daisy was too busy gobbling down her food to pay Cain any mind. He rose from a crouch at the dog’s bowl and shrugged at his mother in response to the question as to where his sister was. “She’s coming I think.”

He sidled up closer to his mother where she was cooking and peered around her to investigate what she was cooking. Cain then moved around her to the coffee pot where there was plenty brew for him to fill a mug with black coffee just the way his father took the beverage.

Cain posted up near to his mother and then shook his head while staring down at his reflection in the dark beverage he held. “No. I haven’t yet.” HIs shoulders hunched up as if he were preparing to protect himself. It was just that he was thinking about confronting her and it made him uncomfortable. Ears fell to his head as he took a quick and audible sip of coffee. “It’s been kinda -” another loud sip, “-crowded. Busy. Here. You know?”

That really wasn’t a valid excuse for not speaking with his girlfriend. But he’d sure try it.

While mother and son were interacting, Owen slipped from the kitchen to seek Anita. He mounted the stairs with his own mug in hand. Owen could smell the smoke outside the bedroom and sighed as he pushed open the door with a few warning taps from his knuckles.

“Hey.” He said to announce himself. Owen took a seat on the far edge of the mattress facing the bathroom. “You alright? You coming to breakfast? Your mother has a bunch of food on.”

He didn't bother mentioning the smoke. She was grown and given the end to the previous evening it didn't seem an important topic to bring up.

Owen wondered when she'd picked up the habit. And why. It occurred to him that she might have some features of his addictive personality. For some reason, Anita's smoking bothered him more than Cain's. Perhaps it was coming from that place where he had been more determined to protect Anita from everything. Maybe it was just that he had gotten used to the idea of Cain smoking long ago.

RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 07-14-2017

Julianna continued to focus on her task as Cain spoke. Her brows lifted towards her hairline and a small frown appeared at one corner of her mouth when he’d mentioned the full house he was currently hosting. Not because he was using it as an excuse for not having spoken to Akiko, but because he was possibly implying that he wanted them to leave in Cain’s special way. Green eyes tracked Owen as he left the kitchen.

“Well, Owen- your father-” It was still so strange to say. “And I are leaving for Macrilan to see Nicholas. Anita will likely be staying, but you will have some space.” She forced herself to smile at her son as she turned off the burner and moved the pan to a cold one.

“You don’t mind watching her, right?” Though phrased as a question, it was entirely a motherly command. Cain was the only one that Anita would ever stay in one spot for, and Julianna didn’t want her out and wandering doing whatever it was she tended to do. Especially not after the accusations Cain had thrown around in their altercation the previous evening.

Anita jumped when someone knocked on the bathroom door, but relaxed when it was pushed open to reveal her dad. She was seated on the edge of the bathtub, and carelessly flicking ash into a potted plant that rested on the window sill.

It probably wouldn’t hurt the small succulent that already appeared to be suffering in Akiko’s absence. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied when he asked. It was always a lie. Anita was rarely ever fine. Something always heavy on her mind or on her heart. Though Owen had made a decent attempt to absolve her of any guilt she had felt towards his death, the feeling remained.

The fingers of her broken hand clenched into a fist.

“I told Cain I would be down,” she explained, but figured her brother hadn’t bothered to mention it. Her tail flicked idly where it hung over and into the tub. Anita didn’t say anymore, because her father didn’t. She let the silence fall between them and tapped her bare toes on the tile. He had probably come up for a different reason, other than just to make sure she was coming down for breakfast.

RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 07-19-2017

Cain’s mouth formed into a silent ‘oh’ when he regrettably learned that his parents would be leaving not only his house but the entire continent. Welp, he was certainly about to get some space. Admittedly, he didn’t truly want them to leave. Things were uncomfortable with recent events but he loved his parents and would rather have spent more time being annoyed by them.

He nodded slowly. “Yeah I can watch her.” His tone was somewhat sarcastic. “As much as she will let me.” He qualified his earlier promise with a shrug.

“Maybe we could come see Nicholas sometime.” The we was vague. Cain meant him and Akiko but he didn’t want to say so in case things never got repaired.

His suggestion was a shy one accompanied by his characteristic fall of ears to his scalp. Cain had never really spent anytime in the isles and had vehemently refused to go as a child. Now he was feeling some combination of regret and jealousy as if his younger brother would replace him in his parents eyes.

“You can smoke that anywhere.” Owen observed astutely knowing that Anita was stalling in coming downstairs. He had only ideas as to why that was. “But here you are hiding in Cain’s bathroom and ashing into that plant.”

His eyes moved from his daughter’s face to the plant to take some of the heat off. Not that he was staring hard at her. But still, she seemed uncomfortable. “What is that anyways?” He moved into the space and fingered one of the waxy offshoots. “Is this real?”

Owen was making his first introductions with the succulent fad.

RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 07-24-2017

Julianna pushed a plate loaded with eggs and bacon into her son’s empty hands as he mostly agreed to the task she had assigned him. She smiled warmly as she dropped two pieces of buttered toast on top of everything. “You’re so thin,” she commented as if she hadn’t heard what he’d said. She pushed his bangs away from his forehead before patting his cheek affectionately.

“You can visit Nic whenever you would like,” she said as she began portioning out the rest of the food. The words were true, but laced with a twinge of doubt that Cain would go to the Isles to see his younger brother. It wasn’t that she believed Cain harbored any ill will towards Nicholas, she just didn’t see it as the thing that would inspire her son to take a trip there. “And your aunt would love to see you of course. I think you were about three the last time.”

Anita pursed her lips and listened to her dad’s not so subtle remark about her smoking in the bathroom. When she opened her mouth on smoke fell outwards in a sigh instead of any real response. Though she refused to look over at him again, she could feel his eyes on her.

When looked away from her, she finally looked up. Her tail had fallen into the dry tub and was skating back and forth across the cold porcelain. Instead of putting the spent cigarette out in the plant she was already abusing she tossed it into the toilet and stood to flush it away.

“It’s called an imperial echeveria. Akiko like, won it? At a fair? I thought it was a weird prize, but she seemed really excited about it.”

RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 07-26-2017

Cain’s hands were filled with a plate of his mother’s breakfast cooking. His favorite. He remained still while she added more - toast - to the pile she had given him to work on. His lips turned downwards into a frown-pout when she mentioned his body habitus. Eyes flicked down his front as if he were evaluating her claims for himself. He had been skinny as long as he could remember.

He would have countered with a complaint about how hard it was for him to gain weight but that would only prove her point so his face just maintained that half pout. Cain took up position on a stool at the island to dig into the hot meal. He forked eggs onto the toast and bit into it.

“Yeah, I know.” He said even though he couldn’t remember that time he had gone to the isles apparently as a toddler. What he could remember was throwing tantrums when asked to go with his mother and sister. Embarrassing tantrums that he now regretted. He wished he had the courage to tell his mom that but he just shoveled more eggs into his mouth.

“I wanna get things fixed with Akiko first.” He offered this instead of an apology for his prior behavior. “I bet she would want to go.”

Owen watched the cigarette butt swirl downwards in the bowl and was ultimately sucked away with a whoosh of water just like that. It struck him as silly that they were speaking about a plant when there were much more pressing things on his mind to address with his daughter. It was strange still seeing her as his youngest child when he had been recently informed of a still younger one that he hadn’t met.

Anita had not vacated that position in his mind as the littlest the most vulnerable. And it could very well be that she never would. The history of her birth, the death of her brother had perhaps solidified that status and her father would likely always have a special anxiety about her welfare in comparison with his other children.

“I’m going to meet Nic.” Owen told her. His voice was serious because he knew he was announcing his departure even after they had hardly spent any time together. “Your mother and I…”

He was going to say something generic about his future plans that he had yet to discuss with Julianna but held off as he wasn’t even sure whether she would be amenable to them anyways.

“Well, I, at least...I want to be close to Nicholas.” He began this explanation. “So...I don’t think I’m coming back to the states after I leave. There’s just -” he sighed heavily as if a weight were pushing the air from his lungs. “I need - something.”

He took Anita’s hand in his and pressed it between both of his. “Cain was right last night. I can’t just come back into your lives - any of you - and expect things to be the way they once were. But with Nicholas, I can be there for him while he’s still so young. I don’t want you to think I’m leaving you or your brothers. I’m not. Actually...I want you to come live with me. Let me take care of you. I want to be your father however that looks now.”

RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 07-26-2017

When the rest of the food was evenly divided for the remaining members of the family. Julianna moved all of her dirtied implements to the sink. She was keen on keeping busy, and immediately started running hot water into the sink. “Oh, I’m sure Akiko would love to go,” she confirmed with a coo. She rinsed and scrubbed bits off food off pans and silverware before loading them into the dishwasher.

“I think I would be a nice vacation for the two of you when things get worked out.” Her ears twitched as she worked, and she spoke with a sort of finality. One that was sure that Cain and Akiko would be back together again. She closed the dishwasher and stood upright, tail swaying behind her knees. “Nic asks about you all the time. He misses you.”

Anita’s tail flickered, agitated, behind her back. There was nothing to read on her face, but the movement of her tail was enough to convey that she didn’t like what her father was saying. She was immediately jealous of her youngest sibling. She didn’t understand why Nicholas should have Owen to himself, when the didn’t even know each other. She didn’t see that that was exactly the point. She didn’t see that it wasn’t fair for her to try and keep the father they shared all to herself.

“That sounds cool,” she replied, noncommittally. “Hopefully, that works out for you. I mean, I know mom has wanted to go back for a long time now.”

She looked down to where he held her hand between his. The not quite right digits hidden by his larger ones. “I mean, but you are leaving,” she snapped, not quite interrupting him, but close. Her tail made wider passes to and fro. “Like, that’s exactly what you’re doing.” She huffed and turned away from him. Her hand was pulled from his when she walked away, out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom. She paced a short line, hands working in front of her body as if literally grasping for words she couldn’t think of. “Why do you even want me to go with? Because of what Cain said? Because you think I am some drug addicted slut or whatever who needs to be babysat. Can you even take care of yourself right now? Shouldn’t you be more worried about fixing mom or something?”

RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 07-27-2017

Cain relaxed into eating and was easily comforted by the tone of his mother’s voice encouraging him. He shoveled eggs onto his toast and intermittently bit into bacon. His ears fell against his head in guilt when he learned that his younger brother asked about him. It actually came as a surprise to him and he felt even worse about that.

“Oh really?” He asked as if he didn’t believe it. Cain felt so far removed from his youngest sibling that at times he forgot the boy existed. Which was terrible. “I should call him at the school.”

“Thank you, mom.” He mumbled this gratitude suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed by just chowing down without acknowledging her effort. “It’s really good.”

By this time in his life, Owen knew well the mannerisms of his very feline family. Anita’s face didn’t have to move, her tail said it all. His eyes flicked to the revealing trait that flicked around broadcasting her anger with him.

She took her hand from him and he reached for her but didn’t grab as she turned and exited the bathroom. “Anita.” He pleaded. He didn’t know how to get her to understand.

The words that came after wounded him just as much as Cain’s outburst had the previous evening. This time it pushed him back towards anger than despair. He was making an effort and consistently being punished for it by his children and he couldn’t fathom why.

“I want you to go with me because I love you.” He raised his voice at her. The words came not soft but sharp, meant not to comfort but cut her. He wanted to cut her deep. “I want you to go with me because you need to. You might be an adult but you need to be parented right now. You need to grow up, Anita. Understand that, I can focus on more than one task at a time. This is what I have decided is the best course of action right now. If you don’t like it, tough shit.”

He moved forward and took her wrist to force her to hear out the rest of what he had to say. “You know maybe one reason I would like to go see Nicholas is that I would like to have a relationship with at least one of my children who won’t continue to punish me for the past that I can’t change.”

Grey eyes were focused with intensity on her two-toned ones. He had never spoken to Anita so harshly and even though she looked so small and fragile to him, he knew that she needed to hear some truth about the way he was feeling. There were better ways to say it, but he wasn’t a perfect man.

RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 07-27-2017

Julianna smiled warmly and encouragingly at her son, but didn’t say any more on the topic of the islands or young Nicholas. She was content to let Cain eat in peace. She wondered if Owen and Anita were going to join them before the breakfast got col. The sound of rising volumes upstairs did not seem promising and her ears twitched to the sound.

“You’re welcome,” she said softly, before picking up her own plate and joining him at the island.

Had Anita had her mother’s ears, they would have been pinned flat to her hair as her father raised his voice at her. He’d never done that before. Even when she’d done something that had gotten her into trouble as a child.

His words had the desired effect. Anita immediately felt bad for fighting against him, when he was doing his best to accommodate everyone. There were only so many ways he could be mindful of her and her brothers and her mother while still looking out for himself. Anita knew this in the back of her mind, but for whatever reason the anger she had initially felt remained and that is the emotion that chose to control her words.

“You don’t even know that Nicholas will forgive you,” she said. The words were barely uttered and pushed from between clenched teeth. She’d been holding her father’s gaze, but she looked away from him and pulled her wrist from his grasp. She turned her back on him again and flopped on the edge of the bed to shove her feet into her shoes. She didn’t say anything else or bother to tie them as she picked up her bag.

Her intent to leave was easily broadcast. She threw the strap of her purse across her chest and left the room. Footsteps were heaving on the stairs.

RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 07-30-2017

Cain also picked up on the sound of arguing upstairs. He could hear his father raising his voice and Anita responding to that. His ears flattened against his head and he hunched more over his food. His tail flicked agitatedly where it hung over the back of his stool. The last thing he wanted was more conflict and confrontation. He sighed and picked at his remaining piece of toast and buried his face into his cup of coffee. Cain just glanced at his mother trying to give her an ‘oh no’ kind of look.

The continued hard and difficult commentary from Anita was met with Owen’s icy stalwart stare. His lips pressed together into a thin disapproving line. He allowed Anita to rip her wrist away from him without any resistance. He couldn’t force her to do anything.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He demanded of her as she put her shoes on. “You think you’re just going to leave again?” He followed her down the stairs, his steps just as heavy as hers as he hurried after her. “Are you serious? That’s it?!” He was yelling after her as she practically ran from him.

He pursued her down the hall, not letting her get off easy. “Go ahead and run, Anita! Go right on ahead! One day you’re going to realize that you’re just running in place and all this running ever did was hurt everyone around you. When you realize it, it’s going to fucking suck having to confront all that lost time. Believe me.”

RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 07-30-2017

The only indication that Owen’s words were reaching his flighty daughter was the way her tail wrapped around her leg. Similar to Cain’s signal of distress the thin, sliver appendage curled around her thigh as she fled down the stairs.

She moved faster down the stairs as he followed after her. Nearly taking them two at a time and gripping the rail with her good hand for support. Anita could even bother to look at her mother or Cain, sitting at the island, trying to enjoy breakfast. Her eyes stung with tears she was withholding and she dug a pair of sunglasses out of her bag. She pushed them onto her face before she wrenched open the front door. She was almost quite literally running when she slammed it behind her.

At some point, Julianna had stopped actually eating. Likely around the time her daughter and husband had come barreling down the stairs. She stared down at her plate, ears at attention. Her tail was still where it hung off the atoll behind her. Her mouth set into a thin line. Disappointment pressing her lips together. All she had hoped for was to have a nice breakfast with her family. Her middle children and her newly discovered husband. She had hoped last night's nastiness could have been put behind them, but apparently that wasn't the case.

Wordlessly, Julianna slid off the stool and picked up her mostly full plate. She dumped the remains of eggs and toast into the trash and set her plate and silverware noisily in the sink.

RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 08-01-2017

Cain looked up from his food to watch his mother round the counter and dump her remaining breakfast, barely touched, down the trash. His gaze flitted to the two other prepared plates. One for his father and one for Anita who was presently running from the house. Pointing with his fork, Cain indicated to one of the plates. “Does this mean I can have Anita’s breakfast?”

COwen reached the door as she was slamming it behind her. He banged the heel of his hand against the frame in frustration and suppressed the yell that wanted to come out of him. It sounded more like a forced growl with a lot more energy behind it than what was actually expressed. When Owen became a father, he never imagined such an interaction with his child. Never imagined that they would have traded hurtful words like that with one another.

He whirled around and proceeded back down the hall taking deep breaths as he went to calm himself down. Julianna was standing at the sink when he entered the kitchen. He glanced at his son who was doing his damndest to avoid eye contact and continue eating. Owen moved up behind Julianna and set his hands on her shoulders.

“I’m sorry love.” He said quietly as he turned her around to face him. “She - uh - we -” he waved a hand around trying to find the words. “-had an argument. She was disappointed that I’m going to see Nicholas right now.”

Hands smoothed down her arms in an attempt to be comforting. He knew she didn’t like yelling. That it affected her worse than others. “I told her I wanted to move to the isles to raise him.” His eyes shifted downwards to his feet. He hadn’t mentioned this to her before. “She’s feeling...abandoned? I suppose. I asked her to come with me. She'll come around.”

From the corner of his eye, he could see the steaming plate of food waiting for him. “Is that for me?”

RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 08-03-2017

Cain spoke out behind her and Julianna only lifted a hand and waved it idly. A clear indication that she didn’t care if he ate his sister’s breakfast. Her hand returned to the counter, shoulders hunched and her ears pinned backwards; tail curled tight against her lower back. She stared out the window above the sink, green eyes scanning the scenery on the other side of it for something to focus on. A small bird or a squirrel. Anything as to keep her mind from spiraling as the last of the altercation between Owen and Anita dissipated.

Something moved at the top of her vision and Julianna rolled her eyes upwards to spot a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird inspecting a trellis of flowers that decorated the front on the brownstone. She focused on the little bird so intensely that she didn’t know Owen was behind her until he put his hands on her shoulders. She startled. A sharp inhale and a twitching lift to her shoulders. Ears sprung to attention as he turned her around.

A fringe of dark lashes shaded Julianna’s vision as she gazed up at him with an obvious sadness as he apologized and tried to explain himself. One of her ears fell lopsided, tail uncurling, because indeed she had not known about his plan to move to the isles. She was puzzled, trying to figure when he’d come to this decision but he was turning his attention to food. She nodded her response, following him back towards the island as he sat to eat. Julianna didn’t sit, she remained standing at the island, opposite of where he and Cain occupied the stools.

“You want to move to the isles, permanently?” She reiterated for clarification. “O-or us? Am I coming with?” In her current state, she didn’t know if this was a foolish question. Didn’t understand the depth of his affection for her. Didn’t know that he rarely had a plan that didn’t involve her in some way.

“How soon?”

RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 08-15-2017

Cain’s ears popped up and twitched broadcasting that he was at least pleased to get double breakfast because he knew his mother’s penchant for throwing out food when she was upset. He scooted off his barstool and sidled around his parents in the kitchen to fetch that unclaimed plate intended for his sister before returning to his seat. He ate silently and maintained a razor sharp focus on his plate even though he was tuned in to every word that passed between his parents.

He glanced up from his breakfast to watch his parents as they tiptoed through the awkward encounter. His ears dropped somewhat back towards his hair but didn’t flatten completely.

Owen was acutely aware of their audience of one: their curious son who was doing his best to look not so curious. He chose to ignore the attention and addressed Julianna’s question.

“I don’t want to assume…” he started carefully treading what he felt might still be a dicey subject. “Ten years...people build new lives...and I wouldn’t expect you to leave whatever it is -” he waved his hand in a circular motion as he searched for the right words. “-just because I’m here now.”

Owen didn’t know how to go about explaining to Julianna that he didn’t feel comfortable just waltzing into her life and making demands of her without also expressing that he very much wanted to glue himself back to her in every aspect of life. He wanted their lives to be as integrated and inseparable as they had been. He supposed he could just express that sentiment.

With a gesture that was loving, he cupped her face with both his hands. “That having been said, of course I want you to come with me. I want to raise Nicholas with you. And I would like to do it as soon as possible. Although, there's still so much ... and Anita...”

He sighed heavily and released her to comb his fingers through his hair. He gazed over her head and out that window she had been looking through just moments before. Mentally he was naming off all the people who would still have a vested interest in knowing his status as...living. Darcy, Keiavan, Victoria, Kent and Amelia, Renton, Sanders and Lochellen. Too many people to have to confront. It sounded exhausting and he would have much preferred to run away to the isles.

RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 09-25-2017

He thought she had a life in here. Not Boston, but perhaps back in Valesport where he had first found her. Asking without asking if there was someone else, she assumed. A person that wasn't their children or their friends that would make her hesitant to leave. There was no one; that was not to say she had been entirely celibate in the last ten years, and though she barely knew him, she knew that she would leave that whole city behind for him.

Julianna leaned her face against one of his hands as soon as they made contact with her face. His hands enveloped almost the entirety of her face with a strength and a warmth that made her feel safe. She placed her hand over the one that she leaned against l, listening to him carefully as he spoke.

"I want to go with you," she said. Her ears pinned backwards, and her gaze flicked too the floor. Worried, for some reason, that she sounded too eager. Too desperate maybe to involve herself with him despite her tampered memories; despite his obvious desire to have her around. Her tail swayed erratically near the floor and she looked to where she knew Cain was sitting, even though she couldn't see him with Owen in front of her.

"We can talk about it on the way to see Nicholas," she suggested, when he released her. She noted the exhaustion that overtook him. "We can figure it out together, right?" Her ears perked again, she took a small step towards him even though he hadn't moved away. She wanted him too kiddo on touching her, like a needy cat begging for attention.

"You'll talk to Anita, won't you Cain? She listens to you most of the time."