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doublethepainThe thing about having an eidetic memory is that try as he might, Spencer can't make himself forget. He doesn't need to look in a mirror to know that he's a complete mess between the blackening eye and the stitches at this temple and the finger-shaped bruises on his neck. He flexes his fingers on his right hand as he glances down at the cast on his left, the one the doctors had insisted on putting on him because three broken fingers apparently need more support than just a splint. His ankles and wrists are still bandaged because they're raw from trying to wriggle his way out of the zipties Mark had bound him with and he's about ready to rip his own hair out because every time he feels it brush against his neck, he remembers the way Mark had used it to his advantage, taking care to be nothing less than rough.
It's only been a few days since Joel had found him in the lighthouse but Spencer almost feels like years must have passed. He'd refused overnight treatment at the hospital--against medical advisement--and locked himself in his house because it's the only place he can go. He hasn't been in his library since he'd gotten home, though a glance inside has told him that someone--not someone, Joel, there's nobody else who could have--has cleared the floor of the glass and blood that had been left after Mark had come for him. He flinches as he remembers the sound of the glass shattering against the side of his head, remembers the sting of the whiskey spilling onto the cuts and the way Mark had grabbed his hair to assist in dragging a half-conscious Spencer out to his car.
He's supposed to be taking it easy, has already been banned from coming to work for however long the doctor had recommended, though Spencer knows he'll likely be back long before that just for the sake of his own sanity. Sitting here at home has done him little to no good, not when he'd been abducted right downstairs, in one of the few places he's ever felt truly safe. It makes his good eye water with the threat of tears at the thought of how long it might take to feel that way again.
He knows there must be talk of what happened; it's a small town and gossip travels at lightning speed and besides that, he's had people ringing the doorbell and leaving things on his doorstep and leaving messages on his phone almost non-stop. It's nice to know there are still people that care, he supposes, but one very notable person hasn't tried to check on him at all. Joel hasn't come around or called or texted and Spencer feels like such a fool. Joel's the one person he'd be willing to let in the door but he realizes now that he should have known better than to think that Joel would want to even be near him after what Spencer had put him through with Mark.
He needs a distraction, he decides, a reason to get out of the house. What's more, he needs to get rid of this hair. Nearly everything seems to be a reminder of what had happened at the moment but at least he can fix the hair. He grabs one of Dane's old baseball caps and shrugs on a jacket, mindful of his injured hand, before walking out the door and heading straight toward the barber shop. The whole cut takes less than an hour and though the bruises on his face are more pronounced now without the frame of his longer locks, Spencer already feels a bit lighter. One less thing to remind him of Mark's assault.
He shoves his good hand in his pocket as he leaves the shop, unsure of where to go or what to do next.
[OOC: You can find Spencer anywhere you'd like. Roaming around town, grabbing a coffee, back at his house, anywhere. Dude needs a friend.]
It's only been a few days since Joel had found him in the lighthouse but Spencer almost feels like years must have passed. He'd refused overnight treatment at the hospital--against medical advisement--and locked himself in his house because it's the only place he can go. He hasn't been in his library since he'd gotten home, though a glance inside has told him that someone--not someone, Joel, there's nobody else who could have--has cleared the floor of the glass and blood that had been left after Mark had come for him. He flinches as he remembers the sound of the glass shattering against the side of his head, remembers the sting of the whiskey spilling onto the cuts and the way Mark had grabbed his hair to assist in dragging a half-conscious Spencer out to his car.
He's supposed to be taking it easy, has already been banned from coming to work for however long the doctor had recommended, though Spencer knows he'll likely be back long before that just for the sake of his own sanity. Sitting here at home has done him little to no good, not when he'd been abducted right downstairs, in one of the few places he's ever felt truly safe. It makes his good eye water with the threat of tears at the thought of how long it might take to feel that way again.
He knows there must be talk of what happened; it's a small town and gossip travels at lightning speed and besides that, he's had people ringing the doorbell and leaving things on his doorstep and leaving messages on his phone almost non-stop. It's nice to know there are still people that care, he supposes, but one very notable person hasn't tried to check on him at all. Joel hasn't come around or called or texted and Spencer feels like such a fool. Joel's the one person he'd be willing to let in the door but he realizes now that he should have known better than to think that Joel would want to even be near him after what Spencer had put him through with Mark.
He needs a distraction, he decides, a reason to get out of the house. What's more, he needs to get rid of this hair. Nearly everything seems to be a reminder of what had happened at the moment but at least he can fix the hair. He grabs one of Dane's old baseball caps and shrugs on a jacket, mindful of his injured hand, before walking out the door and heading straight toward the barber shop. The whole cut takes less than an hour and though the bruises on his face are more pronounced now without the frame of his longer locks, Spencer already feels a bit lighter. One less thing to remind him of Mark's assault.
He shoves his good hand in his pocket as he leaves the shop, unsure of where to go or what to do next.
[OOC: You can find Spencer anywhere you'd like. Roaming around town, grabbing a coffee, back at his house, anywhere. Dude needs a friend.]
no subject
Date: 2014-06-21 04:30 am (UTC)His bottom lip quivers, not from panic or anxiety or thoughts of what had happened, but becomes he's suddenly so overwhelmed by these feelings nobody has ever made him feel before. He takes Joel's uninjured hand in his own, bringing it to rest over his chest so Joel can feel his heartbeat. "It's steady," he says, and it's true. His mind isn't racing a mile a minute anymore, his heart isn't pounding; he's focused on the man beside him in his bed. "You're the first person in a long time who's been able to make me feel like-- like maybe things are going to be okay. You do this for me. And if I can do it for you, I'm happy to be given the chance."
It's been about a month. Their first kisses, the kind that aren't kickstarted by fear or pain, have only just happened tonight, but Spencer simply can't deny the connection between them. It's been growing stronger since that evening i the library, though Spencer couldn't have imagined then that anything would have come of it. A distant friendship, at best, is what he would have expected because he's never been good at anything else. He's fallen into this so easily, though, as if they've been at this or so much longer and he doesn't want it to end.
He closes his eyes at the feel of Joel's thumb against his cheek and smiles softly. "Don't leave," he says, echoing what he'd told Joel on Friday night. It's said for a better reason this time, though, and Spencer shifts so he can lie down on his back again, nuzzling his cheek against Joel's chest. "You still owe me more of The Once and Future King."
no subject
Date: 2014-06-21 03:28 pm (UTC)He doesn't have to be asked to not leave, he realizes. The moment Spencer says it, Joel knows he'll only leave when Spencer tells him to, that if he never asks him to go anywhere, he'll be right here. There's the store to run and his cat to care for, but he can do both those things and always come back here and he has to close his eyes for a moment, smiling up at the ceiling as he tries to remember more of the story. He'd memorized most of the first chapter as a kid, wanting his sister to enjoy it as much as he did, and he thinks he can pull up most of it in his memory now. He thinks he can do a lot of things for Spencer.
"Where did I stop?" he asks, trying to remember the ambulance ride, though he doesn't particularly want to. He tips his head to the side, his lips brushing over Spencer's hair as he speaks. "Somewhere around ... The governess had red hair and some mysterious wound from which she derived a lot of prestige by showing it to all the women of the castle, behind closed doors. It was believed to be where she sat down, and to have been caused by sitting on some armour at a picnic by mistake. Eventually she offered to show it to Sir Ector, who was Kay's father, had hysterics and was sent away. They found out afterwards that she had been in a lunatic hospital for three years." He doesn't know how far he'll get before Spencer falls asleep, but he's perfectly content to lie here all night reciting the parts of the book he can remember.