Fantasy Caught in the Waves (Closed)

[SheLuvsMusic]

Peter chuckled at her idea. It sounded mighty appealing, but he would probably abuse his grading powers to give her a hundred on everything. "Careful, I don't think you want to give me that much power. You might not be able to escape me." He pulled her tighter against him, wrapping both his arms around her this time. "And I'd give you hundreds of kisses anyway," he whispered in her ear.

He wished they could just be happy together without all of the worry, but they had a complicated history between them and no love worth having seemed easy anyway. "A week that she's known about," he clarified. "A week since your father gave me permission to court you, almost a month since the same permission for Alec to see her had been explicitly forbidden, and just over a month since I retired my career as a pirate. Two months since you've been kidnapped, maybe a month and half since Tom assaulted her. I can understand why she might need more than week to warm up to a man partially responsible for it all, on top of taking her sister away from her when she's trying to heal." It wasn't just about his pirate days. It was about jealousy. And hurt. And a broken heart. It had been that way since long before they were even official. He wasn't sure Ella really saw that part of it. "Not talking to her about us, or at all, is just going to make it worse. She'll resent me even more than she already does, and if anything did happen that made her question keeping quiet, she's much more likely to fly off the handle if she knows you're trying to keep it from her."

All he knew was that he wouldn't stand for coming between them. Ella was lucky to have a sister, and he didn't want her to throw her relationship with Josephine away because of him. Maybe it wasn't fair how Josephine was handling the news of them, but it also wasn't fair of Ella to choose a boy over her family. Josie wouldn't do it to Ella, even though this was probably the most tempting time for her to do so. Ella shouldn't either. Peter would rather sooner break his own heart than let that happen. He promised he would never hurt Ella again either, but he would walk away from this before he ever let it break her family. He cared about her too much to watch that happen. For now though, he didn't think it was unfixable. The girls just had to stop being so stubborn and actually talk it out.

The list of reasons for why they might not marry was just as long as the one for why they could. One day. He sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know. It depends on whether people find out about me. On whether your father will give me permission. On if I can provide for you, depending on how well my apprenticeship goes. If it goes well, and I spend a few weeks abroad, whose to say you'll still want me when I get back? Whose to say you won't fall out of love with me the longer we go without seeing each other? Maybe you'll go to university and realize you want a different life than the one you could have with me." It was a depressing thought, but it was a possibility. Peter didn't shy away from that. "But maybe none of that happens, and we will. I don't know. But if we do, a honeymoon in India sounds wonderful." He grinned, then warmed as she said she thought they might get married one day. He wouldn't mind it either, he thought.

Josie laughed, and although she really didn't think she wanted to know how Peter kissed, it was still a good idea to try and find out what he and her sister had been up to. "Well if I think you could learn something from him, I'll let you know," she teased, and took comfort in his arms. These small moments with him meant a lot to her. There was nobody else she could really talk about Ella with, and to be honest, she missed them both so much. She didn't want Alec to worry though. She had been going through a hard time, and had a few slip ups, but she was working on it. She just wanted him to focus on himself, just like be would tell her to do. "Don't worry. You'll make me worry about making you worry, and then we'll both be a mess. Just focus on your work, and it will all be fine."

Josephine was going to miss the goodnight kisses. She already missed not seeing him nearly every night. It was going to ruin their chances though if she didn't behave and abide by her father's rules. She just had to remind herself that as hard as it was, it would be worth it all when she got to walk down the aisle to him. "Soon," she agreed, and slipped back inside before her self control had a chance to lapse.

 

[AvianJen]

Peter felt like a fortress around her, and Ella readily held onto him and breathed in his scent. He was so warm, and it felt so good. She smiled at his response, imagining it. "I don't think I'd want to escape," she murmured. "Be my guest." She kissed him on his cheek and moved down his jawline to reach his lips, where she lingered for several long moments.

"No," she disagreed with his timeline again, smirking playfully. "You asked Father to court me after our party, a full week before you started work. And I told Josie the day after. She's had two weeks to get used to it." She pressed another kiss to his lips, gazing at him adoringly. "This doesn't bode well for our anniversary," she teased. But everything else was right, as far as Ella knew. As for Josephine, Ella understood that there was a lot going on. And she loved her sister; she wasn't going to let Josie slip away, and after she had apologized things were much better than they had been. But they still hadn't really talked things through since that carriage ride, and they both knew that was what needed to happen. Ella missed her sister, especially after the long week where Peter hadn't been home to keep her company. And even though she didn't want to admit it, Ella needed Josie just as much as Josie needed her. They were best friends. They would figure it out. But if Peter left her because of coming between her and Josephine, that wouldn't fix anything. It wasn't a thought that had even crossed Ella's mind, but she would probably end up blaming it on her sister. It wasn't fair, but as Josephine had already proven, a broken heart caused people to do crazy things.

Ella was almost offended when he started describing how she might fall out of love with him. She frowned, pulling herself back to a sitting position and looking down at him. "Do you really think that?" she asked. "Peter, that could never happen. You think I'm going to fall for one of those stuffy university guys who don't think I'm smart enough to be in the same class as them? I love you. Are you going to forget about me in a couple weeks while you're out adventuring and end up sleeping with some exotic...I don't know." Ella hugged her knees to her chest and tugged on her hair, countless horrible scenarios running through her head.

Alec smirked, reaching forward to mess up her hair. "Not a chance," he said. He laughed again when she pointed out that his worrying would cause her to worry, shaking his head and knowing that she was right. They were already a mess enough as it was. "Alright, I won't worry," he promised, knowing that it was the same advice he would have given her. "I'll focus on setting up the business. I may not be around the stables as much this week. It seems I need to find your father a new stable boy, and I need to work on my setup. But I'll always be here in the morning if you need me." He had to come in the mornings to make sure that the horses were alright, but he didn't need to be there all day. Alec wanted to get things moving as quickly as possible, since he didn't know how long he had.

He waved as she went inside, lingering for a moment. He hoped that he wouldn't blow this opportunity. He loved Josephine- they made a great team, they wanted the same things, and he could easily envision them growing old together. He had to find a way to make this work, but there was no better motivation.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Peter closed his eyes and made a soft noise of pleasure at her kisses. When she reached his lips, he kissed her back, happily and slowly, just savoring any and all brief moments of bliss with her. To think that he used to believe he would never know love, or that he didn't want it for that matter. This girl had turned his life completely upside down, and he'd only known her for a couple of months.

He thought for a moment while she corrected him, then rubbed at his eyes in frustration when he realized she was right. He was so tired he couldn't keep his timelines straight. "I'm sorry, Estrella," he said, using his new term of endearment for her. "I suppose I'm more tired than I realized." She didn't look too upset though. If anything she looked slightly amused, and for that he was grateful. "My point still stands. It really hasn't been that long. It's possible she hasn't thought much about us at all with everything else going on." He hoped the two of them would reconcile and work something out. There was only so much he could do to help, like being a willing participant in her plan to double date. He didn't see how else he was going to get to know her unless in a group.

He looked up at her when she sat up, suddenly missing her being so close. He furrowed his eyebrows, then looked just slightly past her at the moon. "I don't know," he said. "You could. It doesn't have to be someone from university, just... Anyone." It wasn't that he thought she would, just that he didn't know how they would survive the distance. He already struggled rationalizing how she could love him. If he wasn't around and she got lonely, what if she met someone better? Someone who wasn't an ex pirate, who Josephine actually liked, with a less complicated past and more certain future.

He looked back at her when she started talking about him sleeping with exotic women in his absence, and then it was his turn to sit up in disbelief. He propped himself on one eyebrow, turned in her direction. "What? Ella, I wouldn't do that." He didn't even really sleep with exotic women before her. Just random women, usually after paying a few coins. And even then, not as often as someone might expect from a pirate.

 

[AvianJen]

Ella smiled at the sound of her little nickname, liking it more and more. "I know," she responded, going in for one more kiss. "I'm sorry. Maybe we shouldn't sleep on the hard ground all night." She knew it must have been an exhausting week, not only physically but mentally. There was so much to learn about the merchant trade, and although Ella didn't know Mr. Lawrence well, she did know that he would be pushing him pretty hard. As for Josephine, Ella wasn't sure she agreed with everything Peter was saying, but it was entirely possible that Josephine was thinking about them as much as they thought. Or maybe she was thinking about it even more. Who knew?

He didn't do much to save his suggestion, causing Ella's frown to deepen. It was as if he didn't trust her, or didn't have any faith in their relationship lasting. Ella hadn't allowed herself to fall in love with him with the intention of having a short-lived relationship, and she hoped that he hadn't either. "Peter, I can't...I can't even imagine that happening," she said honestly. Ella's mind couldn't wrap around the idea that she could actually meet someone that she wanted to be with more than Peter. It was unfathomable. And maybe that was naive, but she was concerned that he could speak about it so nonchalantly, as if it was a thing that just might happen and not a worst case scenario if things went horribly wrong.

"My social circle hasn't changed since I was born, I've met almost everyone there is to meet, for one thing. For another, nobody's ever been interested in me before you. I always thought I would just have to end up marrying one of them anyways, and then I met you and you made me believe in something else." Ella thought that was what they did for each other. No one but Peter could have given her the confidence to apply for university, and no one but him would have stood up for her today. "Do you think that...do you think this isn't going to last? Or it can't?" she said, asking the question she feared. "Have you always thought that?"

If he thought that she might find someone else, though, Ella wondered if that meant that he thought that he might as well. Someone who had a more similar background to his, or...something. Even if he loved her, maybe he didn't like being with a girl from her background. She glanced at him, pouting when he said he would never do that. "But...that's what you did before, isn't it?" she asked, finally allowing her fears about him traveling to surface. "I'm not stupid. And I know that you'll land and all the other men will be like, 'Oh, Peter, it's alright we do it all the time, Ella's not here and what she doesn't know won't hurt her...'" The thought of it made her skin crawl, but she knew that was what men were like. Most of them, anyways. "If you think that I could move on so easily, does that mean you think you could too?" Ella was so confused, and suddenly very afraid.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Of course Peter hadn't gone into this expecting a short term relationship. He had promised her father that if he was going to be with her, that it was going to be long term with marriage being the end goal. That was true. For him. He just had a hard time believing sometimes that he was the right person for her when he had such a questionable past. There was a reason why Josephine was concerned about him, and she had every right to be. That was why it was so critical Mr. Sinclair didn't find out about him, because he'd question everything as well if he found out. There was so much that was out of his or Ella's control, and so he wouldn't ever blame her if she wanted out.

He pushed a hand through his hair and sighed. He hadn't meant to start an argument or upset her. He just said what he honestly thought was a possibility. "Almost everyone isn't the same as everyone. I also find it hard to believe nobody's been interested in you." He looked at her, his eyes following the lines of her face and body and admiring how beautiful she was. If she couldn't see that, she was blind, along with any of the other men who might have looked past her. When he got back to her eyes, he could see the fear in them. It was the same look she gave him back in the shop after that first night they kissed, when she came to him to talk about it with hopes that he would say he wanted her as much as she did him. Did she think she really was just a fling? An experiment to him? He wanted to be with her, he just didn't know what to expect about their future. "I never said that," he said, not knowing what to say.

But what she said next had him sitting all the way up, offended and hurt and in disbelief of the words that came out of her mouth. She told him that she didn't care about what he had or hadn't done in the past, because he was different now. But what she just said implied otherwise. Did she really think he was capable of that? That he would do that to her? That he would go out to sea one day and find some beautiful woman on a foreign coast to mess around with because other men said it was okay? Because she would "never find out"? It confirmed all of his worst fears to be true. That he would never be good enough for her, and that there was a part of her that didn't want to trust him.

He pushed himself off the ground and stood up, brushing away the bits of grass and dirt that clung to him. "If you really think that Ella, then you're no better than Josephine." He shouldn't have said anything, but now that he had, at least he knew that maybe he was right all along about not really belonging here. He had a good go of playing pretend, but maybe he ought to think about leaving. Maybe that was best for everyone. He turned to walk away, craving a bottle of something strong to help him sleep tonight.

 

[AvianJen]

Ella didn't know why she was so upset, but a lot of it was probably that she was just scared. Peter was her first relationship ever; Ella had never even had a proper courtship before. All the men went for Josephine, because she was older and Father worked harder to set her up with them. But the way Peter sounded, the way he was pushing the suggestion, it almost made Ella feel like he wanted her to find someone else. It was like he was insisting there was someone else out there for her. Why? That was what scared Ella the most, the thought that he might want her to find someone else in order to give him the freedom to move on. She had no idea that he was saying it out of his own insecurity, but he had no idea that the things she was saying stemmed from her own. "It's true," she insisted when he seemed disbelieving that no one had been interested. "Or if they were, it was usually a means to an end. Josie's the pretty one, everyone knows it."

Claiming that he'd never said that wasn't denying it, and his words made her feel nauseous. She didn't know what she meant, exactly, but when she said what she did it wasn't because she didn't trust him...although now she felt like he was giving her reason to doubt. It was more like she understood the effects of peer pressure, and if he was faced with a beautiful girl and had managed to fall out of love with her in a matter of weeks as he had just suggested she might do, what was to keep him from doing something like that? Ella's thoughts were so jumbled and confused, she hardly understood anything that was happening. Why was he angry now? She didn't think that anything she'd just said was any more offensive than what he'd already suggested of her, and he was the one who brought it up. How had things gone so wrong so quickly?

It was his last statement that was the real killer. Ella knew what that meant, and she watched him walk away with tears in her eyes. "Maybe I'm not," she retorted, raising her voice as he left her. "I'm another stupid rich girl dumb enough to love someone I can't have. And here you are leaving at the first opportunity, so good job proving me wrong." Ella stood up herself, not bothering to pick up her blankets before storming past, wanting to make it inside before she completely lost it. She barely made it upstairs before her tears turned into full-out sobs, and she couldn't even bring herself to knock on Josephine's door before going in. Was it over? Was she back to marrying whatever random man liked her enough to propose?

Everything had been perfect. Ella had been looking forward to living the dreams she'd never dared to entertain before, and now she felt like her world was crumbling around her. "Josie?" she said, trying to find her sister through blurry, messy tears. There was only one person Ella could go to and hope that she got a hug instead of a well-deserved "I told you so."

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Peter let out an exasperated sigh, putting the palm of his hand against his forehead to calm the growing headache. Ella was always comparing herself to Josephine, and he wished she wouldn't. He couldn't understand how she never saw how beautiful she was. It was only a matter of opinion on who was the prettier sister, but it was a pointless argument, considering the two of them looked so much alike. It didn't matter right now anyway, because even if Peter told her she was the prettier of the two in his own opinion, she was still comparing herself to other women. And apparently she didn't trust him enough not to stray to other women in her absence. He was too wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't realize they were essentially having the same argument with each other, that both of their words were coming from a place of insecurity.

As he was walking away, he only paused when she yelled something back out at him. He winced at her words. It felt like she was pouring salt in fresh wounds. He wasn't entirely sure what had just happened between them either. One minute they were kissing and saying I love you, and talking about how they could maybe one day marry. Now they were both upset and he felt like his heart had trampled on and as if he was living a perfect dream, but now it was just a nightmare. Like a cruel, twisted joke. He was never supposed to have it good, but he was still so confused about how the hell it had all gone so wrong.

He didn't know what to say or do, so he just watched her storm off towards the house instead. He thought about following after for a moment, but thought better of it. Going back into that house only proved him more a pirate. The mansion, that room, this life. It didn't belong to him. Ella didn't belong to him, at least, he didn't think so after tonight. So he pushed his hair back and headed towards the stables, thinking if there was one last thing he could steal, it would be a horse so he could find somewhere to drown himself in liqour for the night.

After saying goodnight to Alec, Josephine went back to her room. She changed out of her dress and into her nightgown, but she couldn't sleep, so she lit a candle and sat at her desk, opening her journal up for the first time since they got back. She had been so heart broken and not herself when the returned, that she hadn't written in it at all. But now, she thought she better catch up and write down all the details of her life since then. She started with going for tea, and had just gotten to the part about Nora, when Ella came bursting in.

"Ella?" Josephine asked in surprise. She pushed herself out of her chair and walked across the room, immediately concerned for her sister. She couldn't recall the last time Ella had cried like this, and it broke her heart to see her so upset.

She took Ella into her arms, stroking her hair, then pulled back to get a look at her face. She cupped it in her hands and tried wiping away her tears, but she wasn't letting up at all. "Shhh," she said, putting an arm around her and guiding her to the bed. She sat down and pulled Ella next to her, still stroking at her tear stained face. "Shhhh. It's alright. What's wrong? What happened?"

 

[AvianJen]

Ella didn't think she'd ever been more upset in her life. This was why she never wanted to fall in love- she saw how much pain Josephine and Alec were always in because of how much they loved each other, and she didn't know who would be crazy enough to want that for themselves. But love had found her anyways and completely changed her world, only to come crumbling down at the first sign of trouble.

She was so confused, too; she could see that she and Peter were accusing each other of the exact same things, and she didn't understand why he thought it was okay to project that on her when she wasn't allowed to present a reversed situation. And it was immature to say so, but he had started it. She'd tried to respond gently at first, but then he just...she shook her head, trying desperately to understand but the pieces didn't fit together. There had to be something she was missing. Sure, maybe it was a little worse to suggest he would sleep with other women, but it was all the same to Ella. It was all saying that maybe this wasn't meant to be, maybe they both would change their minds. It seemed like Peter already had.

Josephine was the only person Ella could go to. She didn't say anything at first, just reaching for her sister as she sobbed uncontrollably. It took several minutes before she was able to calm down enough to actually attempt to answer Josie's questions, but she wasn't even sure she knew how to answer them. "I...I don't know," she cried, catapulting into a fresh bout of tears. "One sec...second he loves me, t-then I asked about...then h-he left. Josie I ruined everything." That was the only thing she knew for sure- it was ruined. He hated her now. It felt like her heart had been ripped in half and torn to shreds right before her eyes. "What do I do?" At the moment, Ella thought she would prefer death to feeling like this.

As it happened, Alec hadn't left yet. He never left this late usually, had to make sure all the horses were settled in for the night after dinner, and he wasn't going to be riding anywhere in his nice new outfit, so he changed back into his worth clothes as well. When Peter came into the stables and interrupted his solitude, at first Alec panicked thinking it was Josephine's father, and he'd seen the one kiss they had shared. He was just finishing saddling up Nielson when he heard the footsteps, and he looked around his horse with wide eyes to see who it was.

When it was only Peter, he breathed a sigh of relief. But it only lasted a minute before he became concerned again. What was Peter doing out here so late? "Going somewhere?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and stepping around his horse.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine pulled Ella to her and rubbed her hand in soothing circles on Ella's back. She let her take her time calming down enough to talk, and she tried not to worry too much while she was being patient. When Ella finally managed to say something, Josie wasn't all that more clear on what was going on, but she was able to decipher that this had something to do with Peter. Had that bastard done something to hurt her sister? Josephine always feared he would, but she refrained from saying "I told you so" and instead leaned forward to kiss her sister's forehead.

"Shhhh," she said. "It's alright. These things happen, but I can't help you unless I know what's going on." Had they gotten into an argument? Why was Ella so certain she had ruined everything? "You said he left?" she asked. That was something Josephine had secretly wished for from the moment Peter moved in with them, but she resented him for leaving her sister like this. Only cowards and people without hearts left a girl in tears like this before running away. Poor Ella was heartbroken. Josephine knew what that felt like, but there were differences between how Josephine had ended up this way and how Ella had. Alec had never left her, and in some ways, she thought that made her situation a bit easier than the one Ella now faced.

Peter didn't cry. He wasn't a crier. When he got angry or sad, he drank. It was a horrible habit, one he picked up from Tom, but it was the only way he knew how to deal with pain. Right now he could drown himself in multiple drinks. He'd make his mind and body go numb until morning, and then he'd sleep off the hangover to avoid confronting his emotions some more.

He wasn't expecting to see Alec when he got to the stables. The last thing he needed was another person accusing him and judging him because of his pirate past. It wasn't like he was going to do anything that would prove him wrong, either, but he was so tired of wasting his energy on people who would never change their minds. So he just moved past Alec, looking for the horse he rode the last time. He had no idea what he was doing, but he was desperate to get on one anyway and ride away.

"What's it to you?" Peter responded, looking not so kindly in Alec's direction. He opened the stall door. "Go home, Alec. Unless you plan on getting as piss drunk as I am, I'd rather be left alone."

 

[AvianJen]

Ella didn't know how she could possibly explain everything to her sister when she barely understood what had happened herself, but she could try. Josie was right; she couldn't give her good advice if she didn't know what was going on, and Ella was sure she could come up with an abbreviated version. She gave herself a few more minutes to cry without saying anything, until she had finally started to wear herself out enough to where she could talk more intelligibly. "Well I don't know if he like...left, left," she tried to explain. "He walked away from me." That was bad enough, and as far as Ella was concerned he might as well have left.

She leaned in towards Josie, taking comfort in her older sister's arms while she tried to think of a good way to explain it. "I...I asked if he thought we might ever get married," she murmured, sure that Josephine would disapprove of that idea right away. "And he basically said that I might forget about him and find someone else once he started traveling, and then I asked if that meant he was going to go get with a girl from an exotic country and then he blew up and stormed away. He said if that's what I thought, then...well, it doesn't matter." Ella didn't need to get into that, and it wasn't an important detail. When she said it out loud it sounded slightly less worse than it was, but she hoped that Josie would understand. "I guess it's typical," Ella said, wiping away a few more tears and sniffling. "Men always run at the first mention of an actual commitment, but I thought...he said he loved me. And I love him- I know you don't like it, Josie, and don't understand, but I really do love him." Once again the tears began to flow freely and she clung to her sister, wishing the world would disappear.

Alec was confused. He didn't think he'd ever seen Peter like this, and while he didn't particularly care if he was upset, he did care about his horses. Alec sprung into action when Peter opened the stall door, blocking his way. "Excuse me," he said indignantly. "You don't know how to saddle a horse, you don't know how to ride, and I'm not about to entrust one of my horses to a man set on getting 'piss drunk.'" They weren't his horses, but they might as well be. Alec knew these horses better than anyone else on the estate, and each of them held a special place in his heart. He glared at Peter, a hundred percent serious. He was not leaving by himself with one of these horses. Either he'd run himself into a ditch or they'd never see him again, and neither of those options were acceptable.

"You're welcome to go inside and see if Mr. Sinclair will lend you some of his liquor," he suggested, nodding towards the mansion. "Or..." he hesitated, "I'll saddle your horse and come with you. If you can barely ride sober you can't ride drunk." The last thing Alec wanted was to go out drinking with Peter, but he had a feeling that Josephine would be coming to him to talk about whatever happened tonight. He wanted to do anything he could to help. Aside from that, he had to admit he was a little curious...although he was mostly just genuinely concerned for his animals. He didn't trust Peter with them, and he didn't care if the other man knew it.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine continued rubbing Ella's back and stroking her hair, trying to get her calmed down enough to talk. She didn't like seeing her sister like this, but when Ella started to explain, some of her worries were eased. It sounded like there might have just been a misunderstanding, and although she wanted nothing more than to have Peter out of her life, she didn't want her sister to be heartbroken. There were also much worse things he could have done to her that he hadn't.

"Sometimes people need to cool off and walk away, Ella. It doesn't mean he's leaving," she said. Of course it surprised her to hear they were talking about marriage. A lot of people didn't usually court for very long until marriage, but everything seemed so short compared to her and Alec's two years. She tried not to comment on that right now though, and thought about whether this really was an issue of commitment or something else. It was hard to say without having been there, but if there was one thing she knew about men, it was that sometimes their communication skills were awful.

"No, I don't understand," Josephine said. Everybody knew how critical she was of Peter, but that was besides the point. She had made a few promises to Ella, and she was going to keep them as best as she could. As much as she would have liked to, a couple's despite was not reason enough to turn the bastard in. "But listen," she said. "Sometimes these things just happen. Someone might say something and the other person takes it the wrong way. It doesn't mean Peter doesn't love you, or that's he's leaving. It just means you had an argument and he thought he needed some space. There's no need to jump to conclusions yet. Couples fight all the time. It's normal."

Peter looked at Alec when he suddenly put himself between him and his one and only way out of here for the night. He thought very briefly about how much he would or wouldn't regret it if he chose to punch him and take one of the horses anyway. Ultimately he decided that was probably a bad idea, but it didn't mean he was any less annoyed at Alec for standing in his way. What was he still doing out here anyway? It was late, and he should have left by now. "Waiting around for Josephine?" he asked bitterly. "I'm sure Mr. Sinclair would love to know about that." He just wanted to be left alone to his own devices.

One thing was for sure though, and that was there was no way in hell he was going back into the mansion right now. Not even if that was the only place Alec was going to suggest he find liqour. But Alec suggesting to come with him took him by surprise. The two of them never did anything together. Even on the ship, it was mostly very limited interaction. Giving orders, mostly. Peter wasn't particularly thrilled to be starting any time soon, but if going with Alec was the only way he was going to get what he desperately needed, then so be it. "Fine," he said, stepping back and crossing his arms over his chest. "Saddle up then."

 

[AvianJen]

Ella wanted to believe that Josephine was right, but she just wasn't a hundred percent sure that she was. Peter had been so upset, and she wasn't sure that he would ever want to talk to her again. "He just acted like he hated me, all of the sudden," Ella said sadly. "I guess I wasn't very nice but I...he wasn't very nice either. And he started it, and I'm not sure why he was so upset by what I said. A little, maybe, but not that upset."

When Josephine confirmed that she didn't understand, Ella tensed slightly, bracing herself from the criticism. The "You can't marry him" talk, or something similar. But that wasn't what Josie said at all. "Do you think so?" she sniffled, wiping away her tears again. "Do you think he just took it the wrong way?" Peter hadn't told her that he was struggling with leaving his past in the past, and it was impossible for her to connect those dots. All she knew was that he'd seen fit to march away after one little comment, one that described a situation Ella was genuinely afraid of and might have liked to talk about. "What if he doesn't come back?" Ella was afraid of that, too. He wasn't used to staying in one place for very long, and people made stupid decisions when they were upset. What if he decided to leave forever, and she'd never see him again? Now Ella was being a little overly dramatic, but she'd never imagined that she and Peter would ever fight. Every moment she spent with him was more perfect than the last, up until now. "I don't like it," she whimpered. "I don't like fighting. It doesn't feel normal. I'm just...I'm afraid I ruined everything forever."

Ella snuggled up against Josie, having no intention of going back to her own room anytime soon. Her Greek mythology book was waiting for her on her bedside table, and Ella didn't want to look at it. She didn't even want to think about it. She didn't want to think about any of it. She wished that Peter would come back, explain himself and then they would kiss and make up. But she wasn't sure that would happen. "What should I do, Josie?" she asked rather pathetically. "Just wait?"

Alec raised his eyebrows. He'd never seen Peter like this; usually he was always very polite. "No," he said pointedly. "It's none of your business, for one thing, but Mr. Sinclair has agreed to give us a second chance. I was just checking on the horses before I left." It was late, but it had been a busy evening for Alec. He was tired and wanted to go home, but he wasn't going to let his horses- rather, Mr. Sinclair's horses- get hurt because Peter didn't know how to ride. When he said to saddle up, Alec scoffed, turning around and taking another saddle from the back of the stables. He thrust it at Peter and gestured to the horse. "Here. If you're going to be a jerk about it, then I can help you do it." He led the horse Peter had ridden the other day out of the stall. "Put it on his back. Gently," he warned.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine just held Ella tight. There wasn't much she could do to make this better for her but to just be there for her to talk to. Although she didn't like to see Ella like this, a part of her was glad that she had come to her at least. She was afraid that Ella would never want to talk to her about Peter, but here they were. "He doesn't hate you," she said. Anybody could see that. Even herself. "And if you're really not sure why he's upset, then yes. I think there was probably just some kind of misunderstanding."

She pulled back from Ella just enough to take her face in her hands. She pushed back her hair, and wiped at the tears. Ella was such a pretty girl, even when she was crying, but it hurt her to see the cracks in her usual confident self. Josephine had always wanted to experience the joys of being in love, but she would have never imagined the person she would do that with would be somebody like Peter. She just thought Ella would be the lucky one out of the two of them. The one who would fall in love and marry that same person, without ever having to experience the painful side of love that was heartbreak. She was sad it didn't work out that way, but Josie also knew that whatever the outcome of this was going to be, Ella would manage to come out strong in the end. "You don't know he won't come back," she said. "And if he doesn't, then I'll hunt him down and drag him back, because he at least owes you an explanation. I really don't think you have anything to worry about though. I don't like him, but the man's not stupid, and he'd have to be an idiot to give you up."

She pulled Ella back to her, rocking her slowly. This was going to be the hard part, but Ella would just need to be patient. Josephine hated being uncertain, too, but sometimes when space was needed, not giving it would do the most damage. "I'm afraid so. There's not much else you can do for now. Just give him the night, and in the morning, you can try talking to him about it. It won't do you much good right now. Not if you're both so worked up." She placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Do you want to stay the night in here with me? I can make us some tea. It might help you feel better."

That was news to Peter. "Well, lucky you," he said, but it didn't exactly come out very nice. He didn't care. He was too bitter about what had happened with Ella, too confused, and too hurt. She was the one person he thought trusted him, and now he wasn't so sure she really did. Could he really blame her, though? Probably not. But it still stung.

He looked at Alec in disbelief when he told him to put on the saddle himself, but otherwise didn't protest. He grabbed the saddle from his hands and did as he was asked. It went by a lot quicker than he was expecting, getting the horses ready, but that was good. He didn't really have any more patience. He was just dying to get out of here. "Lead the way," he said. He didn't really know where the nearest pub was, if he was perfectly honest.

 

[AvianJen]

Ella didn't know how Josie could be so sure that Peter didn't hate her, but as she began to calm down she realized that she might have overreacted. Peter would come around...she hoped. But then they would really have to address the problem. There had to be a reason he'd gotten that upset, and maybe if Ella was able to explain herself as well they could work together to fix it. Or maybe their love story was over. "A misunderstanding," she repeated. Hopefully that was all, but Ella still couldn't fight down the nervous bubble of anxiety in her stomach, the fear that she had ruined their relationship. "I guess...misunderstandings aren't so bad," she admitted reluctantly. "Right? Have you and Alec had misunderstandings?"

She felt like a five year old who needed to be taught everything there was to know about relationships. Josie had been with Alec for two years, so she had to know a thing or two. Ella knew nothing, but Josie finally did weasel a smile out of her saying that she would hunt Peter down on her behalf and that he would be an idiot to give her up. Ella didn't know if that was true, but she liked the sound of it. This was exactly why she needed her big sister; she always knew what to say, and always had a way to lift her spirits. Even when it was Peter, a person she would probably rather not be talking about. "Thanks, Josie," Ella sniffed, hoping that she was right. "I guess I would be stupid too." No one else could ever come close to Peter in Ella's mind, and if she let him walk away without fighting for what she wanted as he'd encouraged her to do, she would be an idiot too.

Ella let Josephine pull her back, closing her eyes and trying to relax as she started to rock back and forth. She wasn't sobbing anymore, but she felt tired and had a killer headache from it. "Yes please," she smiled at the suggestion that she stay in here for the night. Some tea sounded good, too. "I think that would help." While Josie got the tea, Ella went through her sister's closet- she couldn't be bothered to go to her own and risk seeing Peter in the hallway- and found a silky pink nightgown. She got rid of her dress and slipped the comfortable garment over her head before returning to her sister's side. Ella was still worried about Peter, but a good old fashioned sister sleepover in Josephine's room would do her some good. Waiting until Peter was ready to talk was going to be hard, but the last thing Ella wanted to do was make him feel smothered. "Do you want me to braid your hair?" she asked Josephine, her voice still small and faint but a little better than before.

Alec helped Peter saddle his horse, figuring it was a skill he should learn at some point anyways. "You know how to mount," he muttered, swinging his leg over his own horse's back. "Come on." It was a decent ride into town, and the two men rode in silence. Alec didn't have anything to say to him, and he was annoyed that this was happening, but there was a part of him that was hoping this could be turned into an opportunity. To do what, he had no idea...but the fact remained he couldn't let Peter just take a horse.

So, he led Peter to the nearest pub. It was one that Alec had visited several times, particularly when he was younger and before he met Josephine. He didn't have the time or money to do much drinking anymore, but he supposed he might be able to splurge for one or two. Alec helped Peter properly tie up his horse outside and tied up his own before they went to check out the scene. It looked like it was crowded inside, so when they approached the door Alec held it open for Peter to go in first. "After you," he said. "Do I want to know why we're here?"

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine was glad to see Ella manage to calm herself down a bit. She would probably feel even better in the morning once she got some sleep and had some more time to process. Emotions were still high right now, but she knew that it wouldn't last forever. Come tomorrow she would see there was probably no need to worry so much. She offered Ella a small smile, thinking about her question. "Yes," she said. "You can't be with someone for as long as Alec and I have without a misunderstanding or two." Given the complexity of their relationship, the first few months had been especially difficult to figure out. Josephine was obliged to see other men on occasion, and they never really did establish whether Alec would be free to date. Since they couldn't be official, their relationship lacked definition, and therefore guidelines, for the longest time. It was probably a miracle they lasted so long, given they both expected it to come to a close at some point. Love was strange. And they'd toughed it out together. It had paid off in the end, because now they had a real chance at a future. Sometimes all it took was patience and understanding.

She felt relieved to see her smile a bit, and gave her shoulders a tight squeeze. Ella had to know Josephine was always going to be there for her. Her protective older sister nature didn't go away just because they disagreed on a few things. "You can always talk to me," she said. "You know that, right? I know sometimes we disagree and... I might not always say the things you want to hear, but you're my sister. I love you. And I want to know what's going on in your life. I want to help." It wasn't like she was trying to be judgemental. And she didn't mean to baby Ella. She just wanted the best for her. The last thing she had ever meant to do was alienate her.

She got up to make the tea, sneaking back down to the kitchen quietly like a pro. She sort of had to be since she's been seeing Alec. She put the tea on a tray along with a few stolen strawberries from Rory's stash, and took it back upstairs to her room. Seeing Ella in the borrowed nightgown made her smile. Things felt sort of right again, even if she wished Ella was happier at the moment. A sister sleepover was much needed and long overdue. Placing the tray on the bed, she sat down next to Ella and placed a few sugar cubes in her own cup. She turned her back to her, giving her better access to her hair. "If you'd like. It always looks better when you braid it, anyway." Josephine always struggled doing it by herself because of the angle, and so she never quite achieved the waves Ella always had.

Peter mounted the horse fairly easily, but he tried not to think about how much he would probably struggle doing so later after a few drinks. Not that he would remember in the morning. The silent ride to the pub was preferable, but still awkward. Thankfully the ride wasn't too terribly long, and he could see that the pub was fairly busy. It was the perfect sort of place to drown your sorrows and distract yourself for a while. He wasn't much in the mood for singing or dancing, but he'd watch the others.

Getting off his horse he wandered over to the door and past Alec as he held it open. He headed straight to the closest empty table before even bothering to answer Alec. "Of course you want to know if you asked," he said. He and Josephine would probably eat up any stories they could get about how much of a failure he was. It was just the sort of thing they needed to turn him in. All the more reason to drink. A bar maid came by asking what they wanted, and Peter put a few coins on the table, telling her to just keep them coming. Looking back at his companion, he shrugged. "Ella and I had an argument."

 

[AvianJen]

Ella sighed, trying to understand. Waiting was going to be the hardest part; Ella felt that she deserved an explanation, but that probably wasn't going to come until tomorrow at the earliest. Some sleep would do her some good, but Ella wasn't tired. Her mind was still far too active to even think about sleeping. It was encouraging to her to know that even Josephine and Alec had had misunderstandings, though. They always seemed so happy together, but now that Ella thought about it even Mother had Father had arguments sometimes. Ella and Josephine had arguments all the time, but it didn't mean that they didn't love each other. She just hoped that this was something like that, and that Peter would come back and still be in love with her.

Feeling a little better now, Ella hugged Josephine back and listened, nodding. "I know," she murmured. "I love you, too. And I'm sorry about everything." Ella hated how distant she and Josie had become after the past couple weeks. If something positive could come out of Ella and Peter's fight, maybe it was the two sisters reconnecting. "I want to tell you," she admitted. "I was just scared. I love Peter, and he's really wonderful, but I know you don't like him. And I don't...I don't know what to do about that. I'm really sorry." Ella hugged her knees to her chest, thinking about it. She didn't want Peter to come between her and her sister, but maybe Josie didn't need to like him. Ella's relationship with Peter shouldn't change her relationship with Josie, but it was all a learning curve. Ella was still learning what it meant to be in a romantic relationship. She had no experience, and was bound to make a couple of mistakes.

The tea smelled delicious, and Ella dropped a few sugar cubes into her own cup before lifting it to her lips. The warm liquid instantly made her feel cozy and comfortable, and she sighed. "Thank you," she said. She brightened when she saw the strawberries and took a bite out of one, the taste sweet and refreshing. Strawberries weren't what you usually ate with tea, but Ella didn't care. It was delicious. She took another sip of her tea before setting it back on the tray, reaching to comb her hands through Josie's long hair. Ella had mastered the art of braiding a long time ago, and the repetitive motion calmed her down. "I told Peter I was going to braid his hair," she recalled, somewhat sadly. "But your hair is better for braiding." She began a French braid at the top of Josephine's head and expertly wove the hair together down her back, smoothing it out every so often.

Alec shrugged. He could live without knowing about Peter's problems, but he was a little curious. "I don't know about that," he disagreed, following him to the table. Sighing, he picked up the beer stein that the bar maid put in front of him and took a sip. He hadn't drunk beer in a long time, and it tasted odd on his tongue. "I figured it was something like that," he said when Peter revealed that he and Ella had an argument. He could only imagine that Josephine was consoling Ella right now. But Peter did seem quite upset, and Alec found that to be to his credit. At least he cared enough about Ella to be upset. "Did you end it?" he questioned. "What happened?"

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine bit down on her lower lip for a second. She wasn't really sure there was anything Ella could do to convince her that Peter was a good choice. Making her sister cry, twice now, didn't bode well for Peter's chances. She was really trying to understand, though. There were too many similarities between Ella's situation and her own. At least she could sympathize... But it was hard to see someone like Peter get everything so easily when Alec struggled for it. It was hard to take a man who she caught making out with her sister, drunk, seriously. "I'm trying," she insisted. "I love you. I just want to see you happy." And she wanted her sister back. She missed these moments with her, where they could talk about boys and have heart to hearts.

She sipped on her tea then took a strawberry for herself. It was an odd combination, but she'd gotten them because she knew how much Ella loved them and wanted to see her cheer up. She relaxed as Ella started to braid her hair, and even managed a small chuckle at the idea of Peter with braided hair. "Some pirates have braids," she said. "Do you remember that one? With the strange tattoo below his eye? He had a braid in his beard. I will never understand that." If Alec ever attempted anything like that she would insist he shave the whole thing off.

Peter took up his beer and took a long drink of it. He honestly preferred stronger stuff when he was drinking, but he was also trying to be more frugal now that he had his apprenticeship. He gave Alec a look from across the top of his might and narrowed his eyes. Of course he would assume and inquire about whether he'd ended it with Ella. He hadn't, not really. But he also wasn't sure what to do. Relationships were new to him.

"No," he said. "To yours and Josephine's utter disappointment, I'm sure. I did not end things with her." Although maybe he should. He didn't know. Having Ella was sort of a far fetched idea anyway. They were from completely different backgrounds. Used to different things. "But apparently she doesn't trust me with other women. And you and her sister don't trust me at all. So. There's that." He took another long sip of his beer.

 

[AvianJen]

Ella had to give Josie a smile. It didn't exactly seem like she was trying sometimes, but she hadn't turned Peter in. And she did genuinely seem to be trying to understand. At least she wasn't criticizing Ella's decisions anymore. "Thanks," she said. "I know it's not fair, what with Alec and everything, and I know that Peter has a questionable past...but he's really been working hard and trying to start over. He didn't choose that life. He was ten, I think, when his family died in an accident and he needed somewhere to go." She leaned in and gave Josephine another hug, believing her when she said she wanted her to be happy. "I know," she said. "And it's just...I never thought I would have this. I didn't think I wanted it, but you were right, Josie. I'm sorry it's not the person you had in mind, but at least you can still say I told you so." She glanced towards the window, wondering what Peter was doing right now, what he was thinking about. "I just hope he comes back," she said.

She held the unfinished braid while she popped another strawberry in her mouth and took another sip of her tea, thinking that this really should be a thing. Strawberries were Ella's favorite, and she could probably eat Rory's entire stash if he'd let her. As long as strawberries and chocolate were around, life was good. She giggled at Josephine's mention of the pirate with the braid in his beard, remembering who she was talking about. "Yes," she said. "He's the one who grabbed me, when we found Nora. He had been scary at the time, but he had looked pretty silly. "I don't like beards," she said, tying off Josephine's braid. It looked perfect, if she did say so herself. "I mean, a little scruff isn't so bad, but beards long enough to braid are just gross. I bet so much food gets stuck in them." It was disgusting to think about and Ella wrinkled her nose, letting out a laugh.

Peter was more than welcome to drink whatever he wanted, but Alec was going to stick with the beer. It was cheap, and he had no intention of getting drunk. Not if he wanted to be able to help Peter with the horses and do what he came here for in the first place. He did wish that Peter would stop giving him the death glares, though. He nodded when Peter explained the situation, thinking about it. "I'm not disappointed," he said, wanting to get that out of the way. "What you and Ella do is your business. Josephine's not thrilled, but you don't need to worry about me. You may not be my favorite person, but understand that's because you held the woman I love hostage." He thought that was fair. Ella was somehow able to look past that, but Alec wasn't quite on the same page yet. "So forgive me for not trusting you with my life."

He was interested, though, to hear why he thought that Ella didn't trust him with other women. "What makes you think that?" he asked. "Is there a reason she might feel that way?" If there was anything that Alec knew about women (and people in general), it was that they always had reasons for things, even if they didn't always seem apparent. If Ella didn't trust him with other women, then there was a reason for it and that was what Peter needed to concern himself with. She wasn't going to be distrusting because she felt like it. He wanted to make a snide remark about how it might be hard, considering the only other relationships he's had were with prostitutes, but decided that was a bit below the belt.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine did feel better to hear Ella admit that it wasn't fair. It probably wasn't fair of Josephine to dislike Peter based on jealousy either, but it was difficult not to be just a little bit resentful. Peter hadn't earned her trust yet, and until then, she had to be critical of every one of his actions to determine that he wasn't just taking advantage of her family. Her biggest worry was that he would run, strangely enough. As much as she didn't want him staying, it would be even worse if he took off one day with everything this family had, and left only her sister's broken heart in his wake. She had no idea he was only ten when he joined the pirate crew, nor that he lost his family. But tragic pasts didn't excuse actions, and he had a lot to make up for. "I hope not, too," she said. "For your sake. I'm glad you're finally experiencing love, but I don't want you to know heartbreak." Her father's rejection of Alec felt like the world had split in half. She was lucky they were finally getting a chance, though.

Josephine didn't much like remembering most of the things that happened on that ship, but it was a part of her now. She wasn't sure she would ever feel completely comfortable in a carriage at night anymore, and she didn't think she ever wanted to step foot onto a boat ever again. She felt like an awful older sister for letting certain things happen to Ella too, but at least they had come out of it relatively unharmed. "And I would have ripped that beard off his face if I didn't have Tom's grabby hands on me," she said, trying to make light of the situation before she dwelled too hard on the memories. But she had to laugh at Ella's comments on long beards and how disgusting they could be. "They're scratchy, too. It hurts to kiss after a while sometimes, when Alec lets his facial hair grow out."

Well, Peter couldn't really fault Alec for that. And at least he was brutally honest about it. He imagined Josephine's attitude towards him was for similar reasons, and he couldn't really blame her either. It wasn't easy being disliked by your girlfriend's sister and her sister's boyfriend, but he probably more than well deserved it. It was a miracle Ella gave him a chance at all, but that was what stung so much. She was supposed to be the one who knew him well enough to know he was better now. He already struggled with his insecurities and letting go of his past as it was. To have his girlfriend, of all people, remind him of it and suggest he hadn't really changed hurt.

"Fair enough," he admitted, finishing off his beer. He decided it wasn't enough and chose something stronger for the next round. He wouldn't be quite happy until he was sure he'd wake up not remembering most of tonight, and beer wasn't really going to cut it. "And it's you and your girlfriend I'd expect to think I'd go off and sleep with other women behind Ella's back. Because 'she doesn't have to know', and 'I've done it before'. I'm used to that criticism from you two. But that coming out of my girlfriend's mouth has a completely different ring to it."

 

[AvianJen]

Ella smiled sadly. It was almost scary to know that she wasn't experiencing heartbreak right now, because even fighting with Peter was still so painful. She didn't want to know how miserable Josephine must have been, even though it was better now. "Well, I don't think you can protect me from it," she sighed, leaning on her sister's shoulder. "If Peter decides he wants to end things, then..." Ella thought she just might die, for one thing. But Josephine couldn't stop it, as much as she wished that she could. If that happened then it was Ella's mistake, for getting too close to someone who didn't want her after all.

As it happened, Ella didn't think she was quite as traumatized by what had happened on the ship as Josephine was. It had been terrifying, and there were certain parts that she preferred never to think about, but for the most part she had moved past it. Although, like Josie, she probably would never want to ride near the beach at night. That was the scariest part, actually being taken and waking up in the belly of a pirate ship. "I know you would have," she laughed, imagining Josephine ripping the pirate's beard off. "And I would have thrown Tom overboard myself if I'd been able to get away. Nora could have drowned him a lot sooner." Ella wished that she could see the mermaid again; she was terrifying, and stunningly beautiful, but Ella was still fascinated by mermaids and other mythical creatures. There was so much she wanted to know that she hadn't been able to ask the mermaid.

She laughed again when Josephine commented on how scratchy beards were. Alec had never grown his out, as far as she knew, but he didn't shave very often and he usually had a little bit of stubble. "Oh," she said, smiling. "That's funny. Peter shaves, but he keeps his hair long. I don't mind that as much." Actually, she kind of loved it. He had so much hair for her to comb her fingers through, and she hoped that he never cut it short. But, Mr. Lawrence might ask him to at some point. It was an unusual look for a businessman.

Alec sipped at his drink slowly as Peter downed his own, shaking his head at the bar maid when she came back to ask what else they wanted. "I don't think you're going to go sleep with other women," Alec said, surprised that he would think such a think. "You wouldn't be able to get away with it if you wanted to. Everyone knows Ella and Josephine in this town." It took a second for him to fully piece together what Peter was saying. "Oh," he said as it hit him. "You mean when you travel. Well..." he took a longer sip of his drink. "Here's what you need to understand. Men do that. Merchants do that, and Ella knows it. They leave their wife and children for months at a time, traveling across the world, and they get lonely. They miss seeing women. So a lot of times, the first chance they get..." he shrugged, figuring it was self-explanatory. He had heard lots of men talk about how they cheated on their wives while they were abroad. It was common, and everyone knew it.

"And no offense," he added, "but you told me you've slept with prostitutes before. So it's not exactly unfamiliar territory for you. You also haven't been together for very long. Your relationship hasn't been tested, and even though it feels like you know everything there is to know about each other, you don't. Trust me, I've been there. Do you trust her without question to stay faithful to you?"

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Ella was probably right about that. There were some things that were impossible to avoid. Josephine just hoped Ella got lucky and would never know, and that maybe she was wrong about Peter. She really hoped she was wrong about him, for Ella. She just really wasn't sure, so preferred to error on the side of caution. In the meantime, at least Ella was speaking to her. That was one good thing to come of Ella's bad day they could be thankful for. "If he ends things with you, he's the one missing out. But like I said, I don't think you have to worry."

Josephine turned around to face Ella again, and placing her empty tea cup aside, moved in to hug her sister. "I know. I'm so lucky to have the best sister in the world as my own." Pulling away she had to smile teasingly, and gave Ella the tiniest push on the shoulder. "Even though you're kind of annoying sometimes."

Josephine wasn't sure whether she preferred Alec clean shaven or with his stubble, but either way, it didn't matter too much to her. She couldn't imagine him with long hair, though. As much as she liked to play with it as it was at it's current length, she didn't think long hair would suit him well. "It's certainly a statement," she commented. Not many men here wore their hair long. She wondered if Peter would ever cut it, or keep his long locks.

Peter knew it happened, but to insinuate that he ever would... It wasn't like him. He would never have committed himself to Ella if he intended to find himself in the arms of another at the same time. "And you wouldn't be offended if I asked you whether you would ever sleep with someone besides Josephine? If you ever had to go an extended time without seeing her, and were 'lonely', would she have any reason to believe you would you find some other beautiful woman to entertain you for the night? I'm assuming the answer is 'no'. And that she trusts you. Because you're you, and were never a pirate. You only pretended to be."

He took another long drink, and shook his head. Holding the prostitutes against him was a little harsh. He hadn't known Ella then, he was a bachelor still, and they were willing participants in the act. They were no different than any other woman, except for the fact they chose to make money off of their bodies. "Sleeping with someone casually while you're not in a relationship is different than sleeping with a stranger while you are. You've never been with a woman before Josephine?" He was pretty sure Alec hadn't been with anyone after Josephine, either, not even Josephine. But he didn't say so, because he wasn't actually all that interested in Alec's sex life. "Because I don't see how that makes us any different if you have."

His question was hard to answer though. To him it wasn't a question of faithfulness. He didn't think Ella would intentionally hurt him, and that was sort of the issue. "I don't trust she won't grow tired of me," he admitted, looking away.

 

[AvianJen]

Ella felt relieved that Josie didn't think she had to worry. Josephine had the tendency to be brutally honest with these kinds of things, and even if it hurt sometimes, it was better in the long run. That meant when she said she didn't have to worry, she really meant it. And in Ella's experience, Josephine was almost always right. She was wrong about Peter, but hopefully she was right about him coming back. Even after their fight, Ella knew that she still loved him. And if she still loved him, chances were he still loved her, too.

She beamed, leaning into Josie's hug. "I'm not the best sister in the world," she disagreed. If she were, she wouldn't have let a boy come between her and her sister. She had been the one keeping them apart, not Peter. It wasn't his fault at all, it was Ella's. But hopefully now things would go back to the way they were before. "I love you." She giggled when Josie accused her of being annoying sometimes, shaking her head. "No way," she disagreed. "I'm an angel. You're the annoying one," she joked.

Ella finished her tea and the rest of the strawberries, setting the tray down on Josephine's bedside table and snuggling up under her covers. Both of the girls had huge beds, so there was plenty of room for both of them. "Yes, a statement," she echoed sleepily. But she didn't want to think about Peter anymore. There would be time for that tomorrow. "Come here," she said to Josie, patting the space next to her. "Are you tired yet?" Ella's exhaustion was finally starting to hit her.

Alec shook his head. "No, I wouldn't be offended," he said. "You don't know me very well. Josephine, on the other hand, does. She has no reason to be concerned that I would ever do that, but that's only because we've been together for two years, Peter, and our relationship has constantly been challenged during that period. We had a talk about it early on, when she began courting other men per her father's wishes." It hadn't been easy for him, but Josephine had been insistent that she only cared about him, and that she wasn't interested in anyone else. Then after a while he had just gotten used to it.

"I have," Alec admitted readily. "And Josephine knows it. But that's not the point I'm trying to make. All I'm saying is that it's harder to get someone to try something for the first time than it is to convince them to repeat it." He took another sip of his beer. "But I do know one thing," he added. "If I were going away, and Josephine was concerned I might not be faithful, I may be a little hurt but I would want to put her mind at ease. You going binge drinking is doing nothing to soothe Ella's fears, whatever they may be."

He was quiet for a moment, thinking about it. He thought that Ella was going to get tired of him? "Then you both have to work on trust in your relationship," he said. "You need to talk to her about it, tell her about your concerns and listen to hers. That's the only way to fix this, otherwise it will keep coming back to bite you."

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine wouldn't say the blame for growing apart lay entirely on Ella. She couldn't help how she felt towards Peter, but she could be doing a better job of respecting their relationship. Not to mention it was Josie who was holing herself up in her room and isolating herself from the others. With everything going on, she just sort of shut down and out for a while. Things were starting to look up, though, and if she could just endure a bit of discomfort for a little while, her dream life was right there within reach.

A slow grin grew across her face. "It must run in the family," she teased, then laughed as she threw herself down on the bed and under her covers where it was warm and comfortable. Leaning over to her beside table, she blew out the candle before settling close next to Ella. Her bed was big enough to fit a third person between them if they wanted, but she preferred to cozy up next to her sister.

"Exhausted," she answered. It had been such a long day. She'd gotten up early, then spent the entire day in the sun. Seeing Alec lately was also always a little bit emotionally tiring too, and of course now Ella had her own problems. She didn't mind at all that her sister had come, but she wasn't sure she could handle much more excitement in this one night. "I could sleep for years after today."

Peter ran his fingers through his hair, pushing the long strands out of his face. That was just it. He felt like Ella should know him enough to trust him, like Josephine and Alec apparently trusted each other. Was Alec implying that maybe he and Ella didn't really know each other... Or was it something else he was trying to say entirely? The alcohol had already started swimming by now, so he was struggling a little with his comprehension skills.

Raising his second now empty glass in demonstration, "It's a little late for that," he said. Old habits died hard. This one in particular was a problem he'd never quite managed to kick. He was usually just a quiet drunk unless he had company, generally harmless. But, he could see Alec's point about it being an issue on nights like tonight. He couldn't just drink to solve his problems all the time, or rather, to ignore them. That was a temporary solution, and a bad one at that. This at least he sort of already knew. But, as long as there was no going back for the night, he accepted the third drink. Ella would be asleep by the time he returned, probably, and even then he was already in no shape to talk. Starting with beer and ending with whiskey was not his smartest idea. She might not want to anyway.

He downed the third drink rather quickly, on purpose, and slammed it on the table in front of him. Alec had this weird way of making him feel inferior. He wasn't as passive aggressive about it as Josephine tended to be, rather, really blunt. It made these moments with him feel really odd, though. This was a man who had every reason to not offer him relationship advice about Ella. Yet, here he was, spitting word of wisdom out of his mouth like it was his day job. He'd see how much of it he remembered in the morning, but he didn't feel that drunk. Just... A little messy maybe.

"Alright then, Romeo. Unless you have any other sage advice, I suggest we go home now."

 

[AvianJen]

Ella smiled when Josephine got under the covers with her. She was still sad about Peter, and still afraid that he wasn't going to come back, but things with Josephine suddenly felt right again. Josie was her best friend, and Ella still couldn't believe she had allowed her best friend to become so distant. "It must," she agreed with a giggle. "And I'm sorry, Josie. I really am." She sat up briefly to braid her hair, tying it with one of her ribbons before sliding back down under the covers.

It was pretty fair to say they were both exhausted. It had been a big and exciting day for both of them. "Me, too," she sighed. "Peter and I went to town today. We went to the university, and then we went shopping and he got me a book. And then we went to the beach." It had been busy- the busiest day that she'd had all week. Poor Peter was probably exhausted. "Oh, you never told me how your day with John was," she remembered suddenly. They hadn't had much of a chance to talk about it. "Did you have an okay time?"

Alec wasn't trying to imply anything negative. All he was trying to say was that Peter and Ella's relationship was still in it's beginning stages, and neither of them had even been in a relationship before. They were still learning, and this was only their first fight. "Yes, I guess it is," he sighed, taking another small sip of his own drink. He hadn't even finished his first one, but Peter was moving on to his third. Alec was tired, and hoped that they wouldn't be here for too much longer. He was eager to get home and go to bed, but if Peter was really intending to drink himself into oblivion, it would probably be a little while yet.

He didn't know why he was offering his advice. He didn't need to, for sure, but Alec was rather good at giving advice and he did it without really realizing it. And if he thought about it, as much as she didn't like him, Josie would probably rather he try to help for Ella's sake instead of ignoring Peter and letting him break the poor girl's heart. When Peter downed his third drink, Alec was fully expecting him to move on to shots, but much to his surprise he wanted to go home.

"Nope, that's it," he said, finishing off his beer and dropping some coins on the table. Alec stood and brushed himself off, sighing. "If you love Ella, I'm sure you'll be able to fix it without my help. Let's go." Peter didn't seem too drunk yet, but that was probably for the best.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

It was dark now, so Ella probably wouldn't see it, but she rose an eyebrow anyway. "Why? Don't be sorry. You've got nothing to apologise for." It had been hard having Ella distant and upset, yes, but she understood why. It didn't matter anymore anyway. It seemed like things had been patched over for now, and as long as they were speaking, she was happy. It was nice to have some sense of normalcy back in life.

"It sounds like it was a busy day for us both," she said. "I'm really proud of you, by the way. For turning in your application? You're going to get in. I know you will." As everyone else pretty much agreed, they'd be insane not to accept her application and save her a spot. Nobody thirsted to learn things like Ella did. Josephine's dreams were much simpler than education. She just wanted to be a wife and mother like most other women around here, but Ella deserved so much more.

"It was... Interesting," she said. "We both won a little bit of money, and I forgot how intense the races could be. John's nice, though. There was a moment I sort of overshare and thought I ruined everything, but by the end of the day he didn't seem too bothered. He's a good guy. I wouldn't mind being friends with him, anyway." But married? Everytime she pictured herself married, Alec was her husband. Even if she liked John as a person, marrying him would feel like settling, like she and Alec had failed. She felt sort of stuck in the middle, but she supposed all she could do was wait to see what happened in the future.

Peter stood, wobbling just slightly. He wasn't too terribly drunk, or at least it hadn't fully hit him yet, but he wasn't sober either. Leaving now meant he would still remember tonight, and he could escape a hangover in the morning. It also meant he could go to bed and take some time to think so that tomorrow he could find Ella and hopefully work things out.

Leaving some coins on the table, he headed to the door. He walked outside to the horse he'd ridden out here and clumsily hurled himself up into the saddle. He managed to do so without falling, but they had yet to see how well he'd hold on once they started moving. He wasn't that great at riding them to begin with. Being slightly inebriated complicated the job.

They rode in silence for a little bit once Alec got on as well, then hesitantly, "Alec?" Peter called. "I know you don't like me, and you didn't have to come out here. You didn't have to help me at all, but you did. So... Thank you. I hope one day you and Josephine can forgive me for everything, but I don't blame you if you can't."