Room 406, Monday Evening

[izzyalienqueen]

After baking, Isabel had taken a long walk around the island, eventually winding up at the small, secluded beach she and Greg had picnicked at. It was nice to remember happy times and not have to worry about facing anyone that would ask questions about last night's radio. When it started to get dark she returned to the school, collected her cheesecake from the classroom fridge, and returned to her room.

The cheesecake's in the mini-fridge, Isabel is contemplating nail polish colors, and the door is mostly open.

Comments

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

He frowns and asks, "That doesn't sound pleasant at all. Were you injured?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Mostly I'm tired," she said. "I didn't sleep well out there at all. Beyond that, I got a little bruised. But I'll be fine."

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," he says and smiles. "I'm good for tea and a lot of nonsensical talking."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Thanks," Isabel smiled. "I appreciate it. But I'm good. I have cheesecake if you're interested. Triple chocolate."

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"Triple chocolate?" His eyes might widen at that. "That sounds...you wouldn't mind?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Not at all," she said. "It'll be nice to have someone to share it with." Isabel went to the fridge to get the cake, returning a few moments later with pieces for both of them. "I made this in my workshop this morning."

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"Thank you, I appreciate it," he says and immediately takes a bite. "Oh, wow. This is wonderful. And very sweet. Two of my favorite things in a food."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I'll keep you in mind anytime I bake then," Isabel laughed, happy to see Cedric enjoying it.

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"I could eat this all day even though it would most likely make me very ill," he says and laughs. "But, thank you for sharing with me. I needed this."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Never under estimate the power of chocolate as a comfort food. But how are you doing?" she asked seriously.

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"I'm fine, I guess," he says and shrugs, concentrating on the cake. "It was a long day."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"It was," Isabel said. "You stayed with him though. That was good."

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"I suppose," he says quietly. "At one point, I did want to leave."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Why?" she asked quietly.

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"Because I was hurt and I trusted him and he left me alone," he says. "Because I felt like he'd been telling me one thing about my situation and decided his was different, which, in a way, it was, and went off to do exactly what I'd thought about except he knew about me and I didn't know about him. At all."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel inwardly flinched, recognizing that she'd sort of done the same thing to Greg. "I'm pretty sure he didn't do it intentionally."

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

He just shrugs at that and says, "I know about situations like this where you have to know. Would I have been happy knowing? No, but I would've known and I wouldn't have been woken up early in the morning and wondered if he was already dead and if I was too late."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"You're right," she said quietly. "You're absolutely right."

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"I can take a lot of things and I can adapt to a lot of things but I don't like being lied to," he says, staring at the cake. "I told him things that hardly anyone else knows and he lied."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"What exactly did he lie about?" Isabel asked. "I'm sorry, but I don't know anything but the very, very basics of what happened."

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"I knew none of the details of what happened to him last night," Cedric says, resting his plate on his knee. "This, apparently, had been going on for a week or two and he never let on. He had opportunities to tell myself or Sam and he chose not to. And I was with him last night or two nights ago and he told me nothing and then he left."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel sighed and put her own plate aside. "I don't think he did it to intentionally hurt you. I just, I don't know, I don't think he's used to having people care. I think he's used to taking care of himself."

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"No, I believe you're right," he says and nods. "Which means, what I tell him just doesn't work. I've told him I care. I thought he knew."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I'm pretty sure he knows that. Which is why he didn't tell you. He wanted to keep you safe." Isabel held up her hand. "Yes, I know that's stupid logic."

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"And I want to keep him safe yet he insists on coming to England with me if I return," he points out. "He needed to do this, I'm sure, but if I left him alone to go back to England, I'd be the one getting yelled at right now. Or I'd be dead."

He doesn't add again to that statement.