2020-03-26 - Her Sweet Silver Lining

Not too long after everyone else disappears from the forest trail, the one permanently engrained in her mind and her memories, Katherine too disappears from the scene...

...and she finds herself sitting up at her desk in her office at home again. She'd face planted on her desk, having set her keyboard aside.

What the actual fuck just happened? How could a dream feel so real? It had to have been a dream. Easton was a lot of things, but a werewolf? No way! Autumn in Ithaca. Werewolves. None of it makes any sense so she stops trying to understand how it all fits.

She's too tired to form a logical conclusion. But she does reach for her phone to leave a couple of messages for Wayne as she registers the sting of claw marks on her back, making her wish that she had in fact listened to Easton when he mentioned healing.

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : I couldn’t sleep. I wasn’t sure if you’d text back but I thought I would finally try. Giving you your space lately’s been hard.

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : Not sure how hard it is all things considered but I never said I would not talk to you. What has you unable to sleep this glorious of nights?

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : A weird Dream. Claw marks on my back.

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : Claw marks on your back? Are you okay? What did you face?

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : Werewolves. I’m not bleeding all over the place but it still stings.

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : You should get that looked at. You said wolves plural so you did not end up alone in a dream I take it.

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : Byron Thorne, my boss, was the only person I knew initially. Then I found out Easton was one of the werewolves.

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : More than that in your dream however from you using wolves. It's fine, sometimes we get effected by the dreams of others.

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : I don’t understand. I haven’t actively attempted to use my abilities since I moved here. Why is this happening?

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : Welcome to Grey Harbor, one of the places where these kind of forces are pooled is a good way to put it. So much weirdness occurring in one area. Sometimes our powers spike when we encounter strong emotions. I need to get more quotes.

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : For what it’s worth, being here means I got to meet you. Sometimes, we’re granted a silver lining. More quotes?

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : A few windows spontaneously exploded, you know,things like that happen. I am glad you came to Grey Harbor, even as things are.

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : I know it doesn’t mean much, but you’re the reason I’ve stayed.

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : I hate that my anger still gets the best of me. I hate that it still hurts.

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : Sorry, you have a funny way to show it. You stayed for the job because just being here pisses Easton off. We talked about fresh starts. It took less than an evening for that to get tossed out the window.

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : I didn’t want to play that game anymore. Maybe at first, it was about pissing Easton off. But I just wanted to make peace with him and move on. In the end, that didn’t work out.

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : if it was any other day, I would have shaken it off. You are your own woman with a life to live. But I wanted to make it special for you... what I feel right now is why the hell did I try. I guess I will be that guy.

Wayne’s response brings tears to Katherine’s eyes, and she is reminded that she has felt the exact same way before. She winces, and it’s not just because of her injury.

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : I’m sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen the way it did.

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : I am aware, it's why I would take the blame, make it easy for you in every possible way, anything you needed to get free of me. That part is wrong. I know you are facing your past. One step at a time right? When I first suggested dating you stepped on my foot. This time it was something else. Do you have any idea how nuts it would have been to say I fell in love with you? Only to read that I did not even earn the right to be referred to by name?

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : I thought I was ready to try but I wasn’t completely ready in all the ways you need me to be. In the end, I was lying to myself. I’m sorry that hurt you. But I don’t want to be free of you. I want to be free of him. And I’m working on that.

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : One thing we both know, life is not all that certain. I'm hurt yes but not broken and bleeding. Like the song said, I'll be Ok.

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : Yeah, that’s good to know. ... Fuck. These claw marks are awful. They sting and it’s so uncomfortable to lie on my back or sit up and lean back on a chair.

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : This is going to sound so stupid, do you want me to come over and take a look?

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : They’re on my back so I haven’t seen how bad it looks. Don’t feel pressured to come over though.

Of course Katherine wants him to come over, but she also wants to downplay the fact that a werewolf managed to claw across her back and draw blood. Fortunately, nothing is broken, and no vital organs are harmed, but maybe Wayne could help her feel more comfortable lying down. Maybe his company would help her fall asleep.

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : If you think you can help, the door’s always open.

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : so youd have to lay face down in front of me, should be safe. Of course I'd like to take a look and see what I can do to help. I'll bring the peroxide.

Wayne picked up his jacket and for the hundredth time tried to figure out what the hell he was doing. He sighs and moved head out to the car.

When Katherine opens the door for him, he sees that she looks like a mess. Her hair was a tangled mess that had not been brushed out, and she was in a set of navy sweats. When he enters and she turns to the door to close it and lock up, he can see that the back of her sweatshirt has been torn up by claw marks. It looks like it’s on the more serious side of a flesh wound but no major damage has been done from what he can tell because she can still walk and move around.

Wayne looked a bit ragged himself, like sleep and he have not been friends for some time. He was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans with a light jacket over it. He offered a soft smile to Katherine when she lead him in and watched as she closed the door. He moves into the living room and sets the peroxide down on the coffee table. "Hey, able to lift the shirt?"

As she walks into the living room, Katherine hears Wayne’s request and she complies. She strips off her torn up sweatshirt to reveal a white tank top, which is also torn up due to werewolf claws, and also has blood all over the back of it. She lifts the tank top up to allow him to get a clear view of what he has to deal with. He sees the claw marks, and they look like the claws got her deep enough to break the skin and make her bleed quite a bit without affecting her spine or her mobility. Thankfully, her couch is black leather so the blood won’t be a problem.

Wayne was used her her attractive back and nodded seeing the damage. He pours a bit of the peroxide into the lid of the bottle and takes out a small bag of cotton balls. "Now this might sting." He dabs the cotton ball into the peroxide and touches it to the top of her shoulder blade as his other hand rests beside the injury. He closes his eyes and opens his heart allowing his will to restore her body whole. Every few moments he wipes lower down her back until nothing remains of the attack. He collapses into the chair nearby with his eyes still closed.

At first, the peroxide stings like hell when it hits the wounded parts of her back, but then...nothing. She feels nothing. No pain, no stinging sensation. At least her body is healed. One problem solved.

When she turns around and drops her tank top, Katherine raises an eyebrow, looking concerned. “Wayne?” she says quietly.

"Hmm?" Wayne lifts his eyebrows but keeps his eyes closed with a bit of a grin on his face. Yes, he is a little more tired but knowijg that she was alright was more than enough reason to relax.

“I’ll be right back.”

Wayne has a few moments to himself as Katherine goes to her room, changing out of her blood stained white tank top into a plain white t shirt.

When she returns, she says, “Uh, thank you. I feel perfect. Are you okay?”

When Katherine decided to flee the room, Wayne took the time to let out the breathe he was holding. He got up from the chair and made his way to the front door while he waited for Katherine to return. When she does and asks her question he nods yes.
"Yes, just a little tired is all. Seems you are all sorted out. Hope you can rest now. I should get going."

“Stay?”

Katherine knows she has no right to do it but she does it anyway, and grabs Wayne’s hand to pull on it to attempt to catch his attention before she places a passionate kiss on his lips. Passion, fear, intensity, it’s all delivered through her frantic kiss as she presses him against the nearby door.

Wayne holds her in the kiss, allowing his passion, pain, and longing to meet her fear and intensity. His hand comes up to stroke her cheek "I shouldn't. I was in the chair wondering if you would seduce me, waiting for you to seduce me, then decided I was not worth seducing. I barely know where I stand with you and I can't seem to think straight. You messaged me, I came here." His eyes look as sad as his voice sounds. "I should go before you do something you will possibly regret." Wayne reaches for the knob.

Again, it seems like Katherine makes the wrong choice. The tears having built up, she lets them all flow freely. “I regret a lot of things...none of them involve you,” she confesses quietly, “I made a lot of mistakes lately...but you were the one I wanted to see when I thought I might die. And I’m terrified of falling asleep again.”

She pauses and adds, “I respect you too much to use sex to get you to stay, not when I know things are still so unclear.”

Wayne sighs and scoops her up. "Then like the other night we can crash on the couch. A lot is unclear, wanting you badly is not one of those things." Wayne kisses her forehead and sits then puts his feet up. "Close your eyes, we both need the rest."

She barely registers Wayne picking her up, and taking her to the couch, she is just that far gone. When Wayne is finally on the couch, stretched out and lying down, Katherine melts into his embrace.

“I’m sorry about everything,” she mumbles as her final words before succumbs to her exhaustion.

"Be sorry in the morning, sleep now." Wayne nearly chuckles as he reaches to turn off the light.