2020-04-26 - Witching Hour Warnings

It's Sunday now and the clock reads 2:47 am. The bedroom is dark, rain is pouring and blowing outside, thunder comes with the occasional echoing boom to chase flash cracks of lightning. Honestly, it's perfect sleeping weather, but Lilith isn't asleep. The bathroom, has light peeking through the adjoining doorway where the door isn't fully closed so much as it's closed over. The vent fan is running and the shower is on to produce some humidifying steam, but some of that coming out of the bathroom is trace smoke. Pot smoke, to be exact.

Lilith isn't actually showering. She just has it running to make steam. For some reason, she thinks that makes the smell of her joint less apparent in the apartment. It might, to an extent, and the venting fan in the ceiling helps, sure, but it's still weed. Usually, when she can't sleep, she nips outside onto the terrace, but the spring thunderstorm blowing outside the Penthouse windows certainly prevents that. Therefore, she's doing the old standby. She's not sure why, it's not like she's hiding, she could just shut the bedroom door and go into the living area. For some reason, she chose to do this. The steam is actually pretty warm and nice, though.

It's fogging up her phone screen and she has to wipe it down against her pale pink cotton nightgown before pulling up the call log with indecision. She has a lot of declined/ignored/missed calls from an unknown number, but the most recent call is from a Seattle area code at 12:37 am. That same number called at 10:32 am two days ago and she didn't think much of it. Now she does. It's not quite what has her awake, there's a lot of factors involved in that, but it's something to look at and consider while she sits on the bathroom counter with her joint under the vent fan.

Normally, Byron would be up in a few hours on a Sunday morning for exercise and a run, followed up by a shower and a change into business attire. From there, he would often buy pastries or brunch food to bring when he visits his mother at her apartment, along with the Sunday paper. That wouldn't be for another two to three hours, so when he lazily shifts, still half-asleep, it's natural for his body to want to shut down for a few, especially after seeing the time shown on the digital clock on the nightstand. At first, he starts to do just that-- making himself comfortable again and letting his heavy lids close so that he can drift back easily into whatever dream he'd prematurely awoken from.

He remains like this for a time, laying on his side with an arm extended over and across the bed. Something wasn't right. A few seconds pass before his stray hand feels the cooling sheeted section beside him and that's when his eyes open in fully. Drawing in a deep breath as he stretches his weary limbs, he turns over onto his back, taking notice that the lights were on in the bathroom. Everything was fine, he tells himself, letting his eyes drift closed once again for another minute or so. Honestly, he had no idea how much time just passed, having dozed off, but when he blinks his eyes awake and cranes his neck to check the time again, he'll realize that it's been a while and she still wasn't out of the bathroom.

Rubbing at his eyes, feeling the cool air hit him once he crawls out from beneath the warmth of the comforter, he pads over on bared feet, taking a split second to consider throwing on some pants, but since he's up, he may as well relieve himself in there once she's done. The door wasn't fully closed and despite her best efforts, he could smell the heavy MJ aroma coming from within. With a soft chuckle, he pushes the door over, calling out at the same time, "Lil?" During that time when he was still laying in bed, the idea that she could actually be gone did come to mind. This is the main reason that he decides to rouse himself up and check. The lights can be on, the fan could be on, but that doesn't mean that she's still there at this very moment.

Much to his relief, she is. "Can't sleep?"

"Oh. Shoot. I'm sorry, baby. You should have just yelled, didn't have to get up. Oh wait, shower, right." Lilith jumps a little when Byron moves the door, but he's calling out at the same time, so it's more of a reaction than actual startle. After a vaguely wry smile at the shower running, she confesses, "I'm wasting your hot water and running up all those bills. Smoking pot in the place, waking you up at night, tch. Terrible roommate." Tossing her phone aside off of rest at her leg to skid on the counter, she hops down to set the joint up between Byron's lips once she's had another hit, en route a few steps to reach in and turn off the water.

"Treat yourself, you have mother dearest in the morning. Might as well de-tension to re-tension, it's a balancing act that way, isn't it?" Someone's at the chatty phase of her high with someone to talk to all of a sudden. And though she's sleepless, she seems pretty de-stressed herself, though she does admit despite that outward lackadaisical impression, flicking water droplets from her hand and arm at his bare body playfully, "I think my brain is overloaded. I don't know. Got tired of lying there and tossing and turning. I was getting frustrated and didn't want to wake you up, so I went for the second best stress reliever in the house, "How many kids do you want?"

Odd subject change, but okay.

With them being so close and very familiar with one another's bodies by now, Byron doesn't shy away from making this nude approach. Though, you would think that with how often they get dragged into Dreams, that he'd at least toss something on before going to bed. Sometimes, he does, but this is not one of those moments. While Byron doesn't do any sort of drug regularly, it's not that he doesn't partake in their use. More so, when he was younger, but even then, he knew the importance of having a clear mind. Of course, this comes to mind as well. If something were to happen no, at this very moment, he would't want his thoughts clouded with smoke, but he doesn't turn down a few deep breaths when Lilith sticks the thing between his lips. With his familiarity with marijuana, among other drugs, her having the shower on doesn't phase him at all. After a couple of good puffs, he hands it back to her.

"Thanks. I was trying not to think about that." He says in a wry tone regarding his mother, before adding, "When I called her to ask whether she'd received the same invitation that I did, there was no response. And she hasn't returned my call, so here's hoping that she isn't terribly surprised when I show up this morning." It is part of his routine, after all.

He just laughs at her playfulness, feeling the splatter of cooling water sprinkle over his bared skin. "What has you frustrated?" Ever since who knows when, probably the day of their argument if not before, he had a sense that something was on Lilith's mind. That something was bothering her. But it could be any number of things and probably everything combined, but he'd like to be able to pinpoint on exactly what has her tossing and turning and now sitting alone in the bathroom at almost three in the morning, smoking a joint.

Heading to the toilet, which is the second reason why he got out of bed at this insane hour, he decides to relieve himself, having no shame what's so ever. Though at least at this angle, his back if facin her. The question, however, is rather surprising and not something that he'd thought about ever. "Two is usually the ideal. A boy and a girl, but I've never really given it much thought. Just that I'd cherish every single one of them." As he finishes off, he looks over his shoulder, then asks, "Babying that cat made your maternal instincts kick in all of a sudden?"

Lilith breathes out a tiny 'huh' at Byron's mother not returning the call, but really, she doesn't think much of it. The woman's probably expecting to see the man because it's clockwork come Sunday morning and she might not find the call pressing. That or she has an invitation and... time shall tell, the brunette isn't dwelling on that right now. After a hitch of her shoulders in brush off to the frustration question, she dries off her hand more fully on a hand towel and then goes for her phone, "What doesn't have me frustrated might be the better question." Does she answer that one either, though? No.

Instead, she focuses on the bit about kids after wiping more steam from her phone screen, idly and fussily, shifting her weight on her feet before putting it back down again. She goes for that lotion of hers that smells like lush coconut and vanilla wrapped with feminine florals, busying herself with putting that on her hands, arms, and legs once she's pinched out the joint. She knows Byron won't overkill and she's done with the thing, and this seems like the most efficient way to go back to bed smelling pretty instead of like a stoner. That and maybe she needs something to do with her hands because she's debating a few things in her head, trying to weigh if they're actually worth mention.

However, when Byron answers, while Lilith is rubbing and soaking that lotion with knead into her skin, the woman can't help but smile. You know, despite the fact he's taking care of other business while they're discussing this. That smile turns into a downright laugh, though, because that damned cat kicking in maternal instincts? That cat? Oh, Byron's got jokes. Exhaling, she explains, "First of all, you're the real womb-threat. Don't think that I didn't get completely irrational during a few key moments in our fair courtship, milord." The woman pauses here and clicks her tongue, leaning to tend to her legs with lifted support, foot on the counter edge on turns.

"I mean, think about it. I walk into things like... you on the piano singing to me first thing Christmas morning, or the carriage ride, or the surprise dinners, or-- you know. How am I supposed to process ANY of that without wanting to spit out fifteen babies for you to continue your precious genes on the spot? It's not my fault, it just happens." Blowing some hair from falling in dark, dangled pitch over her eyes, she straightens and puts the lotion back in the drawer once her body is tended to. Then she reaches to turn off the vent with the steam clearing out, "I was just wondering if maybe I had siblings and didn't know. Then I thought about what it'd be like to have a sibling. Then I thought what it'd be like to have a baby. But you know what I think? I think three kids is better than two. Plus it's like getting a reroll if you have two girls or two boys already."

Her mind has certainly been going places. It almost sounds like she's trying to distract herself with these other harmless, vaguely adorable trains of thought. Not the worst technique in the world by far, to want pot not just as a sleep aid, but for the branches it takes your mind to while easing the overload.

"You would be the most amazing father in the world, you know."

Lilith's non-answer to his question about frustration, has Byron more than a little concerned. The sound of the toilet flushing is then heard and he heads over to the sink to wash his hands, still looking thoughtful over what to make of her response. Looking at himself in the still foggy mirror, with a wet hand he wipes away some of that condensation, just so he can get a better look at himself. No one said that Byron Thorne was anything less than vain. Still, he catches sight of Lilith in the reflection as well, right before he scoops some water up in his hands to wash his face with.

Reaching over for one of the hand towels in which to dry both his face and his hands, he gives Lilith and her nice smelling lotions a passing glance, though when she rubs the ointment over her lengthy legs, he does stop to appreciate the display. That is soon followed by a beaming smle in both amusement and a sense of pride with some of the events that she now brings up. "Sometimes I wonder if I gave too much, to quickly. I mean, I wouldn't want to spoil you, would I?" This is all said with laughter in his tone.

It's also strange to here that she was wondering about siblings and whether she might have some that she has no idea of. "We could try looking that up. Though, I'm not sure where to begin, but I'm sure we know a couple of people who might know. There's often records found at hospitals, maybe even the church. Or the Archives in City Hall." He's not talking about the Veil version.

However her final words has him wondering if there's any truth in that at all. They both didn't have the best parents as role models after all. While the smile still remains, he has no response of his own. Instead, he waits until she's ready to head back to bed before he lets her leave first just so he can turn off the lights behind them. "Has Tobin reached out to you? He sold the boat tours and was thinking of finally leaving town for the first time. See if he can find Rafael." Of course, there's more to his desire to move than that, but this is something Byron's been thinking on.

"I kept telling you that you were shooting yourself in the foot, but it's fine, I'm certainly not complaining. I have faith in your ability and drive to outdo a man, even when that man is yourself. Besides, you were very happy to have a hold of me, it's understandable. You were making damn sure I didn't get flighty. Clever you. You're stuck fast with me now. I almost feel a little sorry for you, some days." Lilith tells Byron, making a little dismissive wave of her hand at the seeking suggestions that come afterwards, as if such things were just passing wonderings or thoughts due to pot. They might be, in part, but these things generally come from somewhere, the kinds of complex things that lie dormant in everyone, waiting to be given space or air.

Grabbing up her phone, she goes to crawl into bed after dropping it off on Byron's nightstand with his phone. She always gets into bed on that side and that's just where the thing ends up a lot of the time. His is the device that goes off all hours and with alarms before hers, so really, it doesn't matter so much which side she puts it on. On settling under the covers with flipping, though, holding them open for Byron to slide into with her, she seems a touch surprised with her tone of voice in the darkened room, "No, he hasn't. And he didn't mention anything the times we've been by James to help, before. Wow. I-- that's good for him, isn't it?" She pauses, "... does that also mean you're free to go to LA again to live once the casino is open and all leveled out as an investment?"

"I guess that means that you're stuck with my amateur piano serenades then." Byron also says in an almost matter-of-fact way, though there's just this hint of humor in his tone to go with the faint smile on his lips as he follows her onto the bed and beneath the warm thick comforter. "I won't promise that I'll get better. No matter how hard I try.." He murmurs that last part.

Despite the change of topic, a lot of what was said earlier continues to play in his silently in his mind, even as he reaches out to wrap an arm around her, pulling her in against him. "He told me about it a bit ago. He no longer feels his mother's presence, so he believes that she's gone. I... I'm not sure if I feel the same way, but who am I to question his gut feeling right? I couldn't get a sense of her at all, when I tried mentally searching for her, so he could feel her and she's no longer around..." He stops himself, drawing in a deep breath, "In the beginning, I had... some hope that we'd be able to find the Lost: Mrs. G., Sid (Isabella's twin)... Detective Jones." As far as he knows, no one had any contact with Tobin's mother since, besides the childhood Dream that they were pulled into. The other two... Detective Jones was dead. And Isidore... He's not sure.

"Maybe there's no help for the Lost." He finally says in a near whisper. He returns to a more conversational tone, slightly quieter because they were so close, laying in bed, "Yeah, I think it's good for him to finally leave this hell hole. Whether he finds Rafael or not, I hope he's finally able to live his life any way that he wants. He deserves it." There's a little thoughtful pause which follows, before he starts up again, "As for myself. As much as I'd like to say that it's true, I have business here outside of hoping to help Tobin find his mother. But we'll see, huh? I'm sure I can manage both the buildings and the casino remotely at some point. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to get out of this town after all." He also knows that she has her own shop to look after and... there was just a lot of loose ends still.

At that moment, they hear the buzzing sound of his phone vibrating against the nightstand. Turning over his shoulder to look at the clock once more, it still wasn't much past three, so whoever it is that's calling, it can wait.

Nuzzling his chin against her cheek, he finally asks once more, "What's wrong, Lilith? What's with the tension and frustration? Are you still thinking about what Erin said?"

Lilith doesn't have a lot to say about Tobin not feeling his mother anymore when he felt it was somewhere before. She breathes out a soft, gradual sigh as Byron goes through the list of names. Settling into the man's body when he gets laid out, she nestles into the wrapping hold of the arm and makes a passive noise in her throat that's tinged with worry, "It'll probably be good for him. Just worried. I don't know. You're right, though, it's safer for him in a lot of ways. And he does deserve it."

The woman is oddly relieved to hear that Byron still has ties binding him here, like she does, though in truth she should be frustrated about it. He deserves better than this life stuck here with her, doesn't he? Then again... the soft nuzzling and bristly brush of Byron's chin at her cheek after he's looked at his vibrating phone, mm. Maybe he feels like her sometimes. The little things that mean so much really help, does it matter where they are? What would they be like, all the time, outside of a life like this? It's very hard to imagine for Lilith since she never quite had a good go of things outside of Gray Harbor to begin with.

"No. Sometimes, I do. Maybe it's a little bit of what's going on with me. But I'm not worried about it because I still feel like myself, more or less." There might be some differences she's thought about, but it's a passing thing because escalation of what already innately exists inside her is a little hard to pick up on, especially without an objective view. She feels fine, denial is also pretty easy when you have that going for you, "Easy to forget a lot of the time, I guess. It's hard to feel brain damaged or whatever I am when I'm physically and mentally capable." Her lips slant a little in the dark, "It's a pretty sweet setup for denial. But I promised you I'd be okay. We'll figure it out. I start scans next week. I scheduled some. Have to pay out of pocket, though, insurance won't cover because I want so many done for my own reasons."

"I guess..." Lilith pauses and goes contemplative after a thick pause that indicates more is coming, "Hearing you say that I want to fuck all the time-- I mean, it's probably true, it's not normal, I'm trying to be more... like other women." Another pause, "It's hard on me because... I have been called a lot of things in the past, and it's not even all wrong, I did sell myself in a way, and maybe it's not healthy for me to come at you like I do and want the things I do and it's not fair for you to have to--"

There's more buzzing on the nightstand. The buzz pattern is different in pulse, though, against the surface. It makes Lilith stop talking right as she sounds to be getting into spill and overflow levels of slow fluster. Her brows draw down some in the dark. It's her phone this time.

Gray Harbor was an abysmal place when it came to networking and Byron knows that he'd be much happier elsewhere in far better climate. His obligations to the town are mostly business. Then there was the fact that his mother still lived... lived here, anyway. And she had no mind to move, just as she was reluctant to leave that House. These new sets of thoughts rush through Byron's mind now too as he tries to make himself comfortable with Lilith in his arms.

After a moment, the annoying buzz of his phone rattling against the nightstand finally stops and she can feel his breath against her skin once he lets out a relieved sigh. If that kept up, he had a mind to power the thing down altogether. It was Sunday after all.

While Byron might nod in the darkness to things that Lilith says about her own state of mind or how she doesn't feel like this thing that's now a part of her is affecting her in a negative way, the concern never leaves his mind. Having a piece of someone somewhere inside of you, whether it's your mind or your body, especially if it's something from the Veil or... ghosts were never a good thing. So far, it hasn't caused any harm, right? Her mentioning the scans, however, has him stating, "Don't worry about the cost. If we're able to learn something that might help, all the better. If not... we try something else."

And then Lilith brings up something he'd said in jest, most likely, but did it really have an inkling of truth to it all? "I didn't mean it. Even if you /are/ a little sex kitten. It's hot and you're a drug that anyone can easily get addicted to." Though, when she brings up this 'other women' thing, he's about to say something immediately, but refrains at the last minute, mulling this phrasing in his mind. "Women come in all shapes, sizes and libidos." He speaks from experience have had a healthy amount of lovers. "So, I don't know what these other women are like. I've..." He starts, right at the verge of talking about his own sex life with some of these other women, but he knows better. "Sometimes you have women who only want to do it missionary style, while others are already naked before you ever get back home. You have the ones who always seem to have a headache and others who are insatiable." The way he'd described Lilith at some point. "And everything in between."

He then decides to state, "Sometimes, it does take me by surprise. Especially, when I'm on a call. It's difficult to work around, but not unpleasant at all." It's at this moment that the sound of a vibrating phone is heard once more, quieting him down. At first, he's about to gripe in wonder of who the hell is calling him at this hour, but when they both realize that it's not his phone that's trembling this time, he falls silent for a while. Was it the same person calling them both? Was someone trying to reach them?

"When someone needs your services for an overnight drop off at the shop, does that automatically transfer to your phone?" It was awfully late though.

"Yeah. Well." Lilith says very un-articulately after Byron's ruminating and explaining on the matter with a bit of withdraw, lashes downcasting to play with the ribbon lacing on her nightgown bodice. She doesn't seem to know what else to say about it and clearly doesn't feel too much better about herself given the very short and quiet response and opt for distraction. She doesn't really like to think about Byron having sex with other women to compare her to either, even though duh, it's a thing. Not something she wants to think about, though. She's not the same way with him like she was with others, but maybe since he's been in actual relationships before, she's glaringly fucked up and adrenaline seeking and obsessed with him and he knows it and is just trying to be nice because he has to be. It almost sounds careful and diplomatic to her ears, sensitive as she still is over it.

Plus she's annoyed with her phone buzzing because she knows it's not the shop. She knows exactly who it probably is and she's thinking about how quietly she can break her own phone to stop it from buzzing anymore. It stops buzzing. Before Lilith can really formulate to say beyond a 'no' to the shop question, it starts going off again and she drops her head back to stare at the ceiling, "It says Unknown, doesn't it?"

It doesn't. It has a Seattle area code on the visible number.

Byron had a feeling that Lilith wouldn't like his explanation on the different types of women even though, in his mind, he's right about this. Hearing that short answer, she can practically feel his smile in the darkness, his hot breath against her skin before he leans in close for a kiss to help appease her some. He knows it's either his own 'know-it-all' attitude on women or the fact that he has such a font of knowledge that might be grating on her nerves. "No one else can compare to the way you drive me crazy with just a look, a smile. The way you move. The way you smell." His words become a murmur against her flesh towards the end of that.

See, he was almost fine to ignore these late night calls, but when she tries to guess just who the caller is, being plagued by Unknown calls, possibly telemarketers, he twists in the direction of the night stand to retrieve both phones. "No. It's from Seattle." That could mean a lot of things really, but there's one person who has taken up business in Seattle who has no business calling. Out of curiosity, he looks at the number on his phone.

Speaking of former lovers, Olivia Marchand's number flashes across his screen. He immediately powers the phone down to set it aside. "Are you expecting a call from someone in Seattle?" He doesn't want to jump to conclusions, but she might be able to hear the wariness in his tone.

"Not the kind of call that comes at roughly three in the morning, no. Especially not back to back." Lilith tells Byron after easing up a little with the leaned in kiss and words and nuzzling on his part. Her fingertips stop fussing with the ribbon on her night attire and she eyes the man sidelong for a moment as he twists to get at the two phones and see what the caller notification says on the screen. Byron's phone lighting up again really doesn't hit her radar given he gets calls for work that she overhears in the night to know they're legitimate, so she just kind of sighs gustily and knowingly in a FML kind of way once she's said it.

Really, until yesterday, she'd been left alone save for some holiday texts and some intermittent picture of things Turner said were lovely in Japan, China, Australia and so on. She ignored them and gathered he was on a business trip, which means he was limited for a time. She knows firsthand what loop he's doing and how many months it takes-- it's one of the span excursions he does every year so he has more downtime the other half of the year. And that timeline is about up, if not past spent, depends on when he started. But he also usually blocks or spoofs his numbers to different area codes, maybe he's just getting lazy and feels no need, maybe it's still a spoof number or burner phone, just with Seattle code this time, maybe...

"Answer it. Put it on speaker."

It was late and Byron would have to be up in a couple of hours now, yet here he was laying in bed, his limbs entangled with Lilith's. And what are they doing? They are both paying far too much attention to a phone call. Just like with his annoying call, if it were up to Byron, he would've powered down Lilith's phone as well and just have them call it a night. But her curiosity seems to be piqued and the way that she practically demands that he put it on speaker more than makes him realize that she may be just as concerned about this call as he is.

With the glow of the phone's light shining on his face, lighting the room up to an extent, Byron presses the button to answer, while also putting it on speaker as was requested. Now that there's some light within the room, he looks over at Lilith as he speaks, trying not to sound all that weary or as if he were just woken up, "Hello? And I just thought I'd ask, do you know what time it is?"

Lilith smiles a touch at Byron when he picks up the phone to set on speaker and answers, their faces illuminated from the phone screen lighting. It's a vague passing encouragement and assurance, of sorts, dusting at her features, but when the man actually speaks on the other end of the phone and she doesn't recognize the voice, she visibly gets confused. Her lashes bat a few times and she lifts a hand to push some hair away from spilled rest at her face, shifting against the covers and man to sit up with recline back against her elbows.

She noticed off the bat that the man is addressing Byron by name and doesn't like it, because if it's not Grant, who the hell is wanting to talk to him on her phone?

Initially, she's a little quiet and looks at the phone, then Byron with the tiniest hitch of her shoulders, as if to say she doesn't recognize the caller. She thinks about letting Byron answer on her behalf, then realizes it's her phone and damnit, why is this person calling? Finally, like she just can't help herself, she pipes up, "... I'm listening. Who is this?" After she's finished with that tiny pipe up, she moves again from the reclining shift against the pillows, rolling to lace a leg in drape and then curling hug high on Byron's legs under the sheeting. She can better watch the man's face like that during conversation and it's a psuedo-body-hug of 'mine' she maybe isn't even aware she's done.

At what he assumes is a rhetorical question on the part of this stranger, Byron has no urge to respond, his own gaze looking at the time displayed on the top right corner of Lilith's phone as he watches the rest of their night just tick on by. The voice on the other line wasn't Turner, he knew that much. But as this man seems to know who he is, despite it not being his phone, he has his own suspicions from what Magnolia had sent him a while back.

When asked whether Lilith was awake, Byron is about to confirm this fact, but instead, his gaze lifts to regard Lilith to see what she wanted to do and whether she wished to speak for herself. It seems that she does and this sets of a little chain reaction of movement on Byron's side. For one, there's that heavy sigh in the vein of, so we're actually doing this directly. He's more for subterfuge and withholding information in moments where he believes it will be beneficial. With that sigh, the rest of his body 'relaxes'. The tension somewhat draining since the ball is already rolling now even if it's out of his hands. It's not a good, relaxed feeling. What it is, is that he's prepared to ride this all out. He even turns to lay on his back somewhat, simply listening to the conversation unfold as she feels her own body clinging onto his.

With his eyes staring up at the phone lit ceiling, the man confirms the name he was given. This Collins then tells them not to hang up and to this Byron says, "Then make it quick."

"... you could certainly come try, if you're feeling inclined after the fact." Lilith's voice is so quiet, but it's tense and venomous. She kind of misses the point where Collins has just said he will not be drugging or taking her anywhere, she's all amped defenses going to slow coil like a snake waiting to strike out at what she's inclined to think of as a threat. But is this man actually helping them, or setting them up in some other way? Grant Turner is EXTREMELY smart, there's a reason he made the leap from millionaire to billionaire, and he's ruthless and clever. It feels so overt and wrong to even think about Turner ordering Collins to come literally take her to visit him. It's so risky, even without the man truly knowing what dangers she poses if she notices the approach and intent.

So this means Grant Turner is either very mood swung and irrational at the moment and flying off the handle to give orders, or this is a bit of a trap they haven't yet had a moment to figure. She knows what tends to happen to people that don't do what he wants, when he wants it, so this Collins would be in danger by way of disobedience, at least in some way. You don't have to kill a man to ruin a man. She doesn't really think Grant capable of murder, but this man would know better than her.

"... are you running away and quitting? Why are you calling and telling us this?"

It's hard to say whether Byron believes the man on the other line. With how wary Byron Thorne is, he's always distrustful of everyone. Especially people with money /and/ private investigators. He has his reasons. Still laying there outstretched on his back, his right hard resting beneath Lilith where they'd been cuddling earlier and his eyes still focused on the ceiling, he takes everything which Collins says in stride.

Lilith might feel the tension in that one extended arm and along his body where hers drapes over. It's a subtle thing, but his mind is going through various thoughts and scenarios himself right now. He also can feel this volatile silence coming from Lilith's direction by body language alone, nevermind the way in which she practically seethes her response out.

"What do you want from us, Collins? What do you hope that we say about any of this? Frankly, I don't care. You and Mr. Turner can try and do your worst. We've been waiting." This isn't entirely a bluff, Byron's been keeping check on Turner, himself, ever since they became fast enemies. So it's not as if they are unaware of the man and his antics. Part of it, of course, is a bluff. But Byron is a calculating soul himself and in truth, is simply lying in wait despite how busy he probably is and with all the Dream stuff.

Lilith does know that Turner always has a doctor for therapy and medication on call. She also knows he rotates through them because they stop telling him what he wants to hear or challenging his viewpoints in the name of beneficial change. That's not what he wants when he sees them. She thought it was just something he did because he was rich and entitled and wanted someone to talk to that understood him.

That's not why Grant Turner sees psychiatrists and therapists, though. But she doesn't know that part. After looking at Byron through Collins' explaining with a slow draw of air, seeming somewhere between convinced and unconvinced in the low lighting of the phone's glow, Lilith speaks up, "... I know he likes to have them on call and doesn't often keep the same one very long because he's difficult. Or they are, to hear him tell it. If you're asking if we know he's crazy, I think we're well aware."

Not a man to be swayed by another person's emotions and ideals, whether they are garnering sympathy or trying to gain a sense of camaraderie Byron's own mood is unchanged by listening to this man speak. He's just laying there in relative stillness, taking it all in. What did this man know? What is his aim by calling them this night? He even mostly ignores everything the guy says regarding his relationship with Lilith or the fact that he says that they are 'good kids'. It doesn't give him warm feelings to hear, keeping to that stony expression as he works to break apart everything that Tom Collins now says.

Magnolia had told Byron about one psychiatrist she'd contacted and he tries to recall what the man had said during that conversation. At this point, he even reaches for his own phone, powering it back on again to find that he has ten voice message in the span of the last time he'd last checked. Already having a feeling that he knows who those messages were from, unless this Tom Collins tried to get ahold of him at some point, Byron, instead, taps out some instructions for his security team. He'd already given them any information that he had of Collins from what Maggie had said. This is to keep them updated. And with the casino now, he's needed to bolster security.

"If you're not getting straight to the point, then I think it's safe to say that we should just call it a night and get some sleep." From what he's hearing, the man on the other end may be en route. "Do as you will, with or without Turner's wishes." Byron likes to come off as strong and unwavering, perhaps he's fishing for more information through a reaction on the other guy's part or simply calling the man's bluff in some way.

Lilith continues to look at the phone and the man laid out alongside her in turns while the call is on speakerphone, her brows now in a perpetual knit of held frown. In fact, the expression goes downright indignant, but before she can finish taking the breath of air to explain to the man she didn't do a goddamn thing to warrant all this, he's gone from the connection. Does it stop her from saying it after the fact, though? No. Like a sulky teenager, she flops back onto her pillow and blankets, pulls her leg back from over Byron's body under the covers, then hits the mattress with bounce before muttering, "... didn't even do anything."

Okay, she might have had something to do with him latching onto her like he did when she should have been deflecting, but she's human, that's not cause. And maybe they were kicking the hornets nest and taunting Turner once he turned full crazy-lasers on them. But maybe he shouldn't be putting his nose where it doesn't belong! That was due too! It's not supposed to get her drugged and kidnapped or whatever else the man tried to order Collins to do. Luckily, it seems the yes-man has some form of morals.

Or this is a trap. But she can't figure out quite how to angle that for benefit if she were Turner or Collins, herself.

Turning her head after her little frustrated hissy 'grr' motion, she looks back at Byron and his phone, fishing about what he's doing while he texts, "Who's leaving you voicemails, was he trying your phone?"

"...who said anything about guns?" Is all that Byron murmurs when Collins tries to warn them about what will hurt Turner more between actual weapons and dirt on him. The man bringing up doctors again is a curious thing and something that he'll file away for later. Then the call is cut and the couple are left to their own thoughts, with Lilith's trying to respond but by then it's already too late. Byron is still typing out some message or other. He's also scheduling to have his Wraith and Lilith's cars swept for bugs once again among other things.

"I had Mags look into Turner and she was able to dig up some things. I had a feeling I knew who the guy was when I realized it wasn't Turner. Collins' name came up in Magnolia's investigation." His phone lowers, the hands propping it up now resting on his abdomen. "She'd mentioned a doctor who didn't really want to talk and probably can't do so legally. It's not Turner's current doc, but as you'd said, he changed doctors all the time."

Half-turning towards Lilith, while the light of her phone has faded, the one shining brilliantly on his screen continues to light up part of the room. "I can't say I trust the guy at all. Maybe it's a good idea if you let your employees handle the store. Stick around with me as I go about my business." Returning to his phone, he adds, "I'm not sure what he was hoping for us to do by telling us that he was sent to poison you. If he's setting us up, then to what purpose does this serve? To gain our trust? I mean, obviously, we'll be on high alert now even if he switches up his plans from poison to something else. And Dirt is great and all. What really needs to be done, at least to some extent, is to have Turner explode in a public setting. Just have him go batshit crazy. Maybe a charity event."

With all of those ideas coming to the forefront, her question about who's been leaving messages for him has him quieting down to consider his next words. "No. he hasn't called me." Soon enough, the light on his phone's screen darkens as well. No more calls since he'd turned it back on to send out those texts, so rather than powering it down completely, he lets it sleep and sets it back onto the nightstand. "It's just some messages that I hadn't cleared out." And ones that he won't listen to before clearing them all out.

Turning back to his side so that he's facing Lilith, leaning in close to brush his lips against hers in a nuzzling manner rather than an actual kiss, he murmurs lowly, "Well that cut into our sleep time dramatically.."

Lilith nods a couple of small times, remembering Byron had picked up the name from the keyfob once and showed her the man the way he was able, so she'd know who to look for while out and about or in the shop. She never really saw him, though, the man must have been pretty damn good at his job, and she'd expect no less given who hired him. Of course, who hired him also has her wary about this sudden case of good-will Collins is trying to foist on them with warning. Can they trust it? Does it matter? Someone will step in if Collins really did decide to stand up to Grant Turner or run to go to ground elsewhere.

After a click of the woman's tongue and lying still to breathe and stare at the ceiling for another spell, she nods a touch at the messages bit from Byron, letting him do his thing with the texting and replacing the phones back bedside, "Maybe so. I was hoping his travel jaunt and time away from the States would... tch." Maybe it DID help and they ruined it with those videos they were so hellbent on uploading to rub his nose in the coupling that is them. She has no way of knowing, though, and she doesn't feel bad about it, she actually kind of hopes it chapped the hell out of the other man's ass to see them just so. You know, on principle. Vengeful principle. In fact, knowing it made him flip his lid is almost satisfying because now they know he might be able to be fully triggered into irrational.

And just like Byron is mentioning now, they might be able to snap the man full crazy in a public situation, such seeds sown. Her eyes cut over to visibly consider that plan after he's finished speaking, then she nods a little, supposing, "... it wouldn't be hard to conveniently run in the same upper echalon circles as him, given... well, you being you. Maybe we should see if there's an event planned close to the time of the auction work I'll be doing. We'd be in control, witting, and ready, not caught offguard like the other times he's showed."

But then Lilith feels the lean for her after Byron rolls and she rolls too to meet with the nuzzle at her lips more fully, "... but yeah. Sorry. Bleh." She punctuates that tiny, almost cutely sulky 'bleh' noise about the whole affair with a full kiss before going back to murmur nuzzling mouth to mouth, "Want to try and sleep?"

"You expected his travel jaunt to.... what? Make him forget about you?" Byron asks curiously. Had he ever really forgotten about Lilith? There was a time where her shunning him wasn't eating him up inside after he'd left for college, but it took some time for him to get over his obse-- to put her out of his mind and move on with life. "The guy's deranged. He fell for you and won't be ignored. His busy schedule isn't going to stop him. Especially not since he has the means to do whatever he wants." The same should have been said for Byron as well. He also had the means, sort of. But he didn't pursue her the way Turner was now.

Yes, Byron's thoughts went back to the videos they'd sent once Collins brings them up as vaguely as he did. He also has no regrets. They wanted to rile Turner up. Ruffle his feathers in the hopes that he'd err in their favor. With Tom Collins reaching out to them now, no matter what his goal, Byron knows that those videos definitely had some effect on the billionaire.

"Has Turner ever set foot in Gray Harbor?" Obviously, this is where Byron believes he has the advantage rather than somewhere else where his powers would wane or the fact that even possesses powers would slip from his mind altogether. "You would think that he would be so bold, if just to watch you from afar. In person with his own eyes rather than whatever his lackey sends over. But with so many charity benefits recently and ones that we've attended, it surprises me that we haven't seen his face in town yet. But... I am holding the grand opening for the casino soon. Who knows, maybe that will draw his attention."

Now that his hands are phone free, he wraps Lilith up in his arms once again, pulling her in close once again, the way he had done before they were so rudely interrupted. She can sense his smile in the dark, a small one, but it's heard in his voice too, "You have nothing to be sorry about. If this Collins wanted to get in our good side, even if he could be a huge liar, he should've called some time in the middle of the day when he knows we'd be awake. And since he's such a nosy fuck, he probably knows our schedules too to make an informed decision on when to call."

Cozying up against her some more, he return murmurs, "We don't have to sleep right away. Cuddling's always nice." This is followed by another soft, yet sensuous kiss, nibbling down at her lower lip. "Melding into one another with soft whispers and kisses, free roaming hands, until we exhaust ourselves."

"I don't know. Maybe early on, before he'd hired anyone to start doing it for him. I might assume curiosity would get the better of him, but then again, he'd stand out like a sore thumb around here unless he planned for that. Which may be why he's not quite bothered, or he's waiting for an opening. I was a little afraid he'd show up during your event over the Fall, but if he did..."

If Turner was there during the Masquerade festival, they were none the wiser due to issues happening around that time, significant issues.

Lilith breathes out a soft sigh against Byron's lips after that supposing and wondering. She doesn't have to explain that they were so occupied during the town's last large scale event that might have been a draw for the billionaire stalker. Instead of finishing the sentence, she remembers where she was, what happened to Byron while she was gone, and suddenly, Grant Turner is just a man. Just a man. She refuses to be scared of a man, they've faced and fought so much bigger, so much more terrible, so many times. Anything that man can throw at them can't even compare, can it?

"Mmhm. I had a missed call from that number from earlier in the day, swamped in the middle of a bunch of blocked and unknown calls, which were probably you-know-who. There was no voicemail, that's why I didn't bother to call it back. I guess that's what spurred my suspicion and made me want to answer instead of ignoring it. I suppose it's a good thing we did, even if this isn't what Collins claims the call angle was all about. But hey. Hey..."

The brunette shifts to wrap her arms around Byron, as well as a leg again, and she pauses to linger in kisses with him before saying whatever piqued her. He can feel her lips shift with slant of smile, though, right before she speaks in whisper, "I'm going to cuddle your bones to mush. Do what you want with that." She punctuates with a very slow, open mouthed kiss while running her hands over the skin of the man's back in appreciative glide.

When Lilith brings up the Masquerade, Byron also had thoughts that maybe Turner might show up then. Everyone was in costume so that it wouldn't be too hard to go unnoticed behind a mask. He actually doesn't even think about the incident during opening ceremonies. It was one night only and he barely remembered it. He does recall that Lilith went missing and there was a part of him that wondered if that was Turner's doing. Not that he was relieved in any way to learn that it wasn't Turner. Either fate would have been horrific in his eyes. Turner is a psychopath after all.

"Blocked numbers too?" It is a wonder if Turner was trying to get into contact with Lilith, but failing that, Collins was able to get through. Perhaps with Turner's pushing. Byron can't be too sure.

It well past Three Thirty, going onto Four. He really should get some sleep even though it wasn't necessarily going to be a long day, besides the fact that he now needs to inform his security team of a possible incoming threat. After he checks in with his mother. And yet, all he can muster to say comes out in a playful murmur before passionate kisses, "You know I can't say no to that."