Lakeside

Relations and Revelations

Tom fidgets and winces when his ankle protests the shifting of his weight, so he shifts back into the same uncomfortable stance that he'd started from. For some idiotic reason his brain is offering up a memory of running over to his next-door neighbor's house when he was a kid, excited to be done with homework and wanting to spend the rest of the daylight hours cavorting around the neighborhood with his best friends.

"She doesn't want to talk to you."

The fact that there's a man, nearly as tall as he is, staring straight back at him has him blinking, stupefied. The fact that said man has a disapproving look on his face, and clearly knows who he is, also has him thrown. "Um." His mouth wants to fumble through asking if Ryan's home. Since the – this – whoever this guy is, is determined to block the doorway. Ryan's gotta be in there. But should he risk breaking eye contact to peer inside?

"Who's at the door, Austin?"

Ryan's voice carries, though somewhat muted, from within. The confirmation of her presence makes him stand a little straighter and helps to shake loose the mental fog he'd been thrown into. It also answers one of the more glaring questions his brain has started screaming: WHO IS THIS MAN?! The ruddy man glaring at him has a name: Austin.

Either Austin prefers wearing a shirt that is half a size too small for him, or he lifts weights regularly. Maybe both. Only slightly shorter than Tom, Austin wins the competition on muscle mass easily. The ruddy man's deep blue-green eyes narrow and he turns his head, keeping a watchful eye on Tom as he calls back a response, "Nobody, Ryan." He then dips his head down, a snarl appearing as he speaks to Tom again in low tones, "Go. Away."

"Look, I'm not here to cause trouble, I just..." He reaches around behind his back to pull the envelope into view, but falters, both in action and with his words when the very person he's traveled all this way to see appears a few paces down the hallway.

Ryan's eyes are rimmed in red, her complexion sporting odd patches of pink. Her face had held open curiosity when she first appeared, popping into view over Austin's shoulder, but she stops cold when she realizes he's the one at the door.

Again Tom feels his heart lurch and constrict within his chest. Were they waiting for take away? Is he too late? Had his behavior driven her back into the arms of the lover she left behind in the city? The pressure within his chest continues to squeeze uncomfortably.

Tom finishes prying the envelope from the waistband of his pants, shifting to tap the thickness of it gently against his thigh. Now that she's standing there it doesn't really seem to matter that he could potentially get bulldozered by this Austin guy. He can't look anywhere but at her.

"You left something," he knits his eyebrows together in a sharp scowl, "and I can't..." He can't stand seeing her like this, miserable and frozen, staring at him. Staring at him over the shoulder of a stranger who's cold greeting left no doubt as to their opinion of his character. He blinks, shaking himself a little to force his focus away from Ryan to check if – yep, Austin still looks like he'd like nothing better than to throw him down the stairs. Just a few quick words and, hell, if Ryan wants it maybe he should just let him. "Can I come in? Just for a minute. Just one minute and I swear, Austin, is it? I swear I'll leave."

Nobody moves.

Tom, quite honestly, is afraid to breathe. He swallows, once again letting his focus shift. Austin still looks murderous. And Ryan? Ryan looks like she'd like to both fade into the wall beside her, and... kinda like she'd like to punch something, too. Fuck. He's really fucked this up.

Another prolonged moment passes before Ryan speaks, her voice dull as she turns her attention to the back of Austin's head. "Let him in."

Just to make sure Tom knows how unwelcome he is Austin huffs out a hard breath through his nose before stepping aside, only moving enough to narrowly allow passage. Tom can all but feel the daggers within the other man's glare as he sidesteps to sidle inside, gaining access to the condo.