Blacklisted in Siberia (Java)

[jack edward riley]

There was no excuse for what had become of Jack Riley's life. Drugs, binge drinking, insomnia were only at the top of the list. He found himself alone most of the time, after a blow up between him and Scott, Tory leaving, and the continually avoidance of Ava, Jack had very little left. It was a simple drive after a party at the Ravine, he was headed back to the Orchid. He really didn't pay attention, he didn't even know where he was. High off of a blend of acid and oxycotton there was nothing else on the road besides him. In the police report the car flipped a few times before catching fire. Jack had no memory of kicking out a window but it wasn't much help anyway. He would have rather died.
He had been in bed for two weeks now and was ready to kill himself. Besides a broken arm he had burns over some of his body which wouldn't scar to bad and blindness. The doctors tested regularly and prescribed pain medication and drops to help but there prognosis was that it would only be temporary. He refused to talk to anyone, what was the point. The bandages around his eyes on served to remind him what was missing in life as of now, everything. Scott took him back even though he had enough to take care of with himself, he hadn't been to the bar much less get out of the bed, and refused to take most visitors. What's the point?

[ava louise riley]

It seemed like everything in Ava's life had gone from blissful to ..well, anything but in the few short months since she'd gotten married and become Mrs. Blake Darwin. When they said that the first five years were the hardest, they really weren't lying. She hated that she never saw him anymore and how she constantly felt alone and unwanted. She couldn't help but feel like they were residing in two separate worlds yet living in the same place.

She'd been at the paper one night working when she'd received the call about Jack's accident and headed to the hospital almost immediately. But they wouldn't let her see him..not even Scott. So, she'd stayed away, instead thinking about him and how their friendship was the only thing that made sense to her. Sure, she had been a pretty bad friend lately, knowing he was feeling bad after Tory had left and everything with Adam, but she wanted to be there for him now.

She'd decided to try again. Heading over to the diner, she parked and headed upstairs after a warning from Scott saying he might not want her there. She didn't care.

The only sign that she was there was her footsteps on the creaky stairs.

[jack edward riley]

Jack was lying in bed in a pair of sweats and an old muscle shirt. The bandage around his eyes made it dark and quiet,There was no sound in the apartment and it was eerie when the stairs outside creeked. He decided it was Scott and he rolled onto his back from his side, face up to the ceiling. He didn't want or need for anything so this would be pretty quick. He hadn't moved in three weeks and he had no plans for it against the protests from Scott. He never realized how dependant he was on life and everyone around him until he couldn't feel them around him.

[ava louise riley]

Ava walked in a little further and caught sight of Jack in the apartment. He was a mess and she could see it wasn't just an external thing. But he had reason to be. He'd been through a lot. Biting her lip a little, she realized she didn't know what to say to him. She just stood there, hoping the words would come. "Sorry" seemed stupid...It wasn't like what had happened to him was her fault. "How are you?" seemed obvious, at least to her. Instead, she just stuck to "Hey..." Simple..easy..

[jack edward riley]

He pushed himself up quickly at the voice he couldn't place right away. It was strange not being able to put voices with faces right away, it was something that really pissed him off. Jack knew it was Ava ater logical reasoning but he didn't know what to say. He looked towards the door, or atleast the area to which he thought it was. He didn't know what to say, he just felt raw and out of place." Hi" He said quietly with a rough tone in his voice that hadn't been there before the accident.

[ava louise riley]

Ava moved a little further into the room. "I tried coming by the hospital, but Scott said it wasn't a good time so.." Her voice trailed off. She wasn't blaming Scott for her absence, she just didn't want him to think she was ignoring him or anything. This was weird..why was this so weird? Not knowing what to say, she started on one of their common topics. "I started reading this new book the other day.." she said. "It's really good..I could.." she paused, realizing she was about to suggest loaning it to him. She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans as she sighed, again biting her lip.

[jack edward riley]

"They make it in Brail?" He asked leaning back against the headboard. "That was some blind humor." He said trying to make it less awkward but letting the sarcasm fill the gaps in which he couldnt express himself through. He wanted to look at her and see her and it killed him that he could open his eyes but he saw nothing.

[ava louise riley]

She tried to laugh, but couldn't. It wasn't funny..it was scary and knew he wasn't finding it funny either. She went and took a seat on the end of the bed, smiling even if he couldn't see. It wasn't so bad..at least she'd try and be brave for him. "So what have you been up to?" she asked him, trying to make like nothing was wrong and it was just another day for them.

[jack edward riley]

"Well lets see, up until now..close to nothing- no..nothing is a better answer." He said trying to looking in the direction her voice was coming from but looed slightly away from her. " Why'd you come Ava, what's the point?" He asked her with a staggering sigh.

[ava louise riley]

Why'd she come? That was a good question. Well, there was the obvious, that he was her friend and this was what friends did, but then there was more. She was sick of being lonely and she knew, no matter how he was, Jack could make her feel better even by just being there. She sighed thinking about how to reply. "I guess I just...missed you." she replied, deciding to just be honest.

[jack edward riley]

He moved over on the bed and patted next to him. In the past weeks the thought of seeing people around just killed him since he couldn't read them or just see them in general. With Ava he relaxed and remembered the tone of her voice and the rhythm it carried. " That sounds like a solid enough reason." He said with a smirk.

[ava louise riley]

Laughing a little as he smirked, Ava went over beside him and sat down. "Don't get too cocky mister.." she teased playfully. "I happen to miss a lot of people.." Okay, so that wasn't true and she knew he could probably see through it by her joking tone. "Like...Shakespeare. The world would be a better place if we had more Shakespeare.." Yes, it made no sense but it was the first thing that came to her mind.

[jack edward riley]

" Maybe a few more Mel Brooks and we wouldn't be in war right now." He said sarcastically as he gazed away from her and tilted his ear closer to her. He didn't know what to say, he was at a loss of anything and just the company was making him a bit happier than he was all week, " How's everything at The Orchid?" He asked.

[ava louise riley]

Yes he had been sarcastic, but his point actually made sense..weird. "The Orchid is good...Nothing really new, but its busy. I'm trying to give Sam a break what with Abby having the babies soon, so I'm there a lot...might hire somebody else just part time to make things easier, but I have the time so yeah.."

[jack edward riley]

"Time should be spent with your husband- you can hire as many as you can fit on payroll." He said leaning back, he thought there might be more chaos at the bar, but then again he was always in the backroom. Jack's time was divided between shooting up and paperwork. Now that the bar had settled and made enough back he didn't have as much to do so shooting up was quite frequent. Now he was done with that. His time in the hospital with withdrawls and the pain just was to much, he would never go through it again.