Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
Shaun nodded as he got himself ready on the other side of the work bench, preparing for the short move. A dozen steps at best, less than a minute of strain.
"Yep, count of three we lift," he nodded, "Alright - one, two, three!"
He lifted the bench with as much strength as he could, just barely getting his side off the ground. He made a mental note that he needed to get back into some form of shape, he was weaker than he used to be by half already. He set his side into the corner once they were close, and rubbed his forehead.
Right, I'm going to have to show you how to avoid burning down the kitchen. I don't particularly want to remodel it.
Should be alright - I went through the fridge before hand, but I'll text him before I get into the shops and hopefully he'll have responded before I finish it up.
Shaun nodded and moved to the kitchen, looking around for a moment before fetching what he needed out cupboards to get dinner together, asking Link to get various other food items together. It mightn't have been a full three course dinner, but Shaun figured it would have to be better than eating frozen meals constantly. Maybe things were on the mend in some ways - perhaps not perfect, and nothing could ever seal up that gap that the boy's mother had left behind, but he could at least attempt to slowly stitch a new chapter into their home. Maybe things would be alright - he could only hope so.
Jerking slightly, Shaun opened his eyes to the sight of the kitchen tiles. Frowning slightly, he grunted as he pulled his arms up and began to move himself up off the floor, feeling more than a little bit sore and sorry. He couldn't work out why he felt the way he did as he moved onto all fours, pausing as the world swam. He knew what that meant, he'd felt it dozens of times before now, he knew a head knock when he felt it.
He took his time, using a counter top to pull himself onto his legs and braced against it for support as he let the world settle down before shuffling over to the sink and leaning on it. He began cursory inspections of his head, an old habit of his from years fighting and he found exactly what he'd wanted to not find - a bump on the side of his head with an open cut. Pulling his hand back, he took note that the blood was not fresh so he knew he'd been out for a while to let the blood get that dry.
Shaking his head slowly, he thought back, trying to recall what had caused it. He remembered seeing Jace heading for the back door as he was prepping for dinner, told him not to go out. He hadn't yelled first, he hadn't threatened, but Jace didn't listen. He sighed - they fought, Jace threw the first punch, his reflexes were too slow. He didn't like to admit that he wasn't as fast as he used to be. He ran a hand over his jaw, finding the swelled spot from the hit was still tender; felt like a bruise. He turned slightly, his legs suddenly jelly under him, just holding onto the bench to try prevent another fall from rushing him. He saw the spot on the floor where he'd bled, decent size pool. Fuck me, as if there wasn't enough to clean...
Shaun looked around the house. He'd done the day's work - laundry, cooking, cleaning. He swept the porch, raked up a few scattered leaves, spent time with the dog and while it was presentable and clean again, it felt off. He went through the house and opened windows and the doors to the boy's bedrooms. He didn't touch their things, he knew better than to open that can of worms though he recalled Tracey doing that a few times and the chaos that followed her cleaning sprees.
Even with the house open, it felt wrong. There was a piece missing and he knew what it was. He knew, but he had to learn to deal with it. Day forty-two. He didn't know why he was counting the days since she passed, he could only mumble to himself that it was helping to know that every day was changing. That things had to keep moving forward.
He moved and sat in his chair on the porch, lost in what to do with his time now. It wasn't even midday and yet he was done with all he needed to. He fiddled with the wedding rings on his necklace; after Tracey had been buried, he had slipped on her wedding band onto one of his old necklaces alongside his own. It sounded stupid, but it kept her close and in some small way, helped him fight off the depression that was hovering over him. He wanted to drink, but he shook that thought out of his head. He had managed two weeks sober so far, and while his kidneys and liver were grateful, he didn't appreciate having reality around. There was a lot going on, things were changing, and after several talks he stowed his feelings for the sake of his sons. They didn't need to see him hurting so much, and he hated it when they caught him in the middle of a breakdown but he didn't shout. Just stowed everything away to be there for them if they wanted to talk.
I've tried all sorts. He's asked me to take him Keith. And yet when it comes time to going or even getting ready, he just flips. There is no reasoning with him. Not to mention the fighting he does at school and outside of it.
Everyone else... Hmm. Loaded question really. Derek is working as usual, Stephen pops in at times, Maverick is angry still after his accident, Link is powering through school, Paul and Creven are doing well as far as they tell me.
I'm getting through each day as best I can. And you? How are you? Haven't seen you around lately, all ok?
Things come and go - Jace is throwing a fit nearly every other day. Trying to get him into the doctors, he's even agreed but when it comes to getting him there, it's a shouting match that turns brawl.
"Nothing gets past you does it." he said sarcastically as he dropped his hand from his ribs so he could start working on getting the pizza's out of the boxes so he could put them onto the trays. "I got dinner."
Shaun raised a brow at the comment but let it slide for now - he was getting to be more aware of the fact that his sons had a particular unforgiving streak where he was concerned. He was at fault for a lot of things, yes - he wasn't going to deny it and play victim. But his talk with Eli still sat on his shoulder, serving him a constant little pearl to take it easy on them - everything was still raw.
"Thanks Mav," he said gently, filing up his, "What did you get up today?"
He knew it probably wasn't the most interesting question to throw out there, but he was at least making an effort.
He gave a soft laugh and shook his head. ”Yeah I don’t think we could handle two brothers like him either.” He said with a slight grin.
Shaun's smile was a touch lop-sided, letting out a soft huff of air, "Agreed, one version of Jace is enough."
”I know you are dad. . just sucks when we see you passed out on the couch... you know?” He wasn’t having a go at him, just trying to get his feelings across. ”Sure I’ll help. .could have Spaghetti Bolognese? Think Derek dropped off some mince the other day that needs using.”
Shaun nodded a few times, "Yeah, I can only imagine how it looks for the rest of you. I'll try to quit the drink, ok? I can't make promises, just offers," he ruffled Link's hair again, "Sounds good to me. Maybe once I get back in the swing of cooking again, I'll make a big family meal, get everyone in the house for once."
He turned and headed inside, holding the door open for Link.
"Maybe it would help, if he had proper structure and authority," He shrugged, not that he knew much about military school. "He needs more than he's getting here."
He shrugged at that, but didn't give much else away, his face impassive. "It's going to take more than one afternoon."
"Alright, so what are we moving?" He asked, putting his half empty cup down on a side that had a little space.
Shaun didn't let it show, but the words hurt. It was like his sons had found all he weak points and knew how to twist them. It hurt when those words twisted in those soft spots, but he had learnt how to keep it from registering on his face. It wasn't a good thing, he knew - but it wasn't going to be undone overnight; twenty plus years of fighting and masking pain and surprise was a naturally ingrained part of his being.
He made a gesture, "Moving the bench onto the short wall nearer the door; make it easier to work on the truck. Should only take a dozen steps an it'll be over and done with; then I can start putting everything back before I go to pick up Paul and Creven from school."
Shaun had been up before dawn - sleep was beginning to elude him more than ever, and urge to drink was still there in the back his mind but he was trying to break it off. It was like a bad friend trying to pressure him into things he otherwise would never do. The temptation was great, just a drop and it would be ok. He shook his head and lit up another cigarette from the thinning packet - another bad friend. But he knew that giving up the taste, the calming rush - if he didn't get that, he was sure he would've gone mad.
He sighed as he settled back into the chair on the back porch and stared off into the distance. More than ever he was lost, no longer certain if anything he did was right or wrong, if the boys were determined to keep hating him.
"You left me too soon Trace," he said softly, "I don't know what I'm doing - I'm not foolish enough to think I'm doing anything right... I need help sweet-heart..."
He dropped his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't need to fall apart right now. He'd gone almost a day without bursting into tears and he was determined not to let it bubble up.
"Here dad," he said with a smile as he set them down next to him. "I made you breakfast. Pot luck jaffle."
Shaun looked up, surprised to see Creven up and about already, but his smile was one of the few rare appreciative ones - genuine. He moved slightly in his chair and nodded.
"Thanks Crev," he said gently, reaching out and patting his youngest's shoulder, "I thought you might've stayed in bed a little longer. Share it with me, yeah?"
Link let out a small laugh and shook his head ”Honestly. . I don’t think any of us are like him. .” He said with a soft sigh.
"I don't think your mother or I would handle two versions of Jace," Shaun said, offering a small smile.
He pulled away, sniffing and wiping his eyes quickly. ”Thanks dad. . that means a lot.” He said with a smile.
"You know where I am if you need me for anything," he said, nodding once, "I might be all over the place right now, but I'm trying... But either way, what do you want for dinner tonight? I'll see how rusty I've gotten. Or if you want to help out, you can."
He was a decent cook, but he hadn't gotten to cook all that often, and with his wife gone it had taken another backseat blow.
Derek gave a slight shake of his head, working on holding back his frustrations. "Just quit drinking, it's not that hard." Which was unfair, deep down he knew - once people got stuck in their addictions it wasn't easy to battle their way back. "There are people here that need you, you put the bottle down for them." It was black and white in Derek's head - again, unfair perhaps, but if he could come home to feed his siblings and clean up he saw no reason why their own father couldn't. "You get up in the morning, you get dressed, and you do go through the motions because they need you. It's not always about you."
"Jace needs help." He said simply. "There is something wrong with that kid, fuck knows what but it's beyond anything we do for for him." He could keep trying but he was rarely not at logger-heads with Jace, and how was that going to help. "I'm not going to yell at you, what would that achieve? This isn't something you can just fix by saying 'yell at me and I'm going to be better now'."
Shaun listened. He felt anger rise up and fall just as quickly. Derek had always been a hard case to understand; his views were so clean cut that it often left Shaun feeling awkward for being on middle ground. The fact he thought giving up the drink was that clean cut was more of a stab than he thought it would be. But he let that roll. Everyone was allowed to have their thoughts and he had asked. Though the way Derek spoke still prodded at his pride a touch.
The subject of Jace made his mouth sour, "That boy..." he shook his head, feeling that shame under the surface, "I got a call from the college saying he got into a fight and has walked off campus today, so I've got to head in this afternoon to deal with that. If it means I have to ship him off to a legit military school, I will."
It had always been a hollow threat and a joke when the boys were little; telling them that if they misbehaved they'd be sent to the boy's military school. It had worked for the most part, and now Shaun felt like it was becoming a real possibility.
"I didn't say it was going to fix things," Shaun said calmly, "It was just a chance to let out whatever you might want to say."
He set his coffee down on the bench and began wandering out to the garage. The garage had been a chaos heap, and taken apart, it seemed even more so, but at the same time, orderly. Tools were in piles by their type, buckets and jars held respective tacks, nails and screws. The work bench was completely free of clutter, the few draws set aside so they had room to grab and move them without fear of the draws just falling out.
