EVIL IS A HUMAN INVENTION

[ELIJAH RIDDELL]

He needed to move to a smaller country. Moving to the other end of Australia wasn't like moving to the other side of other countries, you could find penguins if you went far enough in this god damn country, or burn to a crisp in the middle of the dessert. He should move to a proper country, with a proper climate that contained the entire area no matter what it was. Hell he'd settle for hurricanes and thunder storms as long as it was consistent. It was funny the kind of thoughts that came and went during a 13 hour drive. Philosophy, art, history, culture… he'd had it all. Of course his idea of art was Motley Crue and his philosophy how human beings could unlock their potential so much more effectively if they made weed illegal, but hey ho, he was expanding his mind man. Even with his expansive musings though he'd managed to avoid the subject of his brother and just what mess he was about to drive back into. The glorious arrival he'd imagined; his 'stang kicking up dust as he pulled into his driveway and Zach running across the dirt to meet him whilst he stepped out, sunglasses sliding into place and a wry grin on his face, had slowly been tainted by reality as the nerves kicked in. Now the image looking something more like him turning up to the old place and seeing it half knocked down with his brother sat on the porch triumphantly, shot gun in hand and his dads head on a spike. In this scenario Zach was more than willing to then turn that gun straight onto his big bro and blow Elijah's head off. Which wasn't on, Eli liked his head, very much, it was part of what got him laid and he'd lament its loss as much as he would his dick. That all kind of explained why he now found himself tugging the wheel and swerving the car last minute into the half empty car park of the towns local diner. The place looked to him as depressing as ever as he pulled into a space right in front of the doors; once an abandoned train carriage it had been renovated by some ambitious owner in the 60s and still looked pretty much the same today. As he turned the engine off his eyes flickered over the familiar sight of the walls, still peeling, still long over due for a new coat, still lurid yellow. It was just what he needed to cement his notion that this was swiftly becoming a massive mistake. After all what said 'get out now, while you still can,' more than a an open sign that had lost it's O and N? It was probably some town kids really bad attempt at making it sound rude, to Eli though 'pe' just didn't cut it. Where had the creativity of youth gone? With the sound of the engines low rumble now gone, he felt apprehension creep up his spine; the first physical attribute his nerves had manifested up until this point. Now that it had begun though, the symptoms came thick and fast and with one hand he found himself wiping the first beads of sweat from his brow. No longer used to the dry heat of his home town, there was only so long he could pretend his discomfort was due to his de climatisation.

Feeling strangely akin to a sitting duck he slid his sunglasses from the bridge of his nose and tucked them inside the glove compartment, snapping it shut slightly too harshly than was necessary in the quiet before tugging open the latch of the door. If he'd been hot inside the car, it was nothing like emerging into the baking heat of the diner car park. The over like heat washed over him as soon as the door was slammed shut behind him, insistently prying its way inside his jacket as if it were a game to force it off of him. The place was still deserted as he began to cross the lot towards the front door and now he looked there were only 3 other cars than his that he didn't recognise. The beat up old ford in front was the owners, a bright red chevvy truck stood to the left, laden with farming gear and would be weapons whilst a squat putrid yellow monstrosity stood beside it like an eyesore. Surprisingly the sight of that car was enough to push back a few of his qualms; it's sick like coat glaring at him obnoxiously in much the same way as its owner had done many times before. It didn't exactly surprise Eli that June still worked at the diner after all this time, but the thought hadn't occurred to him until that moment when he stood on the bottom step of the porch and recognised her ride. The sight brought one of the few good memories he'd had since he'd hit the sign welcoming him to Wirrawee about 3 miles back and he felt his spirits lift as he hiked his way up the last few steps and reached his hand out to grab the worn knob. Inside the smells of stale grease and burgers filled his nostrils, forcing him to decide between hunger and nausea in the first instance. To keep the contents of his stomach happy he chose hunger and climbed into one of the chairs at the counter. When they had come here as kids they'd been wary of taking any of the booths that lined the back of the diner for fear that unwanted visitors appeared; there was nothing worse than being snuck up on by someone you really didn't want watching you eat. From back there you couldn't see who'd rung the bell with the door, you couldn't see whether the company was good or bad or revolting. True it rarely applied to Eli but if one of the bigger kids came in and demanded your seat, your food or just your squeals of pain there was just too much cover for you to escape without something hurting an awful lot. It had become a habit because of this for the town kids to take seats at the counter and amongst other things, annoy the hell out of the poor waitresses. When this had been June it had been fun for both parties, but the amount of times Patty McGuinnes had chased them out of there with burgers still in hand because they'd over crossed the line in the area of sexual deviancy were too many to count. Surprised at the way the memories brought a smile to his face Eli felt himself relax against the still after-all-these-years tacky bar. Now that he was here he didn't know what all the fuss was about, he'd just get himself a coke and maybe a burger and then he'd be out of here, find Zachary and leave. What could go wrong? Eli had a plan, he never had a plan and everything usually went wrong so this time because he had one it must go right. That was the logic he was sticking to.

Safe under the air con, he slipped off the subtle leather trappings of his jacket and draped it over the seat beside him. With only 2 other seats at the counter taken he doubted he would be asked to move it even if the infamous lunchtime rush it. The lunchtime rush being when the docks got out for dinner and those salty sea dogs headed over for cheesy fries and hot dogs. Even then they were luck to fill half of the booths and serve a dozen orders of fries. Suitably happy that his jacket was safe from the grubby hands of the others Eli grabbed up a menu, more to humour himself than anything and felt a pathetic rush of pride at the fact that he could reel off every item of food on the menu without even needing more than one glance to assure him it hadn't changed in the past 8 years. This place really is the shits. Had everything in town stayed the same without him there? Surely some of the people were different? Zach, June, his Mum and Dad, Grandma? Fuck surely Poppy the dog had gone grey or something? It couldn't all just be exactly how he'd left it. Dropping the laminated sheet back onto the counter he felt his head droop on his tired neck and his forehead land deftly into his hand. With something of a dramatic air his fingers rubbed against the sensitive spot of his temples in an attempt to clear the surreal nature of the moment before forcing the short spikes of his hair back from his crown. The sooner they were out of here the better. Enjoying his over dramatic moment for the time being, Eli was annoyed to have it broken by the voice of the waitress. It wasn't June. That annoyed him more than anything perhaps; the fact that it was some dumb new girl that probably didn't know his usual and just how he had it like June did, bitch, where was June? Her car was here, so so should she. Damn the girl was probably the only person in town that would be instantly happy to see him. Reluctantly he pulled his head up and dropped his arm onto the counter to push the menu back towards her in a signal that he'd done, "I'll take a coke, ice and double cheese burger, extra pickle, no mayo or tomato and a portion of fries," Being the self centred dick that he was, Eli had gotten the entire order out before he even had the good grace to look at the woman before the counter. Of course, as soon as he did though he wished he hadn't, because of all people that he would choose to run into first in this podunk town, she would be the last on the list. Determined to see the irony in the situation he couldn't help the grin that split his lips as he let out a chuckle, "You have got to be kidding me? What, Daddy stop paying your way sweetheart?"

[SARAH BENTLEY]

The day started out like any other normal day in Wirawee. Noah got up at six a.m. demanding that he have fruit-loops rather than the box of cheerios, which was the only cereal in the cupboard because she had not been able to go to the grocery store that day. Izzy woke up soon after around 6:15 a.m., probably because Noah did not know how to be quiet when taking a shower prior to going to school. By 6:20 a.m. the kitchen was crowded with three adult bodies, two children, and an assortment of toys, lunches, and backpacks. It had been their routine for the last two weeks. A routine that still felt out of place even with Rosy's assurances that it was not a bother on them, but it felt like a bother. Sarah had been in this situation once before when she wound up pregnant soon after Derek woke up, almost magically, from his coma, and she found out that she was pregnant. The situation was different, the people were older, but it was still the same sort of situation that forced Sarah to swallow her pride and accept help when it was offered to her because lets face it Sarah was incapable when it came to a job -- even a menial one like waitressing. When she was little it all seemed a lot simpler, the growing up thing that is, not the having an eight year old son to worry about and freeloading off of your best friend. That was never a proper vision for her future life, but really, Sarah thought she would meet someone nice who had money like her father. She assumed that in twenty years she would be just like her mother, meddling in her children's lives like an old bat and sipping wine out of gold-rimmed champagne glasses. Her mother had never worked in her life, which is probably why Sarah had the same sort of mentality when it came to her own life. Their family did not want for much, mainly because their house was paid for and their bills fit their budget. Living in Wirawee suited their lifestyle. Sarah's plan was just the same, finding someone like her family. She wanted someone who had a work ethic and would be a proper husband to her whilst showering her with presents, the typical teenage dream. No one goes imagines themselves working in a grease pit with pervy truckers calling out all sorts of lude comments about their bums. No one imagines themselves sixteen and pregnant, and mostly, no one imagines themselves twenty five years old and already getting a divorce. Needless to say this was not her life's vision to be broke and husbandless with a child.

Hell she did not even want a child, not to say that she does not want Noah because for someone who did not want any children whatsoever, Noah has been a blessing in disguise. She honestly wouldn't trade him for the world, but looking at things thoroughly, Sarah would not be this bad off if it weren't for Noah. She wouldn't be working at the diner or sleeping on a twin bed with her son's right next to hers. She wouldn't be rooming with her married best friend like they were in some sort of sorority house. Things would get better though, they had to get better. Yeah, she was going through a rough patch right now, but eventually this endless cycle of 'rough' spots would have to end, right? Of course it would, no one has that much bad luck.

Wrong again.

Never once did she think about Elijah showing up out of the blue, okay that's a blatant lie. Sarah did think about it, but not like 'oh today's the day Elijah is magically going to come into my life and save me from all of this drama.' It wasn't like that. When Elijah left, Sarah did think that he would come back. She did not think he would just up and leave Zach, or her, more so he wouldn't leave Zach. Sure, she handled things wrong and was a bit rude to him when it was quite uncalled for, but that didn't mean he was just going to pick up and run away and never move back. She assumed that it was some sort of phase that he would get out of his system and he'd come back and act like that some ol'sleaze ball that she had grown to hate and yet desire at the same time. Except, Elijah never did come back and after two years of thinking about what it would be like if she had told him the truth or if she had not told him to shove it and get lost, Sarah finally gave up thinking that he would waltz back into her life, her rather miserable life albeit, and save the day. For a while Sarah had really deluded herself into thinking that he cared about her, having sense then come to the conclusion that she was just another ignorant teenager without a clue as to what love meant (she still isn't too sure she's got the proper definition of it down yet either). During her time of delusion though, Sarah thought it would all be okay if he came back. She was so miserable in her marriage that she thought her answer to her prayers was Noah's father. So much for the intelligence award, am I right?

Even now with Elijah standing or well sitting in front of her, Sarah was a bit on the slow side. It must have been some cruel joke really because after eight years of nothing here he was sitting in front of her looking a bit older but still with that same ole cocky grin he liked to wear so much on his face acting like nothing has changed at all. She didn't even hear the order. What he wanted for lunch was the last thing on her mind. There were more important things to discuss but she had to first remember how to formulate sentences again. "Excuse me," there just weren't any other words coming out of her mouth, so she might as well take offense to his own out of her own frustration. "Oh that's rich, and look at you. Did lonely boy finally decide to come back into town? I see your insults haven't gotten a bit better. What are you doing here? Wait, should we expect a train of cops to come pouring in for super looking for your arse?" It was the best she had and at least it came out in a bit of a joking manner rather than her up tight first attempt at conversation. Her mind was just moving a bit too fast with a bit too much in it for pleasantries at the moment. She wasn't sure what she was feeling: a mixture of shock, awe, repulsion, and intrigue.

[ELIJAH RIDDELL]

Needless to say he'd lost his appetite. Seeing her. Here. Now. Was enough to turn his stomach sour and that truck stop sandwich he'd had earlier threatened to reappear in his lap. Thankfully, Eli was not one for complicated emotions; he didn't feel ashamed for not seeing her or the kid she tried pawning off on him, after all these years, he didn't feel romantic at their long delayed reunion; there were no conflicting emotions pointing towards stunted love… he was just pissed. In some fit of paranoia, the diner around him seemed to fall silent as if everyone in the place had turned their heads to watch and were now holding their breath to see what happened. Which was bullshit, the only people in here were strangers; people passing through on their way to somewhere better than this shit hole and suddenly he wished he was one of them. Nope, no one in this diner gave a shit that Eli was face to face with some girl he shagged 8 years ago and may or may not have made a kid with. Shit, there was no may about it. The kid wasn't his; she'd said as much. So why was she looking at him like he was some kind of ghost? He'd shagged loads of girls in this town, it was hardly the kind of place for variety and you got around everyone pretty quick if you were determined enough, yeah she'd had a scare with her encounter, but she wasn't the only one. Vicky down the street from him had been convinced for 3 months that she was pregnant with his kid. Continued the charade until he pushed her down the stairs - accidentally - during a mattress race and she'd gone to see Doctor Wilkinson who'd said she was fine, nothing broken, nothing strange and definitely no baby. He hadn't spoken to her again after that and to this day he still wasn't sure why not. In some warped way he was pissed she'd lied to him, but he'd been pissed at her because of what that lie was, so realistically he should have been relieved when she was proved wrong but… it was too damn complicated, and in the past. Where it belonged, just like this blonde bitch and her kid. "Come on love, what's a guy got to do for a burger in this place?" He halted before adding some crude joke about what he used to do for a burger in this joint because part of him didn't want to degrade June to anyone but her the first time. Where the fuck was that girl? She'd help him out in the face of a potential psycho stalker.

That's all he saw right now. Not a desperate Mother working for shit pay to support her son after she'd been abandoned by all the men she once thought were reliable. For a second he didn't even imagine that behind her pink uniform and cutesy hair style there was a back story laced with avoidable hardship and trials, mostly because it didn't interest him or involve him. Not in his opinion anyway, none of this woman's problems were his own. From his point of view, all he saw was a washed up High School princess who for some reason -because she had looked at him for over 5 minutes now- was clearly obsessed with him. It didn't occur to him that he was a good for nothing, ex-criminal covered in road dust with nothing but a 'stang to his name and that rightly there was no reason for anyone to be obsessed with him, because to Eli the most obvious reason was; he was sexy. Hell as far as his logic ran, she'd probably spent the past 8 years fantasising about playing happy families with him and dressing him up for fancy dinners with her parents. Unless she fancied a quick go for old times sake though in the toilets, admittedly he'd rather she stop gawking, get in the kitchen and make him a fucking burger like a good little woman. Unfortunately for his male chauvinist side though, it didn't look like he was going to get his dinner order any time soon, in fact even though he'd prompted her again so nicely she still didn't seem to be moving in any direction let alone the kitchen. At least she spoke finally, her words a little bit slow and if you asked him; pointless. She heard what he said alright and now she was going to pitch a fit at him for being him? At no point in their history did he ever pretend he was anything than he was. He didn't sweet talk her or take her for fancy meals; he fucked her in the back of his dads pick-up a few times and they had a burger on its hood, so why was she so surprised at his attitude? Chivalry had never been a strong point of the Riddell men - he doubted it would be installed in Zach either - and if anything it got worse as they got older.

"Lonely boy?" He almost choked on the ludicrous insult she chucked his way, as it were because he hadn't gotten his bloody food yet he made a show of pushing back off from the counter and crossing his arms across the tight t-shirt clad surface of his chest. There were many things you could call Elijah Riddell but lonely was not one of them. That was the plus side when you got a kid that spent the 4 years of his life completely alone; no Mum, no Dad, no siblings, nothing. When Zach came along it was a pleasant surprise and he embraced his role as big brother, but he didn't need Zach. Zach needed him and he recognised this from a young age. From the day he had been born until the day Eli had left they had been inseparable and any friends he had made aside from his brother had been novelties. Apart from June, Lochie and a few others, Eli's small circle of friends had been kept small enough for him to remember that he could still go it alone. So when he finally did, he had no problem. Loneliness played no part in his decision to come back, though it might have made more sense. He missed Zach yeah, but he was back because he had decided Zach needed him back, not because he missed him solely. "Do they pay you to talk? Or to get me my fucking food bitch." A familiar wry grin had fixed itself on his mouth and he doubted it would leave for a long time. Now that he had separated his feelings into their proper categories, he was having fun; taking this girl down would just be a side project in his list of things to do this weekend. "Because it's certainly not gonna get you any tips for me, you could try something else with your mouth though? Might make a buck or 2," and with a wink that made him look like the worlds worst ass he dropped his hands back onto the counter expectantly, half tempted to pat his stomach in representation of his hunger.

[SARAH BENTLEY]

That quality where people put their personal lives on the back burner whilst at work really was not a bad trait to have, but when it came to working efficiently or effectively, Sarah had to learn a few things, given the fact that she hadn't really ever worked a day in her life that process was taking a bit longer to manage, but even if she had that capability, she wasn't sure that it would matter given the circumstances. This was Elijah, the bloke who had been blowing her phone calls off, the one who kept saying that he didn't have a son when he knew good and well he had a baby and it was time to man up, or at least put some god damn money in her hand to help take care of him. They say girls are worse than boys, well clearly they didn't realize how much boy toys were or how fast boys went through clothes or any of the like. They might not want make up or hair bows, but they sure as hell had a think for high-priced tech toys that would probably get broken in a weeks time. Brining it back to reality though, Sarah was standing face to face with him for once and since the opportunity was going to present itself she was going to take it, yet just like everything else, Elijah knew how to distract her, a stupid god-damn trait that she honest to god hated about him. There wasn't much she didn't hate about him, but right was right. It was too late to back down because she had already resigned herself to fix the Noah and Elijah situation. He could rattle off anything he wanted about her and in any lude way he wanted to do so, but he was going to accept the fact that he, Elijah Riddell, was a father and start owning up to the responsibility because it wasn't just one of them who made this kid. It took his dick as well. Gritting her teeth in a death glare, she casually flipped over her paper and looked at him whilst writing it down, "Apparently scream and shout like a child to get your way, or make a complete ass out of yourself It seems to be working for you right about now." Elijah always thought he was clever or witty, but the only thing clever about him was his ability to constantly get under the skin of anyone in the vicinity without much effort. If that was a talent then he'd win an olympic gold medal.

Now, there was one sure fire way to get under Sarah's skin and that was insinuate that she was a whore. Maybe it was because she was insecure about the notion that she had honestly hopped from guy to guy to guy in high school or because she felt a bit guilty about sleeping with Elijah when Derek was in the hospital, whatever that notion was it always got the same gut reaction from her. It didn't matter that Elijah rose right above her. He could be as tall as he wanted to be; it literally was not going to be a deterrent for her. Had there been anything hot and liquidy around them at the time, it might have gone straight into his pants, but the better part of her stopped herself from looking too far for such things. The mature part of her made herself bite her tongue. Just because he walked straight back into her life just as fast as he left it eight years ago does not mean that she has to succumb to sixteen year old Sarah attempting to pick a fight that she more than likely could not win. That poor notepad though, it got the brunt of her anger as it warped in her hand, less conscious of what she was doing and more focused on not acting like a teenage kid on steroids. It was like he had a tap into her brain, knowing just how to push her buttons without even breaking a sweat. "And catch the herpes you're sporting? I'm not open for that sort of trade so a spit riddled hamburger and floor fries yeah? Is that all you want with your order or would you like a slice of surprise pie as well?" If that was the only thing she did to his food he'd be lucky. Sticking up her middle finger at him and walking to the spin cycle to put the order in it, Sarah didn't spare a glance back at him. For all she knew he'd watch her walk away to 'prove' that he wasn't going to let her bother him, and that was fine. She wasn't here to make niceties with him, but there was one thing she was sure of: he was going to see his son even if she had to make him.

It was really getting tiring to have to constantly tell someone the same damn thing all the damn time. Noah, pick up your shoes. Noah, put the toilet seat down, Noah put your skateboard up at night. Noah close the front door. Elijah you have a son and his name is Noah.' You see the repetition? How could he be anyone else's boy aside from Elijah's? That sort of hardheadedness and undisclosed hostility couldn't be from anyone else aside from the Riddell clan. They weren't exactly known for their endearing tea-parties. It was weird having this conversation though face-to-face, but they needed to have it. Looking up to see what he was doing, Sarah started to pour him a pop and make her way over to his side of the bar. "You know, she began still holding onto the glass so that he couldn't quench his thirst yet. "I left you messages. I'm sure you remember them, they went something along the lines of, 'hey you have a son. His name's Noah, why don't you come and meet him?' Unsurprisingly you haven't called me back. " Letting go of the glass she crossed her arms over her chest and waited for him to answer. Not that she was expecting anything short of a bullshit response, but at least it'd be entertaining to see him try and talk himself out of it again for the umptenth time. At least this time she got to see his face as well.

[ELIJAH RIDDELL]

Yeah he was kinda indignant about the whole 'scream and shout like a child' line but he wasn't going to show it. It wasn't worth it, hell, she wasn't worth it. Talking all this shit up in his face when all he wanted was some food. "Look I didn't come in here for a lecture darlin', especially from a two bit piece of trash like yourself, so how about you just hand over the grub?" If he so much as suspected she'd tampered with his food he'd raise holy hell, and that was a promise. He liked the owner, that was true, but messing with a paying customers food was low, even low for the girl who thought it was ok to practically tell him he couldn't be a father because he'd end up beating the kid up just like his good ol' Daddy used to do. That was pretty low, but messing with food… there was a line god damnit. The small plus side to this potential lecture was the fact that he could see he was pissing her off. Eli liked to piss people off, he liked to get himself right up in there, under the skin and latch on. The only problem was, with people like Sarah - pathetic lonely princesses who never had no love but from Daddy himself - ended up actually believing his overwhelming need to be a pain in everyone's ass, was really him proving he was head over heels for them. The phrase 'head over heels' and Elijah Riddell had never even been conceived in a single sentence; he confessed he'd never been in love, never had a steady relationship that lasted more than a couple of months and had never had any kind of itch to change that. At twenty five he was young, free and single and that was how he wanted to stay. He didn't want no snotty nosed brat tugging at his sleeves wanting him to go play catch or something. Life was for drinking, eating, fucking and the occasional harmless illegal activity; not for procreation and responsibility. If some bitch from his home town had gotten this messed up when she was a kid, it wasn't his problem. Girl should have had an abortion when she could; save the lot of them this problem, but nooooo, she thought she could handle it, she thought she knew what best. Well look at her now, begging for his help because she couldn't handle it. Selfish bitch. He shoulda kicked her in the stomach when he had the chance.

Unfortunately though he hadn't and now he had to deal with the consequences of being such a fucking stand up guy. Offering her an expectant smirk he made it clear he had said his bit. Now all she needed to do was do her job and they could get on wit the rest of their lives and pretend this never happened. Just pretend he was any other random customer that came in and gave her some lip like every other day. Just another customer that she flipped the bird at; now that was customer service, wasn't it? As she turned away he shook his head, praying that she would hurry up with her little vengeance mission and let him get on with his business. He didn't watch her walk away, didn't even glance at her once she was gone he simply reached into the inner pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out packets of tobacco, papers, filters one by one until it was time for his lighter. Just because he couldn't smoke inside these days didn't mean he couldn't be extra prepared when the time came to turn tail and run. Looking forward to busing himself with something productive, he was indignant to find she was back and seemed in some bizarre twist of fate to be holding his coke hostage from her. Damn was this broad desperate.

With something akin to a snort he settled backwards again, his arms swinging up behind him to come to a rest cradling his head. It was an undeniably obnoxious position for him to be in right now and coupled with the sheer arrogance of his smile he would have suggested he'd deserve any beverage that headed his way; not that he'd ever do anything other than fuck shit up if she dared try it. And he'd very much enjoy it, especially when she chose to remind him just how fucking annoying she had been; a giant pain in the ass lasting 8 years. "Oh yeah, thanks for that by the way. You'll have to remind me to express my gratitude to my Nan, she doesn't give my fucking kid brother my number but you melt her heart with some tall tale about how she's a great-gran and BANG, hello harassment," maybe f the interfering old cow had given his number to Zach and not this bitch, he wouldn't be in this situation right now; he could have just called Zach and asked him to hop on a train, meet him in Sydney, hell he'd even pay, that's what a fantastic big brother he was. Thanks Nan. "Anyway, I thought it was a crank caller, you know, after the amount of times you stressed that the kid was not mine; it was Derek and how it'd had a lucky escape seen as I would be the worlds shittest dad anyway and…" pausing for the dramatic he titled his head to once side, his grey eyes twinkling as he narrowed them in concentration "Oh yeah, I'm sure there was a bit about me being a waste of human skin too."

[SARAH BENTLEY]

He was so infuriating sometimes, acting like he owned the place when in fact he'd been gone for ages now and was expecting everyone to treat him like king of the trailer park again. Really, Sarah had it up to hear with him and his antics, he was worse than Noah and he was eight. Could you get any worse than an eight year old, really? Apparently so, or at least if your name was Elijah Riddell you could. His entire macho thing was not going to work on her because she had eight years to be over whatever it was they had, if you could even call it an 'it.' Sure sixteen year old Sarah felt like that it was pretty amazing, but twenty-five year old Sarah knew better. She knew what it was and how much it was worth, yet the fact of the matter still stands that 'it' had happened, and they had a son, so it was time for Elijah, the guy everyone used to talk about like he was some sort of delinquent, that guy right there sitting in front of her to own up to what had happened so they could both move on with her lives. He owed it, whether he believed it or not, to Noah to meet him, to talk with him, to you know try and be a father even if he wouldn't see him but once a year or something. The fact of the matter was that Noah needed a man in his life and without Derek to fill that void -- look to be frank she just did not want her son ending up like Elijah, and maybe for the wrong reasons once more she was pushing him on Elijah so that he would have that male role model in his life. That he would see that his father wanted him and not turn out like Zachary or Elijah did. Everyone wanted to point fingers with the Riddell boys, but Sarah watched Zach go through it just as Elijah did and there was one thing that they both had in their lives, a good for nothing father. Noah could be heading down that same path and she wanted to try and do everything to stop it. She might not have been ready to have him, but now that he was here and he was a part of her life she wanted to do right by him -- and if that meant forcing Elijah -- yes forcing -- to step up and try to be a good father then that is what she was going to do whether he liked it or not.

"I really don't give a damn what you came here for Elijah unless those words are going to start with 'To see and end with Noah. Whatever you think you know about me, sweetheart" she smiled at him and leaned forward on the counter in front of him with both hands on the counter looking down at him. "Forget it because I've changed and I'm not giving up. He's yours and if you don't believe me then we can go down to the court and get a blood test because I'm that sure and I'm that serious. Noah is your son and the sooner you come to grips with that then the less we'll have to be in each other's way because I don't like it anymore than you do, so suck it up like I did and deal with what hand you've been given, alright?" This pandering about the issue was grating on her nerves, and she was starting to feel like they had reverted right back to where they left off, which really wasn't setting well with her since she would have liked to have believed that she had grown up a lot since then. She wasn't the Sarah he left behind so the sooner he realised that then the better it would be for the both of them. Why she was trying to prove herself different to him was confusing her because she had enough faith in herself to know that she was different, so why was it imperative that he did too? Well for starters he had this backwards opinion of her and she didn't like it. She didn't like who she was back then and she wanted to be thought of as someone strong and independent rather than the slut who let you motorboat her in the back seat of your chevy. Yeah, that wasn't the image she wanted him to have of her at all, so it could explain why she felt like she needed him to think different of her. Maybe she wanted a bit of respect, gasp. To her, she had done fairly well over the last eight years, and Sarah had stepped up when Elijah had walked away, so that deserved some recognition right? "Would you get over yourself, really. You want an apology? Fine. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said all of those mean things to you. Happy now? I didn't think so, it doesn't make you feel any better. This isn't about how I made you feel or that I called you worthless because I'm sure I'm not the only girl in your life who's dubbed you with the title. This is about you having a son. Do you want me to say it again," she raised her voice even louder so the rest of the diner could hear. "You. Elijah. Riddell. Have. A. Son. His. Name. Is. Noah." She made sure to stress every single syllable so then maybe, just maybe he'd realise that she was telling the truth and he'd stop pandering around the issue. One could only hope, yeah?

[ELIJAH RIDDELL]

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That imaginary line that every single person at one time or another created unconsciously around themselves to serve as an early warning mechanism had well and truly been crossed. Alarm bells blared in his head whilst tiny blinking red lights flashed incessantly around his cranium and truth be told and if they didn't calm the fuck down soon, Eli would flip. He'd just about had his fill with this entire situation anyway, leaving - even on an empty stomach would be better than having to listen to this bitch tell him about his alleged son one more time. Was there really so much inbreeding in that stuck up family of hers that she genuinely believed this was a reasonable way to behave to another person? All he'd done was come back to town and order a burger, did that really warrant being bitched at incessantly in the time between entering and eating? And she wondered why he skipped out on her? Why he didn't want to 'settle down?' It had been wholly unnecessary for her to tell him back then, that she didn't want him around her or the slowly growing parasite because it was - and he'd thought about this - literally the last thing on earth he wanted to do. Be around them. He'd only gone in there for a quick shag to fuck over Derek. Sure he hadn't thought much further down the plan line than 'I'll bend her over, give her one and it'll be hilarious.' Condoms were not a factor, the state of Derek at the time - i.e. coma - had not been a factor and any emotions that the girl would develop for him had been even less of a factor. So why was she still, after eight goddamn years reading into this shit? It was over. Hell, it had never started. Anything that came from the situation - whether it even fucking did or not - , was not his problem. There were plenty of kids out there without Fathers and most of them had turned out better than those with them, in this time anyway. At eight Eli would have killed to have no Dad. Sarah with her fancy pants darling Daddy didn't understand that, but he did, having no Dad was a damn sight better than having a Dad like him, especially sauntering in after all this time.

Not that it mattered. The kid was Derek's. The fuck up, where was he? Certainly not having his ear chewed off over his dinner.

Where they had come to rest on the counter, his fists balled. After eight years there was still not an ounce of fat on Eli's 6 foot 1 frame and the lengths of his arm slowly transformed as the ripple of muscles hidden beneath his calm began to appear. Hitting women had never been something that interested Eli, they would cry too much at the end, but right now he was feeling pretty fucking good about the situation. Behind his careful controlled facade of smuggery, a vein had begun to swell on the smooth surface of his forehead; beating dully with every word that she spat at him. It was quite possible that if any of that spittle ever made contact, that she'd be looking at a future eating food through a tube, but as it were, the badly directed fury he had been brewing remained purring, behind his eyes. It was a testament to how much he'd changed. eight years ago he'd have ripped apart the place if he allowed himself to get this worked up. As it were, as long as she managed to keep that mouth shut, everything would be fine - he was partly reformed not a saint. "Will you shut the fuck up? Shut the fuck up meaning close your slutty mouth and marching your slutty arse in any direction that isn't mine," though his vice remained low and controlled, the force in which he forced out those words was enough to let anyone within a ten foot radius know that Elijah was not joking. "If I've not already made it clear, I'm not here for the kid. I'm not here for you. And if it were up to me, I'd have gotten in and out of this place without having to see your fucking face - not for any hidden meaning, or any cowardice, but because I really don't like you and I can think of about three thousand eight hundred and seventy more people in this town that I'd rather see," it may have sounded harsh to anyone listening, but he truly believed that to solve a problem you needed to throw your weight around; in this case with his words and a copious amount of swearing. In hind sight it was probably never going to have worked but to him it was a damn sight better than reaching out and gripping that metal tissue dispenser on the counter next to him and ramming it into her skull. That would have probably resulted in serious injury if not her death and would have seen him back in a cosy 8 by 12 cell at the state prison with nothing but himself and a bunch of cons to spend his life with. Sarah Bentley and her punk ass kid were definitely not worth that, nothing was. If he lost it now, there would be no convincing Zach he had changed and there was even less of a chance of getting him to come with him. No, as long as he breathed, ignored the blaring bells and flashing lights she'd set off with her insistence at over stepping the mark, then he'd be ok, felony free and on his way by the time he'd wolfed down his meal.

On and on she went though; on some kind of pathetic crusade. As soon as he thought she was done and her mouth snapped shut, breathing heavy and eyes wild as she worked herself into a state and Eli thought he was free, she'd set off again. On the same fucking subject. Had this girl never heard about a little thing called variety? "Look, for some reason you seem to have gotten it into your head that I care in the slightest what you say or think about me. Sorry about that, but I aint taking the blame. You also seem to have gotten it into that empty little head of yours that you can somehow make me give a shit about your son just by not shutting the fuck up, this is an incorrect assumption," If anything her endless session on how he needed to step up to his mark and be a Father had made all this worse. Before he just didn't give a damn about the boy, now he actively despised it because it was the reason he was here; starving and contemplating murder. Hey, the prison guards couldn't force him to see his kid could they? Shut up Eli, it was a fucking stupid idea to even entertain and she was not worth it. And now she was apologising? What was her problem? He hadn't wanted an apology, apologies involved speaking and all he wanted on this earth right now was for her to stop speaking. It was with an audible grown that he found his head drooped in his hands and his fingers forcefully wedged in his ears as if he could ever drown her out. Even through his barriers he could hear her, on and on and on. Why couldn't she just shut up? Blood thundered in his ears, forcing the surface of his skin to blot a strange deep red and it was all he could do to keep his hand from the tissue dispenser. Except there was the line again and she was so far passed it she couldn't even see it and his fists were balled against his head demanding action and he couldn't do it any longer. The crash was almighty, echoing around the small confines of the diner as shocking to the atmosphere as the silence that followed it. His fists stung slightly where they'd made contact with the surface of the counter but he didn't care, all he cared about was shutting her up, and he tried with an explosive growl "This has nothing to do with what you said to me, I didn't care then, I don't care now," if she wanted a scene, he'd give her one and within a second he was off his stool, jacket swinging towards his arms as he shoved his hands through the sleeves. He wasn't sticking around for this, "and I don't have a fucking son. I may have made some massive mistake that turned into something else for you, eight years ago, but to me it's nothing, your son is nothing and he never will be anything, not to me." Jacket in place he glared at her furiously and all that he could think was that he hadn't gotten his fucking dinner.

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[SARAH BENTLEY]

One cannot say for certain on whether or not Sarah had the best of intentions, but at least she thought she did. For her, she was trying her best, and her best being the only thing she knew how to do. She told herself that this was for her son, this was all for Noah, and that was the only reason that she put up with Elijah's antics. He deserved better than what she had given him, and in hopes to amend her mistake with Derek, well this was the only way that she knew how to go about fixing the problem. That and well, there might have been a hint of guilt for what she had said to Elijah - just a small inclination that she had lied to him and told him to leave, but what else was she to do? Could she really be blamed, even still, for pushing him away. Maybe things would have went differently or maybe not. Maybe Elijah would have proved her right and she'd have already told him to leave. It was so confusing raising a child because on one hand you want to protect them from everything, but on the other, you just do not know what the future holds. Who knows what Elijah had going on in his head when she told him that she was pregnant. Sarah certainly did not take his feelings into account, and now, she still did not really take them into account because priority number one was not her and it was not Elijah. Noah was her number one concern, but it would appear that Elijah did not hold that same sentiment. If you look at the situation from an outside perspective, you really can understand why the man kept pushing her away, but to Sarah, she just thought of him as a selfish asshat who cared on for himself. She always saw the bad in him above the good. He was that guy who would always muck things up one way or the other, but she had hoped for a better response. Upon seeing him, she had hoped that he might have changed a bit, maybe even rode into town because he had finally consented to at least meet their child. It's a shame that like every other time, it was all about what Elijah wanted and screw everyone else. Even now as he threw his hands across the counter in a wild rampage, Sarah was reminded of the boy that told her it was okay to screw him because Derek was already as good as dead, or whatever line had had tried on her all of those years ago. Some things never changed, and she was starting to feel a bit stupid in thinking that she could ever get him to man up. It wasn't like she hadn't already tried to reason with him, as much as someone can reason with someone over a phone. She had tried, no one could fault her there.

And as if right on cue, when the going got tough the tough got going -- or something like that anyhow. It was like he had memorized those lines because he certainly said them enough. "Yeah?" She echoed his tone, aggravated and annoyed as he picked up and turned on his heel. His reaction pissing her off even more than she already was with his general lack of regard to their situation. Yes, their fucking situation because he was just as much apart of it as she was even if he wanted to continue on pretending that he didn't have a damn thing to do with it. "God Elijah," she spat trying to move in the same line of step he was, coming out from behind the counter. "Is that so? You don't care? You didn't care, aye?" By this point he wasn't the only one angry, and there were a lot of people who suddenly found the pair of them a lot more interesting than their dinners. It didn't matter, she didn't care at this point. They could fire her, cut her pay for the day, tell her to shove off, whatever they wanted to do but she was having his conversation with him. They were going to talk this out, or yell it out, whichever came first. "I'm so glad that you're making this about you once again. Get over yourself, you selfish pig headed asshat. This is about a boy, a little boy who is eight damn years old and still doesn't know who the hell his father is" she shouted, seething as she moved to step in front of him and block his way. He was going to listen to her, he was at least going to hear her out. He could move her, shove her, push her, it didn't matter as long as he heard what she had to say. "You made this about you when you decided to fuck me in the back of your Dad's car eight years ago, so how about you stop with your dramatics and act like an adult and not a two-year old." She didn't know what to do, and what came next was probably not the best idea, but still she had to try. Holding her hand to make contact with his chest, Sarah tried to get him to stop, to get him to just stop and listen to her. "Look," she managed to calm herself down a bit and look up at him whilst taking her hand from his chest in the process in a sign of submission. "I don't want to do this." Softly sighing, she stood her ground. "Eli, please. You're just back in town, and I'm not trying to make your life hard. Will you please just think about it. I can't make you do anything, we both know that. Just, would you think about it at least?"