"Don't you dare leave Mr.!" Mom yelled at Shawn. "Get back here and sit on the bed!" She yelled at Shawn, then turning her head stared at Dad with an icy glare.

Shawn froze in place, now caught directly in between Mom and Dad. He didn't know what to do - usually he avoided their fights or redirected their attention or something, but they were openly yelling at each other over him now... He started taking deep breaths, trying not to panic, trying to remain calm as he stood in the middle of the hotel room, trapped between two opposing forces whose disdain he wanted to avoid...

"He's NOT going to be in the movies anymore. I told you." Dad growled.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 21:53, Tue 04 June 2019.

Shawn looked back and forth between his parents, trying to get a sense of who looked like they might win this argument, or even if either of them might win the argument.

Everything was up in the air. There was no precedent to this situation. Shawn had known for some time that there were problems between Mom and Dad. These kinds of discussions had simmered along and then increased when Dad lost his job. But now things had boiled over.

There was no way to know who would win this argument. But Mom suddenly struck again, demanding Shawn's attention.

"SHAWN! Listen to your mother. Sit down on this bed. THIS INSTANT!"

Shawn was pressed between two equally powerful forces, and worse, he was sure a stalemate would make both sides angry. Ultimately, what broke the tie was his larger responsibilities. He couldn't just stay here in the hotel, he had stuff to do back home. "I want to go home." He said it really quietly, like if no one could hear it, he could just go home and no one would be mad.

"Then get in the goddamn car!" Dad snapped at Shawn, finger jabbing out towards the open door which was tilted towards the side of the wall, hanging on by one hinge.

"Don't you leave me Shawn!!!" Mom yelled, a hint of hurt in her voice. "Don't you leave me! I believe in you Shawn." Mom cried out. "I believe you're a star. Don't abandon your mother!"

Shawn didn't want to hurt his Mom. He gave her a sad look. "I like doing the movies, Mom. I just don't want you guys to fight..." He walked toward the door, not wanting to hear any more of what they'd say to one another. He found himself wishing Feddler were here.

Dad smiled at Mom with savage glee like he had 'won' the fight.

"Good boy Shawn." Dad said, though the comment didn't sound like it was directed at Shawn, but rather, at Mom.

Shawn just picked up the pace, wanting to be out of ear and eye shot before either of them said something really hurtful. Either directed at him or the other parent.

Shawn was outside. The air was stuff and hot outside.  A homeless man was rummaging through a dumpster in the parking lot next to an old, white Buick.

Mom was not going to give up easily. She followed Shawn into the parking lot.

"Don't you walk away from me Mr!" She yelled at Shawn. "You get back in here this instant!" She screamed, even though she was only a few feet away from Shawn.

And then, she turned back to face Dad who was also yelling at her. He had joined the fray the argument now flowing into the parking lot where anyone and everyone could hear and see.

"You think you're going to take my son away from me? FROM ME!!?" Mom screamed at him. "You a sorry excuse for a husband. You think I want THIS!? Maybe if you could keep a job then we wouldn't be out here right now!!!!!!!"

Shawn practically ran to the car, covering his ears and somehow managing not to visibly cry. He got into the backseat, trying to curl up and remain unnoticed.

Dad's anger propelled him and he stood right up to Mom, rushing up to her with his hands firmly clenched, arms by his side. By all looks of it, it appeared to Shawn that Dad might be on the verge of hitting Mom or striking her some way. His eyes bulged with rage. His breath came out in deep gasps as he yelled.

"YOU STUPID BITCH!" 


Shawn ran to the car. By the time he shut the door he could barely hear the argument, the words fading into the background. All he heard was Mom screaming.

Shawn couldn't bring himself to look over at his Mom, he just kept his head down, top pressed against the back of the seat in front of him. He knew Feddler had walled himself off from him, and he found himself hoping that meant the imp hadn't seen any of this.

The Imp was not saying or betraying any of his feelings if he was even listening. A few moments later Shawn heard the car door open, the shuffle of clothing as Dad settled into the driver's seat. The car was put into gear, and Shawn felt a slight jolt as it lurched forward.

Dad broke the silence after a few minutes. "Come up here and sit in the front seat. Buckle Up." He said the words not without some softness to them. It was as if Dad had perhaps recognized that what Shawn...what Dad...what all of them had just experienced was indeed extraordinary.

Shawn was breathing deeply, his go to method to avoid crying. He thought he understood that his Dad wanted him to be tougher, and that meant no tears. After taking a quiet moment to consider whether this was some sort of trick or test, he uncurled himself and slipped up into the front seat, buckling up automatically. He didn't say anything yet - he wasn't sure what he could say right now anyway.

They didn't speak for a while. Dad's hands were on the steering wheel, his eyes fixed to the road. His lips were a thin line.

"You're not gonna be an actor anymore." he stated. "Acting is pretending. And you can't grow up doing make-believe. You need to be tough in this world. No son of mine is going to grow up like a fool."

Shawn stayed silent for the time being - it didn't sound like his Dad was waiting on a response anyway. He felt a little surprised at how mixed he felt about leaving acting; it made him feel miserable a lot of the time, sure, but it was the obligation, the pressure that made his stomach churn. He didn't know if he wanted to leave it behind forever...

It was a long while before Dad spoke again. By the time the got into a familiar area, the sun was setting. The car turned into the neighborhood and Dad cleared his throat.

"Sometimes adults argue." He stated. It sounded like he was trying to explain things to Shawn, to give him, his son, an explanation that might suffice for the argument with Mom. But that's all the explanation Dad gave, delivered in a dour, cynical tone.

OOC: Shawn Rolls Wits + Composure. Any success means Shawn notices something

OOC: 23:46, Today: Shawn Cramer rolled 1 success using 4d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 5,10(+5),4,1. Wits + Composure.

Shawn looked at the steering wheel where Dad's hands were, gripping the wheel tight. Dad's right hand had three swollen knuckles. Freshly swollen, Shawn could see. A red and purple bruise was beginning to blossom over the hand. The middle knuckle was slightly split.

Shawn turns slightly to watch the road, so his Dad doesn't notice him noticing the swollen knuckles. Maybe he was jumping to conclusions - his Dad had practically broken down the door, and he'd probably been frustrated enough to punch a wall or something, right? "Is Mom going to be all right? After all the yelling?" He avoiding any mentions of 'fighting' or 'hitting' or anything like that, and he kept his eyes on the road, away from Dad's hand. The last thing he wanted was for his Dad to think he was being accusatory.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:59, Wed 12 June 2019.

"You mother will be fine." Dad said in an emotionless tone.

Despite the dimming sunlight, the neighborhood was awash in light. Blue and red lights blinked everywhere down the main street of the neighborhood and there were several police cars. There was a gathering of people, some talking loudly other murmuring. Across the road, there was a yellow police 'Do Not Cross' tape blocking off the path towards Shawn's house.

"Dammit!" Dad yelled and hit the steering wheel with one open palm. He then winced. It was the hand with the swollen knuckles. "I wanted to get back before you saw this." He commented, but the comment appeared to be directed mostly to himself.

Shawn cranes his neck to get a better view. He was trying to see where the police cars had congregated and tell if this was bad news or good news. Maybe they'd found another body, maybe they'd arrested Bradford? He had a feeling the former was more likely than the latter.