The other thing about Gabriel was that he never made leading questions, never prompted more but was always receptive to anything Eddy wanted to share. It was a bit of a double edged sword because it was up to Eddy to continue the conversation if he wanted, but if Gabriel did ask the questions it was more likely for Eddy to shut down and push away rather than answer.<br/><br/>A self imposed torture for Eddy, but for Gabriel it was probably something like waiting for an old snapping turtle to come out of his shell. Gabriel knew better than to prod, always content to wait. His patience was endless.<br/><br/>Eventually, Eddy emerged, as he always did when under Gabriel's calm stare.<br/><br/>"A kid walked into my bar," Eddy said, and then chuckled, "well no, he's probably around your age, but everyone under 30 is a kid to me. Still.... he seemed so achingly young, but he had that look, y'know."<br/><br/>Gabriel would know what he was talking about, he himself had it in spades. Eddy had explained it several times to him, that something almost impreceptible that attracted Eddy to his models, that made him pursue the people that he did. Precious had it too, though it was much faded now that she found happiness and fulfillment in her life.<br/><br/>It wasnt a spark of beauty, the exact opposite. It was an imperfection, a slight decay, a slight hardening. It wasnt exactly abuse that Eddy was attracted to, though many of his models had been abuse victims. It was more like finding a tree in the forest that was struck by lightning, the marks burned into its trunk, but the lightning had been a long time ago and the tree had continued to live and grow around the trauma, striving to flourish because there was no other alternative but to die.<br/><br/>It was the will to live that had always fascinated Eddy. He had met many people in his line of work, downtrodden by the many mundane tragedies of life. He had heard horrific stories, but the ones who told them often had smiles on their faces, were still capable of laughter and joy despite what marred them. They had a strange sort of serenity.<br/><br/>They were people stuck at the bottom of a well, but they still looked up and were grateful to see the stars above them, even if they had no hope of crawling out. They made their lives in the darkness. Of course they always wanted better for themselves, but on some level there was always some acceptance that they were not made for the light. That was especially true for Gabriel.<br/><br/>Eddy had no delusion that he was saving them, but he felt it was right that they were seen, to prove that their faces and their stories existed. They deserved their turn in the sun.<br/><br/>And Luke was one of them.