[b][center][h2]Paige Kennedy[/h2][/center][/b]

At some point in the night Paige had finally fallen asleep. She didn’t remember what time, just that it was pretty late. Her eyes blinked open to the quiet hum of night traffic outside and the dim shadows of Milo’s living room. The air in the room was cool with a slight chill. He was always trying to save money and wouldn’t run the heat pump while there was still a fire in the shop. She stared ahead for a moment and shifted a little under the heavy blanket he’d thrown over her for the night. His worn leather sofa was well broken-in and felt like it was about ten feet deep. She didn’t want to get up. It could have only been a few hours, but it felt like days and her thoughts were drunk with sleep. Her phone blinked with new messages on the coffee table in front of her, but she didn’t want to break the comfort or the warmth to reach for it. 

Images and feelings wandered drowsily as she continued to look ahead into the darkness. [i]What if we just stayed here?[/i] A voice questioned from the silence in the back of her mind. [i]I’m not staying in this shit hole a minute longer than I have to[/i]. Another familiar voice cut-in firmly. [i]You will for him[/i]. The argument started. She listened to the slow rhythm of her breaths as the mental chorus began to wake up with her: [i]Ana is coming here…[/i] Her brow furrowed slightly at the thought. [i]I’m not thinking about that right now.[/i] The conversation intensified behind her eyes, but the main subject remained all the same despite the noise. [i]He still loves her and you know it… He would have dumped you for that sickly cripple.[/i]

“Shut up.” She whispered harshly to herself.  

[i]You’ll always just be a bridesmaid, Paige[/i].

“I’ll fucking kill all of them.” She growled. 

[i]Sure you will[/i].

“And I’ll make it look like someone else did it.” She could feel her heartbeat accelerating slightly. 

[i]That’s how we do it.[/i]

Paige tossed the blanket aside with a start letting the cool air of the room wash over her. Rotating up into a sitting position, her bare feet hit the cold hardwood floor and she wiped her hands over her face feeling her hair falling over her exposed shoulder before pausing for a moment and inhaling deeply. Letting the breath back out and dropping her hands away left her mind clear and back to silence. She shook her head first glancing over towards Milo’s room then at the notification light on her phone still blinking steadily. 

[hider=Text from Dustynn][color=fe697b][b]Offers? Not anything serious. People want the business bad, but they've all been kicked to the curb. 
You should come out tonight, I'm serving all night and I can get you a better deal than the 2 for 1's ;)[/b][/color][/hider]

A part of her was tempted. Club Aether would be open for a few more hours and a drink didn’t sound like too bad of an idea, but she knew she couldn’t and carefully considered her words as she typed a text back to Dustynn. She hoped the girl was still deleting them like she told her:

[hider=Text to Dustynn][b][i]
Do me a favor… and I know this sounds strange, I know you’re close to your boss, but DON’T open up the Club this Friday. Please, just trust me. After this week, I’ll be able to take you up on those drinks.
[/i][/b][/hider]


The next was a text from Marlin. She didn’t particularly want to involve her, but the extra helicopter would be useful if things got out of hand and she needed to move around the city quickly: 

[hider=Text to Marlin][b][i]
Ok, that sounds good, don’t worry about the paperwork. Draw up a flight plan for Catalina Island from downtown, but don’t file it yet. 
[/i][/b][/hider]

Finally, she had an odd premonition about Siobhan. The redhead was tending to keep some of the same bizarre hours as her slightly uncouth boyfriend, but he seemed to make her happy and she couldn’t say too much as Milo wasn’t exactly traditional either. A slight smile crept across her lips as she typed out a text:

[hider=Text to Sio][b][i]
I’m guessing you’re awake?
[/i][/b][/hider]

[@PrinceAlexus][@MissCapnCrunch][@Almalthia]