[color=lightgray][center][sup]A [@Aces Away] & [@LovelyComplex] Collaboration[/sup]

[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220316/5c344a96b0c530c6e206c4407654ae9a.png[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/l9WLpAT.png[/img]
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[h3][b]The following Collab takes place between the hours of 3:00PM and 3:30PM on Saturday[/b][/h3][/center]
[indent]On top of yesterday being a nightmare, Penelope spent her morning eating breakfast thinking of her actual nightmares. Last night was so fucked that she thought ghosts of Edenridge’s past was coming back from the dead and haunting those that still lived. Seeing Charlie in her dreams wasn’t a blessing. No, it just made her come to terms that he was dead and he will always be dead.. It hurt.

Why couldn’t she give him the benefit of the doubt? Why couldn’t she pretend that everything he did didn’t hurt her? Her dream was so… vivid too. And how it ended, they had to sacrifice her because in her blood was the man that started it all. Was that true or was that her mind playing tricks on her? On top of that, she had therapy with Shannon Ramsey and lord knows she hated therapy. 

Once her session was over, she walked to Lyon park and sat on a bench, no longer at Beau’s house. Penelope and Mordechai waited for the receiver to pick up the video call. She was… nervous? Anxious? Well, she was always nervous and anxious, but this time was different. This was her meeting with one of her best friend’s families. His lover? The mother of his children? And his children. 

How they got to this point was beyond her. She got ready, she ate Big mama’s breakfast, and they headed out. Jade went her separate way because she had her own business to take care of. Whatever that was and their morning went on. Now here Poppy was, waiting to see the faces of all the people Decky cared about. 

With Decky’s sweatshirt on, and Charlie’s jacket, Poppy sat there, face mask on and everything, waiting to see a face on the other side. Did she look okay? Clean? Dirty? How bad were the bags under her eyes? Why was she so worried? Decky had always been in her life until he disappeared. 

Resting her right hand on her chest, Poppy glanced at her friend’s face as he stared at his phone screen. This was weird. Now that Poppy was finally processing this moment she realized she didn’t expect him to return like this. She didn’t expect him to return at all. He was here with her and together they were calling his family. Weird. 

Mordechai tried to keep his own insecurities from showing on his face as the call tone rang out. He’d taken the time that Poppy was gone to stop by Phil’s and grab the duffel bag he had dropped off there when he’d first arrived. After borrowing Phil’s shower and changing into his fresh pair of clothes, Serpent jacket included- and he couldn’t believe it still fit like a glove, still felt like [i]home[/i] after last night- Mordechai had headed to Lyon park and waited for Poppy to arrive. Time passed slowly as he sat on the bench, completely lost in his darkening thoughts. He barely registered Marco and Roddy across the park from him, deep in their own conversation as they were, but he did lift his gaze as they got up and walked away. Just in time too since Poppy had arrived, her warm presence against his side pushing the worst of his mood and thoughts away.

The ringing cut off silently as the screen revealed a [url=https://i.pinimg.com/550x/2b/f8/81/2bf881830da3d92e3bcb7484bd6f4d41.jpg]woman with a pixie cut[/url] in a spaghetti strap and cardigan that had fallen off one shoulder, a victim of the grasp of the child who was also visible on screen.

[color=#910bf4]“Well hey there Ken, ya look like you’ve been emotionally curb stomped a few times,”[/color] Allegra greeted, her picture shaking as she set the phone against something to regain full use of her hands. She situated Viva on her lap before picking Chai up to settle him on her other thigh. When her gaze returned to the phone, she tilted her head and smiled. The eyes looked familiar, but she wasn't quite sure if she was correct in who she thought was sitting next to him. [color=#910bf4]“Who’ve ya got with ya there?”[/color]

Mordechai smiled dryly in response to her opening comment before squeezing Poppy into his side a bit more. He knew he looked like shit, what with his lip still being busted from ReyRey’s welcome back, and his heart and lungs still stuck in a vice from ReyRey’s last words to him. He knew she was worried for him, but she knew that freaking out over it would just push him away. Her being able to make light of any situation is one of the things that made their dynamic work so well.

[color=DC143C]“This ‘s Poppy, one’a the few people that have a piece’a my heart,”[/color] he introduced. [color=DC143C]“Pops, that's Allegra- we had a corner routine t’gether back in New York- and our kids, Viva and Chai. Chai…” [i]He’s mine, my blood, he looks like Danny, he’s a second chance[/i][/color], Mordechai didn’t know what else to say, how he should finish that sentence, so he simply let it hang in the air as his baby boy babbled happily through the phone screen. 

[color=#910bf4]“Poppy, huh,”[/color] Allegra cut in, eyes shifting across the screen as she started getting a real read for Mordechai’s current state of being instead of a quick glance. Her expression warmed as she turned her attention to the woman. [color=#910bf4]“Mordechai talked about ya all the time, Southside’s Street Angel- [i]his[/i] Street Angel. If he hasn’t mentioned it, he really loves ya and feels guilty for leavin' ya behind.”[/color] She gave out casually, willing to be much more open about what [i]needed[/i] to be said and often wasn’t. And given the way both of the people on the park bench were looking, things needed to be said right now before things got worse.

[color=DC143C]"[i]Bambi…[/i]"[/color] Mordechai groans, rolling his eyes heavenward in both embarrassment and exasperation. He'd been plenty emotional last night, thank you very much, but a single [i]look[/i] from Allegra had him going silent once more.

[color=#910bf4]"It's an absolute pleasure ta meet someone that means so much to ‘im, Mika's been the only one ta ever find him I guess,"[/color] she shrugged, an easygoing smile on her face. [color=#910bf4]”But we've seen the pictures of y'all that he had on his phone, heard plenty'a stories."[/color]

Refreshed at the presence of Allegra, something about her spirit was calming, warm, and protective, Penelope understood why Decky adored this woman so much. Poppy could see her charm a mile away. On top of her alluring personality, she was absolutely gorgeous.

[color=FE6F5E][i]Allegra, huh? What a pretty name.[/i][/color]

Her soft green gaze observed the children sitting on the other woman’s lap. Poppy could feel a sinking sadness inside of her, of a life she would never have. That life was a distant dream with a house, a husband, and kids and the only person she saw that dream with was Charlie and Charlie was long gone. Never to come back. Yet, the light and smile on their faces overpowered any negative thoughts she had. Any sadness deep in her chest, left as quick as it came. They were so young and so sweet. They were children. 

[color=FE6F5E][i]Chai… that’s his name? He looks just like Danny. My Danny. [/i][/color]

Taking a deep breath in, a hard swallow following afterwards, Poppy gingerly brought the face mask down so she could project her voice. Her lips were chapped, her eyes were puffy from all the crying she did the previous night, and her make up had been sloppily reapplied after her much needed shower. Still, even with all that being said, she looked angelic under the sunlight, her gaze sparking with intrigue and cleverness, and her posture showing a lot more confidence than she thought she had anymore.  [color=FE6F5E]“I’m just glad he had someone to help him out. You’re beautiful, by the way.”[/color] Poppy admitted, never one to hold back the truths she saw. Giving a compliment in return, Allegra's smile widened in response to the other woman as Viva was still trying to drag her cardigan down and Chai stared at Poppy through the screen in wide-eyed wonder.

Fiddling with her hands, she looked away from the screen. With an absent mind, Poppy’s leg anxiously moved up and down as she thought of her next words carefully,  [color=FE6F5E]“Yesterday was definitely an eye opener. And, um, I can’t say any of us will be okay. There’s just a lot that happened…”[/color] her voice trailed off and in a light whisper, she said,  [color=FE6F5E]“...that hurt.”[/color]

Mordechai looked away from the camera as well, missing Allegra's frown. Poppy had made it clear that she still loved him, but his own anxieties and guilt wouldn't stop him from wondering how much she blamed him for his actions against Charlie, how weak she must think he was to follow ReyRey the way he did. To betray Charlie the way that he did.

[color=#910bf4]"...Okay,"[/color] Allegra began, looking back and forth between the two. She had no real information to go off of and it looked like it might be a game of twenty questions to get answers out of the husks occupying the bench. [color=#910bf4]"What are we dealin' with here? Mordechai, I haven't heard from ya since last week, all I knew was you were headed back ta your hometown."[/color]

[color=DC143C]"Well I got here,"[/color] he replied dryly, eyes shifting quickly to the screen and then back to his boots. [color=DC143C]"I met up with Phil and dropped my stuff off, and found a bunch'a letters bein' sent ta my name. They had copies’a shit from Hard Times' journals,"[/color] Allegra's eyes narrowed at that, beginning to piece together how things went south so quickly. [color=DC143C]“I headed over ta see the boys after that, m-met up with ReyRey and got welcomed back-”[/color] the bloody backroom scene flickered through his vision before he ruthlessly squashed it. That hadn't been a problem. He'd still been fine then. Well, as fine as he ever was. [color=DC143C]“-and then spent time with Sunshine until goin’ ta the meet up location on the last letter.”[/color]

[color=#910bf4]“Because following the creepy letter to a random building isn’t the beginning of several horror movies,”[/color] She said lightheartedly, expertly dodging her almost-one-year-old’s grasping fingers as he aimed to wrap them around her hoop earrings. [color=#910bf4]“But I take it ya went armed at least.”[/color]

[color=DC143C]“‘Course I did,”[/color] Mordechai replied, a bit of offense in his tone. [color=DC143C]“Who’d’ya take me for? Pops jumped in and set my head a lil’ straighter, and I settled down with her ‘n’ Jade for a minute…”[/color] he fidgeted with his free hand, trying to smile at his son’s actions through the screen but feeling heavier the longer he looked. [color=DC143C]“Went on a nice old style Scooby-Doo mystery hunt. We didn’t find whoever was makin’ the letters but…we ended up at a Serpent house and ran in ta ReyRey…”[/color]

[color=gold][i]“What did you think this was Decky?...at the end of the day you’re a tool just like the rest of them.”[/i][/color]

His voice died out as he glared at the ground at his feet, refusing to sniff or try and wipe away any tears lest he bring attention to them in the first place. Allegra’s burning gaze followed his every movement as his silence spoke for him, until she turned her head to the woman next to him.

[color=#910bf4]“Poppy?”[/color] She asked steadily, knowing that Mordechai’s current reaction to the mention of ReyRey Gonzales was [i]not[/i] the one of adoration or respect he usually spoke with. She tried to calm her sleeping dragon, knowing she missed plenty in her friend’s first day home, and knowing she needed to be the steady one here. [color=#910bf4]“What did Mika’s brother say?”[/color]

[color=#da9df4]“Unc’a Badgew!”[/color] Viva piped up with a giggle, crawling off her mother’s lap and looking to the door as if the man himself would come through the door. Allegra let out a quick eye roll before getting up to bring the little girl back.

[color=#910bf4]“Uncle Badger is in papa’s hometown, he visited last month [i]bubbe[/i],”[/color] she placated the girl as she pouted before turning back to the screen. Mordechai dimly registered that he hadn’t even bothered to tell Mika he was coming into town, and that he was owed a belated ass kicking from the man for leaving New York without telling him too. He knew the man still visited Allegra and the kids despite the fact that Mordechai himself had dipped out and fallen far off the wagon again, and he suddenly felt a sense of dread over his and Allegra’s communication levels. [color=#910bf4]“Sorry about that, she really loves his visits so you can’t even say his name without her getting excited. Back to the topic at hand, though, what did ReyRey do?”[/color]

[color=FE6F5E]“The story is complicated.”[/color] Penelope sighed, knowing what she would say next might truly show how cursed their hometown was.  [color=FE6F5E]“We found out the story behind a well loved girl in our town, who OD’d when we were freshmen. Charlie got blamed for it but there’s so much more to it then his mistake, if it even was his mistake. So much misunderstanding and miscommunication and hurt.”[/color]

Penelope’s eyes once again grew distant, but her attention was still focused straight forward at the screen. Her voice was rigid and clear, as she recounted the night with her class.  [color=FE6F5E]“Regardless of who was right or wrong, Reyrey beat the shit out of him. A child.”[/color] She explained before pausing, realizing she swore in front of the children,  [color=FE6F5E]“Sorry. Didn’t mean to do that.”[/color] Poppy apologized, her eyes resting on Chai, knowing she would need to get better with her vocabulary. 

[color=FE6F5E]“That night…”[/color] Penelope continued, [color=FE6F5E]“Changed everything. How we were as friends, how we saw our futures, how… little we had to look forward to. De- Mordechai. He blames himself and it didn’t help that ReyRey…”[/color]

The Street Angel hesitated, wondering if it was worth saying the next set of words, but she knew that if anyone could help her friend out, it was the mother of his children. Hooking herself on her friend’s arm, holding him close to her, she deeply stared into the camera and said R2’s words verbatim,  [color=FE6F5E]“...He said, and I quote, you’re good at what you do, Boaz, but at the end of the day you’re a tool just like the rest of them. Unquote.”[/color]

Mordechai’s form was tense as he leaned harder against Poppy as her grip tightened on him. She’d pulled the words straight from his thoughts and handed them to Allegra when he couldn’t, keeping him grounded at the same time. Allegra had her head cocked to the side, eyes narrowed and sharp as she processed what she had just been told, her gaze jumping between the two. She decided to tackle things one at a time, taking a deep breath before speaking slowly, trying to keep her voice level.

[color=#910bf4]“Firstly, don’t worry ‘bout swearin’ in front of the kiddos, they hear worse from me on the daily,”[/color] She smiled at Poppy reassuringly, doing her best to reign in her temper. [color=#910bf4]“Second, I might already know based on context clues, but just ta be sure, Charlie is…?”[/color]

[color=DC143C]“[i]Was[/i],”[/color] Mordechai spoke up shakily. [color=DC143C]“Hard Times.”[/color]

[color=#910bf4]“Ah, I thought so,”[/color] she replied, looking between the two and settling back on Poppy. [color=#910bf4]“I’ve never heard his name, he’s only ever been Hard Times in Mordechai’s stories. I can’t say I hadn’t thought about askin’, but it always seemed hard enough for ‘im ta just say that. Didn’t wanna push,”[/color] she looked at her son and then his father, trying to find the innocence in his features and imagine what Mordechai would have looked like if he too were so happy and content. It was a hard thing to imagine, having not seen him feel so safe in the entire time she’d known him. Only in the dark of night when his muscles relaxed in sleep could she ever imagine him being young and hopeful with the same fire in his eyes that came out when Mika was around. 

He’d mentioned once that Chai looked like his little brother, and that it’s soothing to see some of him still exists in the world somehow. Looking at her son, she wished that she couldn’t imagine how someone could harm such a face, but she’s known since her first child that there are people out there who could harm anything if pushed too far, only having a chance to regret it later if they survived the ordeal.

[color=#910bf4]“Hard Times didn’t deserve most of what he got, Mordechai an’ I’ve had that conversation a few times. There's never an excuse ta be usin’ your position over others ta beat ‘em, I've got personal experience with that one,"[/color] she glanced off to the side as she remembered her ex-pimp, Viva birth father. [color=#910bf4]"Especially ‘cause if I’m rememberin’ it right then ReyRey’s got a few years on all'a you. Sounds to me like the lot of you Serpent boys need ta sit down together for a long awaited therapy session. Shit ain’t ever as black and white as it appears ta be,”[/color] she focused on Mordechai. [color=#910bf4]“We went through this when Mika first showed up, you’re not some tool or some dog and if I have ta call him up and make him say it to you again I will.”[/color]

[color=DC143C]“It came right from ReyRey’s mouth, Legs,”[/color] Mordechai protested weakly, not wanting her to send Mika after him just to make a point. [color=DC143C]“it wasn't just me makin' things worse in my head this time."[/color]

[color=#910bf4]“Because you’ve never said somethin’ ya didn’t mean before,”[/color] Allegra scoffed back, eyes going warm when she turned back to Poppy as she let that sink in with Mordechai. [color=#910bf4]“Poppy, how are you feelin’? None’a this could’ve been easy for you either. If I were there, I'd be draggin' ya to a spa day and then a day in with some hard liquor and shitty movies."[/color]

Listening to Allegra talk and process everything she knew thus far, hearing her not blame Charlie for most of the things he went through, listening to her soothing words towards Decky… all this only hit Penelope like a brick. She faded out more so than she had previously, completely blacking out and missing everything after the words ‘therapy session’. 

The feeling revisited her, the feeling from yesterday when she was in the gym, after all this time. Going completely catatonic, no longer in the present, no longer hearing Decky’s voice, or Allegra’s, or seeing the sweet, innocent children in front of her, she replayed the moments when she was waking up that morning before the shooting to a text telling her to meet her at the gym. That morning when her world would no longer be the same because her World decided to bring hell on Earth and burn in the flames with his victims. 

Poppy couldn’t even feel Decky change their position where he was tightly holding her in his arms, her head against his collar. After three minutes of staring at her lap, her dead gaze unwavering, she heaved for air. Heavily breathing, repeating the mantra in her head— [color=FE6F5E][i]breathe, just breathe, breathe, just breathe[/i][/color] — body shaking in Decky’s arms, tears started running down Poppy’s eyes. 

She realized something she wished she didn’t. 

Hyperventilating, she tried to muster her thoughts in words,  [color=FE6F5E]“He- he-”[/color] She brought her hands to her face and let her tears fall even harder,  [color=FE6F5E]“He was going to… take me with him.”[/color]

Mordechai stared blankly at Allegra where he had set the phone down on Poppy's other side when he'd realized she had faded out of the present. The mother of his child looked just as confused as he did, obviously startled by Poppy's sudden state as she worked through what the other woman could have meant. Unfortunately, she was working on limited information, only having what Mordechai himself had told her. Suddenly however, it dawned on him instead as a cold rage settled over his body.

[color=DC143C]"You mean in the gym,"[/color] he clarified, one hand going to the back of Poppy's head and gripping the back of her neck to ground her, just as she'd grasped his arm earlier. [color=DC143C]"After he made his way through the school, Hard Times was gonna- he was gonna kill you too."[/color] He didn't know what to say to that revelation, so he just did what he [i]did[/i] know and held Poppy tight as she cried. Thinking that he might have lost her too that day…he couldn't even imagine losing one more person, let alone Poppy of all people. He never would have imagined Charlie was capable of it.

[color=DC143C][i]I never thought he would hurt Danny either, or me for that matter…[/i][/color]

Movement on his phone screen had him looking over Poppy's head and to the device once more with the realization that several moments had passed. Allegra had taken her phone off of whatever she had propped it up against and had the phone close to her face as her eyes dashed across the screen. There was a deadly calm to her features as she did so that had Mordechai shivering in anticipation.

[color=DC143C]"Legs? What're ya doin'?"[/color] He asked warily, refusing to let go of Poppy even if he was sacrificing a better look at what was happening on his phone screen.

[color=#910bf4]"I'm booking the soonest tickets to Boston that I can find, and when I hang up with you I'm gonna give a certain Badger a call to find you because you both are [i]not okay[/i] and I'm too far away ta do anythin'. But fuck this, I'm [i]coming[/i]."[/color] It was said with a finality to it and gave way for no argument. [color=#910bf4]"I think ya need all you're family in one place, Ken, and it's high time you see us all in person again. Not ta blow my own horn, but I'd say we were pretty good for ya."[/color]

[color=DC143C]"...Thanks Barbie,"[/color] he finally said, not bothering to try and stop the bulldozer that was Allegra Cardenas on a mission. 

[color=#910bf4]"Of course. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go cuss Mika out over the way his brother thinks he can speak ta you."[/color]

[color=DC143C]"No, wait-"[/color] it was too late, the screen went black and the whirlwind of information suddenly halted, his mind rebooting before zeroing back in on Poppy. [color=DC143C]"You still with me, Angel?"[/color]

 [color=FE6F5E]“Sorry, I… I still don’t have a good handle on that. I…”[/color] Poppy looked up at Decky, the tears trailing down her cheeks,  [color=FE6F5E]“Not… not even me, I couldn’t save him. He was already gone by junior year. He already made… made his decision. I couldn’t protect him, Mordechai. I… couldn’t show him it’ll be okay. Lean on me, my family, your mom is going to be okay. You’re going to be okay. We’re going to be okay. I-I maybe he was right. W-what good have I ever done? I’m not meant for the southies, I’m not meant for the northies. I-I will never belong.”[/color]

Penelope couldn’t stop herself, she just kept word vomiting, all the things that had been compartmentalized for so long,  [color=FE6F5E]“Maybe being dead is better for me. Maybe I should’ve gone with him. Maybe being put out of my misery is the answer. Maybe…” [i]Fuck[/i].[/color] This hurt so much. Why didn’t he just take her instead of everyone else? 

Decky might’ve been trying to get her back to her senses but Poppy had completely lost it. [color=FE6F5E]“Why does it hurt so much? If it was just him and me, if it was just us, everyone else could still be here. I did- didn’t protect you. Jade. You say you fucked up? Imagine being the one that knew his heart better than anyone else. Imagine being the one who taught him how to shoot a gun…”[/color]

[color=DC143C]"Hey!"[/color] Mordechai cut in, halfway to shaking her to her senses before he thought better of it. Getting physical with her when she's already in the state she is would probably make things worse, but she was making it really hard to get a word in and stop her dark ramblings. He took a shaky breath, wanting to gasp for it but trying to hold himself together for her sake. [color=DC143C]"You taught him ta shoot? I'm not even surprised since you're the best shot outta all of us, but he would'a learned one way or another. We all learned eventually, yeah?"[/color] He leaned back, forcing her to look him in the eyes. [color=DC143C]"There ain't a damn world out there that would be better without you in it, Poppy James, an' for all the times you didn't let me go down that road I sure as hell ain't gonna let you go down it now. This is…this is all on me. No one else pushed him the way I did, you never saw how bad it got between us in the Serpents. If he had taken you, that would'a been another body at my feet that I couldn't stand ta bury. You matter, you [i]belong[/i]. To [i]me[/i], and to Jade. And you said it yourself: he'd already made his decision."[/color]

[color=DC143C][i]And I pushed him straight into it[/i].[/color] It went unsaid, but the guilt was heavy in Mordechai's eyes and heart.

[color=DC143C]"All you ever did was love him, you understood him more than anyone in this life did. He would…he would'a snapped a lot earlier without you in his life. Without me he may've never snapped at all. Don't you ever doubt your impact."[/color]

With wide eyes, looking right at him, her eyes heavy, she brought her hand to his cheek and let it rest there. The last words she could muster to him, as she pushed a strand of hair behind his ear, was in a whisper, [color=FE6F5E]“We’re so broken.”[/color] 

Sadly, it was true. They were incredibly broken. But together, they could stand. Together, they could and would live on. Life goes on. If not for themselves then for the people they loved.

Broken but not destroyed. 

And there they embraced, letting time pass them by until Penelope offered her home for Mordechai’s family and they said their goodbyes.
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