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[sub][@metanoia] [@LovelyComplex] [@BrutalBx]
[b]TIMESTAMP[/b] — Day Two: Tuesday, July 20, 2021, Morning || After [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5401691]Maelstorm[/url]
[i]FT[/i] — [color=b8860b]Marco Brady[/color], [color=a22d2e]Sofia Belmonte[/color], [color=9f1b3e]Caterina Belmonte[/color], and [color=9f3a1b]Dexter Silo[/color][/sub][/right]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/PkbSd9k.png[/img]
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[img]https://i.imgur.com/IyJxBlg.png[/img]
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[img]https://i.imgur.com/JFyZ2jG.png[/img]
[/center]

When her mom picked her up from Grandpa’s, Sofia knew her life was over. This would be the day she died. Cat was [i]fuming[/i] from the inside out. Instead of raising her voice, she teethed for her mini me to get in the car and on their way to Godmother’s they went. Cat was running late and it looked like her mother didn’t sleep well. Sofia wanted to ask her if she was doing alright, but she knew better. This was not the time to talk. 

The car ride was mostly silent. Unsettling so. Sofi couldn’t tell if it was because her mother was too angry to articulate words or if there was something more to the raging storm building inside of her. As much as her mother wanted to hide what she was going through, Sofi watched her through her worst years and could tell, whatever her mother was thinking about was worrying her and that Sofia, as frustrating as it was to find out her daughter lied about her whereabouts, was a needed distraction. Still, Sofia knew better. Until her mother talked, she would not say a word. When they parked in front of the sandwich shop, her mother made her decree. The consequences of her actions were as follows. Sofia was grounded for a month, which meant no phone, no laptop, and no friends, and she had to work. Work at the Godmother’s. 

In that moment, Sofia realized the rest of her summer, or most of it, would be her cooped in the house or at this place here, working for her mother. This also meant she wouldn’t be able to hangout with Ricky or Aiden, which royally sucked. Her life was truly over just because she didn’t want to go to New York with her lame ass dad. Fucking dumb. When they entered the shop, her mother hid her seething anger with a smile as she handed her belongings to her daughter to put in the office and started to open the store, letting in two of her employees that had been waiting for her arrival. 

Placing her mother’s purse on her desk, Sofia raised an eyebrow when she noticed a study guide and a few books focusing on criminal justice, history of law enforcement, and a police exam book. Her mother wanted to become a cop? Her curious spirit getting the best of her, Sofia started going through the things on top of her mother’s desk until she found a tiny ornate anchor keychain with C.S.C. engraved on it. Looking around her making sure no one was watching, Sofi was quick to pocket it. Jumping back from her hunching over position, the athletic teen darted to the door where her mother was calling her name. Scurrying out, Sofi speedily responded, [color=a22d2e]“Coming, coming!”[/color]

[color=9f1b3e]“Did you get lost?”[/color] Cat sharply asked, containing her agitation as she finished setting up all the registers and went to the front door to unlock the store. 

[color=a22d2e]“Sorry, I… dazed a bit. I played games with Danny all night,”[/color] Sofia apologetically explained, telling a half truth. [color=a22d2e]“So… you want me over there?”[/color] 

[color=9f1b3e]“Yes, Sofia. You’re going to make sandwiches,”[/color] Cat turned away from the door and did one final walk-through. [color=9f1b3e]“Marco, she’ll be your assistant for the day,”[/color] the boss lady instructed, before going to the aisle of assorted imported sauces, olive oils, vinegar, and seasoning. [color=9f1b3e]“I’ll be stocking up over here if you need me,”[/color] Cat continued, keeping herself as busy as ever. Something was definitely on her mind.  

With Cat out of sight, Sofia deeply sighed and kicked imaginary dirt. Once she was done being dramatic, she put on an apron that was hanging on a hook. Walking beside Marco, she imitated him and put on gloves. Glancing up at Marco then to the many, many sandwich meats then back up at him, Sofia loudly cleared her throat for his attention. [color=a22d2e]“Are you and my uncle fucking?”[/color] She bluntly inquired. 

There was a rather noticeable gap between when Sofi had cleared her throat to when Marco had registered it in his mind as some sort of very delayed reaction. It wasn’t that Marco was terribly distracted. Sure, part of him was still somewhat traumatized by that game of truth and dare (maybe he was being a little overdramatic about it), but he tried not to think about it. When the coast was clear from the storm, Marco immediately went home and was flooded with a reasonable series of hugs, obscenities, and all sort of expected reactions from his parents. Fast forward a few hours and Marco had made it to work and now Sofi was going to be working, but not just working at the Godmother, but Marco was in charge of her.

And then she came in with the whopper of something that Marco had to do a mental double take. [color=b8860b]“Sorry what?”[/color] He blinked at her and quickly recovered. [color=b8860b]“No…why? What would give you that idea?”[/color] A feeling of panic set in, but he kept it mostly under control as he casually continued to work, some of the meats where they were labeled. In the back of his mind, Marco had this sneaking thought that Sofi thought he was lying. Of course, Marco was lying. Of course he was, but he didn’t want to completely out his boyfriend, especially if he wasn’t ready to let anyone other than Rye know. Truth be told, Marco didn’t care, but he knew more than anyone that things were a lot more complicated on Danny’s end.

He was right.

She knew he was lying.

[color=a22d2e]“You’re not a very good liar, Marco,”[/color] Sofia crossed her arms and inquisitively stared up at the man behind the counter with her. She even went the extra step to walk around him like a hawk watching its prey. [color=a22d2e]“If my mom wasn’t so distracted with Anchor Man…”[/color] Sofia partly commented, thinking about the evidence in her pocket, which hinted that the rumors on Scott Street were true, her mom had a boyfriend. For a moment, the young Belmonte got lost in thought, getting off track, as she complimented herself, loving the nerdy nickname she bestowed on the mystery man, [color=a22d2e]“…yes, that’s what I’ll call him, Anchor Man.”[/color] Rubbing her chin with her latex gloved hand, she gave the smuggest grin. She knew it was only a matter of time before she found out and had the upper hand with her mother. Maybe she wouldn’t be grounded for too long.

Focus, Sofia! 

Shaking her early morning squirrel brain, she decided to drop some truth bombs to the victim of the hour, [color=a22d2e]“Anyways! You see, Marco-Polo, I’d like to think one of my gifts is my memory, I’ve been able to reverse uno people all the time because I simply know when I’m right,”[/color] she reached for a French baguette and aimed it to the man beside her like a lightsaber, [color=a22d2e]“Another gift of mine? Numbers and dates. Let’s bring it back,”[/color] she grabbed another bread and tossed it to Marco, for him to duel her, [color=a22d2e]“Saturday, August 18th, 2018, three days before my aunt Vivia’s bday, our families host their annual bbq. From there, within the course of four months, my uncle goes from 0 funko pops to 96. That’s 6 funko pops a week. 24 a month. All shit he used to know [i]nothing[/i] about. Shows, movies, comics, and the like, that could take [i]months[/i] to watch just one, like Naruto, especially for my uncle who lived and breathed basketball. Unless!”[/color] She raised her baguette in the air before jolting forward to stab Marco, [color=a22d2e]“He had a little [i]motivation[/i],”[/color] She whacked Marco’s own bread sword, ready to go at war for her theory, [color=a22d2e]“I’m no engineer but it’s one thing to get into a show because of a friend, it’s another thing to watch several and clutter your room with nerdy shit when you’ve spent most of your life as the jock stereotype. And! This is only me talking about [i]funko pops[/i].”[/color]

As much as Marco wanted to deny that none of this held any merit, he couldn’t. He couldn’t because, no matter how much he tried to BS it away as a coincidence, he knew two things were certain: Sofi was smart. She was outrageously and, at this very moment, annoyingly so. And the second was in combination of that exceptionally-annoying awareness she seemed to possess, Marco also never factored in that Danny wasn’t subtle about it. He never thought nothing of it, but this in itself was increasing Marco’s panic whilst he tried so desperately to not let it show on his face and simultaneously trying to best his opponent wielding the French Baguette while he held an italian loaf. 

Marco faced a dilemma: admit to the crime or lie himself through it.

In situations he’d ask what his siblings would do. Emil was a good liar and Marcy also a good liar. But they were convincing enough about it. They had the confidence that Marco lacked. That wasn’t to say he was lacking, but lying took a specific breed of confidence and Sofi was right about Marco not being good at it. Still, he just couldn’t out Danny like that, not even when the evidence was pointing to the obvious. [color=b8860b]“I admit, that’s a good theory--”[/color] As he began, Marco stepped forward and thrust his Italian loaf at Sofi’s bread saber. [color=b8860b]“Not sure if you’re just that naturally observant or you went a little sneaky-sneak. But how does that support the hypothesis that we’re sleeping together?”[/color] Marco asked knowing full well that this could come back to bite him in his slightly flabby ass. [color=b8860b]“Not saying we are or anything, but what about him having so many Funko Pops would make you think that? You remember I used to be an athlete, right? He was too. Who is to say that we didn’t just bond and found a hidden love over some nerdy interests.”[/color] Why was he still talking? Marco definitely had a bad habit of doing that: having a good point then letting his mouth keep flapping. Great for someone who is a gamer, not so much for someone trying to deny-deny-deny something that was so clearly true.

[color=a22d2e]“Bro,”[/color] Sofia stepped back, dodging a MakAttack, tempted to bite a piece of bread off as she heard her stomach rumble, [color=a22d2e]“The facts I be spittin’ are irrelevant to my theory, I just wanted to make you sweat.”[/color] Sofia tossed her bread up flipping it in the air before making a lightsaber sound with her mouth, harnessing the dark side. She was a Sith Lord. [color=a22d2e]“I noticed you two stopped talking a little after your junior prom. I see a lot of shit, amigo. I can’t help it.”[/color] The young Jedi was a fool to think she didn’t have more concrete evidence to make her theory a reality. 

[color=a22d2e]“Only the past month you two have been somewhat like you used to.”[/color] Giving into her desire, Sofia took a bite out of Marco’s Italian loaf as he tried to gently tap her shoulder and chuckled while chewing, [color=a22d2e]“Okay then, how about this. Answer truthfully or forever be labeled a [i]liar[/i]. Do you usually call your friends babe? And say you love them and that you're safe during a crazy ass storm? Just saying, my uncle doesn’t lock his phone. He’s kind of an idiot like that.”[/color]

There was no way out of it now. 

With a deep sigh, Marco half-glared at Sofi. He saw the cheeky expression on her face. An all-too-familiar feeling started to creep itself back into his body. He’d seen the same expression on both his mother’s face and Marcella’s. What an unusually annoying feeling he couldn’t shake. Anytime they both caught him in a lie, a cover-up on his behalf that was poorly done mind you, when they were proven right and Marco had no way out of it and copped to it, there was that same expression. It was worn differently, but Sofi wasn’t a Castillo - she was a Belmonte, but Cat’s daughter, so maybe it was worse? Or maybe the same just in a different shade.

Doing a double take behind him to make sure Cat wasn’t around, Marco returned his almost disappointed gaze on the younger Italian girl. [color=b8860b]“You really shouldn’t be snooping through people’s phones.”[/color] He had all but admitted to the crime. [color=b8860b]“I’m not going to answer anything without my lawyer present.”[/color] Marco was a bad liar (as the jury had seen first hand), but joking about what was true and especially this odd version of an interrogation, was something he was more than capable of doing. He leaned in close. [color=b8860b]“[sub]But, if you must know, yes.[/sub]”[/color] Marco knew she was smart enough (clearly) to know he didn’t mean her latest question, either.

[color=a22d2e]“Good,”[/color] Sofia brushed off Marco’s annoyance like it was something she was used to and softly smiled, [color=a22d2e]“He’s less of an asshole when he’s got you on his mind and I’m just glad to see him not brooding as much, so thank you.”[/color] Placing the baguette back in its home, deeming it clean, she turned to Marco, glancing at the Italian bread she already took a big bite out of. Taking Marco’s bread out of his hand because she bit it, and it wasn’t servable anymore, she wrapped it in parchment paper and hid it in a counter drawer for later. The entrance bell to her mom’s shop rang causing her to quickly perk back up. 

Curious girl. 

Always a curious girl. 

Cracking her knuckles, semi-ready to make sandwiches, her eyes fell on this tall, handsome blonde man she hadn’t seen before. He carried himself in a dignified, charismatic, but humble way and he was well dressed. Nothing like the Osprey brand though. Nah, it looked more… Pinehurst, like that news journalist the mayor’s daughter was canoodling with. Or the Monarchs she saw at last year’s party. He must be passing through Edenridge. Shrugging at the newcomer’s presence, she looked up at Marco and inquired, [color=a22d2e]“Does my mom have a [i]loyal[/i] customer? And I don’t mean your type of loyal. Is there someone that comes to see her, and just her? Rumor has it, she has a boyfriend already, and I want to know who it is.”[/color] 

Marco had his attention divided between a few things, but mostly it was what Sofi had been saying about Danny, almost smiling at that. He always knew Danny was rough around the edges and possibly Marco being in his life made him happier. He never knew it for certain, but he knew his life was better and was brighter when he had Danny in his, so he had always hoped that it was a two-way street. 

[color=b8860b]“That’s…nice--”[/color] Interrupted mid-thought, Marco was saved by the bell. Literally.

His blue eyes were naturally drawn to the sound and he saw someone he hadn’t seen come through the doors of Godmother and that was saying something. As popular as Godmother was, Marco liked to think he had seen all the regulars come in and this older man, well this was a new face. He made a note of the older features and the hair. Almost as radiant as Marco’s old personality used to be. But he looked different than what Marco had seen from Edenites, but he couldn’t place it.

[color=b8860b]“Sorry, Sofi, we can’t talk about this now--”[/color] Marco could just hear the expression on her face, but he had to show [i]some[/i] responsibility, no matter how much the mystery of Cat’s potential new boyfriend interested him. [color=b8860b]“Welcome to the Godmother, home of many yummy sandwiches! May I take your order?”[/color] Marco stated with a bright smile to the older blonde man. Honestly, he had been wanting to try that one for some time now. A bit inspired by one of his favorite movies growing up, Good Burger. Hopefully Cat will allow him to say it from here on out. 

[color=9f3a1b]“Hello there,”[/color] The man spoke softly, his voice like melted butter, there was a slight gravel but it was smooth. His dirty blonde hair was combed perfectly into a business-like swish and his three-piece navy suit clung to his obviously fit body in all the right places. With one hand in his pocket, he scratched his stubbled chin with the other before resting it onto the counter before the two workers. Water coloured eyes fell upon the young Sofi, taking her in as if gazing upon a solid memory before they drifted to Marco. [color=9f3a1b]“I’m hoping you can help. I’d like to get a cracked black pepper pastrami sub on an Italian loaf, with gherkins, some grated parmesan cheese and a whole lotta mustard, if you would be so kind?”[/color] The customer's eyes drifted back to Sofia. [color=9f3a1b]“And if at all possible, I would like to speak to the owner of this place. I’m an old friend.”[/color] 

Cat’s attention was ripped from the shelf she had placed a pack of Cassini Taggiasca olive oil on. There was a moment she stared at the assortment of Italian goods, frozen in place. Was she hearing things? Or was her mind playing tricks? She had been so caught up in her worry for Clay, he hadn’t texted her goodnight or good morning, that she wasn’t paying attention to who was coming and going from her shop. Not only was the voice familiar but the [i]order[/i] was too. Snapping out of her stupor, she sauntered to the end of the aisle. Instead of revealing herself, she peaked to see if her suspicions were right. 

Fucking Christ. 

From a sinking heart to a sudden spike of anger, like a pot almost about to boil over, Cat swiftly pulled herself back into the aisle and tried to gather herself. She had to be professional. Sofia mustn’t know too much of the person she was about to make a sandwich for. Professional and mature. Inhaling and exhaling, Cat tried her best to give a marketable smile and came out of hiding, only for salt to immediately come out of her mouth, [color=9f1b3e]“A friend is someone that keeps in touch. We haven’t talked in years, Dexter.”[/color] Going behind the counter with her daughter and employee, she glared at the man waiting to be served and crossed her arms, [color=9f1b3e]“What brings you to Eden, anyway?”[/color] 

[color=9f3a1b]“Apologies,”[/color] The man now identified as Dexter raised his hands. [color=9f3a1b]“You’re right. I guess I deserve that.”[/color] His eyes locked onto Cat before he placed both of his hands into his pockets. [color=9f3a1b]“It is good to see you Caterina, you’re as beautiful as ever.”[/color] She truly was still as youthful and as stunning as she had been all those years ago. The brunette had aged like the finest wines of her family homeland and Dex couldn’t help but wonder if she tasted better too. Compartmentalizing those thoughts for the present moment, the newcomer remembered the pouty look she had on her face very well. [color=9f3a1b]“A few things,”[/color] He began. [color=9f3a1b]“Business mostly but then also some personal stuff.”[/color]

Cat could feel her daughter’s gaze on her, that uncontainable curiosity she had behind those sharp, clever eyes. She knew there would be questions later. There were always questions. Unfortunately, to smile for this asshole was incredibly hard. She hated Dexter Silo. He broke her fucking heart. [color=9f1b3e]“Outside,”[/color] She demanded as she gestured for her ex to follow her to one of her outdoor tables. [color=9f1b3e]“Marco, bring his sandwich when you’re done. It’s on me. Y’know, for an [i]old friend[/i].”[/color] At that point, her fiery green eyes were glued to Dex’s impassive gaze. Her expression said it all. Caterina Belmonte was absolutely livid. She had the eyes of a tiger, protective of her territory and [i]her[/i] baby. He couldn’t be trusted. Not one bit and she was determined to get to the bottom of this, and make sure he does not, and will not come back to her place of business, and ideally home. What the hell did he want? 

Dexter nodded in compliance with Cat’s demands. She was always one to get what she wanted and when they were kids, he didn’t exactly mind because usually what she wanted matched up with his own desires. The blonde man turned to look at the youngsters at the bar top and nodded his head. [color=9f3a1b]“It was a pleasure to meet you both.”[/color] Those Damn eyes fell upon Sofi’s once again and he smiled. [color=9f3a1b]“Hopefully I’ll be seeing you again. Take care guys,”[/color] He waved pleasantly before making his way towards the door as directed by Cat.

When they left, Sofia gave a melodic whistle to clear the air, [color=a22d2e]“You could cut that shit with a knife. Never thought I’d see the day I’d get to meet one of my mom’s exes. This is a first!”[/color] The evidence was obvious. Her mother carried herself like a woman who was afraid to get hurt again. Her mother didn’t act like that in front of many people. If anything, the only other person who got that treatment was her father. Sofia knew this man meant something to her mother. So much so that only venom came out of her lips. He hurt her. He hurt her bad. 

[color=b8860b]“You can say that again…”[/color] In all honesty, Marco felt awkward during the whole exchange. He wanted to say something, but like Sofi had aptly pointed out, it was tense. So tense that his stomach tightened up to the point that he was frozen where he stood, watching and forced to do so silently, taking a few long moments to shake himself back into gear so he could make the sandwich. Whoever that Dexter was, there was something about him Marco didn’t like.  [/indent][/indent][/color]