[color=lightgray][right][sub]TIMESTAMP:  Tuesday, July 20, 2021, Morning
SETTING: Main Street Music
FT: [color=5584AC]Laura "Lamb" Costigan [/color]
INTRO: [color=6ac48f]Sadie Campbell[/color][/sub][/right]
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[indent][indent]As knowledgeable and versed she was in metal, punk, and rock, since that was her niche as an international music journalist, having started only at the age of fifteen when her mother somehow got an in with East of Eden, Sadie Campbell didn’t always choose to indulge in Rock & Roll. She had her own guilty pleasures that separated her from the woman that raised her. Johanna Campbell would never take interest in such music; she was a rocker girl, a motherfluffin’ Killer Queen, through and through (even if she tried to cover it up with class). Sadie, to the grief of her mother, was anything but her mother.

She spent years psychoanalyzing why Joni did the things she did, rarely ever explaining herself, and still to this day, Sadie couldn’t understand why her mother was a trainwreck of a woman. Still, she hoped by visiting Edenridge she could change that, taking matters into her own hands, one foot in front of the other, one step at a time. Sadie Campbell was not a small fry in journalism. For a twenty four year old, her name floated on the web for those that were diehard Rock & Roll fans. At fifteen, she toured with East of Eden and wrote a cover about the band on her blog. Her article got the attention of Rolling Stones who wanted to expand her interview and give exposure to her writing. From there, she and her mother were constantly on the move, her mother vicariously living through her daughter’s success while also helping Sadie navigate through the highs and lows of the music industry. One can say she was kind of a big deal.

Through all the chaos, Sadie found time to go down the rabbit hole of a variety of genres and found that while not considered ‘good music’ by her mother, she loved pop because it was [i]fun[/i]. It made her want to dance! Oh if only she had friends to dance with but all her contacts were in an extensive network that she used only for business. She didn’t really have anyone but her mother to call a friend and dancing with her mother was fun at home, but that’s it. Her mother was getting old and had demons lurking over her shoulders. Sadie wanted friends her age and a place to call home. And she wanted to see grandpa more! Sadie was tired of running away with her mother. She didn’t even know what they were running away from.

There was so much she didn’t know about her home… there was so much normalcy she had yet to live because all she did was travel and talk to musicians. Don’t get her wrong, that was freaking cool but her heart hungered for something that her job couldn’t satiate. Her heart needed, desired, yearned for… family. Her family. At Main Street Music, Sadie, in her leather jacket, Rico Nunez t-shirt, tight, ripped black jeans, and heeled combat boots, wore headphones attached to a music player in the CD section (ancient, wow!), and listened to Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5. She didn’t want to make Jericho and Rye’s attractive looking friend uncomfortable after witnessing the whole make out session outside so she drowned her surroundings with music and did a little jiggy. Sadie’s aim today was to kill time until Afterlife was open. She needed to meet someone and though she didn’t know if this someone was going to be working or not, it was a risk she was willing to take. She wasn’t going to wait for a miracle in order to meet those that she should’ve known a long time ago.  She wasn’t going to wait on her mother to finally get over herself and face her fears. It was up to her to face her mother’s fears for her and she would do it with a smile. 

No more waiting. 

The time was now. 

A wave of relief had washed over Lamb when her phone lit up with a message from her big brother. All through the night, in the pit of her gut she had a feeling, a bad feeling, something was wrong. When Clay had left the Afterlife that night there was a look in his eye that Laura had seen her entire life. It was a look of chaos. It was a look that her brother had whenever he was about to do something stupid. Clayton had a knack for doing stupid things. Lamby didn’t believe in twin magic; not like Jamie did. Jamie had always compared it to some great mystical quality that resided on the wrong side of the unexplained. Laura humored her, of course she did. They were friends. However there were moments that night where the Hostess couldn’t help but wonder if the pain in her stomach was that twin magic, if it was that supposed enchanted tether that bound her to the boy whom she shared a womb with, a boy she shared a life with. Clay was fine though. He texted that morning and said he was good. No magic, no chaos, probably just some dodgy late night pizza. 

Lamb hadn’t even been home yet herself; the joy of her work, she had been awake for about thirty hours. That didn’t matter, she’d grab a quick power nap when she did get to her apartment but first she had some other things to do. The main one being getting her father a welcome home present; a tradition that she began as a little girl. The Captain’s boat would dock back in Edenbridge today and that filled her with joy. Lamb was a grown woman now; she hadn’t lived on Scott Street in over six years and she visited even less sometimes but on the inside, she was still that curly haired little kid waiting at the end of the dry dock for her daddy’s ship to sail in.

Looking at her one wouldn’t believe that Lamb hadn’t slept. As she strutted down Main Street in a [url=https://www.dhresource.com/0x0/f2/albu/g11/M00/55/69/rBNaFV8pWYiAS_xGAAInEAxXe8M241.jpg]white blazer and shorts[/url] that barely skimmed the  thigh of her long legs. She wore a black loose top and a choker necklace; she looked like a million dollars. She always preferred to look classy, to exude power and dominance. It had long been said that Laura Costigan could not be controlled or tricked or made to do anything she didn’t want to do. Unlike her brother, the younger Costigan was a measured and controlled presence rather than a force of nature. She was known to be a wild woman, a free spirit not tied down by convenience or normalcy. Lamby did what she wanted, when she wanted and she did it with style.

She entered Main Street Music at the stroke of the hour. She stood out like a sore thumb amongst a sea of rock and roll. Lamby glanced over to the corner of the room where she saw an unfamiliar girl dancing with Eddie’s old headphones on. Wow she was really pretty and she was stabbing Rico Nunez with that shirt which was always a positive in Lamb’s book since he was her favorite. She moved gracefully through the record bins and began to flick through the old vinyls. 

What would her Daddy like? He loved music more than anything. 

Twirling around to scan the area while Maroon 5 still blasted in her ears, Sadie’s champagne eyes immediately fell on someone that she recognized in milliseconds — the sophisticated lady’s face ingrained in her mind. There was a high chance she wouldn’t be recognized because well, her existence wasn’t really a thing in Edenridge. The only remnants of her were in the houses of Eddie Campbell and Robyn Phillips-Shomer. Postcards, trinkets, and pictures from her and her mother’s constant travels. 

Her gaze immediately darted to Jericho who was strumming his guitar and talking to his friend, Avery, and his boyfriend, Rye, in the instrument area. Briefly, they locked eyes with one another and in seconds, they had a silent and full conversation through facial expressions. When she was given an expressive smile of encouragement from him, and validation that she wasn’t in over her head, she took the headphones off and placed them down on the counter with the cash register. 

What better time than the present?

Relaxing her shoulders and taking deep breaths, Sadie mentally thought of a few scenarios in her head before she was ready to approach the elegant dame that she wanted to meet for most of her life. When she settled on the best scenario to move forward with, Sadie strolled beside Laura and looked at the records beside her, going through them. She glanced over to see the current record Lamb was looking at. Casually, she broke the silence, [color=6ac48f]“That’s a good album. My mom loves it. She said when she listened to it with her friends it was magical, like stardust was coming off of them. The best years of her life. Caroline, Roll Over Lay Down, and Forty-Five Hundred Times are basically Quo’s anthems.”[/color]

[color=5584AC]“You don’t have to tell me, my Dad loves old English rock,”[/color] Lamb responded absentmindedly as she continued to flick through the old vinyls. A few records later she realized that she may have come across as rude and raised her head to look at the girl next to her and apologize. [color=5584AC]“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to...”[/color] She stopped as she gazed upon the newcomer's pretty face. It was a face that for some reason she felt like she had known her entire life. She was beautiful, no doubt about that, in a weird way she kind of looked like Clay. Same dark eyes. Same angular jaw. Laura and Clayton were not identical twins but they shared many similarities and so, apparently, did this stranger. She glanced down at her top; Rico Nunez. He was hot right now and Lamb was really down bad with his mixture of Latin soft rock and melancholic blues. [color=5584AC]“Nice shirt. Corazón de León has such a vibe.”[/color]

[color=6ac48f]“Heck yes it is, I actually saw him live like a week ago,”[/color] Sadie nonchalantly and casually responded, before shrugging, [color=6ac48f]“None taken, my mom listens to Status Quo when she misses him. Your dad, I mean.”[/color] She explained, while picking up an East of Eden record, The Poison Apple. This was their first album ever with some of iconic tracks like Embrace the Venom, Speed Demon, and When We Sleep. When she saw that it was their 15 anniversary cut, she gave a childish grin, like a kid at a candy store, and whispered to herself, [color=6ac48f]“Today’s my lucky day.”[/color] Claiming it as her own, she held the record close and in an embrace, before her attention was pulled away from her new find and to her cousin in the back with Rye and Avery. Jericho was strumming his guitar to a track off the ghost mixtape, unnamed second album, of the Gallows. 

She recognized this song. 

[color=6ac48f]“I don’t know if you listened to the recording of this song. I mean there’s only five mixtapes out there… Rusty composed it, James wrote the lyrics, Will enhanced it, and our parents, my mom and our dad, sang the song. Twin Flame. A song where you’re constantly running from your truth, your love. Depends on how you interpret it, I guess. Is it about love? Or about running away from a place or a person that you know is home to you. [i]‘I found my dreams but the moon took me away, away from her, my soul flame.’[/i] Have you ever seen videos of them? They had such a stage presence together, it was hot. El Capitán — O Captain, my Captain! —  And the Killer Queen. I mean it makes sense why they’d be the ones to sing this song…”[/color] Her voice trailed when she noticed the other woman intently staring at her. 

Lightly, Sadie tapped the record cover against her head, embarrassed at her failure of introducing herself and doing her thing where she goes on and on about music, [color=6ac484]“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! I did an oopsies, didn’t I? I should’ve done this first. Let me formally introduce myself.”[/color] Bringing the record cover down and back to her side, she excitedly and a tad bit anxiously, beamed a bright smile at the beautiful woman who she had admired the moment her grandpa divulged that she and her were connected, bonded by fate, [color=6ac48f]“I’m Sadie. Sadie Campbell.”[/color] Instead of dropping the bomb that she needed to at some point, the stranger-now-acquaintance decided to hold her tongue and see how Laura processed her rambles first.  

Lamb narrowed her eyes as the girl calling herself Sadie went off into a thousand different directions with her words. Yet she noted the common theme; our dad. Laura had long held suspicions over whether or not Captain Sean Costigan had more children than just she and the doofus. She didn’t have any doubts over how much he loved their mother; one only had to look into his eyes to see it. But as Sadie had pointed out, before either of them were born he was in a very popular band and likely had sex with lots of groupies and the one female member of the group, Joni Campbell. Now, standing in front of her like a distorted mirror was a girl who looked like her and her brother, she shared their eyes and had the Campbell name. It seemed like Sean’s past was sailing into port alongside him today.

[color=5584AC]“Laura Costigan,”[/color] The brunette replied as she placed her hands on her small waist. [color=5584AC]“If you really are my sister you'd know that the best song on the ghost mix is the Hereafter of Us Being Together.”[/color] Saying that word, sister, it had crossed Lamb’s mind so many times. Clay had joked about it because that’s what he always did, make a joke when he was terrified of the truth but they both knew the reality; there had always been a big chance that their father had another child, a secret child. In her line of work, Lamb had to be prepared for anything to go wrong at a moment's notice and be able to roll with it. 

This was one of those moments. 

Sadie’s eyebrows raised when Lamb called her [i]sister[/i]. She couldn’t recall if she had divulged that tidbit in her spiel but maybe she did and maybe this would pan out in a way that would end well for the both of them. Tears almost built up in her eyes at those words and the fact that she was being acknowledged for the first time as being a Costigan. She gave an innocent yet hopeful gleam, as if she waited for this moment all her life, to be seen by her siblings. [color=6ac48f]“Well, duh, that was the last song they wrote together before…”[/color] Rusty died, then shortly after James. 

She picked at her nails as she held the East of Eden record. The music journalist could recall the nights her mother drank herself to sleep, drowning in her guilt and sorrows while using booze to forget the pain. [color=6ac48f]“That song to me felt like… a ghost, if a ghost ever did have a sound. A promise for a better tomorrow, that no matter what life threw at you, you’d still be together. You’d still find your way back home. The composition was oh so haunting. Tragic even. It made me feel sort of lonely, like life is so fragile and could easily leave your grasp if you don’t hold onto it tightly.”[/color] 

Loneliness was something Sadie knew all too well. She didn’t have friends. All she had were business contacts and her mother. She barely had a relationship with her father, only seeing him once in a blue moon. She attended thousands of concerts and music events, surrounded by the most eclectic people, surrounded by noise, and surrounded by strangers. Yet in a crowd of thousands, she felt alone. Maybe that’s why she took the chance, while her mother was knocked out cold from going too hard last night, to visit Edenridge. Sadie needed change and no one was going to hand it to her. It was up to her to reach out and grab it herself. 

In an instant, the loneliness flickered in her eyes as she looked at Laura before she buried it behind her music prowess and nerdiness. [color=6ac48f]“The cool thing about the Gallows was they liked to try different sounds but that one song, that one song was really their vibe. It kinda’ was like [i]Elder Tree[/i]! Their magnum opus. But the sequel! It really shows they could’ve been big if death didn’t sever their ties.”[/color] Sadie scrunched her nose when she realized how grim that last part sounded. [color=6ac48f]“But yeah, sorry… I’m talking too much, aren’t I? I just, emhem,”[/color] she searched for words to say as she tapped her fingers on the back cover of Poison Apple. [color=6ac48f]“I didn’t expect to find you this soon. I’ve only been in town for thirty minutes actually… honest,”[/color] she anxiously admitted, knowing well enough that she was going to use her cousin JP to help her find her way around town. 

[color=6ac48f]“This is the first time I’ve ever been here. Usually grandpa comes to see me.”[/color] Wherever her mother decides to park the RV for the night, the old man would make time to travel outside of Eden to be with his granddaughter. It’s just how things were. Johanna Campbell really didn’t want to come back to Edenridge. She hated this place or maybe, it just reminded her too much of good times gone by. [color=6ac48f]“You’re really pretty in person,”[/color] she bashfully complimented the elegant woman, who was composed, confident, and calm. A sight to see. Her heart raced at the thought that this girl was someone that could love her unconditionally and be there in the only way a sister could be there for her. Something she so desperately wanted to have, something she so desperately sought out, and something she so desperately yearned for… a family. Her family. 

Lamb maintained her calm and composed demeanor as the girl rambled and raved about music. Yet the dark eyes they shared betrayed a sense of longing and loneliness that was unbecoming of a creature so young. Yet it was the Costigan way. Clay, despite his popularity, had never found whatever it was he was searching for. Lamb too, carried loneliness in her heart.  Her brother was an elite, she never wanted any part of that but the truth of the matter was that woman never found that one thing that defined her. Laura floated around the social scene, hanging with the elites Mondays, Sabrina and the goths Wednesdays and Sawyer and the weirdos on Fridays. She was a nomad just like her father and as impulsive as her mother. The question was now posed, what sort of Costigan was Sadie? 

She was, this was, a lot. Laura had finished work that morning wondering if her big brother was alive and now she had found some long lost sibling who was fifty shades of crazy. This fucking town. [color=5584AC]“You’re really pretty too.”[/color] Was all Lamb could manage to say as she tried to process and plan her next move. She reached out and pushed one of Sadie’s dark tresses behind her ear, revealing more of her bright, beautiful face. There was no hiding it, she looked just like the twins. [color=5584AC]“You got anywhere to be today? Anywhere to stay?”[/color]

[color=6ac48f]“Not yet,”[/color] Sadie bashfully admitted. Holding the record like it was a book and she was in highschool, she thoughtfully continued, [color=6ac48f]“Truth be told this was all in the spur of the moment. My mom drank a wee bit too much. I might’ve enabled that and then I seized the moment and came to town. I was thinking maybe grandpa. He doesn’t know I’m in yet but JP did tell me he was sick so that might not be the best idea.”[/color] Looking around, thinking of her other options, she mused, [color=6ac48f]“He offered his apartment but he just moved into it so there really isn’t any furniture. Still! I don’t mind sleeping on the floor.”[/color] What other options did she have? [color=6ac48f]“Oh! There’s also Robbie’s house! But there’s a lot of teens there as is.”[/color] While her cousin Robyn had mostly good kids, well behaved, it still was a very crowded situation, especially since most of them had a tendency to bring friends over. [color=6ac48f]“I’ll figure it out,”[/color] She rambled on. This was something Sadie did. She was a rambler. [color=6ac48f]“I guess, worst case scenario, there’s the Rose motel. That would do just fine too.”[/color] 

[color=5584AC]“Absolutely fucking not.”[/color] Lamb interjected with a raised finger adorned with beautiful rings. [color=5584AC]“You are not staying in that rat infested crack den.”[/color] She rubbed her eyes lightly, a trait she and Clay shared when it came to managing the thoughts in their heads. Why was she even considering this? This was a stranger! Hell, most of the people she called friends didn’t even know where she lived and she liked it that way. Laura, you’re a fucking crazy person just like your Mom. [color=5584AC]“Listen, I just finished work and I’m about to head home. Why don’t you come stay at mine for a few hours? Get some sleep and we’ll make a plan on what you’re going to do next.”[/color]

Sadie was stunned when Laura offered her home to her. Overwhelmed with emotion and bewildered, the music journalist spoke her thoughts out loud, [color=6ac48f]“Really?”[/color] This question was more rhetorical than anything. She couldn’t believe her sister was asking her to stay with her when they only met… today. She cleared her throat, debating if she should be greedy or polite. She wanted to go, she really did, but wasn’t she being incredibly imposing already? What would her mom say if she found out? Did she care? [color=6ac48f]“I mean, yeah, sure that’s fine. That’s cool. Super cool.”[/color] Adorably and dorkily, she went with the flow, as if Lamb didn’t knock her off her feet with her words just now. 

Lamb brushed another hair away from Sadie’s face, this time on the opposite side and smiled, [color=5584AC]“Well come on then.”[/color] She said white sternly. [color=5584AC]“I’ve got a busy day today and I can’t have you weighing me down.”[/color] She handed Sadie the record she had picked out for their father’s welcome home gift and smiled. [color=5584AC]“Go pay for that would you? You can consider it today’s rent.”[/color]

Was she lucky or did she need to take random trips to Edenridge more often? 

[color=6ac48f]“Okay!”[/color] Sadie agreeably said before calling out to her cousin, [color=6ac48f]“JP, yo! Register.”[/color] Like an excitable little kid who just made a dream come true, the legacy to Joni Campbell pranced off to pay for two records, hurriedly. When she finished a quick exchange with Jericho, she sped-walked back to Lamb’s side. [color=6ac48f]“Ready!”[/color]

[color=5584AC]“Don’t make me regret this.”[/color] Lamb clutched her bag that contained the remnants of her dress from the night before and span on her heel elegantly. [color=5584AC]“Come on then, Sadie Campbell, let’s go introduce you to your world.”[/color][/indent][/indent][/color]