[color=silver][indent][indent][right][sub][b]TIMESTAMP[/b] — Tuesday, July 20th, 2021 || Afternoon
[b]FT[/b] — The Milligan Family ([color=deb157]Lance Irvine[/color], [color=3b8753]Siobhan “Ivy” Milligan[/color], [color=567ce0]Jessie James “Bluejay” Milligan[/color] & [color=f068d4]Bronagh “Bron” Milligan[/color])
[i]Small appearance from [color=63773B]Cameron Hyde[/color][/i][/sub][/right]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/bCz8wCn.png[/img]
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[img]https://i.imgur.com/ZOT6EKM.png[/img]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/users/brutalbx][img]https://i.imgur.com/4AVOVb4.png[/img][/url]  [img]https://i.imgur.com/PO9IYVI.png[/img]  [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/users/metanoia][img]https://i.imgur.com/S9lqGO0.png[/img][/url]
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Cameron held a tight grip on the steering wheel of his taxi cab and the other holding onto Jesse James Milligan’s thigh. Climbing the hill towards Scott Street, Hyde had to push down every iota of anger and rage that was burning within him like a forest wildfire. He [i]hated[/i] Scott Street and the power that it held over this town. As the gates to a proclaimed utopia opened before him, the Devil’s cold blue eyes peered forward at its inhabitants as they wandered what he could’ve sworn were marble-paved driveways.. Each more spoiled and more detestable than the last. 

Belmonte, Costigan, Grimm, Cortez. Every new house forced Cameron’s to grab a little tighter, a new vein pulsating with pure unadulterated fury, hidden beautifully behind his mask of sanity. Cameron’s gaze drifted to his passenger seat and the stunning strawberry blonde that sat in it, smiling to herself in a silent bask of what he could only assume was love. JJ had wanted him for years and in this moment of quiet bliss, she thought she had him. The truth was far less shiny, she didn’t have him, he had her, right where he wanted her. She was his.

They had intended to spend the morning out on Hyde’s boat, eating breakfast out on the water but it had swiftly become apparent that the only thing they really desired to eat was each other. Cameron had danced this dance before and he had learned. To make sure that his goals were attained with JJ, he had to give just as much as he took. That was fine, faking it was easy. He knew that in her mind, they had made love, it was more than just sex. Cameron knew better, it was always, any time, just sex. Love didn’t exist beyond a notion that balanced on the wall of delusion. 

His hand slowly caressed up Blue’s arm until it reached the base and back of her neck, he held it there as his car rolled forward towards the cul-de-sac at the end of the damned street. He looked onwards towards a swaying figure walking ahead, hips dynamite in denim and flowing blonde locks. Any other time; Hyde would call her prey.

When Cameron's unique choice of vehicle’s pulled up in front of her driveway, JJ was almost sad that her time with him was coming to an end. She had been in such a state of bliss since last night. Spending it with him in his family’s business, on the boat, just enjoying food and having him all to herself, she couldn’t have been happier. All her life she had lusted after Cameron Hyde. For as long as she could remember, he alluded her for some reason or another. Whether it was her being with Angel, who wasn’t a bad person in the slightest. She was quite content with him for as long as they had been together, but her heart - a large part of it that she closed off from Angel - had always belonged to the man that drove the taxi cab.

And if she was being honest with herself? As much as she liked Angel. As much as Jessie James Milligan had liked all other men she thought could make up for the absence of him, nobody could ever measure up to how fast Cameron Hyde got her heart beating. The excitement of knowing she was his and he was hers and the rush of adrenaline in how he touched her. A gentle yet aggressive animal that pushed the boundaries with her but never went too far. That’s what she loved about this man -- [i]her[/i] man -- so much.

When she settled in place, JJ nearly had a seizure-like fit when she saw the car in the driveway. Instinctively, she whispered, [color=567ce0]“Oh no not again…”[/color] It was [i]his[/i] car. The only person who would have such an outdated car that was [i]that[/i] flashy. At the same time, she saw her sister come down the driveway and she sighed heavily and quite noticeably, too. Immediately she turned to her man beside her. [color=567ce0]“Baby…I’m sorry. Thank you for driving me home. There’s…no doubt I’m in for a long afternoon.”[/color] How did one even explain how complex her family drama was in such a short amount of time? [color=567ce0]“I’ll call you later. Or maybe you can if you want? I don’t know--”[/color] As Jessie tried her best to explain this, she looked over at her goldilocks of a sister who seemed quite urgent in how she was looking back and she just sighed out again. Without hesitation, JJ gave Cameron a kiss. A deep one too. If she was going to dive headfirst into whatever shit was waiting for her inside her home, she needed this as much as she knew he wanted it.

Cameron took heed of JJ’s hushed whispers. She was something just before disturbed. The car in the drive, a classic Chevy Stingray had sent her someplace that wasn’t with him. He didn’t like that, not one bit. As Jessie kissed him, his blue eyes locked onto the blonde standing next to the car. That must be Bronagh, JJ’s younger sister. He remembered her from when they were in high school, she really filled out well and the way she was dressed, on his side of town what she was calling fashion, they would call a night walker. Hyde feigned joy as he broke the kiss and gently caressed Blue’s soft lips. [color=63773B]“I’ll call you, seems like you’ve got some family stuff to deal with.”[/color] He planted a firmer kiss on her forehead and released her neck from his grasp. [color=63773B]“Have your phone ready at seven. I’ll call then.”[/color]

Bronagh watched as the taxi reversed back out of their drive and pulled away down Scott Street. With her arms folded under her bust, she couldn’t help but smile as her smitten older sister watched a handsome boy pull away. [color=f068d4]“He’s a bit delicious, Blue. I love freckles. You did a good with that one.”[/color] Her smile soon faded and her green eyes shuttered closed at the sound of a salacious electric guitar riff screaming from inside the Milligan household. On any other street, in any other place, someone would file a noise complaint and the police would be called. Not here, not Scott Street. 

Bron took a step forward and hugged her older sister tightly. [color=f068d4]“Hey you.”[/color] She missed JJ a tremendous amount, with this being the first time the Milligan sisters had been together in months. Holding onto Jessie tightly, the bombshell couldn’t help but sigh into her neck. [color=f068d4]“You ready to do this?”[/color]

JJ returned her baby sister’s hug, embracing her with supportive arms. Despite what was happening inside and what she heard from the distance they were at, JJ missed Bron so much. With how much college took out of her time, she rarely was able to spend as much time as she wanted to with her baby sister. In those few times she came home, it was never enough time to play full catch up, so she wanted to savor this hug with her sister. After a moment of letting Bron get it out, she made Bron look at her. [color=567ce0]“Chin up, buttercup. We need to look strong before we go inside. You and I both know if they smell any weakness, we’ve already lost.”[/color] Holding Bron by the shoulders, she nodded. [color=567ce0]“Shake it off. One, two, three--”[/color] Three times, JJ relaxed her shoulders with Bron, shaking off whatever hints of weakness off of her face. United they were strong and that’s all the two people inside would see.

Bron took a hold of her elder sister's hand and absorbed it into hers. No matter what was about to be thrown at them, they would face it together, like they always did. Though Bronagh had quite the solid idea of what actually did wait for them on the opposite side of the old oak door. When she first started climbing Hanging Hill, she could hear the noise. When she got towards the end of the street, she saw the car. Both were indicators of one simple fact;

Daddy was home.

The nervousness that Bron and JJ were feeling was not to be confused with fear. Both girls loved their father and knew he loved them. He treated the sisters well, he offered them unconditional support and would do anything for them. He was a good dad. The problem was that he had a power over their mother, it was like a love potion. Whenever he breezed into town after opening and running another restaurant, Ivy would fall head over heels in love with him again until he fucked up. Hell, they even divorced because they found out he had an entire other family elsewhere. Yet even that wasn’t enough to turn their Mom off.

[color=f068d4]“Let’s go.”[/color]

Hand-in-hand, the Sister’s Milligan stepped through the old oak door of their childhood home. Strong and stubborn, usually like their own mother, one thing JJ had noticed almost immediately after opening that door. Those familiar guitar riffs, the symphony of laughter from both of them after each limited pause, the singing-along with David Lee Roth’s legendary voice, it had been an immediate cause for concern as what JJ feared was long gone. What was actually happening was far worse than she thought.

And it was even worse when she had to [i]force[/i] both herself and Bron to drag their feet into the kitchen where the sight of their mother dancing with their father with literally no care in the world was going to be their real test. It pained her to a point where she could see it in their mother’s face. The way she smiled, moved, and looked at daddy, she was happy. Like none of what happened before was even a thought. That ignorance-is-bliss type of joy was infectious and JJ almost wanted to not do anything, but then she could feel Bron’s hand squeeze hers and it reminded her of when this hurricane ended. When paradise was lost, Siobhan Milligan was left with the wound wide open as if it was that first day when her heart was crushed.

If anything, it was on her two daughters to reality check it.

Jessie cleared her throat and in the middle of an awkward twirl, Ivy screamed, [color=3b8753]“Bronagh! Jessie James! You’re hereeee!”[/color]She kept swaying her hips along with the song, a smile so infectious that anyone with a frown would turn it upside down. [color=3b8753]“...Chef, look who’s here?!”[/color] Ivy exclaimed, nudging Lance’s arm excitedly.

Turning on his heel, decked out in his signature dirty blue Levi jeans and a Bon Jovi t-shirt, Lance Irvine’s smile widened even further as he drank in the sight of two sets of big green eyes staring back at him, his two daughters, Bronagh and Jessie. The truth of the matter was that despite what people might think about Lance and he never did care about that anyway, he loved his girls. He truly did. He would give his life for them and has on more than one occasion but he also knew their relationship was complicated and that was down to him and his behaviour. Though he truly hoped that they still loved him like he did them.

Lance was not an Edenite by nature. He had been born on the shores of Cape Cod. He grew up surfing, listening to rock music and making sandwiches in his family's beachfront snack shack. It was there where he first honed his love of cooking. It was there that a sexy redhead with big green eyes and a baby on her shoulder walked in looking for a bite. That was Ivy with JJ and Lance was smitten instantly. Hell, if he followed her to Edenridge and started working in restaurants in Pinehurst before he began travelling and working others. As his stock as a chef grew, Lance found himself giving in to his lesser instincts. Jessie and Bronagh were not his only kids. Ivy was not his only family. Yet that didn’t matter right now, what mattered was his girls.

[color=DEB157]“Fucking A!”[/color]Chef exclaimed with a clap as he approached both of his children and pulled them both into a three way hug. [color=DEB157]“My badass little girls.”[/color] He pressed soft, gentle kisses to the side of each of the blonde bombshells heads. Inching back slightly, Lance placed a hand on each of their cheeks. [color=DEB157]“Prettier every day, the both of you.”[/color] He swiftly spun away from his daughters to hurry to the sizzling pan behind the kitchen island. [color=DEB157]“Smell that girls? Smells like an awesome brunch.”[/color]

Before either JJ or Bron could do anything to stop the whirlwind of their father’s hug and kisses (not that either of them would want to), Jessie tried to remain strong but two things were at play. Her dad, the man who might not be her biological father but was every bit the man she thought of when she pictured her father, not some guy who didn’t stick around after knocking her mom up. And the other thing that made her will waver just for a moment was the smell of his cooking. By God, he was the best cook ever. Nobody in Edenridge, or all of Massachusetts for that matter, compared.

[color=567ce0]“Smells great, dad!”[/color] Jessie commented. She couldn't’ tell for certain what it was, but she smelled something familiar that she couldn’t put her finger on.

[color=DEB157]“I know!”[/color] Lance responded confidently as he reached into a nearby jar and pulled out a pinch of fine red flakes, to spread across the contents of his pan. He sucked the residual powder off of his thumb before tossing his hand towel over his shoulder, a signature move form the chef. [color=DEB157]“I didn’t want to be too fancy for my first meal back so, Bronny can you grab four plates and put them on the island please?”[/color]

Bronagh would’ve rolled her eyes if she didn’t love her dad so much. He wasn’t a bad man, despite “his crimes” but she knew he was toxic for her mother. She just couldn’t say no to Lance. Even with that in mind, some of Bron’s most cherished childhood memories were in this very kitchen, cooking with her father and her sister, their mother watching gleefully with the big green eyes she shared with her daughters. [color=f068d4]“Yes Chef!”[/color] She tossed her jacket onto a nearby chair and reached into the drawers to grab some dining plates as requested.

[color=DEB157]“Thank you Chef!”[/color] Lance called back with a big grin. He moved over towards the sink where Ivy stood and reached around her, bringing their bodies close, skin grazing. He rested on hand on her waist as kissed the side of her cheek before pulling away, having grabbed the tongs he required. [color=DEB157]“So we’re having a pan seared mahi mahi topped with a tomato and olive tapenade, Jess, sweet child o mine, can you just go over to that bowl there and mix that up nice and good for me? Ingredients are already inside.”[/color] He moved his hand towards the speaker which was blaring out the heavy rock music that he adored so much. [color=DEB157]“And while your at it you can tell me and Mom about that cat that just dropped you off.”[/color]

As JJ started to mix the bowl, per the request of the head chef, she lost her train of motion, losing almost all focus when he brought up Cameron. She gasped and looked at both of them.[color=567ce0] “Huh? Sorry, what did you say?”[/color]

Ivy giggled, eying Lance lovingly and turned her attention to her daughter. [color=3b8753]“We saw the Taxi Cab, baby blue. We’re just curious. And maybe your father is more so than I am, but still! I haven’t seen you look so…gushy like a gusher in a long time.”[/color] Ivy could see it even if Jessie didn’t say it. 

And JJ knew it too. 

[color=567ce0]“His name’s Cameron,”[/color] she admitted, looking down at the bowl, making sure the tapenade was mixed to perfection. Immediately as she thought about how much she wanted to tell them, she wondered just what would be appropriate. If it was just her and Bronagh, she could be as explicit as she wanted because Bron was always the same way whenever she’d tell her about her and Tommy Hartmann. [color=567ce0]“I’ve been seeing him for a while now. Mostly in letters.”[/color]

[color=3b8753]“Letters? Is that like a new lingo you kids have for text messages or something?”[/color] Ivy asked, feeling so out of the loop. She tried to keep herself updated because lord knows the other older person in the kitchen couldn’t even fathom some of the modern slang the kids use.

JJ shook her head. [color=567ce0]“No. Like actual letters. Physical, pen-to-paper letters.He doesn’t have any social media, so that’s the only way we could communicate.”[/color] Jessie James Milligan was usually one to keep a strong front, but any time she found herself talking about Cameron, as Lamby had seen yesterday, the love she had for him was written on her face. She couldn’t hide that.

[color=DEB157]“Pen to paper? What is he like, sixty five?”[/color] Lance was the last person to talk to anyone about being old fashioned or outdated. He drove a car from the 70’s, dressed like it was the 80’s and refused to listen to any music post 2001. The Michelin chef glanced over at his ex wife’s big green eyes and knew that if he continued on with tearing apart his daughters new love, he would be in for an earful. [color=DEB157]“As long as he treats you right…”[/color] The large blonde man moved over to his oldest child and kissed her forehead, taking the bowl of tapenade from her and backing away next to his pan. [color=DEB157]“And you're happy that’s all we care about. Thank you Chef!”[/color]

After resting four plates on the kitchen island, Bron paused as her sister's words reverberated in her mind. [color=f068d4]“Waitwaitwait.”[/color] The bombshell rested her palms down and turned to look at Jessie. [color=f068d4]“Cameron? As in Cameron Hyde? Boy that you spent most of your childhood daydreaming about? I’m pretty sure if we check the attic, we’ll find your old textbooks with Jessica James Hyde written on there.”[/color]

[color=DEB157]“Don’t mock your sister, B-Mills”[/color] Lance interjected as he began to place the juicy pieces of fish onto the plates. [color=DEB157]“What about you?”[/color] He asked, taking a large spoon and spreading the beautiful mixture of tomato, olives and chilli into the Mahi Mahi fillets. [color=DEB157]“Are you still dating the Power Ranger from Pinehurst?”[/color] After finishing playing, he clapped his hands together and bowed. [color=DEB157]“Family up, take your seats ladies and chow down like it’s Chinatown.”[/color]

Bronagh took her seat as her father had requested, the smell of his latest treat for them drifting through her nose and into her brain. Too many people often said there was very little good to say about Lance Irvine but one thing that nobody could argue was that he was a damn fine chef. [color=f068d4]“Thank you Chef.”[/color] She smiled as she picked up the cutlery she had lovingly placed besides the food. [color=f068d4]“And yes Dad I’m still dating Tommy, amongst other people but he’s my guy.”[/color]

Ivy could just hear it now. Lance was one of the most old fashioned people she knew, so before he would pipe up on it, Ivy beat him to it. [color=3b8753]“I think it’s wonderful you two have such trust in each other, Bronagh! It’s a beautiful thing! To be able to still love each other and date other people. You know, back when I was your age, my mother would have had a cow if I was dating the wrong person. And don’t even get me started on what daddy would say. Had to convince him that Chef was more than his denim was.”[/color] She dug into the delicious and quite fragrant Mahi Mahi, looking at her first and only husband. [color=3b8753]“Thank you Chef! It’s so divine! The tapenade is so good. Really brings out the fish’s natural flavor. It’s like I’m right by the sea.”[/color] Ivy was transported to Cape Cod, where she and Lance had spent many days. Back in those happier days, when things were perfect between them. If only it had been like that still.

Lance smiled as he watched his first family tuck into the meal he had prepared for them. He had made too many mistakes to count in his life, especially when it came to Ivy and the girls. He hoped, albeit secretly, that by taking this new job that he could right some of those wrongs. There was a new hotel opening up in Edenridge, a fancy place by all accounts and the Mayor wanted to make sure that the finest and most deep-pocketed clientele were the main patrons. Which was why he had asked if Lance would come and be head chef of the hotel's restaurant. Lance of course said yes but only on the condition that he could name the place. Which he rightly did when he named it; the Ivy.

[color=DEB157]“I love you girls. Now dig in before it gets cold.”[/color][/indent][/indent][/color]