BrutalBx

Edenridge

_{@BrutalBx & @LovelyComplex}
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Timestamp: Following the events of La Famiglia e Tutto Part 2 (Saturday night right after the Friday of Chapter 1)

Fuck.

ReyRey hated being on this side of the border. There was something about being on the northside that just felt wrong. He was the Kingsnake, a title that he had shared only with two other men; his father and his grandfather. They were the Southside Serpents for a reason. Rey’s kind did not belong amongst the white picket fences of this rich fools neighbourhood. Yet there he found himself, parked outside of Taz Belmonte’s McMansion in his classic Pontiac Firebird whose hood decal he had replaced with a Serpent badge: R2 was never one for the nuance of subtlety and his car screamed that aloud from the street blacktop.

He was parked outside the damn Mafia HQ in enemy territory for what purpose? To pick up his girl, Vivia Belmonte. R2 could hear the screaming and the shouting coming from within. He was the impetus for the row, that much he knew but from what he could hear, the whole thing was spiralling into an episode of Jerry Springer. Was Viv his only woman? Absolutely fucking not. He had a tasty piece on the Blue Hill reservation who was an absolute demon in the sack and had a great weed connect. There was nothing wrong with these women, they filled a space but none of them were her. None of them were Allison.

ReyRey had long dwelled on the idea that a girl he thought of as nothing more than a distraction six years ago may have been the one to actually take his wild heart. He remembered everything about her. From the taste of her lipstick, the caress of her skin, that stupid twang she had that was so Bostonian is was almost racist and that crooked smile, damn that smile. It killed him to think about it for too long or he would break down and weep. Even now it was like he could smell her perfume.

In a hurt rage, Vivia left the house without any of her belongings. She would pick up her things tomorrow. There was no way in hell she was going to stay in that house being blamed when she wasn’t the only one fucking southsiders! Standing on the porch, not registering her boyfriend waiting for her like a creep, Viv covered her face and let her emotions explode into tears. Every blessing, every good thing in life, was a curse in disguise. They say that sunshine returns after a storm, but all she felt ever since Allison died was pain. Constant, unbearable pain. She wanted to run to her house. She wanted to cry in her arms. She wanted her best friend.

Steadying her breathing, Viv wiped under her eyelids and her cheeks. Just like the car, she was hard to miss with her elegant red dress on, that she wore since the baptism. As she wiped under her eyes praying her waterproof make up was not worn out, she noticed the Firebird.

Instead of feeling relieved, her heart sank. Her gut twisted. Her throat felt like it was closing up, Why was he here? Why would he be on this side of town? Why would he park in front of her dad’s house?!

No.

This was only going to make things worse. If her father knew R2 was outside waiting… Who knows how long Taz would hold a grudge and ignore her? Everything she had screamed and everything her father had said in return started sinking in.

No, no, no.

This was not happening.

This would only end in pain. Viv didn’t want anymore pain. Holding onto her arm, feeling extremely vulnerable, small, and broken, she stared at the man looking at her. The man she knew didn’t love her. He couldn’t. Not like she did toward him and even then, she felt the same way. She loved him more intensely because she desperately needed to feel taken care of and didn’t want to lose that feeling. At the same time, he didn’t have all her heart. Not like the love she had for Allison. He helped fill a void but she knew he wasn’t good for her. She knew the night Allison died and she still knew to this day. Telling her father he loved her was to save face but she knew, she just knew…

With a torned expression, Vivia bit her bottom lip. She didn’t want him to see her like this. She didn’t want to see him in front of her dad’s house. She didn’t want to see him! Shaking her head in conflict, instead of walking down the path straight to him, she turned on her heel and sped walk on the grass, through her next door neighbour’s front lawn and onto the sidewalk. Rushing, she slipped off her heels, dropping them on the lawn and started booking it. While Viv was an artist, a painter at that, she still was extremely athletic and even did some track. Her time in highschool was well spent and she kept herself busy. Still, she was more creative than athletic. That didn’t mean she couldn’t run.

With her red dress, she ran with no aim but to get away from her boyfriend. If she stayed with him her father would never forgive her. She couldn’t do that to Taz. She’d stay a side piece unable to think about anything but ReyRey and her grief. There was no way in hell she would go with him! Why was he here anyways?!

Those fucking brats had really messed with his head. He was ReyRey fucking Gonzalez, king of the Southside yet he had been reduced to a blubbering wreck at the memory of a cheerleader. He wore a tattoo of a sunflower on his ankle in her honor, surely that was enough?! How much more debt would he have to lay to rid himself of that feeling, whatever it was, that stung at his heart like the sharp edge of a blade? R2 could feel himself getting angrier by the second as he gripped tightly onto the steering wheel. Where was this bitch? He needed something to get out of his own head and if Vivia wasn’t around then he’d have to go elsewhere. It didn’t fucking matter he just needed it to stop.

The Kingsnake had been bombarded with letters just like everyone else but his were more personalised, whoever was sending them knew exactly what had happened on the night she died. They had photo fucking evidence. Big Rey was no help; he had gone soft. He was alone. On top of all that, that lunatic was back on the streets. That monster that defiled ReyRey’s little sister and made her hurt so bad. If it were his call, he would be hung, drawn and quartered to be left on Main Street for all to see. It was the least that animal deserved. R2 was dealing with too much.

After taking a swig from his beer bottle, he glanced at his passenger seat and he could still see her sitting there; still in her green and white cheerleading outfit, her lips painted a strong red. With her delicate brown hair framing her dimpled face and her tawny eyes smiling at him in the only way they could. Allison.

“Hey Papi, take me for a ride?”

That was how it all started. Ally just wanted a bump. Something to take the edge off. ReyRey was already with Vivia at the time so maybe el idilo thought nothing of climbing into his car that night. He didn’t think it would end with them tearing each other’s clothes off in the back room of the Edge, him throwing her onto the pool table and starting a very dangerous addiction that neither could quite kick.

“Chase me, Papi…”

Rey blinked and Allison was gone, he turned to the main road and saw a figure dressed in red sprinting down towards the end of Scott Street. Red, that was her color. She wanted him to chase her. She loved to play games. The leader of the Southside turned the key in its ignition and the classic muscle car roared into life. He put his heavy booted foot on the gas and as she asked, ReyRey began to chase Allison down the street. It wouldn’t take long for his suped up automobile to reach the mouth of the rich community’s road. He span the steering wheel and the car drifted to block the exit, his passenger door swinging open as he did. He was not greeted by Allison as he had hoped but Vivia.

“Get in the fucking car.”

“No!” Vivia screamed back. Slowly backing up, the blonde Belmonte shook her head, “I’m not doing this anymore, ReyRey.” She couldn’t do this anymore. No matter how loud he spoke to her, he would not be able to sedate Vivia in this state. She was scared. She was angry. She was in pain. “I don’t need you to save me. What I need is my best friend.” Turning around, this time simply walking, Viv stared at her hands shaking. There was no solution at the end of this road. She would be disowned and seen as a girl that couldn’t survive, depending on the Kingsnake to provide everything she needed at the price of her staying his, like some sort of property. Times like these needed a softer touch, which R2 rarely was capable of.

“Lighten up, Dolly,” Beside her, Viv could see Allison walking, keeping her company, and giving her a mischievous grin. “What’s the worst that can happen?” Words Viv continued to replay in her mind when she confided in her best friend about having a crush on ReyRey. Those were some famous last words, seeing how he was the bane of her existence now. Imagining she was here with her was a bittersweet feeling. Allison was always more bold than her. She stood out in a crowd of thousands and Viv watched her glow.

Frowning at the image, knowing it was only her grief speaking to her, Viv faintly whispered, “Baby, I really messed up this time.” Did she really have no one else she trusted enough to share her pain? She had her siblings, sure, but to be frank, she didn’t think they’d understand her. None of them had their best friend die in their arms. None of them. She was alone and the only person that seemed to see her, for better or for worse, was the guy trailing beside her with his car. “Go away,” she breathed.

Just go away.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

He stopped the car, not wanting to waste the gas and jumped out to match Vivia’s walking speed. Rey didn’t even know why he was desperate for the Belmonte girl. Maybe it was because she was really his last remnant; the last connection he had to Allison. ReyRey placed his hands into his jeans pocket as he finally got caught up with the Italian. “I don’t know what’s fucking going on right now but…” He looked forward for a second and noted what house they were outside; the Davies residence. ReyRey had crept there a handful of times when Ally was alone. Her parents were rarely there but that little sister of hers was always lurking. As he looked up at the house, he could see Ally in the window, smiling and blowing him a kiss. “You look like you need someone babe.”

Reynaldo Gonzalez Junior was not a good man. He was not a nice man. He was not the man that you brought home to your mother but he had a few redeeming qualities, if you could call them that. He was the son of a gangster but he was also the son of a good woman, a proud, honourable woman. He took off his signature jacket and placed it over Vivia’s shoulders before stepping in front of her and taking her by the arms.

“Here’s what’s going to happen, you are going to get into that car and I am going to take you home with me. We can sit in silence or we can watch the Notebook I don’t give a fuck. Then tomorrow morning, I am gonna get some of my more respectable looking guys to come round here, get your stuff and bring it to my place. I’m gonna take care of you; not like those pieces of shit you call family. You need me.”

“That’s the problem,” Viv didn’t push away from him nor did she melt in his arms. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. “Dad knows about you. My whole family knows that we’re together. I… I can’t lose my family.” Looking up at ReyRey, Viv frowned, “You don’t love me. You never did…” What did he take her for? After processing her trauma for a week after Allison’s death, things started to become clear and she knew why her best friend was in R2’s room. She could never be the girl of his dreams because the girl of his dreams, and her’s, was dead, “I’m not dumb, ReyRey.” Deep down, Viv was more aware of her situation than anyone else. Deep down, she knew no matter what Allison’s ghost would be in between them.

“What do you want me to say, Viv? I can’t help how your family see me? And honestly I don’t really care. What we have, it was never really about love was it?” He looked up at that damn haunted house again, why was she doing this? Why was she forcing him? Ally, what are you gaining from torturing them? “You want the fucking truth? No, I don’t love you. I can’t. But I fucking need you.” Rey’s hands moved up to the young woman’s face and he gripped fairly tightly. “OK?” He pressed his head against hers, fighting back the whirlwind of emotions that he had been struggling with since that night on Carlisle. “These feelings, they’re haunting me. You are my balance, you’re keeping me sane whilst everything else is driving me crazy. You need me to protect you and I need you to protect me. You’re mine, Vivia, mine.”

She hated him.

She really did.

Clasping her hands around his neck, Vivia closed her eyes and whispered, “If you two would’ve just told me, I would have supported you. I’ve always cared about her happiness more than my own and if you were part of that? Part of her world? I would’ve been okay.” Part of her wished Allison had found out about Francis sooner and came clean about her relationship with R2. Part of her wished that she had noticed the signs of her best friend falling apart. Part of her wished things turned out differently. Her whole heart wished Allison hadn’t died. Any other outcome would’ve been better than this. A world without her was unbearable. Opening her eyes to look at the man who so desperately clung to her, she unclasped her hands and glided the back of her right hand fingers on his cheek. She could see the hurt. She could see the conflict. She could feel the pain. In that aspect, they were one of the same. “I can never be her, you understand?”

She was right. She would never be her.

Allison was pure and light and made R2 feel better about himself. Her presence just brought up everyone around her. Though in hindsight, the serpent realised that this skill brought her down further, sank her down into the depths of despair. This was why she did what did, this was why she was the way she was when she left them. This was why, if he was rightly honest, she was even with him in the first place. Rey inhaled deeply as he pulled away from the blonde girl. He rubbed a hand across his face to crush away even the thought of tears as a sudden chill hit his bare arms. He made his way back to the Firebird and opened the door.

“Let’s go.”

Nodding, unable to think of the consequences to come and realising nothing could top her loss that connected her to the Kingsnake, Viv found her way inside his car. Maybe in time they could learn to love each other like they loved Allison. Love was a complicated thing.

If only Vivia told her. How much she truly meant to her. When R2 entered the driver’s side, the blonde Belmonte gazed at him as if she was staring at Allison, with all the adoration in the world. They didn’t need each other. They needed her. Still, if this helped heal his deep wounds, maybe she could stay for a little longer.

Reaching out, she grabbed his hand and vowed, “It’s you, it’s me, it’s us.” Allison was her first friend when she moved here. Viv was four at the time she moved to Edenridge. She was five when she saw the prettiest girl with the most luminous smile bravely on top of the monkey bars with the sun casting behind her. Allison was her sunshine and for as long as she could remember they would pinky promise each other, swear to each other:

“It’s you, it’s me, it’s us,” Allison had responded back, sitting in a place where R2 was at.

It was them versus the world.

Together they could conquer any obstacle.

That’s how it was supposed to be.

Edenridge

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Clay Costigan, a bored Edenridge housewife’s favourite distraction.

“My door is always open if you need anything, officer” The woman clad only in a robe pressed herself against the doorway as she watched the young police officer leave her home.

As he walked out of the front door, he buttoned up his black uniform shirt and made sure all his badges were still attached. Mrs Bolan was always a good time. She ran a local florist and spent most of her time surrounded by beautiful things, maybe said things rubbed off on her? Since she was still absolutely gorgeous and up for a certain kind of fun. Clay had bumped into her before starting his patrol on Main Street and when the offer arose to go back to her place for a coffee and a snack? What type of gentleman would he be if he were to refuse?

Sure, it would get back to Cat no doubt but at least he knew this wouldn’t hurt her. She knew what he was about and this was harmless fun for him and a sweet release for Vanessa Bolan who was really struggling right now. With her husband constantly away on “business” she just needed to be seen, to be loved and appreciated. Clay could never promise that long term but at least for the short time they were together, she would be the most important thing in the world and that was enough for her.

“Understood. You have a pleasant evening ma’am” He nodded before climbing into his cruiser and reversing out of the driveway. Mrs Bolan loved the role play.

For the fourth night in a row, Clay had pulled the solo patrol card on the Southside. Chief Broadus had made it clear that he really didn’t want his team patrolling the streets alone but until Mayor Grimm gave him some funding for the Boston brass decided to bequeath them any kind of financial backing then his back was up against a wall, his hands tied behind his back and he was being fucked gently in the ass with a chainsaw. The Chief did have a way with words that’s for sure.

There was part of the young officer that felt that he kept on drawing these shifts because he was the low man on the totem pole, the rookie that needed to earn his stripes. Yet somehow, he still doubted it. Edenridge was infected with a disease, no God fearing man would let anyone go out onto those deadly streets without backup unless there was absolutely no choice.

The current red ball case that was a fixture on the department whiteboard was the missing persons file on Bailey Darensbourg. A twenty two year old former Clover that had been missing for three weeks; another in the long line of cheerleaders that had suffered a great misfortune in good ol Edenridge town. Bailey had struggled ever since high school, developing a dependence on drugs and alcohol after an apprenticeship with Reagan Ramsey. Many believed she would be the one to escape, bright, bubbly and actually genuinely kind. Sadly, the wicked fates had other plans for her. Bailey’s parents had reported her missing after not hearing from her for a few days, they hoped to the dearest god that she wouldn’t become just another Edenridge statistic. Clay knew Bailey in high school, she was a few years younger so there wasn’t much to it but she was cool and always seemed nice. David knew her more for sure.

All units this is dispatch; we have reports of a domestic disturbance on Harrow Road. Anyone free to respond?

”Dispatch, this is patrol car sixteen. I’m in the area, I’ll swing by and check it out”

Clay pulled onto Harrow; it was a quiet, out there kind of road. There were only a few houses, most of them vacant. He had heard that the Mayor was planning on demolishing the entire neighbourhood in favour of a mall. On the one hand, that would be kind of sick because the populace wouldn’t have to make the trek into Boston. On the other hand, people would lose their homes. It was a catch twenty two if ever there was one. As his patrol car crept down the street looking for any sign of life, Clay noted only one house with any lights on. He pulled up outside and shut off his engine.

He recognised the place. What was the name of the guy that used to live here? Bordeaux? Yeah that was it. Clay had ventured this far south for tutoring in Math. Simon Bordeaux was a genius in that shit. Should’ve gone to MIT. Yet he was still wasting away in this shitty town. Clay wasn’t exactly friends with the kid so he didn’t know his circumstances, though he did remember that one time he actually attended tutoring that Simon mentioned not having any parents and being stuck with just a Grandfather. Put two and row together and it seemed likely that Bordeaux got stuck taking care of the man that took care of him.

Clay climbed out of his car and made the short walk up towards the front door of thirty five harrow. He knocked thrice and waited for a response. Nothing. He tried again. Still nothing. ”This is Edenridge Police. We got a call about a disturbance from this address. I can see your lights on, please open the door so we can clear this up”

Silence. The air was thick with something that Clay couldn’t quite put his finger on. Something that felt off. He didn’t like whatever it was. He waited for the passing car to go by before he put his ear to the door and in the ether, heard the muffled noise of a distinctively female voice. Realistically at this point he should’ve waited for back up and warrant but fuck that. If someone needs help, it was Clay’s job to do so. Everyone saw him as a pretty boy, a foundling who had every little thing handed to him. That wasn’t even remotely the truth. Clay just wanted to help.

He put a hand on his gun before checking the door handle; unlocked. He cracked open the door slightly before letting his dark eyes peer inside. The breach in the doorway revealed a filthy homestead. Left over food, clothing, all manner of nastiness all over the place; a far cry from what Clay remembered. ”Hello? EPD, is there anybody here?” He unholstered his gun and pointed it forward as he brushed through the front door and into the house.

Clay had no fear in these kind of moments. One would assume that this pretty boy would he shutting bricks but that was not the case. He had a reputation for a certain way of living, that was what it was. Yet Clay, for all his faults, was desperate to help his community. For too long, Eden had suffered at the hands of the criminal element. He wanted to bring justice to his kin and his peers and make Edenridge safe for the future. It wasn’t a tagline, it was what he truly believed.

He made his way silently through the house, gun at the ready. It was a bungalow and every time has been cleared save the bathroom at the back of the property. Clay had his department issued sidearm trained at eye level against the door as his thoughts drifted to his family; his parents and sister. His thoughts drifted to David and Jamie, Fran, Russ and of course Cat.

Pushing the door open, Clay was greeted on one side with the site of a girl tied to a radiator, mouth gagged, tears rolling down her face and on the other side with a young man holding a shotgun aloft, aimed directly at the officers chest. “Well well, Clay Costigan, I didn’t know you were a cop” it was Simon Bordeaux and the girl, the girl was Bailey Darensbourg!

”Simon, buddy? Long time. Listen I’m not sure why you’re pointing a gun at me or have Bailey chained to a radiator but we’re gonna need that to stop now kay? Let her go and we can figure this out”

”I can’t do that, Clay. I do that, you put me in cuffs and I don’t see the light of day again” Simon was obviously a nervous wreck. He was shakey, sweating and looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

Clay glanced over at Bailey; she seemed unhurt from what he could see. No cuts or bruises, no outward wounds. It seemed liked the confinement was the main source of discomfort. [color=BCDD81]”Si! Come on man, whatever happens now doesn’t end well for you ok?”[/color/] He raised a calming hand towards the terrified young woman. ”It’ll be ok, Bailey. I’m gonna get you out of here”

“No, no you won’t” Simon pulled the hammer back on his gun ”You know, Costigan. More than most. The pressure of being something of being somebody in this fucking place. You were, what, a prince jock behind Callahan and O’Hara. Davey turned out a diddler and Francis a faggot so all the pressure was on you to be perfect. I had a perfect, perfect grade average but still
I’m stuck here. I’m supposed to be working on Space X right now! Bailey, bless her, Thrown out by the ice bitch in favour of the Belmonte girl, hooked on drugs. No one ever makes it out of here aliveX You, me, Bailey, we were expected to be everything in this town. Now we’re nothing. We’re less than zero”

It was hard not to see some truth in Simon’s words. The expectations in Edenridge were real and everyone suffered through time differently. ”Wait, so you kidnapped Bailey for what? To tell her she’s not good enough?”

”No.To put her out of her misery and maybe finally fuck a cheerleader but you know all about that, don’t you buddy?” Simon raises his gun further and took aim at the young officers head.

That was all he needed to hear. Clay’s body cam had captured all the footage of Simon and Bailey and there was no way that it wouldn’t hold up in a court of law. He dropped his pistol down and squeezed the trigger once, shooting Simon in his left knee cap and forcing him to the floor. This was the first time he had pulled the trigger on a life person. Watching his old school mate fall to the floor, his knee popping like a viral video form dr pimple popper; Clay didn’t even flinch. He was ice cold baby. As soon as Simon dropped the gun and crumpled to the floor, Clay ran over to Bailey and took off her bag ”Hey, hey, are you ok?”

“I…I…l” She struggles to speak in part due to the dehydration but also because of the overwhelming feeling that Simon had planted in her heart. “He was right, we are nothing, less than nothing”

He stroked her before letting out a great sigh. ”You’re everything, Bailey. Don’t let someone like him te you any different” Clay moved over to Simon, who was writhing around in the floored whimpering like a sad dog. He looked towards the still gun and kicked it away before he pressed his own weapon against the criminal's forehead. ”Simon Bordeaux you are under arrest for the abduction of Bailey Darensbourg”

”Same old Clay. You’re just as guilty as me for being lesser. You should be locked up with me, then again, Clay Costigan would he too pretty for prison right?”

”You think Clay Costigan is pretty? Thanks bud bur, you're still going to jail”

Once back up and and an ambulance had arrived, Clay took to sitting in his cruiser starting at the Bordeaux house. Times have changed, people have changed. Was Simon onto something? Was he really less than others? He could certainly see why they’d think that? What had he ever done? Who had ever loved him?

Man, he needed a sandwich.

Edenridge

_{Timestamp: Four weeks after the Boston restaurant fiasco
in alignment to Cece/Mika's recent collabs.
@BrutalBx & @LovelyComplex}

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It was Clay’s favourite time of the day; Lunch. Or specifically in this instance it was technically breakfast.

The rookie police officer had been on the evening shift the previous night with his boy Sly. The duo had unfortunately pulled the Southside card and spent the twilight hours roaming the streets between Carlisle and Bulger. Further to their unlucky patrol draw, they had a busy evening. There was an attempted break in at the Coven, which Clay did not even know existed, though the girls working there were kinda babes so he’d likely return. Next on the agenda was a royal rumble that had erupted outside the Lost Souls, apparently caused by, of all things, a burnt Pop Tart. Like what the actual fuck? And then the rest of the evening was the usual mix of gang related activity and badly veiled threats from ReyRey Gonzalez himself.

God he loved this town.

When his watch ended, Clay returned to his lonely and empty apartment and crashed out on the couch. At present he didn’t even own a bed. Between already being overworked by his day job with the police since they had like six honest cops in the entire goddamn town and his other job working with the Scooby Crew of Wes and Kylee, God’s favourite idiot was exhausted. He had found very little time for himself or to do any of the none crime related things he loved. Hell, he hadn’t even managed to get a booty call done in like six days! Like what the hell Eden?!

Still, during that time he had successfully managed to finally get Kylee and Wes to put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door and do the good bad thing. Clay had promised Roddy before he left that he would watch out for Kylee and he was doing just that. He still didn’t fully trust the reporter but something about him made the Grimm heiress smile and she had a gorgeous smile, so if being with him made her happy, then Clay would see to it that it would happen. At this point she was basically his kid sister or at least his other one; he really needed to get in touch with Lamb soon. Clay hadn’t talked to his twin in over three months and she only lived in Pinehurst. There was a lot to unpack there.

After a good few hours of a power nap, an energy drink and a brief game of hoops with Rhett, the big tuna was ready to tackle his day off with aplomb and to do that, he needed food and the only food he wanted was from his favourite place, the Godmothers. Not only was every sandwich there to die for but it was also the best place for him to catch sight of the woman he had adored and crushed and loved since he was twelve years old, Cat Belmonte. Sure she was ten years older than him but what’s age in this day and age? As long as it was legal. She was everything that a man could want, she was beautiful, intelligent, thicc with all the c’s and that smoky film noir voice, goddamn. He had grew up on cop shows and crime movies and Catarina was his own personal femme fatale.

Clay had to do a double take as he entered the promised land of the Godmothers, passing by what looked like Rhett’s little sister Caitlin and…Mika? Well that was some tea that Kylee would just love. He walked up to the counter top where only a guy whose name he didn’t know but referred to as The Lad, was standing.

“My man, Lad. How you be? Who you do? All that jazz. Can I get the Clay Costigan special, extra chilli flakes today and can I….wait, where is my good lady? How can she not be here? It’s lunchtime?”

“Just about,” The young lad boredly responded as he started to make Clay his special, “She’s in her office getting ready to leave. You might be our last customer for the day because she’s in a mood.” The part timer gathered all the ingredients he needed, cut the meat, sliced a loaf of bread, and so on, so forth. “Oh shit, I forgot. Do you have exact cash? She’s already closed the register.”

“No need.” The woman of the hour had her back facing the two boys as she locked her office. In casual clothes, mama jeans, a black tee, and patterned converse shoes, Caterina turned around with her purse hanging over her left arm and a tote in her right hand. Scanning the two boys, the woman of Clay’s dreams gave a half smile before dismissing her staff, “Get out of here, kid. I’ll finish the rest.” The lad wasn’t one to disagree, especially if he was allowed to enjoy the rest of his day.

After a quick victory fist pump, the lad rushed to the small locker/staff break room to take off his apron and get his belongings. As the boy disappeared, Cat placed her things down on a sitting table and went behind the counter, “Good to see you, Clay.” Once her hands were washed, she slipped on nitrile gloves and continued to make the rest of Costigan’s sandwich. “How’s things at work? Hectic, I imagine.”

“Same as ever, the world is on fire and this place is eating itself alive,” Clay removed his sunglasses and stuffed them in his shirt pocket whilst whipping his luxurious hair back, it was a killer move. He then leaned down on the counter too, Cool Hand Clay style as he watched the woman make his tasty tasty snack.

Cat was good at conversations, whether it was idle chatter or a heart-to-heart. The eldest Belmonte daughter was a conversationalist and thrived in social settings, but today? Today she was ‘off’. She wasn’t as upbeat or spunky as her usual self. Her demeanour wasn’t as confident, proud, and flirtatious as Clay knew her to be. There was a dark cloud that lurked over her. If anything was clear, especially to those that had a keen eye when it came to her, Cat was simply going with the motions not even trying to hide her exhaustion and frustration behind a smile.

Looking up from the sandwich, she met Clay’s stare, noticing the dark circles under his eyes. Seems like she wasn’t the only one unable to sleep. Then again, he was a cop. An occupation like that was so demanding, she bet none of the cops in Edenridge got much sleep.

Caterina didn’t want to assume what she heard at a distance when it came to Clay’s order so she asked for clarification, “Extra chilli flakes?”

“Erm yeah, yes please.”

He wasn’t really sure what was happening. This wasn’t the Cat that he knew. She seemed defeated somehow. Like her energy had been taken and thrown into the trash like yesterday's leftover sausage. He let his dark eyes dance around the room a little, taking in that now they were the only two left in the building. He couldn’t lie and say he hadn’t fantasised about this very scenario since he realised what sex actually was but it definitely wasn’t like this. It wasn’t with this version of Cat. Clay’s love for the elder Belmonte woman was very swiftly replaced by concern. This wasn’t even cop Clay concern, this was just Clay.

“Hey, Miss Kitty Cat you OK? You don’t seem yourself,” He reached over the counter, taboo in too many senses of that word and gently put his hand onto her arm.

Not thinking too much into the gesture, since this was Clay and he usually did things like this, Cat shrugged as she continued to make his sandwich, “I can’t say I am doing okay.” If there was anything that would make her feel better, it would be a drink. “I have things going on in the background that are keeping my mind a bit preoccupied. Sorry if this is bringing you down.” Finishing his sandwich, she wrapped it in butcher paper sheet, stepped back causing Clay’s hand to no longer be on her, and put the goods in a plastic bag for him. Offering him the bag from over the counter, she gave a maternal yet joyless smile to her younger companion, “Want to go for a walk? It’s a nice day out.”

Clay took a hold of the sandwich, which at this point felt needless as he had lost his appetite. Seeing Cat be this way did not sit right with him in the slightest. For someone so full of life to be so void of it was a travesty. “Sure, I’ve got the day off. I’ve got all the time in the world.” It was strange that Cat, a known gossip, would be willing to be seen in public with Clay outside of his uniform because the boy had a reputation. At least if he was on the job there would be an excuse. People would probably get the wrong idea but perhaps in her current state that didn’t matter and that’s what worried him the most. “I know a nice place down by the lake, we can go there and chill.”

“Perfect,” With quick ease, Cat cleaned up the rest of her shop, left her place of business, and locked things up. “Lead the way, Casanova.”

After a short and quiet walk through town, Clay had led Cat through the pristine roads of Scott Street and onto a short path behind the O’Hara family home. There were too many times in his childhood where he had found himself walking or running down that little passage with his friends, the Elite or at least that’s what people cursed them as. The duo reached a small clearing, with a single makeshift picnic bench sitting by a gap in the tree line which overlooked the lake and had a clear view of the Elder Tree and downtown. “Welcome to my secret lair, it’s not quite the Batcave but it’ll do.”

“Hm,” Cat muttered as she observed the view. Leisurely, she strolled in front of her companion and brought herself to the bench. Taking a seat, she placed her bags to the side and took in the sight. “It’s beautiful.” She admitted, giving credit where credit was due. Her hazel eyes trailing from the lake to the Elder Tree. It was nice to know a spot like this existed here in this little town of Edenridge. The eldest Belmonte daughter sat on the picnic bench hugging her pulled up leg. This was calm and peaceful, something she so desperately needed. “Sometimes life is just a pain in the ass. Far too heavy to carry… especially alone.” Her smoky voice dropped an octave as she whispered, “I’m tired, Clay.”

There was so much pressure with being the eldest of seven. So many things that the younger ones weren’t aware of and so many things that even her two closest sisters wouldn’t understand, especially since Nina’s heart was too soft to handle such burdens and Elisa’s mental state, even if she covered it up well, was not doing so great. There was pressure with being a good mother when all her kids were acting out because they knew their parents could no longer pretend to love each other. There was the pressure of being the only one her dad trusted enough to take care of all things medical when it came to her mother, from doctor’s visits to keeping the bills in check to simply being the bearer of bad news, telling her whole family that Silvia’s life expectancy was no more than three months. There was the pressure of spending all her life as the fuck up, having sought love in all the wrong places, just to realize that aside from her family, she had no purpose.

Sure, she had the Godmother but even then she was getting bored with it. Her family was all she had and it was obvious that the house her father built had cracks. The Belmontes always had cracks, even in their days in New York. Yet, this seemed worse, like a slow, painful death. Long and drawn out. Just like her mother’s health. Slowly but surely, the Belmonte family would collapse. Cat knew she needed to think of something, she needed to help rebuild the house but she was tired.

“Really fucking tired.”

Alone? How could Cat ever feel like she was alone? The Belmonte’s were arguably the largest family in the area that wasn’t a founder. Didn’t she have like twenty brothers and sisters, kids and a douchey husband? Then again, Clay knew exactly what it felt like to be alone in a crowded room. From the minute he was born, the pressure of being a foundling was not lost in him. Then there was being an Elite. Fran, Russ, David, they ate that shit up, they took the ball that was given to them and ran with it. Clay, on the other hand, dropped it and went to go buy a sandwich that the beautiful woman in front of him probably made. He was not built the same way as his peers, he always wanted more but found what he wanted immensely unattainable.

There was an inherent disconnect with his family. His father never seemed to ever actually be home, always off chartering in the Caribbean or Australia to wherever the rich bitches wanted him to take them. God bless his mother, she tried, she really did. But Mama Costigan was a space case manager it’s little in the way of parenting skills. Clay had often heard of that magical twin sense, where those born together could often sense or feel what the other did. He saw it with David and Jamie. Yet he and Lamb never had that. With them, what it was, it simply wasn’t there.

Love was what he craved, to love and be loved in that special way that gives life to the heart. Clay was a serial lover, not one woman he had been with could say he was anything other than unabashedly him. He was a gentleman, kind and thoughtful. He didn’t brag because he made it clear from the off, there was an invisible warning sign flashing above his head. Clay was searching for love because he was a lonely fool for it.

Moving over to the sandwich shop owner, Clay knelt down in front of her so as to catch her gaze with his own. “Hey,” He offered her a simple smile. “Tell me what you need. You want to talk? You want me to listen? Or do you just want to sit and be? Whatever you need.”

“Well,” Cat smiled at him, even going the extra mile to boop his nose, “Sitting on the bench so you’re not blocking the view would be a good start.” She teased her younger friend that she watched grow up all these years. Clay was an idiot but he always meant well. He wasn’t a gossip like her. He wasn’t a troublemaker like her nephew Carlo. He wasn’t self absorbed like her little sister Viv. He was a good kid and she enjoyed his company.

“Yes ma’am,” Clay climbed up to his feet and slid onto the bench next to her. He was trying to avoid the flushing heat that was hitting his body as he remained close to his childhood crush. This wasn’t about that, as much as he would’ve loved it to be. This was about Cat, just needing somebody there with her.

At first, she found Clayton incredibly annoying especially in her early twenties. Cat thought him to be a pest that seized every opportunity to see her. She was fifteen when she moved to Edenridge. She doubts he remembered how much of a whore she was and how much she played the part that was given to her after someone spread an unflattering nude picture of her from a party, giving her the tramp stamp ‘Eden’s Deep Throat Kitty Girl or ‘Deep Throat’ for short. Over the years, she’s learned to use it as a term of endearment. Regardless, it’s long forgotten. There’s a lot that’s happened between her being fifteen to present. A lot more pressing matters than a slut of the past.

It wasn’t like she could live up to her reputation because she got knocked up at 17, gave birth at 18, and had a shotgun wedding with Tommy. Taz continues to make sure to remind her every chance he gets how much she ruined her life by getting pregnant so young. Though, she is baffled at how biassed he is because Nina also got pregnant young. She just played by the rules and got knocked up by a man that was already destined to be her future husband.

Fucking bullshit.

It’s incredible really, how dumb she was and how stupid she reacted to everything her father threw at her. A dimwitted teen with major daddy issues. A teen that started to think sex was the answer to all her issues. A teen that had far too many responsibilities when all she wanted to be was young and free. A teen that wanted to feel loved and appreciated. A dumb teen.

Tommaso was, and still is, self-sufficient, driven, and so, so, so good with words. Six years her age too. He was simply passing by when she met him, originally from NY, and knew her father through business. He’s charming, incredibly good looking, and knows his way around a bedroom. Maybe there was a time she actually cared about him, but then again, she barely knew him and part of her feels she still didn’t know him.

“Do you remember when we first met?” Cat released her leg and adjusted her position so her body was facing Clay on the bench. “And I don’t mean when you were five. I doubt you even remember any of that. I mean when you first decided to be a thorn in my side.” She poked fun at the young cop, slowly but surely getting in a better mood simply by him being there with her.

“Course I do, best day of my life,” Clay grinned his stupid goofy smile before he brushed a hand through his hair. “I would’ve been twelve, you twenty two. It was the summer, hot as hell if I recall. My Dad was home from charter so Lamby and I were down on his boat, soaking in the rays. Then I remember looking across the bay and your family yacht being there too. I remember seeing you, in this red bikini coming out of the water, full on slow mo Fast Times at Ridgemont High style. You took my breath away even then.” His chocolate eyes were a little glassy as he became lost in memory. “Lamby dared me to streak across your boat. So I stealthily swam over to your yacht, took my shorts off and ran straight into your Dad.”

Clay laughed as he thought back to that day. It was always a fond memory regardless of the fact that he was grounded for weeks. That summer was probably the last time he spent any time with his family as a full unit. Even though his parents are still together to this day, things seemed to change after that heat wave. It was like all the love in the family had burned away.

“It was the best day.”

“Damn that brings me back.” Cat looked towards the water once more as she recalled her own perspective of that day. “I’m honored you still found me attractive because taking off that baby weight from Dani took fucking forever.” She chuckled to herself, remembering how absolutely famished she was with her middle child. “I remembered mom holding Dani, who was so peaceful in the sun, and Sofi trying to chase the twins - both little shits at the time - throughout the boat. Nina was a doting mother, taking Carlo around in the water in his tiger baby float. Viv, I think, is only a year younger than you. She was already showing signs of being an absolute diva. Sunbathing and taking selfies.” Cat rolled her eyes, but in her expression there was nothing but love for her family, “Mira sat on Elisa’s lap as they read The Very Hungry Caterpillar. And then you came in, with a stupid goofy grin, and not only did you run into the cooler but you crashed into dad who was getting lunch ready. You were so red, it was absolutely adorable.” Taking a moment to laugh, Cat shook her head, “You’re lucky I saved you that day, who knows what would’ve happened.” She stuck her tongue out at Clay. It was obvious he did what he needed to do. Get her mind off of her problems.

“Listen, love makes us do crazy things. I ran naked into your Dad. You carried me back to mine for an ass whooping. Whatever works right?” It was nice to see that bright smile again. Cat obviously just needed to forget about whatever was going on in her life and if for nothing else, as he had learned through his many escapades and adventures, Clay was a perfect distraction. “Surprised that your Dad didn’t just induct me into the family then and there. Make me his consigliere and force me into an arranged marriage to Viv.”

Clay did remember Cat being his saving grace that day. Wrapping him in a towel and carrying him across the piercing hot dock and back to his fathers yacht. Lamb was beside herself with laughter and Francis and little Roddy had just arrived and soon joined her cackling. Clay didn’t care though because he was in the arms of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

“Life always has a strange way of throwing us the things we need without us ever realising it until it’s too late. On that day, I was thrown into Taz to bring you some levity and you saved me so that I could be there to grow this amazing hair.”

Nudging him by her arm, Cat snorted in amusement, “You’re foolish.” Clay was always one to crack jokes. Still, it was refreshing, like the water they were looking at. This felt nice, relaxing, and gave her hope for the future and her family. For a brief moment, it put her spirit at peace.

To be honest, Viv getting with Clay would’ve been a better deal than her current situation. Now her little sister and Taz were not on speaking terms and Vivia was living with the leader of the serpents. Cat couldn’t judge her sister though. No matter how much she wanted to protect her. If she were in the same shoes, Cat might’ve done the same thing. Not out of love but to make a statement. To rebel because she simply wanted to just be. “If only we could rewrite the past, then you and my sister could have cute babies with the most luscious of hair.”

“I mean you’re not lying but…” Clay leaned back against the picnic table that he and David had built many moons ago and looked out at the water. “You already know Viv wouldn’t be my Belmonte sister of choice,” His eyes fell to the floor and he chuckled a little. “I know there’s a very small chance that you’ll ever see me like I have seen you all my life and that’s ok. I’ve made my peace with that, won’t stop me from trying cos you’re like the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life but still.” Clay looked at her and saw her, really saw her and smiled. “Whenever you need anything, Cat, I’m here. Always.”

These words that he preached fell on deaf ears because these were things he had told her for as long as he knew what attraction was. Cat believed it was only a kid crush he hadn’t let go yet. “I appreciate it, and if you need someone you know where to find me. Also hush you, you have all the options in the world. You’re young. Enjoy it while you can.”

She was an old hen with three kids on the verge of a divorce. She was the eldest of a large Italian family trying to figure out how the void of the matriarch's death would be filled. She was a woman who needed to believe in herself because she spent so much of her life for everyone but herself. Caterina wasn’t worth this adoration, but she appreciated it all the same. Like her siblings did with her, she casually leaned her head on Clay’s shoulder and whispered, “Thank you. I shouldn’t be depending on you like this but it really means a lot.” Even a strong woman like Cat needs a lifeboat. Whether it was coincidental or simply happenstance, Clay caught her when she felt like she was sinking. He was good at that.

“Anytime,” Clay leaned his head onto hers as they gazed out upon Lake Eden. He couldn’t help how he felt but if he had ever learned anything from his old man it was how to compartmentalise. He sighed out of his nose, even managing to put his arm around the older woman with a gut full of nerves.

“My sandwich is probably really soggy by now.”

Edenridge

^{Almost a month after Friday Night (of the Allison Chapter)
@BrutalBx & @LovelyComplex}

Gotta carry that weight.

That’s what he was always told.

No matter the burden. No matter how hard or heavy. It was a duty to carry that weight or as his lovely mother used to say, you had to learn to eat shit and like the taste of it. She was a wholesome lady. To be fair, Mrs Silo was everyone’s favourite lunch lady at Pinehurst Academy. It was just a shame that she rarely treated her own son with as much reverence as she did the other Pinehurst children. His father was a different story. He was such a creative and imaginative man, so full of life and energy or at least, that’s how Wes likes to remember him.

He hated lying and he hated that he was doing it successfully. In some kind of strange way, Wes had hoped that Kylee or Clay would figure out that he wasn’t from Boston as he had originally claimed. He had hoped that they would uncover that he was actually a Pinehurst Monarch. If they found out then he wouldn’t have to lie anymore and then he wouldn’t have to carry that horrendous weight that he had been logging over his shoulder this entire time.

Clay had asked him to come to the Hole in the Wall. It certainly wasn’t his type of place. Wes was a classy boy and this place just wasn’t that appealing. Beer and wings. It was so…Regardless he had found a decent beer on draft that he likes and sat in a corner booth away from the prying eyes and listening ears of those that wish ill to the investigative trio. He took a sip from his beer and was greeted by the beautiful brunette he had been waiting for since he got here.

“Hey there.”

“Hi,” Kylee beamed, looking straight into the reporter’s eyes. She sported a long sleeved crop top, jeans, a black chain strap bag, and red lipstick. Her hair was free flowing, her skin was moisturised, soft and glowing, and her heels were that of black boots. A casual outfit suited for a bar. A look simple enough to display she wasn’t even trying but purposeful enough to bring out her features like her midriff, her long legs, and her slim, petite figure. “I hope I haven’t made you wait too long.” Kylee politely added, while holding a Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, before taking her seat with him at the corner booth.

Scooting her way in until she was a slight distance away from him, Kylee got herself situated, placing her drink on the table. She didn’t want to come across as desperate so she made sure there was a little distance between them this time around. Though notably so, since she’s been sitting ridiculously close to him past meetings. “What time is it anyways? Isn’t Clay supposed to be here?” She pulled her phone out of her purse to check to see where he was.

“I spoke to him an hour ago, said he was erm…” Wes was trying to find the words but it was becoming increasingly difficult around Kylee. For the past little while, since their forming of their crew with Clay, they had been spending more and more time together and it was becoming almost impossible to ignore just how beautiful she was and just how much he was beginning to feel for her. The reporter was doing his best to keep it professional, he still had a lot to hide. “…sorry yeah he said he was chasing some lead.”

As if on cue, Kylee’s phone lit up with a message. It was from everyone's favourite rookie police and it had a picture attached. Of course, it was that doofus with some girl going to the movies.

Clay: Date night. I told Rhett I’d pay your tab. It’s all you now, Grimmy. Get your man. Good luck xxx

Wes’s phone also pinged with a message.

Clay: Something came up. Not gonna make it. I know the guy who works there. I’ve got the tab. Laters gators.

Wes returned his attention to Kylee, running a hand through his curly hair with an almost frenetic energy. This was dangerous. Being alone with Kylee, for just so many reasons. She was an inquisitive one. All it would take would be one slip of the tongue and she would figure out all the things he was keeping close to his chest and she would likely never forgive him. The other problem was that he wanted to kiss her badly, no doubt ruining their fruitful partnership. Hell, there was even that lug Costigan to consider. They had become, dare he say it, friends, how would he feel about all that? Probably not a lot. Clay would probably just think about a girl himself or maybe a meatball sub.

“Just us then.”

Part of her was surprised because she didn’t expect Clay to do this move so soon. It was only a couple of weeks since he found out about her crush. Then again, it was McDungus and this is how he played. The other part of her was excited and nervous, all at the same time. The last time she felt like this was with Pierce. What she had with Natalia was pure and unadulterated lust. She did care for the woman, one point in time, but that wasn’t the same as what she shared with Pierce. If anything, Kylee desperately needed emotional connection and maybe that’s what drove her to break up with Natalia.

Holding her ale, Kylee fixed her hazel eyes on her date. She felt bashful which was unusual for her. To her dismay, the mayor’s princess didn’t have Clay in between them as a buffer. “So… how you’ve been?” Her voice was feathery and yet still ever so inviting. “It’s been a week since we saw each other last.” It didn’t take a rocket scientist to tell how spatially aware Kylee was of her surroundings and of him. Especially him.

This Kylee was less intense than her usual self. She was more reserved and shy even. Her smile was gentle and tender. It wasn’t like they hadn’t been alone before. Their first meeting they were alone with each other and they both made quite the first impression. This time was different. This time he wasn’t here with her as a stranger but someone she wanted to know more and more about. Someone she was growing to care about. The light in his eyes and how he talked about the thing he loved… maybe that reminded her of Pierce.

Still, she knew she would never be able to replace her ex so she wanted to know everything about Wesley Silo. The outsider that wants to solve the case of the letters. The outsider that loved what he did, even if it meant he’d have to desperately cling onto a cursed town where he was more unwanted than not. The outsider that she could see becoming part of the everyday faces of Edenridge. She wanted to fall for him and not because he reminded her of a ghost. And if he was willing, he could be part of this town, hand in hand with her.

“Erm, yeah busy.” Wesley took a long drink from his beer. He wasn’t particularly sure if it was because he was thirsty or if it was because he was thirsty. Perhaps it was maybe even to wash down the feelings that he was now enduring for the girl in front of him. “Chasing leads, getting to know this place. For such a small town there’s so much going on. It’s kind of amazing actually.” It was true, Eden had stories going as far back as its founding. So many myths, so many legends, so many truths and oh so many lies. Every step through the concrete wilderness acted like the turning of a page in a book. Every new cobble revealed a new tale to uncover. The story he was interested most in now however was that of Kylee Grimm.

The Mayor's little girl. A survivor of Charlie Decker’s massacre. A truth seeker just like him. Wes couldn’t lie and say that he wasn’t intrigued by her backstory. Her father was loved by many but the young reporter had a feeling about the man. He had secrets and he believed that they were bigger than most others.

“I have an idea,” Wes rested his arm across the back of the booth, inching it ever so slightly behind Kylee. “Since Costigan left us in the lurch we can’t really debrief properly. So how about you and I have a little fun? Here’s something, you get one question. Just one. That you can ask me and it can be about literally anything. One question and I have no choice but answer it truthfully and vice versa.”

Kylee hadn’t even drank much and she could feel the heat. The fact that she was so attracted to him, like it was an intoxication, was something she didn’t necessarily understand. He was a bundle-package of all the things she sought out in someone and underneath it all, the chemistry and sexual tension, it was all there. Still, she wasn’t an easy girl to win over and she needed to hold herself back. Kylee knew if he inched even closer and wanted to… she would have a hard time refusing him. “Anything I want?” She leaned forward, enticed by his offer.

“Anything you want.” Wesley repeated.

This was the most dangerous game and he was putting himself in the line of fire. Ky was just like him, inquisitive and hungry for the hidden words that the rest of the world weren’t aware of. All she had to do was ask the right question and he was fucked. Yet he couldn’t help himself. She was forcing him to do this. It was like a drug, she was like a drug. This last month with her had been the most exciting he had had in a very long time, if ever at all. Kylee Grimm truly was something special. He could feel the warmth radiating from her body as they somehow found themselves edged closer together. Shit where was Clay when you needed him?

Tilting her head, realising he had hazel eyes like hers, but his was more like a warm honey mixed in with deep caramel, she gave the sweetest of smiles, her lips adorned with red. He was challenging her and she wondered if he was prepared for all the things she wanted to know. She needed to answer soon so she could listen to him speak, his voice being a lovely melody to her ears. Without a doubt, she could wrap herself with his words and sleep more soundly than she ever could. Of course, that was her imagination getting carried away.

“Well, Wesley.” She said his first name for the first time to make it a point that after this, there was no turning back. “If you want me to trust you fully, no false pretence, I need to know one of your secrets. What lies behind that charming smile of yours, hm?” All her surroundings had disappeared as she hyperfocused on the reporter. “You said you wanted to have fun, let’s have fun.” Did they get even closer to each other?

Fuck.

There it was. He had been caught in his own bear trap. Wes had to choose his next words so carefully. One misspoken word or any elongated sentence could spell seven different kinds of disaster. He wanted to tell Ky everything. He wanted to be completely and utterly honest with her at that moment and relieve the weight he had been carrying in his heart for so long. Something about those eyes and that smile made Wes just want to be unashamedly himself, something he hadn’t been for a very long time.

“Well Kylee,” He marched for tit for tat. They were using first names now, it was basically foreplay. “Believe it is not…” He grinned from ear to ear as he found the perfect secret to share with his lovely companion. Wes tilted his head “Sometimes when the world gets too much and my heart just can’t take it anymore…I run myself a bath, light some candles, grab a drink and sit in the water, having a little cry whilst I listen to Boys II Men.”

When he gave his response, while it was nice to know, Kylee couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Pulling away from him, using her drink as a reason to put some distance back up between them, the mayor’s daughter took a longer sip of her drink and laughed, “I can’t blame you!” She forced a smile, as she added, “Boys II Men? They just give the right vibes. I know a few of their songs, like End of The Road.” After finishing her drink, she looked between Wes and her beer, “I’m going to get another and then when I come back you can ask me something! Do you want anything?”

“Yeah actually,” Wes polished off his own drink rather quickly. Damn, he wished he had eaten some of those wings now because he was feeling the booze. “I’ll have another but I’d also like to give you my real answer.” He reached out and put his hand on top of hers. She was like fire to touch but she wasn’t burning him, at least not in the way of scolding. She was making his heart burn. “A real secret of mine is that from the minute I first walked into your studio for the Dawn Patrol, I knew you were someone I could do this with. Save the world and be myself with. You’re special.”

Nice save.

Narrowing her eyes, Kylee looked at him with conflicted emotions. Once again he brought her back after clearly noticing he made the wrong move. Dropping her defence once more, she rolled her eyes, embarrassed at his declaration. “Better,” is all she responded before pulling her hand away from him, letting her touch linger for a little longer. Subconsciously, she nervously bit her bottom lip as she got up to retrieve their beers. When she got to the bar, she leaned on it and patted her cheeks.

Get it together, Kylee.

Her first crush, Rhett, came to her with a smirk on his face. “Clay told me everything.” The bartender had already gotten them second rounds and whispered, “I’ll send some shots over so you can really get him to loosen up.”

“Rhett!” Kylee looked over her shoulder back at Silo, before bringing her attention to Cece's older brother almost immediately when she realised Mr. Reporter was watching her. “This is too much. I should go home.”

“Hey, that’s not the Kylee way. From what I can see, he’s into you. You got this.” Of course he was encouraging her so she could stop flirting with him. Rhett was a wall when it came to her advances but hey, if her eyes were on someone else, not his problem. He wanted peace and part of that meant encouraging the mayor’s daughter to put all her focus on the new guy in town.

“Okay, okay.” Deep breath in, deep breath out.

You got this.

Wes leaned back in the booth and looked up at the ceiling with a great sigh. What on Earth was he doing? This wasn’t the plan. He was supposed to come to this town, do his job and get out. Now he was sitting in a bar with the most enticing girl he had ever met. A girl who quite possibly was the most dangerous of them all in this shitty little suburb. This wasn’t the plan.

He pulled out his phone and began scouring the news, looking for anything and everything that could distract him from the growing fever in his blood. Wesley soaked up the news like nobody else. He could speed read an article in four seconds flat and it was a great way of leaving himself behind and just getting lost. It wasn’t working this time however; Kylee’s perfume lingered in the air and it just made him want more. None of this would have happened if Costigan had actually bothered to turn up. He didn’t know whether to thank him or punch him.

Fuck you, Clay.

With two beers in hand, Kylee navigated through the bar, where the crowd was beginning to grow. Finding her way to the private booth, away from the chaos that was the locals of Edenridge, she slipped in and handed Wes his drink, “I ordered us the house wings. We should balance our drinks with food. Don’t want to get too sloppy tonight…” the mayor’s daughter displayed an adorable winsome smile, hoping she didn’t overstep with that, “And hey, it’s on Clay. He didn’t want to show up so we might as well get what we want.” And right away, two shots and wings were placed in front of them, “Oh. And that’s from Rhett.” She gestured at the shots. If there was one thing about Edenridge, if you have the right connections you get some of the best service.

Shots now? Good God.

“Thanks,” He took a hold of his drink and brought it to his side of the table. Now Wes was terrified. He couldn’t handle his drink at the best of times and now they were doing shots. He could feel himself separating into two, there was a part of him that wanted to throw all caution to the wind and give in to the feelings that he was experiencing. Then there was the other half that wanted to excuse himself and get out of there while he still had the chance. He really wasn’t sure which side was going to win out.

He picked up the shot glass and raised it to his date for the evening. What it was? Wes had no clue but he trusted Kylee and if she was willing to do this, then so was he. “To getting what we want.”

“To getting what we deserve.” Kylee asserted and eased her dainty hand towards his glass.

After clinking the glass with hers, the curly haired reporter downed the fire water. He could feel the intense flavour travel through his body like an electrical current. This was some strong shit. What on Earth had Rhett given them? Never again.

“Ok, I told you a secret. Your turn, tell me one of yours.”

Before Kylee could answer, she was taking in the shot. She seemed equally as surprised as Wes. Wow, this was really strong. Kylee was more of a wine drinker than anything and wine drunk was a completely different kind of drunk, but this was like a highschool party cranked up to 10. “This is… must be something new.” Placing her glass down, finally, the alcohol she had been rushing down the past thirty minutes or so due to nerves was hitting her and it hit her fast. “A secret,” she said under her breath. Jeez there was so much that she could unfold with this town, with her family, and with herself. She wasn’t going to be a chicken like Wes was, so she’d do something personal. Something that ate at her ever since Prue died.

“I don’t know if this counts, but…” she scooted closer, just so she didn’t have to raise her voice. When subjects involved her father, it was best to be careful. Anyone could be listening. “… my dad has a lot of skeletons and I think, no I know, that he’s lied to me about who my mother is. I never got to meet her. I’m pretty sure she died before I could even walk. He—” she stopped mid sentence to get a sip of her beer. This was such a serious talk. They needed to lighten things up after this. However, there were no more restraints holding Kylee back, “—he has a strong attachment to music even though the mom that raised me, Prudence, didn’t know a thing about it, and neither does the sugar baby my dad now calls wife. I think it’s a clue, I really do. And, like, this is the case I care most about because I just want to know who my mother is, or, well, was.” She said a lot of words. Too much? Probably too much.

“Oh and I’m not going to sound like a cheeseball like you but I’m really fucking into you. You’re stupid hot and I love your mind and drive.” Okay now she might’ve said too much.

Wesley, a man whose job it was to write meaningful and powerful words, was at a loss for them. A lot had happened between his playful question and Kylee opening her mouth to answer. Not only was he taken aback by her own distrust of her own father but from her admission of finding him attractive. He wasn’t an idiot, he knew there was a vibe but for her to outright admit it…what did that guy put in their drinks? Because whatever it was, it has opened up a well that Wes didn’t even know was full.

A waitress passed by their table and headed back towards the handsome, red headed barman with some empty glasses and handed them to him. “It’s going well, she just told him he was hot! Let Clay know!” Rhett grinned as he picked up a walkie talkie and radioed his former Celtics point guard. “Yo, sixteen, this is twenty one. Your plan is working like a charm.”

Elsewhere, parked outside the Godmothers, Clay Costigan took a bite out of his meatball sub. He listened to Rhett give him the rundown of how he had given them his “special drink” and how the couple seemed to be radiating chemistry. Were Clay anything but himself, he’d probably have to arrest his old friend but spiking for the sake of love, was that acceptable? Probably not but fuck it, Wes needed the kick up the backside to get himself into gear. “Copy that, good brother. Keep me posted, also, say hi to your Mom for me.”

Wes managed to shake off his astonishment long enough to have a drink from his fresh beer, a big one at that, before he spoke again. “I..well, shit. Listen, we’ll look into your Mom. Yeah for sure, we’ll dig and dig until we find out out who she really was….as for that other thing,” He has definitely had too much to drink or mixed too much of whatever but, fuck it. He was going to use what he learned from Clay and just stop giving a fuck. “I’m into you too, like crazily so. I wanted the story to come first but when I’m with you, it’s really hard to do that because you’re so beautiful and you’re so passionate and alive. You may be Grimm by name but not by nature. Fuck it!”

The reporter took a hold of the girl's face and planted a kiss on her painted lips for a second before pulling away, not knowing whether to regret or be proud of such an action. Meanwhile on the other side of the bar, the waitress raised her arms in victory.

“You’re not going to just stop right there, are you?” Kylee looked at Wes, her face was heated and now he left her wanting more. “Don’t be a tease, Wesley.” She poked the bear, hoping he’d get a bit more risqué than a long peck.

There was a spark in her eyes that he couldn’t ignore. He took her by the hand and that spark seemed to transfer to him at that moment. “My place is a block away,” Wes had to do it. He had to give in to the temptation. Kylee was worth it. She made him feel special. She made him feel like what he was doing was the right thing when everybody else told him it was wrong. He had to show her that her faith was well placed. He had a place here now. He had a person. “Let’s get out of here.” He led her by the hand out of the door and towards the AirBnB he had been renting for the last month.

“You know…” Kylee giggled as she walked out of the bar, interlocking her fingers with his. “You’re going to be bad for business, I can tell.” She teased as she took in his face with complete adoration. She was on cloud nine. Whatever was in that drink only meant a good thing, she hoped. As he led them towards his Airbnb, she glanced behind her. If there was one thing that Kylee knew for certain, she knew someone was always watching her.

Edenridge was a small town. People knew people. Word gets around fast. The Hole in the Wall, the more popular bar in town, was no exception. Sitting at a table near the entrance was one of the people that was closely tied to her father. She, along with Theodore Grimm, were part of the Iron Five. The people that ran the show and made sure Edenridge still had a pulse. In scantily clad, not her usual wear but definitely her occasional wear to blend in with the crowd, Phoebe Masterson flirted up a storm with some random guy. Once the lovebirds left, another guy came up to her, asking for a smoke.

Excusing herself from the table, apologising to the obviously drunk man, Phoebe followed the other guy outside and provided him with a box of cigarettes. He opened it and there sat a roll of cash and two cigarettes. After lighting one up he handed it to her and then he grabbed one for himself, pocketing the box. The guy himself was just a kid out of luck, desperate for some easy money. The desperate were usually the best to employ, even if it was a brief job. They exchanged a few words as they both smoked outside the bar. When he was done, he walked back in and she dialled a number on the phone. After one ring, someone on the line answered, “Julian, sweetums.” On the other side, the voice sounded unamused by the pet name, “Might want to look into the newcomer, Wesley Silo. It seems like our boss is not going to be happy with that one. No, not at all.” There was a quick response and the line went dead.

Smiling to herself, knowing she did a good job, Phoebe proceeded to call another number, as she flicked her cigarette to the ground. God, she hated smoking. “Bashhhhhh, what are you doing? Come pick me up, please.”

Less than a minute had passed before a car pulled up next to the woman. The passenger door popped open as the driver, one Sebastian Laszlo leaned to the right and waved. “Hello love, get yourself in then,” He spoke with a very distinct British accent. He leaned back into the driver's seat and began adjusting the beads and talismans that were hanging from his rear view mirror. Bash was not one to meddle with bad juju and one thing he had become all but certain of in his time in Eden was that this place was full of it and that he needed all the protection he could get.

“Busy evening?”

“You know me. Always looking out for Teddy.” Phoebe heavily sighed, knowing for damn sure she overworked herself to keep the mayor happy. But she learned within her first day of working for him, a happy Teddy, a happy cabinet. His mood affects the morale of their small team so the least she could do was keep a strong face and be diligent with her time. He believed in her and her strengths, he gave her tools and resources to succeed, if anything she was indebted to him and his kindness.

When she buckled herself in, she leaned back in her chair and turned her head toward her partner. Her skin showed more than she’d like. It was a nice light brown mixed with olive tones, displaying her Mexican and Indian descent. Her dress was this hot summer pink, showing far too much cleavage and her shoulders. It was a dress to make her look far younger than she was so the regulars at the Hole couldn’t tell who she was. Her usual style was business casual and elegant. Something that flattered her body but still left some room for mystery. This reminded her of her teen years and she hated it. “How’s things going on in your end? Been busy too, I imagine.”

“Same old, same old.”

Bash turned the engine back on, placed his arm on the headrest of Phoebe’s passenger seat and reversed out of the Hole’s car park. Once they were straightened up onto the main road, the Englishman flashed his headlights and put his foot down. The car was fairly nondescript, something to blend in perfectly on a hot summer night. “That said, I did sit in on a call with Teddy and that Montero fella he’s keen to do business with.” He turned onto a very well lit road, the car beginning the climb up the winding roads towards Scott Street and the true heart of the north side. “They’ve picked out a plot of land for that hotel and you know what that means? If our boy can’t buy it straight up, yours truly will be sent in.”

“Well then, I’m sure we’ll get what we want if you’re on the job.” Phoebe smiled at her friend before glancing at her phone, making sure there weren’t any urgent calls or texts from Teddy or Julian. “What’s your feelings on the whole hotel arrangement? Do you think it’s a good business move?” To be honest, Phoebe felt a little hesitant because the moment that hotel was built, the more eyes there would be on this little town of Massachusetts. She didn’t know if that was a good thing. There were far too many secrets in such a small place that could imprison half of the people here, kill some of the others, and leave the rest with trauma beyond repair.

“Sorry sweetheart, I don’t really get paid to think about the business stuff. I’m just the muscle.” He flashed his indicator before turning onto a very affluent looking road. “But if I had to, I’d say financially it’s probably a no brainer. Still, getting into bed with these guys and bringing more eyes on us, that I’m not sold on.” Sebastian parked up outside one of the houses, shutting off the engine and unlocking the doors. “Teddy knows his shit. Julian his. So I’ll give them the benefit but if things turn south, then it’s on me to protect you all and I’ll do just that.”

“Just… remember to take care of yourself too.” As cutthroat as Phoebe can be, when in front of Bash she allowed her softer side to come out. He didn’t put much thought behind any of his jobs. He was a worker bee through and through, and that likely was a beneficial thing in the long run. Being smart got you nowhere if you weren’t pulling the reins. But, she needed to start somewhere and she believed in Theodore Grimm. That must hold some merit. “You want some tea or you got more to do?” She unbuckled herself and opened her door.

“I’m English, love. I never turn down tea plus it’s you, you know I can never say no to you.” Bash places his keys in his leather jacket pocket and climbed out of the car as well. He surveyed the area, placing his hand on the gun holster on his waist. It would take him naught point three seconds to unbuckle his pistol and fire off a round. This was faster than most average gun owned by a clear mile. The joy and skill of being a former SAS operative. His cold blue eyes were efficient in picking out potential points of ambush. Perks of the job. Once he was happy that the coast was clear, Sebastian moved to Phoebe’s side of the car and out his hand on the small of her back. “Let’s go. I know you don’t like dressing like that but just so you know, you look amazing.” He led her towards the front door where they entered at the strike of midnight.

Edenridge

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A @BrutalBx & @NeoAJ Collab

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”Before I leave you to the dulcet tones of Kylee Grimm on the Dawn Patrol, a word from our sponsors. Mayor Teddy Grimm would like to remind everyone that he’ll be holding a rally today to raise some funds for the fire department. It’s a good cause guys so reach into your pockets, give them some baked goods, I don’t know, shake a baby and kiss some hands. Also sponsoring us today is everyone’s favourite dive bar, Hole in the Wall reminding everyone of the unlimited wings challenge and a new beer on tap from tonight called Hazard Pay IPA, a citrusy New England for the working man in these hot summer days. The sun is rising, the darkness is almost gone and so am I. To start your day off right here is a cover of Oasis’ Wonderwall by hot new artist Violet Orlandi. They call me Miss Midnight, your demon dream girl and this is me signing off, stay spooky Eden”

Mei hit play on the track and transferred all controls over to the main station. She took off her headphones and placed them flat onto the surface. She emerged from her closet station and into her bedroom; of course she was barely dressed in nothing but her black tank, her black underwear and choker necklace. The benefit of having a portable radio station in her bedroom meant Mei didn’t have to leave the house if she didn’t want to, which after recent events was probably a good thing.

The Wiccan priestess stretched her body after being in the cramped soundproof booth for a few hours, her pale skin illuminated by the neon lights on her wall. Her dark eyes fell upon the red head wrapped up in blankets on the bed and a smile crept up across her blood red lips. Mei could not help but feel some kind of joy every time she saw Jill there. She had waited years but there she was, they were together, just like she had dreamed of. Sliding in next to the O’Brien girl, Mei traced her fingers over the Irish temptresses bareback, biting her lip as she did so.

A soft murmur was Mei’s reward for her actions as the redhead was slowly jostled from her slumber. This was a routine for the two. Jill was spending more and more time with Mei at her apartment, to the point where she could almost start having her mail sent to the Ramsey estate. She was still adjusting to a more nocturnal lifestyle, a process that started with her descent into darkness during the destructive times post-Mike. However, now she could see the stars with clarity, and she wanted to be out under the moonlight for her girlfriend. Jill had done her best to stay up for Mei’s show, but it had been a busy few days. Tonight, she lasted until around 3am, crawling into the bed the two women shared and falling asleep while waiting for Mei to join her. The feeling of the nails on her bare skin was herald that Miss Midnight had clocked out for the evening and was eager to have her red-headed flame alight to join her.

Jill finally rolled over and slowly opened her eyes to shine those light brown orbs as best as her groggy lids would allow. She softly giggled and moved against the Ramsey girl so their skin would touch. “Mmmmm, good morning my midnight warrior,” she said with a soft kiss delivered to Mei’s lips. She could hear the waning strains of Mei’s music choice on the phone that served as her white noise generator, always tuned to her girlfriend’s show if she could manage it. “Wait… did you just ‘Anyway, here’s Wonderwall’ your audience before crawling in here with me?”

“Listen, it’s a goth version so it’s fine. Still on brand.”

Mei giggled. Fuck she was giggling? Princess of Darkness yet there she was giddy like a school girl because she was madly and deeply in love with the girl that lay next to her. She leaned down and pressed her lips to Jill’s again, running her hand under the, of course, black, duvet covers and following the contours of her dream girl's body down to her silky thigh. Now she understood why redheads were often compared to fire; or wasn’t anything to do with the color of their hair. It was down to the uncontrollable inferno they spark on one's heart when you touch.

As Jill leaned into this kiss, allowing her body to entwine with her girlfriend’s yet again, she could help but keep smiling. She caught that giggle. It wasn’t one of those fake ones she knew Mei had put on in high school when she was trying to mock the vapid cheerleaders that surrounded her, be they Pinehurst or Edenridge. It was the real deal Mei Ramsey giggle, and Jill loved the fact that she could bring it out of Miss Midnight. She wrapped her arm around Mei as the kiss was broken.

“So I have a plan for us today.” The raven flavoured girl lay her head down next to Jill on the pillow. “It’s a three step process.” There was no doubt that both dream girls were still recovering from their experience on Carlisle Avenue, reliving the terror and the sadness that unfurled itself from the truth of Allison’s death. The beautiful departed. “Firstly, we’re gonna goth you up a bit, just cos I feel like today, we need to make this town sexy again,” Mei said playfully as she admired her girlfriend’s body with her hand. “Step two, I’m gonna break into my piggy bank and we are going car shopping cos fuck it, I’m sick of relying on Hailstorm for rides.” Her hand moved up to the pale face of her Jill and she smiled. Goddess, she hasn’t smiled like this in so long. “And thirdly, we are going to do your house, grab your shit and you are gonna move your damn sexy ass in with me. Full time.”

The weight of those words were not lost on Mei. Moving together was a huge step and in the context of them as a couple, it was extremely quick but didn’t bother the goth DJ. She and Jill had been together for years in her mind and this was just logical. Sometimes you just gotta carry that weight.

This plan got an eyebrow raise out of Jillian that she wasn’t sure was properly conveying what she thought about things. Sometimes she wondered where Mei found her seemingly endless supplies of energy, to be able to do her radio show in the dead of night, put in a workout and partake in all the escapades she takes part in. Jill thought she had that kind of energy in the past, but it’s been hard to tap into those pools the past year. It seemed easier today though, even with the daunting task list given to her.

“Well, let me take them in order then, sweets,” Jill starts as she slowly wakes up. “First, I’m totally down for being gothed up. Lilith knows how many times I had to cheerlead you up to get Lanie and the others off your back, so payback is fair and just.” She giggles a bit, not sure exactly to what extent Mei had planned to take her looks to the dark side. Sure, she was far from a preppy cheerleader anymore, but it was tough for redheads to make goth look good. If anyone could do it, it would be Miss Midnight.

"Second… actually let's do third first. Third," she continued, "I am so ready. Feel like I've been living here for years, and I would much rather share a bathroom with you than with A-lazing Grace. I think I just need my clothes, the vanity, various beauty products… and that might be it. Clearly not going to need my bed." Jill punctuated that last line with a smirk and a wink. Mei truly was raising the dead. Flirty Jill hadn't been seen since the Hole had a $4 cocktail night and Kylee refereed a contest to see how many drinks each girl could get bought for them. Jill won that contest, but now these powers were being used for good again.

"And finally, second, you have enough for a car, Mei? Like honest to goddess wheels?" Jill wasn't thrilled on relying on the Hailey Grimm bus service for all their transport needs either, but if Eden's new power couple was going to do everything together, buying a car seems like it should be a collective effort and Jill had little to offer in that transaction at the moment. "I mean, I think I still have my license, so I can at least drive. Possibly. But all right, sounds like we have ourselves a day! So, what am I wearing?”

Smiling from ear to ear, Mei popped a kiss on her girlfriend's lips before jumping up to her feet and diving into her closet/studio again. As she rummaged through the clothes she began calling out to her love. “Babe, this car. You should fucking see it.” A lot of serotonin was flowing at the moment inside of the demon dream girl's body. Today was going to be a good day or at least she hoped it would be: they fucking deserved it. “1963 Mercury Comet. Originally owned by Rusty from Gallows. It’s the one on their album cover. I’m pretty sure my sister was conceived in this fucking car.”

As her girlfriend continued to rummage, Jill was content to lay back on the bed with the pillows propping her up so she could watch Mei work. She could feel the excitement radiating from the Ramsey girl, even with the description of the circumstances of Reagan's conception. While Gallows generally wasn't on her playlist, her appreciation was growing with each spin of the vinyl that Mei had secured. "Mental note, we are not calling the Comet 'the fucking car'."

After much searching, Mei emerged from her walk in holding Jill’s ensemble for the day. She placed it neatly on the bed before her love and sat back down next to her. “Sit up for me babe.” Reaching back to the pile, she pulled an old choker chain from it and gently began to place it around Jill’s neck. “This was my Dad’s in the nineties, when he was in the band. Suits you better.” Wrapping her arms around the good Lady Ashes, Mei kissed the nape of her neck. “I’m so glad you want to do this. Goddess knows I’ve been waiting.”

As her lover tenderly linked the chain around her, the choker a stark contrast to the pale white of her skin, Jill softly cooed under the attention. Feeling the soft touch of Mei's lips on her neck felt so right, and the choker that now hung there almost felt like a symbol that she had been claimed. And she was enthralled by it. It was as if she was a part of the night now, and in lockstep with its mistress. "I don't think I can imagine Will sporting anything like this, but it is nice to know I wear it better than he does." The O'Brien girl brushed her hand along Mei's hair, as if to encourage her. "And why wouldn't I want to do this, Mei? I am so ready to embrace every part of this life together. Although," Jill smirked mischievously as a thought crossed her mind, "Just so you know, I am totally the type to bank this for a favor in the future, even if I am thoroughly enjoying it."

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Mei remarked as she planted another kiss onto her love before rolling back off of the bed. “Let’s go good looking, we’ve got a busy day ahead.”

---

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A trip up to Boston usually didn’t take long but summer traffic was an absolute bitch! Arriving at the trailer park, Mei expected she and Jill to be met by meth heads and hobos with polka dot rucksacks. Instead they were met with a very chill, commune type of vibe. It was actually quite refreshing to be free from the shithole that they usually called home. Of course, Mei stood out as she so often did in her all black ensemble of a leather shorts, knee highs, fishnets and sheer long sleeve top.

From a distance, the Wiccan warrior could see their prize. Sitting outside a modern trailer, sparkling, shining, glowing like the embers in her beloved's hair, was a car, THE car, the Comet! She held the Gallows vinyl in her arms close to her chest as she almost sprinted towards the car. Mei had dreamt of this car since she was eleven years old and found out her dad was in that legendary Edenridge band. Had she not discovered the album tucked away under the stairs one night when she was hiding from a moody Reagan, maybe she wouldn’t have become the goth girl she eventually evolved into.

Running up to the car; she began to caress it ever so gently. Goddess, it was beautiful. “I’m sorry, babe. I love you but this might actually be the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

As Jill walked around the trailer park, she was happy to let the fresh air hit her after all that time trapped in the CR-V with only the air conditioning to save them. She hadn’t driven much in the last little bit, given that she spent a majority of her time under the influence and didn’t need to add a DUI to her freefall, but she had been sober for a couple of days, the longest stretch of time in months. It did feel nice to have that little bit of clarity… until the cars slowed to a crawl and everything sucked.

Still, it was worth it to see the look on Mei’s face. Jill could actually see the excitement and energy in those painted eyes, a look that she was becoming more and more familiar with as their relationship took those first steps. She could even see it on her own face from time to time. Even if she was embracing some darker tones today. Jill could see her face in the reflection of the black enamel paint on the back panel, her pale white skin creating islands of black eyeliner, eyeshadow and lipstick inside of itself. The lace at the hem of her tank top stood out in contrast to the wide bracelets and the choker she sported, although it did seem more in line with the fishnet stockings she had on under a pair of black cutoffs. She didn’t know how much goth she was rocking, but it was appropriate enough for the summer.

Still apparently wasn’t as sexy as the Comet though.

“Well, she definitely wears black better than I do,” Jill commented as she traced a finger along the chassis of the car. “I can at least say you’re sexier to me than a car. Even this car, and it’s plenty hot, girl.”

Mei grinned Cheshire-like as she stood up from the car and walked up to her girlfriend. Standing next to the Comet, the Good Lady Ashes was an album cover girl in her own right. She wrapped her arms around the girl's waist and slipped her hands into the back pockets of Jill’s cut offs. “I’m crushing on the car, true, but you are my one and only” She pressed their painted lips together in a hard kiss.

Breaking away, Mei leaned against the Comet. She thought about all the history that was tied to its obsidian frame and red leather interior. The legend of how Rusty stole it from some big wig in Providence whilst he was on a school trip. How the members of Gallows named themselves whilst sitting in it by the Elder Tree. The making of the Cursed Blood album and how it sat outside Absolute while the band broke up about five times in one session. These were all stories her father told her, though she knew there were so many more that he didn’t want her to know. The Comet was as much a part of Edenridge history as the House on Hanging Hill Lane or the Camp Eden massacre.

“Now give me five minutes, Imma go pay the lady, get the keys and then you and I are going to go wild in that backseat ‘Kay?” Mei slapped Jill’s perfectly pert butt hard and shot her a wink before hurrying into the trailer door and entering through it as the seller had requested.

Jill was content to smile as she watched Mei walk away into the trailer, the ripple effect still being felt through her body. It was so weird the way their relationship had been transforming the past few days. It was not the first time Miss Midnight had gotten a hand on her backside, but these most recent ones, they weren’t just a congratulations on another well-put on show for the boys at the Hole. She could feel the desire radiating from Mei since they made it official.

And damn it felt good to be desired again. Not in the one-night stand sort of way, where she was only good for one brief lay in the hay. Maybe two if the guy was good. This was pure, unbridled lifelong desire. Jillian had never felt anything like this before, not even with the man now in jail. Mei was giving everything to her, and she was absorbing all of it. As she leaned on the Comet, content to just bathe in the sunlight that she had been denying for a while, it all felt good.

Jill looked at the backseat Mei had mentioned and gave a soft laugh. “Don’t you worry, we’ll move you first, then we’ll go wild in the backseat. Don’t need to be giving the former owners a show.”

After a few minutes, Mei emerged from the trailer with the keys to the car dangling from one finger and her bag still full of cash in the other. She had a confused look on her face as she approached Jill. “We’re getting the car for free,” she began, somewhat flabbergasted. “Yeah. She said we were family. I’m assuming because my Dad was in the band? I don’t know. She was kinda weird but fuck it, either the bitch is crazy or we’re about to die a horrible death in this thing but at least we’ll go out looking sexy as hell.”

Clearly, Jill wasn’t very good at hiding the stunned look on her face, since Mei read her reaction perfectly. A vintage car like this for free! This was not the kind of good fortune that found its way into Edenridge. Jillian opened her mouth as if to say something, then shut it, then started again. “You know what, if that’s how we join the rest of the cheerleading squad, we will have an awesome story to tell them when we get there. Totally worth it.”

Moving over to the driver's side, Mei stared at the car that she had dreamt of for years. The Comet, to her, was more than just a car. It was an idea, a thought and a feeling. It was the inspiration for a song, her favourite; a tale of longing, like she had done for Jill for so many years. It was a story of a desperate search for meaning and for love and for finding it in the most unexpected of places. It was more than just a car, it was The Comet.

She climbed inside and just drank in the euphoric sensation that was coursing through her veins. She cracked open the glove compartment, it was filled with photos, notes and a pair of vintage aviators. It was just like the crazy trailer lady had said; it was untouched. With her dark eyes glowing, Mei looked up towards Jill with a happy smile . “Wanna go for a ride, sugartits?”

The redhead plucked the aviators out of the open compartment and slid them effortlessly on her face, the black lipstick combining with the dark glasses to give herself a vintage look to match her girlfriend’s new car. She smiled wide, teeth shown. “I’d follow you into the River Styx, babydoll,” she affirmed. “Although, here’s my plan. Quick drive around, make sure the Comet works, come back here, take my car back to our place, hop in the Comet, find a nice quiet spot in Eden, and then christen the backseat so hard that songs will have to be written about what we did today. Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect”

Mei forwent all idiosyncrasies, nervousness and longing as she stuck the key into the ignition and started her up. The car’s sudden, beautiful vibration as it roared into life for the first time in years made her grip the wheel that much tighter as she let out an audible gasp of pleasure and excitement. “Fuck I think I just had an orgasm” She quipped as she began to stroke the steering while with tenderness. There she was, in her dream car with her dream girl. If life was but a dream, it was a dream she didn’t want to wake up from. Kill her dead now Goddess and she would die, for the first time in her life perhaps, happy.

She glanced over at Jill who had placed the shades upon her face and she looked divine. “Let’s rock and roll” She put her foot down on the gas, forcing the car out from the makeship trailer driveway and out onto the open road.

And the girl saw a comet and now her life had meaning….

Edenridge

Tena

Name

Mitena Dakota Laree Strongbow

Nicknames

Tena (pronounced TEH-NA)

Age

Twenty

Gender

Female

Sexuality

Bisexual (No Lean)

Relationship Status

Single

Appearance Details

• Hair: Black | Shoulder Length | Bangs or Tied Up in a short Ponytail
• Eyes: Dark Brown
• Height: Five foot Six
• Body Type: Hourglass figure
• Clothing Style: Bohemian Rock | 1 2
• Makeup Wise: She has a very minimalist makeup style but isn’t afraid to go a little glam with it if she has to.
• Scars, Tattoos and/or Piercings:
  Tena has both of her ears, nose and belly button pierced. She has a tattoo on her left arm that means “Respect” in her Native language.

Biography

When James Strongbow-Winters left the Blue Hill reservation when he was sixteen, he had every intention of coming back with great riches to help provide for his struggling community. Fast forward to the present day and no one dares mention his name. A failed rockstar turned servant of the white man’s god who lost his heart and his mind thanks to a curse against his chosen home. The last time James returned to the reservation before his self-inflicted death, he had given up on his faith and indeed upon himself. Lost in woe and knee deep in debauchery, he was not himself when he stumbled across Dakota Silverheel. Their romance lasted the length of the summer before he disappeared and eventually ended his life. Dakota’s souvenir for her troubles was a baby girl she named Mitena.

Tena grew up with a strong connection to her heritage. Her mother was very upfront about her father, who he was and what had happened and been done to him. This was probably the reason why when she was old enough, the young indigenous girl took his family name. At no point was she afraid to acknowledge who her father was. Was she proud? Not necessarily but she understood him, at least, just enough she did.

Mitena was only nine when the doctors told her mother about the cancer. There was nothing they could’ve done. The diagnosis was terminal and somehow, Dakota was ok with that. She gave her daughter a whirlwind tour of fun before she finally succumbed. The tribe really stepped up and began to take care of Tena. She may have been alone but she had a huge surrogate family of people that supported her; especially the woman she came to know as Auntie Jalyn.

When Tena was fourteen, she received a letter from a few towns over, a boy by the name of Charlie Decker. He claimed to be her brother, a child of the craven James Winters. Intrigued and against her better judgement, Mitena agreed to meet this boy. The pair met in Boston, along with Charlie’s mother Rhonda. He had found her using a genealogy website. The two kids shared many similarities, a shared taste in music and literature, though Charlie favoured books and Tena the guitar. From then on, they began a weekly correspondence through the medium of letters. It felt far more intimate than email and it lasted for just shy of four years. Then Charlie’s letters stopped. A few days later, Tena was watching the news and saw her brother's face. He had been responsible for the most heinous of actions and her heart broke into a million little pieces.

Forgoing college, Tena stayed on the reservation. She has always wanted to leave but with their economy as it is, she felt the desperate need to help out those that helped her. She is a well known face amongst the residents of Blue Hill with Tena being the go to handywoman for anything ranging from babysitting to gardening, home decor to electrical wiring. She has made herself an indispensable member of the community. She also plays with her band regularly at the local honky tonk and helps her aunties out on her weed farming business.

Tena knows there’s more out there for her, that destiny is calling her. Yet considering what has happened to everybody else in her life who answered fate's call, there is a great deal of fear for her future..

Family

James Strongbow-Winters - Father - Deceased - FC: Steven Strait
Dakota Silverheel - Mother - Deceased - FC: Julia Jones
Charles Strongbow-Decker - Half Brother - Deceased - FC: Jordan Connor
Jalyn Isaacs - Surrogate Aunt - FC: Kaniehtiio Horn

Misc.

• Devery Jacobs | BB986B
• Font - Native Alien
• Tena plays lead guitar and sings vocals for a band called “Red Wolf Road”.
• Wears a bracelet Charlie made for her at all times.
• Rides a Yamaha YZF-R3

Palm Beach Royals: Class Reunion (Shelved)

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A @LovelyComplex and @BrutalBx Collab

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The bartender was quick to give them their drinks and as he did so, Kim smiled, “Yes. Yes, sir, I… I do.” She quoted The Irisman verbatim, before turning her stool toward him, her left leg over her right, “What about it?” Kimber gave a blissful, unbothered smile at the man she’s had a long history with. She was in a good mood, feeling herself and Max couldn’t ruin that for her.

Immediately. Max was taken aback by Kim’s vibe. It has been years, sure but something was very different. This was not the same Kimber Benson that he knew. There was a new aura to her, a confidence and fierceness in her words. This was a Kim that had finally experienced a world outside of her laptop. The dress alone, which accentuated every positive was enough to strike Maxi in a special kind of way.

Grabbing her stainless steel cocktail pick, she brought it to her lips and took a smooth, slow, unintentionally seductive bite, sucking the olive inside her mouth. Once she chewed and swallowed, she placed the pick on the table. Kim was truly appreciative of the time she spent with her best friend. They both were able to drink their nerves and emotions away the night prior, so now the playwright could present her true, authentic, and best self. The confidant, boss bitch that knew how to have a good time. Kimber Benson, an award-winning playwright and singer-songwriter, as well as an aspiring film director, producer, and actor. So much life to live, so little time.

[color=c37f58]“Looks like you haven’t changed much,”[/colort] Kim said matter-of-factly, before asking, “How’s life treating the star of the show? Any big leads? Any milestones I should care about?” The smile on her face never wavered, even while she took a sip of her Manhattan.

”You know me, KB. All the worlds a stage,” He began. “I just finished up on Hamilton though. Felt like I was back on one of your shows to be honest. Nobody plays a villain quite like me.” It was true, that the curly haired man had a knack for always being the bad guy. It was a trait that he had carried throughout his entire performing career. Maybe it was just so easy to hate him? Who knew? In spite of the acclaim he had gathered over the years, Max would stand by the fact that the best work he ever did was in Kim’s Hateful Ever After.

Raising an eyebrow, Kim listened to Max, as he did his thing and talked about his achievements and how he had a knack for playing the bad guy. Teasingly, the playwright inquired, “Have you finally found that special someone or is it still you and Vann living in a forever fever dream? Please do tell. We both know how much you love to talk.”

He was somewhat taken aback by the forwardness. Max and Kim had been duelling against one another for the better part of five years. It was a game that only they could play and of course, the minute they met, the game was back on. Maxi had no idea whether or not to be terrified or turned on. ”I’m still waiting on you, Kim. Waiting for that wedding invitation so I can turn up wearing white and do what I do best. Steal. The. Show.”

“I am dating someone.” Kimber shrugged, knowing well enough that the person she liked was just a passing moment, someone to go on dates with until she had to say goodbye. “Though that’s going to end soon since I’m moving out of the big apple.” Kim smiled to herself, feeling the excitement of her next endeavor. She was also looking forward to being closer to Lili. Last night made her realize how nostalgic it all was, how much Lili felt like home. She missed her terribly, which only meant another reason to move sooner rather than later.

”Really? That’s interesting.” Max was a little shocked by both her statements. ”Why are you leaving? Your shows are doing big numbers and getting some great reviews.” He stopped himself, having now revealed he was fully aware of her Big Apple escapades. He took a drink from his glass, fully committing to the breaking of the ruse now. Why the fuck not? Kim had the ability to see through his bullshit anyway. ”Or are you finally heading to Hollyweird to write for the CW?”

Staring at Max, with her sharp, dark eyes, she contemplated her life thus far, realizing it was kind of bittersweet to be at a reunion full of people she used to know. Some survived the years, but most faded away like stars before the sun. In all honesty, she never had a bond like she had with Max. She would never admit it but him, just by existing and paving his own path to inspire other King’s Academy students to immortalize their name, helped her come to terms with her own strengths, and weaknesses. He made herself aware and oddly enough, she was appreciative for that.

What the hell did Lili put in her drinks last night? She was actually feeling things beyond spite for this eyesore of a man. “You know for damn sure my writing is better than whatever shows they have on CW.” Her eyes trailed past Max to observe the energetic duo behind him acting like no time had passed. Part of her wished no time had passed. To be young forever, in a period that was simply about having fun and being a kid. Her career life was more than together, she had good friends and a good network of people, but she still felt like she was lacking.

Maybe that’s why the move was so important to her. Maybe, part of her just wanted a new environment, surrounded by new people to find that person she truly clicks with. Dating was one thing but falling in love and intertwining each other’s future to make one? That was what life was truly about. She could write about all these raw emotions and yet still not personally have lived through it. That’s why it was easy to write struggles and drama, the focus in the end was never about love but overcoming obstacles. “To answer your question, yes.” She took another sip of her drink before continuing, “I’m changing platforms and writing work to go on the big screen. I could do that anywhere but…” Bashfully, her eyes grew distant, as she thought of the things she wanted and more. “I need change.”

Coming back from the vaults of her mind, switching on the confidence again, Kim smiled, “How about you? You say the world is your stage and yet you limit your talent to broadway. Is New York enough for Maxwell Bedlam?”

Maybe the reality was that he had matured since their last meeting? Or perhaps it was simply Kim’s presence but either way, for the first time in a long time, Max wanted to be brutally honest. “The world’s not enough, chica.” He responded with his best Scarface impersonation. Truth be told it wasn’t too much of an impersonation considering the type of work some of Maxi’s family was involved in. The Montero clan were well known throughout the Miami underworld. “Venturing out has crossed my mind. Tried writing a few things. Done a few tv auditions. I’m either not white enough or Hispanic enough…not gay enough. At least on the stage, I know that there isn’t anyone out there that can do what I do.”

Placing her glass down, a lot harder than she meant to, Kim crossed her arms and gave Max that look he knew all too well. A perplexed look that told him she didn’t agree with his attitude. “So what now? You’re just going to give up?”

After all this time, he was still hitting the same wall, his own imagined limitations. “To be something, you have to live. And I don’t mean fucking whoever and doing whatever gives you a temporary high. You want something permanent? You fight for that bitch. You think getting my plays seen was a walk in the park? Fuck no.” It was clear Kim was extremely passionate about her experiences.

“My best play I ever made, you know it very well, was ripped to pieces in college. All that confidence I thought I had? Right out the fucking door. Imagine being the daughter of two writers and realizing you might not be as good as you thought you were.” Unlatching her arms, she grabbed her drink, switching her crossed leg position. After taking a deep sip, she disclosed, “I was a barista starting off, and I really thought hey maybe I should give up. What’s the point if I’m never going to be good enough?” Kim knew since childhood she was an observer, someone meant for backstage, never the limelight. She was understated and muted in comparison to her classmates so she always struggled internally, thinking she was invisible.

“You know what helped me?” She paused, speaking completely from the heart —pure, raw, and vulnerable. Kim realized she was talking way too much and towards Max of all people. Maybe he didn’t want to hear any of this. Maybe she bore him to tears. Maybe she was preaching to the choir…

And yet, she was completely herself and comfortable with Max, having faith he’d handle her words with strides. She admired him and believed in his character even when he was a thorn on her side. “You did. It was this random lonely night where I was eating Chinese and just staring at my laptop screen. I thought about you—” She glanced away briefly before quickly covering her words up with sarcasm, “—I know shocker. But the time you saw me… getting cold feet with my play. You called me an absolute bitch but you also said I was talented and that you believed in me.”

Adjusting her position, realizing her dress rose up, Kim sat on her words you saw me and blushed. Did she actually just go on a tangent? Did she actually just admit to Max that he randomly entered her mind when she was alone? Did she actually inadvertently reveal she cared about him? What the fuck was she on. Clearing her throat and looking away once more, embarrassed now, she pushed onward and encouraged, “Well, Max, you’re an absolute bitch but you’re literally one of the most talented people I know so… don’t give up.”

The fuck was this?

Kimber Benson just blasted him with all kinds of info that his brain and heart now had to compute. He had secretly been following her success all this time, of course he had. It was true symbiosis, their relationship. There as a constant giving and taking away. Pep talks and idle threats. It had been that way for years. Max loved Vann and Yas, he was bros with Nate and Spike but Kim…that was a different type of animal. Something electric and dangerous was between them, sweetness and toxicity. At a loss for words and as she always did, Kim had given Max a lot to think about. Unable to promote how he was feeling, the performer defaulted to his usual state but this time, there was a soft sincerity to what he was about to say.

“Before this all ends in a tragedy for for Shakespeare, I want you to know, you look beautiful tonight.”

Rolling her eyes, in a playful manner, Kim gave a very kind and genuine smile, full of warmth and delight. She accepted what had happened. Opening her mouth, to return the compliment, she stopped before she could say anything when the sound of a ringtone she knew well resounded in her clutch. “I… have to take this.” She said apologetically, before removing herself from the bar. “It’s nice seeing you Max! I’m sure we’ll talk again.” Once she waved goodbye, she picked up the phone, “Hey babe, what’s up?” and walked away to a quieter area, far away from the bar.

“Well that happened.” Maxi shook his head before dropping onto a nearby stool and downing the remnants of his drink. He slid it further down the bar and looked up at the employee that stood before him. “Sweetheart I’m gonna need the strongest fucking thing you have….maybe two of them. Fuck it three is a nice number. Chop, chop kemohsabe.” He clapped his hands between every syllable of that final word as his hazel eyes drifted towards the departing Kim.

Nothing had changed.

She was still the only person that saw who he really was.

That fucking sucked.

Cyberpunk2077: 5th Corporate War

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It was a simple transaction.

Left in their usual place by the Padre, Dead Kelley’s instructions for this gig were straightforward. No collateral. The rest of the details were whatever Kelley desired them to be. There was no need for discretion; no need for pomp and circumstance, end a life, a single life and close the contract. The eddies would be in his account before the end of the day. The snatching of a life; this did not weigh heavily on Kelley’s soul. He has made peace with himself and what his body did. His spirit was pure, his body a weapon. Life was but a dream.

It was a simple transaction.

For most, the heavily modified “Whisper” would feel weighty in the hands of somebody else. She was of course a Techtronika SPT32 Grad, a legitimate beast of a rifle. To Kelley, she was as light as a feather. He was perched in the window of the abandoned apartment; the entire floor was vacant due to what many believed a voodoo boys hit. The place was firebombed to fuck. Word on the street was that the target was some techie, Judy or something. Either way it didn’t matter, it made for the perfect crows nest for Kelley.

The target today was some corpo cunt called Loudermilk. What he did didn’t really matter; if the name was written in the ledger, then they would be pushed into the next life sooner rather than later. Black Alice had left Kelley a few more details, typical of her. She liked to give her boys some incentive. Turns out that Loudermilk not only liked to steal from his corp but he also had a proclivity for kidnapping kids, doing unspeakable things to them and grafting ungodly cybernetics onto their poor bodies. He was the worst kind of fetishist. Kelley rarely took any kind of personal pleasure in his job but for this gonk, he would find joy in that.

Kelley had mapped out Loudermilk’s entire routine and had been waiting for days to line up that perfect shot. His enhanced eyes narrowed with his finger grazing the trigger. Loudermilk was parked by the edge of the water; some joy toy from JigJig on their knees with his little pecker in their mouth. It was all clockwork. One shot. One kill. In less than a second, Kelley had pulled back the trigger and Loudermilks brains and implants were sprayed across the windscreen of his car. The joy toy fell from the back seat onto the soaking wet ground, their face a crimson mass of blood and cybernetics, screaming as they hurried into the night.

”Target eliminated”

He broke down his rifle and placed it into the suitcase that he was carrying before departing the rooftop. Kelley climbed into the waiting Delemain cab. ”Afterlife, Del. And play me some Samurai would you?”

With the dulcet tones of Kerry Eurodyne and the powerful guitar of Johnny Silverhand serenading him; Kelley closed his eyes as his car set off on its journey. This was what he liked to refer to as his meditation. He looked back on the gig he had just done. Was there any way it could have been done better? Any way that it could’ve been cleaner or quicker? Not really but it was good to remind yourself that not everything you do was perfect. He thought back to his days in MaxTac and the events that led him to this point. He subconsciously reached for the wound on his neck, feeling the ruff, pattern on top of the scar tissue almost transported him back to that moment all those years ago.

The honking of a horn awoke the sniper from his trance; he had arrived at the Afterlife. It was time to collect payment.

Edenridge

^{A @BrutalBx & @LovelyComplex Collaboration}


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Finishing her expresso, no longer with her partner-in-crime across from her, Kylee patiently waited for the two men to get settled in. Going in her purse, she took out her sunset orange lipgloss and mini compact mirror. Applying it while glancing over, she surveyed their gestures, mannerisms, and expressions. While she couldn’t hear what they were saying, she was pretty good at reading lips and based on Clay’s wide mouth talk, Kylee gathered he was being interviewed, but why? Why him?

Taking a moment to pucker her lips, Kylee observed her face, every detail, from her eyebrows to her cheekbones, and smiled to herself. Whether people wanted to acknowledge it or not, she was deadly and Roddy himself believed that she was a woman with no halo, with the gift of soul sucking. Still, he saw beyond that and heard her desperate melody to find closure and to be free from her own chains. He saw the good, when no one else did.

Her ruthlessness was the reason why she found out the truth, but there was still so much heart in her. So much hope to unravel the truth, for better or for worse. So much she wished she could do but was limited by the barren halls and barren hearts of her house. Closing her compact mirror, she glanced over to the table once more and let her gaze watch the back of Wesley.

As she put her belongings away, she wondered who he was as a person and if he would give her a chance. She knew it was too early to entertain anything with him, or even lust over him, but there was something about him that was magnetizing. She knew Mr. Silo was in over his head. Not only did he want to look into the many ghost stories of her town, but he also wanted to find the perpetrator behind Charlie Decker’s letters. Their first meeting on Dawn Patrol wasn’t the most ideal, with him putting her father on blast, but she hoped she could redeem their tense moment on air by welcoming him wholeheartedly to Edenridge.

Without further ado, Kylee stood up, knowing she gave both reporter and copper enough time to order their drinks and get comfortable in their seats. Passing Beau and waving at him dearly, Kylee steered her way through the cafe and to their booth, coming behind Wes. Clay and Ky met each other’s gaze before she announced her presence, “Oh hey! What’s going on over here, Clay? Not talking Mr. Silo’s ear off about craft beer or all the women you flirt with, huh? Made any progress with Cat? I bet not, she’s a married woman after all.” Teasingly, Kylee winked at the young cop, before crossing her arms and bringing her playful gaze to the reporter.

“Listen, I’m wearing her down, ok?” He looked to his new curly haired companion, who looked puzzled. In prototypical Clay fashion, the young cop was one hundred percent clueless as to his cousin’s friend's intentions. “If it’s a loveless marriage, is it really a marriage? Think about that Grimmy.”

“Ha, you don’t stand a chance,” Kylee said matter-of-factly.

It was God’s honest truth that Clay Costigan was not the sharpest tool in the shed; he was a pretty boy who got by on his looks and effortless, wholesome charm. Yet it was also true that underneath his Farrah Fawcett hair (which most definitely could not have been a EPD regulation haircut but was still absolutely amazing) Clay’s instincts were second to none. In testing, he had scored in the 98th percentile and was considered the top of his class at the academy. Behind the goofy exterior, he was a highly capable and extremely dedicated police officer.

Clay had known Kylee for a long time; he had watched her play Scooby Doo with Roddy when they were kids and she had grown into a strong, fierce and beautiful young woman. It was a shame she so desperately needed to get involved in everybody’s business; in this town jr was probably going to get her in trouble, then again, she was the mayor's baby daughter. The way she had presented herself to them, the make up and the look on her face; she was here for work, that much was obvious but there was something else, something Clay picked up on immediately. She was here for the reporter, in more ways than one.

“Actually,” Wes finally chimed in. “I’m just speaking to Clay here about the current drive for funds within the emergency services here and if he thought that had any impact on the crime rate here.” The reporter took a sip from his black coffee before turning to look at the newcomer. “You look nice.”

“Aw shucks, you flatter me,” Kylee giggled before gesturing for Wesley to scoot over in the booth so she could join in on the interview. “Oh interesting. I’d love to know about Clay’s perspective on this matter too.” With gentle force, she went to sit next to the reporter, allowing her body to touch him ever so slightly as she moved into the bench with him. “Please, show me what it takes to be a good reporter, Mr. Silo.” Kylee brightly beamed, inserting herself into their business without permission.

With a flush of heat on the nape of his neck, Wes moved as Kylee had requested and interlocked his fingers together across the table. It was game time, Wesley, don’t fuck it up. “So, Clay; Mayor Grimm is currently in the process of driving a heavy campaign on funnelling funds into the police and the fire departments but had been struggling to raise the funds through our links to Boston government. They say he’s got another plan in place, something more local. Have you heard anything about that?”

Clay ran both his hands through his luxurious locks of hair whilst leaning back in the chair. “Well I hear we may be getting some new hotel? Maybe he’s gonna use that tourist dollar to help pay us? I don’t know that’s a bit beyond my pay grade.”

Wes made some notes in his notepad, glancing at Kylee for a second before he continued. His line of questioning was based around her father; he’d already made mention of him in a previous encounter and that didn’t go so well. “Clay, let’s not beat around the bush. Where are the police in regards to the investigation into the ongoing letters being sent to Edenridge residents based on notes from the journal of one Charles Jay Strongbow Decker?”

“Well shit,” Clay immediately began to think back through his Swiss cheese memory. Chief Broadus had literally sat everyone down in the meeting room the other day and presented a PowerPoint on how to answer this exact question. The Charlie Decker investigation was a sensitive matter and so far had been confined to Edenridge and Pinehurst only. If it got out to the greater New England area and made national headlines, they’d all be fucked. “You should already know, Wes, we can’t speak about an ongoing investigation but what I can say is that we’ve made some significant strides.”

“That’s what they all say when they have no fucking idea.” Kylee chimed in, as she graciously accepted the water being delivered by a waitress. Mischievously, she smiled at Clay, knowing exactly what she was doing. “If you’re onto someone, it’s probably some stupid red herring or an easy scapegoat. Things in Edenridge aren’t that simple.”

The mayor’s daughter took a generous sip of water before glancing at the reporter, happy and in the moment, no longer brooding over Roddy’s departure, “I’m surprised you chose Clay over Mr. James. Him and my father go back. I don’t know the details, but I’ve seen them talk to one another and I’ve also seen Mrs. James go into my father’s office on numerous occasions. The vibe they give is not business associates. It’s definitely family. Hell, I could ask daddy for you. If anything, he’d want people to know.” As she finished her last sentence, she gave Clay a challenging gaze, as she placed her cup on the table.

“You’re teasing me, Kylee, and I don’t like it.” Clay smiled back at the younger woman. He knew there was no real malice behind her undermining of him. She was always a firecracker, even when she was a tween hanging in the Callahan garden with the shaggy haired one. “You wanna throw barbs? I can tell Wes here about your gown mishap at your spring formal! Oh yeah, Robo Rod told me all about it.” He folded his arms, leaning back into his chair as he did so. “He chose me, dearest Kylee, because I’m impartial. The fact that your daddy has those familial relationships with other officers, no matter if I respect said officer or not, can lead to complications.”

Wes hung his head slightly. Maybe this whole thing was a mistake. These people. This town. There was a whole lot of history to unpack here, lots of stories woven into the fabric of space and time like dust particles in a beam of sunlight. No. That’s why this was important. All these connections are what made the truth and the story worth telling.

“I think we can help each other. The three of us,” The reporter began. “We all want the same thing, to help, to heal and to serve. Why not team up? Clay you’ve got an in with the police. Miss Grimm here has heavy ties to the street and to the mayor's office and I have a particular set of skills of my own.”

“Ok Neeson settle down.”

Wes shot a look towards the young officer. “Shut up, Clay. I’m being serious,” He leaned forward, lowering his tone somewhat. “Together we can really help this place. Expose the person behind the letters, finally get rid of the damn Serpents, the Angels, all those animals that hold this place under their thumb. We can do this together.”

Oh boy! A project. Kylee loved projects. Especially the kind of projects that involved an investigation, a massive amount of secrets, and a hot reporter. She knew he was in over his head but hey, if he wanted to take her down this rabbit hole, she would join him without any hesitation. Hard crush much? Yeah, but unfortunately he was thinking more about the story than the girl sitting right next to him.

“This sounds like it could be one hell of an adventure!” The mayor’s daughter gleefully cheered. She looked at Clay and intentionally started to talk with her hands, “What do you say, officer?”

This was an intriguing prospect. Clay was a believer in the judicial system and a believer in his fellow boys in blue but despite his usual tomfoolery, he was no idiot. He was well aware of the inbred corruption in the police force, the mayor's office and basically any other possible figure of authority that existed or ever had existed in Eden stemming back to Nathaniel Carlisle in the sixteen hundreds. It was a flawed and broken system. Perhaps they could change it? He always wanted to, it was his goal since…

The moment Kylee had said officer, she accidentally swiped her cup of water off the table and onto Wes’ lap, soaking him. “Oh no!” She grabbed a few napkins off the table and immediately started patting his lap, “I’m so, so sorry. Clumsy me.”

Immediately Clay’s train of thought was broken as Kylee spilled her drink. The man they called McDungus broke into a wide, goofy smile before a small chuckle escaped his throat. “Great start to a new venture guys.”

Wes’s face turned beat red as he felt the beautiful girl's hand on his lap, edging ever so close to his… “OK!” He sprang up to his feet and began to dry himself off with his hands. His eyes briefly locked with the brunette’s…God she was beautiful….no, business. “I’m just gonna…well…yeah, I’ll be back.” He turned to walk away and tripped over a chair. Luckily the reporter didn’t fall and managed to course correct towards the bathroom of Rochambeau. “Think about what I said!” He called back.

“Smooth moves, Grimm.”

“I know, right?” Kylee placed the wet napkins on the table, her face beaming with excitement. After all the sadness she had experienced with her best friend, this was a fantastic change of pace. For better or for worse, Wesley noticed her and she couldn’t be anymore happier.

Adjusting herself, she laid out her hands, bringing them up and down, imitating a weight scale, “On a scale of never in a million years to he’s hard for me, just have to work my magic, what are my chances?” While Kylee didn’t need Clay’s affirmation, she still wanted to hear it. She knew regardless if her chances were slim to none she’d pursue the reporter.

It was all rather exciting, don’t you think? Kylee hadn’t felt this excited since she and Natalia started dating. Fortunately, that ended because Natalia was a crazy bitch. Kylee knew this was different because Wes wasn’t insufferable. He was genuine and loved chasing stories - something they had in common. It wasn’t Kylee’s fault that Natalia pushed her to a point where she had no other choice but to ghost her. Boo-hoo. Clearly the slut got over it - sleeping with half of the southsiders.

“He’s probably got his hand around his dick right now.” Clay mused before taking a sip from his drink. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s flirting and body chemistry…wait, that's two things…point being, you’re in there Kylee. He’s trying to keep it professional but he sees you, trust ol’ Clay Costigan, he knows what he’s talking about.” Moving his now empty cup to the side of the table for the wait staff to come and collect, Clay leaned forward slightly in his chair, interlocking his fingers across the table. “In all seriousness though, Kylee, can we trust him? He’s an outsider, he doesn’t know this town like we do.”

Wes splashed the water across his face in the small bathroom. Having dried off his tan suit pants, he stared deeply into the mirror. “She’s not why you came here, Wes. You read too many comics. It doesn’t just happen like that. You know what you’re here to do.”

“Of course not. You don’t just make a team overnight, but hey, you and me? We can keep tabs on him and make sure he… well, he doesn’t do something stupid.” Leaning in forward, she offered her pinky to Clay, staring at him in a way that said let's make an oath, right here, right now, “I know there is a deeper motive than chasing conspiracies and finding the truth behind it all. I know those eyes… he’ll do anything to get where he needs to go. Let’s play nice. I get some good dick and you? Well, you can protect the town. What do you say?” She pushed her pinky closer to the young officer’s hand.

A pinky promise? What were they, five?

Clay mulled or over for a moment. Rod trusted Kylee with his life, so she can’t be all show surely? There was definitely an air of her father around her and that could only work to the man’s advantage. Clay didn’t particularly like going behind Sly’s back and doing this sort of thing but desperate times right? This place was a hellhole and maybe, just maybe, the three of them could do something about it. Finally, after what felt like an entering, he locked his little finger with hers and the deal was done.

”Let’s save the world”

Returning from the bathroom, Wes sat down at their table but was taken aback by the sudden disappearance of one Kylee Grimm. He looked towards Clay, who had a face full of breakfast muffin, egg yolk dripping onto his plate and bread crumbs around his mouth. This guy was an animal. ”Where’s Kyl…I mean Miss Grimm?

”She ran off with a model to the Bahama’s. We’ll never see her again” He responded with a mouthful. ”We’re both in by the way. This thing of yours, we’re gonna help but you fuck us and anyone we care about, you’re ass is grass you hear me, Reporter man?”

With a large grin across his face, Wes felt like a small child being given a brand new toy. This was exciting. ”That is so awesome!” After raising his hands in victory, the truth seeker began to feel around his person in search of something. The pace of his hands became more frantic before his eyes fell upon his new partner. ”…so I…erm…yeah…I hear Clay Costigan always springs for breakfast?”

Slamming his tongue into his cheek, Clay let out a great sigh as he reached into his wallet to pull out a few dollars. ”That’s one”

Edenridge

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“So last night was fun”

She slipped on the crumpled dress that had spent the evening on Clay Costigan’s barely decorated living room floor. This was not the first time that she had spent the evening with Eden’s most eligible.

”It’s always fun, Sawyer ” Clay said before he took a sip from the Monster energy drink that he had just opened. Sawyer Steen had been a part of the young officer's life for many years. She was the younger sister of Lt Jonah Steen of the fire department and Lizette O’Hara, a former Celtic Clover and an on and off lover of Clay’s since they were about sixteen. It was an arrangement that worked out for them and for Clay it was simply just one of many. He wasn’t like most guys trying to sleep with as many women as possible, he genuinely cared about every girl he’d ever been with, it was probably why they always ended up somehow crossing paths again. Was he desperately searching for love? He wasn’t sure but if he was, at least he was having fun doing it.

Clay lay on his couch, the only piece of furniture he currently had, wearing nothing but his old Celtic gym shorts and watched as the good lady redressed herself. “And you, my blonde bombshell, have picked up some new moves since we last did this. Credit to your teacher”

“Hardy har” Sawyer dropped herself next to Clay’s feet and slipped her own into the first of her knee high boots that she could find. “You really need to decorate this place, it’s kind of serial killery…though now that you’re a cop, maybe you like that? A kink to get into the mind of your prey?” She teased, tilting her head with an oh so subtle lip bite.

“Hey” He pointed to her harshly before breaking into his goofy grin. “We don’t kink shame in this house. All fetishes welcome…you know unless it’s illegal. Then I may arrest you oooh we should’ve used my handcuffs”

Sawyer let out a soft giggle as she climbed up to the lanky man’s chest and lay her head on there, wrapping her arms around his torso. She knew there would never be anything serious with Clay, she was under no illusion of that fact. Hell, she could count on one hand the amount of her friends he had also had passing fancies with. That didn’t matter though. Sometimes, all a girl wants his to be noticed, appreciated and made to feel safe. Clay Costigan may have been God’s favourite idiot but he did all of those things; when you were with him, you felt special. “Maybe next time” She sighed out through her nose. “I haven’t seen Lamb in a while, she doing ok?”

As he played ringlets with her hair, Clay’s eyes glanced over to the one framed photo he had put up on his wheat coloured walls. It was a group photo, a who’s who of Eden’s elite circa 2016. Allison, Fran, Russ, David, Jamie, Rhett, Clay himself and his sister, Laura amongst a few others. That was the last time they were all together properly. Fast forward only a few months later and everything had changed. It was the last time anything ever truly made sense in the world.

“She’s good. She’s got a place in Pinehurst now. Makes good money hosting at the Afterlife” Looking to change the subject, the Big Tuna pressed a light kiss to Sawyer sun kissed forehead. “What about you? How’s the job hunt going?”

“Terribly. This is a dead town, I don’t even know why you came back if I’m honest” Sawyer had very little love for Eden. She had gone to college, gotten her degree and only planned on staying for a little while but there never seems to be any escape from this god forsaken place. “I hear ReyRey is hiring at the Sin or maybe Lamby will get me into the Afterlife? Think you can hook me up?”

The last thing Clay would want would be to send Sawyer to what would eventually be her doon at the Edge of Sin. Talk about no escape. The Afterlife was a much more upscale establishment yet he still had his suspicions about what really happened behind closed doors. “I’ll speak to her, see if she can help out”

“You have always been the brightest diamond Clay Costigan” The beautiful girl leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips. “One day, the world will do right by you. You deserve it. It’ll come in time”

Time. Time. Oh fuck. “Fuck me in the ass and call me Bertie, I’m gonna be fucking late!” Clay jumped causing Sawyer to fling herself back to the other side of the couch. The wild haired man sprang to his feet and began scouting for clothes that didn’t smell like that perfect mixture of sex, beer and Hole in the Wall hot wings. “I’m being interviewed in like ten minutes!” Scrambling around the floor like a man possessed, Clay finally found a pair of jeans he could slip on as well as a flannel shirt. He was stealing his cousin Roddy’s look today, which was only fair since he stole his look from Clay about ten years ago.

A true man never forgets.

Once he was fully dressed, he ran to his kitchen counter and grabbed his wallet. “I’m really sorry to ditch like this, Sawyer you know I would never but this is kind of a big deal”

“I get it, it’s all good. You gotta go save the world” Popping up to her feet, she stretched her arms up into the air, allowing a full, curvaceous form to bask in the sun's glow as it peered through the newspaper that Clay currently called his curtains. “I’ll see you around copper” Sawyer pointed a finger gun at his chest and fired a kiss his way before exiting the apartment.

As the cold rush of air hit her skin, she suddenly felt a warmth around her bare shoulders. She turned to find Clay wrapping her up in a long jacket. “Bring it back soon okay? This is a nice jacket” She began to blush before he slipped some money into one of the pockets

“Clay Costigan always springs for breakfast”