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idontgiveaflyinggrayson69 · 4 years ago

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Life As We Know It | Part 7

Author: Nat / @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69

Tagging: @thirteenisles @matbaerzal @mcmo-anon @texanstarslove @matbarzyy @hockeywocs @ggggmoneyyyy @great-puck-work @calgarycanuck @toplinetommy @fiveholegoal @itrocksmysocks @joelsfarabee @barzysreputation @iangiemae @stlbluesbrat @c-tangerine @yzas-stuff @canadianheaters @jeylia-haj @roopehintz @dreamsndior @beauvibaby @2manytabsopen @nazdaddy @sorryjustafangirl @sidscrosbyy @fallinallincurls @pastelpapermoons @miranda0102 @hockeybabe87 @teenagekook @svechnikolan @kayt-marie @heatherawoowoo @barzypatty @whoeverineedtobe @lovethepreds @dylancozzys @gravyoverall @newlibrary @lena306 @caelum-the-part-time-acosmist @notaccurateornice @honestreputation [let me know if you want to be added!]

Word Count: 6.3k

Warnings: Alcohol.

Comments: I really liked how this chapter turned out and I look forwards to hearing you guys’ thoughts! xx

By the time the playoffs started, Tess was all settled in. She had unpacked and organized her clothes in the closet and dresser, organized her photos and knick knacks on the dresser and shelf, and re-organized the hall bath so it would work better for her. Her favourite cozy blanket even ended up thrown over the back of the couch, and all her cooking utensils had found their new place in the kitchen.

The crazy part was, despite the fact that she just moved in, it didn’t seem that way. Her shoes were on the rack next to Anthony’s, her coats were in the hall closet with his, and her mug sat next to his in the cupboard above the coffee maker. She might have just moved in, but she had been living there longer than she really let herself think she was.

Jockeying for playoff positions went to the final game of the season when the Islanders played the Penguins for top of the Metro. Win or lose they’d still be in the playoffs, but it was deciding who their opponent would be and it would certainly be better to win the division and get home ice for at least the first two rounds.

Tess was tense as she watched the game and she didn’t know how she was going to get through the playoffs.

It was always hard to watch Anthony in the playoffs.

It was hard to watch them get swept by the Hurricanes in 2019.

It was harder to watch them lose in overtime of Game 6 of the Conference Finals in 2020.

She remembers the moping and the anger and the frustration, last year more than ever. The Islanders had been so close and Anthony was so frustrated with himself, replaying all the mistakes and telling himself what he should have done differently. The penalties were really a sore spot for him. And, really, he didn’t get better until he went back home to Quebec and got to be with his family.

But she didn’t live with him then.

When they lost games… If they fell behind in a series… If they lost a series... Tess didn’t know what it would be like, what he’d be like, and she didn’t want to contribute to his stress.

The Islanders beat the Penguins 4-1 to win the top spot in the Metro and a first round match up with the Washington Capitals for the second straight year.

Games 1 and 2 were played at the Coli and even from her place on the couch, Tess could tell the barn was rocking. If she was being honest, she wished she could be there to experience it and cheer Anthony on in person. But, she’d have to settle for the volume on low as she looked after Sorel so Anthony could focus on bringing 35 pounds of silver back to the Island.

Game 1 was tight, which wasn’t surprising. The Caps let the Isles walk all over them in last year’s playoffs and they were committed to putting up a much harder fight this time.

Game 1 still went to the Island 2-1.

It was late by the time Anthony got in since the guys wanted to go out and celebrate the win. She’s not really sure how she did it, but Tess managed to stay up until he got home. She was curled up on the couch with a cup of herbal tea while she watched Friends when Anthony unlocked the door. She was probably to her feet a little quickly, barely giving him enough time to get through the door before she threw her arms around him.

Anthony stumbled back in surprise but laughed as he ran his hands down her back. “What’s this for?” He asked as she pulled back from the hug.

“I’m proud of you,” she replied with a smile.

Anthony’s smile softened as a warmth settled in his chest. “Still a long way to go,” he ended up saying.

“One down, fifteen to go,” she said, taking a few steps back.

“Yeah,” he agreed, hiding how much he hated her pulling away. “Fifteen to go.”

Tess yawned as she made her way over to the couch and turned the TV off. “I’m going to bed now, I just wanted to congratulate you on the game,” she said.

Something stirred in him at her words, but he shook it off and nodded, “yeah, no, of course. It’s late.”

Tess hummed and gave Anthony another smile that he returned before heading to her room, pausing at the door, “goodnight, Beau.”

“Goodnight, Tessa,” he replied and watched her slip into her room and close the door before making’s way to Sorel’s nursery. Regardless of how late it was, he refused to go to bed without seeing her. Of course, she was sleeping soundly, and Anthony did his best to head to his room as quietly as he could.

He smiled to himself as he undressed. He’s never had someone welcome him home after a game like that; never had someone to come home tolike he did with Tessa. It made him feel warm in a way he didn’t know how to explain.

He didn’t think about it long, the exhaustion from the game and the beers he had afterwards hitting him as soon as he got into bed.

The Islanders beat the Caps in six.

They had to wait another night to find out who their second round opponent would be, the New York air growing tense when the Rangers beat the Penguins in seven.

It was always an exciting, high tension time when the Islanders played the Rangers, but it was the first time they had met in the playoffs since the Rangers swept the Islanders in 1994 and the team was buzzing to right the wrongs of the past and prove they were the superior New York team.

By the time Game 1 of Round 2 started, Anthony’s playoff beard had really come in. As he waited for his coffee to brew with Sorel in one arm, he couldn’t help but scratch at his jaw.

“Do you like it?” Tess asked, making Anthony look over at her.

“Huh?” He replied, not sure what she was referring to.

“The beard,” she explained. “Do you like it?”

“Oh,” he nodded, rubbing his hand over it before shrugging. “Yeah, I don’t mind it.” He looked down at Sorel, “not sure if she does though.”

“Can’t blame her, you look so different. She’s used to your soft features so maybe she doesn’t recognize you,” Tess replied with a laugh, making Anthony look over at her.

“Do you like it?” He asked.

Tess paused to study him, taking in his scruffy appearance. It sharpened his features, made him look older. If she was being honest, she thought the beard was hot. But he didn’t need to know that. “Yeah, I do,” she said eventually. “It’s… It’s a good look on you.”

Anthony laughed but he still stood a little straighter, “well, I’m glad one of you like it.”

“She’ll get used to it,” Tess reassured him.

Later that day while Anthony was getting dressed for the game, Tess dressed Sorel up in the smallest Islanders jersey she could get customized to read “Daddy 18” on the back. She might not be going to the game, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t support her father.

Anthony’s smile grew when he saw her and held his arms out to take her from Tess. “Where’d you get this?” He asked after kissing Sorel’s cheek.

“The Islanders’ store,” she shrugged. “I thought she needed to rep her dad for the series.”

Anthony kisses her cheek again before looking to Tess. “I love it,” he told her. Tess’s smile widened and warmth spread through her chest at his words. But he continued, “only thing that would make it better would be if you also wore my jersey.”

Tess laughed, “that’ll happen when you buy me a jersey. I’m not dropping $250 just to stroke your ego.”

“Deal,” Anthony replied with a laugh before kissing Sorel one more time and passing her back to Tess. He didn’t hesitate to kiss Tess’s cheek too, his scruff tickling her skin.

“Have a good game. Kick some Ranger ass for us, okay?” She told him.

“Always,” he smiled before making his way to the door and slipping out. As he headed to his car, his mind drifted to Tess in his jersey. She owned a couple Islanders shirts and hoodies, at least one of which she stole from him, but she only had one jersey, a Martin jersey that she had from before they met. He had joked with her a few times over the years about getting her a better jersey, but he never went through with it. But he couldn’t stop thinking about it as he drove to the arena.

The barn was crazy and the team absolutely fed off it, serving the Rangers a 4-1 loss where Anthony picked up a goal and an assist to be named the third star of the game.

When he got home, Tess greeted him with an enthusiastic hug that had quickly become their routine. When she pulled back, he didn’t miss the fact that she was wearing an oversized Islanders shirt with number 72 on the chest, a shirt from his first few years in the league that she had slowly stolen, not that he ever complained about it.

He blamed how much he liked it on the high of beating the Rangers in the playoffs.

The Islanders took a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Rangers and the team was buzzing ahead of Game 4 at the Garden. Trotz and Leesy did their best to ground everyone and remind them that now was not the time to get cocky.

Pageau scored in the first, and Panarin scored in the third to tie it at one which sent the game to overtime. The tension in the Garden was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

Anders scored fourteen minutes into OT to send them to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year.

After celebrating, maybe a little too hard for a Round 2 win, but sue them, they just swept the Rangers to send them to the Conference Finals, they finally showered and did media. Anthony wasn’t picked for media, so he got to leave the with the rest of the guys and he watched the bright smiles of the players’ significant others as they left the locker room. He watched the hugs and the kisses, and maybe a part of him was sad that Tess wasn’t there to greet him.

And maybe that thought was on his mind his whole drive home.

But, like the nine games before, Tess was there to greet him with a hug as soon as he stepped through the front door.

He melted into the hug, pressing his face into her shoulder and breathed in the scent of her shampoo that clung to her hair, and he couldn’t help but realize how much he wanted her to be there at the game next time.

“I’m so proud of you,” she told him before pulling back. “You guys… You’re going to do it, I know it.”

Anthony shook his head with a small laugh, “don’t say it ’till we do it.”

“I know, I know, I just…” She gripped the lapels of his suit jacket. “I am so proud of you and I’m so happy for you.”

Anthony’s smile softened and he kissed her cheek, “thank you.” His action brought her back to reality and she took a step back to put some space between them.

The Islanders had to wait a few days to see who their next opponent would be, the Hurricanes or the Leafs, and it came down to a Game 7 that the whole team watched.

Anthony didn’t know who he’d rather play. Either way, it was going to be a rough series. The Hurricanes swept them in 2019, so if it was them, they historically did not play well against them, especially coming off a sweep themselves. On the other hand, he knew fans would go crazy for an Islanders/Leafs series and the thought of eliminating the Leafs to advance to the finals? That made him way too happy. But if they lost to the Leafs? Yeah… That wouldn’t be good at all. And they were a tough team to play against, especially since they had both the Rocket winner and a Hart finalist on their top line.

The Hurricanes won.

The first two games of the Eastern Conference finals were held at the Coli and the Islanders won both games. But the Hurricanes stormed back to win the next three, pushing the Islanders to the brink of elimination for the first time that post-season. But the Islanders answered with a commanding 3-0 win to push a Game 7.

The night before the game, as Anthony watched Tess make Sorel laugh during play time, he asked her to be at the game. “I want you there,” he said.

“Huh?” She asked, looking up at him. “Want me where?”

“At the game tomorrow,” he replied. “Win or lose… I want you there tomorrow.”

“What about Sorel?” Tess asked after a moment.

Anthony shrugged, “can’t she come too? Get her those ear protectors and it should be fine to bring her, right? People bring babies to games all the time, and you’ll be up in the suite so it isn’t like you’ll be crammed in with all the fans.”

Tess looked down at Sorel on the play mat before replying, “I want to be there, I do. I just… I don’t know about her. And I don’t even know where to find ear protection that would fit her, especially the day of the game.”

“Yeah…. Right… Of course…” Anthony said defeatedly.

“Maybe,” she spoke. “Maybe one of your teammates have ear protectors from their kids that they’d let us borrow?”

Anthony perked up at that suggestion, “that’s a great idea. I’ll ask.” Tess smiled as he grabbed his phone and tried not to get her hopes up.

But it wasn’t long before Anthony told her the Baileys would let them use theirs.

Tess did her best to suppress her smile.

When it came time for the game the next day, Tess wore an Islanders hoodie and jeans and put on a bit of make up, and she dressed Sorel in two layers before putting on her jersey. And she packed a blanket with the diaper bag in case she needed it.

Tess drove herself to the game, but she was met at her car by Meg Bailey who brought the ear protection for Sorel. Tess had never attended a game in the better halves’ suite so Meg wanted to be there to guide her so she wouldn’t have any trouble and so she wouldn’t be so overwhelmed since she was with Sorel. Tess greatly appreciated it, which she told Meg as they walked to the suite.

It felt weird, in a good way, to be back at the Coli. The tension, the energy, the excitement, it was intense, and kind of overwhelming after spending most of the last few months in Anthony’s apartment. But she pushed that aside to focus on the game.

It was a nail biting, back and forth game.

Aho opened the scoring, silencing the fans. And then Hamilton made it 2-0. Nelson scored early in the second to cut the lead in half, and Anders tied it on a power play with under two to go in the period. But there was still twenty left to be played.

Staal took the lead back for the Hurricanes.

Anthony tied it back up halfway through the frame.

And with three to go Svechnikov scored the go ahead goal. The Islanders pulled the goalie just over a minute later but…

They didn’t do it.

For the second year in a row, the New York Islanders were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The first thing Anthony felt was disbelief.

He was on the ice for the extra attacker when the final buzzer went and he couldn’t believe it. Just like that, it was over. The quiet of the Coli felt deafening as the Hurricanes celebrated their return to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Nelson patted his back as he bent over and that’s when the heartbreak set in.

They were so close.

One game.

One win.

Two goals.

That close to the finals.

He felt like he couldn’t breathe and he struggled to hold back tears. He looked up at Mat and then to Anders and he hoped the heartbreak wasn’t as clear on his face as it was on theirs.

Finally, they lined up for the handshakes, led, of course, by Anders.

The shock, the heartbreak, and the frustration only got worse with every hand he shook, having to force out words of congratulations and tell them that he hoped they’d kick Colorado’s ass.

Anthony felt like he was on autopilot as they gave the fans one final salute before heading off the ice for the final time that season.

In the suite, Tess struggled to control her emotions. And she wasn’t the only one. Sorel fussed in her carrier and Tess picked her up, pulling he to her chest to soothe both of them. Around them, the girls congratulated each other on the season and she heard multiple “next year”s, but she just tried to focus on Sorel.

The locker room was quiet until Barry did his best to console the team, telling them he was proud of them, that they played their hearts out, that they gave it their all.

But that didn’t make it any easier.

Anders’ voice shook as he spoke to the group, and so did Brock’s. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as they processed the end of their season. It took most of them a long time to finally hit the showers, and they all chose t-shirts and shorts over the suits they wore to the arena.

Anthony forgot that Tess and Sorel were even at the game until he saw them outside the locker room. Tess was swaying with Sorel in her arms, a blanket thrown over her shoulder to cover Sorel from the chill of the arena.

Anthony’s shoulders relaxed as soon as he saw them and Tess gave him a sad smile. “Hey…” She whispered as he got closer. He wrapped his arm around her and she leaned into him as he leaned down to brush his lips over Sorel’s hat.

“You don’t know how much it means that you’re here,” he said, his voice a little shaky, breaking Tess’s heart a little more.

She nodded and gently kissed his cheek. “I’m glad I could be here,” she replied. He leaned into her touch and pressed his nose into her hair, using the smell of her shampoo and perfume ground himself.

Anthony kept his arm around her as they walked out of the arena and Tess guided him to the passenger seat of his car and went around to the driver’s side. They could come back for her car the next day.

The car ride was quiet, neither of them having the heart to say anything. And Anthony was quiet as they got into the apartment too, kicking off his shoes and immediately getting the tequila down from the shelf. He didn’t meet Tess’s eyes because he was afraid if he did, the tears he struggled to hold back would spill over.

Tess didn’t say anything as she went to the nursery to get Sorel ready for bed. She didn’t know how long she was in the nursery, or how many shots Anthony had while she was in there, but when she came out, Anthony’s head hung between his shoulders and the cap was sitting next the bottle of tequila.

She walked over to him and gently ran her hand down his back, “are you okay?” She asked. She knew it was a stupid question, but she didn’t know what else to say.

Anthony shook his head before looking over at her, her heart breaking at his wet eyes. “We were so close, Tessa,” he said.

She nodded, doing her best to be strong for him, her hand still rubbing his back. “I know,” she whispered before wrapping her arm around him and pulling him to her chest. He wrapped his arm around her tightly, pressing his face into her shoulder and cried.

Tess looked up, struggling to hold back her own tears as she soothed her best friend. She brought her hand up to stroke his head before whispering, “you did your best, Anthony. And I am so incredibly proud of you.” A few tears ran down her cheek as she spoke, her voice shaking as her throat tightened.

Anthony continued to cry, clinging to Tess like his life depended on it, and she let him, stroking his back and hair, letting him get it all out.

Eventually, he pulled back, his face red and swollen from the tears. “Sorry about your shirt,” he whispered.

“I don’t care about the shirt, Anthony,” she told him, running her hand down his shoulder before giving his bicep a squeeze. “I care about you.”

He nodded and brought a hand up to brush his tears away. “Want a drink?” He asked as he looked back at the bottle. She nodded and he poured another shot and handed it to her. She cringed as she took it, making Anthony laugh, and it was worth the burning in her throat.

When she put the shot glass back down on the counter, he poured himself another shot, not flinching as he threw it back. He welcomed the burn of it and Tess ran her hand down his arm to stop him from pouring another.

She stayed up with him until he was ready for bed. Or, more accurately, until she had to put him to bed. It was harder than she realized to get a nearly two-hundred-pound man to bed when he struggled to stay up right, but she managed. And she grabbed two water bottles from the fridge and put them on the bedside table for when he woke up before going to bed herself.

She wasn’t surprised that Anthony slept in the next day.

She did her best to stay quiet and keep Sorel from crying so that he could sleep in. She even pulled the Aspirin out in case he needed since she had no idea how much tequila he ended up drinking.

It was close to noon by the time Anthony rolled out of bed and into the kitchen to make coffee. Tess looked over at the sound of his door opening, but hesitated to say good morning, not knowing where his head was at.

He popped the Aspirin Tess left on the counter while he waited for his coffee to brew and he made his coffee before walking over and sitting down next to Tess to watch Sorel on the play mat in the living room.

“Sorry I slept in,” he whispered.

Tess shook her head. “You needed it,” she said before looking over and sucked in a sharp breath.

Anthony chuckled and rubbed a hand over his freshly shaven jaw. He might have woken up with a headache, but he couldn’t stand to look at himself in the mirror with the beard, so it had to go. “Different, eh?”

“Yeah,” she laughed and reached out to touch his cheek. “As soft as a baby’s butt. And I would know, I had to touch a baby butt this morning.” Her words made him laugh, a sound that warmed her, and he knocked her hand away.

“Shut up,” he said, but he was still laughing.

“Never,” she replied, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder before turning to watch Sorel on the play mat.

They ended up ordering Anthony’s favourite comfort food for dinner and watched his favourite show with another bottle of wine while he tried to heal his shattered heart.

The Avalanche ended up beating the Hurricanes in five.

The day after the Avalanche won the Cup Anthony told Tess he was planning to go back home to Quebec. She knew it was coming. He went back home every off season, but it still took her off guard, her heart dropping as she folded laundry.

“Right, yeah, of course,” she said, trying to cover up how disappointed she was, but Anthony saw right through it.

Her disappointment sat with him for the rest of the day before called his mom to tell her he wanted to come home. She was so happy. So happy to have her son back and to meet her granddaughter for the first time. But she could tell something was bothering her son.

“What’s wrong, love?” She asked.

“What? Nothing?” He replied, shifting how he sat in bed at her words.

“I know you, honey,” his mom sighed. “I know when something is bothering you, or, at least, when something is on your mind.”

It was Anthony’s turn to sigh, “I haven’t… I haven’t been a parent without Tess. I don’t know how to do this without Tess. So I don’t know… I’m scared to leave her.”

His mom was quiet for a moment, “why don’t you bring her home with you?”

“You’d be okay with that?” He asked, his voice picking up with hope.

His mom laughed softly, “of course I am. Tessa is always welcome here.” She had only met Tess a few times, but she knew how kind Tess was and she knew how much Tess meant to her son.

“I’ll think about it,” Anthony said. And he did. He thought about it a lot over the next couple days.

He thought about how used he was to her always being there, how much he liked her always being there. He thought about her smile and the way she scrunched her nose when she greeted Sorel in the morning. And he thought about the way she lit up every room she walked into.

He wanted to go home, to see his parents and brother and friends, but he didn’t want to lose Tess.

The more he thought about bringing her back to Quebec with him, about showing her his home and maybe teaching her some French, of her being there with Sorel every day, the more he couldn’t imagine her not being there. His mom was right, he should ask her to come home with him.

He asked her over dinner the next day, Anthony cooking some salmon for the two of them, which, thankfully, actually turned out pretty good. “Do you want to come back to Quebec with me?” Anthony asked halfway through dinner after he finally got the courage to.

“Um, what?” She asked, looking over at him.

Anthony ducked his head, “I’m just asking if you want to come back to Quebec with me. I don’t really know how long yet, but I can work around your needs, you know, if you want to.”

“Beau, it’s your family and friends, not mine,” she replied. She had no reason to go to Quebec with him. No matter how much she wanted to.

“No, I know,” he said, pushing his dinner around his plate. “I just… You’ve done so much for me these last couple months and I can’t thank you enough and I know I have no right to ask for more. But I… I don’t know how to do this without you and I don’t want to take Sorel away from you. You’re with her way more than I am and she loves you more than me, so I want you to come back to Quebec with me. But I know I shouldn’t ask you to give up your life here in New York because I don’t know how to be a dad.”

“Beau…” She whispered, reaching over to touch his arm. “You’re a great dad and there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“I’m better when I’m with you,” he whispered and looked over at her. “But I totally understand you not wanting to go. But can you just think about it? Please?”

Tess gave him a small smile and nodded, “I’ll think about it.”

Anthony’s shoulders relaxed a bit and he nodded, “thanks.”

After dinner, Anthony shooed Tess away from the dishes. She protested, claiming that since he made dinner, she should do the dishes, but he pointed out how much she had done for him the last couple months and the least he could do was make her dinner and do the dishes and banished her to the couch with another glass of wine.

She watched him from the couch, some butterflies fluttering in her chest as she watched him, wondering if this was what it would be like to be dating him.

She quickly shook that from her head and let her mind wander to what he had asked her. Going back to Quebec with him.

She didn’t know what to do.

Anthony wanted her to go with him to Quebec. He wanted to bring her to his home, and she wanted that, too. She didn’t want to be away from him. And she certainly didn’t want to be away from Sorel.

Anthony was right, she spent more time with Sorel than he did. Her world revolved around Sorel and she’d do anything for her. She couldn’t imagine not having Sorel for however long they’d be gone. She couldn’t imagine all the ways she’d grow and change over to her time in Quebec and Tess didn’t want to miss any of it.

But Quebec was so far and she didn’t speak French and she didn’t want to impose herself on his family or his friends and what if something happened to her family here in New York? What if something happened to her while she was in Quebec?

What if Anthony discovered her feelings for him while they were in Quebec?

She’d be stranded.

But she watched as Sorel laughed while Anthony played with her and she didn’t want to be away from them. She didn’t want to miss a single moment.

Maybe it was selfish of her, but she wanted to go to Quebec with them. She wanted to be with him and her and she didn’t want their routine, their dynamic, to change. She wanted the morning coffee and dinners together and their walks. She wanted all of that. Everyday.

When Anthony started to organize what he needed to bring home, Tess lingered in his doorway. “You okay?” He asked when he noticed her.

“Do you still want me to come home with you?” She asked.

Anthony nodded, “yeah, of course I do.”

She took a deep breath and nodded, “then I’ll go with you.”

Anthony stood up a little straighter, “are you sure?”

Tess nodded, a small smile playing on her lips, “I don’t want to be away from Ellie.” Maybe it was selfish, but it was the truth.

“I don’t think you should be away from her,” Anthony agreed. “You’re… You’re the closest thing she has to a mom,” he said and Tess did her best to push down the wave of emotions she felt at his words.

Tess smiled and did her best to change the subject, “so, what’s the weather like in Quebec? How much should I pack?”

Anthony’s smile widened as he thought about his home, a relief and excitement settling in his chest at the thought of showing it all to Tess, “well, it’s summer, so summer clothes. But you should also pack some heavier clothes for chilly days. Definitely a light and heavier jacket, hoodies, a swimsuit for sure, that sorta thing. Um, pack for two weeks? Three maybe? Obviously my mom has a washer and dryer so you can wash your clothes.”

Tess nodded, “and how are we traveling?”

“Uh, well, I normally fly. But I don’t think bringing a baby on a plane is the best idea, and the drive is only about six and half hours, so I thought I’d just drive,” he explained and Tess nodded. She’d been in cars a lot longer than six and a half hours so it wouldn’t be a tough trip.

“That works. I don’t have a suitcase, so is it alright if I pack in the totes I used to move in? I’ll probably only need like two? And then I can use a third to pack up Ellie’s stuff?”

Anthony nodded, “yeah, that sounds like a good plan.”

“When were you thinking of leaving?” She asked.

“I was thinking by the end of the week, ideally like Thursday morning, but we can leave next week if that’s better for you,” he said. It was only Monday, so that gave her enough time to pack. And tell her mom and friends she was going to Canada with Anthony for the summer…

“Let’s plan on Thursday and if needed, we can push to next week,” she said.

Anthony nodded with a smile, so excited that she was coming with him, “okay.”

Tess nodded again and held Anthony’s eyes for another moment before heading back to the living room, leaving Anthony alone in his room to continue organizing. She curled up on the couch and pulled her phone out to start a list of everything she needed to pack and everything she needed to do before they left.

She called her mom the next day.

The call went better than she was expecting. While her mom wasn’t sure about the decision, she respected her daughter’s choices. And maybe she was hoping that the trip would push them together. But she didn’t tell Tess any of that.

Her friends on the other hand… Not so much.

They weren’t stoked about her moving in with Anthony and now she was, metaphorically, jetting off to Montreal with him for the summer. They thought it was a bad idea and they let her know it. But nothing they said were going to change her mind about it. She wanted to be there with Sorel.

After getting off the phone, she started packing. She wanted to get the bulk of her things packed today to leave Wednesday to clean the apartment in preparation of their Thursday morning departure. Nothing was worse than coming back to a dirty home after being away so she really wanted to get the apartment cleaned and her sheets washed before they left.

She ended up getting most of her things packed up pretty quickly, leaving just a couple more things to add tomorrow. After she was done with her packing, she grabbed another tote and headed to Sorel’s room to pack.

Despite the clothes being small, it was easy to fill the totes with outfits in her size and the next size up, formula, bottles, teething toys, other toys, and other necessities. She put a good number of diapers in the diaper bag and put the remainder of the pack in the tote. Obviously they could get diapers in Quebec and his parents probably already picked some up, but she didn’t know when they were coming back or if they’d fit her then, so she stuff them in.

On Wednesday, Anthony and Tess cleaned as much of the apartment as they could while Sorel napped, and, after dinner, Tess packed the final things and made some sandwiches for the drive.

Thursday morning, Tess wasn’t exactly stoked about waking up at 4:45am, but when she dragged her ass out of bed, Anthony had her coffee waiting for her on the island, which made the early wake up a little easier.

The totes and his suitcases were waiting in the living room and he had filled the tank of his car the day before, so all they had to do was wake up and load the car. Which was a little easier said than done when it was that early.

Tess had two cups of coffee before she was awake enough to get dressed and pack the cooler with their sandwiches and drinks.

She hated waking Sorel since she hadn’t been sleeping through the night that long, but she needed to be fed and changed before they left.

Anthony started to load the car while Tess fed Sorel and changed her into the cute outfit she picked out. It was the first time she was going to meet her grandparents and she wanted her to look her best. And she had two back up outfits in the diaper bag just in case.

Time went by quickly and before she knew it, she was securing Sorel in the car seat and getting into the passenger seat. Anthony sent a text to his mom before setting his phone with the map up on the dash so they wouldn’t get lost.

“Ready?” He asked with a smile.

Tess bit her lip, nerves and excitement creating butterflies, and she nodded. Anthony nodded back and turned the car on before backing out of his spot and heading towards the exit. Tess sent a text to her mom and to the group chat with her friends to let them know she was on the road before looking over at Anthony.

She’d follow him anywhere.

#baby bear story #anthony beauvillier #anthony beauvillier imagine #anthony beauvillier x oc #anthony beauvillier story #tito beauvillier #tito beauvillier imagine #tito beauvillier x oc #tito beauvillier story #new york islanders imagine #new york islanders #islanders imagine #hockey #hockey rpf #hockey imagine #nhl #nhl imagine #life as we know it

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whaleofatjme1920 · 3 years ago

Note

Second Letter To Tim. [Kayte was sent out on a solo mission. Someone managed to time travel and she has to put them out. Coincidently, it's one of those Zalgo's allies. Therefore, a danger to their existence. The letter was not written in her handwriting]

Dear love, I pray you are doing well. Have you eaten yet? Make sure to drink enough water and don't forget to take your pills! Haha, I worry about you too much don't I. Despite knowing you could take care of yourself. You know me, always overthinking...

Sorry, I didn't answer your letter as soon as you thought. The chocolate hearts were delicious <3, I saved some to eat them with you. Wildflowers? I guess I do get a little wild haha. You remember I have a flu problem. Remember that one time we got sick together after playing in the rain for too long? Haha, we were quarantined in the same room which gave us the advantage to spend time together longer.

To be honest, these few days have been...hectic. If you weren't informed by the Boss, I am currently on a solo mission. A stupid genius managed to...time travel. I am not sure how but I'm guessing Zalgo gave them the ability to do so.

I can't give you too much info, I'm sorry. ...... <3

Tim, take care of yourself hm? I haven't seen you in months. The damn Boss has been keeping you away from me. Maybe he's jealous that he's single hahaha. Or he doesn't want me to see you at all due to this mission I think. Also, I lost an arm. The dang guy just chopped it off with a knife. Now I am left with one arm, like a pirate! hahah.

How are things? Do you miss me? I hope you dream of me...? Remember, I love you very much. Even my heart can't take it haha. I look forward to seeing you, darling! When you come back, we could go out maybe. Stay at home, bake, have cooking fights or just cuddle! Cheesy romantic couple stuff y'know. Also to eat the chocolate hearts with you!

I hate this. I hate not seeing you at all for days. I hate that I sleep and wake up alone. I hate this fate I am tied to. But it fades... After months of missing you, it feels normal to me.

I sometimes wonder how you could love me... But here we are, a happy long-distance couple. Even if we are apart, I doubt we would be forever.

Thank you, Love. Thank you very much.

[The letter was sent with the black dahlia ring that Kayte always wore and a polaroid picture of the both of them, "I love you ∞" written at the back. A note was also sent with it *he reads the note after composing a reply to her letter*]

Note: Tim, she didn't come back after three days as she promised. We're not sure what has happened to her. She probably...died. I can't be sure, none of us can. It worried us more when the letter was slightly bloodstained. I took a test and, unfortunately, it was hers. I'm sorry. [Her letter was in Japanese, we had Kage translate it. I wrote it back in English] She sent the letter using a pigeon. The pigeon died after 5 hours. I'm guessing it was from another time. The letter was received on the third day. It's been a week since the letter was received. There were no more letters until now. -EJ-

[Disclaimer: Letters To Those You Hold Dear (Valentine's Edition) is a special event I'm holding from February 13th - February 23rd 11:59 PM. Find the guidelines HERE so you can send a letter or two to those you hold dear <3.]

[AN: I genuinely... Did not know how to respond to this one? So this is a very special exception. No other letters will be answered in this manner.]

Tim has never known normal.

He wasn't born normal, far from it in fact. When Tim was brought into the world, kicking, screaming, praying to be anything but a life that was taking breath and a beating heart, he gained the attention of something old and ancient. An archaic being that hungered for power and control far beyond the comprehension of human minds, a being that wanted him for reasons that seemed frivolous to human standards.

He was a troubled child. His parents, ill equipped to deal with what they thought were mental health issues (which were only exacerbated by the pale man in a suit) locked him into an institution. He would scream at all hours of the night, and pray for the morning light to grace him.

A long, long time ago, when Tim was "brighter eyed" and in love with the world, and that notion in itself is a bit of a lie because the gods both above and below know much the world loved him in response, Tim was content with the normalcy afforded to him. He'd been getting better, healthier, he was in every sense, normal. He had a deep desire to fade into the background, stay being friends with Brian, and have a normal life.

When the tall suited man let Tim's presence slip slightly from his long, spindly fingers, Tim was almost happy. Almost pleased with his lot in life. And then everything went to hell. Jay just had to curious. Jay had to keep pushing the boundaries, and Alex was damn near unstoppable. Brian died for the first time. Amy was killed too, but Jessica? He hoped she was safe somewhere, far, far away from the mess that was their years after college and the twilight of what he considered normalcy.

Tim hasn't felt heart broken since he lost Jay.

The man in the suit picked him up shortly after that. He promised Tim the opportunity to bring back his very best friend as long as he was in service for him. Not wanting to be alone any longer, he accepted, practically sold his soul but he had Brian.

Brian was furious. He almost killed Tim for what he'd done, reanimating a body that was screaming it shouldn't be alive and that it was going against the laws of nature itself. But eventually, he calmed down. Hoodie took his place as Tim's right hand, and then came in Toby, and then Kate.

That was his new normal, and his new sense of how the world turns.

And then things changed again, as they always do. He met someone, another proxy, and her name was Kayte. And he loved Kayte as much as any proxy should love someone, is even capable of loving someone. His love for them was something soft, sweet, subtle but powerful. It was like how the sun would shine on the earth, bathing him in her light until he could spring back upwards, plants reaching sky high as a testament to how he longed so deeply to be close to her.

Proxies aren't afforded good things. That is a rule that has not changed in centuries. Proxies don't deserve good things. And for a long time, Tim would have subscribed to this idea. He messed up and decided to forego his strict following of this rule to give all of his love to Kayte, and with it came the pain of receiving letters. His eyes scanned over the material, reading it in a handwriting foreign to the one he was used to, his own heart racing like he'd been running miles without rest. That cold feeling of something twisting in his gut told him all he needed before he reached Jack's addendum.

He's thrown back into that same type of despair he felt losing Jay and what he felt when he lost Brian for that brief stint. It's a cold, clutching type of painful that refuses to leave him. It was buried for a while, and losing her was what caused it to resurface.

Proxies aren't afforded good things. Everyone knows this.

Tim doesn't, but Masky certainly does.

#letters to those you hold dear #masky headcanon #masky x reader #masky x reader #tim wright headcanon #tim wright x reader #tim wright marble hornets

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holy-guacamoly · 3 years ago

Note

Helloo!! Congratulations on getting 200 followers!! Thats a great achievemen and I hope more follow you [you freaking deserve it!!] Aight, I hope you don’t mind me participating in the event and no rush please! Take your time on this request!! Okay, here we go!

Fav character?: Erwin Smith Pronouns: She / her Name: Kayte or Arri or Noonie (Friends call me Kayte or Noonie / Close friends call me Arri or Noonie or Kaytie!)

Hobbies and interest: I really love studying!! Especially when it’s in the mornings or evenings with coffee and then tea at night! I play the piano as well as skilled in archery. My fingers do lot a work aha. Drawing, reading and writing are also my hobbies!! I am a fan of BTS but I am not obsessed. I have a thing for cola and coffee :p I love my jacket…i feel anxious without it sometimes. Cooking!! I love rain and playing in it. Studying or reading or playing the piano when raining makes me feel soo comfortable. Inwould snuggle in my blanket with tea when its cold during rain, relaxation~~ MUSIC I love it. Fav genres? All except any type of country, I can’t vibe with it. Personal favs are classical and rock.

My personality:

I am independent, smart, stubborn, witty, very curious, brutally honest (when needed) and I have a bit of an anger issue but I am very chill most of the time tho. I can be very serious and quiet, depends on the situation. I am scary when I am quiet, I have been told due to my RBF lol. If you anger me ‘secretly’, I will not talk to you to give you a hint. Oh and I can be gullible. The level of my independent-ness can get to “oh i do not need help in handling 5 group assignments“ level. Trust me, it happened once. I am apathetic towards how people think and treat me, It can get to a point I do not care for myself sometimes. Dont worry! I have friends helping me with the problem ^^ BUT, i am very caring if others. I can treat you like my child even if we just met. I will comfort anyone. Fun fact: My studying can go on until 3 am or more…everyday

Okeyh, thats all!! Right, if you do not mind, I am requesting for both SFW and it’s opposite. Thank you in advance for doing this!! I really appreciateit and this is my first time requesting something like this >w< Take care and have a great day!!!

Hey hun! Thank you so so much! <3 Guuurl, when I read about your personality I was like same?! Also, the caffeinated beverage part hit my soul. Thank you for your detailed description it makes writing so much easier. ♥ Erwin is constantly so proud of you! Ambition, kindness and your overall skill level are traits your boyfriend adores. As a very ambitious man himself, Erwin needs a badass woman by his side. ♥ Your man does this little gesture, where he secretly fills up your coke or coffee stock, without you noticing at first. He wants to reward you for your hard work. :( ♥ Rainy days with Erwin Smith are a motherfucking dream! I feel like he builds blanket forts for you, with fairy lights and tons of cozy pillows inside. You show him the newest music you are into, while he talks about some literature he recently read. Between exciting conversations, you are always in for a good make-out session. The tea you prepared often gets cold because you are just so caught up in the moment. ♥ Erwin is the CEO of reminding you to chill tf out. He hates to see you stressed or not caring enough for yourself. Your man did a lot of research about relaxation techniques, so he can do them with you. Also has a supply of emergency face masks at home to give you a little spa experience during wild times. If you fall asleep on your desk after another allnighter he carries you to your shared bed and wraps you in a little blanket burrito. <3 ♥ One word: Gentlemen. Erwin has a thing for kissing the back of your hand or just putting gentle kisses on your cheek when he greets you. It's a little cheesy, but who can deny this beautiful man? "Arri, you look breathtaking," Erwin whispers against your skin as he pulls you a little closer. An inaudible gasp escapes your lips. "I am such a lucky man." ♥ The two of you often play the piano together. Especially during stormy evenings, you love to light the fireplace and get lost in the music. Sometimes Erwin starts to sing even though it sounds horrible. :') "And after all this time, I'm still into you〜" Erwin screams at the top of his lungs as you play the piano. Your eyes dare to roll back into your skull and you stop abruptly. "Honey, I love you. But you need to stop with that noise you call singing. The neighbors asked if we adopted a dying cat from the shelter," you huff, but give your boyfriend a playful nudge. "I can't help but sing all kinds of stupid love songs to you," he answers. Your whole expression changes from annoyed to genuinely delighted. "Erwin Smith, you are a hopeless romantic." ♥ Since your first encounter, Erwin wanted to marry you. He never pushes you to any decision but he just loves to imagine a domestic life with you. Often refers to you as "wife". You lean against the doorframe, scanning your boyfriend who is still on the phone. He on the other hand doesn't seem to notice you. "Yeah, gotta hang up now. I have to run errands with my wife. Bye." "Oh, did I miss something? Who is your wife?" you ask teasingly. Erwin turns around, not an inkling of shame on his face. "You, of course, stupid." ♥ Your oldie is so confused about BTS. Like why are they so popular? Why do people these days seem to like them? He just doesn't get the concept lmao. Also gets a little angry whenever you try to explain the hype and he still doesn't understand. Poor baby. :( NSFW ♥ He loves to mark you. Everyone needs to know your his. Gives you hickeys on your shoulders and neck. Erwin especially likes how you get flustered by explaining them to your friends and co-workers. Develops a breeding kink over time, because that is the ultimate way to show others you are his. He isn't seriously trying to get you pregnant but loves to talk dirty about it. ♥ Gets feral when you address him with Sir. He is such a gentle Dom and spoils you rotten in the bedroom. Plays with your clit for hours, using every toy you want if you just beg enough. "You were such a good girl today," Erwin muses. His fingers wander over your body like feathers, causing your brain to send shivers down your spine. "I think you deserve a treat. Don't you too, princess?" All you can do is nod eagerly. "So what shall it be, baby girl? The womanizer or your favorite dildo?" ♥ Is into bondage and very skilled at it. Erwin sees it as an art form and you are his most delicate work. Loves to squeeze your tits between the tights knots of the ropes he uses. ♥ Doggystyle is everything for you both. It has something so animalistic that it makes your head spin. "Fuck, Erwin, pull my hair!" you exclaim, your voice higher pitched than usual. "Fucking use me, Sir!" And that was enough to make Erwin Smith lose his mind. In conclusion: Like I said, you are Erwin Smith's wife. He takes care of you and you take care of him. There is nothing but love.

#guac.events #erwin smith

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caffeineaddicted-noonie · 3 years ago

Text

Reapers Part 1

[Truth to be told, I don’t know what I am doing lmaoo. I was dumping ideas anddd this. so yeah, heh.]

In the forest, nighttime, observe.

The beast ripped the man’s body apart, not slowing down to acknowledge the screams of agony that left the man’s lips. Snarling, growling, the beast’s canines sink into the man mercilessly. The screaming stopped as soon as the beast stopped it’s torture. It breathed heavily, taking in the scent of the man’s blood and it’s surrounding. It’s breath hitched, smelling another scent.

In the dark, the wolf fangs were arced into what seemed to be a smile. It’s head tilted, the left ear twitching. It‘s body turned to the back. The beast had a bloody muzzle and teeth. The man’s blood sprayed all over it’s chest. The beast seemed human-like. It had a human-ish form, but still looked like a beast, had a dog like tail. Like a werewolf. Under the moonlight, the beast’s eyes appear to be a lavender color. It’s teeth were sharp and large, just how it’s suppose to be for a canine like being. It’s body was not too large, but it was capable of destroying a Hylux truck by itself.

With no warning, it lunged towards it’s watcher.

Ari’s eyes opened slowly. Her eyes weren’t wide despite waking from a nightmare, it was as if she woke up from a simple dream. She sat up straight and sighed. She looked around, observing her surroundings. Hazuta observed her from the door frame. Kayte stood in front of her. Aztec and Jason were nowhere near the scene.

Her hand reached to grab the glass of water Kayte handed her. she drank from it, soon emptying the glass.

“So..what did you get?” Kayte asked, taking away the glass of water from her. Ari took a brief moment to recollect her thoughts and waht she remembered from her dream

”…Aztec will have to do the move this time. Two people, we’ll have to lead them into the forest...A man and…i think there will be two men...” she adjusted her sitting position. Leaning into the chair and her left leg overlapped the other. her arms crossed, getting comfortable. “Not sure which forest but I don’t think it will effect the mission, we’ll succeed in the end. I guarentee,” she added with a affirmative nod.

Kayte watched her with appreciation, “Thanks-“, “What about the victim info? Did the boss not channel it?” Ari shook her head, standing up to stretch her body. “Not yet, I think he’s busy to channel throught the rest,” Her answer made Hazuta scoff. Kayte frowned and turned to look at him, “Relax, who knows what’s going on,”

Jeff disturbs him to complain-

Hazuta shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose, “I ought to complain about him,” his statement made Kayte chuckle, “To himself?” “I wouldn’t mind to see how that goes,” Jason interupts with a smirk. “I’ll give him a hint of how we see him, wouldn’t hurt,” Hazuta said, “ How YOU see him,“ Ari spoke, she walked pass him, leaving the kitchen. Kayte followed her out, followed by Jason. Only Hazuta stood in the kitchen. He sighed, knowing it’s his turn to cook dinner for the team.

Kayte sat beside Jason in the living room. The sofa had an epty seat until Jason decided to place his legs there and leaning against Kayte’s side in spite of her smaller form. ”Mmm, so comfortable~ You?” Jason asked, even with him using Kayte to relax. Kayte could feel him grinning mischieviously. She rolled her eyes and scoffed, “Definitely,” making it obvious that it was a sarcastic statement. Upon knowing this, Jason decided to tease her more, “Uu~ Look who knows how to be sarcastic,” Kayte scoffed and used her elbow to hit his back. “A-OW,” He exclaimed in pain, arching his back with a chuckle.

”Ari must be tired huh,” he said, changing the topic as he laid his head in her lap. Kayte looked at him, “Obviously…channeling information in a movie like form require a lot of energy…especially when it’s from a powerful creture like the boss,” Jason smiled, “Nerd,” he teased her again. Kayte flicked his forehead, “Lazy ass,” she said, grinning. Jason only sticked his tounge out at her before resting to sleep. She sat there with Jason resting on her lap. Though her thoughts were somewhere else, specifically, some-when else.

She remembered how Ari voluntered to be the Screen. Remembering how proud the boss sounded. Until now, she wondered why she did volunteer right before the Slenderman even explained what the role was. The memory of Ari’s first time channeling information for their first mission was…vivid.

#noonie’s writings!#noonie’s writtings!#noonie’s writing #noonie’s creepypasta au #Kiyorai “Kayte” Sakashi #Hazuta Mizoshi #Ari Fujiwara@Firassa #Itazura “Aztec” Takashi #Jason Blue Zachary #noonie’s creepypasta ocs #creepypasta #reapers

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loveless-scribes · 4 years ago

Text

Lovely LS Art!

A lovely piece of art from the fabulous and talented @dags-sz for the story I’m currently co-writing, Angelus Mortis. A wonderful visualization of our secondary couple’s first meeting! Thank you so much Daguer for lending your fabulous talent to this story! Please check out her work, she’s absolutely amazing and a pleasure to work with! <3

You can find the story here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13642600/2/Angelus-Mortis https://archiveofourown.org/works/26736001/chapters/69569037#workskin And the scene here: The third day, the sky split suddenly overhead, releasing a downpour that drenched her to the bone. She went on wandering the streets, now with renewed desperation, cursing herself for not better informing herself on the workings of the mortal realm. Wishing she had thought to ask Jui what "money" was. She was accustomed to the conveniences of the Underworld. Hunger meant seek out the kitchens. Boredom sent her to the gardens, to Kayt's cheerful banter. Tiredness sent her to the servant's quarters. The mortal realm meant searching and searching without quite knowing just what she was searching for.

She was beginning to despair of her rash decision. Bitter tears lodged in her throat. Even if she were to be killed by pickpockets and die in the rain on this cold night, she decided, it would still be better than the humiliation of having to see Thanatos again. Of walking him back to the castle even one more time.

She paused, catching sight of the dim windows of an establishment that was clearly closed. A forest green sign overhead read Wings of Freedom in gold lettering and underneath that, in smaller cursive the addition, Tea Shop. She approached the locale to seek shelter from the rain under the overhanging awning. Peering inside the windows, she saw an impeccably clean little café, with tables and chairs furnished out of warm cherry wood. She sighed and turned away from the view. What she wouldn't give to be sitting at Jui's side by the warmth of the kitchen fire with a mug of tea in her hands.

A shiver passed through her as she looked down and watched the water snaking down her arms and dripping down the hem of her chiton. What was she doing here? What did she think she would achieve by leaving home? What was she hoping to accomplish? Surely, she was the most foolish nymph in all of existence to have attempted such an imprudent escapade. She was a half-witted, bumbling, poor excuse of a – the sudden tinkling of a bell roused her from her thoughts.

A young man stood in the doorway of the tea shop, a large bag of parchment paper in his left arm as he opened the large, glass door to the locale with his right. His black hair was parted in the center and damp from the rain. His expression was one of annoyance that seemed characteristic rather than provoked. Cool, icy blue eyes were hooded by narrowed eyelids, his annoyance emphasized by his furrowed, thin eyebrows. He held the door open with his foot as he ran a hand though his wet hair, pushing the strands back from his face.

He seemed then, to notice her. Drawn, perhaps, by her own gaze. He looked her once over and Slayte was suddenly uncomfortably aware of her appearance. The flower garland Kayt had adorned her black hair with had long since been removed. Her hair was a wet, tangled mess. Her lavender chiton, ridiculously out of place in the mortal realm, dripped water like a wet rag. Try as she might to stand up tall and meet his eyes confidently, she could not banish the shivering of her bare shoulders. All in all, she knew she made for a pathetic picture.

He looked over his shoulder up and down the abandoned roads to confirm what he already knew. No one in their right mind would be out in this weather.

"We're closed." He told her. His tone was brusque, but his voice surprisingly calm and gentle, in contrast to his expression. It was oddly pleasant, Slayte thought. A voice she should like to hear again, when she wasn't soaking wet and being looked down on.

"I am aware." She answered quickly, avoiding his gaze, "I seek only shelter under this awning until the storm passes. Pray, pay me no mind."

The man blinked at her odd manner of speech. He turned his eyes heavenward, as if already regretting the next words to leave his mouth.

"Come in, it's better to get out of the rain inside." He wiped his shoes on the mat before stepping inside, holding the door open only for the fraction of a second it took her to make up her mind. She followed quickly, catching the door before it closed on her.

He switched on the lights and Slayte got her first, good look at the quaint establishment. All of the surfaces were polished to a gleam and the lighting was warm on the dark wood furniture. The chairs were lined with green cushions that seemed to be a trademark color of the little shop. Beyond the counter she could see a neat line of appliances, along with shelves that lined the entire wall filled to the brim with various assortments of tea, each labelled neatly in careful handwriting.

The kind stranger gestured vaguely to a table to her right and she pulled out a chair to sit down, glad to finally be off of her feet. The warmth of the room settled in slowly, and she soon stopped shivering. Although it was embarrassing to be dependent on the kindness of a mortal, it was the first such kindness she had been shown in the last three days and she was grateful for it.

She looked down on her leather-sandaled feet that had gone blue from cold and wondered if perhaps she would be able to survive in the mortal realm after all. She looked up as a cup of hot tea was placed on the table beside her and watched the steam rise from the dark liquid, spellbound.

"Drink that." The man commanded with the same careless expression before turning away.

"Oh! But… I'm afraid I don't possess any of the required money," she protested, hoping she was pronouncing the foreign word correctly.

The man in question gave her an incredulous look before answering, "it's on the house."

Slayte took this to be a reassurance of some sort, that it was alright to drink the tea. She breathed a sigh of relief, thanking the gods for listening to her prayer. How badly she had wished for a cup of tea!

"Thank you," she whispered, "That is truly… most kind of you."

She closed her hands around the teacup reverently, allowing the warmth to seep into her fingers before taking a long, indulgent sip.

"Did the rain wash your brain out of your head?"

She sputtered at the rude comment, swallowing quickly so as to avoid spitting out the precious tea. "I beg your pardon, my sir?" she asked, wondering what she could have done to warrant such a response from her benefactor.

"The way you talk. It's bizarre." He added, watching her with that same devil-may-care expression.

She flushed. She had taken notice that the mortals seemed to speak quite differently than the Underworld dwellers but had not had time to adjust to their speech.

"I…" she stammered, "I will take care to speak more appropriately."

"Eh?" he looked disgusted by her response. "Who cares? Just do what you want." He turned away from her and headed instead to the kitchenette behind the counter. She watched as he unpacked the groceries, washing the vegetables with care and laying them to the side. He set a pan on the stove and turned a dial. A faint click was heard before the stove burst into flame, heating the pan.

"Sorcery…" she whispered, spellbound.

The man pulled a knife from a block, and tossed it into the air, seemingly without thinking about it. It glittered in the lamplight before he caught it and flipped it between his elegant fingers before setting to work chopping up the vegetables. Salt wondered if it was normal for a mortal to be this adept with a knife. Even the robbers that had attacked her a day prior were fumbling with their knives in comparison to this man. She had narrowly escaped them by slipping into the shadows themselves, a skill she possessed by virtue of being born from them, but the fear they instilled in her had been very real. Their words had been deceptively charming and flattering. In contrast, this man's rude and brusque demeanor made her feel very safe.

Soon, her teacup was empty, and the delicious smell of spices and cooked vegetables wafted over to her nose. She was fearful of outstaying her welcome and her eyes darted to the window, wondering if the rain had let up enough for her to take her leave.

"Where do you live?" The stranger asked over his shoulder. "I can drop you off, if you want."

She had seen any number of city signs over the last three days but could not now recall a single one. She needed to say something, but she was oddly tongue-tied. What if he caught on that she had no home?

"That's quite alright. I'll just go on foot. It isn't far from here." She lied awkwardly. Only an entire world away, leagues beneath our feet.

"If it isn't far, why were you shivering out there in the rain?" he tossed back, unconvinced. His scowl making apparent that he knew she was lying to him.

She opted instead for silence, not wanting to make it worse. He walked back over to her table and placed two plates of noodles and mixed vegetables down. Had he cooked for her? A stranger? She had always heard that mortals were cruel and amoral creatures and although she had seen nothing the last three days to suggest the contrary, this man was swaying that belief. Warm and with a meal set out in front of her, Slayte was beginning to see that mortals were not all the same.

He took the chair opposite from her and began eating without preamble. Salt whispered a thank you and did the same, glad to finally be eating real food. It wasn't Jui's cooking, but it was delicious all the same.

"If you have somewhere to go, then go home after this. If you don't, there's a room for rent upstairs. I'm looking to hire someone anyway, if you want the job, I'll just take the rent out of your pay."

Overwhelmed by the number of words she didn't understand. Rent? Job? Pay? Slayte merely looked on mutely. "You will give me a… a job?" She queried, nonplussed.

He looked at her as if she were particularly dim-witted. A justified impression, she reluctantly admitted.

"You work. For money." He deadpanned.

"Oh." Slayte thought hard. Money was apparently a form of currency required for transactions, not unlike the coins she used for passage over the Styx. Only in the mortal world, money was required for nearly everything imaginable. Including resources required for life such as food and water. In her short time in the mortal world she understood that money was essential for survival. It was something everyone had asked her about. That, and…

"I'm afraid I don't have any identification." She admitted. "That will be a hindrance, will it not?"

The man chewed his food slowly as his mind worked. His expression somewhat softened, he answered, "Then we'll just make do with a verbal contract and I'll pay you in cash. That works out, right?"

"Does that mean…" Her eyes went wide. "I can stay here?"

"Yeah, sure, if you want the job." He rose to clear the table, and Salt jumped to her feet, unable to contain her excitement. "I do! Very much so!" She was close at his heels and followed him into the kitchenette, ignorant of the way he winced as she tracked footprints over the clean floor.

"I'm Levi." He introduced curtly. "You?" he asked, tearing his eyes away from the dirtied floor.

"My name's Slayte." She announced, extending a hand in greeting.

He looked her in the eye with that same irritated expression, ignoring her outstretched hand altogether before commenting, "That's a shitty name."

#levi ackerman #oc #Angelus Mortis #snk

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joyffree · 5 years ago

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#NewRelease #Giveaway Title: Bedhead Author: Kayt Miller @authorkaytmiller Genre: Contemporary NA Romance

Quinn Maxwell. Student. Dork. And a woman in love with a guy who doesn't know she exists.

Cooke Thompson. British. Hottie. Rugby Star. Chick Magnet. And a guy trying to FaceChat with his old mate Maxwell Quinn. Sure, it was a wrong number but sometimes, wrong ends up being so-so right.

#bedhead #newrelease #kaytmiller #tbr #giveaway #newadult #romance #author @kaytmiller1 A Wonderful World of Words

#bed head #new adult romance #kayt miller

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okayto · 1 year ago

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Guess who made slightly detrimental choices today (thought “nah, I’ll eat after I go shopping”) and consequently is VERY HUNGRY THIS EVENING?

I am celebrating finally getting to the store after about 3 weeks of increasingly-dubious food decisions (did I have food? Yes. Did I have food to actually cook multi-ingredient meals I stead of cobbling together a random assortment of individual things? Not really) by remaking this delicious bean-based dish so I can finally have both a real meal at home, and leftovers:

(Link to recipe in reblog)

The recipe itself is easy, but I neglected to notice that when I got the original through a meal kit, they sent premade mushroom duxelles. So first I gotta cook that.

(Which means first finding a recipe. Luckily, I almost always have mushrooms on hand. The recipe I found calls for shallots and vermouth too; I have neither so I’m substituting a sweet onion and white wine vinegar.)

I actually got to use the food processor for this one! I started chopping the mushrooms by hand but realized quickly that would take WAY too long, and I can’t get pieces any tiny as the processor anyway.

This is more active cooking than I wanted to be doing (because that amount was zero), but hey: I like mushroom-y things so knowing how to make this, which really isn’t that hard, will probably be good.

#Cooking with Kayt

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tabloidtoc · 6 years ago

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Life & Style, April 1

Cover: Kendall Jenner slept with Kylie Jenner’s baby daddy Travis Scott

Page 1: The Bachelor Colton Underwood and Cassie Randolph

Page 2: Contents

Page 4: Top 10 Lucy Boynton looks

Page 6: Twinning -- Reese Witherspoon vs. Linda Cardellini, Nina Agdal vs. Kourtney Kardashian

Page 7: Meghan Markle vs. Vanessa Hudgens, Lily Collins vs. Lili Reinhart

Page 8: Meredith Vieira’s former assistant shopping a tell-all about Matt Lauer’s inappropriate sexual behavior that got him fired from Today

Page 9: Prince Harry and his family are taking extreme measures to keep Meghan Markle from an onslaught of abuse online, Throwback -- Kacey Musgraves, Biggest spenders of the week -- Kid Cudi, Demi Lovato, Beth Behrs, Mike Meyers, Leonardo DiCaprio

Page 10: Lisa Rinna wants to get paid for unknowingly helping Lisa Vanderpump score a spinoff but really wants her own show for her and husband Harry Hamlin and their wannabe supermodel daughters, Channing Tatum and Jessie J meet the parents, Whose Watch Is It -- Darren Criss, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Hart, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lebron James, Bradley Cooper

Page 12: The Bachelorette Hannah B.’s handsome suitors

Page 13: Taylor Swift ditches her diet for Joe Alwyn, baby no. 2 for Hoda Kotb, VIP Style -- Lana Condor, Mariah Carey and Jermaine Dupri, Jenni “JWoww” Farley, Nina Dobrev and Mena Massoud, Lindsay Arnold, Brie Larson and David Wong, Nick Viall and Connor Obrochta and Derek Peth and Jordan Kimball

Page 14: The Week in Photos -- Angelina Jolie and kids Zahara and Shiloh and Knox and Vivienne

Page 15: Jimmy Fallon, Julia Roberts

Page 16: Sarah Jessica Parker

Page 18: Busy Philipps and Eric McCormack, Helen Mirren, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner

Page 19: Kate Middleton

Page 20: Olivia Wilde, Matthew McConaughey

Page 21: Bobby Cannavale and Rose Byrne and sons Rocco and Rafa, Wendy Williams

Page 22: James Corden and David Beckham, Reese Witherspoon, Amy Schumer and Chris Fisher

Page 24: Ben Affleck and son Samuel, Brie Larson, George and Amal Clooney and Prince Charles

Page 26: Stars Behaving Badly -- Austin Butler and Vanessa Hudgens, Jonathan Cheban, Ben Affleck

Page 27: Busy Philipps and Michelle Williams

Page 28: Say What?! Cate Blanchett on her nickname from husband Andrew Upton, Lena Dunham on the going-on-TV age, Seth Rogen, Camila Cabello on Taylor Swift, Kit Harington on learning how Game of Thrones ends

Page 30: Pauly D is helping Jenni “JWoww” Farley take her mind off her contentious divorce

Page 31: Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman’s steamy bedroom secrets, Ben McKenzie and Morena Baccarin’s domestic bliss, Romance Report Card -- Lea Michele, Jade Roper, Paris Jackson

Page 32: Andrew Garfield’s new funny girl Aisling Bea, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom househunting in Aspen

Page 33: Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas’ first fight over her expensive taste

Page 34: Cover Story -- Kylie Jenner’s worst nightmare -- Kendall Jenner and Travis Scott hooked up

Page 38: One day after Alex Rodriguez’s marriage proposal new claims emerge that he cheated on Jennifer Lopez

Page 40: Hollywood rocked by college cheating scandal -- Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman

Page 42: Summer Weddings -- Jennifer Lawrence and Cooke Maroney, Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas

Page 43: Courteney Cox and Johnny McDaid, Jude Law and Phillipa Coan

Page 44: From mistress to wife -- Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt

Page 45: Kelsey and Kayte Grammer, Ethan and Ryan Hawke

Page 46: Jason and Brittany Aldean, Dean McDermott and Tori Spelling

Page 47: Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes

Page 48: Who Lives Here? Liam Payne

Page 50: Entertainment

Page 51: Star Review -- Stephen Amell

Page 52: Fashion’s farewell to Karl Lagerfeld

Page 53: Penelope Cruz, Cara Delevingne, Kristen Stewart, Naomi Campbell, Marion Cotillard

Page 54: Fashion -- Balloon sleeves

Page 55: Shay Mitchell, Nina Dobrev

Page 56: Beauty -- New fragances

Page 60: The fabulous life of Nicole Scherzinger

Page 62: How He Got That Body -- Chris Hemsworth

Page 64: Diva or down-to-earth -- Candace Cameron Bure, Nikki Reed, Karlie Kloss

Page 66: Social Stars Posts of the Week -- Justin Theroux, This Is Us stars Mandy Moore and Chris Sullivan and Chrissy Metz and Justin Hartley and Melanie Liburd and Caitlin Thompson, Alec Baldwin and brothers Stephen and Daniel and Billy, Jessica Simpson

Page 67: John Stamos, Spice Girls Emma Bunton and Victoria Beckham and Ben Stiller in 2000, Sean Lowe and son and father, Hilary Duff

Page 68: Horoscope -- Aries Lady Gaga, They’re Not Together But They Should Be -- Pisces Kristin Davis and Scorpio Dylan McDermot

Page 70: Made Ya Look -- James Corden

Page 72: What I’m Into -- Peta Murgatroyd

#tabloid #kendall jenner #kylie jenner #travis scott #taylor swift #joe alwyn #lucy boynton #kit harington #jon snow #game of thrones #got #camila cabello #chris hemsworth

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leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid · 7 years ago

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Drowning

Pairing: Jared X Reader

Word Count: 2451 (including lyrics)

Warnings: Angst, fire, smoke inhalation, death, just so much pain

Summary: Jared’s confused by the things around him that you don’t seem to notice or even react to.

Author’s Note: Written for mine and @kayteonline‘s Birthday Backstreet Boys Bash. Kayte let me pick my song which was Drowning. It went a little sideways and I’m sorry if this love song is now ruined forever. Inspired by squares on my angst bingo card I received for my Wincest sideblog. So thanks to them for making my brain live on the dark side. Italics are Jared’s pov and bold is lyrics

/Don’t pretend you’re sorry/I know you’re not/You know you got the power/To make me weak inside/And girl you leave me breathless/But it’s ok/‘Cause you are my survival/Now hear me say/

I placed the last clean wine glass away before icy fingertips snaked up the back of my shirt.

“Jesus!” I spun around, a mischievous grin spread across your perfect face. “You have icicles for fingers.” A shiver ran up my spine as your fingers, still on my back, trailed around to my front, inching up my chest. I placed my right hand over both of yours, stopping their climb towards my nipples. “Nu-uh, baby girl, not tonight.”

Still holding on, I leaned down, brushing my lips over yours, your fingers flexing into my chest as I threaded the fingers from my free hand into your hair, cradling the back of your head and deepening the kiss.

A soft moan vibrated against my lips, my tongue stealing your breath away as I swept it along the inside grooves of your mouth.

You pulled away panting, tugging your hands out of my grip and out of my shirt before reaching to throw them around my neck.

“Sorry, Jare, I was cold.”

“Don’t sorry me, you aren’t sorry.” My hands settled on your waist as I stared down into your Y/E/C eyes. How I got so lucky I’d never know. “If you were sorry you wouldn’t do it all the time.” I brought my hands down, cupping the curve of each globe of your ass before squeezing and pulling you up off the ground; a squeal of delight echoing through the kitchen.

“Jared! Put me down!” you laughed, your arms tightening around my neck and your legs wrapping around my waist.

God, I loved your laugh, some days it was the one thing that kept me going.

/I can’t imagine life without your love/And even forever don’t seem like long enough/'Cause every time I breathe I take you in/And my heart beats again/Baby I can’t help it/You keep me drowning in your love/And every time I try to rise above/I’m swept away by love/Baby I can’t help it/You keep me drowning in your love/

I moved through our home with purpose, each of my long strides bringing us closer to our bedroom that was tucked at the far end of the house on the first floor. It was perfect for times like this, not needing to navigate stairs when I wanted to make love to my wife, but I knew when we had kids we’d have to move. The times we’ve talked about it, your want to be on the same floor as they would be on overriding my laziness to climb stairs with you in my arms.

The bedroom door was open, as it usually was and for once the bed didn’t include a large and loving dog curled up in the center of the bed. I deposited you onto the mattress, listening to your squeal of delight and watching you crawl back towards the pillows as I pulled my shirt over my head.

I followed your body, crawling from the foot of the bed all the way up until I had you caged in below me, my strong arms on either side of your head and leaned down to brush my lips over yours. Their softness under mine had me falling head first into arousal and making my heart beat faster in my chest, your hands mapping out the spaces of my back and shoulders as I nipped my way over your jaw and down your neck.

“Jared,” you whimpered and I grinned into your skin, licking a line up towards your ear.

“I love you,” I murmured, planting a kiss just behind your ear.

In that moment, the atmosphere shifted, thickening and the smell of smoke started filling our room. I pulled out of our kiss, looking down at you with bewildered eyes and looked around our room. I could smell the heaviness but saw nothing.

“Babe, do you smell that?”

You stared up at me blankly, the fingertips on your right hand reaching up to brush the hair out of my face.

“Babe, do you smell any smoke?”

“I don’t know what you mean, Jared. I don’t smell anything. Ignore it baby.”

You pulled my attention back towards you and I got lost once again in your lips, my hands skimming down your sides until they disappeared under your top, dancing over your smooth skin towards your chest. Again my nose stung with the smell of smoke, this time burning my throat and tasting like soot. I pulled away, gasping and coughing, trying to clear my airway as it started to close up.

“Jared?”

My vision started to wane and I tried to call out to you, but you faded from my sight as the hazy smoke I’d been breathing in finally took my last breath away.

/Maybe I’m a drifter/Maybe not/'Cause I have known the safety/Of falling free into your arms/I don’t need another lifeline/It’s not for me/It’s only you can save me/Oh, can’t you see?/

I don’t know how long I was out, but when I came to I was greeted by your loving face.

“Morning baby. I made coffee and I defrosted some bacon. I just put it in the oven and was going to see if you were awake enough to join me for breakfast.”

“Yeah, sure.” I shook my head, pushing what had to be a nightmare from my mind and leaning up on an elbow to press my closed lips to yours. After a few moments, you slipped out of our bed and turned to go back towards the kitchen, the soft white nightgown you must have changed into after I fell asleep, flowing behind you as you turned the corner.

Climbing out of bed, I grabbed my shirt off the floor, shrugging it on and following the smell of frying bacon and coffee. The savory smell of the start of our first meal of the day made my stomach growl and I approached you as you stood next to the stove, a bowl with two cracked eggs in it and pepper sitting and waiting for you to whip them into your fluffy scrambled eggs.

My arms wrapped snugly around your waist and I rested my chin on the top of your head.

“How did I get so lucky?”

You raised a hand, caressing the skin on my arm slowly. “I don’t know. I ask myself the same thing every day.” She gave a light squeeze and I pulled away as her touch started burning my flesh.

There was no reaction from you as you reached for a fork and started beating the eggs, reaching with your free hand to sip at your coffee mug that sat next to your bowl. I shook it off and moved to the other side of our kitchen where the coffee pot sat, hot and ready.

My usual mug wasn’t on the counter where you’d always lay it out and I opened the cabinet above to get it out. The anti-possession symbol staring back at me as I reached inside to grab it. As soon as my long fingers wrapped around the handle, however, I again felt that burn, my hand growing hotter by the second as I took it out. It burned white hot until I couldn’t stand it anymore and I dropped the mug onto the counter.

The noise from the mug hitting the hard surface of our granite countertop and shattering drew your attention, making you jump before turning to survey what had happened. I was shocked and confused. How had my mug hurt me like that?

You crossed the space between myself and the stove, grabbing a dish towel on your way. Smiling softly, you brushed the mess of porcelain shards together before collecting them in the towel.

“Guess I’ll have to get a new one.” It didn’t seem to faze you as you dumped the broken pieces into the trash can and returning to your post at the stove, clicking off the flame of the stove before plating up the eggs.

But even with the stove now off I could still feel the heat, the skin on the back of my hand now burning and I looked down to see the flesh starting to bubble and redden, crawling up my right arm and spreading over to my chest.

“Y/N?” I was getting scared by the second and felt nothing by pain coursing through my body, the white hot of my flesh burning with no source consuming me but not once did you say anything. Instead you turned off the oven, grabbing the cooked bacon and adding a couple slices to your plate.

“Y/N, baby, talk to me.”

/I can’t imagine life without your love/And even forever don’t seem like long enough/(It don’t seem like long enough, yeah)/'Cause every time I breathe I take you in/And my heart beats again/Baby I can’t help it/You keep me drowning in your love/And every time I try to rise above/I’m swept away by love/Baby I can’t help it/You keep me drowning in your love/

I tried to ignore it, the cold drafts, the linger smell of Jared’s cologne, the random pressure on the bed at night, the broken mugs, but it was always useless. I couldn’t ignore the smell of burning flesh that followed the musky scent and I couldn’t ignore the rippled skin on my arms from when the fire had scorched me.

It was all so consuming and I thought about it every day, the fire that ripped through Jared’s trailer on set, the wires from the lighting in his bedroom sparking, catching on the sheets and the flames crawling over his sleeping body.

I’d been in the bathroom when I smelled it, smoke creeping under the door and choking me before I ripped the door open and was greeted by the screams of agony from my husband. I raced towards him, not thinking as I thrust my hands out towards the burning orange glow, blindly trying to find Jared but flinching away as my arms started burning.

I barely remember Jensen’s arm encircling my waist, pulling me away from the now silent side of the trailer, flames already spreading as he yanked me outside, my lungs coughing up black soot as pain finally registered in my mind. My arms were red and angry and my heart broke as I finally heard the words from my best friend in my ear.

“You’re gonna be okay. He’s gonna be okay. The firemen are almost here. It’s okay.”

But it wasn’t okay. Jared was gone, dead long before the fire trucks had even entered the set and it was me who was taken to the hospital in Vancouver, my arms treated for the severe burns I’d suffered. But the burned were nothing compared to the pain that consumed my chest as I recalled those few moments of trying to save my husband.

/Go on pull me under/Cover me with dreams/You know I can’t resist/'Cause you’re the air that I breathe/'Cause every time I breathe I take you in/(Every time I breathe, yeah)/And my heart beats again/Baby I can’t help it/(Baby I can’t help it)/You keep me drowning in your love/

I picked up my phone, opening the camera and scanning the area in my kitchen until I finally, in the corner of the screen caught a glimpse of my deceased husband.

“Hi baby. You have to calm down. I know you’re scared but it’s okay. It’s over. The pain isn’t real anymore.” I said these words every single day. Jensen told me it was insane. This wasn’t Supernatural, ghosts didn’t linger like this and he didn’t want to see me hold on like this.

‘If he hasn’t moved on, you have to let him go.’

Those were the words Jensen said to me the first time I mentioned thinking Jared might be haunting me. All the kitchen cabinets open and his favorite mug shattered into hundreds of pieces all over the kitchen.

The first time I caught Jared’s spirit on my phone was by accident. I was taking a photo of Sadie, sending it off to Jensen to show JJ how much she loved the new rawhide she’d given her, when I noticed the look on Sadie’s face and the glare in the photo. Sadie leaned her golden head towards something, a hand I suppose, and I watched her fur ruffle before closing my eyes and counting to ten.

It wasn’t real, I told myself but as it kept happening, all the evidence piling up around me, I knew it really was. My husband, the man I loved with my whole heart, who I had lost in a fire that should have never happened, was stuck in this plane, tied to me and the love I still cared in my heart.

I closed the camera app and clicked on my call list, selecting Jensen’s number and waiting for him to answer.

The deep voice of my best friend, my husband’s best friend, answered the same way he did everyday. “He’s there, isn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“Let him go, Y/N. Tell him he’s dead and needs to move on.”

“I can’t,” tears weld in my eyes and I felt that familiar coldness wrap around me, comforting me.

“You have to. You can’t keep living like this and it’s unfair to him. Let him go, Y/N. Let him go.”

I shut off my phone without another word, my eyes squeezing shut as I imagined being in Jared’s arms again, his scent combined with the burning smell of smoke filled my lung. “I’m sorry, Jare, but you have to go. I’m drowning in this love and you’re not here anymore. You’re dead and I can’t keep holding on to you. Please baby, go home. Let us both have peace.”

The coldness around me vanished as did the fragrance and my heart broke knowing he was finally gone.

Thank you so much for reading and if you like what you’ve read, maybe buy me a whiskey or two.

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mheyrmedia · 4 years ago

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I could still vividly recall how Haidene, you, and i dined in this area - literally a blank canvass for a dream that’s gonna be a reality anytime soon - for a food tasting slash catching up sesh. You were just telling us about your plans of having this and we told you to pursue it. You have such cooking skills that i could only be envy about. Hihi! Thank you for filling our hearts and tummy last night. While you were giving your closing speech, we were both teary-eyed. You deserve this success cause after all the bad things that happened, you managed to rise up from the fall, proud and loud. Now, you have your new baby - the @kayteskitchenkorner. Indeed, dreams do come true if you just don’t sleep on it! Congrats, Lainey! 💕 (at Kayte’s Kitchen Korner) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNecEfrHuyy/?igshid=1s71qa2j8s9uo

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idontgiveaflyinggrayson69 · 4 years ago

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Life As We Know It | Part 6

Author: Nat / @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69

Tagging: @thirteenisles @matbaerzal @mcmo-anon @texanstarslove @matbarzyy @hockeywocs @ggggmoneyyyy @great-puck-work @calgarycanuck @toplinetommy @fiveholegoal @itrocksmysocks @joelsfarabee @barzysreputation @iangiemae @stlbluesbrat @c-tangerine @yzas-stuff @canadianheaters @jeylia-haj @roopehintz @dreamsndior @beauvibaby @2manytabsopen @nazdaddy @sorryjustafangirl @sidscrosbyy @fallinallincurls @pastelpapermoons @miranda0102 @hockeybabe87 @teenagekook @svechnikolan @kayt-marie @heatherawoowoo @barzypatty @dylancozzys @gravyoverall @newlibrary @lena306 @caelum-the-part-time-acosmist @notaccurateornice @honestreputation [let me know if you want to be added!]

Word Count: 5.2k

Warnings: Alcohol.

Comments: I’m sorry this part took a while to get up, but the term is now over which means I’m free to write! Please let me know what you think! xx

When Anthony first asked her in the last stages of March, Tess thought she was going crazy. She froze in the kitchen, her hands full of used bottles she had collected from the nursery as she slowly turned to face him.

“What did you just say?” She asked, her voice breathy.

“I said,” he replied, resting his hands on the back of one of the chairs, careful to keep the island between them. “Why don’t you just move in? You’re here all the time, Ellie loves you. I need you. You don’t have to live with your parents and you can live in the city in a nice apartment for free. Really, there’s no downside,” he rambled off. “So why don’t you just officially move in with me?”

“Um,” Tess whispered, turning slowly to put the used bottles in the sink. It wasn’t an unreasonable offer. She had been basically living here for two months and she had loved every second.

Living in New York… It wasn’t cheap, and even with working jobs in the summer and throughout college, she didn’t have nearly enough to live on her own, and considering the less than shaky work as a sub… even a roommate wouldn’t be enough to make it possible. And Anthony’s apartment was leagues nicer than anything she would be able to afford.

Anthony rubbed the back of his neck, “It’s a big decision, I know. So please take as much time as you want or need to think about. I just wanted you to know that you’re welcome here. That I want you here.”

I want you here.

Anthony’s words echoed through her head and she took a soft breath to shake the thoughts before she turned to look at him.

“I will think about it,” she replied with a smile. “Thank you.”

Anthony nodded and gave the back of the chair an awkward pat before stepping away and heading towards the nursery to check on Sorel, even if Tess had just done so.

“Beau,” Tess called, making Anthony stop in his track and turn back to her. “I like being here. With you and Ellie,” she told him.

The corner of Anthony’s lips twitched up and he nodded, “I like having you here.” Tess gave him a smile back before turning her attention to rising out the bottles and loading them into the dish washer.

Anthony let his gaze linger for a few moments before he slipped into the nursery and where he could watch his daughter sleep peacefully in her crib and he realized how much he couldn’t imagine not having Tess here with them.

It was a scary thought.

If he was being honest, Anthony hadn’t put much thought into asking Tess to move in with him because she was already living with him. She slept in his guest room, she cooked and cleaned, and she took care of his daughter. He got to come home from practice and games and roadies to her and Sorel, and he couldn’t imagine it any other way.

It didn’t take him long to realize how unfair it really was. She was living there, taking care of his daughter and his apartment without really living there. The guest room was decorated the way some interior designer had when he bought the place, she didn’t have half her clothes, and barely any of her belongings. And once he made that realization, he knew he had to ask her to move in for real.

It’s just that in all his thinking, he never realized how much he couldn’t imagine not having her.

He liked how he always got to spend time with his best friend and never had to eat dinner alone and how warm and happy she always was and he didn’t want to lose that, lose her.

Anthony took a shaky breath as he looked down at Sorel. He knew it would be okay whatever the outcome, he just hoped that it would continue to be him, Sorel andTess.

He nodded to himself and slipped back out of the nursery and glanced at Tess who was still in the kitchen. She had moved on from the bottles to wiping down the counter and he waited for her to be done before clearing his throat. “I’m going to lay down, try to get a nap in before the game,” he said and Tess nodded.

“Yeah of course, I’ll try to have dinner made when you wake up,” she replies.

“You do—" Anthony started but Tess waved him off so he nodded with a smile. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Tess smiled and Anthony held her gaze for another moment before nodding and heading back to his room.

And sure enough, when he got up from his nap, Tess was taking the chicken out of the oven. “Smells delicious,” he said, gently putting his hand on the small of Tess’s back after she put the chicken on the stove so he could move past her and get the plates down.

“Perfect timing,” Tess replied with a smile.

Anthony laughed and set two places at the island while Tess made sure everything was done. He waited for Tess to make her plate before making his and sitting down next to her. He cut a fair size piece of chicken and shoved it into his mouth with a soft moan. Anthony might be an alright cook, but Tess was amazing, something he was reminded of every time she made anything. It didn’t matter if it was a basic chicken and pasta or some homemade soup, everything was always amazing.

“This is so good,” he said after he swallowed and Tess laughed.

“It’s just chicken, Beau,” she told him.

“It’s good,” he replied before shoveling another bite into his mouth. Tess’s smile softened as she shook her head at him before taking a bite herself.

It was nice eating dinner with him. It was nice to be with him. And Tess would be lying if she said it wouldn’t be nice to spend ever dinner like that.

After they were both done eating, Anthony helped her clean up and they managed to get the food put away and the dishes done before having to feed Sorel dinner. After that, Anthony got changed into his game suit.

He was getting better at saying goodbye to Sorel, but it didn’t mean he liked it. He held her in his arms as he stood in the living room, pressing kisses to her cheeks and forehead and murmuring that he loves her before handing her to Tess. He really couldn’t wait for the day she got to come to the arena.

Tess smiled and leaned like she was listening to a whisper from Sorel before lifting her head and looking at Anthony. “She thinks you’re gonna score tonight.”

Anthony shook his head with a laugh as he tucked his phone and keys into his pockets, “I’ll try.”

Tess hummed and lifted Sorel’s hand to wave goodbye to him and Anthony did his best to push down the ache that settled in his chest. “You’re gonna do it, I know.”

“I’ll try my best,” he repeated. “I’ll see you after.”

Tess nodded and Anthony kept his eyes on them for another moment before he opened the door and slipped out.

“Just you and me for a while, huh, Ellie?” Tess smiled as she settled in the living room, putting her down on the play mat for some light playing. They didn’t play long, they never did since Sorel was still so young, but Tess felt so warm watching her and it was crazy to see how much Sorel had grown already.

By the time the game started, Sorel was ready for bed and Tess let her fall asleep on her chest, turning the volume down on the TV so it wouldn’t bother her. She watched most of the first period, but as the game dragged on, Tess struggled to keep her attention on the game. She couldn’t stop thinking about how right it felt for Sorel to be on her chest and that had her mind drifting to what Anthony had asked earlier.

He wasn’t wrong. She hadn’t left since Sorel was born, and if she was being honest, she didn’t want to leave. She loved every second with Sorel, even the dirty diapers and the wails she swore people on the first floor could hear.

She ran her hand down Sorel’s back. Tess wouldn’t trade her time with her for the world.

And all the time she got with Anthony was an added bonus. Before, they were close. Texted all the time and hung out when they could. But both their schedules were so busy that sometimes they’d go weeks without seeing each other. Now she got to see him every day he was home.

She’d be lying if she said the extra time together didn’t make her feelings for him grow.

And that’s what it all came down to.

Being here was great and she loved it. But she could tell herself that it was all temporary. The season would end, Anthony would go home to Quebec, and Tess would leave. By the time the season started up again, Sorel would be old enough for Anthony to do this on his own.

But now he was asking her to stay.

Rationally, Tess knew it was a bad idea to move in and play life with him when she loved him and he was just looking for support. She knew it wouldn’t make her feelings stop, wouldn’t help her move on from him. But she looked down at Sorel sleeping peacefully on her chest and she thought about Anthony’s smile and laugh, and she really didn’t want to leave.

Tess sighed and gave her head a gently shake to try to clear her thoughts. He said she could take all the time she needed to think about it, so it was stupid to stress herself out over it.

She did her best to watch the rest of the game, holding her breath when the minutes started to tick down and it was still tied 1-1. And her nerves only got worse with the final buzzer signalling overtime. One point was better than no points, but they really needed both of them. Overtime was filled with back and forth chances that had her holding her breath, but it all came to an end when Anthony wrapped the puck around and tucked it into the next.

Tess bit her lip to restrain herself as she smiled.

She watched his post-game interview and she was still curled up on the couch when he got home. Anthony’s heart fluttered as he saw them and he did his best to walk around the couch quietly before leaning down to kiss the top of Sorel’s head.

“She knew you’d score,” Tess whispered and Anthony’s smile softened as he looked over at her.

“Yeah, guess she did,” he whispered.

Tess let her eyes dip down to his lips before looking to Sorel, guilt pooling in her chest. “I’ll put her to bed,” Anthony whispered and Tess nodded, doing her best to help him scoop her up before watching him walk back to her nursery.

She took a deep breath. She’d never get over him if she stayed.

The Islanders arrived in Washington on Wednesday evening, giving them enough time to go out and have dinner, maybe a drink or two, and still be back at a reasonable hour, which is how Anthony ended up at Buffalo Wild Wings with some of the guys.

Most of the TVs were broadcasting the Capitals’ game since they were playing the Sabres on the first half of their back to back, their last of the season. The table chatted aimlessly, but they all ended up following the game in some capacity. Some “pre-game scouting,” as Marty put it.

“Anyone got anything interesting to talk about?” Cal asked before picking at his friends, the game having gone to intermission.

“Yeah,” Barzy replied with a smirk. “Beau asked Tess to move in for real.” He didn’t bother glancing over at Anthony as he shoved a loaded nacho chip into his mouth. Anthony choked on his beer, not expecting Mat to say that, and he regrated telling him on the ride over.

“You did what?!” Casey all but shouted as he leaned across the table.

“I know right?!” Mat replied like Anthony wasn’t sitting next to him. “And he still claims he doesn’t have feelings for her.”

“That’s because I don’t,” Anthony replied, setting his beer back down on the table. “I did not ask her to move in because I have feelings for her.”

“Then why did you?” Anders asked in his concerned captain voice that made Anthony roll his eyes.

“She’s already living with me, okay? She deserves to make it official and have her stuff, and make the room and the apartment her own. It’s not fair that she’s been here since Sorel was born but I haven’t official offered that she move in. It isn’t a big deal,” he explained and Mat made a face at Ebs across the table, not that Anthony could see as he reached over and grabbed a nacho.

“But you want her to live with you, right?” Anders asked.

“Of course I do,” he replied, holding a finger out to Casey when he opened his mouth. “But that does not mean that I love her.”

“No one used the L word, bud,” Mat said with a knowing look and Casey smiled, making Anthony roll his eyes.

“I don’t have any feelings for her,” he clarified, giving Mat and Casey a pointed look, not that anyone at the table believed him. “I’m serious,” he said with a bit of an edge to his voice. “Tess and I are just friends. I’m extremely thankful for her and there’s no way I would have survived the last couple of months without her, but I don’t have feelings for her.”

Casey held his hands up in surrender and Anthony looked down to grab another nacho, missing the look the table shared and how Mat rolled his eyes.

Cal cleared his throat, “anyone else got anything interested to say?”

The table was quiet for a moment before Marty spoke, trying to fill the silence, “Sydney got her and Winnie matching sundresses for the summer. They’re pretty cute.”

“I heard about that,” Anders said, looking over at Marty. “Grace could not stop talking about how cute they were and ended up ordering some matching outfits for her and Ruby, too.”

Anthony kept his head down as he continued to pick at the nachos, a force of habit when it came to his teammates walking about their wives and kids. Even after almost two and a half months, he still hadn’t totally adjusted to being part of the dad group.

He looked up when someone said Tess’s name. “Huh?” He asked.

“I just asked if Tess would be interested in the matching outfits,” Marty repeated.

Anthony shrugged their gaze off. “I don’t know, maybe,” he replied, ignoring how Tess was being compared to their wives. “Have Syd send her a link or something I guess.”

Mat rolled his eyes beside him, but luckily Anthony was saved by the start of the next period. He kept his eyes on the screen for the most part, but that didn’t mean he was watching the game. Really, Anthony couldn’t stop thinking about Tess and Sorel in matching sundresses and he struggled to contain his smile.

He blamed the warmth in his chest on the beer he was nursing.

They headed back to the hotel after the game was over, an unsurprising regulation win for the Caps that made the playoff positions that much tighter as the Islanders competed with the Caps for the first place in the Metro.

When Anthony got back to his hotel room, it was too late to call Tess, so he settled with sending her a text before heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Goodnight, Tessa

When he came out of the bathroom, he stripped down to his underwear and got into bed before grabbing his phone and seeing he got a reply from Tess. He opened it and smile when he saw a picture of Sorel sleeping in her crib. The picture was dark, the only light in the room being the light from her nightlight.

Goodnight, Beau, she sent back.

Anthony’s heart stirred and he liked the picture before putting his phone on do not disturb and plugging it on his nightstand.

It wasn’t that Tess was putting off hanging out with her friends, it was just that she didn’t have the time since Sorel was born. She texted them, exchanged TikToks, and she hyped them up in comments on their Instagram posts. But when it came to them inviting her to hang out—coffee, a walk, drinks, clubbing—she always turned them down because of Sorel, even when Anthony was home. She knew it wasn’t exactly right or fair, but she couldn’t handle the thoughtof leaving Sorel, let alone actually leaving her.

But this time, her friends weren’t talking no for an answer.

Cass: It’s been forever since we’ve seen you!

Darcy: You can’t stay locked in that apartment like Rapunzel forever, Tessa. We will come break you out

Darcy: We miss you!!!

Cass: And we want to meet your baby

Tess: She isn’t my baby

Darcy: You take care of her like she is

The groupchat continued on like that, and, well, Anthony was on the road and he had asked her to move in… So she could have her friends over instead of going out…

Tess: Anthony is on the road until Tuesday, so I guess you guys can come over if you want. But I have ground rules. Including being quiet and no rowdiness, Darcy. I don’t want you disturbing Sorel

Cass: Deal!

Darcy: Hey! I can be quiet!

Cass: No you can’t

Darcy: Shut up, yes I can

Her friends came over on Saturday.

Cass showed up at four. “Where’s your baby?” She asked as soon as the door closed behind her.

“Napping,” Tess replied. Cass pouted, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it and she let Tess guide her to the couch while they waited for Darcy arrived, which ended up being half an hour later. Fashionably late as always.

They fell back into their dynamic like they hadn’t been away from each other for weeks and they talked non-stop as they tried to catch up in a way that you couldn’t over text and Tess couldn’t stop smiling. It was nice to see her friends again, even as they bickered over what to have for dinner.

They ended up settling on Chinese and after it was ordered, Tess got Sorel up to feed her dinner. Cass instantly cooed over her. She always was drawn to kids more than Darcy, but even Darcy had to admit Sorel was pretty cute.

Cass and Darcy shared knowing looks as they watched how Tess interacted with Sorel, but they didn’t say anything.

When dinner showed up, they got settled on the couch around the coffee table and Tess managed to eat while Sorel was still in her arms, something she had gotten better at over the weeks.

After dinner, she put Sorel down when she came back to the living room, Darcy was already opening a bottle of wine and pouring all of them way too much. Tess shook her head at her friend but sat back down on the couch and lifted her glass. It wasn’t the expensive smooth wine Anthony had, but it was alright.

“Anthony asked me to move in with him,” Tess said after her first glass of wine started to hit.

“He did what?!” Darcy asked while Cass’s eyes bugged out of her head. “Seriously? Tessa…”

Tess looked down as she swirled her wine in her glass, “I didn’t say I was moving in, I said he asked me to move in.”

“But you want to,” Cass pointed out and Tess didn’t have to say anything for them to know. “Aren’t you already living with him?” Cass continued.

Tess shrugged, “I guess I am, but… I don’t know… I feel like a guest in his apartment. I’ve been here for weeks but it feels temporary. And he’s offering to make it permanent.”

Cass and Darcy shared a look over the coffee table while Tess busied herself with a large sip of her wine.

“Do you think that it’s a good idea to make it permanent?” Darcy asked after a moment.

“In this economy, I’ll never be able to live on my own. I’ll never live in a place as nice as this. And I already know the roommates are great,” Tess whispered.

“But—” Darcy started, but Tess cut her off.

“Don’t,” she whispered. “I know all the reasons I shouldn’t. Trust me, I know. I just…” She looked over at the dining room window where she could see the New York skylight. “I’m happy here.”

The room fell quiet while Tess downed the rest of her wine before pouring herself another glass. “But enough about me and my stupid feelings. Anyone have anything interesting from the last few months? Any new boys? Girls?”

“I don’t even know where to start with who Darcy was been seeing. Or, I guess I should say how many guys Darcy has been seeing,” Cass said before innocently drinking her wine.

“Oh shush,” Darcy replied. “At least I didn’t catch feelings for my fuck buddy.”

“No…” Tess gasped as she looked to Cass. “Who is she?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Cass mumbled. “I’d rather talk about you and Anthony.”

“Not a chance,” Tess replied before looking at her watch. It wasn’t long before Sorel would wake and need changing and a bottle.

“Fine, fine,” Cass rolled her eyes. “We’ll let you off. This time.”

Tess shook her head but she still smiled. She loved her friends, she really did. Even if they drove her crazy sometimes.

Darcy and Cass ended up staying the night, Cass staying in Tess’s bed with her while Darcy curled up on Anthony’s expensive couch.

And neither were thrilled about their early morning start the next day when Sorel started crying because Tess overslept, but that was life with kids.

Tess wouldn’t trade it for the world

Cass and Darcy ended up heading home after breakfast, leaving Tess alone with Sorel, and while it was nice to see her friends, she couldn’t help but realize how much had change in the last couple of months. Sorel had changed her and she really didn’t want to go back to Tess she was before.

Tess continued to think about moving in with Anthony, weighing the pros and cons, for the rest of March, wanting to give him an answer before the playoffs started. But, at the end of the day, Tess already knew what she wanted, it was just a matter of convincing herself she should.

She told him in the morning when his hair was still fluffy with sleep and he had a bit of stubble shadowing his jaw and she couldn’t help but note how soft he and perfect he looked.

“So, I thought about what you said last week,” Tess said as she stirred her coffee.

Anthony raised an eyebrow as he tried to think back to what she could be referring to. He said a lot last week and it was too early to be thinking this hard. “About?” He asked.

“Moving in?” Tess replied, looking over at him.

“Right, yeah,” Anthony nodded. “And did you make a decision?” He asked, shifting his weight.

Tess nodded and took a sip of her coffee before moving to sit at the island and meeting his eyes. “I, uh, I would like to move in.”

Anthony’s shoulders relaxed instantly, the tension leaving his body. “Oh thank god, I don’t know what I would have done if you said no.”

Tess laughed at his reaction, warmth spreading through her chest. “So, how do we go about this? What happens next?”

Anthony shrugged and came around the island to sit next to her. “You move in, it’s not that hard. I’ll help you with whatever you need, carrying the boxes and stuff, you know?” He said before flexing one of his arms to show off his muscles.

Tess forced a laugh and ignored the butterflies in her stomach. “What about bills and stuff?” She asked.

“I told you, the apartment is paid for. I want you here, Tess. And you’ve done so much for me and Sorel. I’m not going to take your money for utilities and I’m definitely not taking your money for an apartment you can’t afford, no offence.”

“But—” Tess tried, but Anthony gave her a pointed look.

“Nope. Not taking your hard earned savings, Tessa,” he said before getting up to make himself another cup of coffee.

Tess took an annoyed breath through her nose but she knew it was pointless to argue with him. “So, I was thinking of bringing some stuff over this weekend. Try to get the bulk brought over and unpacked before playoffs start. Is that okay?”

“Sounds great. Like I said, I’ll help however I can,” he said as his coffee brewed.

Tess thanked him with a nod and took another sip of her coffee. After breakfast, she called her mom to break the news.

Tess’s mom wasn’t exactly surprised when she said that she was going to move in with Anthony and would be coming home to pack up her stuff, but she still ended up on the phone with her mom for over an hour while her mom questioned if it was a good idea, if she was sure she wanted to give up so much for a guy and a baby that wasn’t hers.

She was.

The Islanders had Friday off because they were playing Saturday, so, after talking with Anthony, Tess headed back to her parents’ place to pack while he stayed home with Sorel.

Tess’s room wasn’t the smallest of her siblings, but it wasn’t the largest either, and because she had passed on so much to her younger sisters over the years and the apartment was already fully furnished, she didn’t have much to pack.

It didn’t take her long at all to pack everything into totes. When she closed the last lid, she took a deep breath and looked around her room. It wasn’t empty, but it felt empty, everything with meaning packed away into totes. After years of dreaming about moving out, it felt surreal that it was finally happening.

She took a minute to soak it in before picking up the first tote and carrying it down to the living room. She carried the rest of the totes down before flopping down on the couch and her mom put a glass of ice water on the coffee table before sitting down next to her. Tess whispered a thank you and drank half the glass, welcoming the cold water as she cooled down from the workout that was packing.

After the break, her mom helped load her car and took whatever didn’t fit in her car. Tess sent a text to Anthony that she and her mom were heading back and they made their way to the apartment. She helped Tess carry the totes from the car up to the apartment and when Tess unlocked the door, Anthony was on the phone in the kitchen with Sorel strapped to his chest in the baby carrier.

They did their best to be quiet as they put the totes down in the living room and Tess did her best to ignore how much she loved coming home to Anthony and Sorel.

How much she loved Anthony and Sorel.

“I was just ordering a pizza for dinner,” Anthony explained after he hung up the phone. Tess nodded and walked over to him to say hello to Sorel, her hand gently on Sorel’s back before she kissed the top of her head.

“We’re just going to bring the rest up,” she whispered, not wanting to disturb Sorel.

“I can help,” Anthony offered, but Tess shook her head.

“No, you stay with Ellie. We got this. And there isn’t much.”

Between the two of them, it only two more trips to bring everything up and they stacked the totes in the living room. She’d unpack them tomorrow.

“Is it alright if I have a glass of water?” Her mom asked after they were done.

“Yeah, of course,” Anthony nodded from his place in the kitchen, his hand cradling Sorel’s head and his thumb tracing over her crown. “There’s water bottles in the fridge if you’d prefer.”

“Thank you,” she said and pulled a water bottle out of the fridge. She took a few sips as she looked at him before saying, “you’re really good with her.”

Anthony smiled and looked down at Sorel. “Thank you,” he whispered before pulling his eyes up and looking over at Tess in the living room. “I couldn’t do it without her.”

The corner of her lips twitched up at how Anthony looked at her daughter before she glanced over at Tessa and she wondered if maybe she was wrong to assume that Tess moving in would be a bad idea.

Tess fiddled with the totes, trying to organize them to make unpacking easier for her tomorrow, until the pizza arrived. She smiled when she saw the box. It was from her favourite place. Her mom noticed either, but she didn’t say anything. Tess didn’t bother getting a plate down as she took a piece out of the box and Anthony excused himself to put Sorel down in her crib.

After having a slice of pizza, Tess’s mom gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead and headed home to make dinner for the rest of her kids, leaving Tess alone with Anthony and Sorel in her new home. Anthony picked up the pizza up and carried over to the coffee table and Tess flopped on the couch next to him, happy to be off her feet.

“I’m really happy you’re here,” Anthony said after a while, his chest warm as he looked to Tess.

She smiled as she looked at him over the open pizza box. His hair was messy, like it was every day he had off because if he didn’t play, he didn’t do his hair, and he had some stubble on his chin from not shaving the last couple of days. To Tess, he looked like a dream.

“I’m really happy I’m here, too,” she told him.

There really was nowhere else she’d rather be.

And she thought that again after dinner when she gave Sorel a bath, looking down at Sorel’s sweet smile and bright eyes…

She was where she was supposed to be.

She was home.

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