phillip-morgan

[artisticdivasworld]

Truck Parking Revisited

Every day all over the country, drivers are using their last hour of driving time to try to find a safe place to park their rig.. It’s no secret that the lack of truck parking out there is getting ridiculous. Every day, drivers have to resort to parking in an unsafe place or risk going over their allotted HOS—it’s dangerous for you, your cargo, and other drivers on the road. Some have to park on…

[kitkatpancakestack]

Bobby needs to have a crisis and invest all his savings into a food truck. it's finally time for them to give me what I want. he needs to make comfort food and dole out fatherly advice. he needs to call it "Nash On This." most importantly he needs to park it right outside the firehouse and then follow the 118 to all their calls and constantly be up in their business like he never left. all while wearing his fabulous apron and wielding his whisk. Impeccable.

[thealtoduck]

The One Where A Model Moves In Upstairs

Joey Tribbiani x Male Reader

Warnings: Implied abuse from your ex, the guys assume you’re a girl…

Summary: The guys find out that a model moved in to the apartment above Joey and Chandler’s…

——

Rachel and Monica walked towards the enterance of their apartment building where they saw a moving truck parked outside filled with boxes and furniture. ”Is someone moving in?” Rachel questioned. ”Yeah, i heard that someone got the apartment above Joey and Chandler” Monica explained.

”Come on, let’s go welcome them” Rachel said, Monica uttred a quick ”Yeah” in agreement amd the two made their way over. A young man came out from the apartmen building and picked up one of the boxes.

Rachel and Monica immediately noticed how handsome he was. Rachel could have sworn she’d seen him before somewhere. ”Hi, excuse us, are you the one moving in to this building?” Rachel asked. ”Yeah, i am, do you live here?” you questioned cheerfully.

”Yeah, we live on the third floor, I’m Monica and this is Rachel” Monica introduced the two. ”Nice to meet you two, I’m Y/n, I’m moving on to the fourth floor” you told them. Rachel then had a moment of realisation. ”Oh my god” she exclaimed. ”Now i remember you’re the model Y/n L/n” she said excitedly and you nodded in confirmation.

”I loved the photoshoot you did for Vogue last month” Rachel said. ”Thank you so much, it’s always nice to meet people who appreciate my work” you thanked her. Monica then gave a look at the truck behind you. ”Would you like some help bringing up all the boxes?” she offered.

”I mean if you don’t mind some help would be really nice” you said. The two then helped you bring all the boxes up to the apartment.

——

Later that day when Rachel and Monica were back in their apartment Joey entered taking some food from the fridge as usual. ”Hey Joey” Rachel greeted. ”Hey Rachel” Joey said mouth full of food. ”Did you meet the model?” she asked.

”The model?” Joey questioned, his interest peaking. ”Yeah, a model moved in to the apartment above yours” Monica told him. ”Really? Was she hot? Bet she’s a real smoke show” Joey asked and started fantasizing.

”Uhm… Joey the model is a gu-” Monica tried but Joey cut her off saying excitedly ”I gotta go tell Chandler” and he walked out the door back to his own apartment. ”Should-… Should we tell him?” Rachel asked. ”No, he needs to learn to listen. Plus, this will be more fun” Monica said.

——

While you were unpacking cardboard boxes there came an eager knock on the door. You got up from the floor and walked to the door. You opened it and your eyes were met with three rather handsome guys, one of which were leaning against the doorframe, all their eyes widened slightly once they saw you.

”Hi, can i help you?” you greeted. ”Uhm, is your sister home?” One of them asked. ”I don’t have a sister” you answered awkwardly. ”Is your mom home?” Another one tried. ”No, she dosen’t live here” you told them. ”The model! Where’s the model?!” The guy who had been leaning against the door yelled in deperation.

”Oh… I’m the model” you told the three, making their eyes widen again. ”Welcome to the building” a guy with brown hair said nicely and a guy with short black hair added a quick ”Yeah”. The two then sprinted away in embarassment. Leaving only the guy who had been leaning against the doorframe.

His suprised face then turned in to a flirty smile and he said ”How you doin’?”. ”I’m fine” you said a bit stunned from the interaction with the other two. ”Heard from my friends that you just moved in and wanted to personally come welcome you” he explained. ”I’m Joey Tribbiani, and if you ever need anything i’m just one apartment below” he introduced himself charmingly.

”Nice to meet you Joey, I’m Y/n L/n” you told him.

——

Joey was having a major crisis, he had been flirting with a guy. He’d never done that before in his whole life, but you were so breathtakingly beautiful he couldn’t help himself. Now he didn’t know what to do.

He entered the central perk where the others were waiting. ”Hey Joey, what’s up?” Phoebe greeted. ”Hey, it’s nothing, it’s just this guy Y/n, he’s so awesome but in like the way chicks are awesome, it’s so confusing”. The friends gave each other a look before looking back at Joey.

Monica then voiced their thoughts by asking ”Joey, are you trying to say you’re ”intrigued” by a guy?”. ”Maybe, i’m not sure” he said. ”Well-Well-Well looks like Joey the ladiesman has become Joey the mansman” Ross joked.

”Hey Joey Tribbiani is for everybodies enjoyment, okay?” Joey stated seriously.

”Are you gonna ask him out?” Rachel asked. ”I don’t know, how do you even go about asking a guy out?” Joey questioned, which was followed by a long thinking silence. ”How do you girls ask guys out?” Ross asked looking at Rachel, Phoebe and Monica.

”We don’t know, guys usually asks us out” Phoebe said and the other two nodded in agreement. ”Guess you’ll just have to figure it out” Chandler said leaving Joey to his thoughts.

——

Next time you and Joey met he would get his chance to talk to you. You were awkwardly dragging a large package up the stairs. Joey then appeared from the bottom stairs saying ”Hey Y/n, what’s in the package?”.

”It’s my new dinner table, could you help me get it up to my apartment?” you asked. ”Of course” Joey said eagerly, immediately grabbing the package and helping you carry it. Once you entered the apartment you put the package down.

”Thanks you so much for the help, Joey” you said gratefully, you kneeled down and started opening the package. ”No problem, will you be fine from here?” he asked helpfully. You then picked up a thick building manual from the package as realisation kicked in, you looked up at Joey from the ground and said ”No, i don’t think so”.

”I’ll get some tools” Joey said opening the door and went down to get a toolbox in his apartment.

”Thank you” you called after him.

——

After several hours of trials and tribulations you and Joey had managed to put together the dinner table. ”Thank you so much, Joey, anything you need just ask, i promise i’ll do something nice for you” you thanked him gratefully. Joey smiled and saw his moment.

”Well there was one thing i wanted to ask you-” he started but was cut off by a large banging on the door.

”Y/n! Are you there?” A male voice asked, Joey went to open the door but you stopped him saying ”Don’t open the door, it’s my ex, i really don’t wanna see him”. Joey noticed how tense you had become.

Another set of violent knocks came. ”Y/n! I know you’re in there! Open the door!” his voice came again, louder this time. ”Go to your room, i’ll take care of him” Joey told you. ”Joey, I-” you started but Joey reasured you ”Don’t worry i’ll handle him”. You did as told and went in to your bedroom.

Joey opened the door and was met with another man. The man seemed suprised seeing Joey ”Who are you?” he asked. ”I’m Joey. You should get out of here, man, Y/n dosen’t wanna see you” Joey told him patiently. ”I just want to talk to him” your ex said and tried to make his way in only for Joey to block his enterance with his arm.

”I said he dosen’t wanna see you” Joey said sternly. The guy grew annoyed and hissed ”Hey, this is none of you business, man, so stay out of it and let me in”. ”It is my business if you’re harassing one of my friends, so get out of here now before we call the police” Joey threatened.

Your ex glared at Joey before stomping away angrily, Joey closed the door and locked it. You came out of you room saying gratefully ”Thank you, Joey”. ”Hey, no problem-” he was caught of guard as you wrapped your arms around him in a tight hug.

Joey then hugged you back saying ”If he comes back, you let me know and i’ll deal with him, okay?”. ”Thank you” you said putting you face against his shoulder. ”Was there something you wanted to ask before?” you then remembered.

It hardly felt like the right time to ask you out so Joey settled for ”Me and the others were planning on grabbing some pizza and rent a movie, would you like to join us?”.

You smiled and answered ”I’d love to”.

[marlynnofmany]

Monkey Chase

I stepped off the loading ramp and got a good view of the reason why we’d landed in the wrong part of the spaceport. A giant cargo hauler lay on its side, broken and bent — had a ship crashed into it, or had the engine exploded? I couldn’t tell from here — and large slabs of spaceship insulation gel sprawled everywhere. The hauler’s cargo, clearly. As I watched, three people with a hovercart tried to shove one aside to no effect, and another slab as big as a cross-section from my old apartment on Earth slowly peeled off from inside the remains of the hauler. It hit the ground with the squishiest thud I’d ever heard - the thing was the color of smoke, but dense enough to make the ground vibrate from here.

I whistled, then regretted it when the tentacle alien on the ramp beside me scrunched up at the sound. “Sorry,” I told Mur.

“Ow,” he said, uncurling his blue-black tentacles. “Was that a human swear? It’s sharp.”

“More of a ‘wow-look-at-that’ kind of noise,” I said. “But swearing would sure be appropriate. What a mess.”

“You said it. Glad it’s not our problem.”

Captain Sunlight came down the ramp to join us, regal as ever in the bright yellow scales that had given her the name. “Our client isn’t answering,” she said. “I’ve put in a request at the local medcenter to see if they’ve been injured in this crisis, but haven’t heard back yet. Anyone interested is welcome to join me in walking over to where their ship was meant to be parked.”

Three other crewmates followed her out of the ship: Blip and Blop in their flowiest silks that both matched their fin colors and also showed off their biceps, and Zhee with his purple exoskeleton as shiny as always. They all made quiet noises of dismay at the state of the spaceport.

(Well, Blip and Blop seemed dismayed. Zhee was looking down his nonexistent nose at whoever had been careless enough to cause such a mess.)

Mur waved a tentacle. “Lead the way,” he said to the captain. “Here’s hoping the ship isn’t buried under all that.”

“Yeah, it looks heavy,” I said as we moved out. “I wouldn’t be surprised if a little ship could be crushed under that, especially if it also took damage from whatever kaboom happened in the first place.”

As we got closer, I made several observations in a range of importance. A medical shuttle was zipping off toward the city center while another appeared to be waiting around just in case; the medics were standing there chatting instead of tending to anyone. The gel slabs couldn’t be pushed, though they could be lifted with a big enough gravity platform. There was only one of those here. Cleanup was going to take a while. The slabs covered a large area of ground as well as a couple ship-sized lumps, turning the spaceport into a sea of smoky gray translucent rubber.

A small creature bounced around on it. People were shouting about that.

“What’s going on over there?” I asked.

Captain Sunlight sighed deeply and sped up. “I really hope that’s not our cargo.”

“Our cargo’s an animal?”

“Yes, among other things. I thought I told you, but I guess not; it was a last-minute addition to our load. Someone’s exotic pet.” She looked up at me with concern on her lizardy face. “How are your animal-catching skills?”

“Depends on the animal,” I said, squinting at the fast-moving thing. I was the critter expert on the ship, but I didn’t want to promise anything. “What species is it?”

“I’ll bring up the description in a moment,” Captain Sunlight said. “I think I see our client over there.”

She was right. The slender Frillian with a leash and an exasperated expression did turn out to be the person we’d come to meet, and the various spaceport officials on the scene had no any easy answers about how to catch his pet.

“Normally he comes running for food!” the client exclaimed. “But he’s got plenty to pick from here!” He pointed accusingly at the spill of fruit from a truck smashed open by a slab of gel.

“Oh, like that’s my fault?” said a Heatseeker who was busy gathering fruit. “Half my stock is ruined! Go catch your little menace and stop complaining.”

This led to a rant about how impossible the menace in question was to catch when he didn’t want to be — giving him a bath had to be done by trickery — and he was never going to come down from this playground full of food, and oh the man should have just paid for a transit that allowed him to bring pets.

Zhee muttered agreement at that last, but I don’t think the guy heard him. Spaceport officials offered calming words and a reminder that nets had been sent for.

Captain Sunlight asked one of them, “Is there an animal-handling service anywhere nearby?”

“Nowhere close,” was the answer.

She looked back up at me. “Any bright ideas? Here, I’ll show you the description.”

While she unfolded a screen and brought up the information from this particular courier gig, I watched the jumpy creature carefully. He was close enough for a good look now, since he’d come back to snatch another alien citrus off the ground, making the owner yell after him.

My first thought was “monkey,” followed by “frog.” The animal was long-limbed and green, though with velvety fur instead of an amphibian’s shine, and had a tail that could hold fruit just as well as his hands could. Pointy nose, round ears, and the biggest eyes of anyone here except for Zhee. He could probably see a person sneaking up from behind. He was fast. And he was clearly having a great time jumping from one bouncy surface to another, making chattering noises and spitting citrus peel everywhere.

“It’s called a treeleaper,” Captain Sunlight told me. “Warmblooded, diurnal, omnivorous, and ‘a bit of a troublemaker.’”

Mur snorted. “Sounds like your species,” he told me.

“Just with a tail,” Zhee added.

“I wanted a tail as a kid,” I said absently, thinking hard. I’d just caught sight of a shipful of humans disembarking nearby, on the other side of the biggest pile of gel. They looked like they were in pretty good shape. One was already walking on the gel and laughing about the bounce.

I had an idea. “Excuse me, Captain. I think I see reinforcements,” I said, then ran off toward my unsuspecting kinfolk. When I got close, I took great pleasure in yelling, “Hey humans! Who wants to help me chase a monkey across a trampoline??”

They were all smiles and questions, then when I led the way to where they could see the monkey-frog jumping around with stolen fruit, they volunteered immediately.

“I’ll get the small cargo net!”

“Do you think the big gravity wands will slow it down?”

“Bet you a cleaning shift that I can grab it in a towel.”

“You’re on!”

I told Captain Sunlight that I had successfully recruited some animal-catchers, and she didn’t bat an eye, just suggesting that our crew gather similar tools from our own ship. Zhee and the twins rushed off while Mur stayed to yell suggestions.

The other humans were already venturing into the bounce zone. I hurried to follow, grabbing a fist-sized lime thing from the ground as I did. We made a wide circle before closing in.

The treeleaper saw us coming, of course. Threw a half-eaten fruit at one person and made a rude noise at another, then sprang up to ricochet between surfaces like an unholy pinball.

Thus began a merry chase.

It brought back memories of bouncy houses and birthday parties at the trampoline gym. The gel was tough enough to take an impact without doing more than denting briefly and launching a person hooting into the air, to rebound off another surface and hopefully not smack into anyone else in midair. There were a couple close calls. But that just made everything funnier somehow.

I jumped off one gel wall with and hit another with my shoulder, making the monkey-frog turn a 180 back towards a pair of guys with gravity wands. He tried to spring away to the side, but I threw my lime to bounce off a surface nearby, spooking him enough to change direction yet again. Somebody slid down a gel slab like a rubbery playground slide, yelping as that turned into a wild tumble. The animal didn’t know what to make of all the flailing and laughter. His hesitation was enough for the gravity wands to lift him partway off the gel, then when he stuck a leg out far enough to jump free, he was immediately bagged by a grinning lady with a cargo net.

Everybody cheered.

The treeleaper growled and tried to scramble free, but no luck. Somebody else caught up and helped tie the net off with a scarf. Everyone settled down to minimal bouncing, and many hands worked together to carry the bundle of ropes and disgruntled animal back to solid ground.

“You got him! Is he okay? He didn’t sprain anything in that net, did he? I hope he didn’t eat too much fruit. He’ll do that if given the chance, you know.” The owner was grateful and worried and relieved and talkative.

Eggskin had arrived from our ship with a medical scanner, and thankfully they could put everyone’s mind at ease about the state of our animal cargo. The treeleaper was fine. It had a stomach full of fruit and a bloodstream full of adrenaline, but all it needed was a nice nap in its carrying cage.

I considered asking why it hadn’t been in the carrier before, when the rented shuttle got its windows smashed, but I didn’t.

A small hand patted my back, as far up as it could reach. “Earning your keep once again,” said Captain Sunlight.

I laughed. “That was my pleasure.”

Another human lingering nearby asked, “Is there anything else that needs catching? That was great.”

“Yeah, you should sell tickets to this!” agreed another.

A Frillian in a port uniform said, “No, but thank you.” She paused, then added, “Hm. I wonder if that’s worth suggesting to the owner of all this insulation. It’s useless for its intended purpose now that it’s breached the sanitation shielding.”

I smiled. “It still makes an excellent trampoline even with footprints all over it. Lay those out in an empty field and charge people entrance, and they could make back a decent amount of money. You get plenty humans through this port, right?”

The woman who’d caught the treeleaper said, “We’re here early for a family reunion before the big festival, then there are three or four sporting events in a row. Let us know if that does happen, because we can get you a lot of humans interested in jumping on this stuff.”

I had to leave with the animal cargo back to our courier ship, so I didn’t hear how the rest of the conversation went, but I saw the official bring the representative of the hauling group over to meet the humans. He looked very interested in what the spokesperson had to say.

I grinned at the scene as I walked away: the intense conversation in front of the vast playground of bouncy surfaces. I wondered if we’d get a chance to come back for a visit when they got it set up properly.

~~~

The ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book. More to come! And I am currently drafting a sequel!

[beardedmrbean]

A newborn baby boy was discovered Sunday in a dumpster behind an apartment complex in southwest Houston.

Video footage obtained by local news outlet ABC13 shows emergency services rescuing the baby from the trash and wrapping him in a blanket. The baby's skin is pink and hair wet.

The police responded to a call around 2 p.m. on Sunday from a man who heard a baby crying from a dumpster. When the officers rescued the newborn, he was reacting and moving his hands, as seen in the video.

ABC13 reported that on Tuesday afternoon investigators from the Houston Police Department appeared to focus their attention on a nearby food truck, taking photos and interviewing individuals identified as employees and owners. The truck had been parked at the location for about three months, according to the apartment manager.

The baby was taken to the hospital, found to be in good health, and is now under the care of Child Protective Services, according to local reports.

Police are reportedly continuing to investigate to identify the person responsible for abandoning the baby. Newsweek contacted the police department for more information via email.

A similar incident was reported in Pasadena, in the Houston area, only a few hours prior.

According to local media outlets, the Pasadena Police Department said it received a call around 4:15 a.m. from a person identifying themselves as a father who was having a mental health crisis and looking for a safe place to leave his baby. The infant was later found in a car seat by a dumpster next to a restaurant, authorities say.

The child appears to be "healthy and in good condition," according to child services.

The father appeared in court on Tuesday. He is facing charges of assault of a family member and child abandonment, and is expected to appear in court again on Wednesday.

A third baby was also reportedly abandoned on a walking trail earlier this year, believed to be just hours old.

Texas' Safe Haven law, also known as the Baby Moses law, states that parents who leave a baby in a safe place such as a hospital or fire station will not be prosecuted for abandonment or neglect.

The law states that the baby must be under 60 days old, unharmed, and placed with an employee of these safe places. It exists to give "parents who are unable to care for their child a safe and legal choice," according to the state's Department of Family and Protective Services.

Similar laws exist throughout the country, although the details of the baby's age and what is considered a "safe place" can vary from state to state.

DFPS - Baby Moses Law or Safe Haven

[corroded-hellfire]

Just a Spark - Eddie Munson x Reader

A Collaboration with my beloved kindred spirit @munson-blurbs🤍

Summary: Eddie takes his sons to watch fireworks at Lover's Lake for the Fourth of July. But when he notices you there with some friends, including some male friends, he can't help but be jealous.

Note: Thank you to my dearest @joejoequinnquinn for loving jealous!eddie as much as I do and for coming up with this lovely idea! I still find it funny that it's a Fourth of July fic and you do not live in the US, lol. I hope you all enjoy and happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans 💙

Warnings: older!eddie, dad!eddie, babysitter!reader, eddie being jealous hehe

Words: 3.9k

[As You Wish masterlist]

It wasn’t often that Hawkins held activities that appealed to the whole town. The haunted houses around Halloween only appealed to the teenagers, the winter wonderlands at Christmas only mattered to young children, and the Thanksgiving Parade was something that everyone swears they got dragged along to against their will. Fourth of July in Hawkins was the one day a year that could be counted on to bring people of all ages out to Lover’s Lake for sunshine in the afternoon and fireworks at night. 

Kids would splash and swim together in the shallow area of the lake while their parents watched from picnic blankets spread out not too far away. Teens and college students would come with their friends, the college kids drinking beer out in the open while the teenagers had to hide sips behind a tree or behind a friend’s back. 

It was a tradition in the Munson household to grill up some hamburgers and bring them down to eat at the lake while they watched the fireworks. This particular year things seem to be off-track, though. Brittany had left the house early in the afternoon to run a few errands and pick up some charcoal for the grill so that Eddie could cook the hamburgers. After being gone far too long for just saying she was heading to a few stores, the phone rings and Brittany gives Eddie some sob story about how she ran into her sister who’s having a crisis and she needs to stay with her for a while. Eddie just sighed as he hung up, thinking to himself that at least Brittany wasn’t dumb enough to say it had something to do with work when banks are closed because it’s a national holiday. The only problem—because going out with his boys without his wife was certainly not a problem—he ran into now was that he didn’t have time to run out and get charcoal and make the burgers before they were going to leave for the lake. 

Improvising, Eddie swings through a Burger King drive-through on the way, making sure the three of them would still keep their tradition intact as much as possible. The boys don’t seem to mind the differences between this year and last, maybe just glad to have a chance to hang out with their dad while they did something as cool as watch fireworks. 

Eddie pulls his truck into the already-crowded parking lot and grabs the bag of fast food. As he and the boys get out, people walk by carrying coolers, picnic baskets, and a few types of inner tubes to use in the water. There are tons of people there—which Eddie expected. He takes Luke’s hand into his own and instructs Ryan to grab onto Luke’s other so they don’t lose anyone. 

“Eddie!” A familiar voice calls out and has Eddie whipping around to spot its owner. He quickly sees the Sinclairs; Lucas is waving with his left hand to get Eddie’s attention, with Tiffany on his right hip. 

Eddie nudges the boys. “Look who’s here!” Their eyes widen when they notice Uncle Lucas—who Eddie swears is his younger son’s namesake and certainly isn’t Luke Skywalker—along with Aunt Max and their baby. They practically pull Eddie across the lot to them. 

Clapping Lucas’s hand and pulling him in for a modified bro-hug so he doesn’t crash into Tiffany, Eddie offers his long-time friend a grin. “How have you guys been?” he asks as he gives Max a hug. 

“Good. Tired.” Max says with a laugh. “Tiffany slept through the night for about three days before she started teething.”

“Aww, poor thing,” Eddie coos, chuckling when Tiffany proves her mother’s point by grabbing Eddie’s finger and gnawing on it. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t last as long as it seems,” he reassures the new parents. 

“We’re just headed out,” Lucas explains, kissing his daughter’s cheek. “It’s this little lady’s bedtime, and we’ve gotta get home before the fireworks start.”

“We have no idea how she’ll react to them, and we’re not about to conduct that experiment in public,” Max chimes in, making Eddie laugh again. “But we’ll see you at Ryan’s birthday party next week!”

The Munsons and Sinclairs part with goodbyes and more hugs before Eddie and the boys head towards the lake. 

“I wanna sit near the water!” Luke insists, and Eddie winces at his high-pitched whine. 

“Think we might get a better view of the fireworks if we sit up a little higher.” It’s the truth; plus, he won’t have to worry about Luke flinging himself into the cesspool that Hawkins calls a lake. 

They find a shady spot right under a tree, and Eddie lays out three beach towels so they won’t have to sit in the dirt. He passes out the parchment-wrapped burgers and little bags of fries and sits back with a sigh. This is what he’d always wanted—family traditions with his boys. If only…

“Has anyone seen my sunscreen?”

Eddie freezes mid-bite, only remembering that he has a burger in his hand when his arm starts to ache from being in one position too long. He chews and swallows as though nothing happened, but his mind is racing. 

It can’t be, he thinks. He’s almost certain that this is all in his imagination—God knows he can’t get you out of his head—until he hears someone say your name. 

Just one look, Eddie convinces himself. A quick peek so I can see that it’s not actually her; just someone who sounds like her and has the same name…

His stomach flip-flops when he glances over and sees you in a low-cut red tank top and cutoff denim shorts. Oh, shit, it’s her. And she looks really, really good. He takes a deep breath, trying to gather his scrambled thoughts. He wishes he had a six-pack; a cold beer can always calm his jangled nerves. Okay, I can’t let the boys see. Once that happens, she’ll come over here and—

Eddie’s anxious thought is disrupted by the sight of one of the three guys you’re with applying sunscreen to the back of your neck. He’s got long, light brown hair—though not as long or luscious as his own, Eddie notes wryly. 

Long Hair spends far too much time massaging the lotion into your skin. Calm down, Buffalo Bill. She doesn’t need that much sun protection. 

The only other girl there plucks the lotion bottle from Long Hair’s hands, much to Eddie’s relief, and Eddie turns his attention back to his boys. “You guys ready for the fireworks?” He tries to keep the enthusiasm in his voice. “Sun’s setting, so they’ll be starting soon.”

Ryan nods, chewing on a fry. “I wonder what colors they’ll have,” he muses. 

“Well, I wonder what would happen if I sat on a firework!” Luke pipes up with a mouthful of burger. “Like, would I fly into the sky? Or would it blow up in my butt?”

Eddie laughs loudly. “My money’s on the second one, little man.”

Your laughter floats over to Eddie on the breeze blowing off of the lake. He mentally berates himself, thinking of how he should be enjoying this family tradition with his boys and not be wondering if any of those guys you’re with are your boyfriend or if you’re sleeping with any of them or if…

“Daddy, what’s wrong?”

“Hmm?” Eddie looks up at Ryan’s worried face and frowns. “What do you mean?”

“Your lip,” Ryan says, pointing at the bottom half of his father’s face. “You were chewing on it, and it started bleeding.”

“Silly me,” Eddie says with a forced chuckle. He grabs one of the napkins from the Burger King bag and dabs at his lower lip. Luke has shifted to watch a game of volleyball happening on a court that someone set up and it gives Eddie the opportunity to scoot closer between his boys, so his back is to you and your friends. Maybe now he’ll be able to focus. 

It works for a while. The three of them finish their burgers and Luke is immediately complaining that he’s still hungry. Eddie tells the five-year-old he has to wait and tries to play a game with them to distract his youngest son from his rumbling tummy before the fireworks start. 

“Simon says put your hands on your head. Simon says give your brother a high five,” Eddie instructs as the boys eagerly await the next command. “Simon says stand up. Sit back down. Ah! I didn’t say ‘Simon says!’”

“I win!” Ryan cheers as Luke sprawls out on his beach towel with a groan. The familiar twinkling tune of an ice cream truck approaching has him bolting up, though. 

“Ice cream?” Luke stands up and balances on his tippy toes to get a better view at the parking lot. When his suspicions are confirmed, he hops up and down. “Ice cream! Daddy, can we get some? Pleeeeease?”

“Okay, okay,” Eddie says as if it’s a hardship for him to indulge his boys when in reality he’d already planned on getting ice cream for them at some point tonight. “Get me some too, okay?”

“Cookies and cream?” Ryan asks, citing his dad’s favorite flavor.

“Atta boy,” Eddie says, handing him a ten-dollar bill. Luke starts to walk away and towards the truck, but Eddie stops him with an, “ah-ah-ah. It’s crowded here. I don’t want you to lose each other so hold your brother’s hand.” When Luke opens his mouth to respond, a frown creasing his forehead and his nose wrinkling up, Eddie halts the whining before it even happens. “Hold your brother’s hand.”

“Fine,” Luke huffs and offers his hand to Ryan in the most limp, unenthusiastic manner possible. 

The two walk off and Eddie adjusts his position so he can keep an eye on his sons as they snake their way through the crowd and over to the ice cream truck that already has a line of a few kids in front of it. But from this new angle, Eddie can also see you out of the corner of his eye. A breath rushes out of him as if he’d been holding it since his eyes were last on you. Seeing you makes Eddie calmer and more tense at the same time. As always, your presence brings him comfort and happiness. But you’re with a bunch of guys your own age and the jealousy monster is rearing its ugly head like nobody’s business. Eddie looks down at his lap and his eye catches on his wedding ring, glinting in the fading sun.

“You’re a fucking hypocrite, Munson,” Eddie mumbles to himself. 

Unable to not look in your direction—I swear to God she’s got something magnetic about her, he thinks—Eddie sees you gazing out over the lake. You raise your hand above your eyes to shield them from the bright, falling sun and look around the whole area where people have settled in to have fun. Eddie’s just about to look away, not wanting to risk being caught staring at you if you spot him, when he sees one of your guy friends walking over to you. It’s not Long Hair from before. This guy is shorter and as muscly as the other guy was scrawny. Eddie can hear him calling your name, but you must be too caught up in your thoughts to hear him. Muscles reaches out and touches your arm to get your attention. As if seeing him just touching you isn’t bad enough, Eddie watches as you turn around to face Muscles, but the guy still doesn’t take his hand off of you. The tanned, muscular hand is slowly moving down your arm and a knot grows in Eddie’s stomach. If this asshole takes your hand, Eddie feels like he might throw up the burger he’s barely started digesting. 

Luckily, you move to walk back towards your group of friends before Muscles’s hand could reach yours. Eddie feels twenty pounds lighter. He turns back to look towards the parking lot and sees his sons approaching, Ryan holding an ice cream in each hand, and Luke holding one and holding onto the back of Ryan’s red t-shirt with the other hand. By the way his youngest son is rolling his eyes as they approach, Eddie realizes it was Ryan’s idea that Luke holds on to him. 

Ryan hands Eddie his scoop of cookies and cream, plopping back down to enjoy the mint chip cone he’d bought for himself. 

“DAD! OH MY GOD, DAD!!” Luke shouts, and Eddie nearly drops his cone. 

“What? What’s wrong?”

Luke points down towards the left. “Look at that doggy! He’s so cute!” Sure enough, a middle-aged couple is walking a golden retriever along the lake. Both boys sit up a bit straighter and watch as the owners toss a tennis ball into the water and the dog eagerly paddles after it. 

As Eddie’s heart rate steadies to a normal pace—seriously, he’s going to have to talk with Luke about using his “emergency voice” when it is not an emergency—he finds his gaze drifting back to you. He’s just in time to see Long Hair take the baseball cap from his own head and put it on top of yours. Eddie silently wills you to take it off, chuck it into the lake, set it on fire…but he’s utterly disappointed when you adjust it to your head and wear it proudly. 

Would she wear something of mine if I gave it to her? He silently wonders. He’s so engrossed in whatever flirtatious games you’re playing that he barely hears his older son trying to get his attention. 

“Daddy, your ice cream is leaking over the cone. Daddy! It’s getting runny and gonna drip! Daddy?”

“And whaddya keep looking that way for? The lake is that way!” Luke chimes in, face covered in cotton candy ice cream. 

“Y-Yeah, sorry, guys,” Eddie mumbles, but he keeps his gaze locked on you. A blonde guy wearing a puka shell necklace like he’s on Hawaii Five-0 points to a beach volleyball net that’s just been vacated, and you and your friends follow him. 

It’s two versus two; Muscles is serving as a referee for this game. You and Puka Shell are on a team, and Long Hair and the only other girl in your group stand on the other side of the net. You serve, the girl returns it, Puka Shell lobbies it to you, and you spike it back, surprising yourself. 

Eddie clenches his fist until he feels the ice cream cone begin to break when your teammate wraps his arms around you in a hug. Jesus H. Christ, whatever happened to high-fives? But he knows that he’d envy any little touch these guys got from you. 

He tries to distract himself, asking Ryan if he’s excited for his birthday, but he’s only half-listening. 

“What do you want for a gift?” he asks, raising his eyebrows when his sons look at him curiously. “What?”

“I just said I wanted a new Lego set,” Ryan says. He’s not annoyed, just confused. “Are you feeling okay, Daddy?”

“Maybe he has scurvy,” Luke suggests, “like the pirates in that movie we watched.”

“‘M fine,” Eddie reassures them. It takes a second for him to register what Luke’s suggested. “Did you just say I had scurvy?”

There’s no time for Luke to elaborate—not that Eddie necessarily wants him to—before your joyous squeal filters through the air. It seems as though you and Puka Shell won the game, because he’s twirling you around triumphantly. 

Does she want him picking her up? Touching her? Eddie’s inner monologue runs wild. Okay, she’s laughing and smiling, so that’s good. She’s fine with it; yeah, so that’s fine. Everything’s fine. We’re all fine here. She’s with her friends, I’m a married man here with my kids, and that’s all there is to it. 

The whistle and boom of the first firework lighting the sky is a welcome distraction. Ryan lets out a gasp as he stares in awe of the red shooting through the dark sky. Luke scoots backwards and plops himself in Eddie’s lap. He leans against Eddie’s chest and lays his head back on his shoulder as he becomes engrossed in the spectacle. It’s been a while since Luke’s sat in his lap like this, so it brings a smile to Eddie’s face. 

Mixtures of red, white, and blue fireworks crackle through the air, occasionally making shapes other than the usual spherical pattern that shimmies down. Eddie looks over at Ryan, who has a bright grin on his face. The red firework currently popping off leaves a scarlet shadow behind on his older son’s face. Beyond Ryan, Eddie glimpses a view of you watching the fireworks. You’re still with your friends, but you’re sitting a little bit in front of them with your legs crossed and your elbows resting on your knees. There’s a peaceful joy on your face and it makes Eddie’s heart give a few thumps harder than usual. Your friends behind you are talking but you couldn’t seem to care less about what they’re saying. You’re solely focused on the show in the sky. Eddie looks back at his kids and sees them just as mesmerized by the bursting colors. Luke snuggles back against his chest and Eddie is filled with warmth. He wraps his arms loosely around Luke and rests his head against his son’s smaller one as he looks up and joins in watching the celebration. 

By the time the fireworks are done, Eddie’s pretty sure his hearing is damaged. Didn’t I used to play in a metal band? Jesus, I’m getting old. Luke springs up from his dad’s lap and Ryan stands up and stretches his arms out over his head, releasing a long yawn. 

“How was that?” Eddie asks as he collects the beach towels they had been sitting on.

“So cool!” Luke says, jumping as if to emphasize his point. 

“I like the ones that make the fizzy noises as they go out,” Ryan says as he picks up the empty Burger King bag and balls it up in his hands. 

“My favorite are the ones that go pheeeeew,” Luke attempts to mimic the whistle, “then BANG!”

“What about you, Daddy?” Ryan asks. 

“Hmm,” Eddie hums as he considers the question. “The ones that were shaped like circles. They looked pretty cool. Okay, now come on and take my hands, guys. It’s gonna be like a stampede getting out of here.” Eddie tucks the towels under one arm and offers a hand to each son. 

They only make it about five steps before Luke is groaning. “It’s going to take forever to—hey! Look!”

Both Eddie and Ryan turn their heads to look in the direction that Luke is pointing. Eddie’s heart stalls in his chest. Luke’s grinning from ear to ear as he notices you walking with your friends. Ryan gives a gasp of delight when his eyes land on you as well. 

“I’m gonna go say hi!” Luke exclaims, and he’s already halfway to you before Eddie can even open his mouth. 

“Luke, I—ugh, shit.” Eddie mumbles the last part under his breath as he leads Ryan by the hand over to you and your friends. Luke is already in your arms by the time they get there. 

“And then the red one went higher than all the others! And I think it had the loudest boom, too,” Luke is saying. You look up and the brightest smile lights up your face as you see Eddie and Ryan standing there. 

“Hey, strangers,” you greet and Ryan dives in for a hug. You chuckle and wrap your arms around him too. 

Long Hair is standing to the side, slightly closer to Eddie than he is to you, and the rest of your friends are behind you. He gives a small chuckle at the intensity of the hugs the kids give you before turning to Eddie and saying, “You want a hug, too?”

You jab Long Hair in the ribs with your elbow, but that only makes him chuckle more and wrap an arm around you to pull you back against him. This time, Eddie notices, you don’t have the same enthusiastic grin that you had earlier in the evening. It takes everything in his power not to pry you from his arms. 

“I’ll see you guys on Monday, yeah?” you ask the Munson men, desperate to fill the silence. 

“Usual time and place,” Eddie says. The words would usually be accompanied by a wink or a smirk, but something about being around these college guys is grating on his nerves and it’s the closest he’s felt to being intimidated since he was a senior in high school—the first time. 

“Bye!” both boys call and wave at you before walking away with their dad. You wave in return, but it looks pitiful compared to their enthusiastic ones. 

As soon as they’re out of earshot, you pull out of your friend's arm and spin around to face him. “Peter, do you ever shut up?”

“Calm down,” Peter says, exhaling a sound that’s a mixture of a laugh and a scoff. “This guy’s old enough to be your dad.”

Tony smirks and rests a muscled arm on Paul’s shoulder. “Maybe she’s into the whole ‘daddy’ thing.”

The eye roll you give them is involuntary. “You guys are assholes!” 

Turning on your flip flop heel, you spin in the other direction and jog a bit until you catch up with Eddie and the boys. 

“Hey! Where are you going?” Paul asks.

A soft, gentle hand lands on Eddie’s shoulder and he looks back to see you offering him an apologetic smile. 

“I’m sorry if my friends were weird…and I’m sorry if I’m making this weirder.”

Eddie’s entire demeanor changes; despite having to watch you flirt with those douchebags—and then being mocked by them—he can’t help but soften towards you. “Nah, Sweetheart, you’re good. Be safe tonight, okay?” Be safe? Seriously, Munson? What are you, her grandpa?

You don’t seem to notice the way he bites his tongue, trying to quell the surge of embarrassment. “I always am,” you say reassuringly. “See you Monday?”

Eddie nods as you turn around to head back to your friends, utterly oblivious to the way your natural beauty outshines the brightest firework tonight. You’re everything he could ever want, but you’re young and gorgeous with a million better prospects than an old married man. 

He takes one last look at you before he brings the boys to the car. The passenger seat is empty, and he wears a sad smile when he thinks about you sitting there, excitedly chatting with him and the kids about the evening. Eddie would rest his hand on your thigh while he drives back home, and once Ryan and Luke are sound asleep, you and Eddie could make some fireworks of your own. 

Shaking his head, Eddie pulls out from the parking spot and braces himself for the holiday traffic. He grumbles some swear words under his breath, flicking on the radio to the first station that doesn’t have commercials. 

“…say I’m not so tough, just because I’m in love with an uptown girl.”

He leans back in his seat and taps out the rhythm on the steering wheel. Funny, he’s never really been a Billy Joel fan, but something about this song reminds him of—

“Dad! Luke’s looking at me!”

“He looked at me first!”

“Both of you close your eyes,” Eddie orders. He can’t see whether or not they listened, but the squabbling stopped, so he’ll consider it a victory. 

“Uptown girl, she’s my uptown girl…”

[hellbuticy]

Walker Brothers Hcs pt 2 (California Edition)

we all know the boys grew up in san diego and they simply, are the typical socal type.

every moment the boys weren’t in the woods or involved with Elias, they were at the beach.

they rode their bmxs everywhere. LIKE EVERYWHERE.

they would have little competitions to who can hit the best jump/trick and the loser bad to buy the winner an arizona from the local liquor store

they would drink SoBes: hesh’s fav was the piña colada and logan’s was the strawberry banana

in n out was and is always their comfort food

their family “trips” would be to in n out in the truck and they would all eat in the bed (extra points if its during sunset)

hesh got really into sublime and elias feared he was gonna start smoking weed

logan took the linkin park route n elias feared the kid was going true an existential crisis (he was like 13)

keegan calls logan “cali” when he wants to be a smartass n when hes not calling him “kid”

they were padres fans growing up but elias had a soft sport for the giants (norcal n socal UNITE)

they were never the surfing type but they were the “rush the waves n try to drown each other” type (sibling shit as per usual)

the boys never grew up normally bc they were military brats. so they spent a lot of time on the bases in sd for ghosts business but elias told them it was to finalize his retirement papers

growing up in san diego made the boys want to be navy but elias never really gave them the choice of choosing another branch. so when odin hit, there REALLY was no choice

every time the boys had to go back to no mans land it pained them bc that was HOME

they dont like fish. for how many fish taco places are in sd. they HATE fish

even tho their dad had always owned fords the boys realllyyyyy wanted a tacoma or a 4runner (yota for life dawg)

they werent surf kids. never had a knack for it. BUT they were skim board kids. and they liked bikes

hesh loves to bring up childhood memories.

but elias did the most. he would always tell the other ghosts about “his boys” and the shit they got into.

when the other started to get more comfortable with the walkers, they would recite the stories elias once told ‘em

mrs walker would always SMOTHER them in sunscreen before they went out, especially when going to the beach

cargo shorts and flip flops EVERYWHERE. but when they got older than it was cargo pants n boots

[waywardxwords]

The Fix - Part 8

Summary: Everyone has a past, but yours seemed to haunt you. You've tried to move forward with a normal life, but the day comes when that's not possible anymore. When Sheriff Beau Arlen enters your life, you're certain he is going to judge you just like everyone else in town does. But something about Beau is different.

Warnings: Slight language, discussion about drugs/drug dealing, slight angst, fluff-ish

Word Count: ~2.7k

Beau’s foot pressed down on the accelerator of his truck until it had touched the floorboard. He tried to get a handle on his emotions, but he wasn’t used to feeling this way and he hated it. He had always been able to use his adrenaline as fuel in his line of work, but this felt different. All he could think about was Matt Donahue’s words—“We’re going to offer him a plea.” 

In all honesty, he should’ve seen it from a mile away. As a Sheriff and someone who worked with prosecutors on a daily basis, a plea deal made sense. The FBI weren’t interested in some small town drug dealer. They wanted the big guys. But he was too close to this case, and it felt dangerous. 

The tires of his truck squealed as he pulled into the parking lot in front of the office. His feet carried him to the front of the building as he tried to slow his breathing. 

The glass door swung open with more force than he had anticipated as he barged into the lobby. Justin Markham, the district attorney, stood there as if he were awaiting Beau’s arrival. Next to him was Matt Donahue, the agent Beau was getting increasingly annoyed with seeing in his town. 

“Beau,” Justin started carefully as he read the frustration and anger across his face. “I need you to just hear us out.”

“Hear you out?” Beau bit back as he planted his feet just in front of them. “You call me, tellin’ me you’re offerin’ Jackson Lyle a plea deal. Jackson Lyle, the man who has been dealin’ heroin, cocaine and meth in this town for the last four years. The man who kidnapped his child, shot one of my deputies and then held me and the child’s mother at gunpoint?!” He couldn’t control the volume or tone of his voice any longer. 

“I know you’re disappointed,” Justin spoke while Matt remained silent. “There’s a reason–”

“There’s absolutely no reason for us to explain this to you,” Matt sneered as he cut Justin off. “This one’s above your pay grade, Sheriff.”

“It’d be in your best interest not to speak, agent,” Beau snapped back. He turned back to Justin. “How do you expect me to keep the people of this town safe when you’re just gonna let this piece of shit back out on the street? What’s the deal, anyway? Is he even gonna see the inside of a cell?”

The DA took a breath and glanced at the agent. Matt seemed to give up and waved, as if saying he didn’t care and to just fill Beau in at this point. 

“Let’s go to your office, alright?” Justin placed a hand on Beau’s shoulder as the three men walked in and closed the door behind them. “The judge is ready to sign a restraining order for the victims today. There’s no question on that, it’ll be very clearly stated to Jackson that he’s not allowed anywhere near them or their property. He’s already agreed to it verbally.”

“Oh, yeah, that sounds great. Let’s trust the abusive drug dealer who doesn’t give a shit about anyone but himself,” he said sarcastically. “Fan-fuckin’-tastic work, guys.” 

“Sheriff,” Matt said firmly. “We have an opportunity to get to the root of the opioid crisis in Big Sky. We can take out the source, and that starts with information we get from Jackson Lyle.” 

“I’m not an idiot, I hear you,” Beau snapped back. “I’m tryin’ to figure out how I’m gonna tell the mother that just got her daughter back and has been afraid of this man for all these years that he’s gonna walk.” 

“It’ll take some time,” Justin tried to assure him. “The restraining order will be firmly in place, and the FBI still has a lot of information they need to get out of him. He will remain in custody until everything checks out. We’re talking a month, minimum. It could be six months, for all we know.” 

Beau sighed and rubbed a hand down his mouth as he processed. “Alright,” he finally conceded, more so because he knew there was absolutely nothing he could do to change the outcome. He shuffled in his pocket as he felt the device vibrate against his thigh. 

“The FBI has promised they will keep you in the loop along the way,” Justin looked at Matt pointedly—as if he was reminding him of the expectations. 

“I sure as hell hope so,” Beau’s voice trailed a bit as he saw Cassie’s ID on his phone—he had received a text message. He scrolled to open it. 

Cassie Dewell Hey, can you send me their home address? 

Beau quickly wrote back. 

I don’t have it on hand. It’s off of Arbor Road just off of Main. Why?

“I, uh, I gotta get going. I’ll say thank you for keeping me up to speed, but I’m still not happy,” Beau grumbled as he nodded at both the agent and DA. 

“I’ll call you later,” Justin shook his hand before Beau headed back for the front door. He stepped into his truck and pulled his cowboy hat from his head, placing it in the passenger seat before he put the key in the ignition. His phone vibrated once more. 

Cassie Dewell They left a note that they headed there to grab a few things and to meet them there. 

Beau felt like he could scream. He knew there wasn’t any immediate danger after talking to Justin and Matt, but he also knew he had asked one thing of you—to stay put and just wait for Cassie to get there. 

“Dammit,” he couldn’t help but curse as he squeezed the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.

The tires crunched upon the gravel. He barely waited for his truck to stop before he shifted into park and threw open the door. 

“Hey,” you said, a bit confused as you approached from the front door. You had heard the familiar sound of his truck pull up and decided to greet him from there. “You okay? I thought Cassie was coming. What did they say?”

Beau slammed his door shut. “Was there any confusion about what I asked you to do before I left? Was I clear, or do you just not care that I’m trying my absolute damnedest to keep you safe?” His words nipped, much like the cool Montana air. 

“I just wanted to come back to get some fresh clothes and bring Bailey back to the comfort of our home for a few minutes,” you tried to explain with your eyes widened. He was mad; pissed, even. But you didn’t feel like it was fair. “Jackson’s locked up, right? Even with a potential deal, there’s no way they’d let him out right now.”

Beau knew you were right, but the fear just wouldn’t dissipate. “But if there are people lookin’ for him, where do you think they’re gonna go when they find out he’s locked up, huh? Where would they go when they realize that he’s probably gonna strike a deal for ratting them out? Who would they go after to get to him?” His eyes hadn’t faltered from yours as he took focused steps towards the stairs leading up to your porch. He stopped just before the first one.

You, too, knew there was truth behind Beau’s words. “So you’re going to stand out here and yell at me?!” You couldn’t help the rise to your voice. After what you went through with Jackson, you had sworn you’d never let a man control you like that again. Even though Beau was being rational, you couldn’t allow yourself to accept it. “You’re going to argue with me because I just wanted some normalcy again?”

“I’m arguin’ with you because I’m trying to fix this,” he sounded exasperated, though unphased by your tone. “I’m tryin’ to keep you safe.”

“Oh, don’t you worry, Sheriff,” your tone was snarky. “I don’t need you to fix a damn thing. There isn’t anything broken that needs fixing.” You muttered, frustration burned your eyes in the form of angry tears. It was a lie. You felt completely broken most of the time, but your frustration had gotten the best of you and you didn’t feel like admitting it. Beau knew anyway. 

“You know what,” Beau grumbled as he shook his head. He sucked on his teeth for a second before he returned his gaze to you. “You’re right, darlin’. You don’t need fixing. But this situation you're in? It makes me crazy. You don’t deserve it—an ounce of it,” his words were purposeful as he stood planted just in front of the first step of your porch. “And over the last few days, I’ve gotten to a point where I care…I care a lot. So I’d be damned if I put you in a situation where you’re not safe. Because when you’re not safe, I can’t even think straight.”

The air between you was tense, and you weren’t sure what to say for a moment. Beau’s chest rose and fell with each heavy breath he took. The air he blew out created small clouds, a clear indication of how hard he was breathing and how cold the air was. 

“I���m sorry that you were scared,” you tried to dissect his words. “I’m sorry that I didn’t listen. I’m not used to this…” you paused as you tried to think about how you wanted to explain the situation. “I’m not used to having someone look out for me. I look out for myself.”

“You’re gonna have to let that go, darlin’,” Beau was still frustrated, but his tone had softened. His feet moved slowly as he climbed the first stair. “I am standin’ here, telling you I want this.” His voice was low as he took another step. “I want the hard times, the good times; I’ll take on all the crazy…” with one more step, he was level with you now. He stood there unwavering, and you found it hard to hold his eye contact under the weight of his words. “And if that’s what you want, too? Even better. But I need you to meet me halfway, sweetheart.” His voice was just above a whisper now. 

Frustrated tears had pooled in your eyes again, but this time it was something deeper. Your life was complicated—it had been complicated—for a very long time. You hadn’t thought of sharing your life with anyone but Bailey for as long as you could remember. But here Beau stood, telling you he wanted all of it. 

“How am I supposed to meet you halfway when you won’t open up to me? I barely know anything about you, Beau. You can’t take your walls down, so how am I supposed to meet you in the middle?” You folded your arms across your chest and stood your ground. 

Beau broke eye contact and a hot breath escaped his lips. “You’re right, darlin’,” he said softly. His tongue darted out over his lips. “You wanna know my story? I left Houston because I screwed up.” He lifted his head to find your eyes again. “There was a case I was investigatin’ and it went south. I was followin’ the wrong trail, and a deputy got killed because of it. I panicked, and I wasn’t gonna take this job because of it. But I had to be close to my daughter and I didn’t know anything other than law enforcement. Nine times outta ten, I feel like an imposter in this job. But I promised myself I’d never make another mistake again. I’ve spent the last three years trying to fix it—all of it. Trying to fix myself, and tryin’ my damnedest not to screw anything up.”

He paused, and your heart sank in your chest a little. You felt overwhelming sympathy for him and what he had been through. “You can’t blame yourself, Beau.”

He chuckled almost sarcastically. “Oh, I can and I do, sweetheart,” he sighed. “But that’s besides the point. We all have stuff. And you’re right, I need to open up more if I’m askin’ you to meet me in the middle. I’m willin’ to do that…I’m willing to try.” 

“I want to try, too, Beau,” you breathed out, Beau’s smile hidden for only a moment as your breath fogged in front of you. “I can’t promise we won’t have more moments of me not listening or pushing back on you…”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, darlin’,” he drawled, just before he captured your lips with his. 

Cassie had arrived shortly after and agreed to hang out with you and Bailey. Beau had said he had one more stop to make, and while you didn’t know where he was headed, you didn’t push back or ask any questions. 

Beau had called in a favor, one he wasn’t sure would be granted. But for the first time since this whole ordeal started, the FBI had come through. 

He pulled open the heavy metal door and prepared himself to go through the metal detector. 

“I’m meeting Matt Donahue with the FBI,” Beau said to guard just past the security entrance after he showed his Sheriff’s badge. The man led Beau through a code-locked door that closed shut with a loud bang. 

Matt stood there in his suit with his hands in his pockets. “I’m breaking a lot of rules letting you do this,” Matt grumbled as he glanced at the watch on his wrist. 

“Yeah, well,” Beau cleared his throat. “I helped catch him, didn’t I? He’s been creating mayhem in my town, I think you can give me five minutes.” Matt rolled his eyes but started down the long hallway. Beau followed. 

There was another guarded door with a code lock. Matt nodded at the guard there, who unlocked the door and opened it for them to walk through. 

Beau glanced around at the barred cells. Chatter and yells from the prisoners echoed off of the walls. Matt stopped in front of a cell. 

“Ah, if it isn’t the pretty boy sheriff,” Jackson Lyle sneered from where he sat on his cot. He had bandages around his shoulder and upper torso. Seeing that brought Beau a little bit of joy. 

“At least one of us looks good,” Beau snided back. He glanced at Matt with a pointed look. 

“Five minutes,” Matt repeated before he retreated back down the hallway, as promised. Beau turned his attention back to the cell. 

“Ooh, what’s the pretty sheriff got to tell me, hmm? You hear I’m getting a deal? I’ll be out of here in no time,” he seemed so proud of himself. 

“Yeah, about that,” Beau glanced down but then locked eyes with the man on the other side of the bars. “As we both know, you’ll have two restraining orders against you the second you step foot outside this prison. But I also want you to know, I’ll be watchin’. Every step you take, you’ll have eyes on you as long as you stay in Big Sky.”

“You say that now, but just you wait and see. My ex-wife can be a real bitch. You’ll get tired of her shit the same way I did,” he sneered. “She’s a broken woman. She won’t let anybody try to fix her.”

“Here’s the difference,” Beau was firm in his words and made sure he held his composure. “I’m gonna go in there and pick up the pieces that you broke. And she and I, together–we’ll fix it ourselves. While you’re only interested in getting your fix, I’m prepared to put in the work and be what she and Bailey need. You’ll never see them again, Jackson. And if you do, you’ll end up with a bullet between your eyes. I’ll put it there myself.”

A/N: And there we have it, folks! Part 8! Did we love it? Hate it? Surprised by our least favorite FBI agent's slight change of heart (or that he has a heart at all?).

It pains me to say, but this will be the last full chapter for The Fix! I'll post the Epilogue on Wednesday that will bring things full circle. I've struggled with if I wanted to carry this further (and while I think there are opportunities for additional development, I also sort of feel like I'd be drawing it all out if I kept going). All of that to say: I do think there may be a one shot or two (or more, I mean--who knows?) in the future. I really loved branching out and pushing myself to write Beau Arlen, and I truly enjoyed writing the reader & Bailey in this series, as well.

While it's not quite the end just yet, I can't forget to say THANK YOU! I have gotten so much love on this series, and I truly appreciate it.

See you on Wednesday :)

Series Masterlist Main Masterlist

Tag List: @jackles010378 @ladysparkles78 @zepskies @lyarr24 @deans-spinster-witch @djs8891 @globetrotter28 @deans-baby-momma @k-slla @agentorange9595 @dragonfly92 @nancymcl @springsteeen @perpetualabsurdity @deanwinchestersgirl87 @mimi-luvzyu @jesllianaquilesrolonsworld @ultimatecin73 @spnfamily-j2 @impalaspixie @daughterofcain-67 @lacilou @jasminewinter140 @yvonneeeee @stoneyggirl2 @rizlowwritessortof @marimarvelfan @jc-winchester @taylortot @siampie1990 @thewritersaddictions @raisinggray @tabsluvsu @rachiem4-blog @leigh70 @nyotamalfoy @ades106 @akshi8278

[phoenix-downer]

FFVII Rebirth Demo Impressions

I played the demo several nights ago and loved it! This post is about my thoughts/impressions as I was playing.

(Quick note: My shipping preferences are Cloud/Tifa and Zack/Aerith, so that is going to influence my perspective and what I write about. There will also be spoilers for the OG game and Crisis Core throughout).

One of the first things I noticed as I was playing through was the graphics. The graphics look fantastic. I can tell the game being on the PS5 is making a big difference. The jump in quality from Remake to Rebirth is really noticeable.

It's so weird seeing Cloud act like Zack. Like I KNOW it's Zack and it's creeping me out a;lksdjfdfj because it's just...so not Cloud. They knocked the "this is wrong" vibes out of the park by using Zack's mannerisms and gestures with Cloud's model slapped on top, and it's giving this uncanny valley feeling to everything "Cloud" does. Cody Christian even sounds more like Zack's VA (Caleb Pierce). The attention to detail with all that is excellent. The updated graphics give them a lot to work with in terms of showing the wonkiness with Cloud's memories.

There was also a clever shot in the truck of "Cloud" asking the real Cloud if he's okay, and you see a hint of Cloud's blond hair peeking through the helmet.

I liked the dramatic/heroic version of Sephiroth's theme that played. And when Zack gets hurt by one of the monsters, I think it was Cloud who made sure he's okay, which was a sweet touch. Also, the screen is tinted with green, which is a cool way to show the effects of the Mako poisoning on Cloud.

Another thing I noticed: Cloud's eyes look SUPER green, more so than in Remake. Don't know if it's the upgrade to the PS5 or if they wanted to show the Mako poisoning progressing, but I thought it was a cool detail.

Okay it's like Cloud swapped he and Zack in his memories directly at one point soon after they arrive in Nibelheim. I swear this is 100% what Zack would've said to Cloud about Aerith, but instead it's one of the "security officers" saying it to "Cloud": "So, any friends here you wanna see? Maybe a girlfriend? Speaking of which, I bet you're dying to hear about mine. Am I right?"

Lmao Sephiroth still has groupies, this is giving Crisis Core fanclub vibes and I'm all here for it. I'm glad the game still has those silly moments and that continuity with past games. It makes the tragedy I know will unfold later on that much more poignant.

Speaking of which, it's depressing seeing all the townspeople in Nibelheim knowing they're going to die. Just walking around talking to them, Nibelheim really feels like a lived-in place that Cloud has so many personal connections to.

An NPC asked Cloud if he's seen his mother yet, another one recognized me, and another couple of people noticed me and asked if I'm looking for Tifa. They Know™️

Also, it's really interesting seeing Cloud craft the welcome home he WISHES he had gotten. He wanted to come back to Nibelheim as a hero everyone praised, but the reality was much different. So seeing that contrast is a really good insight into Cloud's psyche and what he wants (praise, recognition, approval, etc.)

Oh found some cats, I'm glad there's another area dedicated to just cats ;aldjf; (complete with photographic evidence):

Awwwwww there was a sweet reference to Tifa leading the exercise classes for Nibelheim from Traces of Two Pasts, and she asks Cloud in the modern day if he was able to keep up with the class (she wasn't teaching this particular one, but I love that bit of continuity).

Tifa you can tell is nostalgic for Nibelheim hearing Cloud's recounting of what happened too, the voice acting and dialogue for this part is all really well-done.

The option to see Cloud's mom was really well-done. Cloud never went back to see her in reality, of course, which means his memory glitches out like crazy during this part: he "hears" his mother talking to him about a conversation that happened at an earlier time, like his brain is desperately trying to create something that never happened and is latching onto the nearest fragments it can find. I like how they translated this scene from the OG game, it gave off eerie vibes.

HE DID THE LIL SHRUG AND NOD LIKE HE DOES IN THE OG GAME if you try to enter his mom's house again after the "memory" is over. Also, it's like his mind is trying to protect itself from delving too deeply into a false memory so glitchy (and maybe he feels a deep level of guilt at not actually going to see her as well), and so you can't go back into his house, just like in the OG game.

You can have Cloud go up the water tower too, and he looks towards Tifa's window THE ANGST OF IT ALL a;lskdfj. I love those little moments of Pining™️

Tifa's like wait you went to my place?? Oh Cloud...you were such an awkward weirdo...

"Our reasons, huh? I bet most of them had to do with you." Barret shading Cloud for why he and Tifa didn't hang out more ;alkdjf again I love the humor in these moments.

Awwww Fluffy got mentioned! Nice to hear her brought up again.

"You went into my room?" I'm dead. Tifa sounds so indignant and rightfully so. It's weirdo behavior Cloud ;laskdfj

"You went through my stuff?!" Not off to a great start buddy, but I had him pick that option because I figured he ought to be honest. Tifa and Aerith both call him an asshole if you admit to doing it too, which made me laugh. And naturally my mind is wondering how this will impact the iconic date later on. Did I just piss both Aerith and Tifa off and lose affection points with both girls? Probably lol (and honestly, Cloud deserved it for that stunt).

Tifa's lil moogle plushie on her bed is adorable. I love the touches like that that make the environment feel more lived in.

Awwww I found Tifa's theme to play on the piano hehe. I love that that's the first piano piece you can find in the game. Just one of my favorite FFVII songs because it fits Tifa so perfectly and has this bittersweet sense of longing as well as this beautiful tenderness to it.

Also, I got a kick out of the piano minigame. The first time I wasn't great at it and got a C. I struggled to do both "hands" at the same time. I did it two more times after that, and it starts to sound really nice when you have a streak of a bunch of correct notes in a row. Like Cloud's going to town on the piano with extra flourishes. If you miss notes again though the metronome comes back on lol like "you still need to practice and get the rhythm down."

The second two times I got an A (I'll have to keep practicing to get a star and see what happens), and the gang praised Cloud, which I thought was cool.

Found more Sephiroth groupies and ran into Zangan in the inn. It was really sweet hearing Zangan praise Tifa so highly. Also, "Cloud" saying, "yeah right" when Zangan says "Tifa will go far" is another good clue Cloud isn't himself. Tifa was offended and Aerith was offended on her behalf. I love how Aerith keeps backing Tifa up on stuff, it's really nice to see more of their friendship.

The photographer dude is back and I love him. And he even says the same thing he said to Zack in Crisis Core about how he can't waste his film on Zack because he doesn't know who he is ;alskdfj. What's a guy got to do to get a little respect?

"You look so different" lol yes I do random villager because I'm not me, and then there are some nice creepy foreshadowing moments from her kids. The girl says, "Gonna beat those monsters?" and the boy says, "Gonna be 'em?"

The irony of the mayor saying he'd brag about Sephiroth visiting Nibelheim till the day he dies:

I still really love Brian Lockhart's design. He's like if the 70s met cowboy fashion, and it just works somehow. And this carries over from the OG game, but his concerns about Tifa's safety are well-founded given what happened when she and Cloud were kids and sets up future reveals in the remake trilogy nicely.

Also, Tifa is so small next to Sephiroth. I love her sass in this part of the story, and this time around there's some country twang banjo version of her theme and I love it. Also Sephiroth shaded the camera guy al;sdkfj;dskf but "Cloud" talked him into it and thus the iconic photo came into being. Again those moments of humor will never not be funny. And I loved how Tifa was being such a good guide and giving info about the area as they started to ascend the mountain.

Also, when you finally get to the title screen, it cracked me up how Nomura is listed first, before Hamaguchi. Probably a seniority/respect thing, but Nomura is the creative director and Hamaguchi is the director.

Also, the version of the main theme that plays as you go up Mt. Nibel is awesome, and once again I had to get a screenshot because this area is just so beautiful:

Tifa wanting to travel is a sweet touch, though Sephiroth is practical and points out that he travels on business trips and not for fun. Of course "Cloud" points out that you do learn stuff on these trips. It's a nice contrast between Tifa's naive optimism, Sephiroth's jaded world-weary outlook, and Zack's positivity tempered by experience.

Also, Sephiroth's hair is very swishy. I thought that needed a note as I was playing this. Props to the artists, animators, etc. who rendered it.

I chuckled at Tifa racing up the mountain and teasing "Cloud" and Sephiroth about whether or not they can keep up. Just shows a fun, playful side to her personality and also shows how eager she is to prove herself. And then she dropkicked a monster to protect "Cloud" and then teased him about it alks;jfdsf. She's so much snarkier with Zack than she is with Cloud, and it's an interesting contrast.

The real Cloud of course is in the background, protecting Tifa from danger. Even in his rewritten version of history, the real him is lurking in his subconscious protecting her because she's that important to him. She thanked him so sweetly when he did too.

I made a note about seeing the bridge that collapsed with Cloud and Tifa on it when they were kids, man all the little details like this and the foreshadowing is just A+.

Tifa has Trauma™️ from falling off a bridge before, hmmm, wonder what that's from, and she's still like hey I'm the guide I'll lead us a;ldkfj when "Cloud" offers to go first lol.

Still holds true years later but wooooow Nibelheim sucks at constructing good bridges lol. It was a wholesome moment where "Cloud"/Zack grabbed Cloud and kept him from drowning though, and Sephiroth was able to grab Tifa (which is ironic considering how he tries to kill her not much later, and it's sad because it really shows he was a good guy). Of course the other security officer probably drowned rip, poor guy.

YAY SEPHIROTH'S IN MY PARTY FINALLY

"For your performance review" lol I like Sephiroth's sass and how he teases "Cloud" like this.

I just obliterate everything playing as Sephiroth ;alsdkfj and truly love playing as him. And him slamming his own dad will never not be funny, I mean Hojo just really sucks.

At this point I started focusing more on playing the game since there were more monsters to fight etc., but I still got some nice screenshots and had a few more thoughts.

The Mako spring just looks incredible, so I had to include a photo:

The scenery by the ocean was gorgeous too, I can't wait to go to Costa del Sol:

The real Cloud helping Tifa get to safety from the monster and "Cloud"/Zack and Sephiroth being bros is top-tier content. Also Sephiroth looks like a model in pretty much every shot he's in:

Oh the dramatic irony of Tifa not knowing it's Cloud and him refusing to talk and her being sassy and telling him, "You better keep me safe" and then of course he does. The music is creepy now that we're about to enter the reactor lol, of course it is.

"Would it kill this guy to say something" he would die from embarrassment and shame, yes:

"The company really needs to be more transparent" that's the understatement of the year "Cloud" ;lakfj;asdf

Cool use of JENOVA'S theme. I always enjoy hearing that theme and how otherworldy but also very 90s it sounds.

Zangan's comment here is gold, I love the bee in his bonnet bit:

The Shinra basement stuff was genuinely creepy l;kasjdf like I know what happens and I was still freaked out! The atmosphere was just really well done.

"I should go. Mother is waiting." There it is, the iconic meme line a;ldal;skdjf;lsdjf it just kills me, Sephiroth is such a psycho.

Loved seeing Zangan helping people get out of the town and telling "Cloud" to get in there and help, but of course the situation is still incredibly dire by the time "Cloud" gets there.

This shot in front of the water tower was gorgeous and really haunting, especially when the water tower collapsed. Just the symbolism with that, the loss of Cloud and Tifa's special place and how not long after this, he feels like he failed her and failed to keep his promise:

Main Scenario: Check on Mom. Oh Cloud...

And then you see the real Cloud collapsed in front of his house and calling for his mom, this is so depressing:

This is where the more realistic graphics really serve the story well, because it makes this moment that much more of a gut punch, especially when he hears his mother begging him to live. The last few moments before her soul returns to the planet perhaps, trying to save her son from danger one last time.

And now that "Cloud" is hurt, he looks busted up even in the menu. I thought that was a cool detail to include.

It's like Cloud's memories are trying to right themselves because he winds up on the ground like where he was supposed to be. When Sephiroth murdered the man who tried to help him and then went on his creepy murder spree of several other villagers culminating with the mayor, that was all really well done too. Horrifying because there's nothing Cloud can do to stop the senseless murder of people he's known all his life, and it really shows how cold and ruthless Sephiroth has become.

This moment was good too with the memories seeming glitchy again:

And then of course I must end this on The Iconic Scene™️ a;lsdkfja;kdslf complete with psycho smirk:

Needless to say, I very much enjoyed this demo and am looking forward to the Juno one! And the full game, February 29 can't come fast enough.

[siampie]

Get Off the Highway || Chapter 6

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Plus Size Reader

Word Count: 2.7k 

Warnings/tags: Enemies to lovers trope, angst, childhood trauma, eldest daughter syndrome

A/N: It had been hard to write for this reader but now, I have a hold of who they are. And I hope you love to read more about her. And yes, this fic is self-indulgent, but I’m also exploring my self-loathing and at times self-worthlessness. I’m getting better at loving myself and being kind to myself but it takes times. So, if you’ve ever felt this way at one point in your life, know that you are loved, you are enough, and you don’t have to prove anything. Enjoy this chapter, it’s for you; my girlies and my non-binary friends.

Previous Chapter || Chapter List || Next chapter

Masterlist || Join my tag list

Tag list: @marytheweefrenchie; @lyarr24; @deans-baby-momma; @just-cuz22; @cheshirecat484;

@ninii-b; @msjb2002; @kr804573; @zepskies; @impalari;

@urinternetmom; @sushiumex; @maackiimoo; @stoneyggirl2

Dividers by @cafekitsune

You kept replaying the talk you had with Andy. It was stuck in your head, playing in a loop, what would your life be like if you had given a chance to the relationship? No matter the number of scenarios you’d come up with, the ending was always the same. You would have ended up resenting each other or worse, destroying one another.

You packed your stuff and jumped into your truck. And you drove. Where to? You didn’t know. You just needed to get away from Andy. You no longer wanted to be confronted to your own mistakes. Being with Andy had not been a mistake but leaving had. You were a coward for this, you knew that. Andy was free of you. He could be happy now, if he wanted to. He could find someone better than you. But you could not escape yourself. You could not run away from all the dark thoughts that plagued you, more often than not.

You drove for hours with no real destination. You didn’t want to go home. Your brother; Matthew; would be there and he would want to talk. And that was the last thing you wanted. You didn’t want your brother to tell you that Andy wasn’t all that great. You didn’t want your brother to tell you that you were right to leave. You knew you weren’t. Not in the way you did, at least. He deserved an explanation. Or at the very least, a goodbye. You gave him nothing.

You were a coward.

In the wee hours of the morning, you were parked outside of the bunker. You remained seated in your car, watching the sun rose. You could not conceive the idea to deal with your family at this moment. You did not have the energy or the will to do so. However, dealing with Dean Winchester and his apparent hatred of you seemed easy. At least, you knew where you stand with him. You didn’t have to perform with him. You could be yourself. You didn’t have to pretend to be something you were not to please and appease. You could be your worst self and he would not care, because he didn’t expect any better from you.

There was no pressure.

Although, you thought it would be easier to deal with Dean Winchester, you stayed in your car. You sat in your car, parked outside of the bunker for hours. Maybe it was a bad idea to even be there. Maybe you should just start your car and leave again, find a new case and go to work. Your knuckles turned white as your grip on the wheel painfully tightened. You dropped your forehead on it, taking a deep breath.

“Why am I like this?” You muttered to yourself.

Three loud knocks snapped you out of your thoughts. Your head snapped up, your heart racing beneath your ribcage. You glared at the man outside of your window.

“Bucko!” You growled, “the hell is wrong with you?”

Dean was standing outside of your car, a grocery bag in his arms. “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt you in the middle of your midlife crisis, princess.” You rolled your eyes at him. “You look like shit by the way.”

“Didn’t ask but thanks.” You glared at him, opened your car door, hitting him.

“Easy tiger,” he put a protective hand around the kraft bag. “You’re gonna crush my pie.”

You walked around your car and grabbed your bag from the trunk, “yeah, it would be such a great tragedy.” Dean made a face. “What? It’s just pie.” You shrugged.

“It’s not just pie, okay?” Dean shot back, as you two started towards the bunker.

Bickering with Dean was easy. It pulled you out of the dark place you had thrown yourself into, for a very brief moment. You were not about to plague them with your temporary crisis. You just needed a place to unwind before going back to reality. The reality in which you were so fucked up you could not maintain a relationship with a good man. The reality in which you were not good enough for anyone, not even for your siblings, nor were you for your parents. The only one that seemed to care about you; was your little brother. But even he, you thought, would probably be better off without you. And one day, he would realize it and he, too, would leave.

You turned and tossed. Sleep was refusing to come to you. You huffed, glaring at the ceiling of your room. The sheets felt too heavy on your body, the pillows weren’t fluffed enough. Nothing seemed right. Too many dark thoughts swirling around in your mind. You turned on your side, tucked your arm under your pillow, and let out a deep breath. Hoping for the whirlwind of emotions, and the dark thoughts would leave you be.

It lasted a few minutes. You huffed again in frustration. You threw the covers off of you and got out of bed. The floor was cold under your bare feet. Dressed in dark leggings and an old shirt, you quietly made your way to the kitchen.

“Why am I like this?” You kept asking to yourself. Not than an answer would miraculously fall on your lap. You just couldn’t decide whether you were born this way or your parents made you so. Leaving to deal with the consequences of the years of neglect and abuse.

“Can’t sleep, princess?” Dean’s voice boomed from behind you.

“Jesus Christ!” You exclaimed, dripping some hot coffee onto your hand.

“Somebody’s jumpy tonight,” Dean snorted.

“You ought to wear a freaking bell,” you shot back.

“You should probably lay off the coffee. It ain’t really good for the nerves.”

You glared at him. “You’re really funny, you know that.”  

Dean sat at the table, his back against the wall. His eyes roamed over your curves, appreciating the way the leggings clung to your thighs and ass. If it wasn’t for your attitude and the way you acted around him and his brother, he’d probably try having you in his bed. But he didn’t think you were worth the headaches.

You placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of him, and sat across from him.

“Isn’t it a little too late for coffee?” Dean took the cup in his hands nonetheless.

“You’re not obligated to drink it, bucko.” You retorted before taking a sip from your cup.

Dean took a sip from his own cup, eyebrows raising into his hairline. He was surprised to find out that your coffee was quite good. The best he had in a while, not that you needed to know about that.

You were staring at the table with a deep frown. A heavy sigh left your lips. The coffee help eased a bit of the tension in your shoulders but wasn’t exactly doing much.

“Alright, I’ll bite.” Dean said after a few minutes. “What crawled up your ass?”

You looked up at him. “Nothing.” You shrugged. “And even if there was something, you think I want to talk about it with you. Of all people.”

He pushed off of the wall, and angled himself to face you fully. “Suit yourself, princess.” He leaned his elbows on the table. “All I’m saying is you’re here, in the middle of the night, drinking coffee.”

“So are you.” You pointed out. “Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?”

Dean huffed out a laugh. “Well, I asked first.”

“Real mature,” you snorted, shaking your head a little before taking another sip.

Dean Winchester hated you. So, why did he even care to know about your inner turmoil? Your eyes roamed his face, going from his green eyes to his lightly freckled nose, to his plump lips that were begging to be kissed.

You shook away the thought, confused as to why you were thinking about his lips.

“What?” Dean questioned, a frown on his face.

“Nothing.” You quickly said. “Why do you hate me so much?” You blurted out before you could even think about it.

“Like I’m the only one,” Dean retorted.

“I don’t hate you.”

“Really?”

“I’m only reacting to you,” you told him, defensively. “You’re all huffing and puffing, every time I show up.”

“Come on, you can’t be serious, right?” Dean shot back. You shook your head lightly, frowning. “You’re always so—snob,” he finally spat. “Like you’re above us or something.”

“That’s not true,” you said back. “I never thought I was—above any of you.”

“You certainly act like it,” Dean nodded at you. “Like you know better than we do.”

“I did know certain things better than you and your brother. Not everything.” You shot back. “Can you really blame me for being smart?”

He stood up from his seat, “you’re not smart. See, smart people know how to follow simple instructions.” He put his used cup in the sink.

“Not if they’re stupid instructions.” You countered, going to put your own cup in the sink.

He glared down at you, breathing quickly through his mouth. “They’re keeping you alive, princess.”

“Yeah?” You said a little breathless, “so, I should have just left you and your brother to die, then?”

“Didn’t know you cared so much about my safety, sweetheart?” Dean smirked at you.

Your breath hitched in your throat, “I don’t—”

“GUYS!” Sam’s voice cut your answer short, “really? It’s the middle of the night. Can’t this wait until morning?”

“He started it.” You weakly said.

“Now who’s 12?” Dean shot back.

You glared at him, blowing out a long breath through your nose. You walked away from him, and quickly apologized to Sam as you walked past him. You were asking a simple question. You genuinely wanted to know why he hated you so much? Why couldn’t he just answer like normal people? Instead of provoking you, as he often did. As though he enjoyed riling you up.

And was that truly what he thought of you? You had been called many things in your life but a snob and a know-it-all—never.

You plopped down onto your bed. More furious and agitated than before. Dean Winchester was the bane of your existence. He solely existed to rile you up, to anger you, to vex you. And he enjoyed every second of it, it seemed.

Why must he be this way?

A middle-aged woman wearing a simple white dress, with a pink shawl, and a straw hat on her head stood before you. You didn’t know her. You had never seen her in your life. You weren’t truly sure about this. Her features were fuzzy, unclear. Although, she felt familiar. You were surrounded by other people, people that remained faceless. Someone was introducing to those people but you didn’t remember, or you couldn’t care.

“You know we care for you, right?” The woman in the pink shawl said. “We always have.”

“Then why didn’t you take us with you?” You asked back.

She looked at you, sadly. Sorrow was etched in her features, she looked away from you. You felt it in your chest, the regret, the sorrow, the pain. It was all on display on her face, that she now kept hidden from view. You felt grief clawing at your chest. So much so, you couldn’t help but cry.

You woke up sobbing. The sorrow and grief you had felt in your dream, followed you in reality. You had never met this woman, she wasn’t family. She wasn’t even remotely an acquaintance. You didn’t know why she would say those words to you. But it wasn’t her words that hurt you, that caused your tears. It was the way she looked at you, the grief etched on her face was so strong.

“Why was she so sad?” You whispered to yourself. You rubbed a hand on your chest, soothing the ache you were feeling. You tried to stop crying. It was just a dream, you kept thinking. A simple dream, it shouldn’t affect you that much. And yet, this woman that you did not know, had felt grief and regret. She had felt them so strongly, you had felt it in your own bones. You tried to stifle your sobs behind your hand. Muffling them down.

Dean walked past your room to look for a drink. He had been able to sleep some but he didn’t sleep much these days. Whether it was his nightmares or just out of habit, he found himself awake in the middle of the night, at times, seeking for a strong drink. When he walked past your room, he heard the muffled sobs.

A soft knock on the door warned you of his presence, “hey, princess, you okay?”

You quickly wiped the tears away from your face, “yes, I’m good.” You hiccupped, nodding quickly.

“Doesn’t sound like it.” He stepped further into the room.

“No, I swear I’m good.” You said again, “it was just—a weird dream.”

“Are you sure it was a dream and not a nightmare?” Dean questioned.

“No, it was a dream.” You wiped the fresh tears that had fallen on your face, “I’m sorry.”

“Come on,” Dean extended his hand out to you. “You look like you could use a drink.”

“It’s a week day.” You said after Dean had put down the drink, in front of you.

“It’s Friday, practically the weekend.” Dean answered, “I’m sure it’s okay.”

Your tears had slowed down but still, you were still confused and full of sorrow. And you just didn’t know why you felt that way. The pain in your chest was real, almost unbearable. The grief that arose there was real, you just didn’t know what it was all for. You didn’t think it mattered anyway.

“Wanna talk about it?” Dean asked you.

“I don’t know.” You shrugged, staring at the table. “There’s not much to say about it.” And yet, you described to him what had happened in the dream. How the look on this woman’s face that you could clearly see, in spite of her fuzzy features, had stricken you. How even then, as you were telling it to him, it made you cry again. “She looked really sad.” And fresh tears spilled out of your eyes. “I know it’s stupid, I don’t even know why I’m crying about this. It’s just a dream.”

“It’s not stupid.” Dean reassured you, sipping from his drink. “And like you said, it was just a dream. None of it was real.”

“But what I felt, was.” You said back, taking a sip from your drink. “I mean it wasn’t just sadness. It was—regret, you know. The kind of look you give someone when you wished things were different. Like—”

“Hey, it was just a dream.” Dean reminded you. “No reason for you to dwell on it.”

“So, I should just forget about it?”

“Yeah, you should. It won’t do you any good to try and understand it.” Dean leaned his back on the wall to his left. “You had a good cry about it. Dream is over. No reason to dwell on it.”

“Maybe, you’re right.” You puffed out a long breath. “I should not think about it so much.”

“I'm always right.” Dean quipped back. You huffed out a laugh.

Both of you sat in silence, savoring the cheap whiskey. It was the bottom shelf kind. Not really chosen for its taste but rather for the way it burned on its way down. Maybe Dean was right, it was just a dream. It meant nothing. Still, you couldn’t shake the pain you had felt at the look on her face. Whether you wanted it or not, this grief-stricken look would stay with you for days.

“I have to ask, what’s up with the—uh—no weekday drink rule?” Dean questioned.

You let out a long breath, “I have a weird fear of becoming—addicted to alcohol.” You slowly admitted. “Growing up, I saw what alcohol could do to people. Especially, to my dad. To us.” You shrugged, “so, I decided to have a nonalcoholic drink on weekday rule.” His eyes roamed your face, quietly. “That has been bothering you for a while, hasn’t it?”

“Can’t say it didn’t.” He brought the drink to his lips, “but I get it.”

“Cool.”

You gave him a small smile. The dream had been long forgotten. At least for now. Maybe, he was right, the dream meant nothing. So, no need to worry about it. If nothing else, the dream had the merit to bring you and Dean Winchester closer.

Or at the very least, made you see each other in a new light.

Previous Chapter || Chapter List || Next chapter

[collecting-stories]

King of my Heart - Jay Halstead

Request: Hi! Can i request King Of My Heart with Jay Halstead?❤️ 

A/N: I just really like the idea of Jay with like a firefighter s/o. I think I've written like two other fics with him and a firefighter s/o, pretend they're all interconnected lol.

TS Anthology Series | One Chicago Masterlist

...is this the end of all the endings?...

Dating with your schedule was not easy. Finding time to actually connect with people outside of work was next to impossible, especially since you’d taken on some paramedicine shifts for Sylvie on your days off from the Firehouse.

While you were trying not to rush into things or make any assumptions about whether dating was the correct term, you’d been spending a lot of time with Jay in recent weeks. You’d volunteered to help at a city garden that Trudy helped organize and he’d been there too and you’d both sort of clicked (at least that’s how you described it to Stella later on because you were too hesitant to admit that Jay had pretty much stuck to your side that whole day and asked you for drinks immediately after).  

“I just don’t wanna like...move too fast.” You explained, pulling your shirt over your head and fixing your hair, “like, okay...what if it’s just supposed to be like a casual thing and I make it this big thing in my head that it isn’t? Then I feel stupid and I can never show my face when he’s around.” 

“Listen, if it’s casual, he’s the one who should feel stupid. You’re a total catch,” Stella replied, always ready to be your cheerleader when you were feeling insecure about something. “You are a total badass, you’re on Squad. You don’t need some guy and he’s lucky you’re giving him the time of day.” 

“I wouldn’t go that far.” 

“I would!” Stella insisted, “you don’t need him, don’t feel like you need validation or something.” 

“I don’t. I’ll admit I’m okay single but, it is kinda nice having someone...I don’t know, want to put in the effort after a long shift. I mean, it’s not like we have easy jobs.” You replied, grabbing your duffel from the bench and slinging it over your shoulder. “I guess I just want some clarification. Are we dating? Is he thinking this could be something more serious? Is he even looking for something more serious?” 

“Are you?” She deadpanned as you both made your way out of the locker room. Most of the other third shift had left already but Stella had hung back with you while you showered, mostly to listen to you have a mini-crisis over your budding relationship with Jay.  

“I feel like I could be.” You shrugged, “that sounds stupid but like, sometimes I just look at him and think like, yeah I could do this every day of my life. That’s really fucking scary Stella...like...” 

You trailed off as you made it out onto the driveway and saw Jay’s pickup parked out front. He was standing there on the passenger side, leaning against the truck and when he saw you he smiled. Stella nudged your ribs playfully before giving you a silent wave goodbye and heading to her car.  

“Hey,” you called out as you got closer, “don’t you have work?”  

“Caught a double yesterday, just got off like an hour ago.” Jay replied, “Figured if you don’t have plans this morning you might wanna get breakfast?”  

“Oh my god yes, I’m starving,” you said, letting Jay take the bag off your shoulder and toss it in the back of his truck. “Herrmann has a new candidate and he offered to make dinner last night-” you shuddered and Jay laughed. 

“That bad?” 

“Terrible! And we ended up getting a call anyway so basically...no dinner.” 

Jay shot you a sympathetic look over middle console, “Shit baby, I’m sorry.” 

You felt yourself warm up at the sound of him calling you baby. You weren’t much for pet names but somehow hearing the word out of Jay’s mouth squashed all the worries you’d been keeping close to your chest.  

- 

“Jay!” You whispered, trying not to laugh and draw anyone’s attention, though most everyone in the house was asleep at this hour. Aside from Herrmann who had gotten stuck on night shift and was currently trying to keep his eyes open to reruns of Lets Make a Deal in the common room. He had ears like a hawk though and you knew he’d come snooping if he heard commotion. “We’re gonna get in trouble.” 

Jay smiled against your neck, placing another kiss there before responding, “I don’t work here so technically...” 

“Well don’t get me in trouble then!” You replied, unable to stop a laugh from escaping this time as you bumped into the washing machine.  

It was nearly one in the morning when Jay had shown up at the firehouse, texting you and telling you to let him in the back door. He’d just gotten off work and you still had six more hours on shift but it was officially your six month anniversary and he was surprisingly sentimental. Although you weren’t sure that making out in the laundry room like two horny teenagers was exactly sentimental.  

You didn’t get much time to consider anything at all because the siren went off, the overhead voice alerting the firehouse, “Truck 81, Engine 51, Squad 3, Ambulance 61.” 

“I have to go,” you insisted, pulling away, “Jay, I have to go.”  

“I know, I know.” He let go of you, stepping away so you could head out to the apparatus. He followed behind you, careful to stay out of the way, stopping at the Squad table. 

“I knew I heard something!” Herrmann laughed, walking through the double doors with Ritter, “Sneaking around the firehouse like a couple a kids!”  

You did your best to ignore Herrmann as you geared up, stealing one more kiss from Jay, “I’ll see you after shift?” 

“Yeah, I’ll pick you up.” 

“Get in the rig lovebird!” Tony called out the window and you rolled your eyes before climbing up into the back with him and Capp.  

You couldn’t resist a last glance out the window as you pulled out into the street, Jay standing there with his hands in his pockets, watching you and grinning. By the time you got to the fire, you’d be clear headed and ready to work but until then, you’d let yourself be a little lovestruck.  

[foursaints]

saints, we neeeeed you to make an ao3 account. There’re only 8 works for bartylily… EIGHT. You would be great for the ecosystem

to be honest i have something in the works… it’s like tier 3 priority though i have other things i want to clear through but i have negative free time with my double major. inconsolable.

it is a lilyrosekiller high school au lily character study where they all work a terrible summer job at a backwater amusement park. the vision is cooler beer & lipsmackers ice cream lip balm & 4th of july tailgates & denim cutoffs. barty is the sleazy college guy who calls her “kiddo” and helps her restock the cotton candy machine. evan’s entire personality is sitting at that tall chair working the ferris wheel and glowering but she asks him to readjust the knot on her friendship bracelet in the break room and he blushes touching her wrist. she just broke up with james and is only having a slight world-ending catastrophic identity crisis about it but he does drop a cardboard box of gigantic novelty stuffed pandas on his foot when he sees her spilling out of the front seat of barty crouch’s pick-up truck

[maaarine]

How The Netherlands Built a Biking Utopia (Michael Thomas, Distilled, March 09 2023)

"According to one estimate, 60% of all Dutch transportation infrastructure was destroyed during World War II.

Roads, bridges, and tunnels were all bombed during the invasion. Some cities, like Rotterdam, were completely flattened.

All of this destruction forced The Netherlands to rebuild their country almost entirely from scratch.

With this blank canvas, the Netherlands didn’t immediately set out to build a biking utopia.

In fact, the opposite happened. Like many countries around the world, the post-war era was a golden age for the personal automobile. (…)

In 1971, 500 children were killed by cars.

One of those children was Simone Langenhoff, a 6 year old girl who was struck and killed by a car on her way to school.

In response to the tragedy, her father, a journalist, wrote a front page article with the provocative title “Stop de Kindermord” or “Stop Murdering the Children.”

The article inspired protests and eventually an entire movement. The next year, something else important happened.

In 1972, the Dutch government released a report showing that it would cost billions to continue building roads and highways.

Nearly every politician at the time agreed that this kind of spending just wasn’t feasible. They all agreed that the country needed to look at alternatives to cars.

If that wasn’t enough, another year later, gas prices skyrocketed due to the first oil crisis.

Suddenly the price of oil went up by 300%. In a nationally televised speech, the prime minister urged people to use less energy and change their lifestyles.

He also announced a series of car-free Sundays which gave people a glimpse of cities would look like with less cars.

As a journalist for The Guardian put it: “People were suddenly reminded of what life was like before the hegemony of the car.”

In the 1980s a few Dutch cities began to experiment with new ways to get people out of cars and onto bikes again.

For example The Hague and Tilberg built a few bike lanes and painted them bright red.

But biking rates didn’t go up after they built these bikes lanes. (…)

In other words, if you want people to bike you can’t just make it pleasant to bike. You have to make it a pain to drive.

Over the last 20 years, Dutch cities like Amsterdam and The Hague have done just that.

One way they’ve discouraged car use is by making parking expensive.

“In the city centre, you pay seven euros per hour [to park],” de Lange said. “If it's expensive, people will think about going by car twice.”

But policies like this don’t just discourage people from driving. They also provide income for the government.

And most Dutch cities use that income to fund bike and pedestrian infrastructure.

In addition to making parking expensive, Dutch cities also use a city planning strategy called “traffic calming” to slow down cars.

The basic idea of this is to make roads more narrow, reduce speed limits, add bumps, and make it difficult to drive fast.

This makes driving less desirable. But it also makes it safer for pedestrians and cyclists. The result is less driving and more biking and walking.

Many cities have also begun converting roads into car-free zones. As the name implies, these are areas of the city where cars can’t travel with the exception of delivery trucks and emergency vehicles.

All of these changes have had an incredible impact on The Netherlands.

In the 1970s about 500 children were dying from car fatalities per year. Four decades later in 2010, 14 children died, a decrease of about 97%.

Compared to the United States, the Netherlands has 3 times less car fatalities per capita. If the US could replicate this, we’d save 20,000 lives per year.

All of this biking is also improving people’s health. Everywhere in Europe, obesity rates are growing with one exception: The Netherlands.

As Melissa and Chris Bruntlett point out in their book, Curbing Traffic: “Similar bicycling rates in the United States would save a staggering 125,000 lives each year.”

These policies have also cut the Netherlands carbon emissions. In the United States the average person emits about 5.4 tons of CO2 per year from driving.

Dutch people, on the other, drive much less and as a result their cars emit 3 times less CO2 per capita."

[girlactionfigure]

🔅Thu morning - ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

A good Chol HaMoed! Moadim l’Simcha!

🔘 SUMMARY TODAY 🔘

⚠️ HEATWAVE.. VERY HOT.  Don’t leave children in the car!  Check on elderly!  Beware heat stroke!

Israel is suffering a desert heatwave, temperatures very hot, very dry - and beaches, parks and the Kinneret are PACKED.  The temperatures should drop to normal spring temps tomorrow with a cooling trend late next week and even possible light rain.

🔘 LEBANON -  The ‘tit-for-tat’ pace of attacks has increased, again, with Israel striking more often, larger hits, more locations, and deep into Lebanon at Hezbollah sites.  Hezbollah has been firing larger rocket barrages, sending more drones, more anti-tank missiles, and is threatening to increase strikes to target northern Israeli cities.  How long can this go on before it goes too far?  Unknown.

🔘 GAZA -  Remember the food crisis and the demand for 500 trucks a day?  At 400 trucks a day Gaza is so awash in FREE FOOD that Gazans are throwing away the airdropped military meals, and vendors are selling (received free) products for 1/4 the price they would be found in Israeli supermarkets.  The major product in demand: cigarettes.

In a “LIE OF THE DAY” moment, in January Hamas put out videos of them digging graves in the Nasser and Shifa hospital parking lots.  In the past week videos when out of “OMG WE FOUND A MASS GRAVE IN THE HOSPITAL PARKING LOT - WHAT HAVE THE ISRAELIS DONE?”.  Of course UN horrified, investigation demanded, etc.  Complicating it, Israel did dig up the graves sites to check if any of the bodies were Israeli hostages, and then put them back after determining they were not.  Here’s a link from Al Jazeera of Hamas creating the “mass grave” that was just found -> https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/14/gazas-al-shifa-hospital-forced-to-bury-dead-patients-in-mass-grave

🔘 HAMAS -  Video of leader Sinwar touring above ground debunked, it’s from 2017.  Suddenly their political types are talking about flexibility and deal possibilities, after rejecting ridiculously generous terms from Israel.  They’re feeling some political pressure.

🔘 RAFAH -  It appears Israel is lined up and ready militarily to attack Gaza’s last city and Hamas stronghold Rafah.  What’s the hold up?  We hear of consultations with the U.S. and meetings in Egypt.

🔘 JUDEA-SAMARIA -  Daily attacks at security checkpoints and Jewish town fences and gates.  Conversely, the IDF is doing daily incursions into the larger Arab cities, battles with local terror groups and arrests in Jenin, Shechem, Tubas, Qalqilya, Jericho, Hebron among others.  The enhanced containment strategy is not enough, and the commanding general has quit.

🔘 PROTESTS & POLITICS -  A solid coalition of distraught hostage families and anti-government-coalition protestors has formed, with weekly sizable protests in Tel Aviv and occasional smaller semi-violent protests in Jerusalem.  The protest coalition doesn’t seem to be growing, but it does seem to be becoming more aggressive as they continue to have no effective impact - though some say they are directly having counter-productive impact as videos of the protests are used in Hezbollah, Hamas and Iranian videos to “show Israel falling apart under the onslaught of the axis of resistance”.  

For the most part these protests have been given wide latitude, particularly with the involvement of hostage families.  But as they are becoming more aggressive, the police have been in response.

The war coalition - the active government, remains remarkably stable and quiet in public for Israeli politicians.  There is a lot of public speculation and polls around future elections, parties and politicians.  All is speculation until the war and results settle.

[mariacallous]

KORNIDZOR, Armenia (AP) — The former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court warned that Azerbaijan is preparing genocide against ethnic Armenians in its Nagorno-Karabakh region and called for the U.N. Security Council to bring the matter before the international tribunal.

A report by Luis Moreno Ocampo issued Tuesday said Azerbaijan’s blockade of the only road leading from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh seriously impedes food, medical supplies and other essentials to the region of about 120,000 people.

“There is a reasonable basis to believe that a genocide is being committed,” Ocampo’s report said, noting that a U.N. convention defines genocide as including “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.”

“There are no crematories and there are no machete attacks. Starvation is the invisible genocide weapon. Without immediate dramatic change, this group of Armenians will be destroyed in a few weeks,” the report said.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a region within Azerbaijan that came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian military in separatist fighting that ended in 1994. Armenian forces also took control of substantial territory around the region.

Azerbaijan regained control of the surrounding territory in a six-week war with Armenia in 2020. A Russia-brokered armistice that ended the war left the region’s capital, Stepanakert, connected to Armenia only by a road known as the Lachin Corridor, along which Russian peacekeeping forces were supposed to ensure free movement.

A government representative in Azerbaijan dismissed the report from Ocampo, who was the ICC’s first prosecutor, saying it “contains unsubstantiated allegations and accusations.”

“It is biased and distorts the real situation on the ground and represents serious factual, legal and substantive errors,” Hikmet Hajiyev, an assistant to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, told The Associated Press, on Wednesday.

In December, crowds of demonstrators who claimed to be environmental activists blocked the Lachin Corrirdor. Azerbaijan later established a military checkpoint on the road, blocking traffic that it alleged was carrying weapons and other contraband.

In Kornidzor, near the Azerbaijan border, a line of 19 trucks loaded with some 360 tons of medicine and food supplies have been parked for two weeks waiting for permission to cross.

Vardan Sargsyan, a representative of a crisis management working group for Nagorno Karabakh set up by the Armenian government, told The Associated Press the Armenian government had asked for permission for the trucks to cross via Russian peacekeepers and provided details on their contents but so far received no response from Azerbaijan.

“Unfortunately, there have been many attempts from the Azerbaijani side to manipulate this situation,” he said. “We just hope that this humanitarian initiative will be accepted as humanitarian and that it will be possible to transfer the goods.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross has also complained of being unable to bring aid shipments into the isolated enclave during the blockade, although the organization was permitted to evacuate a limited number of patients to Armenia for medical care.

Ocampo said the U.N. Security Council should refer the situation to the International Criminal Court, a step that would be necessary for the ICC to take it up because Azerbaijan is not a signatory to the statute that created the court.

It is not clear if Russia would use its veto power on the Security Council against such a move. Russia has faced persistent criticism for its peacekeepers’ inaction in the blockade.

“Russia, responsible for peacekeeping in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the US, promoting current negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, are state parties of the Genocide Convention. ... They have a privileged position to prevent this genocide. Their intense confrontation due to the Ukrainian conflict should not transform the Armenians into collateral victims,” Ocampo wrote.

[talktomeinclexa]

Days of Crisis

By: Talktomeinclexa

Rating: Mature

Warnings: None

Status: WIP

Summary: Sheriff Lexa Woods’s life is turned upside down when a hurricane hits her small Californian town, bringing in its midst a beautiful geologist as smart as she’s brave. But when said geologist returns a few months later to study Polis’s geographical situation and assess the risks in case more natural disasters occur, neither can deny the attraction anymore. Will they manage to open up before a series of catastrophes puts their lives at risk?

***

Chapter 5: Evening at the Woods’

Clarke swallowed back a yawn as she parked in front of the city hall, her obnoxiously large truck standing out in the almost empty parking lot.

After her long journey and two nights spent on Tivy’s relatively comfortable floor, she had slept like a baby. And jolted awake when her alarm rang, with drool down her chin and bed hair worthy of a picture. Even two coffees and a toast later, she wished she could return to the soft bedding of Polis Hotel and resume her dreams. Hopefully, she would find herself in Lexa’s arms once again.

Clarke stepped out of Tivy and headed for the entrance, determined to make the day count. The city hall should have records of past eruptions and earthquakes in its archives. Not that the Earth’s moves and tantrums were easy to predict. But she would feel better knowing she had done everything in her power to ensure the locals—Lexa and her family—were safe. 

Before Clarke could reach the doorknob, it opened abruptly to reveal a tall, thin woman with hair so blond it was almost white. The icebergs she had observed the year before gave off more warmth than the pale blue eyes that sneered at Tivy before refocusing on her. 

“Is that your vehicle?”

Curbing a shiver, Clarke squinted defensively and withheld her hand. “Yes. Dr. Clarke Griffin. I’m here to consult the city hall’s archives regarding—” 

“Mayor Nia Queen.” 

Like an iron gauntlet, the emphasis on the title landed heavily between the two women. Ready to take up the unspoken challenge, Clarke bristled until Lexa’s previous mentions of the mayor came back to her. This was the woman she needed to convince evacuation drills weren’t a waste of time. Lives could depend on it. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said with a plastic smile. “I was hoping to run into you. As you might know, I was here when the hurricane hit three months ago.” 

Mrs. Queen pinched her lips and glanced at Tivy. “Yes, I thought I recognized this monstrosity. What brings you back here? We spent tens of thousands of dollars on repairs after the storm. I hope you’re not here to tell me we should expect another one.” 

Keep reading