lilysortega

[lilysortega]

vcrgas​:

          ❝  if this is your way of hitting on me , i expect at least to be dined . ❞  dani says with a slight tilt of their head , arms now braced along the length of the grocery cart as she surveyed what the other woman had in their company . ❝ but you’d have to do better than  those tv dinners you’ve got there or i’ll be left unimpressed . ❞ 

x

A little smile came over Lily’s face as Dani joked. It was the playfulness that she needed and it left her feeling a little joy for a moment. “I do like things quick and easy these days.” The woman’s face fell a little as she said that and cleared her throat. “But I can promise at least a good dine out meal.”

[lilysortega]

scbrinafm​:

       to be honest, sabrina didn’t know where she was going. it was likely that she was going to get something to eat. looking around, she was trying to make her decision as to what to do next. however, she was interrupted by the sight of someone walking over to her and waving — liliana. the last time she saw her, they were comforting each other in the mall. she didn’t hold it against liliana that it’s been a while since they last saw each other. with the aftermath of the storm, everybody had something to do. at least she turned out much better than sabrina did.      “ hi. ” she greeted, a small smile on her face as she looked towards liliana. “ i’m alright. maybe a little hungry, but i-i’m good. ” she nodded her head. it was at that time that she took note of the bag that the other had, which caused her to raise an eyebrow out of curiosity.. “ how about you? ” she gently poked the bag with her hand, watching as it swung back and forth. “ what are you doing? ” 

x

She put on a small smile and nodded as she held her bag a little tighter. “Are you heading for lunch then? I don’t want to disturb you.” She said quickly before she looked at the bag and then back up at Sabrina. “Oh, I’m... I’m fine.” She said and forced a little bigger of a smile. The last Sabrina saw her was in the middle of a panic and honestly, Lily wasn’t sure she looked much different right now. “I, ugh, I’m replacing Natty’s missing posters.” She said and swallowed. “Getting rid of the ones that are a little weathered.” She wanted to bring up the fact she heard Natalia that day at the mall. She wanted to ask if maybe Sabrina heard her too. She wanted to know if someone, anyone else in this town had seen or heard her daughter so that they could bring her home. She wanted to, but she didn’t. She knew the look she’d get. It was weeks later and no one said anything. Just looked at her with pity and think she was going crazy. And maybe she was.

[lilysortega]

duhvalerie​:

closed starter for lily @lilysortega​ !  location: library 

“hello,” valerie states as she enters the library, heading straight to the counter to the librarian. “do you think you can help assist me?” she had made it her personal mission to find out what exactly was going down in hawkins and what better way than going to the library? she was sure they had some sort of record. “do you by any chance have any information on hawkins history?” she inquires with a soft innocent smile. “it’s for research for one of my courses,” the female clearly lies, hoping the other wouldn’t notice. 

x

The days in which Lily was at work was feeling like a parallel universe to her. None of it seemed real, but she was able to use the copy machine and stuff for her posters. However, there was a part of her that liked the break from her home. It was a mental rest she didn’t know she needed or even that she was getting. She was actually doing some work when someone came over and needed assistance. She nodded and moved around the desk. “We do have some. They were able to save it, luckily from the...” She stopped herself and tensed a little as she was about to talk about the earthquake. “It, um, doesn’t have recent things, so if you’re looking for that, you may want to see if the newspaper has their archives. We haven’t gotten replacement copies just yet. Or new ones.” She said as she led the way towards the section. “What is your research on?”

[lilysortega]

closed starter for @scbrinafm around downtown

Lily had a bag filled with the missing person posters and was going around town checking on old ones and replacing ones that needed it. Some were already done and her mind went to Elias and Drew. She looked the one she was at now over and and her mind focused purely on the day that Natty went missing. It was a year and a half ago. Actually, a little more than that. And here the three of them were, still putting signs up. While some had stopped months ago, they were still at it. Always searching. Maybe her parents were right. Maybe she should stop this now. Maybe she should start trying to move on. Even the thought made her already fragile self want to break down more than she did already. Forcing herself to look away, she moved around the corner and spotted Sabrina. Guilt filled her. She hadn’t checked in on Sabrina since the mall. What a great friend she was. Her she was focusing on her still missing daughter the last two months and holding herself up in her house. What had her grief done to her? 

Walking over to her, a smile came on Liliana’s face and she waved as she approached. “Hey, Sabrina. How... How are you?”

[lilysortega]

closed starter for @vcrgas​ at the supermarket

Liliana had put off going grocery shopping for too long. She was basically living on take out these days and honestly, the only reason she was going to the store was because she had ran out of beer at her place. She figured maybe she should get other things too while she was there so she grabbed a cart and started putting some food in there; mostly things she could microwave. As she turned the corner of one of the aisles, she hit another cart and she snapped up to look at the person. “Oh, Dani, I’m so sorry.”

[lilysortega]

upsidedownism​:

elias and lily were both grieving over the same thing and yet neither of them really talked about what was going on with the other, but he knew that they both could just feel it. the grieve often radiated off of their bodies, and anyone who knew them could tell that they were suffering. both pretending that it wasn’t happening while breaking down. elias had holed himself up in his trailer like he normally did. going over all the data that they had but nothing ever made much sense. then they’d take it to the woods calling out to a name that would never come. it was heartbreaking cycle to repeat over and over again. it was insanity. expecting different results but never getting it. they notice the way that lily retreats back into herself and he reaches out to grab her hand again. if not for him, but for her. elias had to promise themselves that they weren’t going to breakdown, at least not in front of lily who looked like she was seconds away from crying at any given moment. instead, he pushed all of his feelings into a box. compartmentalized it as best as they could. “i know,” they say, their voice small. “i’ve been just kind of. standing here unable to really go over to the kids section and look at the petting zoo,” it had always been natty’s favourite place to go, even when she got older and wanted to see the spooky stuff. she had always loved the petting zoo. “i don’t know. i thought about heading home. it’s just… too much.”

x

The kid section. Lily had carefully avoid the area herself. It was somewhere that took up her time two years ago, laughing and watching Natalia have fun with the other kids or petting the animals. It was her favorite thing to do and she could never wait to get old enough to ride the hay ride. It was just another thing their daughter was never going to be able to do. “I haven’t been over there either.” How could they? Both were feeling this immense amount of grief. Most days, all Lily wanted to do was talk to Elias about all this, release all that she was holding inside her so she didn’t drag them down in their own grief even more. She never wanted to burden him or anyone else with how deep she was in all this. It’s why she would say she was fine and was starting not to let too many in her home. She was closing herself off more and more to keep everything inside and with recent events, it was getting harder and harder to do in the presence of those her heart was yearning for. And now as Elias is touching her hand again, she struggles to keep that all together, even more than when she pulled away from him. “Me too.” She said about going home. “I... I can’t be here anymore.”

[lilysortega]

garethsgreat​:

just from the way lily’s expression shifted, gareth pieced together what she meant. it sunk his stomach down to the very pit of his body and his mouth fell open wordlessly. he wished he could tell her he had. he would have taken getting bitten by bats if it meant he could offer her some good news but here he was empty handed and every word of consolation seemed useless. it was one thing to not know about her own daughter but to hear her, to be that close – gareth would probably never understand pain like that. “I don’t – I didn’t, I’m sorry.” he stuttered out but kept his composure, his eyes trained on the side of her face. “I don’t think you’re crazy. not even a little bit.”

x

Her heart didn't even fall as he said that he didn't hear Natty. She expected it by now so it was nothing to her. She was already at her bottom and there was nothing to fall back into. Seeing Gareth's reaction, though, made her reach out to him and give his arm a small squeeze. "You have nothing to be sorry for." She assured him. "Thank you, though. I appreciate you not thinking I've lost my mind." Her family had, after all. "I'm sorry to bring it up at all." She moved her hand away from him. "You sure you're okay?"

[lilysortega]

upsidedownism​:

they had been standing there for god knows how long. they didn’t exactly feel completely real in their body listening to the sounds of children running around the pumpkin patch. the last couple of weeks have been back on their investigation of where their daughter could have been. it was tiring and elias hadn’t been getting much sleep. but he came because he knew that drew was here and wanted to support him any way that he could even if being here felt like an open wound. they snap out of the trance they’re in when someone runs into him. he’s about to apologize for being in the way when he sees that it’s lily. “oh.” he says mostly for himself. “hey.” he tries to smile but he can’t. he places a hand on her arm as if trying to steady her, a little too late for that now. “yeah. i came for drew, max, and eddie.” they say with a shrug. trailer park people stuck together. 

x

Their touch on her arm made her feel like she was finally able to take a breath she didn’t know she was holding since she had gotten there. If Drew made her feel like something inside her was trying to find a light, Elias was the light and her body was aching to be surrounded by him. Her own hand settled on his arm like she was being steadied now and she met their eyes. “Right.” Lily nodded. “Drew dragged me out. He said this is good for the town, coming together like this. But I...” Her eyes moved against the crowd and the kids and the tears she had earlier came back. Feeling them becoming worse, she moved back and took her arm and hand away from Elias’s body, away from her light. “No.” She mumbled to herself and wiped the rim of her eyes quickly as she released a breath to calm herself. “I’m... sorry.” She said and swallowed before putting on her fake smile. “Are you having a good time?”

[lilysortega]

wcaringthin​:

“Never,” Drew insists, taking her hand into one of his wolf paws and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “You think I’d leave you on your own just because you’re not doing so well right now? No way.” His friendship is not conditional - he loves her and wants to be around her, even when she’s feeling low. Maybe especially then. Drew isn’t so arrogant as to assume that his continued presence will be the thing to draw Lily out of her funk, but she needs somebody, so why shouldn’t it be him? He’s got more than enough time to give her, and he’s surprisingly patient. “It’s okay if you aren’t feeling it, Lils, you don’t need to pretend for my sake, but don’t go home yet, okay? Give it at least an hour?”

x

Drew taking her hand made her walls, that were already so fragile, start to come down. It was rare these days she let herself have this human contact and as she felt his hand in hers, she wanted to squeeze his for dear life as almost a plea for help. She wanted the warmth that was provided. She wanted to be held. The desperation and need that her insides were feeling were almost showing up on her face as she did give his hand a squeeze and tears were lining her eyes as Drew talked; him clearly knowing how far down she was. “You should... have a good time.” Her head had her say, fighting what she actually wanted to say. “I don’t know how to have that anymore.” A tear ran down her cheek. 

[lilysortega]

cassie-johnston​:

It took going through her own sort of trauma to recognize it in other people.  Before Cindy’s death she’d lived a quiet life, a privileged life.  She’d never wondered if her family loved her, never worried about where her next meal would come from.  She’d never really been lonely or properly scared.  Life had been kind to her.  But losing her sister had shaken the tranquility, and she saw the way life burdened good people like she never had before. Lily wasn’t doing well – that was obvious from the moment she opened the door.  “I wouldn’t,” agreed immediately.  And she wouldn’t.  But she might worry.  Worry without action was pointless though, and if she could help Lily she would.  She’d done the same for her in some of those moments when she missed her sister so much it was hard to breath.  “I promise.”

x

There was hesitation inside her for a moment before Lily opened the door for her friend. She was ashamed by how her living room looked behind her. Papers that ranged from her notes to missing person fliers were scattered and a map was sprawled out on the coffee table. Dishes were in piles around and her ashtray was overflowing. Her pillow and blanket were still on the couch since that’s where she had been sleeping instead of her bed. She moved quickly to pick up a little and blushed. “Sorry. And please, don’t... don’t touch the papers.” She said and moved the dishes in her hands to the sink. “How... um, how are you?”

[lilysortega]

motherbyers​:

open ! location:  wright ‘s bonfire 

joyce sat quietly by the fire bundled up in an old flannel coat. silently as she watched the flames dance she tried to let herself relax after being on edge every single day. bringing her cigarette to her lips she took a drag before slowly exhaling only to jump moment’s later as she felt someone bump against her elbow causing some of her drink to fall in the dirt beneath her, “oh, are you alright?” she questioned as she turned to look at the other with a concerned glance.

x

Lily almost couldn’t believe that she had stayed the whole day at this. However, as night fell, there was almost a comfort now sitting by the bonfire with a drink in her hand. She stared at the flames as they went and there was a calm within her she hadn’t expected. It had been so long since she had felt this and it was almost needed after the weeks she had been having. Months she’s been having. She went to go take another drink and found her cup was empty. Standing, she went to go refill it only to bump into someone and her eyes widened as she touched the woman’s shoulder, seeing it was Joyce. “Oh, Joyce. I’m so sorry.” She apologized. “I’m fine. Did I hurt you?”

[lilysortega]

wcaringthin​:

Aside from his siblings, Lily and Elias are probably the most important people in Drew’s life. They’ve known each other nearly ten years now, and they’ve been in each other’s pockets for so much of that time, he values them like they’re family. In a lot of ways, they are family. When he’d lost track of Lily that day at the mall, he’d been beside himself, and when word got back to him about what she’d experienced, he’d felt sick with guilt. He should’ve been there for her, done something to protect her from… what turned out to be false hope. It’s part of why he’s been so insistently inserting himself into her space lately, trying to take care of her as best as he knows how - even if it is just dumping out an ashtray or washing up a couple of plates.

“I’m glad you did come though,” Drew replies, parking himself on the haybale beside her and gently knocking her knee with his. He’s already partly in his werewolf costume, tufts of brown fur sticking out of tears in his clothes, and a tail hanging from the back of his jeans. “I know it’s probably, like, the last place you want to be, but it’s good for everyone to get together when things have been shitty, y’know?” He means the town dealing with the fallout from the hurricane, but he means Lily too - people need people. Human beings aren’t meant to be alone, especially not when they’re suffering.

x

She sighed as he knocked his knee against hers and looked over at him. Her heart ached just doing that. He was trying so hard and here she was getting upset. two years ago, she would be all dressed up too with Natty running around here, but it wasn’t like that anymore and probably never would be again. Lily listened as he tried telling her it was good she was there and she looked away from him. “I guess, but...” What if something happened again while they were all there? What if she heard the voice again and just kept being called crazy? “I’m just... I don’t know.” It was hard for her to pinpoint her feelings these days. Well, more like talk about her feelings. She knew what they were, but it was getting harder and harder to keep them all in. “I’m just dragging you down. You should’ve left me home.”

[lilysortega]

closed starter for @upsidedownism (elias soto) at wright’s patch

There was a lot of debate going through Lily’s head about just leaving the festivities as she walked around looking at things. She wasn’t in the mood to participate and while Drew was working the haunted hay ride, she thought about disappearing back home before he could notice she wasn’t there. However, upon passing the stall selling some drinks, she went to get into line; knocking into someone as she did. Looking up at them, a little relieve come to her and she sighed. “Elias, sorry.” She apologized to the person she would’ve attended this once upon a time with a little girl attached to their arms. Or running off to have fun. “I didn’t know you were here.”

[lilysortega]

closed starter for @wcaringthin​ (drew mclaughlin) at wright’s patch

There were moments lately that made Lily regret giving Drew a key to her place and it was more due to irritation than anything else. She valued the man a great deal and considered him one of her closest friends, since the tornado, she found she just wanted to be alone in her place. She had missed work more than a number of times and was sleeping out in the living room. She hadn’t picked up her place too much and there was stuff everywhere. Piles of papers and dishes, her ash tray overflowing, cans of empty beer here or there... one wouldn’t believe Lily was the one staying there if they knew how she was before. But that was it, she wasn’t how she was before anymore. She was falling apart at the seems.

Which is why when Drew came in here and there and started picking up dishes and stuff, she would get slightly annoyed. It was more at herself than him, but still. It was there and she eyed him as he did to make sure he wasn’t touching her papers. She had a system and she wanted it all to stay just so. However, she was glad when he would take the missing person posters out and put them up. It was then she started really feeling bad about her irritation just moments before. Today, though, she felt the irritation just because he had come over and somehow convinced her to go to the festival and now she was there and she felt like disappearing into the crowd so he couldn’t see her go home. Everything was too cheery and people were dressed up and she just felt not part of it. She felt like a ghost walking amongst the people. Or a zombie from how tired her face looked.

She finally sat down after walking around for a bit on one of the hay bales and looked up at Drew. “I shouldn’t have come out here. This is ridiculous.”

[lilysortega]

demoslayers​:

location : local park tagging : open

          walking through the park jennifer let out a deep sigh. this town never had a moment of peace did it? there was always one terror after another and they were getting sick of it. all jennifer wanted was one normal and peaceful year, whether it was kids acting like kids or elders sitting on their porches yelling at the youthful, either way jennifer was determined to have something go right this year. looking around as the town slowly made its way back to being normal after the freakish storm, she pursed her lips. “it’s all just going to hell isn’t it?” she questioned out loud, not really expecting an answer but asking it none-the-less.

x

With a stack of missing person posters in her hand, Lily was walking through the park and putting some up on poles or any open spot she could find. The thing was, they weren’t alone. Fresh ones of those missing since the earthquake had been popping up again and she hated to think none of them would ever have closure here, but hers was different, wasn’t it? She still fully believed she heard Natalia’s voice and refused to think she had imagined it by any means. However, it was getting harder and harder to keep that up as a month came and went and there was no sign of the little girl anywhere. She sighed as she put the poster up, a motion she had come quite used to, and overheard a question. “It’s already there, isn’t it?” She asked back before she could really help it before moving back from her work and shrugging. “Sorry.” 

[lilysortega]

garethsgreat​:

“well I’m glad it wasn’t worse,  you know?” no matter what, gareth had this bleeding heart for people. he wanted to help, wanted to do what he could and it sucked to feel helpless. he nodded slowly, fiddling with a loose strand on his jeans. “a child?” gareth’s brows furrowed at the question, not expecting that to be what lily needed to know. the events of starcourt were still kind of blurry in his head, a mess of quick moving moments that he couldn’t make heads or tails of. still, gareth saw how serious lily was and he wracked his brain, trying to play over what he did remember. “no, i mean I don’t think so but i think my head is all kinds of frazzled. why? did you hear something?”

x

That was definitely a way of looking at it. So far, there hadn’t been news of anyone who passed during the storm or missing so for that viewpoint, Lily could understand where he was coming from that at least it wasn’t worse. However, she wasn’t so sure it wasn’t. The storm brought on bigger hope that her daughter was out there. She heard her. And that meant something. It had to have. “Yeah.” She said softly before she watched him closely to see how he acted with her question. He seemed confused and that made her heart fall a bit and her eyes just stared while he tried remembering. Her heart sank more and she sighed. “I... I heard...” She shook her head. “I don’t know. It’ll sound crazy and I’m not crazy.” She said and looked back at him. “I heard my daughter.”