#everyone says it was meant to be “Cassie” and not “Cassidy” but!!! What the fuck was literally everything else then!!!!!

[chipistrate]

What's your take on what's going on in Princess Quest?

TLDR; General take on the timeline of events would be; -Vanessa makes Princess Quest as an intern at Silver Parasol Games -Vanessa gets glitchtrapped before finishing them(but continues working on them whilst Glitchtrapped) -Vanessa moves to the Pizzaplex and abandons PQ -SPG ports the games to arcade years later for some reason and they end up in the Pizzaplex -A piece of Vanessa gets trapped in the PQ machine as the Shadow Princess as well Glitchtrap deciding to make it basically its home Then it splits down two paths; Path A: -Princess is her own character that helps Gregory defeat Glitchtrap and free Vanessa from his control, then dies once he's gone as all the PQ machines shut off and eventually get destroyed when the Tangle tries to tunnel out of the Pizzaplex.

Path B: -Cassidy is the PQ Princess who possessed the machines after Glitchtrap started inhabiting them, but wasn't able to do anything to defeat him on her own because of how the machines are set up (with them needing someone to play them in order or else the others wouldn't turn on) -Gregory comes by and helps Cassidy get through the games and defeat Glitchtrap -From here I'm not sure. I would assume Cassidy would go back to UCN once Glitchtrap is dead, but the mystery surrounding this theory makes me think that, if this is canon, they'll be elaborated on later which makes me think they're not (entirely) gone.

Rest is going under cut cause it's long and ramble-y

Honestly I've got a few takes- it really depends on who you think the Princess is, her identity changes the entire plot depending on who she is. It's tricky trying to piece together PQ since there's just so many possibilities and so many pieces of the puzzle we're just missing currently.

My most "stable" interps across every take is basically that Vanessa made Princess Quest with Tape Girl (or on her own if we're going more canon-oriented since we don't know if the two know each other), and that's why it's connected to Vanessa specifically. And also a piece of her is trapped inside and shows itself through the Shadow Princess (cause I have no idea who else that would be). I think it'd make the most sense is PQ was something Vanessa made as an intern for Silver Parasol Games that they later ported to arcade for some reason, and they ended up in the Pizzaplex where they were then tied to Vanessa and Glitchtrap.

First take would be that the Princess is her own character who just wants to help Vanessa be freed from Glitchtraps control.

Second would be Cassidy being the PQ Princess- the theory just makes a lot of sense to me + I think it could add a lot of depth their character. The only thing I don't really like about it is that people would probably see it as some sort of gateway for other spirits returning- I don't want old characters returning, I don't think it'd be a good idea from a writing standpoint. But Cassidy would make the most sense since they're the only spirit we know hasn't moved on yet (besides Willy A. but he's suffering in hell for eternity), and that being specifically cause of Afton. Someone mimicking their killer and hurting people using his legacy, I feel, would be a good reason for them to come back for a bit just to knock him down again and then go back to the real deal.

Below is a kinda huge Cassidy PQ rant I ended up going on by accident lmao

I like thinking Cassidy is the Princess because of the old man in PQ2 that has the same palette as OMC and talks similarly to him (iirc he literally tells the Princess that her quest is over and she can rest, but she ends up not listening and going through the glitched door to continue her quest. Sound familiar?), as well as the princess being golden (yknow, like golden freddy and TOYSNHK spirit) and having her name in the files originally be "Cassidy", and there obviously being some sort of force outside of Glitchtrap infecting the machine with how they work- how you have to beat them one at a time in order or else the others won't turn on/let you play them. That and also there were the graves in PQ1 that seemed like an obvious hint at the MCI/dead kids. But then they took Cassidy's name out of the files- which doesn't negate the rest of the evidence, but it also makes me wonder why they took it out. I see people argue that it was a mistake and it was meant to be a hint at Cassie, but I genuinely don't see the tie between Cassie and Princess Quest + the rest of the evidence doesn't line up with Cassie. They have to bring PQ up again eventually- there's so many mysteries about it and if Cassidy is the Princess or has some sort of ties to the Princess then I wonder if that'll ever be brought up again.

I like thinking that Cassidy is canonically the Princess and is gonna be brought up later, or was meant to be the Princess in SWS mind/story based on a miscommunication with Scott.

But if PQ ending is canon I'd imagine Scott would have a heavier say in stuff like the PQ arcade machines- he said he had a clear idea of the canon ending for SB and that miscommunications made it a bit muddy, but I'd assume he was the one that wrote the PQ games or at least had a heavier say in them cause they're literally the keys to getting the canon ending in the first place- and there's no way everything that ties back to Cassidy is just a huge coincidence.

Idk- I just hope they elaborate on Princess Quest and the other arcade machines, whether the Princess is Cassidy or not I just want more information and clarification lmao

[ragingbookdragon]

I'm Only A Crack In This Castle Of Glass (Hardly Anything Else I Need To Be) PT. 3

Batfamily x Batsis Story!

Word Count: 2.1K Warnings: Explicit Language, Angst! Tags!: @itsnottilly @cloudyskylines

Author's Note: DUN DUN DUN!!!! Y'all enjoy this now, because it's only gonna get so much more angstier soon. -Thorne

Set Three Months After PT. 2:

She didn’t have to look up to know who entered the shop, because his voice carried over the air. “Melisandre!”

Humming, she immediately plated a pastry and a hot coffee, sliding it on the counter just as he sat down. “Good morning, Wally,” she greeted, watching him take a bite. “Right on time, as always.”

He smiled, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk. “Morming Merisamdmur,” he replied, and she rolled her eyes with a snort.

“Jeez Wally, didn’t your mom teach you to not talk with your mouth full?”

Shrugging, he swallowed and said, “I was trying to be polite.”

“I think it’s more polite to chew with your mouth closed and speak after you swallow.”

They glared at each other before one of them cracked a smile and they fell into laughter. She tossed a napkin his way. “How’s your day going so far?”

Wally groaned and laid his head on the cool marble countertop. “I’ve got so much to do today, it’s not even funny.”

“Well, well, Wally the procrastinator is finally feeling his toes at the fire, huh?” She ignored his glare. “What do you have to do?”

“Barry needs my help with my cousins and my friends are coming over today to hangout and I haven’t bought any food or drinks for that and I have yet to even start cleaning my house.”

She giggled and reached over, patting his head sympathetically. “There, there, Wally. Everything will be alright. Why don’t you just bring your cousins over to your house and watch them while you hang out with your friends?”

“Because my cousins are annoying and I’m not subjecting my friends to that,” he countered and propped his chin on his palm. “Unless…”

She cocked a brow and waited for him to continue and he offered, “You come over with my cousins and help me watch them?”

“No.”

“What! Why?”

“Well for starters, I don’t know your friends and it would be weird for me to just show up.” She countered.

“They’ll like you though!” he cried, and his hand shot out, wrapping around hers. “Please, Melisandre!”

“Wally, I’ll just watch your cousins at my apartment and Iris can just come get them later, that’ll be easier and won’t force me to sit in a group of people who don’t know me.” He tried to speak but she tossed another napkin, hitting him in the face. “I’m watching Dawn and Don so you and your friends can hang out without being bothered, and that’s final.”

His face pinched. “You sure you can keep up with them?”

Something passed between them and she quirked a brow. “I can keep up with you, can’t I, Wally?”

Wally chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, that’s a fair point.” He glanced at her. “They would like you though.”

She ignored the comment in favor of, “Tell me about them. What are they like?”

He inhaled sharply and took a moment to think. “Donna’s strong willed, Roy’s loud, Lilith likes to get in your head, Garth is easy to annoy, and Dick’s kinda the glue that keeps us together.”

“Dick? He get that from Richard by asking nicely?”

Wally barked a laugh. “Oh, I’m definitely gonna tell him you said that.” He nodded. “But yeah, his name is Richard Grayson, but he goes by Dick.”

Her eyes almost bulged out of her head and she was lucky that Wally was looking at his watch then.

Don’t ask. Don’t do it. Leave it alone.

But she couldn’t stop herself.

“Richard Grayson?” she feigned. “Why does that name sound familiar?”

Wally met her eyes. “Bruce Wayne.”

She snapped her fingers. “Right! The ward.” Wiping the counter, she added, “I heard they added a new addition to that family too. A daughter, right? Cassie? Cassidy?”

“Cassandra,” Wally corrected. “Yeah, that’s Dick’s new sister.” He put his elbows on the counter. “She’s nice, doesn’t talk a lot though.”

“The quiet one, then?”

He laughed. “Of them all.”

Don’t dig any deeper, (Y/N). Keep your fucking mouth shut and let it go.

“I always wondered what happened to that other daughter he had,” she murmured, and Wally’s face blanched like he’d witnessed a murder.

“What?”

She met his gaze. “He had another daughter. I think her name was (Y/N).”

He swallowed thickly. “He does.”

“Does? She’s still around?”

“Yeah, she’s in some Italian villa.”

“Wait really? I thought she died or something?”

“What? No! She left—” Wally snapped his mouth shut like he was about to reveal a secret, but she knew anyways. “She left and went to Europe for a mental retreat.” He finalized and she wondered if that was the story Dick told him to say if anyone asked. Or maybe it was Bruce.

“It’s been like three years now, right? You’d think she’d post something on social media.”

“The whole point of a mental retreat, Melisandre, is to get away from social media.”

Oh please, I know plenty of elite who do that shit and still post crap on their socials.

“There’s no way that girl hasn’t.”

“Why do you say that?”

She scoffed. “Oh please, she’s the daughter of a multi-billionaire. There’s no way a girl that wears Gucci belts and carries Prada purses keeps herself off social media.”

Wally’s eyes narrowed like he was thinking hard about something and she internally cursed.

Oh, smooth move you dumbass.

She coughed and waved a hand. “Well, it’s all theory anyway.”

After a moment, he nodded. “Yeah…theory.” Wally got to his feet and handed her the empty plate. “I should go ahead and get back to my place and clean up before they get here.”

“Have fun,” she smiled, and he grabbed her arm.

“Take a pic with me.”

“What? Why?”

“So, I can tell my friends about you and prove I’m not lying.” He pouted. “Pretty please, Melisandre?”

Don’t do it. Dick will know. You know he’ll know.

She smiled despite her internal thoughts. “Sure.”

Wally grinned and raised the camera where she was in the background. She threw up a peace sign and gave a cheesy grin, momentarily blinded by the flash of the camera.

She spun and filled a bag with pastries then handed it to him. “Here, so you can give even more proof.”

Wally took the bag and hopped onto the counter, leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek. “Thanks Melisandre!” And he was dashing out the door.

You’ve ruined it all. This is going to come back to bite you in the ass. And it’s going to come quicker than you think.

She frowned and wiped down the counter again, trying to ignore her thoughts. Maybe. Just maybe, it wouldn’t.

***

Waving Barry and Iris off, she smiled as the twins climbed into the backseat of their car and the taillights signaled their departure. She closed the door behind her and glanced at the mess the two tornadoes had left. Even for the little she had in her apartment, they sure did know how to make a mess.

She sighed as she bent over to pick up one of the cushions when her doorbell rang and she stood up, confusion coming over her as she made her way to the door.

“Hello?” she asked, and a muffled voice echoed from the other side.

“Melisandre, it’s me, Wally. Can I come in?”

She opened the door, surprised to see him. “Wally? What are you doing here? I thought you were with your friends?”

“Yeah, I told them I had to do something really quickly,” he said as entered her apartment. He took a moment to examine her living room. “Man, Dawn and Don did a number here, didn’t they?”

She chuckled. “We had fun building forts.” Nudging him in the side, she added, “I don’t mind the mess.” She looked at him. “Do your friends know? About you being…you know?”

He nodded. “We’re all special in some way.”

Understatement there, Wally.

“So, why tell them you need to do something then come to me? Is everything alright?”

Busying herself with the couch cushions, she waited for him to explain, but nothing could’ve prepared her for his words.

“It will be once I get to the bottom of it…(Y/N).” She froze for a split second, but it was all he needed. “It really is you, isn’t it?”

(Y/N) stood upright and gazed at him. “When did you know?” Her voice was a lot colder than she meant for it to be.

“I had suspicion for a while, but when I showed the picture to everyone, Dick said it looked like you.”

“Really?” she laughed. “I thought I did a good job changing my appearance from three years ago.”

Wally didn’t laugh, he merely gaped at her. “Why?”

“Why what?” (Y/N) knew what he was referring to.

“Why’d you just leave?” He took a step towards her. “Do you have any idea what your family has gone through since you disappeared on them? The grief? The shame?”

She shrugged. “I explained everything in the letter I wrote my dad, Wally. There’s no reason why they should still be concerned with me.”

“They love you!” he shouted, taking her by surprise. “They love and miss you so much!”

“My family ignored me for eighteen years straight, Wally!” She yelled right back. “What was I supposed to do? Sit and pretend being forgotten was all normal?!” (Y/N) couldn’t help but shove at his chest. “I chose to leave because my next choice was taking a swan dive off Wayne Enterprises!”

His eyes went wide, and she shook her head. “I left because the only person who cared about me, was me.” She turned and fixed the final couch cushion while he watched her do so.

“They’re still looking for you, you know. Dick is always staring at his phone hoping there’s a text from Jason or Tim that they’ve found a sign of you.”

(Y/N) sighed. “If you’re trying to guilt trip me, Wally, it’s not going to work.” She shot him a glare. “I got over the fucking guilt the second the flight to Central took off. I got over the fucking guilt the night I laid in a hotel room bed curled into a ball where I cried myself to sleep. I got over the fucking guilt the moment I realized I’ve done so much better on my own than when I was there.”

She marched up to him and got in his face. “I got over the fucking guilt when I realized Barry and Iris Allen were more of a family than four brothers and dad ever were.”

They glared at each other and finally, she let out a sigh. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve already started a new life here and I have no plans of ever going back.”

“At a college that doesn’t have a real name. You know that’s illegal, right?”

(Y/N) scoffed. “What’re you gonna do, Wally? March into four-C and tell them Bruce Wayne’s daughter is going to school under a false name? We both know you wouldn’t.”

“I’ll tell Dick,” he suddenly shot back, and she went rigid.

“You wouldn’t dare,” (Y/N) threatened and he took a step towards her, getting nose to nose with her.

“Try me.”

They stared one another down and she said, “I think you need to leave, Wally West.”

His eyes narrowed. “Yeah, I guess I should.” He spun on his heel and marched to the door, but stopped when she questioned,

“Are you really going to tell him?”

Wally gazed at the ground for a moment then he murmured, “…No…it’s not my place to.”

(Y/N) swallowed and nodded. “Thank yo—”

“Don’t thank me, (Y/N). I’m lying to my best friend about knowing the real location of his baby sister he misses dearly.”

She looked away. “Cassandra is his baby sister now. He should focus on her.”

“You really have no idea about what they feel for you, do you, (Y/N)?” He asked, and she grunted.

“Get out, Wally.”

“Don’t worry, I’m gone,” he spat, slamming the door behind him, hard enough that it shook the walls that held the doorframe.

(Y/N) stared at the door for a few moments then cursed sharply and collapsed onto her couch, eyes directed to the ceiling. Three years down the drain in one conversation.

Way to go, (Y/N). You did a spectacular job of keeping it all under wraps.

She groaned and picked herself off the couch, not caring about the mess as she headed to bed. She’d deal with it all in the morning.

[lucarioisinthevoid]

What would everyone think of king Afton?

After many years of the animatronics killing nightguards, they finally caught William and killed him. But as you know from my ask about Goldie and Cassidy, Cassidy lied saying it wasn't him. When humans found out the animatronics were sentient, they locked all animatronics underground, including all the nightguards that were stuffed. Which meant Afton was still around to mess with the animatronics and the dead kids. When animatronics started getting the hang of having a society, springtrap (as how he went by in his suit. It became common among stuffed humans to make up names for themselves instead of using their human names) became the town nuisance. He basically caused trouble just get reactions, everyone just ignored him and pissed him off.

A few years later, about a week after Golden Freddy's and Cassidy's death, the guards were waiting for orders from king Fazbear, Bonnie was subcoming to guilt and depression seeing the situation with Goldie and Cassi as his fault, the Marionette was mourning the death of another child in her room, and Freddy was in his palace thinking. He honestly didn't know how to feel in the moment of their deaths, so he just kept thinking about it knowing the should feel something, like sad or angry.

Springtrap snuck inside the palace, almost too easily. When he was sneaking in, a human fell down. Freddy went to investigate, with springtrap following behind in the shadows. The human that fell sorta looked like Cassidy, except she had gold blonde hair, but that was the only difference. It was like the world wanted to play a joke on Freddy, "hey look!!! A little girl that looks like both of your now dead friends!!! Isn't that funny?!!?!" How dare the world. Before he could even think, all the feelings he should have felt flooded through him, the sadness of loosing the people he loves, the guilt of being unable to prevent their deaths, and the anger towards humanity for killing people he held close to his soul. Without thinking, he projected his anger towards humans on the child, and mercilessly killed her.

He was brought back to his senses when William started laughing and applauding the show before him. Freddy then attacked him, nearly killing him before realizing in this moment he was no better than him. After this realization, he declared war on humanity. The Marionette ran away back to the ruins never to be heard from again, and springtrap was made into the new royal adviser. Freddy hired him as royal adviser in hopes that maybe Afton could teach him to be more merciless.

The only reason why he was so merciless as a killer was because Chara made him think he was insane, and he was a player's puppet. He lived his own life so many times, why would it matter if he killed people if he knew they were going to be fine when he wakes up yesterday? Now Chara became dormant, and the players stopped controlling him. Kinda ironic how he's now feeling powerless despite now having complete control of his body.

He began to feel regret for everything his done. The many people he's killed, the many people he let stay dead. He was no longer above his actions. He was no longer above consequences. This made him fall into despair and depression.

After years of being royal adviser, Freddy gave him a title of king, trusting him enough to rule beside him as brothers. After he was crowned, him and Fazbear became closer, like actual brothers.

But they had disagreements, like all siblings do. Except their disagreements had to do with life and death. Freddy would argue with Afton over killing humans, he'd say that he needed to kill humans and collect their souls in order to set them all free. Afton would argue saying that everyone had already suffered enough, and that more children didn't deserve to die. When ever human children fall down and leave the Marionette's protection in the ruins, he would try and protect the children from Freddy, in hopes that he might be able to talk him out of killing them. Usually the kids flat out give up and let themselves be killed. Afton stopped trying to protect the kids after a 5 year old gave up her life to Fazbear.

King Afton, with the help of doctor Bonnie, removed his suit, and rebuilt Springbonnie and Fredbear. Fredbear remembered how Afton used spring for murder, but thankfully Springbonnie didn't remember how he was used. He didn't even remember the surface, he just knew who he was, who his brother Fredbear was, and that Afton was one of the people that made him. Afton talked with Fredbear privately about how times had changed from 1987 to now, when Fredbear was shut down to when he was rebuilt. Fredbear didn't remember the bite of 87, and his memories of the surface weren't any better. All he remembered was kids, the layout of the diner, and the stars he'd look at out the window.

Once Afton explained everything, leaving out the bite incident, Fredbear to forgive the poor corpse for everything he's done. He didn't trust him, he just forgave him. Fredbear and Springbonnie then left Afton's room where they were rebuilt and started living their own lives.

This Afton is a more forgivable, and melancholy version of Afton.

What would everyone in your AU think of King Afton?

First up, very interesting take, though now all the pressure of the “why did you kill” are put on Chara. The concept of Afton getting EXP from stuffing children into suits is wrecking me with laughter to be fully honest- this man must be buff- Everyone is a big number, but I can give you three main people, I think.

Marionette hates him- like all Williams. He doesn’t believe in redemption; he doesn’t believe in the concept of regret. Nobody ever regretted what happened to him, thus regret must be a hindering emotion at best- a liability at worst. Useless and hurtful. This William is pathetic! How can you go around killing children because of some fucking spirit?! And then being all regretful about it, as though it makes a difference?! Devaluing these murders even MORE! How much must he hate these children that he admits openly that his murders were pointless and soulless and now after decades something he would be taking back?! HOW DOES THAT HELP?! WHO?! HE DOESN’T DESERVE PITY. AND YOUR FREDDY, HE SHOULD HAVE KILLED HIM FOR GOOD! SO WHAT IF YOU ARE “EQUALLY” AS BAD?! IF TWO WRONGS MEET AND ONE KILLS THE OTHER, THEN WE HAVE AT LEAST ONE RIGHT! There is nothing more appalling to him than regretting the evil deeds, because then you say you did those evil deeds out of weakness and selfishness and nothing else came from it. Marion doesn’t regret killing the guards. Marion DOESN’T regret killing the guards! (My Marionette would make a much more ruthless ruler of the underground than both William and Freddy combined…) Fredbear is actually somewhat happy. He feels terrible for everything that happened until then and that the Marionette had to leave home because of William returning and becoming an advisor- and of course, he’s agonizing about the fact that another child had to die. But in the end, there’s some reassurance in William just being another puppet, suffering the circumstances and now working for redemption. The children are still here in some way after all, with this new technology- once it is perfected, everyone can live the life they wanted. All he hopes is that William will be a force of good this time around and for good this time. He shouldn’t have crumbled to the timeloop, but… … things like that are mindbreaking, certainly. Not being yourself is extremely scary. And how can you be sure you ARE yourself? If he would have the chance to say anything to Afton, then it’s to not give protecting the children. They need you. They need someone to stand up for them. No matter how pointless it seems or how often you fail, continuing to try is what matters. Stay determined. You owe them this after all- you have proven your ability to use what’s inside of you for destruction, make sure that it will become good permanently. You need to wake up every morning and choose to do the right thing. They need you. Both the living and the dead. Old Sport thinks he’s a funny fucker. As someone in the same shoes as him- well, without that evil spirit thing, but still- he sees his acting out and then doing a 180° as pretty hilarious. Like, sure, you go dude, reinvent yourself as this regretful somebody who wants to help, Old Sport gets it, he has done stuff like that too- but being all mopey and melancholic about it? Just move on! If you were in a loop, what does it matter? Reset and restart. You didn’t feel bad doing it, right? So why feel bad now? What’s the point? Genuine question. You did the deed, you committed the crime and that was okay. And then you stuck to that timeline. Sorry, not sorry, you have nobody to blame but yourself. And that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to move on and change and make peace, that’s totally fine, but the way Old Sport sees it from the outside, there’s a lot of misplaced guilt. This is a story, right? … … even if Old Sport doesn’t like, part of him feels jealous. Afton lacked control over his body, but at least he had a soul, right? At least he HAS a kind of personality and sense of self. He can make himself into a consistent character, unlike Old Sport who has to pick and choose and never knows what to do- In his opinion, Afton needs to get a grip and be less ungrateful for the things he actually DOES have. Save the kids, kill the kids, whatever, protect your sense of self… but then at least be satisfied with your choices that came out of that sense of self. Guilt is a choice. Either regret and act or don’t and stay back.

[plugloveff]

Chapter 8

Aria: 

“Where are they? Party started like an hour ago” I asked looking down at my Rolex.

It was Chanel’s 25th birthday and her party was in full swing. However the birthday girl was nowhere to be found.

“I just texted Meek, he said they’re on their way now.” Cassidy said looking down at her phone.

“Seriously how does this girl take so long to get ready all of the time?” I asked shaking my head.

“Baby relax, she’ll be here soon. Come have a drink with me” Dre said taking my hand and walking to the bar.

Sighing I leaned against the bar scanning the drink menu. Dre wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder. With him being so wrapped around me I could finally feel my body starting to relax.

“What can I get you?” The bartender asked.

“Can I get a #95” I said pointing at the custom drink menu we’d created for her birthday.

“And you sir?“

“I’ll have the same” Dre said. Watching as the bartender went to work on making our drinks I looked down at my watch again and Dre nipped at my shoulder.

“Ow, what’d you do that for?” I asked.

“Stop looking at your watch, they’re coming. You guys did great this place looks amazing. You need to relax, you’ve been going crazy for the past couple days about this” he said.

“I know, I just want her to enjoy herself, this is the first time since we’ve met that she hasn’t had a huge party or went on vacation. I just want her to know that we appreciate her and we want to celebrate this big milestone” I said.

“Your sweet, you know that?“

Smiling I nodded my head, "I know."

Planting a soft kiss on my shoulder, he stood up straight just as the bartender handed us our drinks.

"Thank you” I said picking up my glass and taking a sip.

Turning around to face Dre, I smiled at him as dark brown eyes bore into mine. Andre was like no man I’d ever experienced in my life. He was stern, but gentle. He had never handled me with anything other than care. His guard was always up, he didn’t allow much people to see who he really was expect for the people he kept close. And to have the privilege to get close to him meant he cared about you. He’d shown me more love in the last three months than I’d received in the past 25 years.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing, I just don’t know what I’d do without you” I said.

“Aww, you going soft on me?” he asked mockingly.

“Only for you” I said standing on my tippy toes and giving him a kiss on the lips.

“Umm, I like the sound of that” he said gripping my waist.

“Come on before you try and do something nasty” I said taking his hand.

“Nah I’ll behave, but when I get you home it’s a wrap” he whispered in my ear causing a jolt of electricity to course though my body. I felt the pulse between my legs and my thighs clenched in response. The smirk on Dre’s face told me he’d noticed the effect he’d had on me.

“Don’t” I said groaning and dragging him back to where our friends were sitting.

“Cass, is Cash coming?” Stephanie asked.

“Why you asking me? I’m not his keeper” she replied looking down at her phone.

“Bitch please, you gone act like you not texting his ass right now?” Steph asked.

“Oh you fucking with Cash Cassidy? I'm about to start calling you C-money ” Wayne said blowing the smoke the blunt he was smoking out of his mouth.

“Oh my gosh, no I’m not fucking with him” Cassidy replied, but the crack in her voice told us other wise.

“Ummhm, we can just ask him now since he just walked in"

"What?” Cassidy asked her eyes flew up from her phone and looked around.

We all bust out laughing. “Umm, but you not checking for him right?” Steph asked

Cassidy flipped her off and went back to scrolling through her phone.

Pulling up a chair Dre sat and pulled me onto his lap. “I hope y'all getting ready for our Christmas trip” I said.

“Hell yeah, I can’t wait. It’s going to be so dope” Steph said.

“Where we going again?” Dre asked.

“Aspen baby. So you better make sure you got some warm clothes” I said.

“We live in Miami, where the fuck am I supposed to find snow gear out here” Wayne asked.

“It’s called online shopping Dwayne” Stephanie replied.

“What I told you about calling me that?"

"It’s your name nigga” Steph stated matter of factly.

"Only my mother call me that shit" he said.

"Wasn't you calling me mommy last night?"

"Honestly do you guys stop?" Cassidy asked in disgust.

Before Wayne could answer with a smart comment. The DJ was on the mic; “The guest of honor has finally arrived. On the count of three I want everyone to wish Chanel a happy birthday." He announced.

We all turned our attention to the door.

"One.. Two.. Three"

"Happy Birthday Chanel” we all screamed as Chanel and Meek walked out hand in hand. They looked like they belonged on the cover of a magazine. Chanel wore a Dior swimsuit and a white knit skirt and matching Dior sandals. Her hair fell in loose curls down her back and her face was made up to perfection. Meek wore Dior trunks that matched Chanel’s swimsuit with white Dior sneakers and a white t-shirt.

Walking over to us Chanel flashed us a million dollar smile. “Oh my gosh, you guys this looks amazing” she said looking around the backyard.

The backyard was decorated with White and Purple balloons. There was a Taco truck, a Hibachi station, a Sweets table and a fully stocked bar. Meek also insisted we had a tent for a dispensary so everyone had enough weed for the entire night. The guest list was small but there was no expense spared for her big day.

“Well you know we had to go big for your 25th” I said giving her a hug.

“Happy Birthday Coco” Steph said giving her a hug.

“Thank you guys this is amazing. Y'all about to make me cry” she said giving the rest of the group a hug.

“Nah, you did enough of that already” Meek said.

“Chanel you were crying? On your birthday ?” I asked.

“It’s his fault, he’s been spoiling me all week” she said pointing at Meek.

“Because that’s his job” Cassidy said.

“Thank you sis. Please tell her ass again for me” he said.

Laughing Chanel shook her head and pouted. “Honestly you guy’s I love y'all so much” she said.

“We love your ass too Coco, now enough of all this sentimental shit. It’s time to get lit. It’s your birthday I’m getting your ass fucked up tonight” Wayne said.

Cassidy: 

"I’ll be right back, I have to get something from my car” I said getting up from my chair and stumbling into the house.

I was on my sixth shot of 1942 thanks to Wayne and I was starting to feel the effects of it.

Grabbing my car keys I walked out of the house and onto the driveway. Opening my trunk I pulled out the two gift bags I left and closed the trunk. When I felt a pair of hands on my waist.

“Who the fuc-” I started to say when I turned around and saw him standing in front of me.

“Damn you expecting someone else?” Cash asked looking down at me.

Smiling I shook my head no. “You just can’t be sneaking up on me like that” I said.

“My bad, I forgot I’m dealing with a gangster” he said smirking.

“Exactly, you could’ve gotten yourself hurt” I said.

“Ummhmm, I bet."

I watched as his tongue came out wetting his top lip. My thighs clenched thinking about how good his tongue would feel between them. I groaned in frustration, because the thought alone had my body hot. I felt like a little caesar’s pizza hot and ready just for Cash.

"What’s going on in that pretty little head of your’s?” he asked me placing a hand on my car trapping me.

“Umm, nothing” I said.

“You sure? Because the way your clenching your thigh’s together and the way your hearts pounding tells me otherwise"

"I’m just hot” I said.

“Umm, I can see that” he said tucking a strand of hair behind my ear with his free hand. His thumb grazed my cheek and I shivered at the contact.

“You know I’ve been thinking about you everyday since the last time I saw you?” he said.

“Have you now?"

"Ummhmm, that’s why I been blowing up your phone everyday. I don’t usually chase a girl but you. Ms Cassidy I can’t help myself.”

“Why is that” I asked looking up at him.

“I’m not sure but you’re doing something to a nigga” he said lowering his face so that we were eye level. He was so close, too close I could feel the heat of his breath on my face. Our lips were touching as he spoke to me, my body felt like I was on fire.

I wasn’t sure if it was the liquor or the fact that I hadn’t had sex in months. But I couldn’t take it anymore, dropping the gift bags I grabbed his shirt and pulled him into me pressing my lips against his. Cash groaned as he pushed me against the trunk, he pressed his dick against me and I moaned against his lips.

When he broke the kiss, I was breathless. I’d never had a kiss that made me feel like I was weightless.

“What are you doing to me Cassidy?” he asked looking down at me.

“I was just going to ask you the same question” I said.

Cash stared down at me, and I could see the heat in his hazel eyes. He wanted me and god I wanted him so badly. Feeling my phone vibrating in my pocket I looked away from him and pulled it out. It was a message from Chris.

Chris: Hey babe I hope you’re having fun, tell Chanel I said Happy birthday and I’ll see you tonight when you get home I Love you.

Quickly closing the message I looked back up and Cash was watching my every move.

“Umm, we should get back to the party"

Cash glared about me, "I hope you know I’m not letting up on you lil mama. I’m applying heavy pressure”

“Actions speak louder than words” I said.

“I don’t have nothing if I don’t have my word lil mama"

Nodding I reached for the gift bags but Cash got to them before me. "Lead the way gorgeous.”  

Walking back into the backyard I could feel Cash’s eyes on me the entire time I walked.

“Aye my boy” Meek said walking up to Cash and embracing him.

“Wassup G” Cash said.

“Cassie, you had to get his ass? He too good to enter alone?"

"Nah, I ran into him when I was getting some gifts out of my car. I didn’t even think he was coming"

"You knew I wouldn’t miss a party especially not one when you’re going to be there” he said looking down at me.

I blushed and Meek smirked at the two of us. “Parties starting to wind down so it’ll just be us soon”

“Cash, you made it” Stephanie said with a smirk on her face. Groaning I rolled my eyes and took a seat.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Happy birthday Coco” Cash said giving Chanel a hug and handing her an envelope. It was so stuffed that it barely closed. A stack of hundreds peeked out.

“Thank you Cash, you really didn’t have too” she said.

“Aye you family now, we always take care of family” he said nodding at Meek who nodded his head in agreement.

After greeting the rest of the crew he came next to me and tapped my leg, motioning for me to stand up. When I did he took my seat and pulled me onto his lap. “Much better” he said in my ear and I smirked as I felt Chanel, Aria and Steph’s eyes watching our every move.

I knew I was playing with fire, I had two men in my life but there was only one that I wanted. I had to get rid of Chris and quick, before this got ugly.

Ahmeek:

"Ok, I’m exhausted and I’m way to drunk to drive home” Cassidy said laying down on the couch.

“I think we’re all too drunk to move, there is more than enough space in this house. You guy’s can just stay here” Chanel said sitting up.

“You sure?” Aria asked.

“Yeah we have seven bedrooms, me and Meek only need one” she said.

“Shit you don’t have to tell me twice” Wayne said picking up a sleeping Stephanie and walking up the stairs.

“Yeah, Dre we should head to bed to” Aria said.

“Umhm but I’m taking the room two doors away from them” he said.

“The bedrooms are soundproof” I said.

“Oh word?” Dre asked looking at Aria.

“Andre, let’s go” Aria said as Dre smirked walking up the stairs.

“Alright, I’m exhausted and very drunk. The room feel’s like it’s spinning so I should go to bed. I’m sure you guy’s can find yourself to your room” Chanel said getting up from the couch. "Baby don't take forever coming to bed" she said giving me a kiss before walking up the stairs.

“I’m going to head up too” Cassidy said following Chanel up the stairs. Leaving Cash and I alone; “So Cassie huh?” I asked.

Cash, sighed and ran a hand down his waves. “What you want me to say? I fuck with her I can’t change that” he said.

I scuffed knowing the exact feeling, them Wright girls were a different breed. Once they hooked you were hooked forever. I knew first hand how deep that hook was, the thing’s I’d do for Chanel Wright was insane.

“You know she has a boyfriend right?"

Cash, sucked his teeth "That nigga, can become a distant memory. If it ever comes to it, but I’m not worried about him. He’s just a place holder”

Laughing I shook my head and leaned over resting my elbows on my knees. “Just be careful with that” I said.

“Always G” he said standing and patting my shoulder before jogging up the stairs to bed.

Walking into the kitchen, I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and headed upstairs to my own bed.

When I walked into our bedroom, Chanel was spread across the bed. Stepping out of my clothes I removed my chain and watch and climbed into bed beside her.

Her eyes fluttered open, “I love you” she said curling into the side of my body.

“I love you too” I said kissing her forehead and falling asleep.

[cassie-archive-blog]

BY YOUR SIDE ➝ DASSIE.

TAGGING ➝ Cassidy Harper, Danielle Lopez.

LOCATION ➝ The hospital.

TIME FRAME ➝ 1/24 (2015), night.

WARNINGS ➝ Hospital, religion.

NOTES ➝ Cassie goes to the hospital to be there for her sister.

Dani sighed as she stood outside of the hospital room. She really was trying her best to keep herself together, but that was really hard to do under the circumstances. How was she even supposed to feel right now? Not only was she worried about her unborn child; she was worried about her wife. It didn't help that she had to text everyone who meant anything to them, explaining to each of them what was going on. The truth was, most of those people were Gaby's friends or family. Sloane was one of Dani's closest friends, but truth be told, she had told her because she had Josef. It wasn't nice of them to keep them in the dark, but since when did she care about being nice? She didn't feel like telling people over and over that the baby was coming. If one more person told her that it was too soon, she was going to slap them in the face. She didn't care about who they were. That's how frustrated she was right now. The only person she really cared about seeing was Cassie. She knew it wasn't fair to fight with her and then drop a bomb the way she had, but she couldn't help herself. She was mad at her. Even if she didn't really have a right to be. Did she really expect Cassie to always be around? Well, yeah, she did. It sucked when she wasn't. She didn't give a shit that they were adults and living their own lives. It was stupid and probably unhealthy, but it didn't matter when she was in town. Dani acted like the same, stupid child. Considering her age, she was positive that would never change. Still, despite all of that, it didn't change the way things were between them. Cassie was always the one she needed when things were bad. Gaby now, too, of course, but it wasn't the same. Gaby's entire family gathered together for shit like this. She only ever wanted Cassie. If Cassie wanted an apology when she got there, Dani would give it to her. She probably wouldn't, but still. Dani was in no place to argue. She didn't have the strength.

Cassie hated being back here. She may have been born here, and she may have grown up here, but it was never her home. The place was filled with too many shitty memories, and as selfish as Cassie knew it was for her to just ditch the way she had, she couldn’t help it. She’d gone through the worst times imaginable in Los Angeles, and now that she was back here, all she wanted to do was leave again. In fact, she’d almost tried to convince Cassius earlier today that they should go back to Oregon, blow this whole thing off and everybody else here. It became clear to her why she hadn’t, though, when she’d gotten Dani’s message, letting her know the baby was coming. Cassie hadn’t been around for any of the pregnancy—It would’ve been different if Dani was the one carrying the baby, obviously—but she was going to be there for her sister now. She’d even be there for Gaby, because she was the other mother of her nephew and soon to be niece, but her main concern right now was her sister. And her niece, obviously, but she couldn’t do anything to help her. She could be the shoulder she knew Dani needed to lean on, though. No matter how shitty things could be between them, they were always each other’s rock. That would never change. The car ride took way too long for her liking, but soon she was being dropped off at the hospital, and Cassie was directed right to Gaby’s room, where she saw her sister waiting outside. It was clear that Dani had been crying, but Cassie knew she had a good reason to. It was kind of heartbreaking to see, actually. “Hey, anymore news?” she asked, walking over to the taller girl. Without a second of hesitation, she reached out, pulling her into her arms.

Dani was so past trying to keep things together. What was even the point? She usually had reasons to keep herself together, but she couldn't think of one good reason to do that now. Gaby was in there sleeping. Dani had managed to get some sleep, but it wasn't much. If her wife managed to sleep even more, she would probably go back and sleep more. She had never been so exhausted in her life. The second she knew everything was okay, she was going to sleep for an entire day and feel no shame about it. For now, all she could do was force herself to stay awake. Even if she was seconds away from falling over and sleeping on the floor. If there was one person she needed to be with her right now, it was Cassie. She didn't know what it was she expect from her, but she knew that she needed her there for sure. It didn't matter that her sister couldn't exactly do anything, because being there was good enough for her. She knew that the second that she saw her. She had convinced herself that she was all out of tears, but that proved to be untrue once she started crying on Cassie's shoulder. This wasn't right. They shouldn't even be there now. It was too early. She was sick of being reminded of it, but it was true. "The baby is definitely coming." She said, forcing herself to pull away from her sister. Not that even wanted to, but she felt the tears on her face and had to wipe them away. She hated crying already. "Gaby is sleeping now, but it's happening. They're trying to delay it for as long as they can. I would give you the details if I knew more; except I zoned out when they started explaining all the risks..." She trailed off, glancing back through the hospital door. "I don't know what I would do if something happened to either of them."

Cassie would usually have made fun of her sister for crying, but not this time. Not when it was over something as serious as her child’s life on the line. It wasn’t even Cassie’s baby and she was about ready to burst into tears, but she wasn’t going to do that. She was going to be there for Dani, and wrapped her arms tightly around her, just giving her the time she needed to let everything out. Cassie gently rubbed the other girl’s back. “It’s okay,” she whispered, holding onto her, “It’s gonna be okay.” Not that she had the answers, but what else could she say? When Dani pulled back, so did Cassie, but she kept her hands placed on her arms, looking up at her as she spoke. She didn’t even like babies, but it was different when they were her nieces and nephews, so Cassie was definitely worried, too. She followed her sister’s gaze through to the room where her sister-in-law was sleeping, then looked back at Dani again when she spoke, giving her a small smile. “You know nothing’s going to happen to them, right? Your family is so strong, there’s no way that little girl isn’t going to be, too. I mean, don’t tell her this, because you know I like to give her a hard time, but even Gaby is one of the strongest people I know.” Cassie glanced through the door again, then back to her sister. “Any woman that can grow two babies in her body, and deal with being married to you, has to have some serious lady balls. Nothing will happen to either of them. You two have got this, Dani. You know you have.”

Dani didn’t know what to believe at that point. She was exhausted and her body was ready to shut down at any moment, but how could she even sleep right now? All she could do was wait. That was probably the worst part of the situation. The waiting. The not knowing was scary for sure, but the waiting is what made it worse. They had no way of knowing what was going to happen. Even the doctors couldn’t tell them. It was driving Dani crazy. Part of her needed to know what was going on now, but another part was too scared to find out. What if it was something bad? What if they lost her? Dani wasn’t strong enough to handle the thought; let alone it actually happening. From the moment she found out her wife was pregnant, all she would think about was the day they extended their family. It should have been simple, just like it had been with Josef. She wanted to hold her baby girl and take her home. That’s why she had to believe Cassie when she said everything would be okay. She didn’t have a choice; she had to believe it. Not believing almost felt like giving up and she couldn’t do that. “She really is strong, isn’t she?” She whispered, thinking about her wife sleeping in that hospital bed. As hard as this was for Dani, she couldn’t imagine how Gaby must be feeling. She was the one going through this. She was the one who not only dealt with the pain, but also had to deal with the not knowing and the waiting. Dani didn’t know how she did it. She was barely hanging on. If it wasn’t for her sister being there, she didn’t know what she would be doing now. “I don’t know that.” She shook her head, even more tears pouring down her face. She really fucking hated crying. “I keep saying that everything will be okay and I have to believe it, but I’m barely keeping it together right now. I’m trying to be strong, because I have to be, but I don’t know anything. That’s why it’s so hard. I just don’t know.”

Cassie was terrible at comforting people, especially in situations she had no idea about. Like this one, for example. Babies were absolutely not her forte, but she could appreciate the fact that her sister needed her, so she’d do everything she could to be whatever she needed for her right now. She just listened, her hand rubbing Dani’s arm gently as she broke down all over again. If anything was going to break Cassie’s heart in two, it was that sight. Dani was always so strong, or at least she pretended to be. The thing was, Dani and Cassie were way more alike than either of them would ever like to admit aloud, so she knew it was just that: An act. She wasn’t an emotionless robot, no matter how much she may have tried to be one. “You don’t have to be strong, though. I mean, for your wife, sure. But right now, this is just me and you, Dani. You can let me be strong for you while it’s just the two of us. This baby is just as much yours as she is Gaby’s, so you have every right to be as upset as you are. Honestly, the fact that you’ve held it together for this long is surprising. You’re allowed to break down, too. But you have to think that everything is going to be okay. I know God doesn’t really mean anything to you, but I’ve been praying for you guys. I’m going to keep doing that until we know everything is okay. I know that it will be, you just have to think positively.”

Dani hated that her sister had a good point. She didn’t have to be strong right now. Gaby was sleeping and she literally had nothing to do as they waited for Cassidy’s arrival. She could be strong as long as she was with her wife, but when it was just her and her sister, she really didn’t have to be. She had been trying; she really had. She liked to pretend that nothing could break her, but this entire situation had proven that wasn’t true. “I thought I could do it.” She said, her voice so soft it was practically a whisper. “As soon as Gaby told me her water broke, I did what I could to get her here. To make sure that she didn’t freak out. I mean.... She’s in labor two fucking months early. What am I supposed to do? I would do anything; I just need to know what.” She said, her voice sounding desperate; as if her sister had the answer she was looking for. Cassie talking about God only made Dani sigh. It wasn’t that she had an issue with religion, since she knew her sister was very religious herself. It was the fact that Cassie was right. God didn’t really mean anything to Dani. The fact that her parents were super religious, and therefore couldn’t accept their lesbian daughter, seemed like a pretty good reason for her to have doubts. Still, she respected what her sister believed. She wouldn’t tell her she was wrong or even try to argue, because there was no point. Besides, considering the situation she was in, she could probably use all the help that she could get. “It’s hard to think positive when all I can think of is that stupid doctor telling us all of the risks. All of the things that could happen to her.” If she was trying to stay strong any longer; she certainly wasn’t at that point. She leaned back against the wall, her face in her hands as she slid down to the floor. She didn’t care who saw her sitting there; crying as if the absolute worst had already happen. She was so exhausted she couldn’t even hold herself up. If this is her now, she didn’t know how she was going to be strong when the baby got there.

Cassie really wished she had the answers here. She wanted to be able to help her sister, give her some words of encouragement that had all of the confidence behind them that she needed. Dani wasn’t stupid, though. Neither of them knew what was going to happen, and they could hope and pray that everything was going to be okay, but nobody knew for sure. Not even the doctors. Cassie had never had much faith in medical staff for her own reasons, but she had to trust them now, and so did Dani. “Doctors are stupid in general. It’s basically in their contracts that they have to outline all of the worst case scenarios so they don’t risk getting their asses sued if something goes wrong. But there are so many more success stories than there are otherwise.” Cassie had no idea if that was helpful or not; she was going to go with not, though. It wasn’t like she was being reassuring, she was just stating facts. She bit her lip as she watched her sister slide down the wall, like she’d been completely broken. It was really difficult to watch, but definitely not as difficult as what Dani was going through, so Cassie understood. Slowly, she sat herself down on the floor beside her sister, wrapping her arms around her and resting her chin against her shoulder. “It’s okay, Dani. You’ve done everything you can do. You just have to put your faith in something else now. Whether that’s the doctors or…” she trailed off, pulling back and leaning against the wall, too. Though she faced her sister. “Will you do something with me? Like I said, I know you don’t believe it, but maybe you could pray with me. You don’t even have to talk. You don’t even have to believe, but I do. I can believe for the both of us.”

Dani wasn’t a stranger to feeling helpless. It wasn’t a secret that she had a rough life. There were things she had done; that she had been through, that to this day still haunted her. That’s why she was so sure she could handle anything. She was at a good place in her life. A beautiful wife, amazing career, a beautiful son and a baby on the way. On her darkest days, she never imagined she would have anything like this. Even if she hated talking about it; she was an addict. When everyday is a struggle, other people give up on you. When that happened, you give up on yourself. And even if she didn’t believe in God, she wouldn’t stop her sister from praying for her. If there is a God then this would Dani needed him the most. No matter how hopeless she felt back then, it didn’t compare to how she felt now. If she hadn’t been crying, she would have answered her sister right away. It was hard for her to say anything when she could barely catch her breath. So instead of saying anything, she leaned against her further and nodded her head. Praying wasn’t something she usually did, except for with Cassie, so she was willing to do it with her. She would do anything if she thought it would help.

[glamsweatsugar-blog]

Fallen Now Is Babylon The Great (SL with @LustByTheHour)

Amelia: ^He didn’t make anything easy. That was for damn sure. He had done a good fucking job of covering his tracks to fall off the face of the Earth. But he was still using the name Del Everly. Which meant that he could be found. And I had Sydney working on it from the moment Cay and Myrick had moved into their place in Hell’s Kitchen. I wasn’t going to tell them what I was up to, but they needed every part of their past to be closed. And my fear was that if Del didn’t have the answer, he was going to come looking. And I wasn’t going to allow that.

Lin and Myrick were positive that Watson was Myrick’s kid. All because of the eyes. But I wasn’t going to let that be the only form of confirmation. It had been easy. The first day back at the shop, Lin gave me Watson. Emily knew I had a case for her. And as long as I told her it was a case, she knew enough not to open her mouth. I didn’t want Lin and Myrick knowing what was going on. They would have lost their fucking minds, and I wasn’t going to have that.

But getting out of the country without my girl was an issue. She knew I was going to Paris. She just didn’t know why she couldn’t come. I wanted her to come. I wanted nothing more than to be wrapped up in a hotel room with her. But the truth was that she would have told Myrick and Lin about the whole thing. And that wasn’t something I could afford. So I told her I was looking for the perfect wedding gift to give her. Her lip pushed out into a pout, but she finally let me go with the promise to come back as soon as possible. I was going to have to spend a few days here to make the story believable, but I needed to get this out of the way.

As soon as I stepped out of the airport in Paris, I didn’t bother going to the hotel. No, there was far more important things I needed to handle. Especially if I wanted to terrify the man I was here to see. I was past the point of giving a shit about what he wanted and needed. He had the proper amount of time to crawl in a hole and hide. Now, he was going to have to deal with me.

I sat down at the cafe under Del’s apartment. I could have gone up, and I knew he’d freak the hell out if I showed up there unannounced. He was already going to freak out because I had found him. But it was a warning I had given him when he first started all of this with Lin. If he hurt her, he wouldn’t be able to hide. I would find him.

Looking down at my watch, I knew I had a few minutes to just take a breath as I waited. One of the waitresses walked over and asked if I needed anything. After quickly ordering a croque-monsieur and an espresso, I could do nothing but continue to wait. My eyes flicked between the door and the other patrons in the cafe until I heard the door get pulled open. My words were low as he walked passed my table without a second glance.^ You’re going to sit with me. You’re going to order your lunch. And you’re going to pay for both meals while I tell you what you left behind in New York. Do you understand, Mr. Everly?

Del: -I was just walking into the cafe downstairs for my usual lunch. This was the place I ate at every day if I wasn’t spending time with Kat. I didn’t even bother looking around at the cafe around me as I walked over to an empty table, at least not until I heard a familiar voice that had me freezing in my tracks. The last thing I could remember that voice telling me was that if I hurt her friend, she was going to find me, and I’ll be damned if she hadn’t.

I hadn’t made it easy. I wasn’t using a fake name, but I was living off the grid as much as possible. The apartment here was in my attorney’s name, and he took care of paying all the bills for me, so it was something I didn’t have to think about. But I supposed, if she’d really wanted to find me, I hadn’t made it impossible. What scared me most was that she’d wanted to find me that much.

I wasn’t good at math, but I was good enough at it to be able to count off the number of months that had passed since I’d left New York. I knew it was time for Cay’s baby to have already been born or to be born shortly. I could only assume that was why she was here. I settled into the chair opposite her, signaling the waitress.-

Je veux du poulet grillé et une bière, et je paierai aussi pour le repas de la dame.

-Turning to face Amelia, I leaned back in the chair. I could have played stupid, and pretended that I didn’t know why she was here, but I knew her well enough to know that she would have called me out on it the second I tried it. I knew I was in for a long meal, but I probably deserved every second of it.-

Hello, Amelia. I can’t pretend that I don’t know that you’re here about Cay and Myrick and probably the baby, so why don’t we go ahead and drop pretenses. Just let me know whatever it is you came here to tell me.

Amelia: ^I only looked at him with a raised brow. If he thought he was getting away that easily, he had another thing coming. And I wasn’t ready to give him the information about Lin and Myrick. But I was going to tell him the baby’s name. He needed to know who they held in the highest esteem. And I wanted him to know that they knew who would protect them if anything came about it.

Clearing my throat, I looked at the man in front of me as I let my eyes narrow.^ First of all, the baby has a name. And his name is Watson Holmes Baines. But, I’m not ready to talk about Watson. I should probably start with the fact that Myrick isn’t alone in the city anymore. He is probably in the process of getting disowned by his family because he took his little sister in. Until she was able to get a job and move into her own apartment.

^I watched for any sign of recognition from Del, but he was playing it cool. And it was something that was only starting to set my temper on edge. I was going to force him to sit here and listen to every word I had to say if it meant tying him to the chair.^ Emily got disowned, Del. And she ended up with Cay and Myrick. Does that mean nothing to you? Or am I going to have to tell you how Daddy Preppy Boy has loosened his collar and is now fucking two girls at once?

^That was the thing that got a reaction out of him. The look of disbelief on his face. Like he didn’t understand why Myrick was still alive if he was cheating on Lin. I would have never allowed that to happen. Lin was too important to Cassi for that to happen.^ I had them host a BDSM night at the club just after you left. They met a couple there. Cay gets to have time with a Sir while Myrick gives the sub some very needed Daddy time. It works for the four of them because there is constant conversation. It’s all about needs and wants being properly communicated. Like I told you to do with them from the word go. But you got scared and ran. And now they’ve perfected their relationship by adding Wes and Lindsay to it. Does that sting a little, Del? Knowing that Myrick has finally loosened up a little?

Del: -Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised at anything that happened when I wasn’t there. I’d walked away from all of it. Whatever they did at this point was just another sign they were better off without me. If Cay was getting Myrick to loosen up now that I was hiding out in Paris, then good on her. It was more than I’d ever been able to accomplish, and I should have been glad for them. I was missing out on everything back there, but once again, I was pretty certain that it was all going off better without me, and whatever Amelia had to say was just further evidence of that fact.

When she told me the baby’s name was Watson Holmes, I knew exactly who he’d been named after. I’d have known Amelia and Cassidy’s last names anywhere. They were all turning into a family for each other. I felt a pang of guilt roll through me. I could have been a part of that, but more likely, I would have been the ultimate reason that none of this worked out. I knew well enough to know that much about myself. I was poison, and Amelia was just here to remind me of that.-

I hope he’s happy. I hope they’re both happy.

-I took a long swig from the bottle that the waitress put down in front of me. It was cold, but it stung going down, though I was pretty sure that was probably just me holding back the emotions that never wanted to let out anyway, especially not now sitting across from her. My words were short, but I wasn’t sure what else to say to her.

She was right. I’d screwed this up. I knew that much, and I’d been kicking my own ass for it for the last few months. But it looked like I wasn’t getting off that easily since she was here to kick my ass too.-

Lia: I thought you said Myrick was like family at one point in your life. That means you have to have known that he had a little sister. Yet nothing? Do you even give a fuck about her, Del? ^I shook my head in disgust as I brought the small cup to my lips. I needed to calm down a little bit. But he was proving every instinct I had about him right.

I knew that him running was the best thing for Lin and Myrick. And it was all just confirmed with everything he had just said. But of course, he wouldn’t answer a question about Emily. Del wanted the information about Watson so he could get on with his life. Maybe it was something I was supposed to let happen.^ You really aren’t surprising me. You are exactly what I thought you were going to be. And it was everything I warned you about. Maybe it just doesn’t matter if the kid is yours or not. Maybe I should get the hell out of here before everyone in New York decides to shoot my ass for coming out here. What was I thinking? Why would a man who is nothing but a pompous, self centered, asshole even care if he had a child?

Del: -I could feel my teeth grinding on each other as she went on. Half of me wanted to go of on her and the other half of me knew I deserved every bit of it, because I had done every last one of the things she told me I’d done. There wasn’t a single thing I could say to redeem myself. I could start with putting my focus on what she’d told me about Emily.

Of course I’d known her. I’d lived with her older brother on and off for the better part of seven years. I’d met her and her parents, and it might have been a surprise to everyone else around there that she had something about her that had caused her parents to disown her, but not me. I knew people like Mr. and Mrs. Banes my entire life. Daughters were a commodity, and if they didn’t behave like one, then they were going to get cut off or married off as quickly as possible. Emily had never struck me as someone who was going to let herself get married off, and she most certainly wasn’t a commodity of Mr. Baines, so the only other option was being disowned. She was good at pretending, but so was I. It was easy to see when you knew what you were looking for.-

There’s a lot of shit I could say right now, Amelia. If you want me to come out and defend myself, then it’s not going to happen. But, yeah, I’m worried about Em. I know Ricky is going to take care of her, and I know she’s a smart enough girl to figure things out for herself, but fuck yeah, I’m going to worry about her. If I tried to help, they’d all run me out of their lives on a rail. But yeah I give a shit. I give a shit about the kid too, whether he’s mine or not. Doesn’t fucking matter to me, and not in that stupid ass, bullshit, selfish way you’re probably thinking I mean. I care. I just don’t know how to be a part of any of this without fucking it up. Every single last fucking one of them is better off without me.

-My chest was aching with all the shit I didn’t even know how to say, not that she was going to care what I had to say anyway. She was here to torture me.-

Lia: ^I felt my hands curl into fists as I thought about what he was saying. And the moment he called Myrick Ricky, I felt the fury in my blood. I knew it was habit. They had been friends for almost ten years before Del decided to up and leave. But this was different. He needed to know that this was not okay.^ You lost the right to call him Ricky the moment you walked out of their life. He is Myrick. That’s it. You call him Myrick or you say nothing. Do you understand?

^I scared him a little more than I was planning on. But I wasn’t going to let him get away with calling Myrick Ricky. There was no way in hell that was going to happen on my watch. And not when we were talking about everything that had happened since Lin and Myrick had started to move on with their life.^ Emily is living above the shop for the time being. In what used to be Cay’s apartment. Cay and Myrick moved into a condo in Hell’s Kitchen. She almost lost Watson because she was having terrible nightmares while they were living in your place. It was either she didn’t sleep or she had nightmares. A few weeks after you left, Myrick bought her a place. He put it in her name so she had complete control. And he proposed to her the day they moved in.

^I could only shake my head as I tried to think about what to say next. I knew Myrick and Cay weren’t going to accept his help. And I knew Emily didn’t have the full story about everything, either.^ I’m not going to tell you that you can’t help out Emily. They haven’t told her how much you’ve hurt her. But you know as well as I do that Emily isn’t going to accept help easily.

You have choices you can make, Del. But everything is the way it is for a reason. You did this. You walked away from everyone. And you left a mess that has been complicated, at best, to clean up. Now it’s time for you to take some fucking responsibility for what you’ve done.

Del: -Responsibility wasn’t a word I was used to hearing. My inheritance, combined with the habit of never committing to anything in my entire life had made that a more or less foreign concept to me. I was willing to give it a shot though. They wouldn’t want me involved in their lives, and especially not in the baby’s life, not after everything I’d put all of them through. That much was perfectly understandable.

But there were a few things I could do, and I could help Emily out in the process. I knew the apartment she was staying in, and if she was there it meant she was in good hands with Amelia and Cassidy. Amelia was fierce, as she was demonstrating at the moment, but it was Cassidy that I knew was going to wind up taking care of her in the long run. She was a marshmallow, but when she adopted someone, it was a forever kind of thing.

She’d never really taken a liking to me. Not that I could blame her. I wasn’t the kind of person that people like Cassidy loved. I didn’t even love myself ninety-nine percent of the time, so it was hard to make myself very lovable to anyone else.-

So tell me what is is you think I can do, because I know nothing I do is going to make it up to them. I’m stupid, but I’m not that stupid.

Amelia: You give up New York. Don’t come back. Don’t breathe in the direction of New York. And if that means selling the townhouse you own, you do it. Agree to sign over any and all rights you may have to Watson. You want all of this to be over? Prove it to me.

^I could only relax back against the chair as our food was brought out. I wasn’t really in the mood to eat, but I wanted Del to know I wasn’t leaving until all of this was settled. I had made him a promise if he hurt Cay. And I was keeping that promise.^ You’re a smart man, Del. I’m sure you can find a way to help Emily without anyone knowing. You have a lot to make up for. You destroyed two people that mean everything to my fiancée. One way or another, you’re going to make it up to everyone.

Del: -Giving up New York wasn’t going to be a big sacrifice. It wasn’t a place I ever planned on going back to. There were too many regrets there. I couldn’t even be on the same continent as that city right now. There was a reason I’d gone as far as Paris to get away from everything back there. It was as far away as I could manage and still get along fine. I’d learned French in school well enough to be able to navigate day to day life here, and it was the last place I’d expected anyone to come looking for me.

Selling the townhouse wasn’t going to be hard to pull off either. I’d inherited it from my grandfather years ago, and all I had to do was make a few phone calls to make sure that it was on the market and then sold. I didn’t care enough about the house to fight for it, especially when I knew that there was no reason I was ever going to find myself back in New York or on the Upper East Side again.

Signing over rights to the baby gave me a bit of a twinge. I had no idea if the baby was mine or Myrick’s, though the two of them deserved to have the peace of mind to know they were absolutely free of me and to live their lives without the shadow of me showing back up hanging over their heads. I could give them that much since I’d screwed up so much before now.

Emily… I’d have helped Emily one way or the other. I’d already come up with a few plans in my head, but one struck me as something I could offer to Amelia at the moment-

So, why don’t I sell the house? I’ll have my lawyer take care of everything so that I don’t have to. He has my power of attorney as far as business deals go, so he can sign all the paperwork without me having to set foot outside of the city. I’ll take the profits from that and slide them into an account for Em. My name won’t be anywhere on it. She can have the cash to do with as she pleases. She can use it to find a place to live, do whatever she wants. No questions asked, no strings attached.

As for the rest of your request, I don’t think I have it in me to set foot in New York again. The city is yours, and theirs. I wouldn’t do that to them, and I don’t plan on showing up with some mystery claim on a baby I walked out on months ago. I’m an asshole, but not that big of an asshole. I’ll sign the papers.

-I looked down at my hands threading the fingers together and not bothering with the food that had been brought out by now.-

I’m not trying to be nonchalant here. I just don’t think there’s anything good that any of them are going to get from me outside of money. Money is something I can do. Maybe it’s all I can do, but it’s better than nothing. And at the moment, it’s really all I’ve got to offer.

Amelia: ^I rolled my eyes as he said he only had money to give. And, in a way, it was true. But what he was really giving them was a fresh start. I held the paperwork in my hands that would let him know that he was truly off the hook for everything regarding Watson. But I wasn’t entirely sure I was ready to give it to him. I wanted to scare him a little bit more. I wanted him to freak the hell out. And I wanted him to know just how much I knew about what he was doing in Paris.

I didn’t take my eyes off of him as I let the words fall from my lips. He was going to know how much digging I did when looking for him. And the fact that I had this information was going to be saying a lot about the amount of time I put into finding him.^ And how is Miss Katarina Markova going to react when you tell her that you basically gave about 3.5 million dollars to your ex-boyfriend’s little sister? Because let’s be real, Del. That house you currently own is worth about 3.5 million if you sell to the first buyer to come along.

^It was funny to watch him go from cool and collected to white as a sheet. My lips curved into a grin as my realization came to life. He didn’t think I knew about the girl that he was with. Sydney hadn’t gone in half assed when I asked her to do a job for me. And having Katarina’s name in my back pocket was something I was going to use if nothing worked out the way I wanted it to. I honestly didn’t care if he moved on. It was something he needed to do. Especially if Myrick and Lin were moving on with their life.^ Yes, I know all about the vodka heiress you’ve been hooking up with lately.

Del: -I could only sit there blinking and listen as Amelia spilled my entire life out in front of me. To say I was surprised would have been an understatement. It wasn’t exactly common knowledge that Kat and I were spending time together. I wasn’t even sure you could call it a relationship.

I knew that Amelia must have thought I’d lost my mind sitting there in silence for as long as I did. I knew exactly how much that house was worth, and if I’d been my usual smart ass self I’d have told her it was easily worth 4 million in the current market. I was pretty sure she’d have bitten my head off for that one. -

Honestly, she’d probably be proud of me for taking some kind of responsibility for something. Besides, the two of us don’t need the money, which you probably already know.

- I wasn’t going to be surprised by anything else that Amelia said to me for the rest of the time she was here. Maybe I’d underestimated her. I was good at that. I’d underestimated Myrick and probably Cay, and definitely myself.-

Honestly, I’m going to be lucky if she lets me in the front door. She could do better.

-I laughed a little bitterly before resting my face in my hands. Today was more than a little bit overwhelming.-

Amelia: There’s your problem, Del. Everyone can always do better. And maybe you’re right. Myrick and Lin have definitely done better now that you’re gone. The fact that they didn’t lose Watson is a testament to that. But you know the truth. Well, most of the truth.

^I knew that time was getting the best of us while we sat here. I was dragging this out. It was really the last thing I needed to be doing. I needed to be doing everything to get my ass back on a plane to New York, and torturing Del Everly was not helping that particular mission.

I threw the file that had the DNA results down on the table. I was going to sit there until he decided he was ready to open it. If he decided he was ready to open it. I was done with the games. This was something that needed to happen now.^

Your fate is in front of you, Del. I know the answer. And I am the only person that knows the answer. Myrick and Lin have no idea I ran the test. The only person that knows is Emily. And since I told her it was for a case, she’s under obligation to keep her mouth shut. So tell me the truth, Mr. Everly. Are you ready to find out if you have a son or not?

Del: -I glanced at the papers in front of me and then back at her. The truth of it was that I wasn’t certain if I wanted to know. No matter what the results of the test were, I knew that Myrick was going to be a better father than I ever was. It wasn’t just because he was a daddy though he had that nurturing streak working in his favor. But he was the one who had stuck around. He was the one who put in the work, and he was the one who hadn’t been afraid of it all. In the long run, he was infinitely more mature than I was. Maybe that would change over time, but for now, it was enough to know that he was there when I wasn’t.

I drummed my fingers on the table for a second and reached out to grab the envelope and rip it open. I didn’t know what I was looking for except the names on the paperwork. Mine wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but Myrick’s was. I figured she’d run the DNA test on something of his since nothing of mine was going to be easy to get. It was good enough. There were only two possible answers to the question being asked. Eliminating one of us meant the other was the father. It was good enough to just test Myrick.

My eyes scanned down the page until I saw what I was looking for, and I felt guilty about the relief that ran through me. It wasn’t just for me. It was for them as well. It meant they could carry on their lives without me possibly intervening in it again. He was the father. It didn’t mean I wasn’t going to do something. But I was going to be doing it because I wanted to instead of obligation and guilt. I fully intended to make sure that Emily was alright and would always be alright no matter what her parents decided to do. I was also going to skip enough money into a college fund to make sure the kid could go wherever he wanted when the time came. I wasn’t going to tell Amelia about it right now, but I’d had the plan in my head for awhile now. I just knew I could trust her to make sure that it was carried out and that none of them would know it was me when the time came.-

So Watson is his. Of course he is. It’s the best possible thing for the two of them.

-I bit down on my bottom lip. Strangely enough, there was only one place I wanted to be right now, and it was curled up with my head in Kat’s lap. I wasn’t sure what her response to me showing up at her front door was going to be, but I knew where I was headed as soon as all of this with Amelia was over-

Amelia: Watson looks like Myrick. There was no denying that as soon as he opened his eyes. The hazel shade is shared between them. ^I could only shake my head as I saw the look of relief on Del’s face when he read the papers. He wasn’t the father, so there was nothing to sign over. And I wasn’t sure if that was relief because he didn’t have to be responsible or if he could finally let Lin and Myrick go. He needed to.

I wasn’t going to pretend to understand what was going on with him. The only thing I knew was that he liked to run. I had been the same way before I met Cassi. Even when shit got hard, I didn’t run from her. She made me stay. And I was hoping that Del had finally found that in Katarina. I wasn’t ever going to begrudge him the opportunity to be happy.

But I was going to put that happiness on my terms.^ You’re free from New York, Del. Watson isn’t yours. Not unless you’re somehow related to Emily as well. Which I doubt. But my terms stand. You sell the house in New York. Get rid of it, and don’t even think about coming back. It took a lot of time for the two of them to be happy. And I’m not having you ruin it because you decided to come back on a whim. I don’t care if things with you and Miss Markova don’t work out. Pick a different city. And if she decides she wants to come to New York, you stay behind. I don’t care how big of a city it is, you know I’ll know the moment you step foot there. I’ll make it my job to come find you and hurt you.

^I stood from the table. I wasn’t going to waste any more of my time. I wasn’t even going to waste any more of his time. I knew it was time to get going. I had to work on the excuse I had given to Cassi. I needed to find the perfect wedding present for her. My mind started to wander as I thought about the perfect gift, and I knew I wasn’t going to find it in Paris.^ I have a flight to Italy to arrange. Go find Miss Markova, Del. Tell her what happened here. Tell her all of it. And maybe she’ll let you hang around with her just a little bit longer.

Del: -I watched her stand up, signalling for the waitress as soon as I’d given her a nod. I wasn’t hungry, and I hated myself more than anything at the moment. What I really wanted was to head over to Kat’s place and beg her not to be done with me because I was about the most useless thing I’d ever managed to run across in all my travels. Amelia had a point. I hadn’t followed through with anything in my life. I was pretty sure I was going to have to tone that down before I showed up on her front doorstep, but I knew I was going to take Amelia’s advice as soon as I got there.-

L’addition, s’il vous plait.

-I turned to her with another nod. Standing as the waitress handed me the bill and giving her a bill that covered the purchase and more than enough for a tip before I slid my hands into my pockets.-

I know I don’t get a say. I know I don’t have any right to anything, but all I can say is thank you for looking out for them, because fuck knows I wasn’t enough to do that. You don’t have to worry about me being in New York, trust me. I wouldn’t subject them to any more of myself than I needed to. You’ll be hearing from me. Well, maybe not me, but you’ll know it’s me even if no one else does.

-I didn’t wait for her reply before I walked out of the cafe and joined the bustle of people walking down the streets in the center of Paris. I knew where I was going, and it was a bit of a walk. Though, I wanted to clear my head before I just appeared unannounced at Kat’s front door. I had a lot to think about, more than I’d realized when I shown up here. I was tired of running away. I didn’t want to be that guy anymore, but the only person who could change that was me.

I had no idea how I was going to explain myself to Kat, or if she was just going to kick me out the minute she heard what all of this was about. I wouldn’t blame her. I’d have been wary of me too. I deserved that and probably worse. All I could do was try, though, and hope that this time, I didn’t screw everything entirely into the ground.-

#FallenNowIsBabylonTheGreat

[lustbythehour]

Fallen Now is Babylon the Great (SL with @GlamSweatSugar

Amelia: ^He didn’t make anything easy. That was for damn sure. He had done a good fucking job of covering his tracks to fall off the face of the Earth. But he was still using the name Del Everly. Which meant that he could be found. And I had Sydney working on it from the moment Cay and Myrick had moved into their place in Hell’s Kitchen. I wasn’t going to tell them what I was up to, but they needed every part of their past to be closed. And my fear was that if Del didn’t have the answer, he was going to come looking. And I wasn’t going to allow that.

Lin and Myrick were positive that Watson was Myrick’s kid. All because of the eyes. But I wasn’t going to let that be the only form of confirmation. It had been easy. The first day back at the shop, Lin gave me Watson. Emily knew I had a case for her. And as long as I told her it was a case, she knew enough not to open her mouth. I didn’t want Lin and Myrick knowing what was going on. They would have lost their fucking minds, and I wasn’t going to have that.

But getting out of the country without my girl was an issue. She knew I was going to Paris. She just didn’t know why she couldn’t come. I wanted her to come. I wanted nothing more than to be wrapped up in a hotel room with her. But the truth was that she would have told Myrick and Lin about the whole thing. And that wasn’t something I could afford. So I told her I was looking for the perfect wedding gift to give her. Her lip pushed out into a pout, but she finally let me go with the promise to come back as soon as possible. I was going to have to spend a few days here to make the story believable, but I needed to get this out of the way.

As soon as I stepped out of the airport in Paris, I didn’t bother going to the hotel. No, there was far more important things I needed to handle. Especially if I wanted to terrify the man I was here to see. I was past the point of giving a shit about what he wanted and needed. He had the proper amount of time to crawl in a hole and hide. Now, he was going to have to deal with me.

I sat down at the cafe under Del’s apartment. I could have gone up, and I knew he’d freak the hell out if I showed up there unannounced. He was already going to freak out because I had found him. But it was a warning I had given him when he first started all of this with Lin. If he hurt her, he wouldn’t be able to hide. I would find him.

Looking down at my watch, I knew I had a few minutes to just take a breath as I waited. One of the waitresses walked over and asked if I needed anything. After quickly ordering a croque-monsieur and an espresso, I could do nothing but continue to wait. My eyes flicked between the door and the other patrons in the cafe until I heard the door get pulled open. My words were low as he walked passed my table without a second glance.^ You’re going to sit with me. You’re going to order your lunch. And you’re going to pay for both meals while I tell you what you left behind in New York. Do you understand, Mr. Everly?

Del: -I was just walking into the cafe downstairs for my usual lunch. This was the place I ate at every day if I wasn’t spending time with Kat. I didn’t even bother looking around at the cafe around me as I walked over to an empty table, at least not until I heard a familiar voice that had me freezing in my tracks. The last thing I could remember that voice telling me was that if I hurt her friend, she was going to find me, and I’ll be damned if she hadn’t.

I hadn’t made it easy. I wasn’t using a fake name, but I was living off the grid as much as possible. The apartment here was in my attorney’s name, and he took care of paying all the bills for me, so it was something I didn’t have to think about. But I supposed, if she’d really wanted to find me, I hadn’t made it impossible. What scared me most was that she’d wanted to find me that much.

I wasn’t good at math, but I was good enough at it to be able to count off the number of months that had passed since I’d left New York. I knew it was time for Cay’s baby to have already been born or to be born shortly. I could only assume that was why she was here. I settled into the chair opposite her, signaling the waitress.-

Je veux du poulet grillé et une bière, et je paierai aussi pour le repas de la dame.

-Turning to face Amelia, I leaned back in the chair. I could have played stupid, and pretended that I didn’t know why she was here, but I knew her well enough to know that she would have called me out on it the second I tried it. I knew I was in for a long meal, but I probably deserved every second of it.-

Hello, Amelia. I can’t pretend that I don’t know that you’re here about Cay and Myrick and probably the baby, so why don’t we go ahead and drop pretenses. Just let me know whatever it is you came here to tell me.

Amelia: ^I only looked at him with a raised brow. If he thought he was getting away that easily, he had another thing coming. And I wasn’t ready to give him the information about Lin and Myrick. But I was going to tell him the baby’s name. He needed to know who they held in the highest esteem. And I wanted him to know that they knew who would protect them if anything came about it.

Clearing my throat, I looked at the man in front of me as I let my eyes narrow.^ First of all, the baby has a name. And his name is Watson Holmes Baines. But, I’m not ready to talk about Watson. I should probably start with the fact that Myrick isn’t alone in the city anymore. He is probably in the process of getting disowned by his family because he took his little sister in. Until she was able to get a job and move into her own apartment.

^I watched for any sign of recognition from Del, but he was playing it cool. And it was something that was only starting to set my temper on edge. I was going to force him to sit here and listen to every word I had to say if it meant tying him to the chair.^ Emily got disowned, Del. And she ended up with Cay and Myrick. Does that mean nothing to you? Or am I going to have to tell you how Daddy Preppy Boy has loosened his collar and is now fucking two girls at once?

^That was the thing that got a reaction out of him. The look of disbelief on his face. Like he didn’t understand why Myrick was still alive if he was cheating on Lin. I would have never allowed that to happen. Lin was too important to Cassi for that to happen.^ I had them host a BDSM night at the club just after you left. They met a couple there. Cay gets to have time with a Sir while Myrick gives the sub some very needed Daddy time. It works for the four of them because there is constant conversation. It’s all about needs and wants being properly communicated. Like I told you to do with them from the word go. But you got scared and ran. And now they’ve perfected their relationship by adding Wes and Lindsay to it. Does that sting a little, Del? Knowing that Myrick has finally loosened up a little?

Del: -Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised at anything that happened when I wasn’t there. I’d walked away from all of it. Whatever they did at this point was just another sign they were better off without me. If Cay was getting Myrick to loosen up now that I was hiding out in Paris, then good on her. It was more than I’d ever been able to accomplish, and I should have been glad for them. I was missing out on everything back there, but once again, I was pretty certain that it was all going off better without me, and whatever Amelia had to say was just further evidence of that fact.

When she told me the baby’s name was Watson Holmes, I knew exactly who he’d been named after. I’d have known Amelia and Cassidy’s last names anywhere. They were all turning into a family for each other. I felt a pang of guilt roll through me. I could have been a part of that, but more likely, I would have been the ultimate reason that none of this worked out. I knew well enough to know that much about myself. I was poison, and Amelia was just here to remind me of that.-

I hope he’s happy. I hope they’re both happy.

-I took a long swig from the bottle that the waitress put down in front of me. It was cold, but it stung going down, though I was pretty sure that was probably just me holding back the emotions that never wanted to let out anyway, especially not now sitting across from her. My words were short, but I wasn’t sure what else to say to her.

She was right. I’d screwed this up. I knew that much, and I’d been kicking my own ass for it for the last few months. But it looked like I wasn’t getting off that easily since she was here to kick my ass too.-

Lia: I thought you said Myrick was like family at one point in your life. That means you have to have known that he had a little sister. Yet nothing? Do you even give a fuck about her, Del? ^I shook my head in disgust as I brought the small cup to my lips. I needed to calm down a little bit. But he was proving every instinct I had about him right.

I knew that him running was the best thing for Lin and Myrick. And it was all just confirmed with everything he had just said. But of course, he wouldn’t answer a question about Emily. Del wanted the information about Watson so he could get on with his life. Maybe it was something I was supposed to let happen.^ You really aren’t surprising me. You are exactly what I thought you were going to be. And it was everything I warned you about. Maybe it just doesn’t matter if the kid is yours or not. Maybe I should get the hell out of here before everyone in New York decides to shoot my ass for coming out here. What was I thinking? Why would a man who is nothing but a pompous, self centered, asshole even care if he had a child?

Del: -I could feel my teeth grinding on each other as she went on. Half of me wanted to go of on her and the other half of me knew I deserved every bit of it, because I had done every last one of the things she told me I’d done. There wasn’t a single thing I could say to redeem myself. I could start with putting my focus on what she’d told me about Emily.

Of course I’d known her. I’d lived with her older brother on and off for the better part of seven years. I’d met her and her parents, and it might have been a surprise to everyone else around there that she had something about her that had caused her parents to disown her, but not me. I knew people like Mr. and Mrs. Banes my entire life. Daughters were a commodity, and if they didn’t behave like one, then they were going to get cut off or married off as quickly as possible. Emily had never struck me as someone who was going to let herself get married off, and she most certainly wasn’t a commodity of Mr. Baines, so the only other option was being disowned. She was good at pretending, but so was I. It was easy to see when you knew what you were looking for.-

There’s a lot of shit I could say right now, Amelia. If you want me to come out and defend myself, then it’s not going to happen. But, yeah, I’m worried about Em. I know Ricky is going to take care of her, and I know she’s a smart enough girl to figure things out for herself, but fuck yeah, I’m going to worry about her. If I tried to help, they’d all run me out of their lives on a rail. But yeah I give a shit. I give a shit about the kid too, whether he’s mine or not. Doesn’t fucking matter to me, and not in that stupid ass, bullshit, selfish way you’re probably thinking I mean. I care. I just don’t know how to be a part of any of this without fucking it up. Every single last fucking one of them is better off without me.

-My chest was aching with all the shit I didn’t even know how to say, not that she was going to care what I had to say anyway. She was here to torture me.-

Lia: ^I felt my hands curl into fists as I thought about what he was saying. And the moment he called Myrick Ricky, I felt the fury in my blood. I knew it was habit. They had been friends for almost ten years before Del decided to up and leave. But this was different. He needed to know that this was not okay.^ You lost the right to call him Ricky the moment you walked out of their life. He is Myrick. That’s it. You call him Myrick or you say nothing. Do you understand?

^I scared him a little more than I was planning on. But I wasn’t going to let him get away with calling Myrick Ricky. There was no way in hell that was going to happen on my watch. And not when we were talking about everything that had happened since Lin and Myrick had started to move on with their life.^ Emily is living above the shop for the time being. In what used to be Cay’s apartment. Cay and Myrick moved into a condo in Hell’s Kitchen. She almost lost Watson because she was having terrible nightmares while they were living in your place. It was either she didn’t sleep or she had nightmares. A few weeks after you left, Myrick bought her a place. He put it in her name so she had complete control. And he proposed to her the day they moved in.

^I could only shake my head as I tried to think about what to say next. I knew Myrick and Cay weren’t going to accept his help. And I knew Emily didn’t have the full story about everything, either.^ I’m not going to tell you that you can’t help out Emily. They haven’t told her how much you’ve hurt her. But you know as well as I do that Emily isn’t going to accept help easily.

You have choices you can make, Del. But everything is the way it is for a reason. You did this. You walked away from everyone. And you left a mess that has been complicated, at best, to clean up. Now it’s time for you to take some fucking responsibility for what you’ve done.

Del: -Responsibility wasn’t a word I was used to hearing. My inheritance, combined with the habit of never committing to anything in my entire life had made that a more or less foreign concept to me. I was willing to give it a shot though. They wouldn’t want me involved in their lives, and especially not in the baby’s life, not after everything I’d put all of them through. That much was perfectly understandable.

But there were a few things I could do, and I could help Emily out in the process. I knew the apartment she was staying in, and if she was there it meant she was in good hands with Amelia and Cassidy. Amelia was fierce, as she was demonstrating at the moment, but it was Cassidy that I knew was going to wind up taking care of her in the long run. She was a marshmallow, but when she adopted someone, it was a forever kind of thing.

She’d never really taken a liking to me. Not that I could blame her. I wasn’t the kind of person that people like Cassidy loved. I didn’t even love myself ninety-nine percent of the time, so it was hard to make myself very lovable to anyone else.-

So tell me what is is you think I can do, because I know nothing I do is going to make it up to them. I’m stupid, but I’m not that stupid.

Amelia: You give up New York. Don’t come back. Don’t breathe in the direction of New York. And if that means selling the townhouse you own, you do it. Agree to sign over any and all rights you may have to Watson. You want all of this to be over? Prove it to me.

^I could only relax back against the chair as our food was brought out. I wasn’t really in the mood to eat, but I wanted Del to know I wasn’t leaving until all of this was settled. I had made him a promise if he hurt Cay. And I was keeping that promise.^ You’re a smart man, Del. I’m sure you can find a way to help Emily without anyone knowing. You have a lot to make up for. You destroyed two people that mean everything to my fiancée. One way or another, you’re going to make it up to everyone.

Del: -Giving up New York wasn’t going to be a big sacrifice. It wasn’t a place I ever planned on going back to. There were too many regrets there. I couldn’t even be on the same continent as that city right now. There was a reason I’d gone as far as Paris to get away from everything back there. It was as far away as I could manage and still get along fine. I’d learned French in school well enough to be able to navigate day to day life here, and it was the last place I’d expected anyone to come looking for me.

Selling the townhouse wasn’t going to be hard to pull off either. I’d inherited it from my grandfather years ago, and all I had to do was make a few phone calls to make sure that it was on the market and then sold. I didn’t care enough about the house to fight for it, especially when I knew that there was no reason I was ever going to find myself back in New York or on the Upper East Side again.

Signing over rights to the baby gave me a bit of a twinge. I had no idea if the baby was mine or Myrick’s, though the two of them deserved to have the peace of mind to know they were absolutely free of me and to live their lives without the shadow of me showing back up hanging over their heads. I could give them that much since I’d screwed up so much before now.

Emily… I’d have helped Emily one way or the other. I’d already come up with a few plans in my head, but one struck me as something I could offer to Amelia at the moment-

So, why don’t I sell the house? I’ll have my lawyer take care of everything so that I don’t have to. He has my power of attorney as far as business deals go, so he can sign all the paperwork without me having to set foot outside of the city. I’ll take the profits from that and slide them into an account for Em. My name won’t be anywhere on it. She can have the cash to do with as she pleases. She can use it to find a place to live, do whatever she wants. No questions asked, no strings attached.

As for the rest of your request, I don’t think I have it in me to set foot in New York again. The city is yours, and theirs. I wouldn’t do that to them, and I don’t plan on showing up with some mystery claim on a baby I walked out on months ago. I’m an asshole, but not that big of an asshole. I’ll sign the papers.

-I looked down at my hands threading the fingers together and not bothering with the food that had been brought out by now.-

I’m not trying to be nonchalant here. I just don’t think there’s anything good that any of them are going to get from me outside of money. Money is something I can do. Maybe it’s all I can do, but it’s better than nothing. And at the moment, it’s really all I’ve got to offer.

Amelia: ^I rolled my eyes as he said he only had money to give. And, in a way, it was true. But what he was really giving them was a fresh start. I held the paperwork in my hands that would let him know that he was truly off the hook for everything regarding Watson. But I wasn’t entirely sure I was ready to give it to him. I wanted to scare him a little bit more. I wanted him to freak the hell out. And I wanted him to know just how much I knew about what he was doing in Paris.

I didn’t take my eyes off of him as I let the words fall from my lips. He was going to know how much digging I did when looking for him. And the fact that I had this information was going to be saying a lot about the amount of time I put into finding him.^ And how is Miss Katarina Markova going to react when you tell her that you basically gave about 3.5 million dollars to your ex-boyfriend’s little sister? Because let’s be real, Del. That house you currently own is worth about 3.5 million if you sell to the first buyer to come along.

^It was funny to watch him go from cool and collected to white as a sheet. My lips curved into a grin as my realization came to life. He didn’t think I knew about the girl that he was with. Sydney hadn’t gone in half assed when I asked her to do a job for me. And having Katarina’s name in my back pocket was something I was going to use if nothing worked out the way I wanted it to. I honestly didn’t care if he moved on. It was something he needed to do. Especially if Myrick and Lin were moving on with their life.^ Yes, I know all about the vodka heiress you’ve been hooking up with lately.

Del: -I could only sit there blinking and listen as Amelia spilled my entire life out in front of me. To say I was surprised would have been an understatement. It wasn’t exactly common knowledge that Kat and I were spending time together. I wasn’t even sure you could call it a relationship.

I knew that Amelia must have thought I’d lost my mind sitting there in silence for as long as I did. I knew exactly how much that house was worth, and if I’d been my usual smart ass self I’d have told her it was easily worth 4 million in the current market. I was pretty sure she’d have bitten my head off for that one. -

Honestly, she’d probably be proud of me for taking some kind of responsibility for something. Besides, the two of us don’t need the money, which you probably already know.

- I wasn’t going to be surprised by anything else that Amelia said to me for the rest of the time she was here. Maybe I’d underestimated her. I was good at that. I’d underestimated Myrick and probably Cay, and definitely myself.-

Honestly, I’m going to be lucky if she lets me in the front door. She could do better.

-I laughed a little bitterly before resting my face in my hands. Today was more than a little bit overwhelming.-

Amelia: There’s your problem, Del. Everyone can always do better. And maybe you’re right. Myrick and Lin have definitely done better now that you’re gone. The fact that they didn’t lose Watson is a testament to that. But you know the truth. Well, most of the truth.

^I knew that time was getting the best of us while we sat here. I was dragging this out. It was really the last thing I needed to be doing. I needed to be doing everything to get my ass back on a plane to New York, and torturing Del Everly was not helping that particular mission.

I threw the file that had the DNA results down on the table. I was going to sit there until he decided he was ready to open it. If he decided he was ready to open it. I was done with the games. This was something that needed to happen now.^

Your fate is in front of you, Del. I know the answer. And I am the only person that knows the answer. Myrick and Lin have no idea I ran the test. The only person that knows is Emily. And since I told her it was for a case, she’s under obligation to keep her mouth shut. So tell me the truth, Mr. Everly. Are you ready to find out if you have a son or not?

Del: -I glanced at the papers in front of me and then back at her. The truth of it was that I wasn’t certain if I wanted to know. No matter what the results of the test were, I knew that Myrick was going to be a better father than I ever was. It wasn’t just because he was a daddy though he had that nurturing streak working in his favor. But he was the one who had stuck around. He was the one who put in the work, and he was the one who hadn’t been afraid of it all. In the long run, he was infinitely more mature than I was. Maybe that would change over time, but for now, it was enough to know that he was there when I wasn’t.

I drummed my fingers on the table for a second and reached out to grab the envelope and rip it open. I didn’t know what I was looking for except the names on the paperwork. Mine wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but Myrick’s was. I figured she’d run the DNA test on something of his since nothing of mine was going to be easy to get. It was good enough. There were only two possible answers to the question being asked. Eliminating one of us meant the other was the father. It was good enough to just test Myrick.

My eyes scanned down the page until I saw what I was looking for, and I felt guilty about the relief that ran through me. It wasn’t just for me. It was for them as well. It meant they could carry on their lives without me possibly intervening in it again. He was the father. It didn’t mean I wasn’t going to do something. But I was going to be doing it because I wanted to instead of obligation and guilt. I fully intended to make sure that Emily was alright and would always be alright no matter what her parents decided to do. I was also going to skip enough money into a college fund to make sure the kid could go wherever he wanted when the time came. I wasn’t going to tell Amelia about it right now, but I’d had the plan in my head for awhile now. I just knew I could trust her to make sure that it was carried out and that none of them would know it was me when the time came.-

So Watson is his. Of course he is. It’s the best possible thing for the two of them.

-I bit down on my bottom lip. Strangely enough, there was only one place I wanted to be right now, and it was curled up with my head in Kat’s lap. I wasn’t sure what her response to me showing up at her front door was going to be, but I knew where I was headed as soon as all of this with Amelia was over-

Amelia: Watson looks like Myrick. There was no denying that as soon as he opened his eyes. The hazel shade is shared between them. ^I could only shake my head as I saw the look of relief on Del’s face when he read the papers. He wasn’t the father, so there was nothing to sign over. And I wasn’t sure if that was relief because he didn’t have to be responsible or if he could finally let Lin and Myrick go. He needed to.

I wasn’t going to pretend to understand what was going on with him. The only thing I knew was that he liked to run. I had been the same way before I met Cassi. Even when shit got hard, I didn’t run from her. She made me stay. And I was hoping that Del had finally found that in Katarina. I wasn’t ever going to begrudge him the opportunity to be happy.

But I was going to put that happiness on my terms.^ You’re free from New York, Del. Watson isn’t yours. Not unless you’re somehow related to Emily as well. Which I doubt. But my terms stand. You sell the house in New York. Get rid of it, and don’t even think about coming back. It took a lot of time for the two of them to be happy. And I’m not having you ruin it because you decided to come back on a whim. I don’t care if things with you and Miss Markova don’t work out. Pick a different city. And if she decides she wants to come to New York, you stay behind. I don’t care how big of a city it is, you know I’ll know the moment you step foot there. I’ll make it my job to come find you and hurt you.

^I stood from the table. I wasn’t going to waste any more of my time. I wasn’t even going to waste any more of his time. I knew it was time to get going. I had to work on the excuse I had given to Cassi. I needed to find the perfect wedding present for her. My mind started to wander as I thought about the perfect gift, and I knew I wasn’t going to find it in Paris.^ I have a flight to Italy to arrange. Go find Miss Markova, Del. Tell her what happened here. Tell her all of it. And maybe she’ll let you hang around with her just a little bit longer.

Del: -I watched her stand up, signalling for the waitress as soon as I’d given her a nod. I wasn’t hungry, and I hated myself more than anything at the moment. What I really wanted was to head over to Kat’s place and beg her not to be done with me because I was about the most useless thing I’d ever managed to run across in all my travels. Amelia had a point. I hadn’t followed through with anything in my life. I was pretty sure I was going to have to tone that down before I showed up on her front doorstep, but I knew I was going to take Amelia’s advice as soon as I got there.-

L’addition, s’il vous plait.

-I turned to her with another nod. Standing as the waitress handed me the bill and giving her a bill that covered the purchase and more than enough for a tip before I slid my hands into my pockets.-

I know I don’t get a say. I know I don’t have any right to anything, but all I can say is thank you for looking out for them, because fuck knows I wasn’t enough to do that. You don’t have to worry about me being in New York, trust me. I wouldn’t subject them to any more of myself than I needed to. You’ll be hearing from me. Well, maybe not me, but you’ll know it’s me even if no one else does.

-I didn’t wait for her reply before I walked out of the cafe and joined the bustle of people walking down the streets in the center of Paris. I knew where I was going, and it was a bit of a walk. Though, I wanted to clear my head before I just appeared unannounced at Kat’s front door. I had a lot to think about, more than I’d realized when I shown up here. I was tired of running away. I didn’t want to be that guy anymore, but the only person who could change that was me.

I had no idea how I was going to explain myself to Kat, or if she was just going to kick me out the minute she heard what all of this was about. I wouldn’t blame her. I’d have been wary of me too. I deserved that and probably worse. All I could do was try, though, and hope that this time, I didn’t screw everything entirely into the ground.-

#FallenNowIsBabylonTheGreat

[firedupandtired]

I’ll Be Flying Free (SL with @GlamSweat Sugar)

Amelia: ^I had done my research before I had made this decision. I didn’t just run into a decision. Especially not one like this. I didn’t just jump when I decided to hire someone to work with me. But this was different. And it wasn’t for anyone. This wasn’t a favor for Myrick or Lin. They had no fucking clue what I was working on. But I knew the truth. That girl was not going to survive living up in the Cape. And the sooner she could get out of there, the better.

When Myrick had told Cassi about what had happened at that fucking family dinner, I could feel myself starting to rage. No one deserved that, but it was exactly what both Cassi and I had gone through with our family. Well, the parts that we were related to by blood. These days, Cassi was my family. So was Lin and Myrick, even if I wasn’t sure I wanted to admit that. But Cassi loved the two of them. And I was happy that Lin had found Myrick. He made her happy. And she fucking deserved that shit.

There wasn’t much I could control. But I knew the truth. My lawyer was getting ready to retire. And I knew I needed someone to come in when he was gone. I didn’t hold a grudge about that. But I had been particular about who handled my business. And this wasn’t just about all of my personal family bullshit. This was about my businesses. Including the one I was getting ready to sign over to Lin. She had proven that she could handle running the shop. By bringing in the singer, she had shown that she knew she needed to take a step back to take care of Watson.

I rolled my eyes as the thought of that little boy. I wasn’t sure what had possessed her and Myrick to name their kid after me and my girl, but I wasn’t going to tell them no. It was what they wanted. And it wasn’t anything like what the Baines’ wanted. Which brought me to the next appointment I had.

I had been extremely careful in setting this interview up. I had Sydney handle everything. I needed her to handle it all. Because I didn’t want to hear the preferential treatment bullshit that people would say. I wanted Emily Baines to be the girl to take care of my business. It wasn’t because she was Myrick’s baby sister. It was because she was the top of her class at Harvard Law. It was because every one of her professors thought she was a star. It was because she had pissed off the firm she had interned at by declining their offer to join them if she passed the bar.

She had balls. That was evident in the way she handled herself at that disaster of a dinner. She was exactly what I thought she could be. So I had Sydney set up the interview. She told her the bare minimum about who it was with. For all I knew, Emily thought that the interview was going to be with Sydney. It didn’t matter to me. As long as the girl knew her shit.^

Emily: *I had no idea how I’d gotten called in for an interview for a job I hadn’t even applied for. I supposed it had come from being top of my graduating class. I’d been offered a job at the place I’d been interning during my classes at Harvard, but I couldn’t take the job. It had been everything I hadn’t wanted out of a law career, and I knew the job offer was only on the table because my last name was Baines. I wasn’t going to use my father’s name to earn myself any favors, especially not after the whole debacle at his birthday.

It wasn’t common knowledge that the Baines had disowned their youngest child. Mother wouldn’t have wanted that getting out to the world at large. It wouldn’t have looked good on their reputation, and it would have meant that they’d have to explain their reasoning. While there were plenty of families who would have agreed with their decision to cut out their lesbian daughter, those same families would have turned up their noses at the very thought that one of their daughters might turn out to be anything but straight baby factories who married a future senator and settled down with a collie and a white picket fence in a house on the Cape that was mortgaged within an inch of its life.

Instead, I was here, crashing in Cay’s room back at her and Teddy’s condo in Hell’s Kitchen, and catching a cab into the city to interview for a place I didn’t even know the name of. I had the name Sydney and an address. That was it. I wasn’t sure why things were so secretive, but I’d told Cay and Myrick I’d tell them about everything once all was said and done. To be honest, I was jumping at the chance to move here. It was the exact opposite of what Mother would have wanted for me, but that wasn’t the reason. Living in New York came with a family, not just my brother and his fiance, but there was also baby Watson along with Amelia, Cass, Lindsay and Wes. I knew my brother’s friend group would be a lot more welcoming than anything I’d had back in Connecticut.  

The drive there was uneventful, but it gave me a chance to get my head on straight since I didn’t have to focus on anything at all. I didn’t recognize the neighborhood the driver dropped me off in, but the street number I was looking for was easy enough to find. I’d been given instructions to use the door on the street and head up to the top of the stairs to find the office. I was so nervous that I didn’t even pay attention to the rest of the signs on the street. I just found the door I’d been told about and barrelled up the stairs-

Amelia: ^I’d given Emily instructions to just come up to the office. There were a small amount of people here getting the club ready for open, but Sydney knew I was expecting Emily. Everyone had been instructed to let her in and not ask questions. It was going to give away everything I had set up.

If Emily was anything like her brother, she was going to buck at the idea of being hired because she was a Baines. And that was part of the reason I had set this interview up for her. Cay hadn’t held back when she was telling Cassi about what had happened in Connecticut. It had been a shit show. And I knew that Emily was going to want to do everything in her power to get out of dodge.

I heard the knock on my office door before I looked at my watch. Emily was a little early. That was fine. I wanted her to be early. I needed to know that this was something she was serious about. If she wasn’t, I’d turn her away. But I had a feeling she was going to be very much like her brother. It was something I was looking forward to. Along with the look on everyone’s face when they were informed that Emily’s interview was with me. Not even Cassidy knew that piece of information.

My voice was stern as I called out to the woman standing on the other side of the door. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but I knew Emily wasn’t going to take this so easily when she realized I was the one that wanted her here.^ Come in if your name is Emily Baines. If it’s not, you’re risking your job by being up here.

Emily: *I thought I’d recognized the voice coming from the office, but it wasn’t until I let myself in that I was certain. Amelia Watson, the woman my nephew was named after, was sitting on the other side of the desk. I would have second guessed my skill at writing down addresses if I hadn’t known she was expecting me from the fact that she’d called out my name without ever seeing who it was. The person I’d spoken to on the phone was named Sydney, and from the way the conversation had been going, I’d half expected the interview to be with her. The fact that it was Amelia shocked the living hell out of me. I knew I froze in place as soon as I saw her, but I couldn’t really make myself move before I wrapped my head around what was happening.*

Well, hi. *I took a breath and tried to stop myself from laughing. If my interview was really with Amelia, I didn’t want to screw things up by just laughing in her face, even if it was my first response to feeling a little awkward. I choked it back down and took a step towards the desk*

I have to say I wasn’t exactly expecting this to be an interview with you of all people.

*Half of me wanted to think she was just doing this because of my brother. Maybe he even put her up to it. But from what I’d seen of Amelia during the time I’d been here, I figured she didn’t do things just because other people wanted her to.*

Amelia: Take a seat, Miss Baines. No one knows you’re in this office except my right hand woman, Sydney Crawford. She’s the one that contacted you for me. ^Pushing Emily’s school records to the side, I tilted my head as I watched her take a seat. I wanted all the information to be out on the table before we took a step further in this interview. We both had to be open about what was going on, and what I was expecting of her before we could truly get serious.^

If I had to guess, if I had reached out to you, you would have declined my offer for an interview. Our adorable little Lin has decided to name her son after me, so it would appear as though we’re family. And you don’t want anything to be handed to you. Especially because your last name is Baines. Your brother is the exact same way. But it would seem the best thing to have happened lately is that he bought Lin a condo. In a very round about way, it made you own up to who you were.

^Emily looked almost terrified as she sat across the desk from me. This wasn’t the girl I had been expecting to walk through my door. But I knew I had taken her off her game. She wasn’t prepared to be interviewing with me. And it was holding her back.^ The truth is that I think the best way to say fuck off to the Baines Family and everything they stand for is to come work for me. A lesbian that owns a sex toy shop that specializes in BDSM gear and a sex club. Your parents will hate it, and in turn maybe decide to disown Preppy Boy Daddy because he brought you down here. Best fucking result if you ask me.

Emily: *I could only laugh when she decided to tell me that she thought this was going to be the best fuck off possible to my family. She was right there, but I also didn’t want to get this job just because Amelia wanted to tell my parents to shove it. As nervous as I was, I wasn’t going to be able to stop myself from speaking up.*

I can’t tell you how much I’d like to tell Mr. and Mrs. Baines back in Hartford to shove it. Never mind how much I’d enjoy working for a successful self-made lesbian woman, but I’d be wrong if I told you I wanted a job just because of my last name, whether it was because someone owed my dad a favor, wanted to get in on his good side, or wanted to tell him to shove it right up his ass. I’d like to be able to say I got it because I’m the best person for the job. So tell me that’s what you want, and I’ll be happy to tell you exactly what I can do for you.

*Maybe I was being a little forward, but I was going to give Amelia the chance to hire me for what I really was and not just to make my brother happy or piss off my dad. That was it, plain and simple, and if she couldn’t handle me being a little sassy, then we probably weren’t going to work well together. I was naturally honest and blunt. That’s why it had hurt so much to have to lie to my parents all that time, and why it felt so freeing to finally tell them the truth about who I was. I needed Amelia to be just as good with who I was if she was going to hire me*

Amelia: Emily Sierra Baines. Top of her class at Harvard Law. She could have her choice of jobs. And, in fact, does have her choice of jobs. The current law firm has offered you a position with them. Of course, they’re itching to have you because of who your father is. And they want to get in good with your brother since we both know your father will be retiring sooner rather than later.

^I could only narrow my eyes at the woman across from me. I wanted to intimidate her a bit. This wasn’t about being her brother’s friend. This wasn’t about being someone she could be close to. This was about a job.^ I only hire the best. Lin is the best person to run Temptations. Sydney is the best at running Trinity. Sydney is also the best at doing what I need done.

^Pushing back from the desk, I just looked at her. I had no desire to bullshit Emily. I was going to tell her the truth regardless of if she wanted to hear it.^ Myrick and Lin are aware that you have an interview in the city. You’ve been staying with them. I am well aware. Neither one of them asked me to call you. Neither one realizes that I’m hiring a new lawyer. I’m not interviewing you for your name. I’m not telling you that I think you should take this opportunity to piss off your parents. I’m telling you that by taking this job, it will piss off your parents.

^Shaking my head, I let my arms fold across my chest. I wasn’t going to chase her, though. I could give her the facts and let her do whatever she wanted with them.^ I’m prepared to pay you top dollar, Emily. Enough to live in this city and flourish without you ever having to touch your trust fund. You’d be on retainer with me. I’d also convince Myrick to use you as his lawyer as well. Any free time you have, you can use as you wish. However, if you take this job, you’ll be required to take one pro bono case a month. This is my neighborhood, Miss Baines. I take care of it in every way that I can. Even if it means lending out my lawyer to families that are in trouble. The decision is yours. Take it or leave it. But know, if you leave it, it won’t come back again. Regardless of how much I like you or your brother. I don’t do favors when my livelihood is on the line.

Emily: *It took me a moment to figure out whether Amelia meant that as a job offer or not, but after she finished the whole thing about me being on retainer and taking on a pro bono case, there was no way I was going to say no. It wasn’t that I thought this was going to be an easy job. I’d have to be available to Amelia whenever she needed me with those conditions. I didn’t know her as well as I would have liked to, but I knew that Cay trusted her. That carried a lot of weight with me. I believed her when she told me she didn’t risk her business on favors. She wouldn’t have gotten far if she made a habit of that. I knew that much. I needed the job, and having one I could be proud of that gave me the opportunity to tell my parents they could shove it meant a lot. Not having to touch my trust fund to live off of meant a lot too.  It meant I would really be able to say that I was making it on my own for the first time in my life, and it took away any power, real or imagined, that my parents or any of the rest of my family could say that they had over me.

On top of that, it gave me the opportunity to live in the city near the few people in the world I could really say that I cared about. The combination of things was something I wasn’t going to be able to turn down. However, I wasn’t going to accept it without a few conditions. I glanced over at the woman across the desk from me, trying to make my expression as serious as I could make it*

I believe you. I just want to make a couple of requests. First one has to do with the pro bono cases. I’ll be happy to take anything you want me to, but I’d also like to take on a few of my own, when I find things I think are worthy of my time. I won’t let them eat into your business, but I believe in taking care of my community as much as you seem to.

The second one is that you and Cassidy help me find a place to live here in the city. My brother and Cay already have to much on their plates between the new baby and everything else that that’s happening. I won’t take up more space in their lives than I have to. I need my own space, and I know they need theirs. A few days in their spare room is fine, but I’m not going to crash on them longer than I have to.

Amelia: ^Her terms were easy enough. I was never going to tell her to not take pro bono cases. It was actually something I was glad she was negotiating on. And the fact that she was willing to have my business as a priority was what I really needed to hear. And her second term wasn’t that hard, either. There was the same option that we had given Lin. And it also made things a little bit easier on her and Myrick. Giving Emily this option made sense. And it prevented Myrick, Lin, or Lindsay from being here when they couldn’t, or shouldn’t, be.

I nodded my head as I watched the woman across from me. I wasn’t sure what I was going to tell Cass, but it was something she was going to agree with me on. And she was going to lose her mind because I was expanding our tiny family into something she had always dreamed of.^

When Lin first came to us, she was homeless. Cassidy and I took her in and gave her a home. Literally. And she lived there until she met your brother. It’s a place that we still have. Well, until I give you your first job. There’s an apartment above the shop. It’s just a small studio, but it’s a place that you can stay until you find a place to live. And if you want help with that, I would talk to Cassi. She’s the one that decorated the apartment above the shop. But you’re going to have to help Lin, Myrick, and Lindsay out. Right now, one of those three stays in the apartment on nights where we get a shipment for either the club or the shop. As long as you’re living there, you have to be the one to receive the shipments. Someone will come in in the morning and handle the rest.

As for your pro bono stipulation, I’m just telling you to take one case a month at minimum. I’m not going to stop you from taking more. Just as long as you don’t risk my businesses. I’ll pay you a retainer monthly. Even if I don’t use you that month, you’ll still get your retainer. But before any of this happens, you have to pass the bar in New York. You have about two months until you can take it, so I suggest you register for it now.

Emily: *Two months. It would take me just about that long to get things settled in the place I was living now and make arrangements to move to the city. Maybe it was presumptuous of me to think I was going to pass the bar on my first try. I knew it was a difficult test, but my brother had passed it, and if that was possible, then I knew it was well within my grasp to do.*

I’ll register as soon as I get back to Cay and Teddy’s place. I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, and two months gives me time to get moved to the city and settled in. I don’t have a problem with any of the terms or the apartment over the shop. It’ll be nice to help them out as I can. Plus, if it gets back to my parents that I’m living in an apartment over a sex shop, I’m pretty sure my mother will have a stroke, so it’s just another plus.

*I shook my head and laughed a little at myself. I was only partly joking, but I felt like an ass for saying it out loud. This job interview might not have been what I was expecting, but it was turning out to be exactly what I hadn’t known I needed. Getting out of Connecticut was going to be a dream come true, and I owed it to Amelia.*

I don’t know how to say thank you for this. I know you say I earned it, but I still owe you a lot if this all pans out.

Amelia: It’ll pan out, Emily. You just need to have some faith. If you want, there’s a hallway between the club and the shop. You can go ahead through and check out your new place to live. I know Lin isn’t there, but Myrick might be. He is probably helping out Lindsay. I know she’s still relatively new to the store. Myrick doesn’t like to leave his girls alone if he has to. And I know Cass was on her way over to Lin and Watson when you were on your way here.

^I had given Cassi the okay to go see Lin. She had been dying to go see the baby, but I had wanted to give the two of them time to settle in before sending Cassi over. I knew Cassi could be a lot to handle. And Cassi going over would give Myrick the chance to get out of the house and come check on the shop. Knowing Lin the way I did, I figured she would send Myrick out to check up on the shop.

There was a lot I was planning for with Emily. And the first thing I was going to have her do was draw up the papers to pass ownership of Little Shoppe of Temptations to Lin. She had more than proven herself to be capable of handling the shop. It had only grown since she had come into it. She opened up the shop to a whole new set of customers because of her being a Little. It was something I kind of loved. She had opened our lives to a whole new set of people because of her desires. It was something I was proud to do.^

Your Teddy doesn’t know you’re here. So tell him before word gets out. The world will find out as soon as I tell Cassi what happened here. I had to keep it from her to ensure that no one knew what was happening. I wanted you to know that this wasn’t as a favor. I did my research, Miss Baines. I knew who you were before I had Sydney reach out to you. I was well aware of your grades and the other opportunities before bringing you in. You deserve this. You just need to take the opportunity and prove me right.

Emily: *I nodded as I stood up from the desk. The truth was that Teddy was the first person I wanted to tell all of this to. He was the last bit of family I cared about, and the only one I’d been certain cared about me for who I really was and not what I could bring to the family. I had to admit I was a little nervous about all of this working out. It seemed almost too good to be true that all of this had fallen into my lap. Maybe Amelia hadn’t offered me this job because of my brother, I knew she was right that I had the grades and the work behind them to have earned the job, but she wouldn’t have even known I existed without Myrick. I owed him at least a bit for introducing the two of us, and maybe a lot to sheer luck for her finding out everything she needed to know about me.

I was quickly learning not to underestimate my new boss. She had a lot of resources within her grasp, at least enough to find me and find out everything she needed to know about me. She could probably have learned a lot more if she’d wanted to find it out, but she seemed to be fair and have her head on straight. All I could do was buckle in for whatever was coming up and be prepared for whatever came my way.*

I’ll walk over and get him to show me the apartment. Feel free to tell Cassidy whenever you like. I don’t mind the people in my life knowing now that things are settled. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll start getting things ready for the bar exam as soon as I possibly can.

*I had to admit that she’d been smart not to tell me who I was interviewing with before I walked in the place. I might not have accepted the opportunity before I walked into the office if I’d even imagined it was as a favor to my brother. Maybe it was stupid; maybe I was insanely stubborn, but I needed to work things out on my own merit as much as I possibly could. I knew Teddy would know what that felt like.

As soon as I was out of the door, I pulled my phone out of my pocket looking for the next administration of the New York Bar Exam and figured out I had exactly four days left to register for the July test. Freezing in place in the hallway to the shop, I went ahead and registered for the exam and waited for the ding of the confirmation email before I dared to move another step. There was no way I was risking any of this now that it had fallen into my lap. The rest of this was up to me*

#IllBeFlyingFree

[glamsweatsugar-blog]

I’ll Be Flying Free (SL with @FiredUpAndTired)

Amelia: ^I had done my research before I had made this decision. I didn’t just run into a decision. Especially not one like this. I didn’t just jump when I decided to hire someone to work with me. But this was different. And it wasn’t for anyone. This wasn’t a favor for Myrick or Lin. They had no fucking clue what I was working on. But I knew the truth. That girl was not going to survive living up in the Cape. And the sooner she could get out of there, the better.

When Myrick had told Cassi about what had happened at that fucking family dinner, I could feel myself starting to rage. No one deserved that, but it was exactly what both Cassi and I had gone through with our family. Well, the parts that we were related to by blood. These days, Cassi was my family. So was Lin and Myrick, even if I wasn’t sure I wanted to admit that. But Cassi loved the two of them. And I was happy that Lin had found Myrick. He made her happy. And she fucking deserved that shit.

There wasn’t much I could control. But I knew the truth. My lawyer was getting ready to retire. And I knew I needed someone to come in when he was gone. I didn’t hold a grudge about that. But I had been particular about who handled my business. And this wasn’t just about all of my personal family bullshit. This was about my businesses. Including the one I was getting ready to sign over to Lin. She had proven that she could handle running the shop. By bringing in the singer, she had shown that she knew she needed to take a step back to take care of Watson.

I rolled my eyes as the thought of that little boy. I wasn’t sure what had possessed her and Myrick to name their kid after me and my girl, but I wasn’t going to tell them no. It was what they wanted. And it wasn’t anything like what the Baines’ wanted. Which brought me to the next appointment I had.

I had been extremely careful in setting this interview up. I had Sydney handle everything. I needed her to handle it all. Because I didn’t want to hear the preferential treatment bullshit that people would say. I wanted Emily Baines to be the girl to take care of my business. It wasn’t because she was Myrick’s baby sister. It was because she was the top of her class at Harvard Law. It was because every one of her professors thought she was a star. It was because she had pissed off the firm she had interned at by declining their offer to join them if she passed the bar.

She had balls. That was evident in the way she handled herself at that disaster of a dinner. She was exactly what I thought she could be. So I had Sydney set up the interview. She told her the bare minimum about who it was with. For all I knew, Emily thought that the interview was going to be with Sydney. It didn’t matter to me. As long as the girl knew her shit.^

Emily: *I had no idea how I’d gotten called in for an interview for a job I hadn’t even applied for. I supposed it had come from being top of my graduating class. I’d been offered a job at the place I’d been interning during my classes at Harvard, but I couldn’t take the job. It had been everything I hadn’t wanted out of a law career, and I knew the job offer was only on the table because my last name was Baines. I wasn’t going to use my father’s name to earn myself any favors, especially not after the whole debacle at his birthday.

It wasn’t common knowledge that the Baines had disowned their youngest child. Mother wouldn’t have wanted that getting out to the world at large. It wouldn’t have looked good on their reputation, and it would have meant that they’d have to explain their reasoning. While there were plenty of families who would have agreed with their decision to cut out their lesbian daughter, those same families would have turned up their noses at the very thought that one of their daughters might turn out to be anything but straight baby factories who married a future senator and settled down with a collie and a white picket fence in a house on the Cape that was mortgaged within an inch of its life.

Instead, I was here, crashing in Cay’s room back at her and Teddy’s condo in Hell’s Kitchen, and catching a cab into the city to interview for a place I didn’t even know the name of. I had the name Sydney and an address. That was it. I wasn’t sure why things were so secretive, but I’d told Cay and Myrick I’d tell them about everything once all was said and done. To be honest, I was jumping at the chance to move here. It was the exact opposite of what Mother would have wanted for me, but that wasn’t the reason. Living in New York came with a family, not just my brother and his fiance, but there was also baby Watson along with Amelia, Cass, Lindsay and Wes. I knew my brother’s friend group would be a lot more welcoming than anything I’d had back in Connecticut.  

The drive there was uneventful, but it gave me a chance to get my head on straight since I didn’t have to focus on anything at all. I didn’t recognize the neighborhood the driver dropped me off in, but the street number I was looking for was easy enough to find. I’d been given instructions to use the door on the street and head up to the top of the stairs to find the office. I was so nervous that I didn’t even pay attention to the rest of the signs on the street. I just found the door I’d been told about and barrelled up the stairs-

Amelia: ^I’d given Emily instructions to just come up to the office. There were a small amount of people here getting the club ready for open, but Sydney knew I was expecting Emily. Everyone had been instructed to let her in and not ask questions. It was going to give away everything I had set up.

If Emily was anything like her brother, she was going to buck at the idea of being hired because she was a Baines. And that was part of the reason I had set this interview up for her. Cay hadn’t held back when she was telling Cassi about what had happened in Connecticut. It had been a shit show. And I knew that Emily was going to want to do everything in her power to get out of dodge.

I heard the knock on my office door before I looked at my watch. Emily was a little early. That was fine. I wanted her to be early. I needed to know that this was something she was serious about. If she wasn’t, I’d turn her away. But I had a feeling she was going to be very much like her brother. It was something I was looking forward to. Along with the look on everyone’s face when they were informed that Emily’s interview was with me. Not even Cassidy knew that piece of information.

My voice was stern as I called out to the woman standing on the other side of the door. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but I knew Emily wasn’t going to take this so easily when she realized I was the one that wanted her here.^ Come in if your name is Emily Baines. If it’s not, you’re risking your job by being up here.

Emily: *I thought I’d recognized the voice coming from the office, but it wasn’t until I let myself in that I was certain. Amelia Watson, the woman my nephew was named after, was sitting on the other side of the desk. I would have second guessed my skill at writing down addresses if I hadn’t known she was expecting me from the fact that she’d called out my name without ever seeing who it was. The person I’d spoken to on the phone was named Sydney, and from the way the conversation had been going, I’d half expected the interview to be with her. The fact that it was Amelia shocked the living hell out of me. I knew I froze in place as soon as I saw her, but I couldn’t really make myself move before I wrapped my head around what was happening.*

Well, hi. *I took a breath and tried to stop myself from laughing. If my interview was really with Amelia, I didn’t want to screw things up by just laughing in her face, even if it was my first response to feeling a little awkward. I choked it back down and took a step towards the desk*

I have to say I wasn’t exactly expecting this to be an interview with you of all people.

*Half of me wanted to think she was just doing this because of my brother. Maybe he even put her up to it. But from what I’d seen of Amelia during the time I’d been here, I figured she didn’t do things just because other people wanted her to.*

Amelia: Take a seat, Miss Baines. No one knows you’re in this office except my right hand woman, Sydney Crawford. She’s the one that contacted you for me. ^Pushing Emily’s school records to the side, I tilted my head as I watched her take a seat. I wanted all the information to be out on the table before we took a step further in this interview. We both had to be open about what was going on, and what I was expecting of her before we could truly get serious.^

If I had to guess, if I had reached out to you, you would have declined my offer for an interview. Our adorable little Lin has decided to name her son after me, so it would appear as though we’re family. And you don’t want anything to be handed to you. Especially because your last name is Baines. Your brother is the exact same way. But it would seem the best thing to have happened lately is that he bought Lin a condo. In a very round about way, it made you own up to who you were.

^Emily looked almost terrified as she sat across the desk from me. This wasn’t the girl I had been expecting to walk through my door. But I knew I had taken her off her game. She wasn’t prepared to be interviewing with me. And it was holding her back.^ The truth is that I think the best way to say fuck off to the Baines Family and everything they stand for is to come work for me. A lesbian that owns a sex toy shop that specializes in BDSM gear and a sex club. Your parents will hate it, and in turn maybe decide to disown Preppy Boy Daddy because he brought you down here. Best fucking result if you ask me.

Emily: *I could only laugh when she decided to tell me that she thought this was going to be the best fuck off possible to my family. She was right there, but I also didn’t want to get this job just because Amelia wanted to tell my parents to shove it. As nervous as I was, I wasn’t going to be able to stop myself from speaking up.*

I can’t tell you how much I’d like to tell Mr. and Mrs. Baines back in Hartford to shove it. Never mind how much I’d enjoy working for a successful self-made lesbian woman, but I’d be wrong if I told you I wanted a job just because of my last name, whether it was because someone owed my dad a favor, wanted to get in on his good side, or wanted to tell him to shove it right up his ass. I’d like to be able to say I got it because I’m the best person for the job. So tell me that’s what you want, and I’ll be happy to tell you exactly what I can do for you.

*Maybe I was being a little forward, but I was going to give Amelia the chance to hire me for what I really was and not just to make my brother happy or piss off my dad. That was it, plain and simple, and if she couldn’t handle me being a little sassy, then we probably weren’t going to work well together. I was naturally honest and blunt. That’s why it had hurt so much to have to lie to my parents all that time, and why it felt so freeing to finally tell them the truth about who I was. I needed Amelia to be just as good with who I was if she was going to hire me*

Amelia: Emily Sierra Baines. Top of her class at Harvard Law. She could have her choice of jobs. And, in fact, does have her choice of jobs. The current law firm has offered you a position with them. Of course, they’re itching to have you because of who your father is. And they want to get in good with your brother since we both know your father will be retiring sooner rather than later.

^I could only narrow my eyes at the woman across from me. I wanted to intimidate her a bit. This wasn’t about being her brother’s friend. This wasn’t about being someone she could be close to. This was about a job.^ I only hire the best. Lin is the best person to run Temptations. Sydney is the best at running Trinity. Sydney is also the best at doing what I need done.

^Pushing back from the desk, I just looked at her. I had no desire to bullshit Emily. I was going to tell her the truth regardless of if she wanted to hear it.^ Myrick and Lin are aware that you have an interview in the city. You’ve been staying with them. I am well aware. Neither one of them asked me to call you. Neither one realizes that I’m hiring a new lawyer. I’m not interviewing you for your name. I’m not telling you that I think you should take this opportunity to piss off your parents. I’m telling you that by taking this job, it will piss off your parents.

^Shaking my head, I let my arms fold across my chest. I wasn’t going to chase her, though. I could give her the facts and let her do whatever she wanted with them.^ I’m prepared to pay you top dollar, Emily. Enough to live in this city and flourish without you ever having to touch your trust fund. You’d be on retainer with me. I’d also convince Myrick to use you as his lawyer as well. Any free time you have, you can use as you wish. However, if you take this job, you’ll be required to take one pro bono case a month. This is my neighborhood, Miss Baines. I take care of it in every way that I can. Even if it means lending out my lawyer to families that are in trouble. The decision is yours. Take it or leave it. But know, if you leave it, it won’t come back again. Regardless of how much I like you or your brother. I don’t do favors when my livelihood is on the line.

Emily: *It took me a moment to figure out whether Amelia meant that as a job offer or not, but after she finished the whole thing about me being on retainer and taking on a pro bono case, there was no way I was going to say no. It wasn’t that I thought this was going to be an easy job. I’d have to be available to Amelia whenever she needed me with those conditions. I didn’t know her as well as I would have liked to, but I knew that Cay trusted her. That carried a lot of weight with me. I believed her when she told me she didn’t risk her business on favors. She wouldn’t have gotten far if she made a habit of that. I knew that much. I needed the job, and having one I could be proud of that gave me the opportunity to tell my parents they could shove it meant a lot. Not having to touch my trust fund to live off of meant a lot too.  It meant I would really be able to say that I was making it on my own for the first time in my life, and it took away any power, real or imagined, that my parents or any of the rest of my family could say that they had over me.

On top of that, it gave me the opportunity to live in the city near the few people in the world I could really say that I cared about. The combination of things was something I wasn’t going to be able to turn down. However, I wasn’t going to accept it without a few conditions. I glanced over at the woman across the desk from me, trying to make my expression as serious as I could make it*

I believe you. I just want to make a couple of requests. First one has to do with the pro bono cases. I’ll be happy to take anything you want me to, but I’d also like to take on a few of my own, when I find things I think are worthy of my time. I won’t let them eat into your business, but I believe in taking care of my community as much as you seem to.

The second one is that you and Cassidy help me find a place to live here in the city. My brother and Cay already have to much on their plates between the new baby and everything else that that’s happening. I won’t take up more space in their lives than I have to. I need my own space, and I know they need theirs. A few days in their spare room is fine, but I’m not going to crash on them longer than I have to.

Amelia: ^Her terms were easy enough. I was never going to tell her to not take pro bono cases. It was actually something I was glad she was negotiating on. And the fact that she was willing to have my business as a priority was what I really needed to hear. And her second term wasn’t that hard, either. There was the same option that we had given Lin. And it also made things a little bit easier on her and Myrick. Giving Emily this option made sense. And it prevented Myrick, Lin, or Lindsay from being here when they couldn’t, or shouldn’t, be.

I nodded my head as I watched the woman across from me. I wasn’t sure what I was going to tell Cass, but it was something she was going to agree with me on. And she was going to lose her mind because I was expanding our tiny family into something she had always dreamed of.^

When Lin first came to us, she was homeless. Cassidy and I took her in and gave her a home. Literally. And she lived there until she met your brother. It’s a place that we still have. Well, until I give you your first job. There’s an apartment above the shop. It’s just a small studio, but it’s a place that you can stay until you find a place to live. And if you want help with that, I would talk to Cassi. She’s the one that decorated the apartment above the shop. But you’re going to have to help Lin, Myrick, and Lindsay out. Right now, one of those three stays in the apartment on nights where we get a shipment for either the club or the shop. As long as you’re living there, you have to be the one to receive the shipments. Someone will come in in the morning and handle the rest.

As for your pro bono stipulation, I’m just telling you to take one case a month at minimum. I’m not going to stop you from taking more. Just as long as you don’t risk my businesses. I’ll pay you a retainer monthly. Even if I don’t use you that month, you’ll still get your retainer. But before any of this happens, you have to pass the bar in New York. You have about two months until you can take it, so I suggest you register for it now.

Emily: *Two months. It would take me just about that long to get things settled in the place I was living now and make arrangements to move to the city. Maybe it was presumptuous of me to think I was going to pass the bar on my first try. I knew it was a difficult test, but my brother had passed it, and if that was possible, then I knew it was well within my grasp to do.*

I’ll register as soon as I get back to Cay and Teddy’s place. I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, and two months gives me time to get moved to the city and settled in. I don’t have a problem with any of the terms or the apartment over the shop. It’ll be nice to help them out as I can. Plus, if it gets back to my parents that I’m living in an apartment over a sex shop, I’m pretty sure my mother will have a stroke, so it’s just another plus.

*I shook my head and laughed a little at myself. I was only partly joking, but I felt like an ass for saying it out loud. This job interview might not have been what I was expecting, but it was turning out to be exactly what I hadn’t known I needed. Getting out of Connecticut was going to be a dream come true, and I owed it to Amelia.*

I don’t know how to say thank you for this. I know you say I earned it, but I still owe you a lot if this all pans out.

Amelia: It’ll pan out, Emily. You just need to have some faith. If you want, there’s a hallway between the club and the shop. You can go ahead through and check out your new place to live. I know Lin isn’t there, but Myrick might be. He is probably helping out Lindsay. I know she’s still relatively new to the store. Myrick doesn’t like to leave his girls alone if he has to. And I know Cass was on her way over to Lin and Watson when you were on your way here.

^I had given Cassi the okay to go see Lin. She had been dying to go see the baby, but I had wanted to give the two of them time to settle in before sending Cassi over. I knew Cassi could be a lot to handle. And Cassi going over would give Myrick the chance to get out of the house and come check on the shop. Knowing Lin the way I did, I figured she would send Myrick out to check up on the shop.

There was a lot I was planning for with Emily. And the first thing I was going to have her do was draw up the papers to pass ownership of Little Shoppe of Temptations to Lin. She had more than proven herself to be capable of handling the shop. It had only grown since she had come into it. She opened up the shop to a whole new set of customers because of her being a Little. It was something I kind of loved. She had opened our lives to a whole new set of people because of her desires. It was something I was proud to do.^

Your Teddy doesn’t know you’re here. So tell him before word gets out. The world will find out as soon as I tell Cassi what happened here. I had to keep it from her to ensure that no one knew what was happening. I wanted you to know that this wasn’t as a favor. I did my research, Miss Baines. I knew who you were before I had Sydney reach out to you. I was well aware of your grades and the other opportunities before bringing you in. You deserve this. You just need to take the opportunity and prove me right.

Emily: *I nodded as I stood up from the desk. The truth was that Teddy was the first person I wanted to tell all of this to. He was the last bit of family I cared about, and the only one I’d been certain cared about me for who I really was and not what I could bring to the family. I had to admit I was a little nervous about all of this working out. It seemed almost too good to be true that all of this had fallen into my lap. Maybe Amelia hadn’t offered me this job because of my brother, I knew she was right that I had the grades and the work behind them to have earned the job, but she wouldn’t have even known I existed without Myrick. I owed him at least a bit for introducing the two of us, and maybe a lot to sheer luck for her finding out everything she needed to know about me.

I was quickly learning not to underestimate my new boss. She had a lot of resources within her grasp, at least enough to find me and find out everything she needed to know about me. She could probably have learned a lot more if she’d wanted to find it out, but she seemed to be fair and have her head on straight. All I could do was buckle in for whatever was coming up and be prepared for whatever came my way.*

I’ll walk over and get him to show me the apartment. Feel free to tell Cassidy whenever you like. I don’t mind the people in my life knowing now that things are settled. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll start getting things ready for the bar exam as soon as I possibly can.

*I had to admit that she’d been smart not to tell me who I was interviewing with before I walked in the place. I might not have accepted the opportunity before I walked into the office if I’d even imagined it was as a favor to my brother. Maybe it was stupid; maybe I was insanely stubborn, but I needed to work things out on my own merit as much as I possibly could. I knew Teddy would know what that felt like.

As soon as I was out of the door, I pulled my phone out of my pocket looking for the next administration of the New York Bar Exam and figured out I had exactly four days left to register for the July test. Freezing in place in the hallway to the shop, I went ahead and registered for the exam and waited for the ding of the confirmation email before I dared to move another step. There was no way I was risking any of this now that it had fallen into my lap. The rest of this was up to me*

#IllBeFlyingFree