@starletwrites

starletwrites​:

he matches her expression. thick brows raised, just subtly at her comment about getting lucky. angel wasn’t sure that he even believed in luck,  not in the sense of four leafed clovers and wishing on stars anyway. all his luck had to be created, almost manufactured to the point that he didn’t know if it still qualified as luck at all, or rather just the universe finally throwing throwing him a bone. but in the moment, hearing the word spring so confidently from her lips, he’s certain that she could get him to believe in anything as long as it comes out in that same silvery tone. 

“well versed, huh? well how’s about a deal? if your fiancé doesn’t walk through those doors in the next twenty minutes i’ll smoke you out in my car–” he mentions, feeling a little bold. usually tries not to get high off his own supply, but for this one he makes a mental note to simply pay himself back. “and if it ain’t some of the best shit you’ve ever had i’ll get you whatever you want to eat after” he realizes that if his boss caught wind of his little plan he’d be without a job before he could say ‘munchies’, but he rationalizes it in his head as a friendly gesture. anyone knows that food is only the next logical step to follow a fat joint, and if they picked up buffalo wings and ate them in the front seat it most certainly did not qualify as a date. 

he lingers in their handshake maybe a little longer than he should’ve. and he never feels shy, but for some reason can’t resist the urge to briefly break eye-contact as she too leans a little closer. “well…anything” he speaks in earnest, “anything you want, but bonus if it’s funny-” he notices tamara start to clean, doesn’t want to be left behind on the hull so he at least makes himself look busy by wiping down the same spot three times over. “here i’ll go first. when i was in the second grade my mama shaved my head–i’m talking bald, bald mr. clean type shit. i don’t know if it was a miami thing or what, but all the moms shaved their kids heads to make their hair grow in better. only thing is–most of em’ did it before their kids even turned two, so here they are with these full heads of hair by the time we’re seven and i’m over here looking like vin diesel” one of his proudest accomplishments is making sure that no photographs from that era have ever seen the light of day, but even without the physical evidence the image in his mind’s eye is clear as day. “so boom, valentine’s day rolls around like a week after, and my shit is still looking tragic. and there was this one girl, lorena cook, that i had my ma get a little extra candy for because i’d been planning for months to ask her out on the big day. but i couldn’t step to my honey with a jacked up hairline. soo…i went in my abuelita’s wig closet, got one of her short wigs and cut it even shorter so it was mad patchy, and stuffed it in my bag to wear to school the next day, so it went from mr. clean to little richard if he let ray charles do his line ups..needless to say that ended with my teacher calling home crying laughing and a chancla to the face” 

Lia slowly placed her hand back into her lap as he let go, suddenly aware of the lost warmth, a slight draft enveloping her hand back into the chill of the room. Red manicured fingers circling the stem of the glass, bringing it to her matching lips and sipping as he spoke. Laughing at the animated way he told the story, picturing the current curly locks on his head gone and an egg in its place. “I feel like I’ve heard this story from one or two cousins at one point but continue,” she quipped, hanging onto every word as if it was the best story she heard. Hoping to one day get him to show her a picture to replace the image she was creating herself. Her hand softly covering her mouth as she tried to hide the laugh that bubbled out as he finished his story, her smile evident as she finally dropped it back to her lap. “I think you would’ve looked great, egghead or horrible lace front aside,”

“Now, I can’t say I have bad hair stories, one thing my mama and older sister instilled in me was to make sure your hair was always put together,” shrugging slightly, “however, i do have a bad wardrobe moment,” sipping her drink one more time before sitting up straighter in her seat. “When i was probably about 8 or 9, my cousin Tori was always in pageants as we grew up. And I of course wanted the pretty princess dress with the ginormous poof that dragged on the ground and got dirty within four seconds of wearing it. But it was toris thing and I didn’t want to infringe on her thing even at a young age. My mother however, thought differently and enrolled me in a pageant. So there I was, backstage at my first pageant, watching all the other girls perform their talents. And I had decided I was gonna do some tumbling, you know the flips and bounces you see gymnasts or cheerleaders do,” her hands bouncing around in front of her like she was trying to show what she meant with her fingers, “I was always good at it, picked it up quick, so I knew it would do good with judges. Wellll, I decided I would wear my bright magenta gown to do these tumbling tricks, the more movement the better right? Wrong. I started my first handspring and as I landed on my feet, the right one landed on the bottom of the dress and as i stood up a loud rip was heard and the room went silent. Now, Amelia being the center of attention I am, decided I was gonna just keep going and act like it never happened. Except when I landed on it again, this time ripping the entire skirt off thanks to the first rip, and my care bear underwear on display for everyone backstage and in front of me, never did another pageant again. Tori could keep it and I’d move on to cheerleading, no long dresses involved,” and to this day, Lia will typically be found in a short dress, or a two piece skirt and top.

Cindy Kimberly via instagram

starletwrites​:

“amelia” leaves his lips in a haughty sigh as she click clacks toward their outdoor area and declan runs two fingers over his eyelids in pure exhaustion. he wrestles with himself for a moment, whether it’s worth the fight so close to bedtime, before following her out. plunks down at her adjacent on one of the outdoor wicker chairs that came with the place. “you know how I feel about your drinking habits, especially in my establishments—“ the scotch in his glass prevents him from mincing words. she could drain back to back blue amalfis at their local olive garden if she so chose, but in front of his peers and colleagues the expectation was that she remained prim and proper as they come. like she too had been force fed twenty six years worth of lessons in table manners and general etiquette. “how does it look if my fiancé, the woman I’m supposed to be starting a life with, is downing cocktails at the bar like it’s going out of style!”

he knows he’s partially to blame, more than aware that she was equally troubled as she was beautiful before he ever picked out a clear cut diamond to glimmer prettily from her left hand. but he can assume that she didn’t walk into this relationship blind to the kind of man he was either—one from a rigid upbringing, inebriated on power and control, with ultimate awareness of how important keeping up appearances is to maintaining the veneer of perfection that’s been passed down from generation to generation like an antique necklace or a house in the hamptons.

“i know you don’t care what people think but that attitude doesn’t get you very far in this world. it just doesn’t. how many people do you think are gonna want to work with a designer with an alcohol pr—“ his tone softens as he settles on dark irises, had always found brown eyes boring until he discovered so much hidden depth behind hers. a sigh leaves his lips, so exasperated it sounds like it’s been building up for a lifetime, a clear surrender of sorts. because he’s not out to hurt her, only to make her understand. “I’m not asking you to be this perfect lady, and host society brunches and wear skirts down to your ankles. …I just want you to be aware of your actions when you’re in public, of how they’ll reflect on both of us…it’s time to grow up amelia, and start considering our future together”

Lia set herself up, grinding her weed and getting her wrap ready to roll. Wanting nothing more than to face a blunt and go to bed, ready for a new adventure the day held. Everything was stressing her out now, a much different feeling than she had started her night with. Turning to face Declan as he came on the balcony, listening to his words as she rolled her blunt. “It looks like I’m a 25 year old girl spending her time at a bar, waiting by myself for my fiancé who happens to own the bar. I understand you’re busy, and youre working, but I can’t be expected to act a specific way when you yourself are out doing the same thing but your with colleagues so it’s different right?”

Amelia knew what being in a relationship with Declan meant, that she had to be the most upstanding citizen she could possibly be. Keeping her words proper, no cuss words, no slang, full sentences that make sense to everyone. She took more business classes, to learn the language Declan and his colleagues used, having wanted to try and be more involved in the conversations and not sound out of place. Lia had put more time and effort in becoming a different version of herself for the people Declan surrounded himself with, and yet he continued pointing out more things she needed to work on. Time and time again, she had to continue to change.

She pauses her movements, and glances up at him as he continues his words, “First of all Declan, I don’t have a drinking problem. I wake up and go about my life, 9/10 times I don’t drink during the day. I enjoy alcohol, but it takes a lot more than a couple drinks or shots to get me intoxicated. I’m well aware of my own tolerance and how to pace myself after my history. I’ve done more than enough damage in my past life to drink myself into a coma anymore,” having spent a six month stint in and out of the hospital more times than she cared to count before she was of legal drinking age probably wasn’t the best history for the new Coyne heiress. But then again, they neednt know all her business, but Declan did. Amelia understood he was worried, and just wanted to protect her of sorts. But she had been independent far to long to have a father looking over her shoulder and monitoring her intake. “I’ll never be this perfect little princess they hope for me to be, I’ve never been that kind of girl even when I had to hold up my own standards in my family. I’m not gonna pretend to be someone just because people will get upset from something, I’ve done a lot of changing and a lot of pretending with people you’ve brought me around. But if I’m stuck in a bar, you told me to meet you at, and you don’t show up for hours and hours on end, then I’m not gonna sit there sipping water for five hours when I can have a couple drinks. Then drink a couple glasses of water, and then some more alcohol. I’m not an idiot, nor sloppy, never have been. Just an idiot at times,”

what is your dream profession?

child of a rich person who doesn’t have to do anything

izzyindie​:

“Not really into the reviews. Rather find out for myself and return the favor,” Luke smirked. The idea of reviews raised his eyebrow, but he kept a brave face. In this town, who you are and what you did matter. The town was hierarchy of personalities and the Bakers were at the top. Lia would be a political and religious liability; that only intrigued Luke more––something to sneak around, his eyes only, and still maintain peace all around. Sound like an easy year for Luke. “Appearances are everything,” he affirmed, matching the eye contact. He was swift with hiss movements, cutting the engine, and moving from his door to hers. “Don’t think too much into it. Gotta sister and a mother and a church full of Sisters’ who command respect.” he downplayed to make it seem like he was trying to be impressive.

She raised a perfectly kept brow at him, tilting her head slightly, “what a gentleman, unfortunately I’m not here for the gentle side of things,” a shrug falling off her shoulder, moving to look out the window again. While her family was big in the town, her parents helping more than one family around get off scot free, she was a different story. Falling from her spot as the favorite, she became distant, relishing in any and all alcohol and drugs she could get her hands in. Lia became more well known around the ravine, and around the degenerates of town, and slowly slipped from the hierarchy. Still keeping her place in school, never letting herself fall lower than she deserved there. But she didn’t care what the adults had to say, they weren’t the ones she had to interact with day in and day out. Instead taking a line here or there, maybe pop a pill when she felt like it, but always had a water bottle of vanilla rum and Dr Pepper, and a blunt or dab pen handy in her purse. Those were the secrets no one else around school knew, the ones she held close to herself for reasons unknown to her. “So I’ve been told once her twice,” Lia knew the bakers reputation around town, but she never got close enough to see it for herself. After her fathers diagnosis she wasn’t one for God, or believing in a higher power. She just existed and let the world do as it did, never worrying about the consequences of what she was doing; yet still being semi aware of herself. Watching as he moved around the car, and slipping out of the seat, a soft click as her heels touched pavement. “Don’t all women? Commanding and deserving, however, two different things,”

starletwrites​:

“yeah, you next….she needs a cousin–” tori declares as she trails lia to the elevator. thinks back to when they were little girls and had it all planned out, they’d time their pregnancies perfectly and birth two little miniature versions of themselves to do life side by side, like they have. funny when you’re a kid and think the universe works however you want it to. then you get older and come to realize almost nothing goes to plan.  

“liaaaa–” she chimes the minute she arrives at the top floor and realizes she wasn’t kidding about the dozen or so bags full of goodies for them both, “you didn’t have to! …but i’m so glad you did” carefully, she places the bassinet down beside her to sift through the selections, never one to turn down a new addition to her wardrobe, especially from the most stylish person she knows. she finds one that she absolutely must try on now, strips out of her current ensemble on the fly to slide the sleek new dress onto her frame. “what do we think?” she does a full spin for the other to see before padding over to the mirror to get a look for herself. pulling her abundance of curls to the top of her head, she admires the neckline, and loves it so much she just might keep it on for the rest of the day. their girlish giggles must’ve been too much commotion, because she sees her baby start to open her eyes. “there she is” tori grins, taking veronica out of her carrier. “ “did you say hi to auntie lia? she bought you so many cute little outfits” she coos, bouncing her on her hip as she grows more awake. she’s already bigger since their final facetime call before she boarded the plane, close to 7 months and doing more by the day.  “you wanna hold her?” tori offers, holding her out for lia to take. “i’m gonna make all of us dinner, couldn’t decide between lemon chicken and quesadillas so i said why not both!” she beams, excited for the collective family time. “there’s enough for your fancy fiancé if he’ll be joining us anytime soon”

“As exciting as that would be, you’ll have to talk to the fiancé about that one. All work and a small amount of play,” thinking about their conversations, always playing home with their baby dolls and having cousins who were practically sisters. Growing up she was lucky to have Tori, and she always wanted to have a little girl to experience the same bond she was able to have her life. Unfortunately the universe was a fickle thing, and rarely let plans stay the way they started.

“What kind of cousin would I be if I didn’t?” She teased, watching the way Toris face lit up as she approached the bags. A soft smile appearing on Lias face, some of the items being from her own collection or friends that she had gathered over the years. But most of them being random finds she found at various stores, and couldn’t help but grab for her. “I think you look amazing and we should get a babysitter ASAP if you know what I mean,” winking with a small laugh, “I may even have a nice necklace you could pair with it, make a whole ensemble tonight,” Her gaze finally pulling from Tori as she heard a few little noises from the floor, watching Tori maneuver her out of the bassinet and balancing her perfectly on her hip. “You’re gonna be the prettiest little girl in the world, maybe even have a great affinity for wood shop like moze from neds declassified,” she teased for a moment, making grabby hands towards her and taking her from Toris arms. “I still can’t believe how big she is, it seems like yesterday I was getting a call from the hospital and a new baby was on the other end,” bouncing Veronica on her hip, spinning around every so often with a large smile, “That honestly sounds amazing and I’m thrilled for a home cooked meal, he’s currently at a meeting I believe. And I never know how long those are gonna last, but perhaps he will slip in and visit,”