astrid.

“Yeah, okay.” Peter chuckled at the reminder. He turned the car on and back out of the spot to head towards Rosewood Hills where she stayed with family and he lived near family. “That’s why she has you, isn’t it? To keep things in line while she figures out the business thing.” He turned the radio on even though he was sure Astrid would change the station to something else. “It’s an option, Astrid. Don’t close any doors yet. Who knows. Maybe you’ll end up loving Fallbrook so much you’ll decide to make it your permanent home. I did.” He knew his situation was different than hers. It was weird to see Astrid all grown up. He always saw her as his little cousin, but they barely had three years between them. “Hungry?”

/

“What she needs is an accountant.” Blue eyes stared at the scenery pass by as they drove. She loved the life she had in Los Angeles, but it was nice being able to see the beach without having to sit through traffic first. “Yeah, but you grew up here. It’s different.” Astrid wasn’t ready to admit that there were a lot of things about Fallbrook that pulled her to it too though. She looked at Peter to nod. She could use some real food. All she was living on were Bentley’s lunchables and muffins from Wildflower. “I see what this is about, you wanna hang out more.” Astrid smiled at him. “Admit it, I’m your favorite cousin.”

at wildflower cafe with @astrid-valentine​

“I know Fallbrook is twenty by twenty blocks, but you really should consider getting a car.” Peter was happy to drive his family around, but he was well aware of how independent his little cousin was and something told him she would be in town longer than the few months she said when the three sisters first arrived. “How was your shift?” He pulled his car keys from his pocket and aimed them at his electric car parked across the street. His eyes roamed to Astrid. If she made friends he wasn’t aware of then she might stay for good. “Have you given any more thought to what we talked about last time?”

/

“That sounds rich coming from you a tree hugger.” Astrid raised an eyebrow at Peter (she wondered how he ever survived in a big city full of over consumerism when he was in college). She reached for the cigarettes in her bag, but let them go before he realized what she was doing and tossed them into oblivion. “It was good. Same as yesterday. Same as the day as before. I think we’re starting to have regulars, but Jaz needs to stop giving out free coffee or we’re going to go out of business.” Her older sister was too nice for her own good. The blonde followed him to the car and got in (she tried not to judge the electric vehicle). “Oh my god.” Astrid rolled her eyes like she had the last time they spoke about her going to college. “I already told you that it’s not for me. I did beauty school already and I never want to read another book in my life.”

Jay chuckles lowly under his breath as he brings his cigarette up to his lips, placing it between his lips. “It would be fuckin’ weird for someone to come to the beach if they hated it.” He knows she’s not referring to his comment about not knowing a single thing that’s happening in the town because why would a kid from Eris know shit? He turns his head to look over at the blonde sitting next to him as he nods his head. “Yeah, I work at the mechanic shop. My uncle owns it.” He takes puff of his cigarette, removing it from the space between his lips. “You want to come to the beach with me more?”

/

Astrid nodded when he agreed with her point. “Do you get to keep it one day?” It wasn’t like she was wondering to know how small towns worked when it came to family owned businesses as much as she was pulling information out of the guy and trying to get to know him. “Or do you have to fight a dozen cousins for it?” She was already making assumptions she shouldn’t make about him. Astrid slowly breathed a swirl of smoke out and watched it disappear with the wind. “I mean, if you’re here and I just happen to be nearby.... I wouldn’t say no to a smoke break.” Her eyes went back to the waves. “There’s not a lot to do around here, huh?”

Jay leaned forward as she held the lighter out towards the end of his cigarette. He inhaled the second it was light, reaching up and plucking the stick from between his lisp with his index finger and thumb. Blowing out the spoke, the male kept his blue hues on the blonde in front of him as he tilted his head to the side with a slow smirk coming along his features. “I don’t really pay attention to half the shit that happens in this town so it’s possible,” he muttered as he brought the cigarette back between his lips as he turned his head to look over his shoulder towards the Wildflower Cafe. Ah, so she was a Valentine. He had heard a rumor about new Valentine’s coming into town. “Maybe I like the beach,” the male shrugged as he let his blue hues drift towards her. “Just didn’t want to go to work early so thought I’d come look at the water for a minute.” He ended up confessing a few seconds later.

/

In a town as small as Fallbrook, Astrid had her doubts about his claim but didn’t call him out on it. The guy had something dark in his stare and it matched the dead thing in hers. It made her feel like he was the first person she met in Fallbrook with potential for friendship or whatever. She pushed a wind swept strand of hair out of her face and took a drag from her cigarette too. Astrid nodded, she didn’t know anyone who didn’t like taking in the ocean breeze every now and then. “You’d be fucking weird if you didn’t.” That filter most people had wasn’t installed in Astrid as a child. “Yeah? So you work nearby.” The blonde didn’t mind their silent moments. Growing up in a household full of loud people and city traffic as a constant buzz made her enjoy those moments when the world went mute for a bit. “Maybe you should get my number and let me know the next time you want to dig your toes in sand and stare at the waves.”

@jayhcwkins​

Marcos’ gaze rested on the blonde in front of him, pressing his lips together awkwardly as he shifted his eyes towards the bathroom then back towards her but he decided against making a comment about how disgusting some of the public men’s rooms were. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he watched her as she walked past him and into the bathroom. Inhaling, the male glanced around to make sure that no one was heading towards them. He turned his head a few moments later when she came out, nodding his head at her words. “It wasn’t a problem. I know what it’s like to wait forever for a stupid bathroom,” he gestured towards the woman just now leaving the other restroom.

/

Slowly taking his features in with lazy blue eyes, the blonde finally nodded without looking to whoever he gestured towards. “I think it’s proper bar etiquette to buy you a drink.” Astrid couldn’t figure out what made her be so impulsive when it came to the stranger. Everything about Fallbrook felt predictable to a certain extent and she wasn’t someone who rolled with the tied. Her brain told her that logically she was holding on to the one interaction that didn’t feel staged like all the other overtly southern charm ones she had in the past week. She looked around until she spotted the bar. “What do you say? One drink.”

@marcosreycs​

When her sister decided it was time to have a little reunion at the expense of her home, Cordelia was in the middle of telling her assistant the various errands she needed her to run over the phone. Please make sure to pick Bentley’s uniform up from the cleaners and do not forget to tip her using the money I gave you. I also need you to run the new bathroom design ideas to the club as the contractors will be there to take a look and lastly I’ll need you to pick lunch up for me. Any salad will do, just make sure there aren’t too many croutons this time.. and with a click of her phone, she hung up and averted her attention to her younger sisters with the widest smile she’d had in months. “Ah, well I’m very, very happy for you, Jazzy… you’ve gotta tell me all about it.” Taking a peek over at Astrid, she chuckled through her nose before speaking again, “and can you put that down for a moment? We haven’t been together like this in a while.”

@jazminvalentine

Blue eyes darted to Cordelia who looked at Cordelia who was busy on the phone, making Jazmin hold a hand up to the side of her mouth and whisper at Astrid. “Okay okay, calm down, it’s two guys. Not fifty!” She said to the youngest of the three and walked to Cordelia when she was done to give her older sister a tight hug. Jaz spent a lot more of her time with Astrid after Cordelia got married and moved to Fallbrook. The distance made her want to make up for lost time so she was a little more affectionate with the woman. She reached for an orange off the fruit tray on the counter after letting go of her sister and took a seat in between the two women. “Thank you!” Jazmin blushed, happy to feel happy. She looked at Astrid and laughed. “She’s always on that.” Jaz waved her hand done. “Anyway, so their names are Rhys Wilkes and Antonio Morino. Rhys is British!” She paused for their reaction. “And totally hot. We stayed at the fancy hotel in Williamsburg. Antonio has the cutest smile and dimples, we went to the aquarium.” It was the first time in years that Jazmin talked like that about men after Louis. She wanted to feel a bit of normalcy and being in Fallbrook was starting to feel like a fresh start. 

@astrid-valentine

/

Astrid grew up with successful and well put together people her entire life so hearing Cordelia make arrangements on the phone wasn’t out of the ordinary for her.  “Fallbrook has like forty people total so two and fifty are relative and might as well be the same.” Astrid casually pointed out. She glanced at Cordelia and took the other earbud out before she set her phone on the table, but first made a point of doing it because she was part of the family and not because she told her to (even though she didn’t argue with the oldest as much as she bickered with Jazmin). “What’s a Brit doing in North Carolina? Maybe he’s running away from a crazy ex. Or he committed a crime.” Astrid mused, then leaned back after she finished her cereal. “Dimples? Wow. Say less.” Astrid was clearly not too interested in gossip (the sarcasm in her voice was hiding the fact that she actually was deeply invested in her sisters’ love lives). She looked at both of her sisters. They were flawed and yet perfect in their own ways. Was that how people saw her? “I ran into two cute boys too.” She butted in (finding pleasure in taking the spotlight from Jazmin who walked around with the very sun as her number one fan). 

in Rosewood Hills with @astrid-valentine​ & @cordeliavalentine​​

“Hello!” Jazmin let herself into Cordelia’s home. Her big sister was the greatest and she always felt close enough to her family to welcome herself into their spaces unannounced. It was a weekday morning and that meant Bentley was at school, the bar wouldn’t open until late, and she was a new business owner who closed up shop for the day so they could all get some sisterly bonding in. Jazmin sprung herself through the mud room where she slipped her shoes off and headed into the kitchen where she found Astrid with headphones permanently attached to her head and Cordelia grabbing something. “How is everyone on this totally lovely morning? I have news and it’s that I met two really cute guys!”

/

There was no denying who the high pitched squeal came from. Astrid babysat Bentley last night and ended up staying the night. Right before she had fallen asleep, she got a text from Jaz about having the day off. Great. She send back and slept in, only to wonder downstairs when her stomach started to growl for some cereal. She took her food to the breakfast nook in the kitchen and slipped her red beats over her ears. Her plan was to ask Cordelia is she could stay there for a couple of months before she went back home, their extended family was too much and she was exhausted from all the activities they had. One Jazmin she could handle, but like twenty? That was a different story. She turned down the music when she saw Jazmin’s lips start moving and rolled her eyes. “We’ve been in town one week and you have guys lined up and down the block for you already?”

“Well, can we just agree to disagree? Because I’m not seeing your vision, Astrid.” Jaz did her tight and forced little laugh that she did when something was stressing her out. “I just want people to walk in and think happy thoughts while they have a drink and eat something fresh.” She looked at the paint samples on the counter and tried to see what her little sister saw, but the neon pink was so nice! “What if we do neon on that wall and pastel on that other one? Or would it be too much? What about accents of both?” It was going to be called Wildflower Cafe so it had to be colorful. “What if we paint the wall a little and see how we like them with everything else?”

/

“Sure.” There was never any fighting when it came to Jazmin. Her sister raised a white flag the moment she felt any contention. It helped to keep the peace and Astrid used to push because she craved more. She used to want to see Jazmin step into a less than perfect time to make her own childish insecurities feel better, but after seeing her break with what happened with Louis.... Astrid took all the negative and demanding word’s she had ever spoken to the universe back. She pretended things were okay because she thought that was what Jazmin wanted to believe (and Astrid wasn’t going to take away the bit of happiness her sister held on to). “Let’s to the wall pastel pink and add accents of neon around. I pinned a cute light on my pinterest. Look.” She shuffled through her phone and handed it to Jazmin. “I can go to the hardware store and get more of the pastel pink.” There was a girl there that seemed indifferent. Astrid like that and she wanted to talk with her. 

“Well, you can take one of the dogs at Angel for a walk! Or catch a movie at the Drive-In, there’s also the arcade and Slices.” Emmi thought about it for another moment, “I guess nothing here’s as fun as LA, but we do have pretty views and there’s bonfires at the beach every weekend, and shopping at Blossom! Or at the mall in Williamsburg.” She didn’t know if Astrid was into fashion just by looking at her but, honestly, her cousin seemed too cool for anything there was to do in Fallbrook. She was done talking about most of her friends and already told her about everyone she should meet so now there was only one thing to do: actually meet them! “Wanna go somewhere? Are you missing the beach? We can head down to the Marina!”

/

Everything that Emmi described sounded like stereotypical small town fun (there probably wasn’t anything but that in Fallbrook). “I love pizza, but who doesn’t?” Emmi’s enthusiasm for life was hard to match, not that Astrid wanted to, but she didn’t care about meeting her in the middle either (she rarely cared about things like that). But she was bored and there was only so much chatting she could do. “Let’s grab some pizza and head to the beach. If no one’s having a bonfire we can just make one ourselves.” She grabbed a jacket that Emmi let her borrow. It was a little small on her, but Astrid wasn’t prepared for the Fallbrook weather. The thickest jacket she used back in California was a windbreaker. 

Jay sat on one of the picnic tables, staring at the sand. He inhaled, lifting his gaze up to look at the water in front of them. Brushing his tongue along his lower lip, the male turned his head to look over his shoulder towards a blonde he hadn’t seen before. He cleared his throat as he nodded his head, extending his hand out towards her. “I’d never turn down a smoke,” he gave her a slight smirk. “I’ve never seen you before… You new in town?”

/

Astrid pulled the lighter from her pocket and flicked it with her thumb, lighting her cigarette before moving it closer to him. She held it there for him to inhale, hold, and release. There. She put the thing back in her pocket and sat down at his side. “Maybe you haven’t been looking.” The answer came easy to her only because she was tired of how often people asked the same question when they all knew she was new already. “I’m on a break. I work over there.” She pointed to the Wildflower Cafe. “What’s your excuse?” She was curious. Not a lot of people went to places like the beach by themselves. 

Marcos pulled on the handle of the door from the male’s bathroom, crumpling up the paper towel he used to grab the handle. His head turned to look over at the woman currently banging on the other bathroom door and yelling against it. He cleared his throat as he tilted his head towards the bathroom door he was now holding open with his foot. “There’s no one else in here if you want to use it.” He told her as he looked towards the end of the hallway where people come from the bar. “I can keep an eye out and let you do your business in peace too.”

/

An irritated look lingered in Astrid’s blue eyes when she turned to the guy suddenly there. Her fist was halfway to the door again when his words made her drop it at her side. She considered how disgusting men’s restrooms could be, but she had to go (and nature couldn’t be ignored for much longer). She nodded instead of saying anything and quickly slipped inside. Was everyone in Fallbrook nice like that? It made her think that Jazmin belonged here more than in California, but it only confirmed that Astrid never had the same luck with fitting in. She felt self conscious about the time he would wait outside (if he even waited) so she was quick and washed her hands before stepping out again. “Er, thanks.” She said, expecting a very southern phrase in return. 

Astrid walked out of Wildflower Cafe because Jaz forgot to open the windows when she was using the stain remover and it made Astrid dizzy. She walked across the street straight into Castle beach in search of fresh air. Fallbrook was a lot colder than she was used to and it took moving there to realize that she wasn’t prepared for winter at all. She wrapped her arms around herself and was watching a couple of the crazy surfers out on the water when she noticed a guy alone. She thought that they both looked like two loners and walked over to him. “You look like you got a lot on your mind.” She reached into her back pocket and grabbed her pack of cigarettes. “Want a smoke?”

Astrid finally convinced Emmi to party with her, but the Banyard was not what she expected for a good time. She still got some drinks in her and they went right through her so she left her cousin with her friends and headed to the bathroom. She wasn’t sure how much time passed, but it felt like a lot when she had to hold her legs crossed to keep herself from peeing. In desperation and anger, Astrid pounded on the bathroom door. “C’mon man! You’ve been in there like an hour! A girl’s gotta pee out here! You expect me to pop a squat in the hallway? Are you shitting your guts or having a bad trip?” Curse small town bars with their cowboys and lack of facilities. 

“Yeah I get that you like that neon pink, Jaz. All I’m saying is that a pastel pink is going to look better on that wall.” Astrid was as dead set as her sister about what color she liked better, but Astrid thought that having the underside of her hair different shades of pink every month gave her the advantage. It wasn’t going to be her cafe and she didn’t even plan on staying in down for more than a couple of months but as the youngest of the three sisters she felt it was her duty to argue.