a writer at heart

Harlow had watched the gorgeous woman walk around the place but hadn’t had the time to go up to her while she was with Seth or watching him from the bar as he spoke to someone else. Regardless, she was grateful for the time to tell her bow. “Well, you stood out too so I think we both made some great choices.” She said with a small grin as she folded her arms over her chest. “That’s good. Halloween is always a good time.” At least until everything went on after the party.

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Becky chuckled and nodded in agreement, they had definitely made a good choice on the costumes. It was probably better to stay on that subject and on Halloween in general to keep the mood between the two of them light but also because the young woman didn’t want to think about it. “Yeah, I think Halloween might be one of my favourite holidays of the years. Although nothing beats Christmas, of course.”

“With those two? I don’t cross any option off the list. They’re sneaky.” Finn smirked and shot a wink to Maddie before she ran off to do something else. He leaned against the counter and watched her put things away. “It’s not much, but hopefully it ties y’all over a couple days or something. So, you can, y’know, rest and grieve.” Something Finn wasn’t particularly great at and knew the Thanes weren’t great at it either, considering neither of them were home. Becky had always seemed like a sweet kid, though and Finn couldn’t help but think she reminded him of his little sister. “Me? I’m fine, just checkin’ in on people y’know?” He shrugged and moved forward to make himself a cup of coffee. Spending a lot of time in that house, even living there for a while, made him familiar with the kitchen. “Starting to get things set up in the warehouse I bought, and everything unpacked at the new house. Stayin’ busy.” Which was for the best with the current mood of the town.

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Becky’s gaze followed Maddie for a moment when the little girl ran off again and it made her shift her attention back to Finn. “This is already a big help, it means that Rowan and I can stay here and don’t have to do grocery shopping for another few days.” Which was just a big help altogether. Becky rather didn’t go to the grocery story because it meant having to pass the location of where the murder had happened, not being able to forget the scenery yet of the crime scene. She watched how Finn moved through the kitchen. She wondered how much of the truth he was telling her right now, if he really was fine. She was curious about it but she stayed quiet about it instead, motioning over at the coffee maker. “Any chance you can make me a cup as well?” The young woman silently listened to what Finn had been doing lately and it made her smile. “The warehouse? Am I right when I heard somewhere that it’s going to be a porn studio? And where are you going to live?”

This entire situation is hard on everyone. Becky seemed to be distracting herself by making sure everyone else was taken care of, which was most definitely something Jeremiah could relate to. If he could shut the book on his own concerns in order to take the load off someone else he would. And the babysitter beside him looked exhausted. Reaching out to squeeze her shoulder, the older Thane son gave her a comforting smile. “Well, don’t forget to take care of you along the way okay?” He said, neatly ignoring the hypocrisy of him telling someone else to look after themselves. “If you need anything, let me know alright?”

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A snort escaped from her before she could stop herself. Many people of the club and the family had come over to the house of the Thane’s but Becky was pretty sure that it was Jer who had been around the most. “Will you do the same as well in that case?” she asked the man sitting next to her, meaning the bit of looking after yourself along the way. The young woman knew that she was trying to escape everything by keeping herself busy and Jer was right; she would have to look after herself eventually as well. “I will let you know, don’t worry.” Becky stayed quiet for a moment, looking at the dogs again before speaking again without looking at the man sitting next to her. “Can I get a hug, Jer?”

Usually, Reina is at odds with herself on how she feels about her birthday. On one hand, she loves a day that’s specifically all about her, but on the other she hates the thought of getting old. The latter is the reason she hasn’t been loud and proud about turning 41 this year, but leave it to Becky to remember the significance of November 3rd — so it’s no surprise when she stops by. “I’d never kick you out,” Reina says casually, as if Becky has no right to think she would. To be fair, Reina is definitely the kind of person who’d gladly kick someone out of her home, but Becky is different in the way that Reina would never do anything like that to her — she’s too sweet, and as disgusting as that is, Reina also kind of finds it endearing. Not enough that she’d ever actually eat the pie that’s been brought to her — the amount of calories in that thing is enough to make her cringe — but she’ll at least put it aside for the boys to smash into for dinner or something. Once she gets it squared away, she pours a glass of wine for the both of them — Reina’s always been one to push Becky to have a drink with her, and after what happened just a few days ago, she’s sure the younger woman needs it. “How are you holding up?”

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Becky smiled up at Reina when she said that she would never kick her out. That was always nice to hear. She knew that the woman standing in front of her would definitely kick someone out if she felt like it. Becky also knew that if she was going to be one to get kicked out, she definitely did do something wrong. The young woman took the glass of wine of the other and looked at it for a moment when Reina asked how she was holding up. Before she answered, she brought the glass up to her lips so she could take a rather large sip. She took a deep breath before looking up at the other woman. “I don’t like it one bit that my family is being attacked and that I can’t do anything about it.” The powerless feeling was terrible and the positivity that usually was spreading through her veins was something that had disappeared right now. So she tried to do whatever she could for the club and their familys by looking after kids, by doing grocery shopping, taking dogs for a walk or distracting herself with visits like these to Reina. “How have you been?” Becky knew that after the years Reina had spent with the club that she was more immune to these things. Sure, Becky had been raised with these circumstances of the club but that didn’t mean she had gotten used to it.

When is she coming home? The waitress at the diner asked as he dutifully sat in the same stool he did every Wednesday morning. His beard was overgrown and hair more than just a little unruly. To say the least, Silas Avery had seen better days and he honestly didn’t know if he would ever see those better days again. His best friend was dead and while he wanted to be there for her family, he was at a loss as to how he could help. He’d taken time to compile a book full of his favorite memories, drawings, and pictures of Sutton to give to Eliza so when she got older she had some idea of who her mother was. He kept the other half blank and left room to add more pages in case anyone wanted to add to it. It was all he could think of beyond dropping off baked goods and meals and checking in. Then among the grief of everything, Cleo had to pack up and leave to take care of her mother who found out on vacation that she had cancer. Part of him was relieved that she would be safe and away from Olympus, away from him. The other part was devastated that he lost his other best friend and possibly the love of his life. He didn’t want to make it about him, though, but the overwhelming grief of it all was hard to internalize.

“She isn’t.” He answered the waitress who asked about Cleo and thanked her for the donut. Silas stared into the cooling coffee cup and left the pastry untouched. He wasn’t sure how long the person next to him had been sitting there, but he didn’t look over either. “Want a donut? It’s just glazed, but I’m not hungry anymore.” Silas mumbled and pushed the small plate toward them. Maybe they were a stranger, someone in the town that had no clue who he was. Someone who wouldn’t ask any questions and just take the thing off his hands. While he figured out how to be a functioning human again.

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It had been quite some time since Becky had last seen Silas. She had known that he had been hiding out in his own place for quite some time, since she hadn’t seen Cleo for a long time due to the fact that she was with Silas. But now that her best friend had left town, a heavy worry had washed over her because she didn’t even want to know how he was doing at the moment. Becky had gone over once, pretty soon after she had learned that Cleo would leave Olympus, but it was without success; Silas hadn’t opened the door for her. She still had no idea if he wasn’t at home or if he just didn’t open the door. So she had left the food that she had brought along on his doorstep in the hope that he would find it in time.

So it was rather a surprise when Becky found Silas sitting on a stool at the diner, she stopped in her tracks for a moment. She wondered if she should go over and in the end she did. She made her way and sat down next to him. Becky took in the man sitting besides her, deciding that he looked like crap but she didn’t say a word about it.

“I was actually hoping that you would eat the rest of it, however.” Becky spoke softly as she motioned over to the waitress to order some coffee as well. It was then that she turned to Silas again. “Have you found the food that I put in front of the door?”

Going home wasn’t really something he wanted to consider right now. Everything had been in hyper drive the past few days - the meetings with Seth to try and get to the bottom of what happened and then the funeral service happened so quickly that there was barely a chance to stop and think. And that’s what Jeremiah needed right now. To not think. So Jeremiah had been hanging out at his brother’s house. At this exact moment, sitting on the back porch, watching the dogs sniff around Benny’s sandbox. From this spot, he could tell that everyone was safe. And if that was the best he could do right now, then that was okay. As Scout came up to him for attention, the sargent heard the sliding door behind him open. Glancing over his shoulder, Jeremiah gave Becky a soft smile, scooting over to give her some space to either pass or sit beside him. “Hey, how y’holdin up?”

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Becky was pretty sure that it was five days now since she had last been at her own house. Over the past years, she had gathered some clothes at the Thane house and that was a good situation at the moment. It also meant that she had seen people coming and going and Jeremiah was definitely one of them. She had found him sitting on the back porch right now, closing the door behind her and she sat down next to him on the porch. “Hey there,” she said to him as her gaze moved to the dogs in the garden, it made her smile for a moment before she replied to Jeremiah, moving her gaze to him. “As well as I can due to the circumstances,” she told him. She took a deep breath and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Trying to help out Ro and Andy as much as I can by looking after the kiddo’s.”

Finn had stopped by the Thane house to check in on Rowan and drop off some pre-made family meals he’d gotten from the store. If he knew how to cook, he would have done that for all three families, but he offered what he could. Not surprised she wasn’t around when he arrived, he let himself in. He’d already talked to Andy earlier in the day. A smile spread across his face when Maddie met him at the door. “Aye, peanut. How are you?” He crouched down to give her a one-armed hug and stood again to bring the food into the kitchen. “Becky, you here or did these rascals tie you up in the backyard?” He joked, it was probably in bad taste but it was who he was and he was too old to apologize for it now.

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Becky was standing in the kitchen, preparing lunch for the kids when she noticed Maddie running away, followed by the voice of Finn. A tired smile appeared on her lips as he walked into the kitchen. She put down the knife that she was used to butter the bread in front of her so she could look up at Finn. “No tying up in the backyard yet but don’t cross the option off the list yet,” she told him with a smile as she made her way over to him so she could unpack the bag that he had brought so she could put the food in the near empty fridge. It was time to do groceries soon, but she hadn’t seen time for it yet and she wasn’t sure if Rowan was planning on doing it soon either. “How have you been?”

Harlow nodded her head as she pointed towards the other, finally pinpointing her. “I remember now. That colour was gorgeous on you.” A snort escaped as she remembered her own costume which had merely been to keep people’s attention on her. As well as a significant other but she wasn’t going to be so forthcoming with that little bit. “That would have been me. Your costume was much more impressive than mine.” She laughed before shrugging. “Becky. It’s nice to meet you. Did you enjoy your night?”

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“Thank you,” Becky smiled up at Harlow, she had enjoyed wearing the dress and it was something that she could keep Maddie occupied with right now because it was the first thing that she had shown the girl after the crazy ride surrounding Sutton had started. “Mine might have been more impressive but in the end it’s about the fact you stand out, right? And apparently you did, because I can still remember the outfit,” she told the other woman, carefully taking a sip of the latte she had just gotten from Harlow. “I did enjoy that part of the night, yes.”

There’s a laugh coming from Teagan’s behalf, which causes the bridge of her nose to scrunch. “It’s what I do,” she begins, understanding having the wave of carving for pie herself. Maybe she’ll grab a piece and take it home. Of course, Trixie will try to stick her face in the plate as the auburn-haired owner gently nudged the dog elsewhere. “You might as well have your pie and ice-cream too. Hitting two birds with one stone,” she explains softly to Becky, shrugging off the younger woman’s appreciation for her help. It’s the least that she could do. The woman can understand how many dilemmas there can be between two flavors. It always helps to have someone else’s opinion to guide the way, but it doesn’t overshadow the overall view. Though, once her chartreuse hues eye the pie from behind the glass, the other’s words catch her attention once more, “Visitors? Is it for a special occasion like a birthday?” Just then, another thought dances in her conscience, wondering if the other is talking about herself. Now she’s taking a bet. “Because if it’s your birthday, I’m not gonna let you buy that pie yourself, Becky. Let me treat you.”  

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Pie and ice-cream was a golden combination, no matter the situation or moment. But Becky was pretty sure that a birthday only made it a better combination in her opinion. “Yeah, it’s for my birthday. I’m not expecting a lot of visitors but I thought this would be nice to have,” she said with a chuckle to the other woman, her eyes growing a little larger when she heard what Teagan said about buying the pie for her as a treat for her birthday. “That’s very kind of you,” was all that she said. There was a part of her that wanted to tell Teagan that it was not going to be necessary to do that for her, but she had a feeling that the other woman was not going to have any of that. “Turning twenty-four today, so that deserves at least some kind of treat in the form of pie.”

Harlow was glad that the woman seemed to accept the offer that was being dealt to her. It had been a little easier than the brunette had anticipated given that she had envisioned some would have been weary to take things from a stranger. “No need to thank me. I should be thanking you. It would have been a real shame to waste a fresh drink.” She said with a wink as she looked the brunette over for a moment. “You were at the halloween party?” She remembered her because she had trailed after her in the hope to ask where she’d gotten her costume at but hadn’t been able to find the girl afterwards. “I need a lot of that good karma. I’m Harlow, by the way. I should have probably lead with that.”

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Becky smiled up at the woman when she let her know that she had to thank Becky instead. She shook her head for a moment but didn’t argue against it. It was not going to be worth it in the end. “Yeah, I was. If you saw someone dressed up as princess Tiana, then it was probably me.” Because Becky could not remember someone else being dressed up the way as she had that night, but then again… there had been quite some people there. “I think you were dressed up as a devil, weren’t you?” If she would confirm it, then she was pretty sure she was indeed the woman that had been hanging around Seth during the party. “I’m Becky,” she introduced herself as well, holding out her hand to shake Harlow’s hand.

LOCATION: Cleo’s place

Girls Night. Cleo fails to recollect when’s the last time that she and Becky had one of these. It must’ve been at the beginning of the year. However, with everything that’s been going on ─ her reunion with Silas, to the admittance of her feelings and love, to the unexpected passing of Sutton Hart, alcohol is desperately needed. It’s been the first time in a couple of days since she had been home, and it’s been quiet. Not a single text message from her mother on her whereabouts because Charlotte has been too occupied with business in New Orleans, which caused her to stay in the apartment they have. Either way, she missed Becky. They may just seen each other a few days ago, as well as in passing at the funeral, but her best friend’s concern about being forgotten lingers in her conscience.

After vanishing into the kitchen to grab the last bowl of chips and glasses before placing it on the table, Cleo gave them two options to drink tonight. Tequila, which happens to be her favorite and always goes down smooth. Or the safe choice of Pinot Grigio, which is favorite as well, but she’s going to let her best friend decide on what kind of evening it is. Returning to the couch beside Becky, she drapes the blanket over her legs crisscrossed. “I’ll let you pick our choice of poison,” she tells her. Ideally, it’s not the best way to handle everything that’s going on, but right now, it’s an urge that consumes her. After a moment, she sighs, feeling as bits and pieces of her body tension fade away. “How are you feeling?”

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Becky had definitely imagined their girls night to be in a different situation. In a much different situation. Over the past days she had tried to keep herself busy with visiting Rowan and Andy a lot, spending time with what was family to her. Sutton had belonged to her family as well. Yes, from a farther distance, but the MC was her family. So maybe that was why it hadn’t hit her that hard, but she had definitely been too emotional for her doing - at least in her opinion. This girls night was supposed to be a night of laughter, talking and watching movies but Becky had a feeling that was not going to be the case for the night.

Her eyes had been set on the television absentmindedly, although she had no recollection of what exactly had been on while Cleo had been moving around the place to get some snacks and something to drink for them. It was only when her friend sat down on the couch again, that Becky snapped herself out of her thoughts and looked up at the blonde, realizing that she hadn’t been focusing at all. Her gaze moved to the two bottles of liquor and motioned toward the bottle of wine. “Let’s start with that. We can always switch to tequila later on the night.” For the past days she had probably had enough liquor - and lemonade - for the rest of the month with the Halloween party, looking after Benjamin and Maddie while the others were talking about important things Becky didn’t want to know about and in the nights with others. So another few glasses of wine and some tequila shots would not mind either.

“Considering the circumstances, I’m good. The Thane kids have been a good distraction.” That definitely had been true. The oldest from Reina probably had some kind of idea what was going on while the younger ones probably had no idea. “How have you been?”

With the newly bought apple pie, Becky had made her way over to Reina’s house. She knew that probably no one was waiting to celebrate a birthday at the moment with the funeral of Sutton coming up, but to Becky it was probably the best way to make room for something else in her brain. She had done enough crying in her opinion so who else was better than Reina than to make her think about something else. She walked through the backdoor, letting herself in and it didn’t take long to find Reina. “I come bringing birthday cake so please don’t kick me out of the house.”

There wasn’t much stuff Mark could do with his time since he was technically unemployed, or rather, underemployed. It was slim pickings for work in a small town like this for someone with his resume. So what else did he have to turn to during his free time? Carbs, of course. “Huh?” he said absently to the person talking beside him as he scanned the display. It took a second before his brain processed what the person had said. “I’m very much an apple pie kinda guy. It all boils down to preference, but I can tell you’re not getting this for yourself, are you?”

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Becky looked up at the man standing next to her and nodded. “Yeah, it’s not just for me, although I don’t mind eating all the leftovers. It’s someone’s birthday at the moment and even though some might not think this is the right timing, I just wanted to go by with some pie.” Visiting Reina for her birthday was the best distraction she could have right now. Keeping herself busy so she wouldn’t have to think about what had happened to Sutton and stop herself from crying… “You are new to town, aren’t you?”

The workday wore down Teagan to a state of being nonexistent. The lack of emotional capacity is etching over her features as a quick hand covers over her mouth as she yawns. It’s only seven o’clock but the thought of getting home with her to-go order, to wrap herself up in a throw blanket as she indulges in a few episodes of Poldark before falling asleep with Trixie, makes her eager. The day couldn’t send sooner, if you ask her. However, with quite the hustle and bustle within the establishment, the cashier told the auburn-haired woman it would take longer than usual for her order to be accomplished. With a polite smile, an ‘it’s okay’ darting from her lips, and a nod before the worker vanished elsewhere, a voice causes her head to turn to their direction. “Both sound amazing,” she hums contentedly before a smile overtakes mouth corners. Now she wants to take a piece of pie home as chartreuse hues eye down at them. “I would do apple pie, warm it up a couple of seconds before serving it with some ice-cream on the second. It may be safe, but I think it’s the best option.”

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An expression of realization dawned upon Becky before it was replaced by a bright smile at the idea that the other woman had given her. “That sounds like a great idea and I can’t believe that I haven’t thought of it myself,” she said to Teagan, before motioning over to the person behind the counter that she would like some apple pie. That also meant that she would have to make a different trip to the supermarket as well to get some ice-cream as well. Maybe even some whipped cream to make the combination complete. “Thank you for that advice. I’m sure that the visitors will love that as well. Otherwise I will just eat it all by myself without any regrets,” Becky said with a chuckle to the other woman.

“No, this isn’t what I ordered.” Harlow argued with the barista who promptly realized her mistake and told her to keep the cup of coffee because they could not accept it back. An huff escaped her lips as she peered down at the order and wrinkled her nose. A latte. Harlow was lactose intolerant. Turning upon her heel, she let her eyes wander over the nearby individuals until someone caught her gaze. “Hey, would you like an extra drink? It’s been untouched and while I’d take it, I don’t think my day would start off well if I drank a latte while being lactose intolerant.” She explained. While she wasn’t always keen about being this honest and open with people, she felt it was the easiest route to pass the drink along to someone who might enjoy it.

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Becky definitely hadn’t been paying attention when someone suddenly started to talk to her, having focused on her phone to see if there was any new news on what had happened to Sutton. The sudden voice startled her a little, looking up with large eyes and relaxing slightly as she saw Harlow standing in front of her. She had seen her around Seth during the Halloween party, that much she could remember from the night but details were something Becky didn’t have. “Oh, thank you, that’s nice of you.” She smiled up at the other woman although the smile turned into a grimace when the combination of ‘lactose intolerent’ and ‘latte’ came into the picture. “That’s definitely not the best way to start your day. Like this you at least will be able to get some good karma.” Not that Becky was a firm believer of that.