Ambition's Venture

For sale, baby shoes, never used.

I do so love the tabloids.

They don't bother you with their invasive tendencies? 

The calming effect Brielle’s murmured words and warm grip had on Nora was unexpected, it was the trigger for her walls to break down, and she felt it becoming increasingly difficult to hold back tears. “I blame myself. I was away for almost three years…I took them all for granted, and now…Now, I don’t know how to talk to the family I do have left.” Neither one of the options sounded appealing to Nora, on the one hand, have more surprises unveiled, and on the other, try to have a meaningful conversation with her brother. Nora struggled to recall a previous time when she had felt this dejected, but she had never lost someone before, and now she had lost her parents, and her sister. As she was reminded of the fact that at the core of her pain was her twin’s self inflicted demise, Nora felt a sob rake the inside of her throat. “I’m not going to do this,” She told herself. 

Everything Nora was trying to hold back - the thickness that Brielle could swear she heard in the blonde's voice, drew the Harcourt closer with the strong desire to soften the edges sorrow was protruding in the remaining twin's life. It was hard not to think of Nina in these instances; she didn't think there had been a time when she had seen Nora in tears before. And much like the mourning sibling, the brunette recalled several instances where Nina kept her tears at bay - if only to refrain from ruining the mascara she had painted eyelashes on to perfection. It wasn't a pretty sight when she cried, this much the egotistical twin had acknowledged, which had her ensuring that her face was to be hidden, even during the times she had sought out her alleged best friend for comfort. Brielle's hand reached around for Nora's back, and drew soothing circles, as parents often did for their children. "Family has always been a difficult concept," she murmured in agreement. "But keeping them at arm's length won't make what you've lost any easier." She thought of the way that Liam had sought to solve the threats on Kaleb alone, and the way Nina had barricaded herself with Maxine before taking her own life - they were all recipes for disaster. "Try, Nora. Let someone share your grief with you, because you're definitely not alone." Her brother too had lost his sister. Perhaps it wasn't the same degree of a twin, but she could tell that Liam had tried his best to make it up to Nina when he had returned to Deering. Though his efforts were often wasted away, Brielle would have liked to believe there had been some progress in their relationship - enough for each to feel protective of one another once again. And like Nora, he too had lost their parents. Maybe it wasn't the same wave of combined news of having three fifths of their family, but losing parents was never an ordeal easily forgotten - especially when the expectation would be that they'd leave in their sleep once old age had caught up with them. "Not going to do what?" Brielle had gotten a little teary with the trips down memory lane - causing her eyes to shine as she braved another glance at the girl that looked so much like her parted friend.

"Well then you can talk to me about my life choices and I’ll tell you why I’m making them. You, at least, can be rational about it. Ma and Pop can’t.”

Brielle disagreed. She thought their parents were one of those most rational and understanding of parents in Deering. But despite her own thoughts, she gestured for him to continue - hoping that sense would come from hearing him out. 

"Honestly, I’ve been thinking a lot about going into education, but I’m not sure if I’d make a great teacher. I want to sit on it for a bit longer before I decide. That’s certainly a profession that you want to be sure about, you know?"

"You could always try applying as a TA in some of your courses? That would give you an idea how you'll fair as an instructor. Granted, they tend to expect a certain level of grades to accompany the position. But, of course, that's always up to you; you can always try out the co-op portion of your program to see if it's a right fit for yourself as well."

"I think we should all be able to live the life we want" Dani knew all too well about not being able to live the life she wanted to live, Michael wouldn’t let her. "Oh so you’re into law then?" Dani asked "well L.A’s a nice place and I think you’ve done right to choose L.A instead of somewhere that’s close to those memories"

"I think that is a courageous aim - doing what we want. But, there always tends to be so many obstacles that keep you from it, to the point of making you wonder if that path was the correct one to begin with." She still remembered a time when she could have left Deering a lot sooner than she did. Upon the request of Alec, she begrudgingly stayed in a town that had caused her so much pain. And yet, with only weeks into this new city, she already encountered something that could have been potentially fatal to her life. Was that the trade off that fate was trying to deter her from? Emotional pain for physical harm? "That I am. I don't entirely remember a moment in my life when that wasn't the direction I wanted to go. Thank you. I hope that LA will bring me many happier ones to keep."

You would be surprised by the stories I could tell you about the people who sneak in. I only harass the suspicious characters, or the ones who are worth talking to. 

Sounds like you have a number of them under your belt. So, if I were to guess, you'd find me belonging to the suspicious sort? After all, you were rather aggressive about calling security.