Esteé

The creek had seemed to be the perfect place to go that day. It was so peaceful, so quiet. No one would notice if she was sitting there crying. She couldn’t help it, it was Tommy’s birthday, he should be two. He should be there with her and Nathan getting excited over presents and getting sick off of cake. Instead she was sitting there, alone, with noting but memories of her son crying because he was in pain. Perhaps it was self-pity, but she wasn’t sure what else to do.

Hearing someone’s footsteps, she quickly wiped her cheeks, hoping it wasn’t obvious she had been crying. “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?” she said. If she acted like she was fine and everything was normal, perhaps someone else would believe it. 

Esteé had taken today to discover more of the small town, that was beginning to feel a lot bigger then it initially had. There were so many hidden gems. She was beginning to feel like the reason cities felt so big was because of all they had crammed in them. Geographically, she believed Raeford was a lot bigger than Brooklyn, she hand’t done the actual google search but she was certain of it. 

She was walking along the water knowing creeks turned into rivers, and she’d eventually come across a waterfall; hopefully. Seeing someone sitting at the edge of the water she watched as the female wiped at her eyes. She felt like she was walking in on a private moment, and was getting ready to back track before the woman spoke. Esteé was very familiar with the art of disguising tears and sadness, her experience from an early tuning her into the little details of peoples emotions. 

Mackenzie Taylor had always loved Langston Creek. She could remember spending summer days out there with her father and her brother, surrounded by laughter and happiness. It seemed a lifetime away from how she was living at the moment. She was finding herself taking more and more time to herself; effectively withdrawing from the people around her. Still, she needed it most days, and this was nothing different. She’d asked a friend to give her a ride up to the Creek that day and had hopped out of the car, crutches, dog and picnic in tow. Hades, her husky, was busy exploring the nearby trees, whilst Kenzie had settled herself down near the Creek, a book in hand, trying to just enjoy herself - to forget about the mess her life had become, and most importantly, to have some time to herself. 

She was distracted by a loud and sudden shriek from beside her, Hades running back to investigate the source of the noise, immediately running to stop beside the girl, sniffing at her. Kenzie sighed slightly, knowing that he was a big dog, and that some people could find that intimidating, “Hades, here!” She called, snapping her fingers as she spoke. The dog moved back towards her quickly, and Kenz offered a gentle smile, “Sorry about him. He’s just curious about everything. Are you okay?”

Esteé had her head turned the opposite way, so when she felt another fuzz crawling at her skin, her initial reaction was somewhat of a whimper whine, reaching to swat at the back of her leg, only to feel something wet, she turned around watching as the tail of puppy walking away, after being summoned from its owner. 

“Oh, I’m so happy I didn’t hit him” she exhaled, her eyebrows pulled together with worry, lamenting having screamed so loud and startling anyone, especially the pup. “I’m fine, just coming back from my trip to heaven” she joked waving off the question. “You called him or her Hades?” she questioned her head cocking to the side. “What a cutie!” 

“Way too much of a stretch,” Quinn replied, laughing lightly. “Nobody just lands in Raeford. We’re not that kinda town. People don’t come here to discover themselves - something leads or forces you here. Or you’re born and die here. We’re that kinda town.” She shrugged softly, tucking some of her hair behind her eat. She was one of the born and die in Raeford types; other than her time in the army, she’d spent absolutely all of her time in Raeford, and was more than acquainted with everyone in town - a new face always stood out to her, and she always liked to know their story.

She nodded as the girl perked up at the second half of her statement, “Well, I guess. I’m gonna be putting an ad out in the window in the next couple days. I reckon I’m gonna have to take on more than one new bartender, just to keep shit together while I’m getting my little one settled into school. Why, you lookin’ for a job?” Quinn asked, raising an eyebrow - she was used to giving newcomers a start in town, hell, she’d given the last newcomer and new bartender a free apartment above the bar, but she’d skipped town without so much as a thank you. 

"Well I have a habit of breaking the norm and going against the grain" Esteé smiled, a soft smile that seemed to not reach her eyes. It wasnt that what the woman was saying was true, it wasn't, but because maybe it could have been. Maybe in some back door way she was led here. Her constant need to move forward and further away from Florida, from her family. Her need to be seen to fit in somewhere, where everyone one knew everyone's business. She'd spent so much of her life hiding. Hiding bumps and bruises, praying someone would notice and save her from her hell. But it was a big city, and like she thought previously; people tend to become invisible in big cities. 

"I wasn't born here, may not even die here- and I wasn't forced here. Coming to think of it, I wasn't led here either. Just landed" she shrugged. “Fell in love with the size and warmth” she finished, turning her gaze back around to watch as people moved around the bar. Smiling, laughing, she suddenly felt out of place.

"Oh-” she turned her head towards the bartender/bar owner once more. “Yeah, I don’t have any bar tending experience though, and I don’t really drink much” she admitted sheepishly, knowing how under qualified she was. “I’m a quick learner, and dedicated” she piped with a toothy grin. "I just picked up a job at Jitterbug fixing things around but I could use something to do at nights"

Katherine wondered how she hadn’t yet discovered Langston Creek. It was a beautiful little area, and with all the space it had, was perfect for walking the dogs from the Shelter. Unfortunately, in her new career choice, Kat didn’t have the luxury of days off. The animals had to be fed and cared for every day, and at the moment, it was her sole responsibility. She’d decided to take two of the newer dogs for the longer walk that day, stopping by Langston Creek to allow them to relax for a few moments, before they started making their way back to town. She knew there was still a lot left to attend to at the Shelter, but getting out in the sunshine seemed like a good way to pass some of the day.

She’d just sat down on a patch of grass, both dog’s leashes in hand, when she heard a scream from beside her and immediately got back up to investigate, heading over to the girl with a concerned expression on her face, “Hey, are you okay–?” She asked, just before the girl had burst into laughter. A small smile spread across her face, eventually turning into laughs of her own, “God, I think you just gave everyone up here a fright. I know the feeling, though, I’m terrified of spiders, too. Are you alright?”

"I don't know" she choked through her laughter. her laugh was something between a cry and a laugh, her eyes welled up with tears from both laughing so hard her belly hurt and being so scared she nearly peed her pants. She took a moment to breathe, so she could talk, inhaling very deeply through her nose and out through her mouth.

"Sorry" she exclaimed again, now that she'd caught her breath enough and the laughter stopped. "I think I'm okay now" she smiled, looking up at the female. Now that her eyes weren't welled with tears she could see the female clearly. Something about the woman's small smile reminded Esteé of her mother.

"I didn't mean to scream so loud, it just came by surprise" Estee said lifting herself of the ground, dusting off her pants once more. A shiver going up her spine, she still felt the thing crawling on her. “Awww” she cooed her eyes landing on the two dogs she held on leashes. “Cute, are they friendly?” she smiled up at the female looking up from the dogs. 

The Grind had quickly become one of Noah’s regular haunts in town, since it had opened. It was one of the most recent new businesses in town, and since Starbucks hadn’t quite made its way out to Raeford yet, he supposed it was the closest thing for both newcomers and tourists who passed through the town. He was sure that some days, his system was made up of more caffeine than it was blood, but he supposed that happened when he had to work four nightshifts a week - not that Raeford had had any big traumas in since the accident. He sighed quietly to himself, pushing that thought to the back of his mind. 

The accident was the last thing that he wanted to think about at that moment, yet it seemed to preoccupy every part of his life. The boxes in his car outside, labelled with Devon’s name, would do nothing aside from remind him of the loss that had incurred, but he supposed it would be like that for a while. Still, he knew he wasn’t the only person in town dealing with the fallout from the accident - but he still wasn’t sure that he could bring himself to speak to any of them about it. Nobody seemed to be on the same wavelength as he was, they weren’t dealing with the same issues - he’d manage to overcome it on his own, eventually.

He waited patiently in the queue behind the girl as she made her order, before stepping forward to pay the barista after he’d announced the total. He offered a small smile at her surprise, “Guess you’re new in town, huh? Don’t get all too used to the Southern Hospitality - I’m just deciding to do someone a favour today.” He teased, a light laugh echoing from his lips, “Honestly, it’s fine. I’ve got it.” He shook his head, laughing again as she spoke, “That kinda takes away from the whole idea in the first place, you know.” Noah added, “When’d you get into town?” He asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.

"Noted" her nose crinkled as her smile widened. Esteé clasped her wallet shut, her hands falling to her side. "Not Southern hospitality, just a one off thing" concurred. "A random act of kindness from a stranger trying to balance out his chakra" she joked. stepping to the side to allow the man to order and so she wouldn't continue to hold up the line. She turned away briefly as her name was called out to gather her order. Turning her head to face him again as he asked his question.

She expected people would breach her with curiosity, from what she heard new comers were a bit of a rarity as in any small town but in this small town particularly. Everyone she's met has greeted her with interest and curiosity. Something that Esteé wasn't sure if she liked or despised yet. Although expected, the boldness of his question- not so much the question itself- made her shut into herself a little. An old habit that after five years of being away from home didn't seem to want to go away.

Esteé felt like a bit of an oxymoron; her original draw to the small town being that, there seemed to be no secrets. No way to hide, but at the same time the thought of people knowing everything about her, her life before, why she was here now it made her just as uncomfortable as it made her feel safe. "Not too long ago, maybe a couple months back" she replied, sensing the response came off a bit more evasive then she intended, which she'd imagined would peak the kind man's interest more if he was like everyone else in Raeford. She was acting as though she had something to hide, but she truthfully didn't. It wasn't a if she was running from the law or something. "It was back in the end of June, actually" she added after a beat offering the other a smile. "Question for question" she jested. "Your name, I'd like to know who to thank for the coffee" she lifted her drink up, taking a sip, just the taste of the caffeine brightening the world.

From the moment the wary-looking girl lifted her head up, Casey knew that she’d seen that face before. Normally, that wouldn’t alarm her at all - she worked with a ton, and that was a ton of people in Brooklyn PD, and had probably seen more faces than she could ever try to count. But that time, the deja vu feeling was a bit different… like it was supposed to be more obvious. No, she remembered those features too well, like she’d known the girl regularly rather than just one or two times that she might’ve shown up at her old precinct.

And yet, realization only struck her after the girl’s comment about double espresso. “Are you kidding me?” she asked with a surprised smile. “You’re the girl who worked at the coffee shop in Brooklyn, right? Across the street from the PD?” Casey wanted to laugh at the coincidence, she honestly did. What were the odds? “It was… Estela, right? No, scratch that, Estee?”

For the better part of her career in the coffee shop in New York, Esteè was a part of the woman’s morning routine. Often times working as a barista, you became the part of someone’s life in a very unique way, there were so many customers she could remember- one’s that came in every weekday at the same time. 

Lindsey with the Caramel Frapp and almond croissant, Alex with with large iced coffee with two shots of caramel and a splash of milk. People who Esteè assumed wouldn’t know her from a face in a crowd. She smiled warmly when the other recognized her not only by face but by name. “Yeah, most weekdays- Estee’s right” her eyes crinkled in the corners, as she leaned on the counter, allowing it to hold up most of her weight. 

“Small freaking world” Esteè piped after a beat of silence, her head shaking in disbelief. “Are you living in Raeford now or just here on a job or something?” she questioned eyebrows pulling together, forgetting briefly where she actually was.  

He glanced over at the other woman. Oh, Mrs Nolan. A witch of a woman really, one who had told him countless times that he was going to hell. Of course she would get mad at a reaction to a spider, he was beginning to wonder if there was anything that didn’t piss her off.

 “Oh Mrs Nolan, won’t you tell your son those tight pants he wears look hot?” he asked sweetly, causing her to almost turn red from anger before storming off. “So spiders piss her off to… interesting” he mused.

Esteè tuckered her head, cowering as the male addressed the woman who had been shamelessly staring her down. Mrs. Nolan, she committed the name to memory, feeling as though this wouldn’t be the last time she saw the woman’s disapproving looks.  

The corners of her lips tugged up into a smile, at the males words, even more so after Mrs. Nolan stormed off. "Thank you" she chuckled.

"It might have been the Banshee in me that did it" Esteé smiled, looking closing her book and looking over at the male fully now. "But I'm curious, does her son really look hot in tight jeans?" Her eyebrow quirked.

the emperor: what are some names that you like?

“I answered this one, but I’ll give a few more names! I like Atticus, Zola, Jemma, and Maria.”

the lovers: do you have a crush?

“I’ll give a different answer for this one as well. I do have a crush, on chocolate chip cookies! The chemistry feels unreal!”

death: what are three things you want to do before you die?

“Alright, three more things... I want to see an Elephant, rescue a cat, and visit a different country. Maybe all at the same time!”

the world: do you like waking up early?

“Oh god no!” her eyes widen. “Well unless there’s a very good reason, or a motivator, like a buffet of French Toast.”

the emperor: what are some names that you like?

“I like old names, names that tell a story. Like Efee, you hear the name and you can’t help but picture the person that name belong to.”

the lovers: do you have a crush?

“Nope, I’m kind of just focused on me at the moment.”

wheel of fortune: first three songs that come on shuffle?

“Sober- Demi Lovato/ Homesick- Dua Lipa/ Lovely- Billy Elish and you should listen to all of them!”

the hanged man: favorite movie soundtrack?

“At the moment The Greatest Showman”

death: what are three things you want to do before you die?

“This is a hard one! There are so many things, I guess I’ll give the first three that pop in my head: I want to Cliff Jump, I want to go to a Karaoke bar, and I want to feel what it’s like to be surrounded by unconditional love friends.”

temperance: can you describe a strange dream you’ve had?

“I feel like all of my dreams are strange, maybe the strangest one I can remember is where I lived in this post apocalyptic dystopian world and my every move was tracked by a GPS and it was up to me and my friends to figure out how to take down the government.”

She had been trying to find a quiet spot in town for a while. Cat had only been town’s news the first time she came back from overseas, the times after that, people were just happy to see that she was alive, but that meant that there was no more silence where she went, just people asking her where her mother was and what she was doing. It got unnerving every once in a while, really unnerving. She found herself on Langford Creek, it wasn’t empty, but it was the closest thing she would find to peace and she was good with it, if it wasn’t for the girl flailing around and acting completely crazy a few feet away from her, to which, Cat looked at her as if she was completely mental, until the girl broke into laughter and explained it was a spider.

“Do you always sound like that when you have a spider on you?” Her eyebrows raised and she kept on looking at her until and if she would ever stop laughing. “I honestly wouldn’t expect to see you laughing seeing how horrified you looked just moments earlier.” Caitlyn scratched the back of her head and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Damn her and her need to check on people and see if they were okay— that so did not went hand in hand with her personality. “Are you okay?”

It was as if her shriek echoed off the trees for a moment, it didn’t feel silent again for a couple of minutes, and her laughter still broke through it. Her eyes fell on the female that was staring at her blankly, almost annoyed, and her cheeks flushed red.>/small>

 Just as suddenly as the scream came, the laughter left. Her jaw clenching, she averted her gaze. “Only when it’s huge” she replied flatly.

Any type of confrontational behavior always seemed to immediately flip a switch in Esteè’s brain. If someone was snippy with her, the girl couldn’t resist putting up a hard exterior. The sweet smile that was usually planted on her face would quickly change into a straight line. 

“Sorry” she replied to the woman’s statement. “Laughter is actually a very common reaction to fear, stress, or shock..” she trailed, meeting the females gaze. “I’m fine though, thanks for asking” Esteè allowed the corner of her lip to twitch into a small smile. 

Needless to say, it was a surprise when instead of requesting a haircut, the girl sought a job. Yet not necessarily a bad one. Every story had its twists, didn’t it?

Their eyes met for a moment, her icy blue ones mixing in with smoldering brown. While some would claim that brown eyes are common, nothing really special about them, Agnes begged to differ. She found them beautiful, beholding the many secrets that the universe seemed to hold. Within brown eyes, Agnes often found herself at home.

Of course though, their gazes soon disconnected and Agnes found a resume being handed to her. Agnes took it, listened to the girl and the slight hitch of her breath, noticing that her name, according to the paper, was Esteé. She read over the resume at an astonishing pace — one of her talents was that she was a speed reader — and figured out that Esteé was a jack of all trades and master of few.

Perhaps that was what they needed, especially since she seemed to have some knowledge with basic engineering. Her manager has been looking for somebody to tinker with and fix all the broken crooks and nicks in Jitterbug. The interior itself may look new, but that was only account of excellent decoration; the building itself was rather old.

Agnes was sure her boss would be overjoyed, so without skipping a beat, she looked up at Esteé, she simply said, “You’re hired.”

Sliding the resume under the counter, she moved to extend her hand in a more formal greeting.

“My name is Agnes,” she introduces herself, “While I don’t own this establishment, my boss has been looking for somebody with your skills for quite awhile now. Not many people in this town go searching for jobs, as most are fairly set in their careers. So, welcome. I’ll print out a proper job description as well as other information for you shortly.”

Watching as the icy blue eyes scanned over her resume, Esteè swallowed hard rocking from foot to foot. She wasn’t sure if she should leave, she had every intention of pleading her case, dropping off her resume and moving on to the next location. 

She didn’t anticipate someone actually taking a quick look at her resume and making a decision in that exact moment. She knew it didn’t necessarily look very promising but she had a lot of experience in several different settings, a lot of it geared towards handy work. The moment only lasted a moment though, before the female looked up. 

Esteè’s stomach sunk, not prepared for a rejection, especially after how inarticulate she was just moments prior. She wasn’t expecting a good outcome to say the least, so when the other so plainly offered her a job, her eyes widened almost comically. “Wait- you’re serious?” she asked perplexed, extending her own hand to meet the others. “Oh my god, thank you so much!” she beamed. It felt so satisfying cutting the job search off so soon. 

A wave of relief shot through the brown eyed girl. She was proud of herself. Esteè wasn’t sure how she was going to make this move work, if she’d ever find a foot in the door, and start feeling like herself. If she’d eventually grow to regret it, but for the first time since she stepped foot onto Raeford, she felt like she was finally making actual strides.

Agnes she repeated mentally to herself, listening as the other continued. “Esteè” she piped, letting her hand fall down to her side after a moment. “-My name is Esteè” she added shortly after. “I appreciate the job offer, thank you” she smiled sheepishly. ”You don’t have to talk it over with your boss?” she questioned her eyebrows furrowing.

Mornings had never been Casey’s favorites, that much hadn’t ever changed. How anyone could possibly function before 7 a.m. was frankly beyond her. Still, 7am in Raeford was quite different then in New York - naturally so, since the Alabama town was much smaller, but it was still a change she was grateful for. Raeford’s preccint was a lot quieter, had a lot less people working, and admitedly had a lot less work to be done. The town had its fair ammount of problems with drug trafficking, but it was mostly just that, and it really helped to be able to focus in only one case at a time, rather than having to multitask between several murders like she got used to back at Brooklyn PD.

Her eyes scanned a conversation they had intercepted between two Hart Fort dealers, making quick work of figuring out their ever-so-eloquent slang. “Something something… brown lady, marijuana.” She had a weird habit of mumbling to herself, but it helped her think faster, so who cared. She didn’t. “And white lady is cocaine… what the hell is a blue candy, ecstasy?” Casey was so focused on her work, she only barely noticed when someone entered the preccinct behind her. Hearing the quick footsteps, she turned around, immediately noticing that the recepctionist wasn’t on their desk. Well, crap, it was up to her then.

“Um… can I help you?”

Esteè had her head down as she entered the precinct, something about being in proximity to too so many officers made her feel a bit off edge. Her few runs with the cops in her late teens left her distrustful of them. She could guess it wasn’t really their fault, her father played the role very well how could they ever guess he was anything but kind to his family. Yet still, the way they were able to dismiss any accusations so easily, left a sour taste in her mouth. 

Her hands stayed stuffed in her jean pockets, which she assumed looked sort of suspicious. She leaned uncomfortably on the receptionist desk, finally raising her head to look around, only to see no one was present, she reached into her pocket again, this time to grab the wallet she’d found on the side of the road. It had a license from a different county, and she didn’t know how else to get it to it’s proper owner. She was getting ready to leave it on the counter when she was greeted by someone, her eyes quit shifting around the room, and landed on the female. 

It took a minute for Esteè to reply to the females questions, a look of recognition crossing her face. She knew this woman, it took her brain a second to catch up as to how, seeing someone out of context was always a strange thing. Her eyes lit up, forgetting the uncomfortable feeling she felt just moments prior. “Hey, you’re double espresso?” she asked looking puzzled . “Casey,- right?” she mused. 

Jessica laughed along with the girl, nearly uncontrollably. She really didn’t expect a spider would have caused such chaos in one tiny person and yet there the young brunette was, flailing around as if her body was on fire. What was she supposed to hope for? Definitely a lot of laughter from the only person that was around and that person was Jessica. “Jesus, Mary, Joseph, was that all for a tiny spider? I mean, there haven’t been sights of tarantulas in Raeford, so I very much doubt that they were the cause of your distress, but holy hell.” She commented, feeling her laughter slow down progressively. 

The blonde dried the corner of her eyes where they were wet. A little bit more time laughing and she would probably have cried. “Okay, I guess the real question is why are you reading alone right next the creek? I’m sure there are a few more places that you can do that have more people around. Unless you’re hiding from something— or someone.”

Her cheeks were beginning to tinge red, a mix of laughter and embarrassment from her absurd reaction. To her own defense this spider was at least the size of Esteè’s big toe. "No- Not tiny at all!" She objected. “It for sure wasn’t a tarantula, it would’ve been much worse if it was, if you can imagine a bigger reaction” she smiled, small fits of giggles still escaping her lips. 

Estee's eyebrows pinched together at the question, her head cocking to the idea just slightly. "Not hiding, I just like the sound of the running water. It's nice out here. There's not many places you can step out in New York that you'd get any actual quiet" she smiled softly, her nose crinkling at the act. "Are you hiding? Did I just give away your location?" She questioned, half joking.

Luckily Hunter hadn’t really been planning on doing muchtoday. Scribbling some notes in his notebook was about as far as he went. Heknew he could bring his laptop, a lot of the time he did, but right now he wasmore just focusing on the area then anything else. He might only write thetruth, but that didn’t meant he couldn’t use some exaggeration to describe thelocation, no one would notice anyway, everyone knew this town like the back oftheir hand. But he had to do something to make his articles stand out, had todo something to get noticed and picked up by another paper one day.

He hadn’t really noticed the girl until she suddenly startedscreaming. Well that was unexpected. He would like to say his first thought wasif she was ok, but he would be lying. Really his first thought was if there wasa possible story here. Just impossible to get the journalist instincts to stop,even for five minute. As she explained herself, he shook his head, chucklingsoftly. “Can you give warning before you do that, think you almost stopped myheart” he joked, even if it had spooked him.

“I-I’m so sorry!” Esteè repeated, still choking through her own laughter. She was painfully aware of the annoyed looks she was receiving from passerby’s. One woman’s death glare, figuratively smacking the smile right from her face. She swallowed hard, puckering her lips to keep the smile from returning. 

Whenever she allowed herself to have the time, Anna would put on her yoga pants, sneakers and do a few laps around Langford Creek. It was never uncommon to see people doing that, partly for the view the creek provided, but also because it was never too hot in the early morning, or from the middle of the afternoon until the night. The trees provided the perfect shadows to protect all-time joggers from the sun, even though this wasn’t exactly the case at this point of the year, Raeford was beginning to get more and more in the autumn mood and it was a special thing to see. It was needless to say that Anna was both distracted by the color changing leaves and also the music coming from her earbuds.

Her jog quickly came into a halt when she saw a brunette girl making strange movements with her legs. She stopped on her tracks, taking the earbuds from her ears to see if her help was actually needed, but, once the explanation came, she couldn’t help but to chuckle along with the young girl. “I can perfectly say that the poor spider will definitely not craw on you again— ever again. Are you okay, though? No heart attack coming?” 

Her eyes still brimmed with tears, that the mix of panic and laughter brought on. The blurred image of the female walking up to her becoming clearer as she breathed through her manic laughter. "The poor spider?" Estee exclaimed, her eyes as wide as the smile on her face "Poor me! I was an unsuspecting victim!" Her hand went over her heart, quite dramatically as to make it obvious that her counter was only meant to be received as a joke.

Closing her book she set it in her bag, lifting herself from the floor. It wasn't that she'd never seen a spider before, but she was almost certain ones that big did not exist in bigger cities. "I'm okay, though thank you. I think, if anything the crawler just restarted my heart" she chuckled.