l u c i e

Griffin was trying to get out more. With Bella away at space camp he had more time on his hands than he was used to and the house was quieter too. He could probably use the rest but here he was as lucky’s instead grabbing something to eat with a nice drink. His head lifted hearing a voice and he offered Lucie a smile. “Hey how’s it going? Needing a night away from the house as well?” 

“More like I ran out of drink at home.” Lucie laughed as the bartender placed her drink down in front of her. She lifted it up in a cheers before taking a long swig. “But yes, you could say I also needed a change from the same damn four walls of my apartment. What are you doing here tonight?”

“I think you might be right there.” But in the end, it did not mean that Natalia was going to be one of the people with a hangover. She definitely wasn’t planning on it at all. “Ai, that doesn’t sound good.” That sounded like a lot of money was spend on the poker tables there and that was unfortunate. “I’m going to get out of here. You want to join me in the other room for a drink? Just one, no getting drunk just yet.”

“Probably a good idea. For me too, before I start feeling lucky. Because let’s face it, I am not.” Lucie looked down at her glass, realising it was empty. Another drink sounded wonderful, even if it meant a guaranteed hangover in the morning. That was future Lucie’s problem. Right now she wanted to let go and have some fun. “I’d love to. But don’t make any promises on not getting drunk. You are drinking with me and that in itself should come with a warning.” Lucie teased, leading the other girl through to the bar. 

Turning to look at Lucie when she spoke, she gave a laugh. “I mean hey I’m always down for a girls trip if you are.” Telling her with a laugh. She was always down to hang out with the few friends she had somewhere relaxing. Sadly though she hadn’t took any vacations since she was in college, work had always took precedence. “I get that. It was also super hectic for me too, but for different reasons.” She continued to explain. “I am actually.” She nodded at Lucie’s words. It wasn’t that she didn’t love Founder’s Week it was just that now she didn’t get to enjoy it like she use to. “Do you have time? We can get a coffee together and talk about some potential new gigs for you?” 

“Oh, you know I will never turn down a girls trip as long as there is sun and booze involved.” Lucie grinned devilishly. To be honest, a trip was something she probably really needed to hit reset and give herself a fresh wave of motivation. The issue was, her bank account didn’t have the same opinion. While she was making decent money singing at events, it wasn’t something she wanted to keep doing forever and she needed to save money when she finally bit the bullet and dove headfirst into her solo music career. If she ever got given the chance. 

“I do actually. Coffee would be amazing and so would some work. You really do know how to sweet talk a girl, don’t you?” Lucie teased her friend, offering a smile.

It’d been a long day already and it wasn’t even that late in the afternoon. Like clockwork, once every two weeks, Josie went over to her mother’s house to pay the bills, clean, drop off some groceries, put her pills into the dispenser that she paid for, and check that her mother was in fact, still alive. Today, her mother had been in a mood and her youngest daughter got the brunt end of it. Just words that she could pretend to let go of, but that didn’t stop them from hurting. While she wanted nothing more than to be done with her mother, and she had been for a few months after she’d turned 18, she couldn’t abandon her. Not completely. Still, it took a toll on Josie and not just financially, but emotionally as well.

That’s why she’d gone to the park. Taking a seat on a swing and just letting her thoughts wander. She used to spend a lot of time at the park, especially a few months after Angelina had died. But, before that, she’d come here to get away from everything after Lucie had left for school, probably because some of her favorite memories with her sister, outside of the dance studio, were there. All the same, when she looked up as she swang gently forwards and backwards, she’d have expected to see her dead father more than the woman in front of her. Josie nearly fell off the swing in shock. “Lucie?” She hadn’t seen, or really spoken to, her sister in five years. Overwhelming emotions crashed over her in a tidal wave. Joy, anger, grief, relief, sadness, hurt, comfort, and so many more that she couldn’t quite identify. Her body wanted to move to embrace her older sister, but she froze once she stood from the swing, the hard plastic slapping the back of her legs. “Since when are you in Maywood again?”

@lucieoconnor​

Returning to Maywood hadn’t been something Lucie wanted to do, but it had been necessary. Truthfully, it hadn’t needed to be Maywood, it could have been anywhere else, as long as it was cheaper than New York and she could find gigs to perform music and earn money, while she still worked on getting a label signing. But something had drawn her back. Yes, she had a few friends here, but it was also her home once. It was where she grew up. It was where her family was. She had yet to visit her mother since returning, but more than anything, she wanted to see her sister. She had royally screwed up their relationship when Lucie had left her for the city and it pained her to think about it. Every single day she thought about visiting Josie, letting her know she was home and apologising for everything, but every single time she chickened out. It was as if she had to find the right words to say how sorry she was, but it was as if those words didn’t exist. 

The day she returned, she had planned to visit Josie, she had found out where she worked and everything, but as soon as she approached, she had backed away just as fast. The guilt consumed her, so she decided not to think about it, getting drunk at night and hammering at her piano, much to her neighbours despair. 

On her way to get some much needed coffee to cure the dull pounding in her head of her hangover, Lucie had cut through the park. She walked past the playground, just like she did most days; usually it was empty or there was a young child being pushed on the swing, but today there was someone very familiar sitting there. Usually, she would have disappeared as fast as she could, but today she didn’t. She opened the gate to the playground and walked over to the swingset where Josie was sitting. “Hi.” She breathed, offering a small smile. It wasn’t enough, but it was all she had. “Since...a little while.” There was no point lying and saying she had only just got back. It had been a couple months already. “How are you?” She asked feebly, knowing it was a lame question. Josie deserved so much more than that, but Lucie didn’t know what else to say. 

Lucie was in need of letting off some steam. She was frustrated; after thinking she was getting somewhere with her career, she had just been knocked back again. A record label had listened to her demo and had agreed to meet with her. All seemed to be going well, but they had decided against signing with her last minute. Her motivation had been shot, so she headed to Lucky’s in need of getting drunk. 

As she arrived, she took her usual spot at the bar, ordering a double bourbon. As she waited for her drink to be poured, she noticed Griffin sat at the bar a few seats away. The two had often chatted drunkenly at the bar, but it had never been more than that. Outside of the bar, they didn’t see each other. “Hey!” She greeted, waving slightly. “Fancy seeing you here.”

At Siren’s Song

She’d lost the crown, Mayor for a Day, then the Dance A Thon all in won week. Usually she could handle losing one of them, but to lose all three had been a major blow to her ego. Especially after she’d worked so hard to plan it for the town. All she had to show for it now was some pictures to put in her resume and a blank spot in her her closet where the tiara was support to go.  “After this past week I need a six month vacation to anywhere tropical.” Elena commented aimlessly and she ran a hand through her dark hair as she stood in line at the coffee shop. Shifting her weight from one heel to another as she leaned back against the wall and turned her attention to the person behind her. “Did you at least have fun during Founder’s Week?” She asked, she hoped that at least someone had a better time than she did.

Founders week had been a bit of a blur for Lucie. She had spent the time drunk or had avoided it altogether. It just wasn’t the same to attend these sort of events on her own. At one time she would have been all over it, but things were very different now. Hell, she was a different person. “I mean, if you have anywhere in mind, you can count me in.” Lucie quipped with a gleam in her eye. Running away from her problems was a Lucie speciality. “I mean, I guess. It wasn’t horrible, just a little too hectic for my liking. What about you, you seem almost glad it’s over.” She questioned the other girl, raising her eyebrows. 

“It was, yeah. I have to admit that my sister had a big role in this, as in, pushing me to do this, but it was actually quite fun to do it.” Cam had been a little hesitant at first, but it had ended okay. She listened to the idea what Lucie offered to do for the night and then nodded. “Yes, sounds like a good plan. Rooftops are the best places in town.” You could still see a lot of the town but it was peaceful and quiet. You didn’t need to worry about getting interrupted. When she had been younger, it would not be weird to find her climbing out of the window of her room, to get on the roof right in front of it. “I would say; show me the way.”

“Well, thank you to your sister then.” Lucie grinned, leading the girl outside. “I wasn’t going to originally bid either, so we can thank my idle curiosity in the outcome of this evening.” She spoke, chuckling slightly. Lucie was glad the girl liked her plan, because honestly, she didn’t have a better one. The rooftop or her balcony were often her favourite places to go. She could just sit and stare out at the town without a care in the world and either write music or just enjoy the solitude. “Amazing, let’s go.” Lucie beamed. They left the venue and started along the sidewalk. Her apartment was pretty central and didn’t take long to walk to anywhere in town from it. “It’s honestly not far, maybe five to ten minutes walk?”

“Oh god, I have to work in the morning so I don’t think that getting drunk might be the best idea,” Natalia laughed at the words from the woman who had offered her some advice. It didn’t really seem like the best idea to show up at work with a hangover tomorrow. Definitely not. “I think I should probably just stay away from the poker tables instead, that is probably the best way to get through the failure of gambling.”

“Oh, that’s very true. Although I’m sure you won’t be the only one with a hangover.” Lucie mused. It seemed like the whole town had turned up to this event and at least half of them must have work in the morning. “Probably wise. Poker is a tricky game. I played a lot in New York, and let’s just say I wouldn’t be back here if I was very good at it.” Lucie wasn’t a huge gambler. But sometimes after too many drinks and whatever else, she had participated in a few games in the hopes of raising some more funds. And let’s just say it hadn’t always gone well.