* 🥀 ◞ a shot of gin.

                  each   cartwheel   seems   like   it’ll   be   the   last,   but   she   keeps   at   it,   undeterred,   and   he   finds   himself   chuckling   under   his   breath.   some   kids   just   seem to have   fire   in   their   bones,   no   matter   how   tired   the   rest   of   the   world   might   be.   when   he   finally   spots   a   car   rolling   up   the   curb,   he   stands,   dusting   his   jeans   and   giving   the   driver   a   wave   –   a   wave   to   say   hello,  or   help me?   who   knows.

❝  i'm so sorry, ❞ came as the greeting, punctuated by the sound of a car door slamming. her little sister was quick to meet virginia half way, excitement of the day they had shared bubbling up with every word. it's subtle, the $50 note slipped into his hand under the guise of a handshake. ❝  it won't happen again, i promise. ❞

it's  a  friday  night,  and  the  bar  is  surprisingly  packed.  to  anyone  else  it  would  seem  normal,  but  red  creek  post-halloween  tells  a  different  perspective.  it  feels  like  nothing's  different  inside  redstone,  like  all  the  fear  and  paranoia's  left  by  the  entrance  the  moment  the  lights  start  to  flash  and  the  music  comes  on.  suppose  there's  safety  in  numbers,  too  —  after  all,  alaina  price  died  alone  in  her  own  home.  “  okay,  if  you  hit  the  bullseye,  next  round's  on  me.  ”  josie  challenges,  handing  the  other  a  dart  as  she  takes  the  last  sip  of  her  mojito.

❝  and what if i don't ? ❞ perhaps it was a stupid question, tempting consequences that hadn't previously been placed. adrenaline lingering from the stage and the hell that raged outside - it gave a dangerously wrong sense of immortality. ❝  you're so on. ❞ the dart accepted like a gift, shared with the dart board almost immediately. too quickly to have put any thought into its course.  ❝  i think now is a perfect time to discuss consolation prizes for near misses. ❞ if you could count hitting the outside numbers as a near miss. of the board entirely, perhaps.

☾ the small reading room has become something of a second home to hana. the spot was easy to reclaim even after three years away, almost like the universe saved her a seat. at the end of it all, maybe it was exactly where she was meant to fall— a solo stage to hold her audience's attention, tucked into the back corner of sisters of the moon. she cares for the space like her own home, neatly packing every item into its slot at the end of every shift. as she works through the mental chores list today, a card slips from the deck & flutters from the back room. it lands by a familiar silhouette, to which she trails after; moth to a flame. ❝ totally a sign that you needed to be in here today. looks like you just got a message. ❞ she hums, kneeling down to collect the card. there's a cheery glint in her eyes, ❝ wanna know what it says ? ❞

" i thought it was me that was cursed but -- " she's muttering under her breath, only becoming louder for the next part, " i'm starting to think it's this town that's cursed. " willow had chosen to spend halloween in new york with some college friends. she wasn't anticipating coming back into town to find a beloved babysitter murdered. not that she cared for the girl, the liao's never had the luxury of her services.