#fcarlessly

the next morning had to be one of the strangest things zach had ever done. he woke up in bed, and instead of a pair of arms slung across his chest, blissfully asleep to sneak out of --- she was already gone, with a mess of emptied tangled sheets left in her place. “shit.” he’s groggy, rolling over on his side towards the window with sunlight streaming in through broken blinds. glancing through his phone for a few minutes. he squints. jules? right yeah, he almost forgot that happened. sitting up on the idea of the bed, he ruffles through already messy.. well.. sex hair. standing to his feet, he walks towards the hallway, shirtless but managing to find the denim jeans on the ground before continuing. he can hear her ruffling around in the living room, it’s her only day off this week - well, if you don’t count working the bar tonight. so she’s not getting ready to leave, which meant an awkward conversation, he assumed. but that’s what he did with everyone else, alaska wasn’t... -- she wasn’t like them. leaning on the corner of the wall in the trailer, dark hazel hues scan over her backside, a smirk lingering in silent features. “so, are you going to come back to the bedroom for round.. five? or are we going to roleplay the awkward after-fuck conversation, like either of us really give a shit.” a pause. “oh, and goodmorning.” 

sara why do have to call me out like that huh? what was the reason?

jess had woken up to breakfast in bed. with nora bouncing on top of the bed with her mop of curls and toothy smile, she wrapped her arms around her dad because it was his birthday with their wedding just around the corner. if you were to ask jess that for his twenty-second birthday he’d have a daughter and a fiance that loved him unconditionally he wouldn’t have believed you. “good morning,” he said, staring down at nora who seemed please by her smile face of strawberries on top of the pancakes. being a dad was becoming second nature. there were days when it got so bad he couldn’t really be here, when his head felt too crowded. he’d spend some time with himself, call his therapist and do some deep breathing and it didn’t always help but it did sometimes. but today -- it was a good day. he looked up to see nev and pulled her down to his level to press his lips against hers. 

“jesus. will you just calm the hell down?” humberto’s words were laced in rudeness. sunken in the sharp-edged doubt of guilt. he knew he should try to sooth them, to show that he regret going away for the sake of their relationship. but he wasn’t sure if there was anything there anymore, not after what he’d just done. “—i was gone for two weeks. i didn’t get in an accident and forgot to tell you i was in the hospital. i’m fine. it’s fine.” there were the leftovers of his running away still left on him. the small cuts on his face with no easily traceable origin of their own. the heavy scent of cigarette, stuck to his clothes, barely masked by mint. but it was nothing too big, nothing worthy of making a fuss about, in his opinion. “besides, i’m back now, so what does it matter, really?”

she’s never been in a five star resort before today --- but do as the romans do? wasn’t that the saying? besides, she couldn’t necessarily back-pack through europe without a little taste of gold and glitter under her fingernails, now could she? so there she sat, in a floppy hat, and short red sundress, jean jacket -- and a pair of wedge heels. dark brown eyes scanned the guests coming and going, and she’d have to pick the victim carefully.. someone who seemed busy, stressed maybe -- clearly someone here on business, not personal.. which meant they wouldn’t be at the hotel very long. there’s a man, who exits an expensive rental, he’s on the phone, and there’s an argument filtering between a one-sided conversation could barely hear. none the less, she follows him into the hotel, listens carefully as he checks in with his name, and within ten minutes -- he’s out the revolving front door again. perfect. bouncing to the front desk, she bumps the bell, one, twice, three times. after a few hair twirls, and a faux accent, she’s awarded the keys to his suite. the hours pass by, and she’s wearing a white robe she found in the bathroom with the initials of a stranger carved in gold on the back. it’s not until the door unlocks, with a rather confused man standing in the entry way, does she nearly topple over the flute of expensive champagne. think fast. “uh -- désolé pas anglais?” wow, her french was terrible. 

week three, that’s how long she’s kept this act up. it’s been her longest string of random events, and the most amount of time she’s been able to keep up a facade. the longer she got to know him, the more secrets she discovered. like how he could only sleep on the right side of the bed, if there wasn’t a window. or how he loved to pretend. like how he pretends to be annoyed with her fake accents, or how he pretended to be asleep in the middle of the night when she would make up stories about the stars. --- or how she let him pretend that he didn’t like her. so many secrets, most of which he didn’t even know he was harboring - but she would let him figure it out for himself, besides - if she said anything, he may question it anyhow. lily on the other hand, besides their whole family charade, she hadn’t been pretending. she hadn’t been faking the fact she was having a great time, and a wonderful adventure. she didn’t pretend when she reaches for his hand under the tables, or when she laid her head on his chest at night. she didn’t pretend to think -- he was a good person, or that she thought highly of him. when his mother got wind they had never had an engagement party, she didn’t give either of them much of a choice - she was going to throw one, back in england. so here they were, deciding to go along with it, if not for the free gifts. everything is being arranged, and she’s wondering around his family home for the first time. marcus and his mother are in the hallway to her left, watching her, but she can’t hear the conversation. no, she’s focused on the statue, touching the marble when suddenly - it snaps, and dark brown eyes go wide. “shit-” she tries to put the piece back, but it’s no use, instead she hides it behind her back and steps back behind marcus. “someone broke it.” she whispered, tucking the severed stone in his pocket with an innocent smile. 

pretty girls don’t tell lies, and they don’t smell like cigarettes and cheap perfume. she almost looks like a porcelain doll, compared to those she’s chosen to surround herself with -- but her edges are cracked and sharp, and broken. nimble fingertips hold a blunt between her fingertips, puffing a smoke and passing it to the man to her left - who was six foot three, and loved to swear. it’s boring -- when alaska isn’t here, or her little runaway to cause a fight, so the men in their group decided to crash a northside party - if anything, to prove a point. you couldn’t tell a south-sider they weren’t wanted somewhere, it only caused a riot. rolling her eyes, she tossed what was left of the burning cannabis to the ground before approaching up the front porch steps. it’s a nice home, far nicer than anything they would ever see in their lifetime. but savannah isn’t very amused with johnny’s quest for trouble. so as the door opens, you can practically hear the music cut -- all eyes on a set of fours, in leather jackets and ripped jeans. “try not to kill anyone tonight.” she rolls her eyes, turning on her combat boots and making a b-line for the kitchen. an hour goes by, and she’s been watching one stranger in particular, every so often meeting his gaze until he got the courage to come and speak to her. “my friends gonna’ start a fight with your buddy. probably don’t wanna be seen talking to me when it goes down.” 

the rain is pouring outside, and he shrugs off his coat. the party is zach’s normal crowd of people, bodies shoved up against each other like sardines. levi on the other hand, was only here for his brother, and to avoid being at home --- of which he had finally left behind in the heat of the moment. despite the fact he was above the legal age to leave, the nineteen year old male had stayed in the abandoned loneliness he called home. not out of obligation, but from fear. could you imagine? someone as broad as leviticus nelson, afraid of a man he sought out as the devil after all these years? it was pathetic, he knew that. and it’s not like he really had anywhere to go, it took all his cash to get a bus ticket back to this place after the cops raided their house. they found drugs, and their father tested positive in custody, so he’d be behind bars for awhile now. truth be told, he’s not sure what set them off - seeing as the family of the beaten was nearly gone, nowhere to be found, the second people started asking questions. some cop from a nearby town, just outside the city, had gotten word of the situation - and levi could only assume it was zach. so he came back the second he could, the moment the testifying was over. his figure was exceedingly taller than most of the people, and he finds himself outside on the balcony. he never liked people very much. it’s there he sees a girl, who’s frame is nearly laughable in comparison to the male. she was... beautiful. in a sad way, something he recognized. he had seen pictures of her a few times, one of his brother’s conquests, she was too good for them. “hey, sorry-” he muttered, rubbing the nape of his neck. “didn’t mean to crash your hiding spot.” levi offers the slightest hint of a smile. “aren’t you cold out here?”