#ht:start

aiden: i'll see u tonight

          that was her only rule ; don’t even think about looking in the general direction of the punch. she knew better than that , she wasn’t one to get intoxicated in front of her family. last thing she needed was them to see how hard she was struggling with the never-ending guilt pushing down on her shoulders. to see how broken she really was. but the daphne-dressed woman couldn’t handle it any longer , her head pounding from her dehydration , worried to even touch the water rushing through the house. one sip couldn’t hurt right ? well -- one sip turned into two , which turned into three. but again ; not enough to get drunk , right ? soon enough , the innocent woman was wandering down hallways , slim fingers digging into the wall in hopes to stand up straight. this wasn’t alcohol ---- & that wasn’t aiden at the end of the hallway calling out to her. screaming for her. & it wasn’t his blood rushing down his face , or his eyes rolling towards the back of his head. & it definitely wasn’t his hand touching her shoulder. letting out a shriek , the lancaster daughter jumped , snapping into a half-sober reality , eyes finally focusing on the other person. ‘‘ please ----- please don’t touch me. ’’ she said quietly , although loud enough that it made her ears ring. ‘‘ i don’t ---- what’s happening ? what ----- what did ----- i’m not okay. ’’

Whoever tossed the towel in his direction he could’ve.. hugged. But he wouldn’t admit it to them, only giving the stranger a nod to show he was thankful. Turning his head, he spits up some blood and a.. a piece of a tooth? Who fucking knew. ‘’--Thanks for that, I guess. Owe you a drink or two.’’

“ at least the view of the maze is DECENT from the house . “ he mused to no one in particular .

DON’T THINK ABOUT THE TEXT . it wasn’t A I D E N . he was dead . had been dead for four years now . she had other things in the present to think about . like the box of halloween decorations that was spilled out on the coffee bars counter . picking up a rubber bat she turned it in her hand. all she could think about was the text and how someone thought it was funny to use a dead boys phone. “ welcome to coffee grounds! “ she called without looking up when the bell above the door jingled , “ just let me know when you’re ready to order . “ 

              anyone who knew the lancaster girl knew that she was very particular on what she put in her body , usually not known to drink lots of alcohol or to eat out , unless it was a legitimate meal. her eyes were already glossy , but just enough to make it seem as though she was still tired & not as though she drank a coffee this morning ; although she added more baileys than coffee into the cup. finally looking up from her cell phone , mostly because her plate of fries was empty —- again , she took in a deep breath. ‘‘ can you order me more fries ? —- oh & add a side of mozza sticks this time , ’’ she stated before turning her head towards the staring individual. ‘‘ i stress eat , okay ? ’’