#wickcdmindz

she talked before dylan had a chance to open her mouth, voice low, quiet. taunting, almost. "i'll fuck you." she started, easy, the same way you told a stranger the time when they asked. her gaze finally settled on dylan, glinting with the usual defiance and a hint of challenge. "if you cut the bullshit. ten minutes. and i mean fully cut it." @wickcdmindz

carmilla's eyes glanced aside, the strength of the reproach in sterling's tone feeling like a bullet to the chest. not that she'd taken any, but from what she had understood it to be, it surely felt similar. painful, brutal, piercing her from one side to the other, leaving damage and ruin in its wake. but then again, that was exactly what she had done to the woman standing in front of her.

clenching her jaw, she forced herself to look at the other, swallowing with difficulty and forcing herself to stay. not to run away another time, but to make it work, somehow. there was no way she could fix everything she had broken, but she could try. and she would - over and over again, until, maybe, her soul didn't feel like it was shattering whenever sterling looked at her.

"i know." was all she could utter, choking on her own breath, avoiding the familiar pull at the corners of her eyes. crying would be pathetic. and despite it all, despite it being sterling - the only person she had let her see cry, sob even - she couldn't allow it. not now.

"i was scared. terrified. and i left. like i always do. i know i said that it would be different with us, that you were different - and you are but-" the water had started running along her lashes and her voice was wavering. no, not now.

"i couldn't do it. being with you meant having you. having you meant the idea of one day, maybe, losing you. and i couldn't imagine that. i couldn't think of what i would do if it happened." a crack in her voice, as she wiped at the tears with the back of her hand, like they were nothing but bugs flying around her, bothering her.

"so i ran. i left you waiting for me and i ran away. somewhere you couldn't find me, somewhere you would forget me. i would forget you. but it never happened and now here we are again." she breathed out, a bitter chuckle passing her lips. "i'm sorry, lee. but if i had the chance, i would do it over and over again, just to try and convince myself that i wouldn't care about losing you. about loving you."

"we gotta work on getting you better locks on this place, babe," hayden called out from price's kitchen when she heard the front door. she had left her shoes and jacket that she always wore by the door, so price couldn't have been too surprised to hear her voice. "you don't want to be coming home to strange people in your kitchen." she said it teasingly but hayden genuinely had every intention of getting and installing something safer if price let her.

she crossed to the other side of the counter to properly greet price, leaning down for a quick peck and a hand to her side. "i'm sorry, i promise you i was originally waiting for you in the hall but your neighbors were starting to give me looks and i was already committed to surprising you by that point." hayden did have that cop look about her that she couldn't exactly turn off and that understandably made people uneasy. she had texted to see what time price was getting off of work to surprise her with dinner since she'd closed out a case and it was difficult to get their busy schedules to align. "don't get too excited about the food. it's italian takeout that i have put in some real dishes so we can feel a little nicer." hayden gestured behind her.

Honey pulled away from her current company with the same effortless charm she’d used to draw them in, a sly smile playing on her lips as she leaned back, already halfway gone in spirit. She was a flirt by nature, a tease by habit, and thrived in the heat of attention, basking in the way eyes followed her when she moved. Her date hadn’t arrived yet, and she only knew their name—just a first impression from a matchmaking website and a curious sense of possibility. That was all she needed. “My date will be here soon, got to love you and leave you,” she said playfully, her voice light but laced with finality as she gave the stranger she’d only met fifteen minutes ago a cheeky pinch on the cheek. They’d been harmless fun, a warm-up act before the main event. With a soft laugh and a swish of confidence in her step, Honey made her way to the empty booth across the room, sliding into the seat like she belonged there, ready for whatever—or whoever—came next.

text to not my guy 😭: hey 👋🏻

The bar is buzzing, loud and obnoxious patrons take up every single corner. They haven’t been there for very long and her head is already pounding. She’s one vodka tonic deep – her nose wrinkling as the second starts to go down roughly. The goal had been to take her mind off things at home, the dumb shit Morgan had said from digging in her past and her spat with Dale… which, of course, Cain seemed more than delighted about.

As the night grew on, Leo began to lick her wounds more openly, more stupidly. More drinks, more dances, lines blurred between herself and strangers. She doesn’t notice the murderous rage lighting up Cain’s eyes, or the way she keeps getting closer. More aggressive. More willing to insert herself between Leo and whatever soul she was trying to earn drinks from.

And then those five words come spilling out of her raven-haired friend’s lips. And she freezes, eyes blowing wide. Even in her drunken haze, she knows that’s a goddamned red flag. A fire alarm going off, truly – but she’s drunk, she’s happy, she’s not thinking straight.

“What?” Leo leans closer, grinning and giggling. “Why?” She tucks strands of hair behind Cain’s ears, her touch lingering – nails dragging slightly against the skin there. “Is something wrong?”