[Maddison Lancaster]

What follows has led me to this place
Where I belong with all erased

---

The dimly lit bar seemed less crowded than it was most nights. Maddie sat at a table in the corner, slowly sipping at her latest drink, a jack and coke. She had her phone out on the table, and she was scrolling through social media. She had texted a couple people from work, but it seemed like everyone was busy tonight.

Before long, her drink was empty again. Maddie got up from the table and made her way across the bar to the counter. When the bartender came over, she ordered another jack and coke. While she was waiting for it, one of the other customers came over and stood next to her, uncomfortable close. Maddie glanced at him. He was tall, probably close to six feet, and wearing a dark shirt and jeans. Maddie assumed he was just drunk and took a step away, but he moved closer.

"Hey, how about I buy you this round?" He asked, taking his chance. He wasn't the first person who ever had offered to buy her a drink, but Maddie didn't make it a habit of letting strangers supply her liquor. That gave the wrong expectations.

"I've got it, thanks though." Maddie turned him down, and moved again. He didn't follow her this time, and seemed to take the hint and take a couple steps back himself. When the bartender came back with her drink, Maddie offered a quick thanks, and took the drink back to the table she had been previously occupying.

She pulled her phone back out when she sat down, intending to send a text to her brother. She hadn't talked to him since she had gone to dinner at his place, and she figured she should get over being mad at him. It wasn't his fault that she was still a basket case and couldn't forgive their mom. She had just clicked on the text conversation with him when someone sat down next to her. When she looked up, it was the same guy that had been trying to buy her a drink, and he was setting two shot glasses down on the table. Of course. Maddie inwardly groaned.

"It's a shame to see you sitting over here all alone, figured I should come keep you company and we could have a shot together." There was absolutely no way that Maddie was going to ingest anything this guy brought over. Maybe he was harmless, but she wasn't willing to risk that. Had it been another night and he hadn't been so pushy, maybe she would have given him a chance and talked with him. But he was giving her all the wrong vibes at the moment, so there was no chance of that happening.

"Really, I'm fine. Besides, I'm waiting for someone." She lied, hoping it would be enough to make him buzz off without a scene. Instead of getting up, he leaned in closer. "You've been here alone for a while now. I think they'd be here if they were coming. Either you got stood up, or you're not meeting anyone."

Since he chose to call her bluff instead of just going away, Maddie rolled her eyes. "Is it that hard for you to tell when a girl is not interested??" Switching to the blunt route seemed to be the way to go, since he wasn't going to listen to her otherwise.

"Oh, come on. Have a little fun." He stood up and stepped closer, moving his hand around the back of the chair she was sitting in.

"How about you get away from me?" Maddie stared up at the guy, considering elbowing him if he got any closer to her, when she noticed another guy moving toward them. Was he this guy's friend? That could be bad, but she tried not to show any outward sign that her anxiety level was rising. "Look man, I just want to enjoy my night in peace."

---

Tag: Ashley Wolfe
Note: Let me know if I should change anything. I assumed Ashley would come over to where they were but I can definitely change it if that doesn't work!

[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

I HAD ANOTHER DREAM

i had another life; no one saw the blood on my hands

[break]

[attr="class","kestrelflight-text"]A coworker had invited Ashley to the bar for a drink after work. It had been a simple night so far. They chatted, shared a pitcher of beer, and watched television on a small screen mounted in the corner. Then — shortly after his coworker had been called home by his wife — another man, while chatting up a girl beside them, had knocked his own beer across the bartop; sending it down Ashley's shirt and lap. It had been an accident and Ashley was hardly bothered at first. But the man had decided to make a scene of it — smirking, sniggering, and apologizing in a way that was underhandedly antagonistic. Whether it was because he was just an asshole, or because he was trying to show off for the girl he was hitting on, Ashley didn't know. But he managed to take it on the chin, content as he was to let these things go. [break][break]

Regardless of his intentions, it had been difficult to enjoy the rest of the night unbothered. As much as he tried to forget about it, the man's words and his cat-like smirk remained fixed in his mind. And no matter where Ashley moved to in the bar — no matter what he picked up or who he talked to in order to distract himself — he realized he was intentionally keeping himself within earshot of "the guy". Listening to his smarmy advances upon more uninterested women and his feeble attempts to nettle for an argument with those who were firmer with him. [break][break]

His halved attention didn't go unnoticed by his conversation partners. He'd started a game of billiards with a trio of younger men and they were beginning to grow impatient as they gradually picked up on his not-so-subtle fixation. They elbowed him when he didn't notice it was his turn, too busy looking over his shoulder as the guy whispered something in yet another girl's ear (something she, like the others, apparently didn't like). Clapped him on the shoulder and implored him to forget about him with increasing insistence. Groaned and threw up their hands when he absently sunk a striped ball when he and his teammates were playing solids. [break][break]

Ashley apologized each time and tried once more to engage himself properly. But eventually, his eye pulled again to where the dude was trying his luck with someone else. He was (unsurprisingly) turned down but he let the woman go on her way. Ashley leaned across the table to line up his next shot while she swept behind him and returned to her seat. But then, moments later, the asshole was on her trail and settled beside her, and he found himself listening intently as she tried to send him off. [break][break]

"Dude, are you good? Come on, for the love of God, please just shoot." [break][break]

He shook his head, trying to clear it. "Sorry, yeah... yeah." His gaze flit about the pool balls and he moved around the table to try another angle — and to place the man and woman in his direct line of sight. Dude leaned closer. The woman rolled her eyes, speaking in such a way that left little to be interpreted by him. Still, the man pressed on. Stood up and stepped closer to her. Ashley watched it while his playmates watched him with growing exasperation. [break][break]

"Actually, no," he breathed through his nose and pressed his lips tight before passing his pool stick to his teammate. As he stepped around the billiards table, they began a chorus of collective attempts to stop him or call him back. But he was deaf to them as he approached the table where the woman was seated. [break][break]

"Hey," he settled his hand on the back of the man's empty chair, trying momentarily to slacken the tension he felt gathered in his demeanor and make his words imploring and nonchalant. Perhaps even pretend to be the person the woman was waiting for; to play it firm but friendly. But when the guy peered up at him, the look that passed over his features was distinctly unimpressed and unfriendly. His gaze lingered on the dried beer stain down his shirt and recognition of their earlier encounter flickered briefly in his eyes, but then they lifted to Ashley's face and hardened with annoyance. He shifted more solidly behind the seated woman as if making a territorial claim, chin tipped testingly. [break][break]

Considerations of a pacifying ploy paled and when Ashley spoke again, his words were firm and only firm. "She said to leave her alone, so maybe just. Leave her alone."

[break]

Tag: Maddison Lancaster [break]
This might not be a lot to work with, so if you want me to go ahead and just play out the fight/retreat, then just let me know and I'll be more than happy to add it!

[newclass=.kestrelflight-text b]color:#2F4845;font-size:8pt!important;font-weight:700!important;font-family:Open Sans, sans serif!important;[/newclass][newclass=.kestrelflight-text a]font-size:8pt!important;font-family:Open Sans!important;[/newclass][googlefont=Poppins][googlefont=Open Sans]

[Maddison Lancaster]

What follows has led me to this place
Where I belong with all erased

---

There was a small sense of panic starting up inside Maddie's chest. She didn't ever think of herself as helpless. She grew up with a brother who picked every fight he could, and she had ended up involved in a few of them herself. But that wasn't who she was. She wasn't a fighter, she didn't look for trouble. But boy, did it have a way of finding her from time to time. If it was just one drunk guy hitting on her, not taking no for an answer and pushing his luck, she could handle that. She had been pacing her drinks tonight, she was buzzed but not too intoxicated to keep her wits about her. However, if it was two of them... Maddie didn't like those odds.

As the second man drew closer, Maddie was mentally preparing herself to cause a big of a scene as she could. Surely, at least the bar staff would intervene if necessary. Completely unaware of her surroundings and lost in her own head before, she was now paying attention to every movement she could notice, where other people were in the bar. It had filled up a bit more in the time since she had arrived. The bartenders were bustling around. There were some guys playing at the billiards tables. A couple groups of women were scattered around. A few men sat at the bar, yelling at the television, whatever sport they were watching must have done something exciting. She observed this in a couple seconds, as they were joined by the other man.

Hey... Maddie wasn't immediately sure if the greeting was friendly, though it caused the creep that had been harassing her to move in closer, so she was hoping that they were not, in fact, friends. The creep was now blocking any quick exit from the seat that Maddie could have made. There was a brief sense of relief at the strangers next sentence, sticking up for her.

"What, you got a crush or something? You been following me all night." His words were slurred and sloppy, but his grip on the back of the chair tightened as he spoke. "Fuck off, this isn't your business."

"You clearly can't take a hint. Or a direct statement." Maddie moved to shove her elbow into the man's side, but somehow even in his inebriated state, he caught her arm before it made contact. Maybe he'd been expecting it, maybe this wasn't the first time he'd pushed someone as far as he was pushing her buttons right now. That was a chilling thought. Maddie tried to pull her arm back, but this guy's grip was stronger than she expected it to be, and he didn't readily release her arm.

Maddie glanced at the stranger, feeling the panic start to rise inside her again. Even if these two weren't friends, the stranger's presence seemed to be making the creep just get more aggressive. Maddie worried that this was going to get worse, so she stopped trying to pull her arm free, hoping a change in tactic might work.

"Look, it's fine." She moved her eyes up to meet the eyes of the stranger. Something about him seemed familiar, but she couldn't place it. God, she must be more intoxicated than she realized. "I'll be fine." It was a lie that she was sure was completely transparent, but something had to diffuse this building tension before things got any worse.

---

Tag: Ashley Wolfe
Note: It was great. Let me know if I should change anything.

[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

I HAD ANOTHER DREAM

i had another life; no one saw the blood on my hands

[break]

[attr="class","kestrelflight-text"]If it wasn't already made obvious by the woman's failed attempts to peacefully send him off, the drunk man's demeanor made it perfectly clear he wasn't going to abandon his "quarry" with grace. Even though his response was brusque and unfriendly, there was a small, almost desperate whisper in the back of Ashley's skull that advised him to remain calm. To handle the situation with care. Dude was drunk and aggressive. But it was possible he could still be talked to sense if Ashley was patient yet firm. There was no need to make things worse.[break][break]

But when the woman tried to elbow her unwanted suitor away, and he snatched her arm before the blow could land, Ashley grit his jaw. She tried to yank free but Dude held her there, eyes fixed on his challenger. Ashley felt his own eyes go flinty and his knuckles whiten on the seat beneath his hand. The voice at the back of his mind grew louder, edged now by a touch of desperation, but he hardly heard it. His head felt full in a distinctly-familiar way, reminding him faintly of days long past, and (just as it had been in those days) the feeling left diminishing room for reason.[break][break]

The woman stopped resisting. As if she could sense the rising tension and wanted to prevent an escalation, she stilled her attempts to pull free and glanced up at him, assuring him that she would be alright. Though her voice didn't shake and was far from feeble or meek, Ashley couldn't help but wonder if she was trying to convince herself as well as him. An overly-pleased and too-smug grin broke across the man's face at her words and he tipped his chin further. "See. The lady said she's fine. So, again, why don't you just fuck right on off?"[break][break]

Ashley stared at him, eye flickering only briefly to meet the imploring gaze of the woman, before lifting back to Dude's face. With a bit of difficulty, Ashley unclenched his jaw and let his lids flutter over his eyes, blowing out a breath and reaching once more for pacification. "Just let h—" [break][break]

"Are you deaf or stupid?" Dude interjected curtly, raising his brow and giving a tiny shake of his head. He lifted a hand to wave through the air, essentially shooing Ashley off. "I won't ask again, bro. Go on. Your boyfriends are wai—"[break][break]

Without thinking and without blinking, Ashley snatched at the man's lifted arm and yanked it back at an unnatural angle until he heard an answering pop. The guy — more surprised than anything — gave a small, pained shout and released the woman on reflex, his body moving of its own accord to lessen the strain on his wrenched limb. "The fuck!" He cried, outraged, when Ashley let him go and took a small step back. Face twisting into something ugly and angry, Dude threw himself forward.[break][break]

Even though it'd been years since Ashley had fought anyone, the drunk man's movements were slow and sloppy. He was used to being the instigator, of being the bully, and picking fights only against opponents he knew he could beat. Ashley could read this clearly in the way he tossed himself carelessly forward. Dude curled his fists in his shirt and yanked him around to shove him into the table the woman was seated at, jostling it and sending her drink smashing to the floor. He swayed, steadied himself, and pulled back to strike. [break][break]

Though he could see the punch, Ashley didn't move to block. Whether it was the desperate voice (screaming now) in some recess of his mind, or a simple want to feel the blow, he let the fist smash against his face. It was loud and jarring. Sent a ringing through his skull that silenced everything else. When sound did return, the voice was absent, and all Ashley could hear was Dude's short, strident laugh. He wound up for another strike but it was exaggerated and too lazy. Landing the first blow had made him too self-assured and the opening he allowed was laughable. Something Dane would have cackled about if he'd witnessed it years ago. Ashley knew he wasn't going to let himself be hit again. He struck at the man's side, kneed him off him, kept him from stumbling too far with a hand clapped to his shoulder, and then drove a hard fist into in his stomach. [break][break]

Dude tipped forward with a snarling grimace and Ashley forced him to the ground. The bar might as well have been emptied now, for all he heard and saw was the blood pounding between his ears and the guy's ugly face as he forced him on his back and pinned his forceful squirming with knees locked on either side of him. He struck his face, twice, teeth clenched tight and face steeled and expressionless as he watched Dude's drunk features grow slacker and dumber with each blow. [break][break]

With a gasp, Dude managed to fling out an arm, and Ashley — accustomed all his life to fighting more dangerous men, people who knew it was kill or be killed — anticipated him reaching for a weapon. Scrabbling for a shard of broken glass or for a blade to bury in his would-be-murderer's side. Ashley, or at least Dino Wayland, just knew better than to give him the chance. He forced the man's hand back to his side, pinning it beneath it a knee and grinding it to the floor until there was the distinct crack of fingers. [break][break]

Dude shouted and Ashley was wrenched off him by the trio of men he'd been playing pool with mere minutes before. Breathing hard, he pulled himself from their grasp as they tried dragging him away and turned to reflexively swing at them. But he stopped as they flinched back with raised hands, and became distantly aware of more people yelling. Bar staff threatening. He pulled his stare from his teammates' concerned faces and glanced around at the people staring, abruptly alarmed by how wary most of them looked. His chest clenched, the flint to his eyes softened, and he stumbled back, forcing his fingers from their tight fist with a few, trembling flicks of his hand. [break][break]

Dude groaned on the ground and Ashley glanced at him, looking almost as dumb and dazed as he did. Then he lifted his gaze to the woman, only briefly finding her eyes and immediately unable to hold them. The voice, which had tried to be so persistent before, had grown so pleadingly desperate, was little more than a defeated whimper now. Ashley frowned, face twisting a moment later into something sharp and fleetingly angry. "Sorry," he rasped quietly, not sure who exactly he was aiming the apology to. Whether it was the man cradling his hand on the ground, the woman, or all the other bar-goers. "Fuck," he gritted out, forcing himself to move with a shake of his head. [break][break]

He pushed across the bar toward the exit, muttering more apologies to the people who (for the most part) stepped out of his path. Content to give him a berth. He could feel their eyes and was thankful no one stopped him as he pushed through the door and into the street.

[break]

Tag: Maddison Lancaster [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

[newclass=.kestrelflight-text b]color:#2F4845;font-size:8pt!important;font-weight:700!important;font-family:Open Sans, sans serif!important;[/newclass][newclass=.kestrelflight-text a]font-size:8pt!important;font-family:Open Sans!important;[/newclass][googlefont=Poppins][googlefont=Open Sans]

[Maddison Lancaster]

What follows has led me to this place
Where I belong with all erased

---

The tension that had been building was threatening to break out into a brawl. It seemed like the asshat holding onto her arm, just above the elbow, wasn’t going to let go. Undoubtedly, he was making this a challenge now. Who would walk away first? Maddie was desperate to diffuse the situation, but there weren’t a lot of options left to try at this point. It would be pretty clear to anyone observing the trio that Maddie was not okay, even though her words said otherwise, but she couldn’t think of anything else.

At first, Maddie thought that the creep was going to let go of her arm, but he didn’t. He kept pushing the other guy’s buttons. Maddie supposed she was glad they weren’t friends, but now this whole situation was just that much more unpredictable. There was a split second while the creep was taunting the other guy where Maddie could see a shift in expression. She recognized that look, she’d seen it with her own brother many times. The time for talking was over. Maddie tried to brace herself, but when the man grabbed the creep’s arm, she was pulled up at first before the grip gave way.

Chaos erupted quickly. The shot glasses and the drink from the table were knocked off, sending a spray of liquid over Maddie before they hit the ground and shattered, the sound of the breaking glass ringing out loudly. At least the creep wasn’t blocking Maddie in the chair anymore, and she was able to get out of the seat and pretty much out of the way of the two of them fighting.

The asshole landed the first real punch, but it seemed like that was the only hit he was likely to get in. Clearly it wasn’t the other guy’s first fight, and he wasn’t planning on losing. There were the sickening sounds of flesh and bone giving out, and the creep was down. Maddie didn’t feel bad for him, but had this been Mason that’s when she would have stepped in to get him to calm down. She didn’t know this man, though… It would be too risky to try to step in, to try to point out that he’d won, it was over.

The commotion drew the attention of the other patrons and the staff. There were shouts from various staff members, and one of the bartenders was making his way over toward them. They clearly had no idea what had preceded the fighting, not that it would be likely to matter even if they had known. Three of the other patrons, the ones who had been playing billiards, came over to pull the guys apart. The bartender was threatening them to leave, but it didn’t look like the creep was going to have an easy time doing so.

Maddie looked from the man on the floor to the one standing. His eyes met hers then flicked away quickly. Was that shame in his expression? Regret? Maddie wasn’t the best person at reading strangers, but she’d had so much experience with her brother that these emotions were sometimes easy to read. At least, she thought that was what she was seeing. Maybe she was completely off base…

Before she could ask if he was okay, the guy started walking toward the exit. Maddie turned back to grab her bag jacket, noting that it was now sticky from the spilled liquor and soda. She ignored the staff members, trying to ask her what happened, and quickly moved to follow the guy outside.

Either the stress of what just happened was sinking in, or it was colder outside than Maddie expected it to be, especially with the damp t-shirt and shorts she was wearing. She was still holding her jacket, so she shrugged it on while she was walking, looking around for the man who had come to her defense.

”Hey, wait.. please?” Maddie called out when she spotted him, not entirely sure if she wanted him to stop so she could thank him, or check on him and make sure he was okay at this point.

---

Tag: Ashley Wolfe
Note: Let me know for any changes.

[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

I HAD ANOTHER DREAM

i had another life; no one saw the blood on my hands

[break]

[attr="class","kestrelflight-text"]When Ashley pushed from the bar and into the street, he didn't pause to think. Feet moving without direction, step firm and pace desperate, he moved down the sidewalk and kept his gaze fixed decidedly ahead. Tried to focus on his breathing and not the hard, quick pounding of his heart in a suddenly too-small chest. His lips pressed into a grimace, keeping another low string of curses firmly behind his teeth. He scrubbed a trembling hand through his hair. Felt the cool air nip against the hot skin of his knuckles. Shoved them hastily in his pockets so he didn't have to acknowledge them. Pulled them out a moment later to scrub through his hair again, fingers furling and unfurling, as if trying to flick out the phantom sensation of clenched fists. [break][break]

He blew out his cheeks, thinking of the looks on the gathered people's faces. [break][break]

Wary. [break][break]

How long had it been since someone had truly been wary of him? Afraid of him? At one time, he'd been used to it. At one time, he made it a point to be someone treated with caution. Not like Dane had made it a point, not for the enjoyment of being feared, but simply to make others think twice before they stepped in his path. To make them scared of hurting him or anyone he cared about. [break][break]

But that was a lifetime ago. [break][break]

The same whispering voice that he'd earlier disregarded scoffed doubtfully, sounding more venomous now than desperately imploring as it cut through the thick, swimming static in his skull. Was it so long ago? The clench to his jaw... the tremble to his fingers... the heat pacing in his gut, mingling with shame and making him feel sick. It was all so familiar. Too familiar. Reminding him that it wasn't a lifetime ago. He was still that person. Hurting people. Leaping too quickly to violence. Solving problems with mindless blows, simply because someone said something he didn't like. [break][break]

There was the distant sound of the bar door chiming and then a voice called out to him, bringing a swift and gracious end to his quickly-mounting thoughts. Immediately, Ashley decided he wouldn't stop. That he would ignore the call and keep walking. But when the voice continued, asking please, and he recognized the tone, his head swiveled of its own accord, eyes finding the same woman he'd been concerned about.[break][break]

Ashley pressed his grimace tighter, lips pulling askance, and his step faltered. With an inward wince, he realized she was damp; her shirt and shorts visibly darkened and her jacket glistening wetly in the streetlight. He'd been deaf to it when it happened but, now — seeing her — he could vaguely recall the clash of glasses being scattered across the table and her leaping out of her chair.[break][break]

He slowed, raising his gaze cautiously to her face. Then, upon meeting her eye — recognizing what seemed to be a concern there — he blinked hastily and stepped decidedly forward; reclaiming his same, determined stride. "I'm sorry," he called over his shoulder, facing forward once more and shoving his hands back in his jacket pockets. Yes, he thought half-miserably and half-angrily, his brow furrowing. He was still the same person — the same coward. "About your clothes and your night, and for that fucking creep," his fingers curled in his palm and he sucked his lip between his teeth, shaking his head side to side as he tried to loosen the lingering indignation. He knew the flame licking at his veins was more so aimed at himself now than the asshole from before, but it was still easier to point the blame elsewhere.[break][break]

"I didn't mean to—" he faltered, frowning pointedly. To what? To hurt the guy? He definitely had. "To make a scene." Ashley sighed, then without pausing, glanced over his shoulder to look at her once more; small, wet, and probably cold now. "You're alright, right?"


[break]

Tag: Maddison Lancaster [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

[newclass=.kestrelflight-text b]color:#2F4845;font-size:8pt!important;font-weight:700!important;font-family:Open Sans, sans serif!important;[/newclass][newclass=.kestrelflight-text a]font-size:8pt!important;font-family:Open Sans!important;[/newclass][googlefont=Poppins][googlefont=Open Sans]

[Maddison Lancaster]

What follows has led me to this place
Where I belong with all erased

---

Quick steps didn’t do very much to close the distance between them when the guy did not stop walking. He had to have at least close to a foot of height over Maddie, and she wasn’t in the mood to run to try to catch up to a stranger. If he didn’t stop or slow his pace, she was just going to let the whole thing go, make her way home and attempt to forget about the whole screwed up evening. It wasn’t like she owed him anything, even though he was trying to help her. She didn’t ask him to help, so why should she care?

Because it reminded her of what her brother would have done, and how he would have looked after. Because she knew that look, and even if he was trying to do the right thing sometimes it could feel like the world was crushing in.

Maddie was relieved when he stopped, and her pace quickened ever so slightly. But then he started moving forward again. Maddie felt deflated. Maybe she shouldn’t care, and he was just fine. Maybe he was just scared that someone would call the cops on him for beating the crap out of that creep and he wasn’t upset like she thought.

Then he called back an apology. Maddie shook her head, not sure if he just felt obligated to say something or if he meant it. Either way, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t stopping and she was done following. She was wet and sticky, which made the chill in the night air all the worse. She was completely over this night. Maddie stopped walking and plunged her hand into her bag, rooting around for her lighter and pack of cigarettes. Perhaps the nicotine would help her soothe her frayed nerves as she made her way home.

Fingers brushed the rectangle package and paused. He was talking again, but hadn't stopped moving. Maddie grasped the packet and pulled it out, continuing walking. He was moving in the same general direction that Maddie needed to go anyway.

”I’ll be fine.” Maddie opened the pack of cigarettes. She had actually remembered to put the lighter inside the package last time, as opposed to her usual habit of tossing it into the bottom of her bag separately, and then would spend far too much time trying to locate it. Maddie lit her cigarette and took a deep drag, then looked toward the guy again. She might as well try to catch up, walking behind him, wherever he was headed, would seem like she was just following him. That would just be weird.

”Whether you meant to or not, it was definitely a scene.” She walked at a steady, normal pace. ”Thank you.. For making that scene anyway. Something was off about that guy.” Maddie shivered, a cold breeze mixed with the thought about how poorly the night may have actually gone. She took another drag off of her cigarette and let out the smoke slowly. Even though she didn’t even want to admit it to herself, she was lucky that he had stepped in. The creep wasn’t taking no for an answer. If he hadn't stepped in, she would have been the one making a scene.

”Are you alright?” She turned the question around on him, wondering if she was completely off base with her reading of him.

---

Tag: Ashley Wolfe
Note: Let me know for changes!

[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

I HAD ANOTHER DREAM

i had another life; no one saw the blood on my hands

[break]

[attr="class","kestrelflight-text"]The woman slowed. When she answered that she would be fine and took a pack of cigarettes from her purse, Ashley returned his gaze ahead. Another time, he might have been quicker to pause. To idle and let her catch up with him in the hopes of sharing a pleasant, easy conversation despite everything that'd transpired. But the concern he'd seen briefly in her gaze, and then felt implied in her words when she turned his inquiry on him, was enough to keep his step even and firm. [break][break]

"Yeah, I'm alright." He called back. Too quick. Too clipped. He himself could hear the hardness in it. [break][break]

He didn't deserve her concern or her thanks. Wouldn't allow himself to be convinced that what he did — stinking too much of what he'd done all his life — was something that could be shrugged off or forgiven. He'd just go home. Be alone. Hole himself up and shake out the anger as he laid up all night. The dogs, sensing his unease, would settle themselves at the foot of the bed instead of falling asleep crowded comfortably alongside him. It'd be like that for a couple of days. He'd be quieter at work, less keen to smile and joke. The residents and his coworkers would wonder why but sense they shouldn't ask. And he'd be defensive. Bristly. [break][break]

It'd played out a number of times before, always the same way, and the thought of it was already exhausting. Ashley shut his eyes and lifted a hand to pinch at the bridge of his nose, then drew the back of it against the hot skin of his cheek, testing the tenderness beneath.[break][break]

It was just a bar fight, he told himself quietly, trying to force himself to reason. It happened all the time. Maybe with fewer broken hands, but the guy was an asshole. He deserved it. Perhaps it'd serve as a reminder not to place them where they weren't wanted. It was no reason to run away, spiral, or clam up. It didn't have to be that way.[break][break]

He stopped. Took a moment, while his back was still turned to her, to clear the rigid set to his face. To breathe deep and let the kiss of cool, night air smooth the tension gathered at the corners of his mouth and eyes. He tried to slow the hard beat of his heart. "You know, you said that earlier," he started, blinking open his eyes as he turned. He let her casual, unhurried pace slowly begin to close the distance between them. "That you were gonna be fine."[break][break]

"I suppose... when I say I'm gonna be alright," his fingers tightened in his pockets and he tipped his head slightly back, throat bobbing around a swallow. "I mean it probably how you meant it then." Not quite a lie but not quite the truth, meant to convince them both.[break][break]

"I just... I should have handled it better. I thought I'd left my bar-brawling days behind me." As well as the churning heat in his gut, the trembling fingers, and the rush of (sometimes alarmingly good) feelings that came with a fist connecting to his face. The tantalizing want for retaliation that curled his own hands into balls meant to hurt and the satisfaction when they did.[break][break]

He scoffed at himself under his breath, lifting a foot to kick the toe of his shoe into the sidewalk. As she came closer, his eye trailed along the twirling tendrils of smoke she blew into the air and that curled behind her. "I also don't smoke anymore, but maybe it's just a night for relapse. Can I bum one?" He noticed her shiver and his mouth quirked into an apologetic grimace as he again noted the color and sheen of her clothes. "You can take my flannel if you want. It's dry at least. And I'm burning up anyway."


[break]

Tag: Maddison Lancaster [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

[newclass=.kestrelflight-text b]color:#2F4845;font-size:8pt!important;font-weight:700!important;font-family:Open Sans, sans serif!important;[/newclass][newclass=.kestrelflight-text a]font-size:8pt!important;font-family:Open Sans!important;[/newclass][googlefont=Poppins][googlefont=Open Sans]

[Maddison Lancaster]

What follows has led me to this place
Where I belong with all erased

---

He said he was alright, but Maddie didn’t believe the words. I’m alright. I’m fine. I’m okay… It was like an unwritten rule, those were the default answers when anyone showed concern. Especially a stranger who probably didn’t care or just wasn’t prepared to actually listen to a more real and complete answer. Maddie was certainly guilty of it, and she felt like that’s what he was doing now. It was easier to say you were alright than it was to explain complex feelings and emotions to another person.

It didn’t escape Maddie’s notice when he gingerly touched his cheek. It looked like a pretty hard hit he had taken, not that there was a chance for him to be on the receiving end of a second hit. She couldn’t have been certain, it all happened too fast, but she suspected he may have let the creep get in that first punch as well. From how he fought, he definitely didn’t seem to be inexperienced. Or maybe she was just used to the way things went when Mason fought. He almost never took the first hit, unless he was intentionally letting someone connect their hit.

”So I did.” Maddie took another drag off her cigarette, then released the smoke from her lungs slowly. He was letting her catch up now. He went on to say he probably meant the same when he said he was alright as she did when she had said that she was fine, and Maddie nodded. ”You’re probably right.” She agreed with him.

It made so much sense when he talked about his brawling days. It was similar to what she expected, even without knowing the whole story. He had a history, something he was trying to move on from. It seemed so parallel to her brother, so familiar. She hated to think he was internally hurting over stepping in to help her.

Maddie grabbed her pack of cigarettes and held it out towards him when he asked for one. ”They’re menthols.” She only generally only smoked menthols. At least, that’s all she bought. The mint flavor made the harsh tobacco flavor more palatable, and even though she knew that they were actually more addictive than standard cigarettes, she didn’t care. They still tasted better.

”I’m fin-” Maddie cut herself off, with a small laugh at herself. ”You know what? I’m fucking cold… I’ll take you up on that.”

She was absolutely about to say that she was fine again, thanks but no thanks. But, as they had already established, she was pretty much lying when she said she was fine. Lying to herself as much as she to him.

”My brother would do just about the same thing tonight...” Maddie glanced over at him as she spoke. ”Feel bad about getting into a fight, even if he helped someone, I mean.” She didn’t go into detail about it, but she hoped maybe somehow it would help. She had experience talking Mason down at times like these, but that was different. He was her big brother, and she knew where the boundaries were with him. She also intentionally crossed them from time to time, forcing him to talk to her about things that she knew he didn’t want to. She didn’t have any of that experience to rely on now, so she could only hope that she was helping and not just making things worse.

”I’m Maddie, by the way.”

---

Tag: Ashley Wolfe
Let me know for changes!

[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

I HAD ANOTHER DREAM

i had another life; no one saw the blood on my hands

[break]

[attr="class","kestrelflight-text"]When she reached him and held out her pack of cigarettes, Ashley plucked a single one out, tucked it between his lips, then steadied the pack in her grasp with one hand so he could fish out the lighter with his other. "Thanks," he said, one corner of his mouth giving a slight tug as she informed him they were menthols. Back when he'd smoked a lot, he'd never cared what kind they were. Marlboros, menthols, blacks, disgusting Newports — it had never mattered. It had been whatever he could get his hands on. Anything to steady the tremble to his fingers and still the buzz between his ears. [break][break]

She accepted the offer of his flannel. He'd fully expected her to refuse — she just seemed the type — and at first she did, but then corrected herself with a small, almost self-aware laugh. He lit his cigarette with a starting pull and then shrugged out of his overshirt, holding both the flannel and lighter out to her. The night air on his bare arms was crisp on his hot skin and — coupled with the icy feel of menthol in his throat and lungs — he felt immediately cooler. [break][break]

He resumed his step down the sidewalk, this time adopting a leisurely, unhurried pace, and took a longer, more indulgent pull from the cigarette. The nicotine seemed to swirl in his skull and he focused on the feeling, letting its particular (and familiar) buzz edge out the more hounding static from before. When she mentioned her brother, explaining that he'd have gotten in a fight, too, and then felt bad about it afterward, Ashley squinted, studying the smoke curl on the air before him when he exhaled. Then he chuckled and shook his head. "My brother would have fought the whole damn bar. And felt bad about nothing." [break][break]

He lifted a hand to make a brief, distracted study of the cigarette held between his fingers. By intentional design, Ashley Wolfe was an only child. With typical, very normal and very boring parents somewhere on the East Coast. All of his family, or any other people of interest, were far from Los Eurosia; unreachable by anyone who happened to take an interest in knowing where he'd come from. It was a fabricated backstory meant to close doors and he stuck to it religiously. But it didn't matter. Ashley Wolfe could have a brother, just this one night. Just for this one conversation. No one would know the difference. [break][break]

His gaze skipped back upward and he glanced at her sidelong, actually taking the time to truly notice her. It was difficult to presume her age but she looked young. With dark brown hair and large eyes, the color of them unable to be discerned with a cursory glance by streetlight. She was short and thin — small, and looking the tiniest bit smaller now in his too-big shirt. But the way she'd spoken, held herself, and walked — he had the feeling, or the suspicion, that she was small in stature only. Perhaps she would have been fine, after all, had he left her alone. [break][break]

"I'm Ashley," he offered, after a moment. "Your brother... are you the elder sibling or the younger?"


[break]

Tag: Maddison Lancaster [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

[newclass=.kestrelflight-text b]color:#2F4845;font-size:8pt!important;font-weight:700!important;font-family:Open Sans, sans serif!important;[/newclass][newclass=.kestrelflight-text a]font-size:8pt!important;font-family:Open Sans!important;[/newclass][googlefont=Poppins][googlefont=Open Sans]

[Maddison Lancaster]

What follows has led me to this place
Where I belong with all erased

---

Normally, even if she was freezing, Maddie would have insisted that she was okay, that she wasn’t that cold. Especially with someone she didn’t really know. But he’d already called her out for saying she’s fine multiple times, when that wasn’t necessarily true. And if she wanted him to let his guard down a bit and chat with her, she should probably do the same.

Maddie tucked the lighter back into the pack and dropped the whole thing back into her bag, before pulling on the flannel shirt over her own jacket. She felt a little bit like a child playing dress up in an adult’s clothes, the shirt came below her shorts and the sleeves were comically long on her, but it helped to cut the chill from the night air so she was fine with that. At the very least, she was no longer shivering so that was an improvement. ”Warmer already. Thank you.”

As they continued walking, and she talked a bit about Mason, she couldn’t help the small pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach. She was shutting him out because of something their mother did. It wasn’t his fault, he was just trying to figure out how to be a good brother and a good son at the same time. She really should talk to him soon. She should have sent him a text tonight to find out if he was free. Then all of this drama probably wouldn’t have even happened in the first place.

”There was a time when my brother would have been like that too. He liked picking fights when we were younger, with anyone he could get to throw a punch his way. He grew out of that phase, thankfully.” Maddie wouldn’t judge his brother, it wasn’t like she knew his whole story anyway. She tended to assume that anyone who walked around with that much willingness to fight people had problems that ran much deeper than what would meet the eye. Or they were just a self centered dick. But it was usually the former, in her (albeit, limited) experience.

Now she had a name to go with the face. She immediately wondered if his parents were fans of Gone with the Wind, but she refrained from asking about it, imagining he got all sorts of unwanted questions or comments from people when he told them his name. Not like it wasn’t actually a “boys name” originally, but Maddie was aware of how stupid and mean sometimes, and she wasn’t about to potentially stick her foot in it over a silly fleeting thought. Besides, Gone with the Wind kind of sucked anyway, but the best character in the whole book was Ashley Wilks, but even he sucked, just not as much as everyone else.

”My brother is the older one. It’s just the two of us.” Maddie let out a small sigh. ”I’m actually mad at him right now, but it isn’t really his fault, so I should probably just get over it. Generally, we’re pretty close.” She strode along next to Ashley, and looked up at him as they continued along. ”What about you and your brother? She was prying a bit, for sure, but she figured he was already talking about his brother so there wasn’t much harm in asking.

---

Tag: Ashley Wolfe
Sorry, I feel like this is a bit of a mess. Let me know for changes!

[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

I HAD ANOTHER DREAM

i had another life; no one saw the blood on my hands

[break]

[attr="class","kestrelflight-text"]Ashley continued to watch her as she spoke of her brother, saying he had been much like Dane at one point in time, then admitting — with a small sigh — that she was mad at him. His mouth tucked with the start of a grin. He knew how that went. Sibling fights in their family had always been intense. And usually their "getting over it" boiled down to little more than heated fistfights. Beating the shit out of one another until they were spent and gasping for breath. Until they were too senseless to remember why they were angry as they wiped each other's blood from their hands and limped off to numb the pain together. [break][break]

She volleyed the question back to him. [break][break]

"Um," Ashley sucked in a breath, tipping his head slightly as he peered forward. Now that he wasn't working with his typical, rehearsed backstory of having no siblings, he wasn't exactly sure what to claim about his brother. He took a pull from his cigarette and held the smoke, buying himself a brief moment to think while he glanced at his aching knuckles. The skin felt hot but wasn't broken. They'd bruise but he hadn't hurt himself. It had only been two blows — perhaps not so much alike days gone past as he'd thought. Maybe he could cut himself some slack. [break][break]

Still, tucked beneath the shame and turmoil, he was aware of the faint thrum of nostalgia in the dull throb of his fingers. And he decided — again, just for a night — that he could allow it. Could admit its presence and tip into it. But, really, how honest could he be? He didn't even know if Dane was still alive. A part of him, feeling very forcibly resigned at the thought, doubted it. Neither of them had ever entertained the delusion of living long lives but his brother had always been keen to test their mortality with a cackle and a grin. Didn't only flirt with death but eagerly courted it. And Ashley had spent many nights wondering guiltily, or knowingly, that he'd probably made that much worse in his leaving. Not only made it worse but then hadn't been there to pull the idiot from the brink like he was used to. [break][break]

"We haven't spoken in a number of years, actually," he confessed, glancing at her again and pressing his lips together in a somewhat rueful smile. He let the admittance pull at the corners of his mouth in just a way to ensure it wasn't taken too heavily. Didn't invite an unwanted gravity. Implied it was okay. "But we used to be close." It was an understatement. They'd done everything together. And, in a way, Ashley felt distantly responsible for the way Dane was. He'd forced him to pick up the slack. To cover the holes in his own resolve by leaving the more brutal requirements of their lifestyle to him. [break][break]

As if to make the importance of his brother less, or to distract from it, he let his lips part again a moment later. "I also have two sisters. I'm the oldest but just by a bit." His faint smile tugged a bit wider — became more genuine and warm as he thought of the Gatsby girls. They didn't share blood but he felt there was more truth than lie in the claim. As much time as they'd all spent together — fighting and laughing, hating one another and making up, stealing alcohol and sneaking out, the occasional late night laid out under the stars, talking about everything and anything — they'd felt as much as his family as Dane. [break][break]

"Whatever you're mad about your brother for... I don't know, these things have a way of blowing over, whether you really get over it or not. I know I run the risk of sounding very hypocritical here," — he'd just said he hadn't spoken to his sibling for years, so what did he know — "But big brothers don't usually go away. I think you'll always love each other more than you can hate each other." [break][break]

He raised the cigarette back to his lips then flinched and made a noise in his throat when he realized it was smoked down to the filter and he breathed in fire. He veered from her to tuck the butt into a plastic smoker's receptacle chained in front of a bar entrance, then paused. "Where are you heading, anyway?" He realized that, while they'd been walking side-by-side leisurely, he may have been leading a bit. In his haste to leave the bar — in his desperate need to escape and walk off the heat — he'd stepped off in the opposite direction of the lot in which his own vehicle was parked. She'd followed him, but maybe he was aimlessly walking her away from where she eventually needed to go.


[break]

Tag: Maddison Lancaster [break]
This one's a huge mess lmao ;v; [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

[newclass=.kestrelflight-text b]color:#2F4845;font-size:8pt!important;font-weight:700!important;font-family:Open Sans, sans serif!important;[/newclass][newclass=.kestrelflight-text a]font-size:8pt!important;font-family:Open Sans!important;[/newclass][googlefont=Poppins][googlefont=Open Sans]

[Maddison Lancaster]

What follows has led me to this place
Where I belong with all erased

---

Right away, it seemed clear to Maddison that she’d touched onto a topic that was complicated. It took a moment before she received an answer, but patience came easily. She understood that families were complex, sometimes hard to talk about or explain. He revealed that they hadn't spoken in some time, and, naturally, she wondered what would have led to that falling out, especially when he added that they had been close.

He went on, mentioning sisters. She listened, and pondered if it was only his brother he didn’t speak with anymore, or if something had happened that kept him away from all of them. There could be a lot of reasons. Maybe they had shitty parents that disowned him, or his siblings. Maybe he’d chosen to leave for some reason. It could be anything.

”I’m sure it’ll blow over with Mason, my brother. Probably quickly.” Maddie let out a breath, and realized her cigarette, all but forgotten in her hand, an afterthought that she occasionally brought to her lips as they walked, had also burned to the end. She realized when he put his in the receptacle, and followed suit. ”I mean, I know it’s not his fault anyway. And you’re mostly right, but I couldn’t hate him at all. I’m just irritated. He is just trying to do what he thinks is for the best… He means well.”

She knew that he just wanted to fix her relationship with their mother, but Maddie wasn’t ready to try. She didn’t know if she would ever be. But it wasn’t Mason’s fault, and she knew that she had to get over herself and stop taking it out on him. After all, he was more than just her big brother, he was also her best friend. Without Mason and Tomas keeping her grounded, she’d be lost.

”I live this way, actually. She pointed in the general area of her building, their path bringing her the right direction. They were still probably a good ten minutes away at the pace they were walking. He’d started off in this direction, so she just assumed his destination was also somewhere in the same general direction. ”Everyone thinks that it’s such a terrible neighborhood, but it’s not all that bad, really.” She shrugged. She was used to people commenting on how rough the neighborhood is or how dangerous it is for her to walk home alone at night. She got those comments frequently enough that now, she preemptively said how it wasn’t that bad, before they had a chance to say how bad or rough an area it was.

Sure, it wasn’t out of place to hear residents in other apartments yelling at each other. Or to see shady transactions taking place out in the open. Or for her downstairs neighbor to show up at her fire escape in the middle of the night, covered in his own blood and needing assistance. Sirens and flashing lights were a regular occurrence. It was almost never quiet. She supposed that it would probably be too much for a lot of people, but Maddie didn’t mind. It kept life interesting. And honestly, she’d never lived anywhere else so it all seemed mostly normal to her. She just minded her own business and didn’t get involved in things that clearly did not concern her.

”So… What has kept you from talking to your family? If it’s not too personal.” She figured the best way to ask was just to be direct. Besides, if he didn’t want to talk about it he would just say so, right?

---

Tag: Ashley Wolfe
Let me know for any changes.

[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

I HAD ANOTHER DREAM

i had another life; no one saw the blood on my hands

[break]

[attr="class","kestrelflight-text"]CW: Mentions of drugs/addiction & suicide [break][break]

Maddie informed him that the spat with her brother would resolve itself sooner than later. She absolved him from blame and asserted that she couldn't ever "hate" him. Though Ashley only blinked slowly, he inwardly grinned. He and Dane had certainly hated each other often enough. Always a quick, blazing loathing that swept through them entirely and consumed them completely. [break][break]

But it was always a hate set to drain. That showed itself in snarled lips and bared teeth. Spent itself in fists cracked against ribs and uncurbed blows to one another's faces. It had never been passive-aggressive. Never been left to the next morning. They'd always been prepared to fight it out. Even the most vicious of blowouts and unforgivable betrayals — when Dane seduced Dino's girlfriend or when Dino had tried to kill himself — never lasted. They'd always pulled back to one another wordlessly. No apologies necessary (beyond the occasional tending of a nasty wound one had given the other).[break][break]

Briefly, Ashley wondered if Dane hated him now. For dying and leaving him. What had his brother done with that anger, when there wasn't Dino's face to break his knuckles against? How had he coped with the loss? He'd never been one to manage those things well. Always seeking something dangerous — namely someone bigger and stronger than him — to make his hurts decidedly physical. To translate the grief into something more familiar and easier to identify. Dino had known that. He'd known Dane. And he'd still left him.[break][break]

He blinked the thoughts forcibly away as Maddison lifted a finger to point through the air, informing him that they were walking toward her home. With a shrug, she commented that the neighborhood got a bad rap but that she found it not as severe as most tended to think. Ashley nodded, a smile quirking at one corner of his lips. As he'd suspected, she could take care of herself. And seemed confident that she could. East End was terrible. A far cry worse than his own quiet neighborhood but still decidedly safer than where he'd run around all his life. But he could easily picture someone trying to stop her on the dangerous streets and being surprised she wasn't as easy a victim as she initially appeared. [break][break]

Reassured that they weren't wandering without aim, Ashley stepped off again in the same direction. A brief moment passed and then she asked about the mystery behind the distance from his family. His mouth pulled to one side of his face thoughtfully.[break][break]

"They don't live the healthiest lives. Bad environment and bad... habits." Ashley shrugged his shoulders, speaking lightly, as if it weren't of much consequence. As if he were at peace with the separation. With what he said, he imagined she'd probably assume he was referencing some sort of addiction. Drugs, most likely. And though there was a bit of truth in that — Dino had been desperate and shattered enough to seek an escape in substances a number of times, hoping they'd numb — the reality was more. But he couldn't be that honest. Probably could never be that honest. "There was no getting better for me unless I left. So I did." [break][break]

That part was true enough. If he had stayed — had remained Dino — his leaving, if not one way then another, was only a matter of time. He would have died. Been killed on an assignment, incidentally or intentionally. Turned to embrace more completely the addictions he'd flirted with and lost himself to drink or whatever he could poke into his veins. Perhaps his father would have eventually succeeded in killing off the bits of him he found unsightly; the sniveling, hesitant parts of him that made him unsuited. He'd have died then, too, even while he lived— lost a part of him that made him him.[break][break]

At least now he'd had the chance to make his life his own. Could try and forget Dino and all he'd done. Could pretend his hands were cleaner than they were. Even when some days it was still impossible to see them as anything other than black with blood. Still difficult some mornings to meet his own eyes in the mirror. To keep the bits of his old life from shining through the cracks of his new one. Like tonight, when he'd used his fists and made a scene then run away to escape the aftermath. [break][break]

"Why are you mad at your brother? Or irritated, I should say." She'd only spoken of the situation in a roundabout way thus far — saying he'd meant well and that it wasn't his fault — and Ashley suspected she wouldn't be more forthcoming unless he asked. And she'd been direct enough to ask him about his own circumstance, so he couldn't imagine she'd be too put off by the prying. Quid pro quo and all. "What'd he do?"


[break]

Tag: Maddison Lancaster [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

[newclass=.kestrelflight-text b]color:#2F4845;font-size:8pt!important;font-weight:700!important;font-family:Open Sans, sans serif!important;[/newclass][newclass=.kestrelflight-text a]font-size:8pt!important;font-family:Open Sans!important;[/newclass][googlefont=Poppins][googlefont=Open Sans]

[Maddison Lancaster]

What follows has led me to this place
Where I belong with all erased

---

Ashley’s explanation of why he wasn’t speaking with his family resonated with Maddie. Bad habits were something she was very familiar with. Not that she hadn't developed similar bad habits, but that was why she hated her parents. Her mom being the only one left to take out her anger and hostility against, even if her father deserved as much or more of her contempt. She nodded as he continued. He explained that leaving was the only way for him to get better, and that made a lot of sense.

”That must have been a hard choice to make, and a harder one to follow through on.” She didn’t have to know the entire story to know that it would have taken a lot to make that kind of choice. ”Getting away from a toxic family, that’s something to be proud of.”

She thought about the brief time she’s spent alone with Miranda and Eli. She’d dreamed of leaving. Maybe going to college, attempting to make something of herself. Mason had found his passion. She had thought that her own passion was the fashion industry. She applied to a few colleges around the state, and didn’t make it into any but one of them. She couldn’t afford to go, and taking out loans was out of the question. If it didn’t work out, she wouldn’t have had the means to pay back a loan. She wasn’t going to gamble on being good enough, and didn’t want to have loans she couldn’t pay back.

Without school or some reason to be there, she didn’t have the guts to get out of Los Eurosia. Hell, she was still in the same neighborhood where she grew up. It was comfortable, safe. She didn't take any risk. But was she happy? Fulfilled? She couldn’t answer that. She liked her job well enough. She made enough money to support herself, to be independent. But she didn’t really have a passion for anything. She supposed it didn’t matter. Just existing and taking care of herself was enough, for now.

”I was definitely mad at him, for a bit… Because he manipulated me into going to his house for dinner with him and our mother.” She frowned. ”He knows I can’t stand being around her, but he guilted me into going, saying he wanted to make it his early birthday dinner with the both of us. But, as usual, it just turned into my mother taking every dig at me she can. Not that the woman has any room to talk, she’s the first person to judge someone else.”

Maddie took a breath. She was rambling. He asked, to be fair, but she should have held back a bit better than that. ”Sorry. As I’m sure you can gather, I don’t get along with my mother. And he knows that. But he was just trying to have a nice dinner.” She sighed. ”So, like I said, it's really not his fault. I’m more mad at our mother, but I’m always mad at her. It’s just frustrating that he keeps pushing me to forgive her.” It was a lot to spew out. And it certainly wasn’t Ashley’s problem, and Maddie shouldn’t be dumping it on him.

”So, why are you heading this direction?” She questioned, as much out of curiosity if he was one of her neighbors as it was a way to deflect the fact that she’d just rambled way too much about her own bullshit. She knew some of her neighbors, and she would at least recognize most of the people who lived in her building, but of course there were a lot of people who lived in the neighborhood that she had never met. The fact that she walked and took public transit helped her to know more of them, but there were a lot of people in the East End.

---

Tag: Ashley Wolfe
Let me know for any changes.