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Just for Kelsey & I!

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Molli yawned as she strolled into the kitchen in her comfy pajamas. She ran her hands through her hair as she stood in front of the fridge, shopping around in hopes of something new to eat for a change. She grabbed the almost-empty gallon of milk, deciding to settle for a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. She took the box of cereal and poured herself a nearly overflowing serving into the bowl and added the necessary milk. She went into the living room and curled up on the couch with a blanket and one of her favorite magazines as she ate her breakfast. She went to rest her feet on the coffee table but found it adorned in Donnie's shirts as usual. She rolled her eyes - he had more of his wardrobe in the living room that they shared than he did in his closet, she bet! She finished her breakfast and got up to head back down the hall. She arrived at Donnie's door and went to give it a solid knock, but she stopped short when she heard him talking to another girl. He must have brought her over before she had returned home from work groggy and sidetracked the night before. She let out a sigh and knocked anyway, announcing, "Don't you have somewhere to be?" through his thin wooden door, hoping that the girl got the idea that it was time to perform a walk of shame and get out of their apartment. "Donnie, it's your turn to go get groceries, by the way, I ate most of your cereal." She smiled to herself when she heard lots of sudden movement, meaning that he was probably getting up to giver her a mouthful for eating some of his precious snacks. She went to her room and got her clothes out before she went to hop in the shower. This was the first time in a while that she had been able to use the bathroom before Donnie had occupied it, as they were sharing the bathroom while the other one was slowly being repaired. She seized her opportunity and undressed before slipping into the stream of warm water that she hoped would relax her tense muscles.

 

Owen shook his head as he opened the door to their apartment, slamming it shut behind him. It was entirely possible that he'd hit rock bottom - he'd been kicked out of his best friend's party only moments before, and the girl that he was planning to spend the evening with had a sudden change of heart. He hadn't gotten a call from his agent in weeks, which left him with almost no money and no hopes of working towards a better-paying job. Thoroughly angry, he went into the kitchen and took a beer from the fridge before searching their apartment in hopes of finding Dahlia. He hadn't seen her all day and she wasn't in her room, so he wondered where she could be. He eventually gave up, knowing that she'd have to come home eventually. He went in his room and sat down on his bed, noticing a picture frame on his dresser that he'd never taken down. It was a picture of him and his ex-girlfriend, Laurie. She'd done some bad things and had smashed his heart into a million pieces when he tried to help her turn her life around. When things went really downhill with the two of them, he found himself in a bad spot and to this day he'd never really been able to recover completely. He got up and threw the picture frame against the wall, enjoying the sound that it made when the glass shattered on the blue surface. He knew things needed to change, but he didn't know where to start. Feeling completely desperate, he picked up his cell phone and went to call Dahlia but realized that he'd never gotten her phone number. Hell, he'd never even had the chance to say two words to her, let alone get a phone number out of her! All he could hope for now was that she would come home soon and be able to help him - whether it be with his bigger problems or his smaller ones. As much as he didn't want to admit it, she had her life together (from what he had gathered) and she would at least be nice enough to offer him some advice as to where to go from here.

Molli heard a bunch of noises and decided to ignore him as she enjoyed her time with the hot water all to herself. She let out a laugh when she heard the girl shrieking as she stormed out of the apartment, something that wasn't uncommon. She would never get used to what Donnie was up to, it was amusing to her even though she still didn't know all of the details. She stepped out of the shower and dried herself off with a fluffy towel, wiping the steam that had collected on the mirror. She noticed that her hair had gotten so long in the past few months - perhaps she would go get a haircut sometime and go for shoulder-length hair again, something that she'd missed. "You're welcome!" she called out happily, slipping on her clothes and brushing her hair out so that it would dry in her signature wavy look. "I don't know why you thought you could get one past me, though," she said as she exited the bathroom. She saw him standing in the hallway, his shirtless back towards her. "I guess I owe you some credit for trying to spice it up?" she suggested, shrugging her shoulders. She threw her towel into the laundry basket in the linen closet and went into the hallway. She turned her head upside down and shook her hands through her hair, hoping to loosen it up so that it would dry quickly. Donnie got caught in the line of fire and she giggled when he cried out, his back dripping with water that had been shaken off of her hair. "Sorry, that's what you get for living with a girl," she added with another chirp of laughter as she squeezed by him and went towards her bedroom.

 

Owen heard Dahlia setting down the bags that she'd been carrying. When he heard her call out, he got up from his bed and came trotting into the kitchen. "Where have you been?" he asked curiously, eyeing the bags on the counter. "Damn, it was my job to get food this week, wasn't it?" he added, a small frown forming on his face. She only ever asked him to do one thing and he failed at it, like the professional that he was at failure. "I'm sorry," he apologized, something new for him. He was used to listening to others' meaningless apologies, rather than making his own. The least he could do was help her, so he began to pull food out of the bags and put items away in the fridge after he sat his beer down on the counter. "I did buy beer, if you want any of that!" he exclaimed as they put away the groceries. Now that he thought about it, he'd never really seen her let loose. She'd always been so uptight around him and his sister that he didn't really know what she did for fun, if she even did anything besides work. As he went to reach up and put a box away in the cabinet, he realized that there was blood slowly dripping from his arm, a piece of glass must have come back to get him. He nervously wiped it away, hoping she didn't see it and make a big deal out of it. He would have to look later to find the source of the blood. "Can I ask you a question?" he asked, feeling suddenly bold as they put away the last of the food. "Do you ever take risks? You know, dive straight into the deep end?" He leaned against the counter as she stood in front of him. He saw her glance at the floor, probably embarrassed by his asking.

Molli heard him pop open a bottle and sighed. He was at it again, drinking away his sorrows. At least he wasn't a sloppy drunk, like some of the girls that he brought home. Usually he just passed out on the sofa ten minutes after his last drink and she'd have to drag him to his bedroom or risk waking up a beast. When he recommended pizza, she frowned and proceeded to inform him of the caloric intake of each piece. Eventually, she heard him yapping away on the phone, ordering his signature half pepperoni, half ham and pineapple pie. She gathered all of her dirty laundry from her room and prepared to start a load in the washing machine while she had a spare hour or two. "Put me down for some of those cheesy bread sticks!" she called out, knowing that they weren't near as bad for you but tasted just as good. After she had started her laundry, she made her way into the kitchen and took a seat at the table across from Donnie. "Can I be nosy for just a second?" she asked, propping her feet up on one of the chairs beside her. She checked the clock on her phone and realized that she had to be at work at 4PM, which was a few hours away from now. "What's with all the girls lately? None of them quite doing it for you?" she questioned boldly, aware of the consequences if he took her question the wrong way. "I just don't get it..." She waited anxiously for his answer, unsure of how he was going to respond. When he took another swig of his beer, she knew that she was in for it. This could turn out badly. She should have waited until after lunch, when he was full and ready to pass out.

 

Owen pursed his lips when he learned that Dahlia used to be a risk-taker. It was sad, he wondered what prompted the change in her behavior. He hoped that nothing too serious had happened and was too shy to ask why she had stopped. He didn't want to be considered nosy, especially not now. He bit his lip when she brought up his recent attitude. "I don't know, I've just... had a lot of bad nights lately. I need to start fresh, you know, clean slate and all that shit." He shrugged his shoulders. "To be honest, your sister kind of intimidated me. I felt like half the time I was walking on eggshells around her, and I'm sure you felt the same way." He let out a breath, watching her climb up onto the counter. He took a drink of his beer - Yuengling, his favorite - and thought about how to talk to her. "I've messed up a lot, I'm aware of that, but things have gotten really bad this past week." He paused for a second, looking into her eyes. "My best friend ditched me, my whore of the week decided she wants something serious, I haven't gotten paid in weeks, and Laurie... damn." He stopped, glancing over at the picture that laid on the floor, somehow unharmed by the glass. He looked back over at Dahlia and shook his head. "Never mind, I don't need to tell you about Laurie just yet. I'm not sure I'm ready." He coughed nervously. "I'm done venting for the hour, tell me more about you. I want to know about this dangerous past of yours." He took another drink from his bottle, enjoying the sensation as the smooth liquid slid down his throat. Lately, there was nothing that he'd enjoyed more than an ice cold beer.

Molli frowned when Donnie began to discuss his motives. "Sorry for asking," she said sarcastically, annoyed that he'd answered her in such a way. Simply saying 'it's none of your damn business' and leaving it at that wasn't really so hard, now was it? When he left for his room, she closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, thoroughly angry that she'd even bothered to start such a conversation with him. Had she really expected it to end on a happy note? With Donnie, she knew that much was practically impossible. She rose from her chair and escaped to her bedroom, surfing around on Twitter on her computer for the next few minutes in an attempt to calm herself down. She had to let out a few deep breaths when Donnie cranked up his music of choice for when he was angry. She knew that he would either be asleep or completely composed in the next ten minutes, but it was too early to tell which one he would go for. Somehow, even over the loud noise, she heard the doorbell ring. The pizza was here. She fished around in her pockets and paid for the pie and sticks before closing the door. She trotted over to Donnie's room and slowly pushed the door open, somewhat afraid of what she would find. She tried a few times (unsuccessfully, of course) to speak up and tell him that his lunch had arrived but it was of no use. She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen to scribble down, 'I think you need these more than me. Come and talk when ready. Sorry. - M'. She attached the note to the cheese sticks and tossed both of the hot boxes onto his lap before running off to her bedroom once again. She laid down on her bed and let out a sigh. The one time that she tried to talk to Donnie and it had ended badly. She hoped that he would try and be the bigger person, to come over and talk to her, but she didn't know him that well. She didn't know anything, it felt like. Things had changed so much since his sister had moved away, and she wondered how long it would take for the two of them to act like adults around each other.

 

Owen's eyes widened at Dahlia's frank response. The more he listened to what she had to say, the more he realized that she was actually correct about it all. Perhaps he was sleeping around in hopes of trying to eliminate the pain that Laurie had caused, something that he could probably never totally eradicate. "I tried to settle down with Laurie, but that's when things got bad and she took a turn for the worst," he commented, taking another swig. He listened to her explain the details of her old self and how she spent many nights on the town and under the influence. "I'm glad that my sister helped you turn things around, I'm glad you were willing to let someone in to help you," he said. He acknowledged that he should have probably done the same for himself - let someone help him before things went downhill and stopped at rock bottom. "Parties aren't what they used to be," he added jokingly, "too many kegs and not enough people with common sense." He finished the last of his beer and tossed it into the bin across the kitchen, throwing his hands up into the air when it landed with a swoosh. He grabbed the beer from her and cracked it open, using the counter top as leverage. When she crossed into the living room, he joined her as he sat in the recliner across the room. "Laurie dipped around in a few gateway drugs, and when I found out about it and tried to help she completely shut me out. She eventually decided to go for heroin and got addicted waaay too easily. I tried everything that I could to get her help, but in the end she turned everyone completely against her. I got a voice mail one day from her and went over to her place. She had killed herself after her dealers refused to give her anything else because she was in too deep." He shivered, noticing the growing goosebumps that appeared on his arms. He took a few sips of his beer, not liking the bad feeling that was developing in his stomach. "All because I wanted her to move in with me. She was the last person on earth that I would have expected to get into something like that."

 

Owen enjoyed the warmth of her presence. He slowly wrapped an arm around her waist as she nuzzled her head against his shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss," he said eventually, his gaze locked in front of him as he refused to meet her eyes. A deep frown grew on his face when he felt a few of her tears land on the material of his thin t-shirt. He had officially struck her soft spot, which saddened him. "If I've learned one thing from all of this," he began, "it's that not everyone is invincible. We can't all fix our problems on our own, we need other people to count on in times of need. We can't all be superheroes." He chewed at his lip, listening to her speak once again. "Thank you, same to you. I don't wish it on anyone," he added as he gently stroked his fingertips up and down her arm in hopes of comforting her. How is it that hours ago they wouldn't have dared to be in the same room together, yet here they were, curled up on a chair? Eventually, after a few minutes of silence had passed, he turned around to look into her eyes. "I think I do it because I'm scared to have this happen to me again. I'd much rather have another girl extend the offer to me to settle down, but apparently, all I attract are drunk girls that are just looking for a nighttime distraction from their real problems. Maybe I'm not so unlike them after all."

 

Molli pursed her lips as she listened to his reason for putting up walls around himself. "Don't you ever wish for someone to be with that knows you better than yourself?" she said quietly, carefully. "I mean, once you find the right person the idea of it all doesn't sound so intimidating." She heard him mention that he'd gone through it before and decided not to pursue the idea any further, afraid that she would terminate any chance of him hearing her out. She shook her head rapidly. "I do understand where you're coming from, Donnie, even if you feel like you're alone. We've all met people along the way that use and abuse us, but that just makes us stronger. We have to be strong enough to pick ourselves up and roll with the punches, we can't just let them all kick us while we're down. Fight fire with fire, you know?" She felt lame, using a bunch of metaphors that he probably found to be useless. "What I'm trying to say is that your life is your life. Let people in or don't, but there are advantages and disadvantages to both." Her eyes focused on his again, noticing that they had a different sheen to them than moments before. "You aren't doomed to failure or anything just because it happened once. Learn from the choices that have been made."

 

Owen nodded slowly, taking in all of her advice. "Thank you, for everything," he whispered, noticing that they were pretty much in the dark. "Thank you for not automatically assuming that I'm a dirt bag like most other people do." His glance shifted away from her to look down at the floor again. When she finally rose from behind him and went toward the kitchen, he couldn't help but miss the feeling of her warm body against his. Her petite frame would generally get lost in his broad build, but when they were sitting down it seemed as if they were at least somewhat equal. He watched as she stumbled across the floor and got up quickly, running over just in time before she collapsed on the ground. "Easy, there," he said with a laugh, picking her up in his arms, "someone went at it a little hard tonight." He'd only had a fraction of the alcohol that she ingested and he was feeling a bit on edge, so he could only imagine what she was feeling. He carried her into her bedroom and sat her down on her bed, afraid to look around and see how she chose to take advantage of her personal living space. He used his thumb to wipe a few of her tears as he tucked her into her bed, pulling her sheets up over her body and placing blankets to keep her warm. 

 

Molli frowned, noticing how uncomfortable he was growing with their conversation. She shook her head quickly as she thought about how to end it. "Just remember," she told him, "life isn't all about making others happy, you have to make yourself happy first." With that, she rose from the bed and gave him a gentle pat on the back, hoping to encourage him to take matters into his own hands. "Where are you hiding the cheese sticks?" she called out as she went towards the kitchen, "Don't tell me you ate them all! I was kidding!" She let out a breath as she opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of her favorite sports drink - Strawberry Lemonade Powerade. She took a sip of her sugary drink before placing it back in the fridge. "By the way," she called out, heading back towards her bedroom to find him in the same spot on her bed, "My school is having this cool tailgating party before the football game tonight, if you want to tag along I'd be more than happy to bring you with me. Think about it. I get off at 5 and the party starts at 6." She turned and exited the room to do the rest of her laundry before she would leave for work around 11:45, starting her shift at 12. She finished her chore and then slipped into her uniform, a casual t-shirt provided by the coffee shop and a pair of khaki pants. 

 

Owen sighed heavily, realizing that he wasn't going to be able to get out of this one. Her tiny fingers had an iron grip on his hands and he wasn't going to be able to escape without dragging her across the floor behind him. "Fine, I'll stay for a few minutes," he said eventually, somewhat surprised at how she had become so accepting of his presence in these past few minutes. He climbed in beside her and rolled his eyes when she scooted as close as humanely possible to his body. He knew what was coming next - she'd latch on to him like a baby koala to its mother and he wouldn't be able to get away. "Woah, woah, careful," he warned her as she began to wrap her legs around his. His eyes widened as her behavior changed. She appeared to be asleep, eyes closed and shallow breathing, yet here she was, trying to snake her body around his like a constrictor. He didn't know whether to embrace her back or to lie there stiff as a board. He felt like he was contaminating her room by laying in her bed. Had she ever been with anyone like this before? He wasn't sure if she had, and he also wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer to any of his questions. "Dahlia, what the hell are you doing?" he whispered quietly, mostly to himself as he somewhat hoped she wouldn't hear him.

I'm so sorry that I didn't reply sooner. These past few days have been difficult for me and I'm just now getting back to VP. My apologies.

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Molli smiled. "Good, I'm glad you're considering it," she told him before heading into the bathroom. She brushed out her hair, which had dried for the most part, and took a curling iron to the ends. She then pulled it back into a messy ponytail and applied a small amount of makeup, hoping to make herself look a little bit less tired, stressed out, and frazzled. She munched on some of the cheesy bread sticks and downed a glass of water in the kitchen, planning on making herself a coffee drink once she arrived at work. She made sure her purse was gathered and all of her laundry away before slipping her phone into her back pocket. "I'll be back in time to head out to the party, don't worry," she said before exiting their apartment. She walked the short distance to the coffee shop and started her short shift, happy to find that business was relatively slow for the day and she didn't have other people barking orders after every ten seconds had passed. When the shop had emptied for the most part, she leaned against the counter and thought about Donnie. Was he really going to take what she said to heart? She wasn't sure. One minute, he seemed very open to suggestions and the next he would revert back to his old ways, the routine that he was used to. She felt bad that she couldn't really help him, but she knew that at the same time, the ball was in his court now and he had to change things for himself on his own.

 

Owen was in the kitchen stirring hot chocolate in two mugs, one for himself and one for Dahlia. When she sauntered into the room, he jumped a few inches into the air when he heard her feet step onto the cold floor tiles. His eyes widened for a moment as he realized that it was her, standing there a few feet from him in a robe that he had never seen. "Morning!" he said happily, a wide smile growing on his face. "I wasn't sure you'd be up so early, I didn't expect you for at least a little while yet." He hoped that he hadn't woken her up when he got up to leave. He slid one of the mugs in her direction, careful not to spill its contents.. "Nestle brand hot chocolate, your favorite, it seems." He watched as she took a sip. "Also, I ran to the little bakery in the next building over and got us some donuts and danishes to satisfy us for breakfast," he added, setting down a large white box in front of her, "The first pick is yours! We didn't really have anything for breakfast, unless you wanted a green bean and peanut butter omelette, so I figured we'd have to settle for carry-out breakfast." He walked over and took a seat beside her, grabbing a chocolate cake donut, his favorite, from the box and taking a hearty bite. "And it's okay to admit that your head is probably pounding," he said to her quietly, "I know mine is, that's for sure."