i'm to blame

anthony hayes 33 from manchester the screw up

[aria-hayes]

“Well you are already here, so what’s up?” Aria sighed a little bit, she thought that she might have a minute to herself or something. But clearly she was wrong. // @secretsummerstarters​

[anthcnyhayes]

“You alright, cheery chops? Thought I was a sight for sore eyes but I guess not.” He shook his head dramatically, hoping to get a laugh or something out of her so he didn’t have to deal with....the emotions. “Oh!” He clicked his fingers as if just remembering. “You know you’ve got a clone running around here?”

[anthcnyhayes]

manxn-wilsxn​:

“Drinks wise?” she asked, pausing for just a moment to think about what was her biggest vice. “Hard to say. I think it’s probably the tequila. Once I start drinking that it tends to be game over. You?”

“Tequila is a cruel mistress and I admire you for taking her on anyway. I think tequila made up my whole first year attempt at uni actually. No wonder I didn’t learn anything,” he joked. Generally speaking, he was a whiskey man but--- “Sambuca. Almost killed me my 21st birthday and I only sort of learned my lesson.”

[anthcnyhayes]

vivienne-walsh​:

What the hell was she supposed to say? This was all so bizarre to her anyway and now she had this guy in front of her thinking she was someone else. “No.” Soul searching? He probably wouldn’t even believe her, he’d think that his sister Aria had just cracked or something. “Look, I’m not… Aria. I think you should call your sister. Uh. Lauren? You should call Lauren.”

“You’re not... Aria?” Alright, he could figure this one out, couldn’t he? Maybe Aria had cracked up. He hadn’t exactly been keeping a close eye on her. Or maybe she was a clone. An android. Evil twin? Maybe he shouldn’t have taken so many drugs in his twenties. Anthony let a silence pass between them long enough for him to shrug. Yeah, why not? This might as well be happening. “Yeah, alright.” Had he charged his phone? Probably not. “Are, uh, you alright then?”

[anthcnyhayes]

lauren--hayes​:

“Watch it.” She warned him, but it was more a joke than anything. “Our mugshot book is doing just fine without your mug in it.” She told him, shaking her head. It was strange to her, to have him around here. Manchester and childhood seemed so long ago and yet it still felt like yesterday sometimes too. “How very generous.” She chuckled, giving him a look. “Yeah, go on then. I mean, I do deserve it after all.” She joked.

“Yes, ma’am.” Anthony laughed at that one, deciding not to argue a stunning defense of his gorgeous mug. “Maybe I’ll just get you a framed photo for your desk, yeah? You can tell all the people you work with how lucky you are to have me as a brother when they ask.” He did miss her. Home, family but it was always going to be there too; their parents. What happened to them. The fact that if it didn’t, maybe he wouldn’t have lost touch. They’d at least see each other every holiday and birthday, whenever their mum called. He didn’t want to think about it. “Don’t go spreading that rumour, this is a special occasion. Nothing from the top shelf though, I’m not made of money.” He joked. Sort of.

[anthcnyhayes]

joanweston​:

She chuckled, “Probably, I mean who knows at this point. I’m sure Steve would love that.” Joan said to him before nodding, “ Yes, he is important. Well at least to a lot of people. I’m just thankful I have a job that I love doing. My old job wasn’t exactly a good one.”  She told him with a chuckle, “ Well thank you, and yes that’s me. It’s nice to meet you as well.” 

“I’m sure he knows in his heart of hearts just how important you are too. Hopefully not a nightmare of a boss though? I know I’ve had my fair share of them but I used to have a pretty bad habit of just walking out when things got shitty. Definitely not the employee of the month, me.” Anthony grinned, thinking not for the first time that Baberton maybe wasn’t that bad. “I think my brief three week stint cleaning night clubs was my worst ever. I’m glad you’ve made it. Any time. You can call me Anthony. Or whatever you want really, I’m easy like that.”

[anthcnyhayes]

audrey--henderson​:

“Ooh. As long as that M isn’t murder… it would be such a terrible waste.” She grinned a bit and shook her head slightly. No, she was definitely not flirting. That was always bad. She lost herself too quickly. She tilted her head to the side and nearly laughed as he used the term ‘vibing’. Were they teenagers now? “Oh, no… that is a horrid question to ask. I would hate to ruin a perfectly good conversation by telling you that I do quite enjoy pineapple and Canadian bacon on a pizza.” 

“That was exactly what I was just thinking,” he grinned, adding, “We did just meet and all.” He was definitely flirting. He couldn’t help himself and even if she did wind up stealing his wallet, he was betting it’d be worth it. A little flirting was harmless anyway. His wallet was basically empty. “Ooh. That is a bold confession to make, Audrey Henderson and I appreciate your honesty.” Anthony leaned in then, dramatically lowering his voice as if anyone could be listening. “Don’t tell anyone...but ham and pineapple is my favourite one.”

[anthcnyhayes]

amanda--ford​:

Amanda laughed and shook her head. “Any animal has no problem biting if you get in their space.” She grinned, dropping her hand down onto the golden lab’s head. Harley had sat beside her chair all quiet and peaceful just waiting for her next order. It never ceased to bring a smile to Amanda’s face as she thought about how well the pup had taken to her training. “Hm. Lauren is pretty amazing. She is seeing my cousin, Brooke. So, is that what brings you to town? Hanging around with the fam?” 

“Consider me well and truly warned here. I doubt I’d last even a minute at the mercy of this one,” he said, nodding towards her service dog who was quite content by the looks. He saluted the pup just to make sure they knew he came in peace and all. “Yeah, yeah she’s the backbone of ou---,” he started before raising both his eyebrows. “No kidding. Your cousin? This must be that famous ‘small town’ thing happening right now. Here we are, practically bound in their upcoming holy matrimony and we just met. But yeah, that’s pretty much it. I’m not great at keeping in touch, you know? I’m right out the loop. Thought I’d come cheer them all up with my pretty face and appropriate stories.”

[elijah-smxth]

@secretsummerstarters​

“Alright, prepare to cry as I sink this.”

[anthcnyhayes]

“I’ve got the Kleenex and Snapchat ready as we speak.”

[anthcnyhayes]

b-radenobrien​:

“I feel your pain, I really do, but I’m not in the habit of carrying around paracetamol.” Braden indicated the seat across from him at the small outdoor table, then pointed to the Hot Spot sign, “How about coffee instead?”

“Me neither but I should probably start. I could have saved myself a lot of shit over the years but no one ever said you could teach an old dog new tricks. Or... They did? I don’t know.” He shrugged the metaphor off before looking up at the sign. “Sounds great, mate. Genius. Can I, uh, give you an I.O.U?” 

[anthcnyhayes]

vivienne-walsh​:

Vivienne stared back at him blankly for a long moment or two, feeling more awkward by the second. An absent hand lifted to play with the ends of her long hair when he mentioned it. At first, she didn’t click, but then she remembered this had happened more than once already and that she’d found out she shared blood with all these siblings, many of which she hadn’t met yet. “Uh… sorry, you…” Had Lauren and Aria told everybody yet? “I’m not actually... who you think I am.” What the hell was she supposed to say?

The longer the silence stretched on the more Anthony was worried he’d done something to piss Aria off and he’d just totally forgotten. Or, well, not even noticed at the time. Surely she wasn’t that upset he’d ghosted? He text. Sometimes. Then things got confusing... “Do you mean like, you’ve done some ‘soul searching’ and now you’re a whole new you? I have to meet the new Aria or something? I had a flatmate once who did something like that. He was weird as fuck but that doesn’t mean I don’t, uh, respect your whole thing here.” Maybe it was something else? “Or- What do you mean?” 

[anthcnyhayes]

manxn-wilsxn​:

“No, no elaborate ruse,” Manon replied with a laugh as she reached in her purse to find the pills in question. “These work well for me when I’m hungover so I’m sure they should work well for you, too.”

“That’s a comfort then. I mean, it would be a record that since I’ve only been here a minute and already I’d be on someone’s hit list,” he joked. “Tried and true. Cheers for help, really. What’s it that gets you then? Drinks-wise.”

[anthcnyhayes]

audrey--henderson​:

“Oh, yeah. Baberton is just rolling in drama; love, familia, murder, mystery, mayhem. It’s practically a television show. You never know what tomorrow’s episode will be.” She shrugged a bit, grinning slightly. She had seen quite a bit of drama herself and it still made her a little nervous just thinking about it. She laughed out loud and shook her head a bit. “Well, which ever Henderson brother you are speaking to at that moment - they are my favorite. We have known each other five minutes and I think you know me completely.” 

“Sign me up. I don’t know what’s going to happen from one day to the next anyway, might as well add one of the ‘Ms’ into it as well.” Hopefully not ‘murder’ though. That would definitely mess up his pretty face. Anthony let out a laugh at that. Maybe Baberton was going to be alright after all. Maybe he’d even stay longer than it’d take to settle his hovering debts... He should chill. But she was smoking hot and looked like she could probably be the death of him which was exactly his type. “I’ll make sure it’s the first thing I let them know. Might just be the beer talking but I think this is what they call-,” he gestured between them-, “vibing. Here, quick--- Pineapple on pizza... Yes or no?” 

[anthcnyhayes]

kristxn-devlxn​:

“You’re welcome,” she laughed, fishing into her purse and finding the bottle in question. “Two should do the trick.”

“Yes, doctor,” he said, adding in a mock salute before he swallowed down the pills. “Mm. I feel like this is the part where I should say ‘and I’ll never be drinking again’. We just shouldn’t have to suffer for a good time.” 

[anthcnyhayes]

delia--lane​:

“Oh, you are so sweet. You flatter me.” She shook her head a bit, leaning back in the chair a bit. She tilted her head to the side and nodded. “I think everyone can get on board with a good murder mystery.” She smiled brightly at him and shrugged. “I mean, I sort of am on the clock. I am not sure I ever really clock out for the day.” 

“You’re very flatterable,” he said before pausing, brow briefly furrowing. “Alright, that might not have technically been a word but still. There is something about a classic whodunnit. Bonus points if there’s a set up and they wind up pinning it on the wrong person so you have to wait for the sequel to find out who really did it.” Better kept in fiction than real life though. He almost laughed thinking about how his sister’s life, her job, was just one massive whodunnit. “Right enough. I’d offer to help out but I was never good at doing my own homework, nevermind anyone else’s,” he joked. “If you have a coffee break planned though...” 

[anthcnyhayes]

amanda--ford​:

Her eyes widened a bit and she laughed. “You broke into a petting zoo? And a llama…?” She shook her head slightly. “I think your adventures definitely top mine. Then again, how much of it do you actually remember?” She tilted her chair back slightly, balancing on the wheels. It was her way of fidgeting now. “Pleasure to meet you, Anthony. I am Amanda Ford… any chance Hayes means related to Lauren…?” 

“Just the once,” he said as if this was a perfectly acceptable defense, “Yeah, turns out they don’t mind biting if you stick your hand close enough. Imagine getting your arse kicked by a llama. He never lived it down, I can tell you that. You’ve got me there though. Actually remembering the stupid shit is the real trick.” Amanda Ford... Could he get away with subtly sneaking a peak for a wedding ring? He didn’t want to wind up in too much trouble today, not with a hangover. “Pleasure’s all mine, Amanda Ford. Yeah, the one and only. The head honcho. The godfather. Well, mother but you know what I mean.” 

[anthcnyhayes]

joanweston​:

“They actually could be. I don’t rarely take a lot of selfies, just mainly play games that’s all.” She told him before shaking her head, “ No. My boss is Steve Bates. He’s  just been so busy lately that I unfortunately have to do all his paperwork.” 

“Well, you definitely could. Probably break the internet posting something that good,” he grinned before nodding like he had any idea who Steve Bates was. “He sounds important. Right, so you are the ‘even greater woman’ behind the man they’re always talking about. Great to meet you.” 

[anthcnyhayes]

lauren--hayes​:

Lauren looked back at him. Her family was always one of the most important things to her, even when it was siblings who’d drifted away over the years. She wished it hadn’t been like that but everyone coped differently and she supposed there were so many of them it was bound to happen, maybe would have still happened even if their parents hadn’t… anyway, she didn’t want to think about that. “Oh, yeah, sure.” Lauren said, as if it was just a given. “Sounds fun.” She smiled a little and then she thought for a second before nodding. “Yeah. Alright. I could probably use the caffeine boost to be honest.”

“Alright then! Let’s do it. Yeah, yeah you took the words right out my mouth. You do look a little-,” he made a face before grinning, “Just kidding, don’t arrest me or anything. Well, unless your mug shot book needs a little face lift.” Coffee was a good start he decided. Yeah, no need to go bulldozing in just yet. No one had come around looking for him or his kneecaps (yet) so there was that. Lauren had always been... Well, their parents would be proud. That always made him feel like more of a screw up and honestly? A little jealous. That was the kind of shit he kept to himself though. C’est la vie. They were here now and all. “Tell you what, it can be my treat and everything. A late congrats on the new job, yeah?”