—we're on each other's team

Brielle Laurent | 30 Freelance photographer | Found @ Parkview

[devinstonerpg]

BRIELLE LAURENT ⎯ THIRTY ⎯ SHE/HER ⎯ FLORIST/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER ⎯ PARKVIEW

❝ keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground. ❞

+ easygoing, playful, caring. - deceiving, reckless, insecure.

Brielle Laurent (nee Carson) had always been the artistic kind of gal. A free spirt, always in search of adventure, yet her small hometown of Devinstone never quite fit the picture she painted for her life. She wanted more, and after five years of college (for a degree she doesn’t use) and countless road trips around the country, she ended up at the place she swore she didn’t belong to. Turned out the small town felt more like home than ever and a part of her wanted to resent herself for thinking like that, but the other one was set on finding what it was about the town that drew her so much to it.

What started as somewhat of a hobby, turned into a profession she practiced on her off days from the flower shop. Often ending up at weddings or some event where all she got to do was take pictures, grab some free food and socialize with people she would normally never be around. As long as there was some free food, she didn’t mind the company of stuck up people. The flower shop also helped, when most people that visited it seemed nice enough or were too in love to be mean to anyone and the love letters she ended up having to write had her dreaming of someday finding her own person.

Someday arrived sooner rather than later and despite her initial pretense at disliking the guy, Brielle couldn’t help loving the way he reacted to her tease and the fact that he didn’t give up. The bar was crowded enough that Sage could’ve set his eyes on any other girl, or she could’ve talked to some other guy, but it was them that ended up meeting and she could only think it must’ve been destiny. And like that, one thing led to the other and soon enough they were together. Their relationship was far from perfect, an on and off sort of thing that often had the two of them upset, but the separation never lasted long enough to be considered breaking up. And still, shortly after they got married. Except, marriage didn’t fix the problems they had before, if anything, it made them worse. Neither of them was happy, and Brielle didn’t know what bothered her more, the fact that she wasn’t content with the life they had together or the fact that she couldn’t make him as happy as she once did. Had that been her fault? Coming from parents that got divorced on her early teens, she couldn’t help but thinking this was her doing. She was too much to handle and he didn’t quite understand—No, they didn’t understand each other anymore. The break that came soon was no surprise to either of them.

She should’ve known not to let herself get caught up in the moment when her heart was aching. Despite it all, Brielle still loved Sage, and the separation had her distraught in ways she hadn’t quite experienced before. Her co-worker provided a shoulder to cry on, and after a few weeks a little more than that after one drink too many ended with them at his place. The regret that came immediately after had her slipping out unnoticed. Except it didn’t end there, during the next week their encounters were few, but they were enough to leave her feeling guilty every time her gaze fell upon her wedding ring; still very much there, still a reminder that her heart didn’t belong to anyone else but him. Then why did she sleep with someone else?

Brie didn’t know what landed her at his door in the middle of the night, it could’ve been regret or maybe just the fact that she knew there was no one else for her. Everything would be fine, he didn’t have to find out about what happened and they could try and be better this time. Except, the little adventure with her co-worker soon came back to her in the form of a baby. She tried talking to the one she assumed was her father but as soon as she mentioned a child, he bailed, even going as far as changing jobs. She couldn’t tell Sage the truth now, not after the way his eyes shone when she told him, only holding back the part where it might not be his, but if she was honest, she didn’t know whose baby this was. And he was giving her everything, yet none of it made her happy, not because of him, but the lie that loomed over her head and threatened to come out eventually. She knew people suspected and he still didn’t believe them, until one night, she couldn’t take it anymore. The weight of this lie was too much and nothing was working out between them the way it should’ve been. The divorce papers that followed left her feeling cold and alone with a child that she didn’t know she would be able to raise all on her own.

Sage didn’t fully leave her though, whenever she needed him, he was still there and even when she went into labor, he stood by her side and held her hand through it all.  She didn’t know if this made it better or worse on them. With him still being there through every step and even the birth of her child while knowing, or rather thinking (she wasn’t sure who the father truly was), it wasn’t his. Nevertheless, he stayed and while the kid didn’t have his real father with her, he had one that would be a better father, that much Brielle was sure of… though she didn’t know how long he’d want to be in contact with a baby that he’d thought was his for most of her pregnancy.

Nowadays, Ezra, is the light of her eyes. She can’t imagine her life without him, but every passing day, he looks more and more like the man who stuck around and helps her out with a baby that presumably isn’t his. Maybe she was wrong, maybe, but there’s no way she can bring that up now when they have to keep going with their lives separately after what she did. Keeping the truth from Sage could only harm her son, and she know, eventually, he’d have to grow without a father due to her mistake. He can’t stay forever, and she doesn’t pretend for him to do so, when she knows all of this must come to an end sooner or later; hopefully later.

Despite her mistakes, Brielle is still very much the free spirit that once left town in hope for adventure. Though now she does have a tiny human to take care of. She doesn’t settle for mediocrity and when she’s not making flower arrangements, her photography’s getting better by the day and it’s likely something she’ll ever stop practicing. She’s got a dark sense of humor and often ends up misunderstood in her jokes that shouldn’t be thrown at customers only wanting flowers and not for someone to make a joke about avoiding divorce, something she probably shouldn’t do, but what her boss doesn’t hear won’t hurt her.

[brielaurent]

sagelavrent:

      Sage cursed himself out internally for finally working up the courage to approach the shop. He still held himself responsible for their failed marriage. Yes, she’d cheated on him and that hurt more than anything he’d ever experienced. The pain was almost equal to that of getting scorched on the job, if not more. Regardless, their marriage hadn’t exactly been picture perfect before that and part of it was his fault. Neither of them had been keen on going to counseling and it hadn’t helped the slightest that they’d suggested seeing other people. It was almost like they were telling them that it was okay to forget their feelings and the life they’d built together and it didn’t sit well with him. So much for expert advice, he’d thought. Standing outside the shop for the first time in what felt like years, he tried to tone down his enthusiasm when he’d chuckled at her statement about most likely ignoring the sign. “ That’s true. They either don’t think or they’re too stubborn. ” he mused, following his ex-wife into the shop, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his leather jacket. “ Actually, one of the guys needed to switch shifts for a family thing, so…” the lieutenant trailed off. He’d allowed his eyes to roam over the shop, though they quickly darted back to Brielle and his eyebrows shot up at his question. “ What? No. ” he replied quickly, though he tried to down play his reaction. “ No offense, but if I was going to buy flowers for someone else, I wouldn’t go to my ex-wife for them.” He hadn’t intended the comment to sound rude if it had. In fact, he’d meant it to be anything but. Sage couldn’t stand the idea of being with anyone that wasn’t Brielle, despite their problems. If he ever felt like he truly could move on, he knew it’d be better for all parties involved to avoid bringing any other significant other around his ex-wife. “ I actually came to see how you and Ezra were doing…mom’s been askin’. ”

Brielle couldn’t pretend to be unfazed by his answer. The quick denial almost had her smiling, though the expression was suppressed as she met his gaze.  She would have. Had he been the one to do what she did, she would have done everything in her power to remind him how he fucked up. And somehow, knowing he wasn’t holding it against her was worse. Their marriage crumbled in their own hands and there was no stopping it, even more so when another person was added to the equation, though he was long gone now. Yet she couldn’t bring himself to miss anything about that other man; the one standing before her though, that was a different matter. He was the one she pictured a future with and perhaps they had rushed into everything. Her mother did warn her not to go so fast, but she had been too young and in love to care about what anyone said, it was her relationship with Sage that mattered the most.

That was then.

Now she’d turned into the type of person she despised the most. A cheater. Someone she’d vowed never to be, but as it turned out, the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree. A selfish, cheater that couldn’t help but be happy he didn’t seem to be interested in anyone else. Yet that didn’t mean he still loved her… like she wanted him to. Like she wished he would.

“Oh.” She finally let out after a few seconds. His question caught her slightly off guard, mostly because she’d been hoping he was there to see her. A fool could dream. “Ezra’s with mom. He’s still having trouble standing by himself and last night decided to try and failed multiple times, it was the cutest thing.” Brielle smiled over at him, her gaze falling a second later. “You could take him to your mom’s if you wanted to… someday. He, uh… he loves being with you so…” Her feet shifted slightly, the smile on her features dimming when she knew she shouldn’t be asking this of him. “I mean, you really don’t have to, mom’s more than happy to take care of him while I work and I could have him visit Karen at some point so she can see her gr—him, him.” A shaky breath passed her lips then, her gaze meeting his after a moment. “Do you want to take him to your mom’s? Because it’s really okay if you prefer not to.”

[stxrslisten]

“Me? To a masquerade ball, carrying this two freelancers inside of me? I don’t think so.” She said pointing at her stomach. “Besides I dare you to find me a dashing masquerade-esque that fits me and my current amazing figure.” She half joked. 

[brielaurent]

“Honestly, tell me about it. How am I supposed to take a baby to a masquerade ball?” Brielle let out a cynic laugh, though their situations were quite different. The other, was still pregnant. “I might cozy up with him at home and watch some cartoons while the whole town is out ‘cause what else is left, to be honest? I bet you could find something nice to wear though.”

[brielaurent]

alexambrosias:

Walking past a dejected customer, unsure of why he was taking his leave empty-handed, he decided to walk towards the woman behind the counter, anyway. “Uh, hey,” he said, with a short nod in greeting. “I was wondering if you could help me pick flowers to give on a first date?” he asked, eyes briefly scanning the displays around him which, surprisingly, weren’t a lot. “If you should give flowers on a first date at all, that is.” He’d always been known to go the extra mile on his dates, which was how he’d driven most of the men he saw away— he just came on too strong. 

Brielle looked up as another man entered the store. She was about as ready to let him down as well, though his question took her off guard. “Nope, no flowers on the first day, unless you want to scare them off. Especially if they’re afraid of commitment and you’re already showing up with flowers on the first date.” She smiled up at him. “You can pick up a few carnations though, those are the only ones that have survived this dreadful night without the fridge. If you’re looking for anything else… I’m sad to say you’re not going to find it here.”

[brielaurent]

parkerhayes:

“A regular I assume?” Parker said with a raised eyebrow. She walked around the small shop, taking note of once beautiful flowers now going limp. It was rather sad seeing the whole store filled with wilting flowers, “Damn. How much is this going to cost you? I suppose a lot since you have to fix the refrigerator as well as replace the flowers. – Do you need help? I could possibly call someone to help you out, I know a few people that owe me some favors.”

“Sadly,” Brie replied quietly as she looked up at the other girl. Her lips quirked into a smile, her elbows meeting the counter as she leaned forward. “Well, my boss is on her way now so she’ll estimate how much we lost once she gets here. But I bet she’d appreciate the offer very much if you let her know… What’s your name again?”

[brielaurent]

lunemarie:

      The simple things in life fascinated the girl endlessly. Flowers, above all, always had a special place in her heart. Perhaps that is why her skin was outlined in ink of different floral pieces. It was her rare day off, and of course, she planned on starting the day by picking up some flowers. Having them in her home was one of the only consistent things in her life since she was a child. But the sign on the door brought an immediate sigh to her lips. She pushed through to see Brielle behind the counter and she approached her with a distraught look. “Please tell me the sign is a lie.”

“I wish I could,” Brielle offered a sympathetic smile at her friend and neighbor. If anything she’d taken the worst of it when coming in to what used to be a beautiful flower shop and finding every plant dying. “The fridge broke at some point last night, so the flowers in there are dead, we do have the succulents though, those last through almost anything.”

[brielaurent]

noelblackwell:

        When he’d spotted the familiar woman from a short distance, it wasn’t long before he’d made his way over to the shop to greet her. It’d bee some time since he’d last spoken with her and he felt catching up was necessary. “ – Hey, Brie. ” She was the Lieutenant’s wife, with or without the ring on her finger. None of the guys in the department were stupid enough to try to get in on her good side, especially when Laurent was still very touchy about the topic whenever it was brought up. Still, the paramedic had chosen to remain friendly because she was still apart of the family they’d built, even if things were on rocky terms. “ Oh. Freezer trouble ? That can’t be good for business, ” he teased.

The familiar voice had a smile on Brielle’s lips as she turned to look at her husband’s co-worker and friend. She hadn’t seen most of them since the divorce, though couldn’t blame them with the way she avoided the fire station nowadays. It felt like they knew why they divorced and it wasn’t only the fire station when all the public workers seemed to know each other pretty closely. Unless they were new, there was almost no one that didn’t know Sage and there had been plenty people spreading rumors about her. Though those had been mostly true. Mostly. “It’s not, but since it’s technically not my shop, the boss will worry about that,” She gave a slight shrug then. “The only thing we didn’t lose are the succulents, but most people that come by are interested in arrangements or flowers for their garden, so it’s been a tough day. Were you coming in?”

[brielaurent]

rowanparks:

        rowan wasn’t used to big, romantic gestures. it had never been her and tessa’s thing; they both appreciated some takeout, a cuddle with their pets and a nice movie night rather than a fancy dinner or… flowers. but walking back from the hospital that day and passing by the same flower shop she did every day, rowan had a sudden urge to treat her girlfriend. “you don’t have flowers?” she blinked in confusion after watching a sad looking man leave the store empty-handed. her eyes found the sign on the door right after, which pretty much answered her question. “do you think succulents are nice enough for a gift?”

“No, I put that up there for fun,” Brielle replied, a smirk on her lips as she watched the girl enter the store. Her fingers brought a chip to her mouth, the amused quirk of her eyebrow one that was nothing but friendly. She lifted a shoulder in a half shrug, “It really depends on the person you’re giving it to. Some people love them, others think they’re terrible, how much do you know about this person?”

[brielaurent]

camialdea:

“I don’t know!” she exclaimed, laughter spilling from her lips as she shook her head, one hand moving up to thread through her hair before taking the offered kleenex. She knew that movie made her emotional, yet she’d somehow thought it had been an excellent idea to watch it. “Horror,” she quickly answered, despite knowing she’d be watching it through her fingers the entire time. “I need to watch some horror.”

Brielle couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips, a shake of her head given at the other woman. “Of course, you can stop by today after I’ve picked Ezra up from my mom’s and we’ll watch some good ol’ horror. Maybe have a marathon. You sure you’ll be able to sleep after it though?”

[erinkeane]

“Jesus Christ,” Rebekah mumbled under her breath as she practically slammed her laptop shut. “If I see another ad for a dating app I might cry.” They were all over her Facebook and no matter what she did they kept popping up in most of the sites she had visited over the past couple of months. Turning to the person across from her, Rebekah spoke up. “Do you happen to know how to get rid of these ads?”

[brielaurent]

“Sounds like they’re trying to tell you something there.” Brielle winked over at the other woman. Her hands wrapped around her coffee cup, she leaned back against her chair, head tilted in curiosity. “Aren’t ads based on the sites you visit? Where have you gone in the deep web to have all those ads generated for you?”

[brielaurent]

stephanie-lynn-swan:

Megan’s life wasn’t full of people giving her flowers, so she liked to stop by the flower shop to see what they had because they were always fun to look at. Occasionally she would buy some to take home for some of her vases.  One thing that really was important to her was beauty, in her life, in her home, and in her world. She grew from a place she didn’t find so beautiful. She watched the interaction and overhearing due to proximity. Her wide smile that followed the statements probably hinted to her feelings about walking in on such a moment. She was going to try to slip out before being noticed but it was too late. “What’s wrong with the fridge?”

The roll of her eyes was more unconscious than anything else when the question directed at her was not one she could possibly answer. Brielle was a florist, a photographer, everything but a fridge technician, if that was even the term. But when she turned towards the girl, there was a smile on her lips. “If I knew this wouldn’t be happening. It must’ve broken at some point during the early night last night, ‘cause most of the flowers are dead or wilting. But hey, if you’re in the market for those, it’s your lucky day!”

[brielaurent]

Faceclaim change!

Leighton Meester  ➢ Meghan Ory

[jadeamelia]

[brielaurent]

@sagelavrent

[myeuphcria]

“Oh god,” Camila tried to force back the tears that threatened to spill out as her emotions went into overdrive at the mere sight of the golden retriever across the street. She’d watched ‘Marley & Me’ the night before and her pregnancy hormones were making her far more emotional than she meant to be. “He was such a good boy, you know? Marley was such a good boy,” she nodded, her voice nearly breaking. “It’s fine, I’m fine.”

[brielaurent]

Brielle shook her head as she pulled out a kleenex from the box she kept nearby and handed it to Camila. “The bigger question here is, what made you think it was a good idea to watch such a movie while pregnant?” She rolled her lips into a thin line, holding back the laugh that threatened to leave her lips, mostly because she’d been the same way while she’d been expecting. “Why don’t we watch something happier, or, I don’t know, horror?”

[brielaurent]

sagelavrent: 

       Sage had a habit of driving past the flower shop owned by his ex-wife just to catch a glimpse of her. He was shameless in doing so, knowing that all she’d had to do one day was glance up through the window to see the unmistakable firefighter on the back of his motorcycle, peering through the window at her. The year since their divorce had been hard, especially after he’d all but volunteered to be a proper father figure for the son he’d once thought was his. A dull ache in his chest was the reminder that their marriage had ended, even if they occasionally played house. “ – What, the sign wasn’t specific enough? ” he inquired as he watched her tape wilted flowers to the door. It wasn’t often that he had the courage to strike up conversation with Brielle, at least not unless he’d witnessed the looming of any potential suitor she could have. Ring on her finger or not, she was still his wife in some way, shape or form. It didn’t matter that they had gotten a divorce because he had made a vow with himself that marriage wouldn’t be in the cards for him, at least not with anyone else. “ I mean, if they can’t read maybe they’ll get the hint when they realized the door is locked. ” He was trying to be funny but it never failed to come across as him trying a little too hard to seem like he wasn’t falling apart inside when he was around her.

The familiar voice had Brielle turning around immediately. She wasn’t expecting him to come into the shop, mostly because he never did. It was always a glimpse of him driving by on his bike, but barely ever did he step in since they signed the divorce papers. She gave him a smile anyway, a slight shrug following after, “I don’t think he ever try and read it. Most people will ignore it.” Clients were usually in too much of a hurry to read what was right before their faces, but she didn’t particularly care about that. A sigh passed her lips as she pushed the door open and gestured for him to follow her inside. The shop was looking more dreadful than it ever had before, wilting flowers lining up the shelves despite the air conditioner that should’ve kept them alive for longer than those in the fridge. “I could lock the door with you inside and then it’d be perfect, but I have a feeling you’ve got work to do.” Brielle muttered as she once again turned to face him. The lack of a ring around his finger didn’t go unnoticed, and despite having been her the one that broke their vows, it almost had her feeling stupid; her hands placed in such a way that the ring on her finger wouldn’t exactly be visible. “Stopped by to buy someone some flowers?” She asked, trying to sound casual but something about those words sounded wrong towards him. What if he did stop loving her? What then?

[brielaurent]

“Sorry, pal, you’re gonna have to save your marriage at some other flower shop because this one decided not to have a working fridge last night,” Brielle shrugged as she dismissed the last of their clients, with a wave of the wilted flowers in her hand. Perhaps it was a bit harsh, but she knew that particular client to send flowers to his wife way too often for it to be normal. “Now, where was I?” She muttered to herself. The sign on the door read ‘No Flowers, Fridge Problems’ and she soon grabbed the tape to glue a few of the wilted ones to the door. 

[lucresias]

If you’re just yourself, you’ll never lose. I want to be myself. That’s when you feel the most comfortable, that’s when you have the most success, and that’s when you’re the most happy.