Into the Rush.

Daisy Harrington. 23. Renegade Runaway. Mom to Ace.

[daisy-harrington]

willow-harrington‌:

“I missed you too, you little nightmare. And even if you don’t think they did, mom and dad missed you a lot. Mom…really hasn’t been the same since you left.” And it was true. The pair’s mother had been lost when the family realized that Daisy had vanished. she had blamed herself for the youngest of the sister’s running away and never really fully recovered without knowing if the girl was still alive or not. And Willow had done her best to try and make things better for the older woman but nothing could replace losing a child. The hug her sister had pulled her in was reciprocated with no hesitation and Willow found herself truly smiling when the two pulled away from each other. A genuine smile hadn’t lit up her face in quite some time so she was sure that if she kept it up her facial muscles would start to hurt soon.

But as soon as the thought had hit her mind Daisy brought that smile back down to a sad frown by mentioning Justin. Her face started to heat up and raw emotion started to claw it’s way to the surface, seizing it’s opportunity to finally be let out. But it wasn’t like Willow to let people see her in a state other than perfect so she pushed that emotion down, the blonde raising her head slightly to try and force the tears threatening to fall back down.

“Actually…Justin um, he enlisted in the army when he turned eighteen and unfortunately on his last tour in Iraq he was killed in action. A bomb detonated and he had been too close.” The words were clipped, Willow hating every one of them as they left her lips, and she found herself turning away from her sister to try and busy herself with cleaning up the mess she had made once again. A broom and dustpan was in her hands in no time before she went on while not meeting Daisy’s eyes. “We had just gotten married about a year before it happened and…I had to move to get away from a lot of the stares and uncomfortable murmurings and it’s just been me and the business ever since.”

All of the joy that Daisy had been feeling had quickly vanished when she watched her sister fight back the emotion that was trying so desperately to escape, and when it did, Daisy knew something bad had happened. In fact, upon hearing about Justin being killed, the young woman’s own heart sank. She had loved Justin like a big brother. He had always been so good to Daisy and when the world seemed to be on her shoulders, even at such a young age, he was there to talk to her about things that she couldn’t ever speak to her mom, dad, or sister about. And, now, he was just gone. No opportunity to say goodbye or to see him smile or hear his laugh ever again.

With tears of her own filling to the brims of her eyes, Daisy let them fall quietly. All the years she had been gone and had abandoned her family had sent an even bigger wave of guilt rushing over her tall slender frame, and she forced back a lump the size of a golf ball that had just formed in her throat. She wasn’t entirely sure what to say. How to apologize for being so selfish when her sister and family had needed her the most. She had ran out of fear of what would happen when they found out she was pregnant. And a move that her young brain had thought was right had cost her valuable, precious time with the people in her life who had mattered the most, aside from her son.

“Willow...I’m...I’m so sorry. I should’ve been there, and I wasn’t. I wasn’t there for you.” She didn’t know how her sister would react. If the reunion would turn into something other than the joy they had once felt, before a shadow of grief had fallen over the room. She had hoped the moment wasn’t completely tarnished at the realization of how Daisy had pretty much screwed over her family. Sure, she had an amazing little boy, who made the darkest days seem so much better, but she had had him at the expense of her family. Out of pure recklessness as a teenage know-it-all, who thought the world owed her something, “Is there...is there anything I can do for you...Do you want another glass of water? Here.” Moving closer to her sister, she reached out to take the broom and dustpan from her grasp. She could clean up. It was the absolute least she could do for a lifetime’s worth of screw-ups that she was just beginning to try and make amends for.

[towl]

Aly & AJ photographed by Rie Rasmussen for Imagista (2019)

[daisy-harrington]

willow-harrington‌:

“It was mostly just a hobby. I couldn’t really do what I truly wanted but I’m happy with it.” She shrugs her shoulders, moving into the kitchen to grab a glass of water for herself so that she could take a few pain pills for her hand. It was starting to throb now that the alcohol had done it’s magic and she knew if she didn’t take care of that she would never sleep tonight…if that were even possible anyway. She lets out a breath, almost like a little laugh, when Daisy mentions how the house looked like Home and Garden as she never had much time to work on her own place since she worked so often. “It would look better if I took a day off every now and then but I kind of throw myself into the business, to be honest.” It was something she had done since she had become a widow, something that kept her from thinking about her loss too often, and it had worked for a while.

As she took the bottle of aspirin out of the medicine cabinet she had in the kitchen, Willow glanced up at her sister as she detected the sarcasm in her voice, eyebrows raised. “You could definitely go back if you wanted. Especially now that you’re going to be staying here. I’ll help look after your son so that you can study and if we work together you’ll be in college courses in no time.” Her unrelenting optimism was one thing that had never changed about Willow. She was someone who encouraged other people to go out into the world and take hold of their dreams all while crushing her own ideas for what she wanted in her life without realizing it. And with a small smile to herself she realized how easily she was falling back into having a life with Daisy around. It was like the girl had never left somehow. 

Popping a couple of the pills, she takes a sip of the water before nodding at Daisy. “Well, then we’ll get the paperwork started tomorrow. It sounds like we’re going to go right back to being a fantastic team.” She grew quiet though as Daisy started to talk about….Ace was his name. Strange, but then again Daisy had never been the conventional type so it fit. A smile lifted her lips as her sister described what seemed to be her pride and joy and it hurt when she saw the tears glistening in Daisy’s eyes. Things hadn’t been easy for her sister. She wished more than anything that Daisy had felt like she could come to Willow but all she could think about now was how she was glad the day had finally come. All remnants of anger disappeared immediately while he older Harrington sibling moved forward to place her hands on Daisy’s shoulders, rubbing them gently to try and comfort the girl. “Look…I can’t imagine what it was like to raise him on his own…but I want you to know that you’re not alone anymore. Ace is not going to have to face those responsibilities and he is going to be able to just be a kid here, okay? I’m here. I’m always going to be here. You don’t have to worry anymore and things are going to get better. I will make sure things get better.”

Daisy hadn’t realized just how much she had missed her sister, until they started talking about life in general and the challenges it had posed for both of them. Sure, there had been many days she just wanted to pick up the phone and call her. Reminisce and act like things had never happened and that they were still teenagers picking on each other, while at the same time sticking up and caring for one another. But that’s not how things had turned out for the pair, and Daisy knew that it was her fault. She was the one who had left without giving her sister or her parents so much as a goodbye. But how could she when she knew she had a kid on the way. Willow had always been the image of perfection. Daisy didn’t want to mess that up. She couldn’t mess that up, because she knew none of her family deserved the pressures she would bring down on them.

Reaching her hands up to grasp her sister’s arms, the youngest Harrington felt safe and felt like she was home. Ace would love it here. He would love Willow. They were going to be the perfect little family of three. And maybe, just maybe, she would invite her parents over to come meet their grandson, when she was ready. But it was baby steps. She hadn’t even introduced him to Willow yet.

“God, I missed you.” Looking at her sister through teary eyes, she pulled the woman into a tight hug refusing to let her go. At least for a good minute or two. Daisy was beginning to feel like a future was possible again. Like she would be able to be a good mom and make a good life. It would take her some time to get back on her feet, but being with Willow was a good start. However, she knew she her sister had some of her own deep seated issues to deal with. There was something she was keeping from Daisy, and the young woman wanted to know.

Pulling away, she wiped away the tears that had managed to stream down her cheeks during their embrace. Eyes set on her sister, Daisy spoke, “So you know the gist of where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to, but what about you? You’ve got this amazing house...your business, which I promise, we will sell the shit out of some flowers, and not to be nosy...but where’s Justin?” She had suspected whatever was going on wasn’t good. Daisy had never seen her sister without the boy, who was obviously now a man, at her side. They were soulmates, and it didn’t make sense that he wasn’t embracing Daisy in open arms as well.

[daisy-harrington]

jacksonkent:

The banging on the bathroom door that Jackson was currently occupying was the first clue that he was making the band late to get on stage…once again. The sound of Sutter’s angry snarl of his name through the door was the second. He wasn’t sure if there was going to be a third but Jackson didn’t quite care as he pulled pack the plunger of the needle in his hand to fill it with that sweet nectar he would soon be relishing in. “Will you fucking calm down, you ass? They can wait five more minutes!” He was only met with the fading sounds of Sutter’s angry voice as he went on and on about how Jackson was lucky he was a fantastic guitarist.

And as promised he was leaving the bathroom five minutes later with his head stuck in the clouds. Walking straight to the stage where the other guys were waiting for him, his shit eating grin met with a look that could kill from their bassist and lead singer. “Let’s do this shit, boys.” Jackson was pretty sure Sutter would have lunged at him at that point if he hadn’t quickly stepped out onto the stage to be met with the loud sounds of girl’s screaming. 

As Sutter passed him to get to the microphone in the middle of the stage he heard the boy snarl about how they would talk later, Jackson paying him no mind when the drummer tapped them into the first song. A very familiar melody started up from the group, a song that Jackson himself had written a very long time ago and had been adopted by his current band mates as their own. It took him back to a time when he remembered as happy, a time when he thought he’d been in love, and he felt his eyes close when his voice melded with their lead singers to provide the harmonies for the chorus. 

The moment was like a dream. His eyes opened to the faint sound of shouting that he barely heard over the music and met with a pair that had haunted his dreams for the past eight years. It was like this blast from the past song had conjured a mirage of Daisy in the middle of that room with the harsh spotlight blaring down on her face. He felt fingers slip over the guitar strings causing an atrocious sound to come through the speakers and prompting curious gazes to be thrown his way by the other members of his band. The only thing he could do at that point was thank god for muscle memory because otherwise he was pretty sure he’d have stopped playing at that very moment.

The fact that he couldn’t leave the stage was killing him. It took everything he had to keep playing through the set while his eyes lingered on the blonde getting drunk at the bar but once their set was over Jackson hopped down from the stage instead of heading in the back with the rest of the guys. People tried to stop him, give him high fives, get their hands on him as he trudged through the crowd but he never once looked away from the first girl he’d ever loved…the only girl he’d ever loved.

Hands in his pockets, he slowly walked up to the blonde and just let his eyes flit over her features. She was still breathtakingly beautiful. Lips dry with nerves, he slowly licked them before giving the girl a nervous smile, hand going up to rub the nape of his neck. It was a nervous tick of his, allowing his fingers to run over the short hair at the base of his hairline over and over, and he knew the girl knew this fidget. “How is it that after all this time you’re still as gorgeous as ever? And you still make me more nervous than I am before a big show? I’m not sure how to take that…”’

Where was fucking Amy? It was after eleven and Daisy was pretty sure the band was on their last encore of the evening. She just wanted to leave. She wanted to go home and rant to her sister and watch her little boy sleep peacefully in his bed. That’s all she wanted. The night had already been a disaster before it had ever really started, and the numerous drinks she had gulped down trying to distract herself had left her feeling numb and slightly out of it.

However, as soon as she heard his voice, the buzz she was feeling seemed to disappear. “Fuck...” It was the only thing she could say, before she forced herself to turn around and acknowledge her ex, who was now standing behind her. He looked older than she remembered and somewhat worn out. The boy she had fallen in love with was now a man. But the way he talked and the smile on his face...it all made her heart race. And it made her realize that beneath all the bullshit and heartache he had caused, she still loved him.

“What do you want Jackson?” She had completely ignored him flirting with her. After all, he did leave her in the middle of some podunk town at a rest area pregnant and all alone. “If you’ve forgotten, let me remind you that leaving your sixteen year old, pregnant girlfriend in the middle of nowhere at a rest stop gives me every right to treat you like you existing was a mistake.” Her voice was cold. Her eyes narrow.

Glancing around, she noticed a small gathering of his fans forming, “Great! Now, we’ll make social media headlines, because people don’t know how to mind their own fucking business.” Finishing the last of the alcohol she had, she slammed the glass down before getting up and pushing through the crowd of people.

Where was her friend? Reaching down into her pocket, Daisy realized she had left her phone at the bar. This night was just getting worse. On the verge of tears, she turned back around to go get it knowing that the same people she had just yelled at were probably going to ridicule her as she forced her way back to the bar, but it was her way out. Her way home. And it contained at least two years worth of pictures with Ace on it.

[daisy-harrington]

[daisy-harrington]

It had been months since Daisy had been given the opportunity to go out with friends and not have Ace tag along. Leaving him at home with her sister had been the prime opportunity for the pair to get to know each other better, and Daisy to catch up with one of her oldest friends from her childhood days, since she had returned to Nashville.

“Amy calm the fuck down. Seriously. If we get any closer to the stage, we’re gonna be on top of the band.” Her friend had been way too excited to see the group of guys who were about to walk out on the stage at any moment, “Who are these guys again? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of ‘em.” The name hadn’t sounded familiar, but there had been something about the music that had caught her attention as her friend had blasted it from the speakers of her car as they made their way to the venue. Now, here they stood waiting for the show to start.

However, before Daisy could say another word, the lights faded and an eruption of screams filled the small packed venue. Music soon drowned out the voices of hundreds of fans and that same familiarity overtook Daisy’s senses. As the lights came up on the band, it was soon revealed why the twenty-three year old had felt attracted to the music. As her eyes focused on the man standing to the right side of the stage, Daisy Harrington felt her heart drop and the air she was breathing hitch in her throat. It was Jack. The boy she had fallen in love with in high school and ran away from home to be with. The boy who had taken her virginity and knocked her up at sixteen. Got her addicted to heroin just before dumping her at a rest stop in the middle of nowhere leaving her to figure out survival on her own. The boy that turned her into a woman before she was ever really ready.

Heart pounding, face flushed, and her breathing rapid, Daisy felt herself slowly backing away from the stage praying to God that he hadn’t spotted her. She needed air. Or water. Or whiskey. Anything at this moment in time to calm her nerves before the feeling of claustrophobia, anger, and fear made her pass out.

“Excuse me...e-excuse...me...” As Daisy forced her way through the crowd, she avoided looking back in hopes that she would be just another stranger in the mass of people. But it didn’t help when Amy had called out her name and latched onto her arm causing the young woman to look back just in time for the dancing spotlight overhead to highlight her face giving Jack a straight shot at her. And before she could pull away and hide herself, she had locked eyes with the man who had done more than ruin her life.

A deer-in-the-headlights, Daisy froze, but quickly snapped out of the trance she was in, able to rip her arm away and make her way to the back and into the hole-in-the-wall bathroom as a form of freedom and the best hiding place she could think of until she was able to leave, which would hopefully be soon. Splashing some water on her face and trying not cry, the woman shakily pulled her phone out of her pocket and texted her sister, Jack’s here. It was all she could say before being startled by a rush of girls coming in yelling and laughing hoping to get back out in time to hear their favorite song.

With a forced smile, Daisy dried her tears and the water off of her face and made her way back out towards the bar. Amy was nowhere to be found, and if Daisy was going to have to wait this out, she would do it at the bar and pray that she would be able to escape without ever having to talk to her ex, “The strongest thing you’ve got...and keep it coming...”

[notmabelpines-blog]

[daisy-harrington]

notmabelpines:

look at this goddess !!!!

[daisy-harrington]

willow-harrington:

“I run a flower shop, if you can believe it.” Botany and business had never really been in Willow’s life plan before. In fact, growing up gardening had only been a hobby she had shared with her mother, something to pass the time while she refused to let herself get caught up in the social economics of high school around their tiny town. When Willow was younger she had always dreamed of being a chef at some point in her life. Cooking had been a passion she also shared with her mother, the two of them having always been very much alike, but it had just not worked out the way she had wanted it to with her moving around with her husband’s job. Online classes had been the only possible solution for her higher educations which didn’t work well when you needed to be hands on with your major. 

The joke had almost soared right over her head, the blonde caught off guard at first as she shook those curls vigorously, before she realized that Daisy’s sense of humor was coming into play here. Quirking her lip upwards just a bit, she sighs. “Actually, she’s going off to school this month and she couldn’t stay any longer. She was a great employee though, customer service was her bread and butter. I usually let her handle that part as these days I’m not much of a social one.”

Which wasn’t far off from who she used to be growing up. The only difference was that she could fake it a little easier when she was a teen than she could these days. She was known as a sweetheart in her home town, blossomed into a regular Stepford wife when she had married Justin, but when he had passed her patience seemed to have died with him. She still couldn’t bring herself to let go of most of her inhibitions but her annoyance with certain people was a little easier to spot these days. 

“If you think you can handle the cash register and working with the general public then the job is yours….along with the room for you and…I still don’t know his name, actually. You haven’t even told me that much.” Willow looks at her sister with her arms still crossed over her chest, eyes furrowed with frustration. It seemed prying information out of her was going to be something she had to do despite how much she wished Daisy would just be forthcoming. 

“Flowers? Wow. I remember you and mom used to garden, but I didn’t know you were that passionate about it.” Actually there were a lot of things Daisy didn’t know. It had been nearly eight years since she had seen her sister. She still looked the same. Slightly older, but as gorgeous as always. However, her eyes were different and something about her seemed...sad. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but judging by the lack of Justin being around, Daisy figured it had to do with that. “I did notice the flowers out front though. You guys always kept mom and dad’s house looking like something out of a Home & Garden magazine.” She smiled, before taking another drink.

School. Daisy had thought about going back to school. Plenty of times. She knew she would have to get her GED before she could ever consider college, but being able to find a better job was something she had longed for. A better future for her and Ace, “What’s she going for? Must be nice. You know, I’ve thought about college...It’d be some community college. Nothing special. Gotta get my GED first.” Her words were somewhat sarcastic. She knew she had screwed up her own future, and, in her mind, would never be anything great or special. That’s why she was determined to be such a great mom.

“Cash registers are my forte. I know nothing about flowers, but I know numbers and counting down a register. Also, pretty good at selling people things they don’t need, but think they need.” Daisy seemed proud of that fact. It was when Willow had mentioned that she hadn’t told her anything about Ace, including his name, that her expression changed, “Wow...Reveal to you that I have a kid, and I don’t even tell you his name...” She forced back that lump that had quickly formed in her throat. Ace had been her proudest accomplishment, but yet, for some reason, revealing a lot about him, scared her; the belief looming in her head, that somehow he would be partly in blame for Daisy leaving. Sitting her glass down, she gave her full attention to her sister. It was time, she knew more about her son, “So his name is Ace Matthew, last name not important because his dad is a piece of shit. And unfortunately, Ace knows that. He’s seven. Pretty rambunctious, but really freakin’ smart. He likes music and learning about animals. He’s been begging me for a dog, which I just can’t get for him right now. And it breaks my heart to know that this kid, my little boy, has had to take on adult responsibilities that he doesn’t deserve. But he handles them like a boss, and he’s my joy on a rainy day.” Daisy blinked a few times, not realizing that she had started tearing up talking about him. Running her hands down her face, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, “Sorry. He’s...he’s the best thing I’ve done...I don’t know where I’d be without him.”

[daisy-harrington]

willow-harrington:

“God, do I?” She laughs softly at the thought of the memory, Willow leaning back against the porcelain sink and shaking her head. “I was grounded for a week just for taking my eyes off of you for a second. I still don’t understand how you got flour all over the place in such a little amount of time. But that was nothing compared to the party you threw when you fifteen the weekend mom and dad went to visit grandma in Wilmington. It took us four hours to clean up that mess and I still think God was watching over us so that I didn’t get grounded and miss Justin’s  military ball.” A pang of sadness hit her when she brought up her husband but it was thankfully short lived as Daisy brought her back into the present. 

She watched as the younger girl blew on her hand, raising her eyebrows once again as her thoughts went back to her sister’s son. How did this girl always seem to make Willow forget that she was mad at her? Once minute she was livid and the next she was laughing and reminiscing about their childhood. It had been like that since they were kids. Her sister would get her in trouble, make Willow so mad she could spit, and then have her laughing five minutes later about something stupid. She had hated it and loved it at the same time and it seemed that nothing about their relationship had changed despite all of the time they had lost. “I’m supposed to be angry at you, Daise.” 

She pulls her hand gently from her sister’s grasp and brings it up to her chest, Willow sighing again once she realized there was no way to stay mad. It wasn’t in her nature and this was especially true when it came to family. She had always been the pushover in more ways than one and it was one trait that was still firmly Willow’s. 

The description of her job had Willow furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. How Daisy could allow such things to happen in her own workplace was astonishing to Willow but she supposed if things were as tight as Daisy said they were she didn’t have much of a choice. She didn’t answer Daisy’s question, knowing the girl well enough to know her tactics, but only followed the other girl after staying behind for a moment to give her some space. Willow leaned against the entryway to her kitchen and crossed her arms over her chest. “One of the girls at my shop just quit…you could take her place if you wanted. It doesn’t pay that much but it’s better than gross men ogling you all day long.”

Daisy had heard everything her sister had said. The party. The way she could easily sway her sister into happiness again. She missed all of it. Willow was her best friend, and the morning she ran away from home, she had stood at Willow’s bedside for nearly twenty minutes silently sobbing at the idea of possibly never seeing her sister again.

Her emotions over leaving her family, and of course the revelation that he was going to be a dad, is what had driven Daisy’s sleaze-ball of an ex away. And the last she had heard, the band had split and Jake was playing underground shows making little to no money. She had also heard that drugs had become a big factor in his life, and she thanked God everyday that she had made it out before that had become her life. The thought of returning to Willow going through withdrawals from an addiction was a pure nightmare and something Daisy knew she would never be able to survive.

Rummaging through the cabinets, the twenty-three year old finally found a glass. She had also found how organized everything was. Willow had done good for herself, but there was something missing. Someone. Justin. She hadn’t heard mention of him since she had been there and as much as she wanted to ask, something deep inside was telling her not to. Instead, she moved to the sink and filled the glass with tap water.

Taking a sip, she turned to face her sister. Her eyes looked the older of the pair over, before speaking, “Your shop? What do you do? And why’d she quit? You a bad boss or something?” Obviously Daisy was teasing about the last part. She had just hoped her sister would get it.

[daisy-harrington]

willow-harrington:

“Yea, well, that’s because you were the rambunctious one who liked to get into everything that she wasn’t supposed to. I was always the good little girl who read on the front porch.” Looking back on it all Willow had no regrets. She had loved her childhood and everything in her life had lead to where she was now. The only thing she would have changed if she could have would be letting Daisy know that she wasn’t as much of an outcast as she was sure the girl believed herself to be. She would have made sure her sister knew she would have been there for her no matter what. It was too late for that now though and all she could do was let her know those things now. 

Ignoring the bomb comment, the older blonde started rummaging through her bathroom cabinet to find the things she needed to clean the wound, smiling at the story that Daisy was telling. “He sounds like someone else we know.” But soon the smile faded when she was once again reminded that she had no idea who this child was. She didn’t know his character or the smart aleck things he could say. A sigh left her lips before she started pouring alcohol over the wound on her hand and it turned into a hiss. 

It was then that she caught on to what her sister was saying about the leashes, her eyes wide as she looked up from the bandaging to stare at the girl. Surely Daisy wouldn’t have been that cruel to her own child even if she was quite…inept at child care. A sigh of relief escaped her, a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, when Daisy confirmed that it was indeed a joke. “Home? You…you live around here?”

Had her own sister been living right under her nose the whole time? If this were true the whole ordeal would have been an even bigger betrayal than Willow had previously known. There was only curiosity in her gaze when he eyes lifted from the completed bandaging of her own hand to meet those of her sisters, waiting for a reply she was semi-dreading at the moment. “Or home as in from where you traveled from?”

Daisy blushed. Willow was right. She was very rambunctious and often found herself in trouble. She could see where Ace got some of his tendencies from, “Oh my God, remember that time Mom asked you to watch me while she ran to the market down the street to get eggs or something for a cake she was baking, and I slipped off into the kitchen and threw flour everywhere while you weren’t watching?” Daisy started laughing, “I’ll never forget the look on Mom’s face when she came home to find me covered in flour and the kitchen a total mess.” She had missed her childhood and often thought about it more so, especially now that she was watching her own child grow.

Watching Willow, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She had changed so much, but in some ways still looked like the lost sixteen year old that had left years ago, afraid of facing the consequences and trying to take on an adult life on her own with no experience whatsoever. The only thing that had changed was the bags under her eyes and a completely different view on the world around her. She had also managed to watch Willow’s face fall after she had talked about Ace, “Hey, trust me. Once you get to know him, you’re going to be begging me to leave. Let your ass hit that greased up toilet seat the first time and see how fast you go flying into the floor, and then let me know what you think.” She gently grabbed her sister’s hand and began to blow softly on the wound, until she realized what she was doing and let go, stepping back, “Sorry, force of habit...”

It was her sister’s reaction to the leash story that made Daisy laugh. She had missed her sister so much and how seriously she took things. They were each other’s yin and yang, balancing each other out. She had needed that in her life many times over when she had laid in bed crying feeling like the world was going to consume her and never let her see happiness again. At least not until her son did something to make her laugh and reminded her of why she was still going, instead of sinking into a ball of despair.

“What? No. Home as in a few miles outside of Atlanta. It took me nearly 5 hours to get here. Luckily, my asshole of a boss let me off today. I’ve been pulling doubles the past few weeks, because our cook left, and somehow I got thrown on the grill...Like I know what the hell I’m doing...but it’s better than getting my ass squeezed by horny truck drivers...” Daisy realized she might have said too much and quickly shut up, “You, uh, you mind if I grab a glass of water?” She motioned to the kitchen, before heading that way just to get out of the line of another set of rapid fire questions from her sister.

[daisy-harrington]

willow-harrington:

Her eyes lift from the wound to her sister as Daisy goes into a mode she hadn’t seen from her before. It was like instinct to her little sister to find something to wrap her hand in and all she could do was sit there and stare up at the blonde. Tears were still slowly falling but they were soon accompanied by the sound of Willow laughing softly at the whole situation. She was still upset, that much was a given, but the fact that she was seeing her sister go into parent mode was throwing her off more than anything. It had always been Willow who’d looked after Daisy. The motherly instinct looking after the free spirit and never in a million years did Willow think the roles would be reversed. 

It made sense though. With a son of her own now she supposed her sister would have to have some of these instincts to be able to allow her son to grow up happy and normal. Placing her good hand on top of Daisy’s, she starts to shake her head slowly all while her quiet laughing dies. “This…this was not how expected seeing you again would go. You’re so different….and you’re the same….it is a very strange feeling.” 

Sniffing, she starts to wrap the towel around her hand tighter before trying to stand. She had plenty of first aid considering her profession came with a lot of cuts, all she had to do was get to the bathroom. “I want you here. I want your kid…who I’m sure isn’t a butthole, here. Mom and dad just want to see you, Daise. They miss you…I missed you. The room is yours and…” She trailed off as she realized she didn’t even know her nephew’s name, a sigh escaping her lips while she made her way to the bathroom down the hall. “Where is he, by the way? You just leave him outside or…”

She could see the confusion in her sister’s eyes. The way Willow was looking at her made her feel strange, but not in a bad way. In a good way. At least she was able to show her sister that she wasn’t a complete screw up, and that she had been capable of handling certain things. She had been doing it for years now without much of a choice. Luckily, she had met some friends along the way who had been there to help her out, especially through giving birth and taking care of Ace when he was a baby. Many tears had been shed, but somehow Daisy had survived, up until now.

“Yeah, it’s a strange feeling for me, too. It was usually you in the motherly role whenever Mom wasn’t home, and I had hurt myself or had been hurt by someone else.” She bit at her bottom lip returning a look of uneasiness to her sister. Taking a beat, she spoke, “But it’s good to see you laughing, even though I just dropped a bomb on your head...”

Daisy looked down at Willow’s hand and the proceeded to help her stand. Once they were both up, she accepted everything her sister had to say grateful the situation had turned around, “Trust me. He’s an asshole. And he loves to prank me. Little shit put vegetable oil on the toilet seat about a month ago...Needless to say, he was grounded for a good two weeks.” She loved Ace, but sometimes, she wanted to smack him upside the head.

Following her sister, she made sure to keep an eye on the wounded hand, but take in the quaint little house as well, “Huh? No...I tried one of those parent leash things before, and tied him to a pole while I went inside to eat once...didn’t go so well...” She paused for a moment, before resuming her reply, “I’m kidding by the way. That was a joke. He’s at home with the babysitter I bribed with cheap greasy diner food.”

[alyandajsanctuary]

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[daisy-harrington]

willow-harrington:

“Seven.” It was a whispered revelation that had tears finally spilling over and onto Willow’s cheeks. Her nephew was seven and she had never had the pleasure of meeting him. Willow had never been able to hold him as a baby or hear him giggle when somebody made him laugh. She’d never been able to see him off to school or hold him when he was upset. These were the things you were supposed to experience with your family. These were the moments that were stolen from her because her sister was…afraid? She scoffs at the explanation, the blonde finally kneeling down to start cleaning up the mess on the floor in front of her as anger filled her words. “You make it sound like we’re monsters, Daisy.”

She didn’t understand how her sister could ever think that Willow would leave her high and dry no matter the circumstance. They were a traditional family, yes, and her parents would not have been happy at all but Willow never would have left Daisy to fend for herself if she’d needed help….especially with a child involved. 

And as her sister started to make her way toward the front door, Willow shook her head and looked up at the younger girl from her position on the ground. “Where do you think you’re going?” The question had come out harsher than she’d intended but she didn’t let her gaze falter, eyes clearly stating that she wasn’t about to just let her up and leave. “You’re having problems. I’m your sister and I have a place of my own with an extra bedroom. It seems like we’ve found a solution.” 

She wasn’t about to let her nephew or the girl she grew up doing everything with starve. She had her own business and life insurance from her husband’s death had really had a hand in helping Willow out over the years so it wasn’t like it was going to bankrupt her. “Just do me a favor: Don’t ever assume I’m that heartless again. Because next time I just might be.” A lie. That was for sure but her sister didn’t have to know that. Willow quickly started picking up the glass again before she felt a piece slice through her palm, a sharp gasp filling her lungs as she dropped the remaining shards back to the ground. She sighs, sitting back against the wall and letting the rest of her tears fall freely. 

Everything Willow was saying cut Daisy to the core. Her intention had never been to demonize her family or her sister. She had never said anything bad to Ace about her family. In fact, she hadn’t said much to him about them at all, because of all the questions that would arise. He was smart and kinda nerdy. The complete opposite of what Daisy had been. In fact, he had reminded her of Willow, and the older he got, the more it pained her to know she had kept this amazing kid from the best friend she had left behind when she ran off with an asshole, she believed would take care of her.

Her hand on the doorknob about to leave, she heard Willow offer up the spare bedroom. Her heart beat fiercely and her cheeks were red from embarrassment of what she had done. It was the sound of Willow gasping and then the sound of crying that got her to lower her hand. However, she paused for a moment, unsure of whether or not to approach her sister. But she couldn’t just stand back and let her sister cry...or bleed for that matter, “Whoa...hey, hey, hey...it’s okay, Willow? You’re bleeding pretty badly though.”

Glancing around, she noticed the kitchen just beyond the living room. Without hesitating, she ran back to the kitchen and grabbed a towel that had been laying on the sink. Rushing back to her sister, she knelt down and gently wrapped her hand in the towel, “Do you have some alcohol or something I could use to clean this?” Her motherly instincts had kicked in naturally without her realizing it. It’s what she got for having a rambunctious kid who had always managed to get hurt.

Looking into her sister’s eyes, she let go all of her fears of what she believed Willow had thought of her, concerned more about her well being. Her eyes were soft, and she had a worried expression on her face. She had matured and was no longer childlike. The world had hardened her in more ways than one, but somehow kept her soft and kind in others. And raising up her free hand, she gently wiped away the tears falling down Willow’s cheek, “I want that room...and you...I want you and mom and dad, if you guys will still have me, and my asshole of a kid.”

[daisy-harrington]

willow-harrington:

She had been about to speak, to tell Daisy that it was okay, that people messed up and then they were forgiven. That was how life worked, right? But when the word ‘son’ slipped from her sister’s lips Willow’s chest clenched around her heart and it was suddenly hard to breath much less speak. She watched in silence as the girl moved to a chair to take a seat, noticing that Daisy didn’t have the decency to even look at her after that revelation. “Your son…?” The words came out ragged as if her breath refused to cooperate with her. Willow felt the picture in her hand start to slip from her fingertips and soon she heard the distinct sound of it hitting the ground in front of her. But she didn’t care. She had plenty of pictures of her husband she could put up but she had never met the nephew she didn’t know she had.

“You have a son….and you never…thought to tell us?” Tears had sprung to her eyes as the news sunk in. Things had been okay before. Sure, Willow had been angry but she had been willing to forgive. This…she didn’t know if she could let this one go. “How old is he? Who’s the father?” 

She wasn’t sure what else to say or even ask at that point. Her mind was focused on one thing and Willow wasn’t even sure she was thinking correctly at the moment. A tear fell from her eye as she looked up at Daisy, shaking her head. “Why would you do that? How could you do that, Daisy? Do you know how heartbroken mom is going to be that she missed out on key moments of her grandson’s life? Do you…know how heartbroken I am?” 

Considering Daisy couldn’t raise her head long enough to look her sister in the eyes, the picture hitting the ground came at a surprise and caused her to jump. Her heart was pounding. Beating so fiercely that she could hear it in her ears giving her something to focus on to keep her grounded from what was happening. This had been the day she had been dreading. The day her sister found out about Ace. And while she had wanted her family to be in her child’s life, she just didn’t know how. It was one of those moments of believing it was too late, until it couldn’t be anymore, and she had to share the information in order to keep the greatest thing about her healthy and safe.

Refusing to look at her sister, Daisy pushed out the words to answer Willow’s questions, as best as she could, “Um, yes.” Tears quietly crept down her face, “H-He’s 7. And his dad...is Jack...Only guy I-I’ve, um, ever slept with...” She had hoped she had answered all of her sister’s questions, but the string that followed only made her sink lower into the chair causing her to feel like an even bigger piece of shit.

“I...I know nothing I say is gonna make this right, but...” She looked up at her sister, eyes red and watery, face flushed, “I was scared...I was afraid, if you guys hadn’t already disowned me, you would have for sure...knowing I had a kid...” She didn’t know what else to say. How to approach Willow.

Standing up, she looked her sister over, “I...shouldn’t have come here. I shouldn’t have put this on you. I’m sorry...I’m just...I’m gonna go...” Walking towards the door, she paused at her sister, before laying a hand on her shoulder. “Please know, my intention wasn’t to make things worse...But this is my problem. I’ll figure it out. Tell mom I love her.” Letting go of Willow’s shoulder, Daisy walked towards the front door.

[daisy-harrington]

   “Uh, sorry Daisy, just…haven’t seen you in a while, you know?” Willow wasn’t one for sarcasm, not at all, but at that moment she allowed some to seep into her words. She was always more comfortable being snarky with her sister, as was almost everybody when it came to siblings, but it was still a rare occasion for her to do so. “I’ll try to keep the questions to a minimum even if I have hundreds of them.” She crossed her arms over her chest as she watched her baby sister look around the place, almost scoffing when she complimented the house instead of answering her questions.

      But then the blonde went into the whole disowning comment and Willow felt her anger soften up. Her sister had thought that their parents had abandoned her…and she also thought Willow had as well. She was coming to realize why Daisy had stayed away for so long and her heart broke for all the time that was lost, wasted because of false accusations. Sighing, Willow ran a hand through her curls before moving towards Daisy. “You’re not allowed to do that, Daze.”

      The picture was in Willow’s hands mere seconds after the words were spoken. Her anger had lessened but it didn’t mean it wasn’t still there. But there was another emotion clawing to the surface and mixing in with the fury: hurt. “You’re the one who ran, you know? The one who abandoned us. You don’t get to make yourself feel better about it by thinking we abandoned you too over the years. I always believed you would come back…or at least call. Mom kept writing to that address until someone wrote back saying you no longer lived there. We never gave up on you.”

Her sister was right. Daisy had just up and disappeared from their lives, but how was she supposed to admit that her douche of an ex had gotten her pregnant. Promised her the world and then up and left her to figure out life with a baby. She was struggling. Everything in Ace’s life had come first. Her little asshole of a kid was spoiled, and Daisy knew that she would give him the moon if she could. But money was getting tighter, and food was becoming a scarce thing around their tiny apartment. She was desperate and desperate times called for desperate measures. So to Willow’s house she went.

“I...I know. Look I didn’t do it, because I hated you guys or anything. I know I fucked up...like really fucked up...” Her mannerisms and language had certainly changed since the last time she had seen Willow, but life had been rough. “And I wouldn’t be bothering you, if-if I could feed my son...” The words had slipped out rushed and not pre-planned like she had intended. She hadn’t meant for it to come so quickly; to ooze out like melted butter on a hot biscuit. But there it was. It was her reason for running. Her reason for just abandoning her family.

Her ears were ringing. Her cheeks flushed. Daisy looked at the picture one last time, before turning to face her sister. Tears of both shame and sadness crept down her cheeks, “Look...I didn’t intend for it to come out that way. I didn’t intend for it to come out at all. Not until things were better...” She walked over to a nearby chair and sat down letting her head fall and her eyes remained positioned on the floor, not entirely sure what was going to happen.

[youcanletgo]