desperately fallen

nine in the afternoon | 001

eleanor-burk:

“That’s hardly a meal.” While most of the time her eating schedule was sporadic and irregular, she knew better than to consider that a solid meal. Her hands pushed the plate that contained the over priced pasta towards him, there was no way she would be able to eat it all and asking to take it to go felt like it was biting the hand that was feeding her, literally. His laughed made her eyes look up at him and a real smile broke through, it sounded genuine and real and overall, it wasn’t like one she had heard before. There was no way to pay him back for the amount of food she had ordered or how comfortable she had made herself in his room, only able to offer up some form of a company even if it meant being on the other side of the table. “Yeah, I’ll figure something out.” She repeated back almost in an incoherent mumble until his next question came up. “I didn’t say that.” But it was true, this was the last resort after her last friend said their couch was no longer available for free. Her fingers kept bringing food to her mouth in efforts to fill it as much as possible so she wasn’t asked any more questions on how it came to be that she was desperate enough to fake her way into his room. It was the smallest of victories when she had hit the nail on the head and her assumption rang true. “Where are you from originally then? Accounting doesn’t seem like something someone goes into willingly and unless calculators really get you going, I’m thinking you’re not the biggest fan.” Her foot tapped against the leg of the table, fearing that if she kept asking questions, he would eventually ask her to leave. “I’m sure I was the last thing you were expecting when you were looking at power points and pamphlets about crunching numbers.”

Routine. Since he was a child Levi thrived on it. He had a particular way about things, and that included when he ate. He did his best to eat at the same time, and never usually ate after dinner. Nothing about tonight fit into his routine. Just the one young woman had already completely thrown off what he thought his evening would be. There was hesitation as she pushed the plate forward, something so simple for most causing a debate for him. The food before him did appeal, and so he leaned towards the tray and grabbed an extra fork. He put some of the pasta on the fork, but didn’t lift it yet as another debate soon erupted in his head. He had every reason to let her go. Make her find some place else to be. There was also the chance that any offer to stay would come off as forward and make her believe he had ideas that he was far from entertaining. He didn’t know whether to take the risk and ask, but thinking of her wandering in the city left him feeling unsettled. “You can stay here for the night. It’s getting late and you shouldn’t be out there.The couch pulls out so I can sleep there.” Levi had surprised himself with the causality of how he was treating this, but he tried to not let himself dwell on his decision, taking a bite of food. “I’m from up north. Philadelphia,” he chuckled at her comment, giving a nod. “You’re probably right about most, but I actually really like it. Numbers are kind of my thing.” He offered knowing an explanation anymore than that would be boring. Taking another bite, a small smile pulled at his lips as he chewed his eyes finding hers. “I can honestly say, yes. You were the last thing I expected.” Though Levi couldn’t shake this odd feeling that there was something serendipitous about this.

nine in the afternoon | 001

eleanor-burk:

Len’s hand reached for the bottle and heard the crack of the seal before taking a needed sip, it felt like all the tension of the night had somehow stayed in her throat and the water was some relief to it. “You’re going to have to roll me out of here if I do that, what did you have?” She asked curiously enough, eating by herself was awkward already the last thing she wanted was to add to it by eating in silence. Her hands kept reaching for the fries almost meticulously dipping them in each sauce the hotel had provided in order before popping it into her mouth. “For all I know you could be in cahoots with the girl in the front and she just sends all the randoms to your room. It’s a pretty solid plan actually and it was far too easy to convince her.” Her shoulders shrugged a little as she pressed forward with the food but his question made her stop and pull her hand away from the piece of bread she was about to reach for. “I live… around, yeah just around. Uh yeah, I do once I figure something out.” She motioned her wrist in circles not really pointing to anywhere really. It wasn’t a lie, she simply lived in whether place she could convince someone to spare their couch for the night. On the night’s she couldn’t, her car did the trick until her back started cramping up. “Business or pleasure?” Len asked with a raised brow not noticing any belongings that could have a female owner. “I’m guessing business by the shirt and tie or maybe pleasure by how late it is.” Her eyes caught glimpse of the bag he had dropped when he first came in.”Nah, business. Am I right?”

“I just had some salad and soup.” A plain meal for a man who was never very adventurous. This was all very strange. All but ten minutes ago he had just discovered that she had broken in to his place. Who knew besides the food what she had managed to charge to his bill, and yet here they were sitting across a table, and she was talking to him as if they were simply just two acquaintances who had done this before. Levi wasn’t completely naive. He knew that this friendly way about her could be just a way to appease him so she wouldn’t get into any legal trouble, but even if that was the case he liked the ease in which he felt with her. Her made up theory making him laugh more than he had the last few days. “I’ll make sure to put that in review of the place in the comment section for next killer hotel guest who finds strangers in their rooms.” Taking a sip of water as she offered her small explanation. “Figure something out,” he repeated. “So you don’t have anywhere to stay tonight?” He had sensed that food wasn’t the only thing the girl seemed to be in need of. He wasn’t sure what she could figure out for if she had a friend to stay with he assumed she would already be there, and this city didn’t offer much of a free safe haven. It was all pretty clear that the man was fascinated by her. The way his eyes lit up in amusement as she spoke. She seemed to have an inquisitive mind, needing to find the answers that she asked for before he could speak. “Yes, business,” he confirmed. “I’m here for a conference this week. All about what’s new in the world of accounting. Not to spoil it for you, but I think it’s going to be nothing.”

nine in the afternoon | 001

levi-atwood:

eleanor-burk:

Len could feel her weight shift back and forth as she waited for him to say something, anything really. Her long explanation had left her winded and the fact that she could feel her wet hair soaking the back of her shirt, it just added the to uncomfortableness. When he finally spoke, after what seemed like hours they weren’t what she expected. “Wait, what?” Her eyebrows furrowed together in total confusion as if she hadn’t heard him right in the first place. She tried to put herself in his shoes and still it wasn’t making any sense, he had caught her in a lie and still, he was offering her the food that she was planning on stealing in the first place. The pain in her empty stomach made her take the first hesitant step towards the food as she sat down in the chair with one leg tucked underneath her.

She kept her head down the first couple bites, taking her time to savor the food. “Yes please, thank you.” Her lips mumbled up the words all too worried that if she talked too much once again he would change his mind and make her leave. “You should at least have some food, all thing considering.” Her hand covered her mouth as she spoke with food inside of it, her manners weren’t something shining through at the moment but she at least tried. “Why are you being so nice to me? Wait, are you a serial killer, is that what is this?” It was bad joke on her part but that’s what she did in awkward situations.

Levi, while living a privileged life, led a plain life. The man could use the excuse of his early years being part of the cause of this, or maybe this was simply how it always would have been. Nothing of significance ever happened to him, and he never put himself in situations that were out of the ordinary. So the fact that he found himself in this one left him out of sorts.

Heading to the mini fridge, Levi grabbed a water for the both of them before he sat across from her. Placing the bottle in front of her, he opened his own but didn’t take a sip. “I just had dinner before I came, so please eat as much as you want.” He watched as she ate, and while she didn’t show any desperation in the way she ate, he could tell by her body language that was was hungry, and wondered when the last time she ate was or at least had something decent to eat. “If I was, I must be a very good one if I can get the victim to come to me without knowing.” Her comment had caused a subtle smile on his lips, but at her question he didn’t really have an answer. He didn’t know why he hadn’t asked her to gather her things and go which seemed like the rational thing. So instead of answering he asked a question of his own. “Do you live around here? Do you have a place to stay?”

nine in the afternoon | 001

levi-atwood:

eleanor-burk:

The original plan was for her to simply eat, shower, maybe squeeze in a nap but that was all dashed short, only following through one of the things on her list. In hindsight she probably should have planned it better, coming in earlier when people were just leaving for the day and not coming back for hours. But she did what she was told and stayed put as he asked, she owed him at least that. Her face contorted as soon as the man walked in, the guilty look clearly getting more and more embedded in her features. The employee looked back and forth between them as if he had just walked into a lover’s quarrel. “No, no mistake honey you just said you were hungry.” She tried to play it off hoping that he would at least somewhat play along. It seemed to be enough for the young man, quickly leaving after he set the tray on the provided desk. Even for hotel food, it didn’t look half bad

She kept her lips in a straight line as she found no way out of the situation. “Look just please don’t call the cops okay?” Her eyes never met his as she spoke, as if that would appease her guilt. “I may have told a little white lie to the front desk girl about losing my key and she gave me this one.” Telling the story sounded ridiculous, the worst part was how far it had gotten. “I’m sorry, I just need a place to crash and some food and I’m not some crazy psycho I promise. It just happened I looked like I could be married to someone with the last name Atwood I guess?” She kept shifting her weight nervously. “I was planning one just leaving cash, but that was my bad I shouldn’t be ordering to your room.” Okay, so another lie, with no intentions or means to pay him back she had to lie once again. “I won’t do this again, I promise just please tell me you’re not going to call the cops I really can’t afford bail right now.”

Nothing about this situation made sense. Her story of being in the wrong room didn’t match up, and so it left him wondering why this woman was in his room, and how it was that she got there. He was expecting to get it cleared up with the help of the employee when the woman spoke up, and contradicted what he had said. “Right,” he turned his head to look at the man. “Just been a long day.” Levi didn’t know why he went along with it, but there was just something in the way that the woman looked at him that told him not to tell on her. So he watched the younger man go before turning back to her.

The explanation came. Well, some of it at least, and it confirmed the idea of what he thought had happened in his mind. There was a desperation in the way that she pleaded with him that any intent of Levi calling management or the cops on her was wiped away. When she was done her explanation, he stood there quite. What was there to say to all of that. Levi was always the quiet type but his thoughts ran constantly, so that was what happened. The two stood there as he went over in his head how to deal with the situation. “Well,” he finally spoke, putting down his satchel and taking a few steps into the room. “Might as well eat before it gets cold.” He picked up the food on the tray and put it over at the table by the window. “Do you want a water?” He had questions, but he thought he might as well let the girl eat while he asked.

nine in the afternoon | 001

eleanor-burk:

She had no way of telling when the rightful owner would be back, but she had at least been hoping to be gone by the time they did. Len stood in front of the man trying to find words to explain her actions but she couldn’t; the bottles of overpriced sparkling fruit water sat on top of the mini fridge half opened until she found the one she liked, only to note that she never liked bubbly water in the first place. The menu laid on the bed open with things circled of what sounded most appetizing. His words gave her somewhat of an out but it was a tight one, and he seemed more aware than the receptionist was. “This isn’t room 812? That’s totally my fault. Key error.” She tried to lie but it still came out forced and awkward like a deer caught in headlights.

All she wanted was to sleep on the big spacious bed for a couple hours, it looked so comfy but that plan was struck down when the man popped into the room. She tried to move around the room as if she had been in one similar to his, only to end up moving more clumsily than she already was. “I should leave you to your room then, I’ll just grab my clothes and go. You would think a place like this would be a bit more efficient right?” She had no idea if her words were coming out convincing enough, but hopefully, it was enough to buy her some time to get going. It was then when the tray of food arrive and the knock on the door closed the window for her plan of escape.

They both knew as they looked at each other that her small performance wasn’t working on either of them. “No, it’s not,” he barely spoke still taken back by what he had walked into. His eyes scanned the room. Levi was neat. He left things in an orderly fashion, almost to the point of complete precision, and yet this woman had made the room looked more lived in for however long she had been there than he had the last couple days of his stay. When taking in the surroundings he looked back at her. “How did you not notice this wasn’t your room?” Though he knew the both of them knew she did, he didn’t know what else to ask. He wasn’t even sure what to accuse her of.

He had opened his mouth to respond, but then a knock came from the door, disrupting whatever confused thought he had. “Just.. hold on.” He gave one more look at the girl before turning towards the door and opening it. “Room service,” he was greeted by a hotel employee with a smile on his face and cart with a tray set upon it. Levi didn’t even speak as the young man pushed it inside and revealed the supposedly ordered items. “Mr. and Mrs. Atwood, is there anything else I can get for you?” Surprise filled Levi’s eyes as the title sounded off. “Mr. and Mrs- I think there has been some kind of mistake.” His focus went to the woman, who seemed to be the only one to have the answers.

nine in the afternoon | 001

The small act of convincing the receptionist that Len had simply misplaced her hotel key was far too easy, maybe it was due to her subpar acting skills or the fact that the tired lady just wanted to get her out of the lobby. A small sense of guilt hung over her head as she ordered an order of french fries and the biggest burger the room service menu had to offer but she couldn’t think about that when her stomach was churning for food. The room was empty, no one was using it, it was going to waste she reasoned and in some strange way she felt like it was the universe’s way of making it up to her for everything that happened in the couple years of one misstep after another.

A white plush robe covered her small frame after she took a much-needed shower, her brown hair hung wet over her shoulders as she took the provided brush through it trying to get all the knots out. Part of her wanted to go through the drawers and see who was going to be picking up the tab for her little adventure but she didn’t want to be ruder than she already had been, plus it would put a name to whoever she was basically stealing from. The sound of the door opening didn’t really bother her, she had been waiting for the food to arrive. “Just put it on the table please.” She said with a nonchalant tone in her words as if she belonged. Her head finally picked up to find a man that clearly wasn’t dressed like an employee, making her eyes grow big. “Oh shit.” Her words were barely audible trying to gauge how mad he would be. @levi-atwood

Head leaning against the wall of the elevator, Levi let his eyes close, a slight ache of relief just a side effect of the long day that he had. The yearly conferences an event strongly encouraged by his father, which Levi knew meant mandatory, was a time the man never looked forward to and in fact dreaded. Hours of presentations and slides filled with what they called inventive ideas only proved fruitless to him. While being a part of the work field, the world of accounting was as exciting to him as it was the average person. It was all the same day to day. Reports, tax returns, and spread sheets. Most of the time he was okay with the mundane tasks, but it was events like this that a want for more linger inside him.

The elevator came to a stop and as the doors opened, Levi stood up straight, and turned toward the direction of his room. Taking the key out of his pocket, he slid it in the door and opened it up. The voice reached his ears causing him to hesitate in the doorway before he locked eyes with the stranger inside a room that belonged to him. A stranger who had clearly made themselves at home as he saw the hotel robe he had left hanging now on her. “I…” He looked out back to the hallway as if to retrace his steps. He questioned if he had gone in the wrong room though he knew it was impossible that his key would open to another. His eyes scanned the room as if to make sure this was the one he had been in until his glance fell back on the woman. The look on her face was a guilty one, but the situation left him for a lack of words. “How did… I think you have the wrong room,” he offered, confusion filling his face.

jade-evergard

noel-wallace:

Noel wasn’t expecting a reply back so quickly if it had taken a while he could have forgotten about it until it was brought up in conversation again by his friend that insisted that he needed to get out more. it just seemed like a classified version of Tinder and that something he had flat out refused to join. He had to admit the picture next to the message was what made him reply back, a selfish part of him wanted to make it bigger but that seemed impossible no matter how many time he clicked on the picture. “It’s different though, you’re probably scouring through messages that aren’t dick pictures.” He typed away, reading what he had written too many times before pressing enter. “Not much to tell, I guess. I’m an English Professor at Brown. I have a dog, no kids no wife I don’t know if you need to know that or not. I turned thirty-six a couple of weeks ago. What else do you want to know?” He glanced up at the screen leaning back in his chair. He should have just closed his laptop and go back to grading the things on his desk but he didn’t. His hands hovered over his keyboard glancing up from the picture to the text box finally writing out, “Tell me about yourself?” For all he knew, she could be anyone and it could be a one-time thing that led nowhere that was the ideal situation.

Professor Wallace. The idea that he was the man on the other side of the message still didn’t seem real. He was a man known around campus, even before one took his class students knew his name. It was far from being under discussed of the good looks and dreamy voice in which he had. The thought that he even would be on a website like this was one Jade never would have had. Not before today. A light laugh fell from her mouth as she read his next message, and she bit her lip from laughing more, not wanting to draw attention to herself. “Once you eliminate those it leaves you with very few to reply to.” There was something about it being him that enticed her. Far from it being some fantasy there was an intrigue that took hold of seeing this side of him. A more primal one for Jade knew that no man came on this site for an emotional connection of any kind. “English, hmm? Do you follow the cliches of being a Fitzgerald and Hemingway fan or do you fall under the old romantics? And what kind of dog do you have?” She would get into the questioning of what he wanted later while wanting to make him more comfortable with her. “I’m a student…” She started to write but soon erased it, wondering if that might alert him. “I’m 21 and I work part time teaching ballet to kids. I live in an apartment and have a roommate who I have probably shared 5 words with since I moved in. I like to have fun and go out downtown, though a night in can be just as appealing. What about you? Are you a night out or in kind of person?” She pushed enter, leaning back in her seat.

#jn

noel-wallace

The stack of papers that needed to be graded were all but laughing at him when he had no energy to do them. If he had to read another copied and pasted version of a rundown of Great Expectations he was almost determined to fail half the class. He groaned out as his palm ran over his face, the tired look on his face wasn’t doing much for his appearance but he wasn’t planning on meeting up with anyone, his office hours were long closed. He reached for his bag pulling out his laptop with his free hand. He didn’t know if it was sheer curiosity or boredom but the name of the website his friend recommend to him intrigued him, to say the least. Would he actually go through it and meet up with someone and offer to pay for lavish trips and expensive cars was another thing. He was close to just exiting out of the page after he had gone through the process of making an account and debating for a long time whether or not he should put his picture or not, finally deciding on yes, when the notification popped up that someone was in his area. The lack of face in the profile picture already made him wary but he had nothing better to do so he sent a quick message, writing it off as nothing more than just a spam bot. “Nice picture, how long have you been doing this for?” He cringed the second he pressed sent already regretting sending it @jade-evergard

jade-evergard

Sitting the the university’s library, the familiar sound of the notification went off in her ear buds, and a sigh fell from her lips. Jade knew exactly what it was, and she was sure this was just another failed attempt waiting for her. A few months in and hundreds of messages, she had nothing to show for it. Some of it was her, and some of it was the men that seemed to be directed her way. With not much interest she clicked on the message, and it wasn’t till her eyes reached the small profile photo did a reaction stir. She had to do a double take. There was no doubt. This was Professor Wallace. Looking away from screen, Jade’s eyes scanned the building in almost slight panic. As if somebody was looking on and saw the message. A rush of guilt washed over as if already caught in her dirty little secret that now had a new element added to it. Her paranoia was pushed away as she put her focus on the screen. What should she do? Was what ran in her head. She could have ignored it. That made the most sense. She could say not interested and move on. But she didn’t. Intrigue took a hold of her as her fingers hovered over the keyboard. “I could say the same about yours.” She hit send taking a second longer in thinking of her next reply. Jade knew that it was important through trial and error to sound sure of yourself while also giving off an air of innocence. The men seemed to like knowing that they weren’t one of many. “Not very long at all. In fact you could say I’m rather new at this, but I’m hoping the right guy will come along soon. So tell me about yourself.” She bit her lip, siting on the edge of her seat as she awaited his reply.

#jn

And Just Like That || 001

layla–soto:

Part of her wondered what would have happened if she just kept walking and pretended to not hear him or not be the person he was referring to, would he chase her and stand his grand that it was her or just let her walk away again? “Oh, I’m sure you’ll love it here.” It was a polite and simple response, one that you gave during small talk, not to someone that you spend hours talking on the phone with about every hope you’ve ever had or a round of twenty questions that turned into close to two hundred. She looked down at her scrubs, they weren’t dirty but they did show a full shift work, with creases and filled pockets. That was her every day to day, not the girl that got dressed up on the off chance that they would meet under masks. “I’m fine, still adjusting to moving up here.” The safety net of her small town was gone now and she had to learn to live in a city that she still felt like she wasn’t ready for. Her fingers intertwined with her others as she looked back down to the ground pursing her lips slightly. Was he disappointed with what he saw or just taking it in? It was a question she would never ask him or even the courage to muster up. “This is me, I just got off work.” Her hands raised slightly only to fall back down against her sides. “Listen, I’m sorry for never getting back to you, life just got busy.” It was a lie, she forced herself to be busy to not think about him. She had always prepared herself for him to pack up and leave, it never occurred to her that she was the one that was going to do that. “And you? How are you? How are your cases going?”

“I do already. I mean, it’s not New York, but it is a beautiful city,” he smiled. The way the conversation sounded would had been normal to anyone overhearing it. Just simply two acquaintances doing a small catch up. To Derek though it couldn’t have felt more off. It wasn’t just the fact of her choosing to ghost him that left him with this dissatisfied feeling it was that him and Layla never talked like this. The freedom he found in his texts and phone calls with her was unlike any other. In the world he lived in filled with conversations being held for reasons of reputation or obligation, when he talked to her everything shallow fell away. He never felt that before, never once with his wife, and not since Layla. Derek was far from being the romantic as the life he had been given didn’t allow for it, but when he talked to Layla that first night, even though just a few silly texts was all it was, he felt this connection that he never experienced before. Standing in front of her now it was there though faint. “This is you,” he repeated almost like he was taking her in for the first time, and in a way he was. Her apology almost stung as she used the busy excuse, a knowing lie to them both. “It happens. Besides you don’t owe me an explanation.” And she didn’t even if he may have wanted it. “I’m doing okay. Work is good. Some go my way, some don’t, but that’s just how it goes.”

#dl

And Just Like That || 001

derek-mcaden:

layla--soto:

It was his voice that made Layla stop right in her tracks, it sounded exactly the same as it did the night he had sent her a video when she got scared of what they were doing. The amount of times she had watched that video was lost on her, the backup had a backup just in case it was ever lost for some reason. It was the only thing that she had kept of him, erasing his info off her phone and feeling the knot grow a little every time the familiar number would pop up on her screen until they eventually stopped. But the memory had stuck with her, every time the song they danced to came on the radio or when tulips were delivered to the hospital, her heart would jump and then immediately hurt all over again over the decision she had made to cut him out of her life. The very definition of them was messy and shaky, never sure of where they stood with each other and when the opportunity came for her to transfer to the hospital in Chicago, she jumped at it. She couldn’t run she knew that and her feet felt like they had grown attached to the concrete floor. “D-Derek.” Her voice was still as small as ever, she was still as plain looking as always, no expensive gown this time her pink scrubs in full view and her messy bun was nothing close to the curls of that night. “What are you doing here? How-I mean… You’re supposed to be in New York by now.”

Her question made him think that her disappearance did partially have to do with him as it was clear she hadn’t planned on seeing him again. Maybe it shouldn’t have stung the way it did. Often Derek had convinced himself that the connection these two had formed he had exaggerated into more. This only seemed to confirm it. “I decided to extend my stay for a while. The firm needed some help in their Chicago location so I’m working there for the time being.” It had been a requested stay. When the case with his family had closed, Derek was far from ready to return home. Him and his wife had made no progress and the pressure from his family he knew would only be all the more suffocating there. At least with the distance he had some control of it all. Then there was the unspoken reason. The reason that he knew logically shouldn’t factor in because that reason had taken herself out of the equation. Layla. There was so many things he wanted to ask. Why she had left. Where she had been. Why she never called him back or at least left some kind of message. All of those were at the tip of his tongue, but instead he went with a simple, “How… How are you? It’s good to see you. Kind of for the first time I guess,” he chuckled, a side effect from the nerves.

#dl

And Just Like That || 001

@layla–soto

It was her. Though a face hidden with a mask was the only image he was left to remember her by it was her. He remembered every detail he could. Her small frame. Her dark locks, and those eyes. Those eyes that had caught his, and mesmerized him. He couldn’t get them out of his head. He couldn’t get Layla out, but then she had left. Or maybe simply hid from him. Calls went to voicemail. Texts went unanswered, and every brunette that he passed on the street was never her. After attempt after attempt he finally stopped. While unknowingly meeting her had only intrigued him more the bubble in which they had been living in had seemed to pop for her, and wanting any contact with him with it. It was for the best, was the conclusion he had convinced himself to believe. He was still in the middle of a messy divorce, and she… He was sure she had her reasons, and it left him wondering how big of a factor he was in them. But now here she was. Derek stood there in silence though his mind was anything but. He wanted to approach her. Wanted to talk to her, but a fear settled in that he would somehow scare her off. If he didn’t speak now though, how many months would go before he go the chance again. “Layla?” He wanted to reach out and touch her arm, but restrained.

#dl

marisol-alvarado

Marisol looked around her working area, cut stems spewed everywhere and there was almost a constant layer of glitter over the table from all the shiny ribbon. It changed with the holiday theme and a mixture of green and red with some white specks would stay with her long after she left the store. Her team tended to hate the holidays, it was nonstop work and multiple hours of overtime but she preferred to stay busy and watching how the customer’s face shined when they saw it. Everyone was long gone, but still, she heard the bell ring announcing that the door was opened. She didn’t have to turn around, she knew exactly who it was and it forced a shake of her head. “You do understand that we have closing hours for a reason right? I’m not staying open for you, sorry.” @adam-mosby