Born and raised in New York City with her mother, siblings and who she had grown up believing was her father.
Second youngest child out of four. Two older brother and a younger sister.
Married young to a man her parents approved of but someone she never truly loved.
Moved to Los Angeles nearly five years ago at this point wanting to live her life for herself for once.
Trigger warnings - Infidelity
Biography
Liliana Alvarez was born in the great city of New York during a crisp autumn morning to her parents Katrina and Jackson Alvarez. Liliana was the third child of the couple, who had been married for over twenty years at the time of her birth. Her parents had been very successful in life, her father a highly sought after neurosurgeon and her mother a bigshot lawyer so to say that the family lived comfortably would have been an understatement. She had everything she could ever want growing up besides the attention and acknowledgement she craved from her parents and peers.
No matter what she seemed to do they never seemed satisfied enough. Her siblings were praised for their accomplishments and encouraged to reach impossible highest where as whatever Liliana did was only ever good enough for a simple pat on the back before they were off to swoon over one of her siblings. She had become a people pleaser throughout her teen years, doing everything and anything her parents asked of her in hopes of winning their love and support.
One of those things had been marrying a man who worked with her father at the age of eighteen, a man nearly twice her age, because her parents absolutely adored the man and he was successful, a good addition to the family in the public eye. However she didn’t love him and soon grew to realize that she never could. There was such a gap in interest and things to talk about that the marriage became a job, however she continued the front of a happy marriage to the public and her family because for once her parents approved of the choices she had made.
However the want to live for her parents approval was soon overshadowed by the need to live for herself when the truth about her birth came to light. She wasn’t her fathers biological daughter. That information suddenly made it so clear as to why her parents had always been so distant when it came to her. She wasn’t a planned pregnancy, a bundle of joy that her parents couldn’t wait to bring into their marriage, she was a mistake. Her mother had been having an affair with one of Jackson’s colleges and Katrina had fallen pregnant with his child. She had come clean to Jackson when she had found out that she was pregnant, he forced her to end things with his colleague and kept it under wrap in order to save face with the public. Her mother never told her biological father that she was his baby and instead her parents welcomed her into the world and the public was none the wiser to the fact that she was the outcome of an affair.
Once she had realized that there was nothing she could do in order to gain her parents true approval she packed up her bags and just started to drive. Eventually she ended up in Los Angeles and decided to settle down. It was a place that didn’t know anything about her, far away from her home, a fresh start.
“Yeah, I feel like I constantly lived at the concert venues and was seeing whoever was playing like every weekend. My parents actually hated me so much for it because I was never around on the weekends and would give up family parties and all that stuff for concerts. My family was actually filled with a bunch of two faced people so I didn’t mind missing the family parties.” He laughed as he looked at her. “Nah, if a coffee is good enough they would go a long ways out of their way for some bomb ass coffee which is why i come here, because it’s so good.”
-
Liliana chuckled softly, she couldn’t help but relate with the fact that most parties consisted of two faced family. That was something that she could relate to even if she wouldn’t readily admit such a thing. Even though she wasn’t affiliated with her family any longer she had been conditioned her entire life not to bad mouth them and that wasn’t something that you could simply change overnight. “Well I am glad that you choose to go out of your way just to grab a cup of coffee from us, I hope that it isn’t to far out of your daily route.” She hummed. “I’ve been thinking of starting up some kind of member loyalty program and if I finally get it up on it’s feet you’ll be the first to reap the benefits.” She assured him.
She hadn’t heard the other coming. Her crying now something she couldn’t control. If only she were far gone enough to pull a Joey and eat the pizza off the floor. To her dismay, she didn’t drink enough to not care. Her spine shot up with the shock of another’s voice that just so happened to not be Luna’s. “Ho. Ho. Ho.” Tilly tried to joke, her hands rubbing at her face as the joke fell short. She knew how ridiculous she looked and couldn’t help but grimace at the image appearing in her mind.
“What am I doing here?” Her head shook incredulously. “I think I should be asking you that!” The brunette pointed at the woman who looked oddly familiar, though she couldn’t place a finger on as to why at the moment. Foggy brain, and all. “Where’s Luna at? Is she still sleeping?” Tilly honestly felt as though she was in her own house, and it still showed in not only how she was handling herself, but also in how her tone was painting the other as the intruder.
Suddenly, her face dropped as her tears started flowing yet again. “Oh. My. God.” She whined like a toddler would, her voice cracking cause her throat was so far over her nonsense already. “Luna had a wild ass orgy and didn’t invite me? Is that what you’re telling me?” How her mind got there was quite simple; At least, from her own perspective it was. Why on earth would there be a remarkably attractive woman in their place if Luna wasn’t all over her? She most definitely wasn’t there for Tilly.
-
Had Liliana not realized the state that the other women was in she might have handled the situation different. At the mention of her employees name she realized that Tilly was probably under the assumption that she had crawled through her own window and not an almost practical stranger... they were neighbors but that didn’t mean that they hung out on a daily basis.
“I live here.” Liliana answered when Tilly questioned why she was here... in her own home.
“Hopefully Luna is home and asleep in her own bed.” Liliana answered at the women's accusing question before glancing at the clock hanging on the wall “She opens tomorrow.”
Liliana grimaced a little at the mention of this ‘wild ass orgy’. One because Luna was her employee and it would have been highly inappropriate if she participated in such activities and two because now she found herself sat in her own kitchen wondering if it was common for Tilly to walk in on Luna having crazy ass orgies or not. Either way the brunette attempted to push those thoughts from her mind all together. “She might have.” Liliana spoke before glancing around in her kitchen as if looking for something “But she surly didn’t ask to rent my house for such an event.” Liliana comment.
She looked at the state that the other women was currently in and knew that she had two options. She could either attempt to help her back over to her and Luna’s apartment, no doubt waking Luna in the processes or she could get her to sleep off her drunken state on her couch.
Ainsley had the phone propped between her cheek and shoulder as she walked around her bedroom to hurriedly get her things together. Though there was a lack of clothes being substituted for electronic devices to help her friend in this scenario. The blonde was analyzing every word the woman was using on the line. To her, so many possibilities ran through her head; But, in order to fully start discounting other answers, she needed to ask some more questions.
“Do you have any holes in the wall that you’re aware of?” Though it was hissing, it very well could’ve been a smaller animal that neither had thought of. “Has your heat and air been working okay?” Was her follow-up question before she placed a tiny mic into her bag and zipped it up. Swinging it over her shoulder, the young woman was already bounding to the front door without any second thought.
“Sure thing. I’ll shoot ya a text before I just rampage in.” Ainsley tried to joke in order to help soothe the other on the line. “I’m glad you got yourself somewhere safe.” The affirmation utilized to dismiss any shame in the brunette’s tone as she spoke before the woman mentioned, “15 minutes.” As another level of assurance.
Did she even take her keys out of the ignition? It was quickly thrown to the back of her mind as she shot Liliana a ‘here’ text before letting herself into the other woman’s house. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as the woman placed her backpack on the table and quickly started to get her gadgets out. To her, this was all second nature at this point.
She took out her safe range EMF radio and started to scan, following the beeps around the kitchen though it grew to an alarming rate as she pointed it to the ceiling. It was in that moment that she called out to Liliana, “You can come out, I’m just running a few wave tests!”
-
Liliana was confused as to why the women was asking her these questions... they didn’t seem like very supernatural questions to be asking and instead more like questions that a handyman would be asking her. “I don’t think that there are any holes in the walls.” She informs the women, taking a moment to think it over. “As for the air I believe it’s fine... I mean it’s still heating so I think that’s fine.” She tells her.
Liliana felt some reassurance when Ainsley said that she was somewhere safe. Even though the women couldn’t see her and didn’t know if she was actually safe or not she found herself taking comfort in the others words. Fifteen minutes. She only had to hold out for fifteen more minutes and than Ainsley would be here to save the day.
She stayed in the closet, relief washing over her when she received the ‘here’ text. She didn’t emerge from the closet just yet though, figuring that she would give Ainsley a little time to asses the situation and hopefully be rid of whatever entity was now haunting her.
When Ainsley called to her she exited the closet and her room. She stepped over the salt barricade that she had set. She was wrapped up in a blanket, nervously biting her lip as she watched Ainsley move around the living room and kitchen area, some type of beeping device in her hand... an EMF she believed it was called. “I thought that didn’t work around active electricity.” She questioned. She knew that Ainsley would know better than her though, the women had been doing this type of thing all her life while Liliana preferred to watch it through the television and not actually be a part of it.
Luna liked her job at Dream Coffee House. It’s not a job that she really needed to pay her bills, since her youtube channel was bringing in enough views to her. She got this job because she could use the cash on the side to be able to afford some of the finer things in life. When she heard the Liliana was going to be there, she was ecstatic. Luna and her got along so well and they always knew how to have fun while also getting the work done.
Luna found herself laughing at the horrendous english accent that she was using. “Well.” She replied in the same horrible accent that she was hearing, “I could tell you where it is or I could just show you how to get there because I enjoy a fine time at the theater.” She said as she laughed softly and then stopped wiping things down to just hop up onto the counter. “What are we doing after this? I don’t feel like going home.”
-
Liliana stood there a moment as if contemplating if she was able to take the women to the theater with her or not “Well I wouldn’t mind the company of a fine women like yourself.” She spoke, continuing on with the horrendous accent before busting out into a fit of giggles. She licked the cream from her top lip before wiping the rest off with a damp towel.
She thought for a moment when Luna questioned what she was doing after work... she hadn’t made any plans, or at least not any that she could think of at the moment anyways. “I had to do a load of laundry when I get home but other than that I don’t think that I had any other plans, do you have anything in mind or just looking to get out and do something?” She asked before jumping up to sit on the counter across from Luna. They were pretty much done for the night anyways all that was left to do was shut off the lights and lock the front door.
“I’m actually listening to State Champs. I don’t know i you’ve ever heard of them but they are so FRICKEN amazing. They started in upstate New York and I grew up in the city so I was seeing them all the time.” He mentioned as he smiled wide at her. Music was something that Toby was totally into and it seemed like he was always listening to it. “Yeah, I’m not too sure how I feel about fruity flavors in my coffee but I’m all about the fruity flavors in my baked goods so I am all about that.” He mentioned to her. “Oh you definitely are accomplishing great things here!”
-
“I’ve heard of them.” She nodded “Actually I also grew up in the city.” She informs him “But going to concerts and meet ups was never really my scene.” She admitted. “I was more of a stay inside with a book type of gal myself.” She said with a small chuckle. “But I have heard some of their stuff and I have to say that I not only approve of your taste in coffee and baked goods but now also music.” She commented. When he informed her that she was doing great things she couldn’t help but grin “Thank you that actually means the world to me, sometimes I’m not sure if people keep coming around because they actually enjoy themselves or if it’s because I’m the only café on this block.”
Lips curled up into a smirk. a gesture that only grew exponentially the more the other spoke, as it often did whenever he found himself buying from her. “Really, plain black coffee is all it takes? Do you have like, superpowers or something? I need at least two cortados injected into my system to be a somewhat functioning adult. Somewhat being the key word” he bantered back, a chuckle escaping him at Liliana’s next statement. “Wait, you’re telling me I walk in and you immediately black out? Straight up smile and nod your way out of every conversation we have? I am hurt. Here I was, thinking of my best jokes every morning to now discover it’s all been for nothing—vile” he muffled back dramatically, taking in a deep breath. It was only half a joke, he did happen to enjoy making her laugh whenever he had the chance. Then, he raised a brow at the challenge, assessing the woman in front of him. “Okay, I’ll bite. I’ll play Russian Roulette with you today. But you have to drink it too. Maybe not today if you’re too busy— but someday. Deal?”
-
“I can see peoples future.” Liliana admitted when Aristoteles asked her if she had superpowers. Of course she couldn’t actually but it was all in the fun of the the moment. “And just to prove it to you.” She stated, putting her fingers to her temples as if concentrating hard on something “You are going to not only buy a coffee this morning but also one of the muffins that were freshly baked this morning!” She grinned. When he started on his little rant of how much he prepared for the mornings that he saw her she simply nodded and smiled, as if further solidifying that that was how she actually felt about him. However towards the end of his rant she couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips, a genuine one and not just one for show “Come on I know you don’t come up with those jokes on your own... Google writes them for you.” She teased before moving to make his drink. She glanced at the clock when he said she would have to drink it as well. “I have a few minutes to spare if you do.” She informed him, hand hovering over the mug as if waiting for his answer before she started to make a single cup or two. “I have enough faith in my coffee skills to not me afraid of my concoctions.” She grinned.
Ari’s permanent grin only grew wider at the sight of the other as he walked in front of the line. Although the musician wasn’t the type to follow a schedule nor thrived off of routine (especially in his younger years) he had grown to lean the importance of it all in a balanced life, mostly when it came to raising a child. One of his favorite things about this new routine life style of his however— was entering Dream Coffee House almost every morning. Not only was the coffee great, the woman on the other side of the counter always found a way to bring a grin to his face. “Good morning to you too—can I get whatever you get that gives you the will power to handle people so early and do it so warmly? My job depends on it.”
-
Liliana chucked softly at Ari’s comment “Straight black coffee.” She informs him “Gives you such a kick in the ass you couldn’t be tired if you tried.” To be honest Liliana had never really been a morning person but when your entire buisness was selling coffee to other non-morning people you learned to adapt. “As for the handling people you just have to tune them out while smiling and nodding.” she hummed “That’s what I do with you.” She joked “You sticking to the usual this morning?” she asked. "Or if you’re feeling really wild you could leave the choice of what you get up to me this time.” She grinned. Liliana had quite a few regulars but she could admit to herself that Ari had quickly became a favorite. Something about him was just so alluring, something that she wouldn’t mind getting to know a little better sometimes when she wasn’t stuck behind the counter of her buisness.
Her make-up was off. Teeth brushed, hair getting raked through, when her phone rang. Usually, she would turn her phone onto bedtime mode and let all her calls go to voicemail. For some odd reason, this night was different and she forgot that teeny tiny step in her routine. There was only a second of hesitation before the blonde caved and brought the phone up to her ear, not even looking at the name that was lighting up her wallpaper.
“Hello- Oh?” There was a change in her voice. A natural response to the brunette’s tone through the line. It was the sense of urgency that made the young woman’s hairs stand at a salute to her goosebumps.
“What makes you think there’s something in your house, Lili?” Ainsley’s genuine concern on the fence for being shelved. She didn’t want to make the other woman’s emotions worse by any means, but she couldn’t help the fact that she cared. Instantaneously, she went to her closet and took out a backpack. It was a mix of nonchalance but grace in how she tossed it open on her bed in order to shove some clothes into it.
This was all her doing, actually. Maybe she shouldn’t have filled the other’s mind with so much information at once. The blonde trying to focus on her friend’s talking but also pack for her departure over there. “I’ll be about 15 minutes, but I’ll be right there.”
-
“There’s this banging sound coming from the kitchen.” She murmured softly “And occasionally an actual hiss, like if a cat got in when I wasn’t paying attention but I looked and there’s no cat.” She informed her with a shake of her head... there’s nothing, or at least nothing that I can see with my own two eyes.” She informed her, figuring that she would pick up on what she was starting to assume herself.
Liliana was currently holed up in her bedroom closet, shoes pushed aside frantically to make room for herself. Although if this was a ghost haunting her home the closet wouldn’t supply her to much safety but in her mind it would... and the salt shaker that she had emptied out on the floor in front of her bedroom door was sure to keep the spirt or whatever it was at a safe distance. Thank you for that helpful tip Google.
Fifteen minutes... she could last that long “Let yourself in when you get here yeah?” She said chewing at her lower lip lightly “I’m hiding in the bedroom.” She admitted. She couldn’t lie she was a little embarrassed at the state that she was in but this was her first paranormal encounter and she wasn’t stoked to be experiencing it alone.
Location: Tilly & Luna’s Place {….or so she THINKS}
Status: CLOSED { @lilianaalvarez }
It was one of those nights. The silver glitter that adorned her eyelids was now giving off raccoon-chic, her shoes long gone and forgotten from her mind. If there was one weakness Tilly had, it was rum and coke. Well, rum and coke and pretty women. In truth, she was too fucked-up to be bringing anyone home. Hence, the pizza box in one hand and a pack of Bud Light in the other.
She wasn’t even fond of beer; Often comparing it to frat boy piss, but that was just an ode to how far off she was from her center. The brunette felt invincible in the moment, skipping along the sidewalk. Not being able to read the street signs would’ve made any sane person stay where they were for the night, but not Tilly. A frequent partier could always tell where they were based solely on the memorization of how the blurred city lights looked.
It was how she wound up at her door. The woman’s confidence skyrocketing only to plummet as she realized her purse wasn’t on her. Shit. It was meant to be in her head, but it echoed too loudly for it to have been a silent thought. Now realizing she didn’t have her key, she went straight for the fire escape that wasn’t there. “Yo…. trippy.” It was laughed out before she headed back to the door, only to stumble back over to where her fire escape should be. Almost as if it ran away from her the first time. It was this time back that she managed to catch herself in the window, screeching as she fell to the ground only to burst out into more laughter.
The brunette managed to pull herself together, placing the 12 pack on the ground with the pizza box on top in order to slide open the window with her palms. The friction of her skin on the glass made a farting sound that have the woman almost dying of laughter as she tossed the 12 pack through the now-open window. A loud crash followed suit, that made the brunette freeze. There should be a couch there…. Blinking, Tilly disregarded it for her fuzziness before flinging the pizza in and jumping up on the sill to not-so-gracefully wiggle and fall to the floor on the other side. At least it was her ass. Was what she told herself as she brushed herself off and got up, going for the pizza first before relocating the 12 pack of beer and scrambling to the kitchen.
Everything looked so much prettier when she had the tipsy goggles on. Especially when Luna obviously got busy and changed everything. Lucky Tilly. The brunette opened the fridge that she couldn’t recognize with her foot, her other hand tossing the pizza to where she instinctively was aware her table usually is. Instead, she was met with it falling open on the ground. “What. The. Fuck!” It was loud, but she imagined it to be a hiss. It got stranger as she became oddly aware of something on her head. The sensation caused her to screech again, her hands flailing only to find that she was wearing a Santa hat. Was it even winter still? Her eyes squinted as if that would help her get a better look at the joint, but they were watering up over the loss of the pizza in front of her. Ultimately bringing her to her knees in defeat.
Liliana had been sleeping when the first thud woke her up. Instinct told her that it was simply Gabriela getting in from a late shift so she simply curled up under her blankets and waited for sleep to take over again. Only it didn’t because another crashing noise was coming from their living room, which was odd seeing as gabby was always so quite when she came home late, never wanting to wake Liliana at whatever hour she managed to drag herself through the door. Instinctively Liliana’s hand grabbed for her phone on the bedside table, ready to hide under her bed and call Alexander to come and take a look around. However once she saw the time she decided against it. She had already called a friend in the middle of the night once this week and that had turned out to be nothing more than a leaky pipe, she wasn’t going to live through that embarrassment again.
So instead she slid out of her bed, grabbing the bat that was stuck inside of her closet, yes she had a bat... she was alone most nights sue her, before making her way towards her bedroom door. She opened it slowly, moving down the hallway, back against the wall as she moved slowly. The first thing she saw was the living room window wide open, the curtains yanked down, most likely pulled down from whatever had crawled through, piled underneath it haphazardly. Next was a broken beer bottle lying near the couch, its contents leaking across the floor and onto the throw rub underneath the coffee table, that would be a bitch to clean tomorrow. Her eyes than found the pizza box, half opened with greasy cheesy pizza lying next to it on the kitchen floor. Perhaps a racoon had broken in... were there even racoons in LA?
Than Liliana’s eyes found the real culprit, a women crumpled in on herself... was she sobbing? “Uh hello?” She asked, bat still gripped in her grasp because, well you never knew if this was some ruse to get her to let her guard down before someone attacked. When the women lifted her face to look at Liliana she saw her makeup and couldn’t help but realize she hadn’t been far off about the racoon comment. Tilly’s makeup was dark around her eyes and now fully smudged and running from the tears she had produced... and was that a Santa hat she was wearing on her head, in April?
Once she recognized the women, a neighbor about a block down from her place, she set the bat down, moving to close the window because it was letting an awful draft inside “What are you doing here?” She asked. However the question wasn’t exactly one that needed answering. Liliana could tell from the state that the women was in that she was probably severely inebriated... although that didn’t explain what she was doing in her house.
she had to physically restrain herself from choking on her most recent gulp of coffee at liliana’s own insight into the couple’s argument, ames absolutely loving the drama she’d added to it. “okay now that story is one for the silver screen, darlin’. not only if he married but he also slept with her father? like damn, and i thought some of my own relationships had gone up in flames.” she laughed, setting her mug down eyes shifting from lili back to the couple. “oh i can see it, and i bet she has a positive pregnancy test in her purse too to boot she’s about to mention right about…” ames pointed to the couple and as is on cue, the argument seemed to be raised a little by something the woman said. “now.” she practically cackled how it somehow managed to work with what they’d been describing. turning her attention back to liliana, she could only imagine that that wasn’t the display she wanted in front of her shop so ames surveyed her friend. “do you want me to scare ‘em off down the sidewalk?”
-
“Yeah it’s a positive pregnancy test in her purse but it isn’t his.” She murmured, taking a sip of her steaming hot black coffee as she eyed the couple “It’s his brothers.” She said so casually, as if she knew the couple personally. She couldn’t lie the game and outrageous stories that they were making was definitely calming her nerves a little bit when it came to them standing outside of her café. She smiled when Ames offered to scare them off, an attribute she appreciated beyond belief when it came to her friend. “I’m not sure.” She hummed “I mean I am sure that they are scaring away a few customers but on the other hand they might actually be attracting a few new ones.” She mentioned, setting the mug down on the table “I mean think about nothing attracted humans more than some good drama going down on the sidewalk.” She chuckled. It was true the human species was attracted to disaster. It’s a wonder they survived as long as they had. Liliana managed to pull her attention from the couple outside to look at Ames “Forget them they’re a loss cause, how have you been?”
STARTER FOR: @lilianaalvarez
EXTRA: outside dream coffee house
“ so do you want anything ?? ” someone who doesn’t spare marcelo a second glance might think he’s talking on his phone or to someone all together. but for the person who does, they’ll realize he’s taking to the golden-lab mix that he’s tying to the bike rack outside the coffee shop. leia looks back at him with those pleading puppy eyes, and marcelo heaves a put off sigh as he finishes off the easy to remove knot ( the result of trial and error ) and clips the end of her leash for good measure. “ don’t give me that look. you know you can’t go in and i need coffee. a puppaccino, perhaps ?? ”
“I hear that they sell the best puppaccino’s.” Liliana commented although she knew that the man hadn’t been speaking to her, but anyway that she could give herself a little extra leg up on the competition she would. She was just coming from running a few errands while an employee ran the shop for her so any customer that didn’t know her face already would probably just assume that she was another customer. “Also I don’t know if you caught the sign.” She said pointing to the door “But there’s a shaded area around the side of the building with a water bowl for mans best friend there.” She suggested. Liliana was a lover of dogs herself and if it was up to her she would allow them into the establishment but not everyone felt the same way, so she had created a small area on the side of the building to keep them relaxed and away from the busy sidewalks and street.
Ben would have liked it better if her greeting was a lively one. But only because he’s a morning person during hockey season. Anything cheery and upbeat? He’s all for it. Her greeting wasn’t a deal-breaker, though, and so he returned her smile with his own. “ My usual’s a long black, ” he tells Liliana, glancing at the menu in case he was feeling adventurous. He’s a little early for practice. Traffic’s going to be extra heavy today because this is LA and time management is key. Sometimes, he can’t help but think that the SoCal rivalry extends to the all-day rush hour too. “ Unless you got something almost similar in mind? Need it strong so I’m totally buzzin’ once I’m at the rink, ” he joked, making animated gestures with his hand.
-
Liliana couldn’t lie she was surprised at how lively the man was when he approached the counter. She wasn’t used to that this early in the morning however when he informed her of his regular order the pieces of the puzzle sorta clicked into place. “The rink?” Liliana questioned raising an eyebrow at the mans words “Pardon me for saying so but you don’t look like the ice skating type.” She hummed, completely blanking on the fact that hockey was an actual thing. She wasn’t well versed in the world of sports and sport like activities so it wasn’t a surprise that her first thought had been figure skating. “You can’t get better than a long black.” Liliana smiled before turning in her spot so that she was able to access the espresso machine easier. Brewing a dark coffee was always Liliana’s favorite thing to make because you got the rich smell of coffee without the sickly sweet addons canceling it out.
“Well, I’ve been working on you for long enough to know that my standards are pretty high. Consider it an attempt at lowering them.” he flashed her his typically pearly teeth in a white grin, but the gash in his cheek had tinted a couple of them red, especially along his gum line. “Just until you finally come around, but trust me, it didn’t work out.” he wanted to lighten the mood, feeling guilty that he’d pulled her out of bed to come drag his pathetic ass out of jail. it was bad enough that any time she saw him with a busted lip or a bloody nose she jumped to tend to it. bad enough she was a self-appointed nurse for the dumpster fire, but now she had to act like his mother, too?
the bruised corner of his lip faltered at the mention of manslaughter— drudging up some truly foul memories, but they were ones he’d never spoken out loud in this city. he quickly fixed his expression to one of flippancy. “Fine, fine,” he expelled a sigh, obediently pulling the car door open and plopping into it. he peeled out of his soaked hoodie and balled it up, stuffing it into the bag, and then did the same with his ripped shirt. there were some old bruises along his side, interrupted by the ripples of his abdomen, but they hadn’t been from bar fighting. last weekend’s fight had been a rough one, and he’d lost. miserably. he had the aches to prove it. “If you’re not gonna let me pay you back, then how can I make it up to ya, huh?” green hues travel from her, over the dashboard, and to the button that he presses. the window on his side whirrs as it lowers. truth be told, he didn’t know how to be appreciative, or how to pay back kindness if it wasn’t in the form of cash. he hadn’t been raised that way.
-
Liliana shook her head as if disapproving in his choice of words but couldn’t help the smile that cracked through the surface, informing River that his attempt at lightening the mood had been successful. “Never going to happen little boy keep dreaming.” She told him with a chuckle. She knew that he wasn’t a little boy but it was meant as a reminder that she was a few years older than him and that he was barking up the wrong tree if he was looking to share a bed with someone for the night. The best she could offer him was a shower and a blanket on her couch, something that she would have to explain to the roommate in the morning.
Liliana pulled out of the parking spot and headed off back towards her place. She couldn’t help but wrinkle her knows when the younger man removed his hoodie and shirt. He smelt of stale booze and sweat, not actually a smell Liliana was dying to surround herself with tonight. She tried to focus all of her attention on the road but failed when she caught a glimpse of the scars scattered around his body. They weren’t fresh, which caused her to worry about where they were from, but she didn’t ask. When he asked her how he could repair her she answered with a simple “Don’t make me bail you out at four in the morning again.”
The rest of the ride was silent, it didn’t have to last long though because soon she was pulling into the driveway of her house “My roommate is asleep so please try and stay quite... bringing strays home was not part of the agreement.” She told him, keeping a smile the entire time she spoke.
Once inside the house Liliana made a beeline to the bathroom, making sure that River was right behind because there was no way he was sitting on a single piece of furniture smelling the way he did. Once inside the bathroom she closed the door to keep their voices muffled “Alright here’s a towel, you have free pick of any shampoo or bodywash... I’m sorry we don’t have Axe or 3 and 1.” She informed him. “Once you get undressed just throw your clothes out in the hallway and I’ll throw them in the wash for you alright?” She said walking through the door, I’m going to go and look around for something you can wear when you get out... call for me if you need anything yeah?”
ames was never one for gossip, in fact she attempted to avoid it as best as she could. but when a situation so easily presented itself to her, like the loudly bickering couple right outside of the business’ window, how could she resist? it was like watching a live soap opera episode right within her grasp…or rather within chucking-her-muffin-distance. taking a sip from her coffee mug, ames turned her head to settle light hues on her morning companion across from her at the table. “okay let’s play a game, yea? i use to play this as a kid; make up a backstory for people and decide what they’re arguing about.” a playful smirk tugged on her lips as she glanced back at the couple. “i think…she’s a lara croft type who liberated an artefact from some evil billionaire and just found out that her partner there double crossed her.”
Liliana found it fascinating that Ames was able to look at these complete strangers and make up an entire backstory for their lives while she was sat here debating on if she should throw a pot of water at them for driving her costumers away by standing in front of her café bickering like school children. However she decided to play along in order to prevent herself from doing just that. “No she definitely just found out that he’s married and he slept with her father when they all went on holiday.” She hums, taking a sip of her own coffee. Some people might say that it’s unprofessional to eat breakfast at your café with a friend on your only day off but she believes it would be more unprofessional to be spotted in someone else's café eating breakfast on her day off.
