— simmer

Rafael C. Flores; 28 a semi-freelancing story-board artist who lives in myrtle rock.

[rafaelflores]

SAFIA GONZALEZ:

Safia stood nearby as she tried to catch her own breath, even bending at the waist to place her hands on her knees. It had been so long since her last run that she’d falsely expected she could do the same route she’d once did. Clearly, her body hadn’t completely rebounded from its last ordeal which left her seeking a spot beside the male. “I feel the same way. Except I didn’t eat anything and now it feels like I’m about to pass out.” It was a bit dramatic but she surely didn’t feel well enough to continue on the course she’d been set on finishing. Her eyes moved towards him and then a little laughter escaped her lips. “You’ve never done that? Found a wallet and taken all the money only to return it by saying someone had found it before you?” Her head shook as she peered over him. “It’s classic.”

“No? Sounds like a classic crime to me” Rafael responded, wondering if he should feel silly for not knowing this ‘classic’ move that she was speaking of. If he had only stayed home instead of deciding to have a productive morning then he wouldn’t have gotten himself into this predicament. “Wait…have you done that before?” Seeing that she pretty much assumed he stole from her, it was only fair of him to put the question to her. Rafael had worked up quite the appetite in such a short run, plus he skipped breakfast in favour of this failed morning jog. “Well, if I didn’t feel so offended, I would have suggested a really nice breakfast place that isn’t too far from here”

[rafaelflores]

OAKLYNN BECKETT:

           The truth of the matter was that Lynn was getting used to the idea of her mother slowly losing her memory and at the same time pretending nothing was wrong. Leave it to the Beckett family to never flinch at a passing moment of crisis. Why this was surprising her had not yet been understood; when her brother’s wife had passed away in a terrible car accident everyone just kept talking about how to stay strong and move forward; nothing about accepting the grief that her brother was clearly going through. But who was she to say anything? Lynn was that relative that only appeared when things were really bad due to her military career and now her firefighter one. So the brunette did what she did best and just bit her tongue down and read the script she had been given yet every now and then even she needed a break from the play that was her family hence her being at the bench. Turning to face the voice a slight smile appeared across her lips, “Are you telling me that there are now turtles here? Things really have changed these past couples of years.” 

The beach had become somewhat of an escape for Rafael. Whenever things between him and his mother got too heated, Tortue Cove was the place for him to go and clear his head. Back home, his grandmother would be playing the peacemaker and talking his mother out of whatever state she was in. Then he would get the call giving him the all clear to go home. Until then his dog, Wes, was very content to be on his fourth walk of the day and at one of his favourite places. “No, I’m sure the turtles still have yet to make an appearance. So, yeah, everything’s still the same for now” Raf chuckled, he stooped down to pick up a discarded plastic bottle that Wes had taken an interest in and threw it in the nearest trashcan. “I don’t blame them for skipping this place altogether”

[rafaelflores]

JACKSON REED:

Thursday, October 1st  Tortue Cove | Myrtle Rock 

It wasn’t necessarily a hobby, but it was sort of soothing. Since moving to the island full time, Jackson was finding it harder and harder to get away. The island wasn’t small by any means, but it felt so constricting– and that was saying something coming from the guy that owned all the planes. Maybe it was familial pressure that set him over the edge, it was all on him now. He’d call his father asking questions about things, and he’d get sent straight to voicemail, and about the fourth call, instead of working through whatever problem, he found himself at the beach, picking up trash– almost like a person who owed a debt to society, and somedays he felt just that way. “You’d think-” the raven haired man said to no one in-particular, “people wouldn’t throw trash on the ground, when there’s a trash can, just there.” 

@elisabethstarters

Tortue Cove played a massive part of Rafael’s childhood and it was sad to see how it had begun to be mistreated over time. He had plenty of fond memories from when his grandparents used to take him there as a child and still went there on some evenings with his dog to clear his head. This time his visit was during the day and he opted to leave Wes at home. Rafael took his usual route along the water and came across someone picking up litter, it was quite an inspiring sight. To see that he wasn’t the only one who still cared about taking care of the beach. “Oh, you mean that one?” Raf gestured to the small metal trashcan that was over-flowing with trash. “I think it’s the only one on the beach” He stepped forward, “I’m Rafael, by the way. I don’t think I’ve seen you around much?”

[rafaelflores]

OPHELIA WILSON:

🐢

The naivety that Rafael had about what Ophelia could do, or have others do for her rather, made her grin. “You’re adorable, Raf.” she said cheekily. “When you’re as well off as I am, you have people that will do whatever you want them to do, whenever you want them to do it. As long as the price is right, they usually wont say no.” A brown brow was arched in his direction as she spoke before she turned her full attention back to the pup. Phil reached down to the canine with both hands, scooping him up easily. The brunette held him up so their faces were in-line. “What do you say, Wes?” Her voice was pitched slightly higher. “You wanna get a royal scrub on while your pal Raf and I watch a movie and maybe make-out a little?“

Rafael had spent his entire life in Myrtle Rock and had only ever been to Whitview a handful of times and each of them were only on special occasions. Even though he had spent no more than a day there, it was clear enough to see why it was so appealing and how shockingly correct Ophelia’s statement was. “As long as the price is right?” Raf repeated, his eyebrows raised and pondered before continuing, “So, you’re telling me that I could have been charging you this entire time?” He pretended to be disappointed then smiled at her. Rafael watched Ophelia’s interaction with Wes with an amused expressed, the pup lifted his head to sniff her face and finally responded with a single lick on the tip of her nose. “That means no, he’s just being polite about it…”

[rafaelflores]

KATE SULU:

LOCATION – anywhere in Myrtle Rock WITH – anyone, @elisabethstarters

Kate had been trying to figure out what the hype was about since she arrived on Elisabeth Island, hopping to and fro every town––well, almost every town. She was actively avoiding Fremont for good reason, or it was good enough a reason in her head anyway. She had to know what it was about the place that made him run away from their life in Portland to this life here. A sigh of defeat left the hollows of her chest as she people watched. Her efforts to discover why Elisabeth was surely a better fit for him were abysmal. As far as she could tell, it was just a small community doing regular things. Or perhaps it was someone that had reeled Blake Dakota in. Either way, she was here for answers, and while she wasn’t ready to confront the source of her predicament for them, she was ready to start pestering others about it. “Hey!” she exclaimed, catching the attention of an innocent bystander. “Do you happen to know anything about Fremont, or I don’t know…the fishing community?” She was certainly no detective. It might have been better to ask someone in Fremont, but again, running a higher risk of running into him wasn’t in her interests at the moment.

Stepping out of Bloomers with a large flower bouquet for his grandmother’s birthday, Rafael barely noticed someone standing just outside of the florists. He nearly walked straight past her, even as she started speaking—he was sure that she wasn’t talking to him until he realised that he was the only person within hearing distance. He moved the bouquet over to his left side and used his free hand to remove one of his earbuds. “Uh…what?” He picked up pieces of what she had asked him, something to do with Fremont? “Oh, Fremont? Yeah, uh, it’s a cool place. I used to go to the camping grounds a lot when I was a kid and you can still do some whale watching before the season’s over” Rafael had a tendency to babble, even if it was to a complete stranger. “Sorry, are you trying to get to Fremont?”

[rafaelflores]

SAFIA GONZALEZ:

Safia jogged over to the male who seemed to be having some trouble, hence being on a seat. She’d jogged past him and made note about how hard he was breathing but she hadn’t suspected she’d find him on a seat. “Are you okay?” she questioned the other with a raise of her brow as she pulled out a spare bottle of water she had in her waist band. “I promise I didn’t drink it but it seems like you might be more in need of it.” While she was struggling herself after months of not jogging, she didn’t feel like she was faint of breath or energy. Pushing a strand of hair from her face, she plucked open the wallet and looked into it. “It’s not that I think you may have stolen from me, but you really never know.” She was in fact making sure he hadn’t slipped a few bills out for himself.

Rafael had left the house completely unprepared for the run. From his resting spot on the bench he noticed the other joggers were far more equipped and experienced than he was. “Yeah…I’m…good, just…” He bent over and put his hands on his knees, exhaling loudly. Was he really this unfit? It was an uphill run so he was rightfully out of breath. But why wasn’t she? When the bottle of water appeared, Rafael gratefully took it from her and gulped down half its contents and stopped to catch his breath. He was definitely chugging it down way too fast. “I probably shouldn’t have had that heavy breakfast before my run. This whole thing has gone down the drain” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Raf tried not to be offended when she made a point of checking the contents of her wallet, he could’ve just left it on the pathway and saved himself the effort. “So, it’s not that you think I may have stolen from you but you think I might have stolen from you and returned your wallet to you anyway?”

[rafaelflores]

SEAN CASTILLO DAVIS:

“Yeah we do, it’s alright though, I uh, I’m not that memorable,” he joked with a slight shrug, sure that more people remembered Zay but he had always had the more charming and extrovert kind of mentality. His smile turned up a bit at the idea of being familiar to him and he decided to not sell himself so short. He really had to stop. He wasn’t a teenager anymore and his shyness had to develop some time. Maybe not right this moment but some time. “I mean Kindle’s aren’t terrible but I definitely prefer a physical book, make the experience better for me, more…complete, I guess. That and digital screens and I like to have a healthy relationship.” That was evident in his limited social media usage but it wasn’t like he didn’t watch a lot of Netflix. “Uh…week..two weeks maybe depending on how drawn in I am but I usually can’t go to another one until I finish the first but I’m a pretty fast reader. That sounds like i’m bragging but it’s just a fact, really.” He adjusted the books in his hands again before thanking Rafael for the bags, using his help to get them in there safely. “Thank you for that, wow, I might need to up my upper body workout cause these books did a number,” he joked. “Are you..busy? If uh, if you can drop me off, I’ll make you some coffee or tea..whichever you prefer.”

“I find that hard to believe. My memory just comes and goes” Rafael said although he did chuckle at the joke Sean made. Living in the same place all his life made him accustomed to seeing people come and go, he would always remember the yellow house at the end of the street because it always stuck out in comparison to the more neutral looking houses. At one point in his childhood, the street felt like one giant playground given all the kids that used to live there and had now moved on. It was nice to see Sean again, now that Raf could remember him, and it also made him feel a little nostalgic. “Yeah, good point. Nothing beats the smell of a new book” Rafael agreed with a nod. “My book obsession got a little unhealthy and the library got tired of seeing me donate every week” He added with a small laugh. Rafael’s book interests usually revolved around art history thanks to the influence of his grandfather, but he also read general fiction. “Really? That’s impressive. I’m a little all over the place when it comes to reading. I used to have a pile of books that I’m halfway through on my nightstand and just swap them around each day” Rafael carefully placed the bags on the backseat, contemplating using the seatbelt to hold them in place. “All these books would make for good kettlebells” He added onto Sean’s joke, yet it actually seemed like a good idea. “No, not at all. I was planning on going back home to geek out over some new paints I bought but I can reschedule that to later”

[rafaelflores]

OPHELIA WILSON:

🐢

An amused laugh spilled from pursed lips with a playful roll of her eyes. “Well, yeah. But it’s better for your skin to get a little bit of sun.” Phil retorted, giving him a teasing grin. “I was actually on my own walk and wanted to soak in some rays while I can. It’s gonna start getting cold again soon.” She reached down to pet the dog, softly on it’s head and glanced his direction. “You wanna come watch a movie while I call over a pet groomer for your pup? I’m sure they’d enjoy the spa day.” Don’t think Ophelia’s generosity came easy. She only saved that for those that she held close to her. She’d known Rafael for years and the fact that they both grew up without one of their parents had brought them close in school. Though, Ophelia was always surprised that Raf continued to stay friendly with her over the years, despite the rumors during school.

Kids can be cruel, Rafael learned that the hard-way once talk of his mother spread around his school and he quickly adapted to keeping his head down and sticking it out until graduation. He didn’t enjoy the whispers or the prying questions that were directed at him so when it came to Ophelia, he gave her the same curtsey that he would have liked when he was in school. Raf did his best not to indulge in any of the rumours that went around the school and figured that she would come to him herself whenever she was ready. “Good point. But right now, it’s looking cloudy and I’m pretty sure it’s gonna rain any minute now” Raf chuckled. Wes moved closer to Phil when she reached down for him, his tail wagging excitedly from the attention he was receiving. “Really? You can just do that?” Raf responded with a surprised look on his face, checking the time. “Aren’t they closed?” Not that he was declining her invitation for a movie night, Raf was open to any options that delayed his return home. “So long it’s not one of those gorey movies then we’re good. You know I have a weak stomach for stuff like that” 

[jackieshaunas]

[rafaelflores]

ZAY CASTILLO-DAVIS:

          He watched his daughter play in the water. Barefeet the way she liked it. He had asked her not to stray too far away and she seemed to be fairly complying. It was nice to see Tortue Cove with a public again after the happenings a few months prior which kept most people away from the beach altogether. The island seemed to be recovering as a whole and that was just about what they could ask. Let bygones be bygones. He stretched his legs in front of him, surprised when he saw a dog approaching but smiling when he saw that Rafael was following. “Blue keeps looking for them even though I said there was none,” he grinned and leaned his back on the seat. “Doing some late night dog walking?”

Seeing the little girl play in the water reminded Rafael of when he was that small and his grandparents would take him to the beach every weekend for a little picnic with homemade treats, he helped his grandmother make. Raf had such fond memories of the beach that it made it hard for him to stay away for too long. “At least she’s determined, when I was her age I gave up after ten minutes” He chuckled, he undid the leash and Wes happily ran off to join Blue in the water. “I am not looking forward to drying him off later” Raf watched his dog excitedly chase the waves, hoping that he wouldn’t bring anything back to him. “Yeah, kinda but if anything, it’s Wes that’s walking me. What about you?”

[rafaelflores]

SOFIA GONZALEZ:

@elisabethstarters​

Safia needed to get out of her apartment. Since her return into town, she had been cooped up inside feeling grotesque amounts of self-pity. It was due to the fact that she had awoken feeling more like herself than she had this last month and that she’d consumed enough food in the last week to feed a starving family of four for a month that forced her on a run. With earphones in and her sneakers on, she took the same route she always did. The view of the water and crisp air of fall almost forced a smile upon her lips. She almost hadn’t noticed her earphone case tumble out of her pocket until someone upon the benches flagged her down. “Thanks!” She told the elderly woman before turning around to note another individual who had plucked the white case from the ground. 

“Sorry, that’s mine,” She said as she jogged over. 

Rafael had given up on attempting a morning run and was sitting on the park bench hating himself for even thinking of doing it in the first place. He lasted about ten minutes which consisted of random, short, bursts of sprints before he decided to listen to his body and throw in the towel. He watched the other joggers who were far more experienced than he was, breeze past him while he tried to catch his breath. One of them went past so fast that something fell out of their pocket, Rafael initially fought against the urge of trying to return the item to its owner purely because it meant that he would have to run to catch up with them. His conscience got the better of him and he quickly picked up the case before and mustered the little energy he had left and went after her. “Thank you,” Raf said, quite breathlessly, to the elderly woman on the bench who had saved him from running any further by flagging down the owner. “Yeah, here, it must have fallen out of your pocket” He held it out to her.

[rafaelflores]

ALFONZO ROSA:

Fonzie’s dog was so fat and lazy that whenever they went for a walk, the breaks taken were normally for Rumpel, his pug, rather than for himself. Not that he minded them, he normally directed them somewhere they could relax and take in the scenery, sometimes he would even bring a book to catch up on his reading. Today’s stop happened to be at their favorite bench at Tortue Cove and there was no need for a book as Alfonzo enjoyed sitting and watching the waves. Luckily, Rumpel did as well and after a while, the dog’s ever-present snoring synced with the rhythm of the waves. Upon hearing a gentle Hey, Fonzie jumped in his seat; both he and Rumpel had been so deep in thought that they did not notice Rafael and his dog appear. “Good evening,” he smiled warmly at the young man. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen any turtles here, but it would be fun to spot one,” Fonzie replied. “Have you ever seen one?”

Rafael was almost certain that he had seen the other’s face a few times around town on more than just a handful of occasions but just hadn’t had the opportunity to speak and exchange names. Living in the same place from birth made it pretty hard to pass someone who he hadn’t already seen before. Or maybe it was the snoring pug that made the man seem so familiar, Rafael wouldn’t be able to forget that. “Nope, not at all” He answered and looked out at the sea again—on the off chance that his answer could change at any minute. “But never say never, y’know” Raf shrugged and looked at Wes who was curiously sniffing at the other man’s dog. “I mostly just come here for the waves, it’s peaceful and just reminds me that the world is a lot bigger than Myrtle Rock”

[rafaelflores]

SEAN CASTILLO-DAVIS:

🍁

“Uh we uh live in the same neighborhood,” he told him softly, a little embarrassed that he remembered and Rafael didn’t but then again, it wasn’t like Sean did a lot to get himself noticed. “That would be great, yeah, I mean if you can just give me a ride and help me drop them inside that would be amazing.” He managed to catch his breath and his own nerves as he picked up the rest of the book and followed him towards his car. “Uh just like four blocks down. It’s a little yellow looking house. Beautiful azaleas out front,” he added with a proud smile, not sure Rafael would know what he was referring to. “Are you a big reader? Any of these books I’ve got here, I…highly recommend.”

“We do?” Rafael canted his head and blinked at Sean as if seeing him for the first time, it was as if a lightbulb went off in his head. He vague remembered the two of them playing out together as children along with a few of the other neighbourhood children, most of who had long since moved on from Myrtle Rock. “Yes! Uh…Sean, Sean. Yeah, no problem” He was nodding now, all of it coming back to him and the reminder of the yellow house down the street from him helped make the connection. “No, I remember now. I drove past there on the way here and I don’t know why it felt so familiar…” Rafael unlocked his car and opened the backseat where he had some spare bags. “I was more of a reader in high school, I had a few accidents like the one you just did all the time walking out of that library but now I cram everything onto my Kindle—which I shamefully hardly ever use. How quickly will you get through all of these?”

[rafaelflores]

OPHELIA WILSON:

🐢

As Rafael approached, Phil eyed him from the side. “Sure. If you say so.” she answered, brow flicking up in an arch as she spoke. Her head swiveled back to her phone, where she’d been previously focused. Before anything could be seen on the screen, she quickly padded the stand-by button and her phone went dark. A slim hand pushed the mobile device into the pocket of her jacket before her attention spun back to Rafael and his dog. “Dog taking you for a walk again, or are you hiding out from problems at home, too?” Brown eyes flicked over toward the golden-doodle in question as her hand reached out to let the canine have a sniff.

“Hm, both” Rafael answered with a loud sigh. He was still navigating through the strained relationship he has with his mother, some days resulted in progress while other made Raf feel as if they had taken ten steps back. Sometimes he often felt that he was older than his mother which was even more ridiculous. His grandmother had become quite the expert at picking up on the tension under her roof and had asked, well suggested, that Raf take her dog out for a walk and while he was out, she would be having a stern word with his mother. “What’s your excuse? Isn’t there better service at home?” He did notice how quickly she put her phone away when he approached, he hoped he wasn’t interrupting anything.

[rafaelflores]

KYRA SPHANY-LOUIS:

Location: at an outdoor table of some pretty cafe/bakery

@elisabethstarters·

As she slowly munched, she suddenly heard the footsteps of someone close by. Merely sighting them from the corner of her naturally wide, round and deep set eyes, she thought their form looked familair, despite the fact that Kyra hadn’t even really looked up properly, having only flicked her luminous black orbs sideways for less than a millisecond glance.”Hey!” she called out to the other person loudly, as her hand then stretched to pick up another tiny piece of cake and dipped it into a new frosting which she hadn’t tried yet. “Do come on and help me finish up these 2 platters of cakes,”  she offered, her concentration still fully focused on the pieces of food in her hands and not yet on the other. Everyone who had met Kyra knew she had a huge sweet tooth and very keen sense of taste, which was why she was asked to tag along for a wedding cake testing session for a close family friend. However due to an unfortunate event, it now seemed like the wedding was most likely to be called off and the furious bride-to-be had just stormed off to search for the man who had just brought the bad news to her, leaving Kyra alone with the now obviously forsaken cakes, fillings and frostings which had come in a bountiful variety. And wouldn’t it be such a waste if no one enjoyed them?

these are what the the platters probably looked like : X  , X  , X ( feel free to delete this sentence n links upon replying XD i just wanted to show a visual of what’s being spread out on Kyra’s table rn ;) )

                 Rafael had a track record of being too early and, as usual, he showed up to his meeting with a client at the bakery an hour earlier than he needed to be. There was no use in him going back home and starting the journey again plus he didn’t want to risk running late on his way back, so he decided to get something to eat. When he got to the front door he heard someone call out to him and waved when he spotted Kyra sitting alone at a table with a platter of cakes. “How did you end up with two platters of cakes?” He sat down at the table, the offer was far too tempting to turn down. “I hear they have the best cakes in town…” Rafael gazed hungrily at the platters. “Are you sure? Like this isn’t some trick-test or something, right? I haven’t had breakfast yet”

[rafaelflores]

LOCATION: tortue cove, myrtle rock.

TAGGING: @elisabethstarters​

                        “It was another one of those days where Rafael desperately needed to get out of the house. Using his grandmother’s dog, Wes, as an excuse to step out for a few hours felt like the right idea. The goldendoodle was perfectly happy to wander around aimlessly and even happier when Rafael ended up at Tortue Cove. Seeing a familiar face sitting on one of the benches, he unleashed Wes and walked over to the bench. Wes followed closely behind him, frequently stopping to sniff around. “Hey…” Rafael greeted them with a smile as he sat down on the bench. “Fun night for turtle spotting, right?” Even though he was aware there weren’t actually any turtles there.

[rafaelflores]

SEAN CASTILLO-DAVIS:

Sean was hopeful the blush couldn’t be seen on his face as he heard the other guys voice and he was just grateful he hadn’t actually hurt himself. He struggled to find his words as he got to his feet and nodded. “Yeah, yeah I’m okay, it’s..not the first time and it probably won’t be the last,” he admitted. “I know-I mean, um, I’m..I’m Sean,” he told him and held out his hand for him to shake. Rafael of course probably didn’t know who he was, he was younger than him but he had seen him around and they lived in the neighborhood. He was cute and seemed sweet and if Sean was more social he may have talked to him before now but instead he was embarrassed and dusting himself off as he grabbed a few books. “I usually have a bag with me that I use but I forgot it this time, its amazing how you can have such routine and then one time you forget it’s..disaster. I don’t live very far. You weren’t going into the library, were you? I dont want to shorten your trip.”

“Don’t worry, i’ve been here before too” This situation was very relatable to Rafael except his experiences happened with his art supplies and his commitment to making it to his car before everything went flying. When Rafael shook his hand a felt a glint of familiarity but he just couldn’t place it. “Nice to meet you, Sean although I feel like this isn’t the first time we’ve met, I can’t figure out where I’ve seen you before” Rafael blinked at him a few times before shaking his head, he wasn’t the best with names and faces. He held out the books he collected. “I actually might have a bag in my car you can have” Rafael paused to eye up the amount of books Sean was carrying and decided to keep hold of the books he had picked up. “…I’ll help you carry them to the car, I’m just parked over there” He pointed to his car which was parked across the street. “No, not at all. I was just finishing up on some errands and about to head home. Whereabouts do you live?”