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Post by Bri on Feb 8, 2024 13:01:07 GMT -6
The buzzing of his phone roused Aaron from his nap but it brought forth a raging headache that pounded against his eyes, making him see flashes of white. He groaned as he reached for his phone but didn't look at it until the throbbing stabs of white went away. His eyes cracked open to read the notification but the second he saw who the message was from he was sitting up, whatever withdrawal symptoms he had fading away as he read those simple words. This had to mean she still cared, he thought, and if she cared there was a chance he could get her back. His fingers tapped at his screen as he sent her back his own message that read: 'I miss you.'
"Thank you so much and don't worry about the dogs when you pull out, they know to get out of the way." Riell smiled back at Westley, not thinking twice about the interaction as she took the bag of food from him. "I really appreciate you coming out here, have a good night!" She called over her shoulder as she walked towards the back of the cabin, her two dogs staying in place, eyeing Westley as if they knew who he really was.
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Post by Kiersten on Feb 8, 2024 20:50:19 GMT -6
Minutes felt like hours as she waited for Riell to return from the front with their food, but she also wanted to hear her phone go off with a message from Aaron, and when her phone finally buzzed, she snatched it up instantly. There were the other messages she hadn’t answered yet, but there at the top, was a new message from Aaron. She stared at it, reading the three little words, but not opening the message yet, afraid he’d see that she read it already. She didn’t know what to say, despite her heart immediately wanting to say them back.
Westley nodded, eyeing the address once more as he committed it to memory before waving to the dogs still sniffing around him and headed to his car. Despite her saying the dogs knew to keep away, he still made sure to go slow and kept an eye out.
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Post by Bri on Feb 11, 2024 21:42:00 GMT -6
As she rounded the corner Riell paused, eyeing the driver until they started to pull out of the drive way before going onto thee back porch, setting the bag of food on the side table between herself and Jolene's chairs. She frowned a little as she took her seat. "You good over there? You look like you're gonna be sick or something."
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Post by Kiersten on Feb 12, 2024 18:22:23 GMT -6
Jolene was so engrossed in what to do about the text from Aaron she didn’t realize that Riell had returned until she spoke, causing her to jump. She almost dropped her phone, juggling to catch it just in time, and of course, accidentally opened the text from Aaron. “Scared the shit out of me,” She sighed, trying to buy herself time as she thought of why she might look sick, and turned her attention to the food instead. “I think I’m just starving.” She lied, not wanting the idea that seeing Aaron or hearing from him made her sick. His words echoed through her mind though, as if he actually spoke it, and as she set aside the things she'd gotten herself, she unlocked her phone.
'I miss you too.'
It was true, she did miss him, but she didn't want to give him false hope if he wasn't willing to quit the alcohol and drugs. She hit send anyways before digging into her nuggets and fries.
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Post by Bri on Feb 12, 2024 23:08:25 GMT -6
Riell raised an eyebrow as she watched Jolene's little acrobatic act with her phone, hoping it wouldn't result in a cracked screen. She didn't buy Jolene's excuse but chose to take a sip from her drink instead of confronting her about possibly lying. "Right." She said slowly but leaned back in her seat, shoving some fries into her mouth.
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Post by Kiersten on Feb 12, 2024 23:35:30 GMT -6
Jolene hoped she had convinced Riell enough to not ask questions, though she felt a little guilty about not telling her, butt knew how she’d react. “So, do you sell your stuff at farmers markets and such?” she had ordered from her online store, but wondered if she risked being recognized by setting up a stall.
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Post by Bri on Feb 13, 2024 22:26:03 GMT -6
Riell glanced at Jolene's phone then at her, wondering if she was always going to be hung up on her brother, not saying she'd force them to get back together, she wouldn't want Jolene dragged down but at the same time she remembered how happy they were and also she didn't want to lose her friend if things went bad. "Yeah, I do that here and there, any extra food I have I make into lunches for the homeless shelter." She replied and sipped her drink. Selling her goods was going relatively well but her savings were her blessing.
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Post by Kiersten on Feb 14, 2024 15:45:08 GMT -6
“Does the ballcap really work on hiding your identity?” Jolene teased, hoping if she just kept talking and ignoring her phone, Riell wouldn’t suspect she made a stupid choice to text her brother. “I swear the baseball cap disguise only works in movies.” She laughed, popping a couple of fires into her mouth before opening her sweet and sour sauce packet.
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Post by Bri on Feb 14, 2024 21:28:43 GMT -6
"It works enough." Riell shrugged, knowing it was silly but it did its job. "I think it helps because I don't think anyone would really believe that I was all the way out here and if anyone says something I just play it off, the acting skills help a bit." She explained and ate one of her chicken nuggets. She hoped that her luck wouldn't run out, she liked the life she was able to carve out here, despite the loneliness.
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Post by Kiersten on Feb 14, 2024 22:37:36 GMT -6
Jolene was shocked that I worked well enough, though she figured people wouldn’t easily put two and two together, “But you don’t give people your real name, do you?” It was a unique name, Jolene hadn’t met anyone else named Riell, but she hadn’t met anyone else named Jolene either, but she knew that wasn’t as rare as Riell.
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Post by Bri on Feb 16, 2024 18:07:26 GMT -6
"Of course not," Riell shook her head, "that's why I corrected you earlier, my name here is Riley. Riley Ogden." She explained, it was close enough that she'd respond to it quickly but yet basic enough to not draw too much attention.
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Post by Kiersten on Feb 16, 2024 19:46:10 GMT -6
Jolene forgot that she had told her a different name while they were at the feedstore, though she wasn’t sure if that as because she’d always known her as Riell or because of the wine, she couldn’t keep blaming the alcohol. “Ogden huh?” she smirked, wondering how she got that surname.
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Post by Bri on Feb 16, 2024 22:39:20 GMT -6
"Yeah," Riell shrugged but smiled, finishing off the last of her chicken nuggets. "Not too generic but also not too uncommon, I just Googled weird names that start with O and went from there." She said, with everything else she'd been planning the name had been the least important thing on her list-until she was stuck getting an ID made and other documents to make her seem more legit. "It's not like I could use your last name and pretend I was part of your family." She joked.
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Post by Kiersten on Feb 17, 2024 0:05:23 GMT -6
Jolene stopped chewing as she thought about Riell using her own last name and shrugged. “Claim to be a distant cousin. Gunner’s got a couple of friends out here.” She wasn’t sure exactly Silas lived, she just knew he flew out a couple times a year to visit.
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Post by Bri on Feb 17, 2024 23:06:02 GMT -6
Riley laughed softly, thinking briefly of the little crush she'd had on Jolene's brother when they had gone to school together. A crush that she'd never had the balls to entertain past some day dreams. "Yeah, but it's easier just to start completely fresh." She said with a shrug, holding back a comment about how, for a time, it seemed like at one point they'd end up as in laws until it had all gone down hill.
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Post by Kiersten on Feb 18, 2024 15:42:18 GMT -6
“I guess it is easier, they might question if you really were my cousin,” Jolene laughed, yawning as she thought about what kind of name she’d want to use, having an attachment to her name. It would be a little easier for her, since she wasn’t as well known as Riell, but dating her brother had made her more famous than just being a model. She dipped her last nuggets into the sauce before taking a bite. “Juniper Baker.” She giggled, thinking she’d forget the name immediately and accidentally say Jolene.
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Post by Bri on Feb 18, 2024 22:59:55 GMT -6
"Exactly." Riell replied, "I don't need anyone grilling me about how I'm related to you." She laughed a little before turning her attention to the sky, watching the stars wink in and out of view. For a moment she was able to forget her past and relax, thoughts drifting to the future and the potential it held for her. Different possibilities flashed before her but Jolene's talking pulled her back into the present and she laughed again. "Juniper Baker? Sounds like it could be a good fake identity."
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Post by Kiersten on Feb 19, 2024 10:53:54 GMT -6
Jolene laughed, seeing how that could cause some eyes to turn her way. Her eyes drifted closed for a few minutes, forgetting that she had texted Aaron out of the blue, the glasses of wine weighing heavier on her mind than his drug abuse, but she sat up, eyes opened when she said it was a good fake identity. “I can’t bake, but I could totally learn.” She teased, though the though of just taking a few days to be someone else sounded nice, a dream that slipped easily into her mind, making her eyes heavy once more as she felt the need to sleep.
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Post by Bri on Feb 19, 2024 17:04:30 GMT -6
Riell laughed softly, feeling like that would be quite the commitment. She felt the grips of tiredness grip her, making her lean back a bit farther in her seat when she noticed Jolene's eye drifting close. She got up from her spot and gathered up their garbage, "let's go to bed, it's getting late."
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Post by Kiersten on Feb 19, 2024 20:21:50 GMT -6
Jolene mumbled in her sleep, turning to face Riell as she forced one of her eyes open, “Show me to a bed. I’ll just pass out.” She chuckled lightly, thinking she’d even fall asleep on the couch at this point.
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Post by Bri on Feb 19, 2024 22:04:18 GMT -6
Riell raised an eyebrow, "give me a minute to make up the bed." She said and went inside, putting their garbage in the trash then worked on pulling out the bed from the couch, briefly flashing back to the last time she had done this. She glanced back towards outside where Jolene was, smiling slightly. At least this time she knew there was only wine in the house. Once she was done with the bed Riell went back outside, "c'mon, the beds ready for you Juniper Baker."
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Post by Kiersten on Feb 20, 2024 10:28:33 GMT -6
Jolene watched Riell walk away with hooded eyes, though the second she heard the door close behind her, it was like lightening shot through her. She picked up her phone, unable to resist seeing if Aaron had read the message or not, always torturing herself just a little. There wasn’t a response and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, but when Riell said the bed was ready, she figured it was a sign to put it to rest for now. Maybe one day Aaron would see, but she was starting to feel like she’d have to let him go in order to move on. “Sweet, totally call me that while I’m here.” She chuckled softly as she headed inside with her trash, balancing her phone and wine glass, before setting it all on the counter. “Wake me up tomorrow. I’ll help with chores.” If it meant they could do something together, it was better than her sitting around doing nothing. Once she had the trash put away she basically fell onto the bed and immediately fell asleep.
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Post by Bri on Feb 20, 2024 19:31:04 GMT -6
Riell nodded, "okay, remember you said that." She joked and walked around the house, making sure the doors were locked before going up to her loft and changing into pajama's before crawling into bed.
As Jolene fell asleep her phone lit up again with another text from Aaron that simply read: 'I want to see you'
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Post by Kiersten on Feb 21, 2024 14:26:44 GMT -6
The next morning Jolene wakes up with a small headache and a dry throat, which she remedied with a glass of water from the kitchen. She didn’t know if Riell was already awake or not, but she picked up her phone to check the time, and spotted the text from Aaron. Her heart skipped a beat at those words and she immediately wanted to say she did too, but she couldn’t. Instead, since it was still pretty early, she went back to sleep, letting her dreams be reality for a moment longer.
The End
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