(oof. Any other words I spell strangely?)
Sebastian loitered on the front steps of a small, falling-apart house, every instinct in his body screaming at him to run in the opposite direction. He did have a much stronger flight against fight instinct, which hadn't served him well in the many times he'd been beaten up. Finally, he straightened his back, swallowed, and rang the doorbell.
(There are a few, but I can’t think of what they are atm.)
Devon signed Layla out of her daycare and picked her up from the ground, where she had been grinning up at her.
“Hey, baby! How’s my little girl, huh?” she bubbled to her daughter, giving her an Eskimo kiss.
She thanked the lady at the desk as she carried Layla out to the car and buckled her into her car seat. The two-year-old was not too pleased about her mama putting her down, so she cried loudly and reached her little hands up.
“No, honey. We’re going to go home, now,” Devon told her gently as she closed the door and got into her spot.
(oof. my bad)
The door swung open to reveal a tall, haggard man with sunken eyes and salt and pepper hair. Sebastian stiffened instinctively, forcing his mouth to move and shape words. "You asked me to come?" Seth Marcellus nodded, looking his son over with disgust evident on his face.
"Where did you get so beaten up?"
Sebastian gritted his teeth. "I don't see why you should care."
(Lol. It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.)
Layla continued cry most of the way to Devon’s apartment, though she did eventually fall asleep. Devon looked at her in the rear view mirror and smiled. Somehow, the toddler was the spitting image of her mother. Same eyes, same nose, same hair…
(lol thanks)
Fire burned in Seth's dark grey eyes, setting Sebastian alight with fear. But his father said nothing to him, only opened the door wider and gestured for him to enter. "Your mother's waiting."
When Devon and Layla got to the apartment, Devon parked as close to the door as she could. She got out and carefully took Layla out of her car seat, trying not to wake her up. The toddler stayed sleeping, and Devon grinned as she made her way up to her suite.
Sebastian stiffly made his way to the living room, eyes darting over his surroundings, so painfully familiar. He wanted out. He needed to get out. He couldn’t do this, couldn’t face this.
When Devon got to her apartment suite, she unlocked the door as quietly as she could before heading inside. Reaching her bedroom, she set the still-sleeping Layla in her crib. Once the toddler was settled, Devon walked into the kitchen to start on their supper.
His mother was sitting on the battered couch, her hands folded in her lap. But Sebastian's head was spinning and the room was tilting and every single muscle in his body was tense– he just turned around and ran out the door. Couldn't even stop to think.
He just..
Left.
With his father's yells still echoing behind him.
(Well, then…
Should we skip? I don’t really have anything for Devon to do.)
(yeah sure oof, to when?)
(Hm… Maybe he comes into the coffee shop on her shift?)
(sure, so tomorrow? around… lunch?)
(Sounds good to me! Should I start, then?)
(yeah, sure)
Devon hummed a song under her breath as she made a customer’s coffee. It was a pretty slow day, so far, but it was only noon. She’d be there until around three in he afternoon, and it much pick up before then.
Sebastian pushed open the door of the coffee shop, yet more bruises marring his face. This time, when the girl had thrown a punch, her ring had split open his cheek, which was now bleeding. He did his best to ignore it, walking up to the counter while keeping his eyes on the floor.
(Oof… Boy, what have you been getting into?)
Devon looked up to give a customer their drink and nearly dropped the cup. The guy she’d run into — literally — the day before was just walking in. Sebastian… That was his name.
Being the only person behind the counter at the moment, she would have to greet him herself. Great…
“Hi, what can I get for you?” she greeted him, pasting a smile onto her face.
(big oof
sorry)
Sebastian's head snapped up when a familiar voice reached his ears, his mismatched eyes widening slightly in recognition. "Oh– hey, Devon." That's when his stupid brain registered the fact that her smile was evidently fake. She didn't want to talk to him. "Err– just a dark chocolate mocha, please," he managed, hating the way his heart sank in disappointment.
Devon blinked when he named her favorite drink. “Sure, yeah. Um. Anything else? Or will that be all?”
“That’s it, thanks,” he replied, casting his eyes down to the floor for a second. He waited a beat before raising them again, looking straight into her eyes. And they were very pretty eyes….
Oh… Oh, wow…
Stop staring! You probably look strange.
Devon chewed on her lip as she glanced down at the cash register, tapping in his order.
“Um. That’ll be $6.25, please,” she said softly.
Sebastian immediately withdrew when the volume of her voice went down, suddenly afraid that he had done something wrong. But what? All he’d done was greet her and order a mocha..
He fished around in his pockets for his wallet, pulling out a slightly crumpled ten dollar bill and placing it on the counter.
After typing in the numbers, Devon handed him his change. “You, um— That’s one of my favorite drinks, by the way,” she managed to say, her cheeks burning as she kept her eyes glued to the coffee machine.
Oh. Devon was… blushing? Had he embarrassed her in some way? Made her uncomfortable? Sebastian suddenly felt very awkward and clumsy. Clearing his throat, he pulled another bill out of his wallet and pushed the change back to her. “Here, let me buy you one.”