Raleigh Harper / Emily Watkins (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
callmeemily) wrote2014-08-23 04:07 pm
callmeemily) wrote2014-08-23 04:07 pm
Entry tags:
Holy crap, there's a new business in town.
Nevermind that it looked pretty run-down. Nevermind that there was a thick layer of dust on everything, that there was peeling wallpaper, that the floors had peeling linoleum.
This.... this was going to be home. Raleigh knew it the moment she and Joel had walked inside; the run-down storefront had been a cupcake shop three years ago before it'd gone bust, and it already had some of the requisite items for a bakery - luckily, a lot of the most expensive ones like a walk-in fridge. It just hadn't had a tenant since 2011, but Raleigh'd managed to cut a deal with the landlord; she'd fix it up, no rent was due until they opened, and she'd have a discounted rate for a year.
It was more than she could have hoped for, although that meant that her days would be full of dust and elbow grease for a while. The doors and windows were wide open, country music pouring out onto the street as Raleigh - in a tanktop, cut-offs, work gloves, and sneakers - perched on top of a tall ladder. She was stripping off wallpaper in big swathes, letting it fall on the floor - not caring that she was a sight, with dirt smearing her bare legs and arms. It felt hot as hell in the tiny store, but that probably had a lot to do with what she was doing.
She's singing to herself as she pulls free more paper, but her glove catches on a nail and she frowns. "Hey!" She leans down a little as she sees somebody passing by, even though from how high she is, she can't see who it is. "Can you pass me that hammer?" It's on the floor, and she doesn't want to have to get down if she doesn't have to.
This.... this was going to be home. Raleigh knew it the moment she and Joel had walked inside; the run-down storefront had been a cupcake shop three years ago before it'd gone bust, and it already had some of the requisite items for a bakery - luckily, a lot of the most expensive ones like a walk-in fridge. It just hadn't had a tenant since 2011, but Raleigh'd managed to cut a deal with the landlord; she'd fix it up, no rent was due until they opened, and she'd have a discounted rate for a year.
It was more than she could have hoped for, although that meant that her days would be full of dust and elbow grease for a while. The doors and windows were wide open, country music pouring out onto the street as Raleigh - in a tanktop, cut-offs, work gloves, and sneakers - perched on top of a tall ladder. She was stripping off wallpaper in big swathes, letting it fall on the floor - not caring that she was a sight, with dirt smearing her bare legs and arms. It felt hot as hell in the tiny store, but that probably had a lot to do with what she was doing.
She's singing to herself as she pulls free more paper, but her glove catches on a nail and she frowns. "Hey!" She leans down a little as she sees somebody passing by, even though from how high she is, she can't see who it is. "Can you pass me that hammer?" It's on the floor, and she doesn't want to have to get down if she doesn't have to.
no subject
"Actually, I was here to place an order," Levi said, reaching down to grab the hammer and lift it up to her. "Or am I too early for that?"
no subject
"As long as your delivery's in the fall, I will be happy to take your order, Mr. Astor." She smiles up at him, entirely cheeky - nevermind there's enough dirt smearing her face she looks a little bit like a street urchin, she's happy, and she's proud, and this place - this place that right now looks wretched and a little... worst for wear, it's hers. It's hers.
no subject
"I suppose I can wait until the fall," he said, smiling at her as she came down the ladder. He could tell that she was proud of this place, despite needing a lot of work. Levi remembered when he bought his house and the shape it was in and being just as proud because he could see the potential in it.
"And maybe after the tour and you exhaust yourself with repairs today you can come get drinks and relax in the hot tub. Or any other day, I get the feeling you're going to have a lot of tired days ahead of you."
no subject
She's proud because of that exact reason - she knows what she wants, and it's going to look amazing - she knows it is, and she's going to put the work in to make it look that way.
Her eyebrows shoot up when he offers drinks and hot tub, and she actually nods once. "I think you have a deal. I'll trade you?" She's got a hell of a lot to trade, for the use of a hot tub.
She wonders, then- She wonders if he knows about the fist fight two nights ago that lead to Fabrice breaking his nose that she was all too involved in. "Uh- So, I know you're sort of.... a detective and everything, but... uh. You haven't heard anything about... me... lately, have you?" She rubs the back of her neck sort of sheepishly, because she just doesn't want to be an elephant in the room.
no subject
"Well, as a sort-of detective I haven't heard anything about you. I could check with full fledged, definitely a detective, but I don't think they've heard anything. What might I have heard about?"
no subject
She's awkward, rubbing the back of her neck with a hand, frowning. "So... I mean, you would have heard about that, right? Since it was a couple of days ago?" Siren Cove's not that big of a town.
no subject
"Sounds like a great plan," he said with a nod. To be honest having some relaxing down time would be nice. The first chance he got he was going to invite Raleigh over so they could just relax and turn their brains off. At least as much as they were able to, but hot tubs and booze were great for that.
"Well, as far as I know there hasn't been an assault charge filed, but I could have just not heard about it. Are you worried the reporter is going to come after you again?"
no subject
"I don't think so? I mean- He, uh. Sort of acted like we were on a date and didn't tell me he was a reporter, until he started asking me what it was like to be-" She paused, her voice sort of... tight. "Kidnapped with Corrine Flynn. You know, don't I resent her, all that kind of... stuff." Trying as hard as she can to make it sound like it's not a big deal, Raleigh knows she's only sort of succeeded. "So I don't think he'd try again? He said some pretty bad shit trying to get Fabrice to say or do something until he punched him."
no subject
Levi's jaw clenched as he listened to what she was saying, outraged at what the reporter had done. He'd heard of some shitty tactics by reporters before but that was really messed up. It was the sort of thing that he really wished was illegal but unfortunately dating someone under false pretenses wasn't a crime.
"What was the reporters name?" he asked, struggling to keep his voice calm.
no subject
Levi- it's weird, she's not as close to him as she is with Spencer and Joel in a lot of ways, but in other ways... he's so much closer than they are. She can joke with him and have a good time, but he's seen her at her most vulnerable more than once; she values him, values what he says and what he does, and he's not just a friend but he's the sort of friend that Raleigh will just help, without pause or thought or consideration, if she ever knows he needs it.
Honestly, she'd say he's family, almost, but she doesn't know if that's just because of this weird habit she's fallen into of finding these amazing men and shoving them into older brother roles, or what. But he asks his name, and she just sort of hesitates, her voice smaller as she tries to decide if she should tell him. What he'll do.
"He said it was Richard, I don't know, now, if that's true - but probably all you have to do is keep an eye on the papers." She said that part quietly, too, because she doesn't know what'll be written about her, about Fabrice, and she's sort of dreading it. "But you don't need to do anything, Levi. Okay?"
no subject
Levi had to agree with her assessment that the guy was trash, pleased that she could see at least that much. Still, to do something like that to Raleigh wasn't okay. He didn't know a Richard with the paper off the top of his head but that didn't mean much. Despite what she said, he was going to find out who the guy was, if to keep an eye on him if nothing else.
"I'm not going to go after him," Levi promised her. At least he wouldn't physically attack the guy, no matter how badly he wanted to. But he could absolutely make sure the guy was watched very carefully. If 'Richard' was willing to lie like that he was probably willing to do something illegal as well.
"But I'm glad the guy got punched."
no subject
She just stopped, then, sucking in a breath.
He really, really didn't need to hear her complain about her lack of a social life. "And it's over," she finishes. "That's the important thing, that besides him writing something? It's over." Right? That was the important thing? It was. It had to be.
"We're like- You and I, we're friends. Like, good friends, right?" She doesn't exactly know why, but she expects him to be honest. like he'll tell her, if she's wrong.
no subject
"The reporter has up to a year to file assault charges, but if he hasn't filed them by now it's unlikely that he will," Levi said. He wished that he could have told her that everything was fine and over with but he didn't know that for sure. "Even if he does, at most Fabrice will have to take anger management courses or something similar."
It wouldn't be a huge issue though, he was sure about that. The reporter might use it for leverage somehow but if Fabrice pleaded guilty and could get a lesser sentence then it would be over.
"And of course we're friends. You're one of my closest friends."
no subject
She stopped, and just shook her head. "I wish that it wasn't the sort of thing that could just mess up everything."
Sitting on one of the ladder rungs, Raleigh looks up at him. "Can I- I have a weird... question. Which is- I mean-" She's having problems actually spitting it out, and she swallows hard. "Listen, do you want to like... get a cup of coffee, or something?" She was covered in dirt, the place was (still) a mess, but there was something that'd been sort of eating at her for a while, and he's the only one she knows she can even sort of ask.
no subject
"The negative press probably won't be worth it. Reporters want to report the news, not be it. Try not to worry."
Levi was pretty sure that she would but he would do his best to reassure her that it wouldn't happen. If it did, well, it wouldn't really be that big of a deal. Fabrice would probably have some consequences but he HAD punched someone.
"You can absolutely ask a weird question and we can get some coffee," he said, giving her a smile. He didn't mind how she looked, it was kind of cute actually, and it seemed like she was really anxious to ask him something, which made him very curious to hear it.
no subject
"I have sort of.. a... law... question. I don't think I'm breaking one, but uh- if I am, can we just assume it's in hypotheticals?" Her brows furrow together, and she looks over at him, her voice low. "I'll fix it, if I am. Okay?" She knows she can trust him, but she doesn't know how else to frame the whole thing. To start, somewhere.
no subject
"And I promise, it's all hypothetical as far as I'm concerned."
no subject
"I think they assumed- I mean, I don't know. I don't know if they looked for me, but it's- it has to have been- It's months, and-" What she's not saying, what she has to force herself to say, is-- "I think they may think I'm dead?"
Raleigh runs her hand down her face, and she rubs her arms with her hands, like she's cold even though it's hot outside.
"I don't know, and I don't know what to do."
no subject
"You should let them know as soon as possible that you're not dead," Levi said, knowing exactly what she was dancing around before she said it. If he had known that her family thought that he would have told her to talk to them immediately. Thinking that a family member was dead or missing was just... it was awful.
"Raleigh, you have to let them know."
no subject
It's the stupidest thing, what she thinks. It's the stupidest thing, and she knows it makes her a bad person. She knows it is.
She doesn't want to go back.
There's no way that she can hide how upset she is, just by those words, even if he wasn't able to read minds.
"I- Uh." She finally nods. She nods, and she's trying just to seem normal even though she's failing spectactuarly. "Could I go to jail?" She pressed her fingers to her mouth after that, like she's trying to stop a slew of words from escaping.
no subject
"Calling them would probably be a good idea," Levi pointed out. Even as much as he didn't care for his family he couldn't imagine letting them think that he was dead when he wasn't, not unless it was absolutely necessary. From what he understood, it was necessary for Raleigh to hide for a while but she could at least let her family know she wasn't dead.
"And no, you can't go to jail. You're a grown woman, you don't have to contact your family if you don't want to."
no subject
Even though she hadn't, really. She hadn't had much of a choice.
"I mean-" She rubs her hand along the back of her neck.
"How do I even know? If there's- I'm too scared to even Google myself," she said quietly.
no subject
"If you had faked your death then that would be a crime. If you just disappeared though? That's not. Just because the police looked for you doesn't mean you did anything wrong. Raleigh, I guarantee you calling your family up and telling them you're alive would be the happiest resolution to this for them."
By this point they might even have given up hope, they might have just started to wish that instead of hearing her voice that her body would just be found. He can only imagine what her family must be going through but he trusts Raleigh that she had a good reason.
"I understand. I've been tempted to try and look up what might have happened to you but I haven't because one, if you wanted me to know you'd have told me and two, if there was some sort of alert on the law enforcement database for your name I wouldn't want to set it off."
no subject
Her face just sort of crumpled and she started to cry, and she shook her head. "I- I'll call them, okay? I'll-" Scrubbing at her cheeks, Raleigh forced herself to nod. "You know, I don't need to talk to you about- I'll call them."
"I just- I just need to... go-" She can't just... be calm, right now. She's tried to just calm herself down; she's tried so many times and it usually works, but this... this wasn't the same, and she shook her head. "Thanks, I just- I need to go." The thought of the pure reason that she'd stayed out here - that she'd not called already, that she has to find some way to tell her mother that she'd left, why she'd left, that she'd stayed away because her life was better here, and it was so incredibly selfish.
And the fact that she didn't want to leave, that the last thing she wanted to do was leave - that was so much worse.
no subject
"Raleigh, if you need to go you can go, but you don't have to. We can talk about something else if you want," he told her. Her mind was a mess, everything jumbled and screaming and making his head ache but he wasn't going to ditch her now unless she really needed to be alone. Generally though she seemed to do better when Levi was around for whatever reason.
"You know I'm here for you, no matter what."
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)