The Slow Steady Sound Of Beeping Was What Woke Karim. There Was Nothing For A Moment. Just Darkness.

The slow steady sound of beeping was what woke Karim. There was nothing for a moment. Just darkness. Then as he began to open his eyes, blinding light. Blinking away the initial burst of it, he began to look around, pain in his body as he began to sit up. A hospital, but why?

Their voice drew him from the many conclusions running through his mind. His eyes took in the sight of them, memory coming up blank on who they were. "I'm sorry, who are you? Do we know each other? What am I doing here?"

open to all ; based on either that old plot of your ex losing their memory in the hospital and their parents call them or exes who haven't changed their emergency contacts

Florence woke up slowly after hearing their voice. The hospital room chair wasn't the most comfortable but it was enough for her to get some rest after the midnight rush to fulfill her half-awake promise. It wasn't the most comfortable situation but Florence didn't care. "Hey," she sat up slowly, extending a hand but not quite feeling comfortable to touch them. "How are you doing?"

Matias's father's passing was not something he was sad about, how horrible as it had sounded. It was hard to mourn a stranger. All he had ever cared about was that Matias never besmirched the family name and legacy. Which he had done and now as his heir was repairing. No one else to blame but himself. "It's okay." He said, not wanting her pity or for her to be sad about this.

Shrugging, he smiled "Isn't all of life?" She would knew all too well.

He could tell what she was doing, trying to let him down gently, but he wasn't going to let her. If they couldn't work back to being at least friends, what was the point? "Mom loves you Allie. With dad gone, she would love to have you over, I would too. Dinners are a bit," he thought about it for a second. "sour. We tend to just sit in silence knowing that there isn't much to say. But she loves you and still asks about you all the time. Just one dinner. Please. It would mean the world to her." And me, he wanted to say but couldn't.

part of her wanted to cry, to turn and fall into matias's chest and pull him close. to weep for the way everything turned out, for the kindness his mother still showed her, for the ways that maybe they could still fix what was broken. but they were terrified that if they even attempted, to touch the shards of who the two of them had been and who they were now, it would only crumble in their palm.

"i'm sorry to hear about everything." she says softly, facing him completely now, eyes softening because she meant it. sorry that his father was going through that, and sorry that matias was not relegated to the life he so despised. and part of her felt vindicated, she knew what the future was going to be any way. and it happened. "it's unfair." all of it, which felt rich coming from the two of them. yet it was, craving freedom and the desire to decide for their own lives and then...having none of it. and now they were sequestered to be alone.

"matias..." his names drips from her mouth and her smiles turns sadder. "i..." she places her drink down and absentmindedly reaches for him, her fingers fixing his lapel. "is that a good idea?"

@clubsmarties

The suggestion that it might have been because of her that her godson might be into baseball had her narrowing her eyes at him. She couldn't recall if she ever talking about it around Wally, but she must have. She hated how much attention he put to everything, she had to be careful to not be too careless around him. "Maybe," she said with a smirk. "What can I say? The kid has a wicked arm, if he likes the sport good, he could make friends and have a great time. If he doesn't," she shrugged. "Then we'll find him some other club or hobby. I just want him to make friends honestly. I think the quicker he makes friends, the better acclimated he'll get with everything." Sighing, she sat back into her seat. "Not like I would know, I just think it would help, but its up to his parents."

Ours. There was a nagging feeling in her, telling her that she needed to tell him that she wasn't here for long. That this was just another stop on her never-ending journey, for what, she didn't know anymore. But there was another part of her that wanted to pretend, slip into old habits and be someone that did stay. Someone that could just enjoy a night out with Wally. “You really wouldn’t mind if I took her with me from time to time?” The thought of having Dolly around for walks and just company sounded nice but there had to be a catch.

"See, penguins are just the better, cuter animal. They also do that belly slide thing on the ice into the water. Adorable all around." Waving his concern away, she had accepted "Maybe it was just the company I was with, never thought about going back. Maybe one day. There's still a lot of other places to see first before going back to others." Which was true, there were still plenty of places she wanted to see.

Hearing his adventures of being the third wheel to his siblings made her think about the times she would be with Anna and Charlie. They didn't do it on purpose, so in love. She was so happy for them but it made her feel on the outside of something she didn't understand. A thing she saw as unnecessary to surviving. Simply nodding in commiseration at a shared experience.

She had indeed never been to a luau before and it made her smile as he said that it was nothing like that. Unsure why he would have even picked that in the first place. But the more she listened, the more her smile grew, hazel eyes not looking away from the man in front of her. A part of her wishing that she wasn't her. That she was someone else, someone that could consider this a date, someone that he could consider to date. But he deserved better, just listening to him proved that. He had a family, he deserved someone who understood that. Cared for others the way they all cared for each other. The way they were making sure their kids had more than they did growing up, emotionally. All she had ever done was look out for herself. It was all she knew how to do and would continue to do. So for now she would settle on these moments until he finally bored of her and moved on, or until she finally settled the office and left. Whichever came first.

"The point of laser tag isn't to win," she said with half a shrug. "It's to just run around having fun in a room full of colorful lights and lasers. But yes, I do let him win more times than I do. Have you never done it before? How about paint balling?"

When he usually paid attention to her the way he did now, she hated it, but they were talking about lighthouses and that was something she would love to talk about with anyone about for hours on end. "They are. I've already been to Maine, thus my conclusion is that they are the prettiest." Being vague about it, she just simply said. "I spent about a year on a boat and just," shrugged. "Fell in love with them. I know my dad said we had pirate ancestry once and that's why he named me Elizabeth, after one. That the ocean was something that would be something we always loved because of it. Something about salt water in our veins," she rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't put much faith into that, he liked to make up stories so sometimes not even I know what was real or not. "

Taking her phone out, food forgotten, she opened up a list of the lighthouses in the world. "Here," she got up and moved to sit next to him so that they could read it at the same time. Setting her phone between them, she brought up a list and a map. "These," she showed the x's on the coast of Washington, Oregon, California, Mexico and a couple in Brazil. "Are the ones that I've seen but I know it's not even half." Then she moved it over to the East Coast. A couple of marks on the coast of New York, one on the coast of Connecticut, a couple of the coast of Maine, and more out on the edges of Nova Scotia. "And then there's," she zoomed out and moved to the other side of the world. Many more x's on Iceland (the most x's), Ireland, and a handful on the coast of India. "When I said I loved lighthouses, I mean it." Scrolling back to where they were, she showed the one x she had where they were. "I've seen Aloha Tower, but then work got in the way and I totally forgot to look up which other ones are here. We can add an x to this today so thanks." Smiling at him, she grabbed her drink and took another sip. "I want to say that they all are on my bucket list, but realistically, I just want to see as many as I can."

Had she not been so excited to talk about lighthouses, she would've seen the careless mistake that she had made. Her landmarks, her history, her travel patterns all laid out there for someone to know. But she could care less at this moment. "I just traveled a lot growing up and can't stop now. How about you? Have a list of places or a bucket list? Not lighthouse-wise, I know people don't like lighthouses the way I do. But like, is there something you like, besides flamingos, that you would travel to see? Sites of interest? Dream destinations?"

"Good. I need a moment to rest after being on all night with everyone at the gala." Wally made a slight face as he knew how new schools could go. "He's in for a new adventure. I hope he finds a happy little note in his new school. Little league? That sounds fun and like something that could potentially help acclimate him to his new surroundings. Was little league your idea?' There was a slight smirk at the question. He'd once heard her talk about baseball but it had been so brief he didn't think she'd think he'd remember.

"Ours." He repeated. "Why do you sound surprised? This is a you and I endeavor. Well, she can love both of us at the same time. You can't deny that you are special to her." Dolly made it clear she liked Liz whenever she'd come over and spent the night. That pup had a lot of love to give. "Next time ask her if she wants to come with you on a new adventure. Maybe better for her when I have to travel for work."

"Penguins take the cutest cake. I'll give you that. I can't believe that they have one of the sweetest mating rituals. If I could be any animal I'd be a penguin. For multiple reasons." He watched her and felt his eyebrows knit together. "That's okay. Maybe it was for the best. You can make a better nee memory next time. But if not at the place then maybe someplace else."

He nodded his head and sighed. "It was nice but still sometimes it was a bit lonely. I was my sister's third wheel when they met their future husband's and wife. We're close and in a way I'm lucky that my brother in law's were cool with me but still somedays it was a little weird to be surrounded by couples when you were just the odd man out." Wally had never shared this part of his reasons why he left to do his own things when the couples were out for an adventure. "It worked out too because then I got to explore." Her thanks made him nod in response.

"I don't know if words do it justice. I guess it's kind of weird to assume you'd ever been to a luau? It's nothing like that," he laughed, nervous all of a sudden. "They have projections on the tallest buildings. Each year it changes but the lights are colorful. The archway you walk through moves a little bit. So you get to see the lights reflected as you walk by."

Wally couldn't help but smile as he, too would call his family predictable. But it was only because they never really had a real family holiday growing up so doing it for the kids was like they were healing some part of their childhood that had been broken. The laugh still making it clear he didn't take offense at all. "I'm with you there but no, it's more like my sisters and I didn't celebrate the holiday as kids. You'd think, why? Weren't we rich? We'd have everything. Thing was that my mom was in Louisiana. My aunt didn't celebrate any holiday. So for us growing up December was just another month. Just birthdays for half of us then normal. We'd go out to the lake to see fireworks. My aunt worked four jobs to keep herself and us afloat. Her husband, my uncle cut her off when they divorced. We still missed our mother. Wanted her to come. In our innocence we wished for Santa to bring her to us every year. Took nearly a decade and some change for Santa to bring us all together again. When my aunt couldn't take us to the lake because she was waitressing here," he pointed to the establishment they were in. "She'd take care of us and we'd see the Christmas lights from the balcony." He laughed as Liz hit it right on the nail. "We do dinner. Usually at Andy and Di's. We all help out to make sure we all get fed. We actually took on my brother in law's tradition of staying up until midnight on Christmas Eve so the kids can open their gifts and then go to bed. Then in the morning they wake up to see what Santa brought them. Every year is rotates who gets the Santa gifts. Adults get something from the guy too. Watching the kids be so happy and filled with so much joy, that is what makes the holiday worth it. What we couldn't have as kids, the second generation have."

Wally shrugged his shoulders not really knowing if they were the same. "I suppose so, never been to either. Just heard of them actually. Laser tag any fun? Do you win or do you let Orion win?" The idea of a dark room could be fun but it also made him uneasy. Dark rooms usually weren't the most safe. Things could get out of hand quickly. "This is another reason why you and I go. Lighthouses are more interesting." He smiled given the topic at hand and how it seemed like it had her excited. At least if he nerded out she wouldn't completely think he was weird.

In a show of interest he stopped eating and pulled his eyes into attentive mode. Watching her with a smile as she reciprocated a lighthouse fact. This intrigued him and liked that she felt comfortable to do the same to him. He liked that she was comfortable talking to him and not letting the conversation die out. "Actually no I didn't. We should go to Maine." He'd take some time off work and thought why not go seek adventure with her. "I promise I will keep my random facts under ten if we go together. How'd you get into lighthouses?" Anything she'd share with him he'd eat up. He wanted to know her in a way she had never been known before. "Is it being the prettiest a scientific fact or your opinion?" He asked just wanting to know why if it was her personal opinion, was it the prettiest. What made it so for her. "How many are on your bucket list?" As he asked he took out his phone and opened up his notes. He wanted to see how many they could cross off the list just by being on this side of the world.

On the side there were about five wait staff that looked over at Wally's table and murmurs could be heard over his date. The whispers kept coming as they saw how invested Wally was and it seemed like to them that his companion also shared an interest. It was all in the body language they said.

@florxdexcerezos

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Being the newest under Paul's thumb, she was desperate to prove that she was more than just someone being black-mailed into service. Which undoubtedly they all were. While he made her seem like a petty thief to everyone, the truth was more vast than that but that was neither here nor there. The facts were that he knew who she really was and held it over her head, it was this or prison. So, this it was.

What she wanted now in this group was an ally, a friend. If she was going to be doing things against her will, she wanted to at least commiserate with someone. Hazel eyes sparkled with pride as she caught the can thrown her way. "Some odds and ends. But,” holding the can in her left, she used her right hand to get into her pocket, pulling out a solid gold lighter. "Catch." She tossed it underhandly his way. "Thought you might like that."

@4fter-hours sent a sentence starter: ❛ see? i’m not just a pretty face. ❜ from Elizabeth

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{!!} – Emeralds of the deepest green resplendence draped lavishly between Elizabeth’s piratic fingers seemed to perfectly mirror the roguish twinkle in Andrew’s eyes as he grinned at his affiliate from across the garage. ❝Alright, don’t get cocky!❞ he bantered through his playful smile, tossing her an unopened can from the fully stocked mini fridge. ❝You score anythin’ else while you were there?❞