Pepper & OTA
Pepper had been relieved when she'd heard that there were half priced specials at Verdant. She wasn't expecting much from the night except to get blindingly drunk, so she got herself a seat at the bar and ordered a martini, extra dry, extra olives, and scrolled through the photos on her phone. It had taken a couple of days for her to give in and document the kids. There were a bunch, especially after Andromeda had stolen her phone and took a bazillion of her brother and half siblings. She had a handful of photos of Elizabeth and Ben, but she focused more on the photos of Andromeda and Howard.
It was like a knife in her heart, twisting every so often to remind her it was there. She finished one martini and ordered another, draining that one too before she finally set her phone aside. Pepper couldn't wallow. Andromeda and Howard were never going to exist and that was just going to be that. There was no point in hoping, no point in wishing. Elizabeth wouldn't exist. Benjamin wouldn't exist. None of them were ever going to exist.
"Fuck this place," she muttered, ordering her third martini.