elodie hunt (iaminfinite) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2021-02-26 12:37:00 |
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Entry tags: | #june 2018, charlie, dahlia, dahlia x elodie, elodie |
Who: Elodie and Dahlia with a cameo by Charlie
When: early evening, Thursday, June 7th
Where: Dino's
Status: Complete
After an unexpectedly pleasant night in town, Dahlia had woken up ready to get to work. She had to set up a home for her and Elodie, no matter how temporary it was. The girl didn’t deserve to just drift around until she turned eighteen, she needed some stability in her life. Dahlia just hoped she was up to the task of providing it. She’d babysat many times for friends, and she was semi-close with some of the peripheral teenagers in her life -- other nieces and nephews, the kids of her friends, all growing too fast -- but she’d never had one of her own to look after. She knew it was going to be a challenge, but she felt ready for it.
She’d made some appointments over the phone already, and filled out online applications. Haven Park was first, and it was gorgeous, but after talking to them about all the fees and the like, Dahlia was pretty sure it would end up being too expensive for her. She toured an empty unit at Castle View, and even though it was a bit more run down, one of the bedrooms had really good afternoon light, updated appliances, and it sounded affordable. Dahlia signed the papers, got the key, and set off to get Elodie.
It was late afternoon by that time, and they had texted a few times that day, so she knew the girl was at Charlie Harris’s house. Dahlia had spoken with the woman briefly on the phone before she’d traveled to Maine, and she felt a little awkward about possibly meeting her. She just felt bad at being polite and gracious, and she knew the other woman deserved that appreciation. Impulsively, Dahlia stopped and bought a bottle of wine to give her as a thank you. She arrived as the sun was going down, and walked up to knock on the door.
Charlie knew that Elodie was not looking forward to moving in with someone else. The girl had been sulking about all day and honestly, Charlie was surprised she hadn't taken off and disappeared in response to the news. The fact that Elodie was still in Jasper's room told Charlie that maybe subconsciously, she wanted some sort of structure in her life again but Charlie was no psychologist and she knew better than to bring it up. Charlie had tried to give Elodie as much as she could and she had a feeling that even with this new living arrangement, Elodie would probably still pop in every now and then. It seemed like Jasper was really her only connection to whatever had happened to her and maybe victims of trauma needed each other.
When she heard the knock at the front door, Charlie went to open it, a smile on her face. "Hi, you must be Dahlia." The woman was pretty and looked put together, which was promising. Charlie wasn't sure she would have been able to let Elodie leave if she didn't find Dahlia suitable or responsible enough. "I'm Charlie. Come inside."
Dahlia didn’t really know Charlie or her situation, but she’d mentioned she was a teacher, which had been kind of reassuring. A responsible adult who’d been trained to deal with kids sounded like the best person to be Elodie’s guardian, but she wasn’t family so that wasn’t how it worked. Dahlia definitely hadn’t expected her to be so beautiful when she opened the door. She smiled back and nodded a bit as she stepped inside. “Hi, yeah that’s me, so nice to meet you,” she said. Dahlia offered the wine bottle in its bag to the other woman. “This is just a little thank you ... which I don’t even know if you drink, sorry. It’s a rosé. I’m bad at gifts.” Dahlia gave a huff of amusement and told herself to stop being an idiot.
"Oh, thank you. I love rosé, actually." Charlie took the bottle with a smile and gestured for Dahlia to follow her in, out of the foyer. Baxter came running into the room and immediately began to sniff Dahlia's shoes, his tail whipping back and force with excitement. "He won't bite," Charlie said quickly, just because she had seen plenty of people recoil when approached by a dog. Max and Rude were definitely more intimidating, but thankfully they were out on a walk with Amelia. Charlie set the wine down and offered Dahlia a small smile. "Elodie is downstairs. She doesn't really have much to take with her. Just some clothes that Amelia gave her... my boyfriend's daughter. All of her things were taken from the old house and we're not really sure what happened to them. Gavin and I talked and we thought it might be helpful if we gave you some money to help out in that department." Charlie tried not to be hesitant about it, but she knew some people might see the offer as an insult or some attempt at charity, which wasn't what they were intending.
Dahlia happened to love dogs, all animals really, and she didn’t hesitate to reach down so Baxter could sniff her before she rubbed his head. “What a cutie!” she murmured before turning her attention back to Charlie. Her smile faded into a little frown at the part about Elodie not having many clothes. They would have to fix that. Her brows raised at the offer and she was already shaking her head before Charlie was even finished. “Oh no, that’s-- you’ve already done so much,” she said with a little laugh and a wince. Dahlia wasn’t insulted at all, it was a very generous offer, she just wasn’t sure she could take any significant money from strangers without giving something in return. “It’s very kind of you, though. I have enough to spare to take her shopping for some things.”
Charlie laughed. "Honestly, Elodie sort of comes and goes as she pleases. All we did was made sure the door was unlocked for her. I would really like to help anyway. You can always save the money for her for something else down the line." Honestly, it was Charlie's money she was offering, but she was frugal and she saved as much as she could, considering she didn't make much as a teacher. But she wanted Elodie to be taken care of and she knew it could be an expensive undertaking. She was about to say more when Elodie entered the room. The girl was dressed and had a backpack with her.
Elodie recognized Dahlia in a vague sort of way. It had been a while since she had seen her dad and even longer since she'd seen his sister. Half-sister. Whatever. At first Elodie wasn't going to say anything, but instead she shrugged and muttered. "Hi."
She hadn’t seen her niece in years, and teenagers grew fast. Dahlia had estimated that Elodie had been about ten or eleven the last time they’d been together. That was forever for a young girl. Dahlia had liked her then, as far as nieces went, but they’d never had enough family get-togethers with both included to really bond much. Dahlia hoped it wasn’t too late to change that. She dropped the subject of money with Charlie immediately, not wanting Elodie to think anyone was paying to get rid of her or something -- the two grown women could text about it later. Dahlia knew she would probably end up accepting Charlie’s offer, but Charlie was definitely getting a dog portrait or something in trade. For the moment Dahlia smiled at her niece, trying to ignore the flutter of nerves in her stomach. “Hey there,” she said to Elodie. “I finally got a roof for us ... Everything all packed?”
"Yeah." Elodie gestured to the backpack. She didn't have much and honestly, that was kind of nice. Though she would really like to get some clothes that were more her style. Amelia's clothes were fine, but they weren't hers. She crouched down to give Baxter some love, because she'd probably miss the dogs more than anyone else in the house, except for Jasper. Still, everyone had been nice and had let her sleep there and eat and everything. She knew Dahlia wasn't some abusive nutjob, but she hoped that she didn't try to pull some maternal act and boss Elodie around. Standing, Elodie glanced at Ms. Harris. "Thanks for stuff."
"You're welcome," Charlie said, smiling easily. "And you know you're welcome to come by anytime you want to."
"Yeah." Elodie took a breath and then looked expectantly at Dahlia. "We can go."
While Elodie was focused on the dog, Dahlia caught Charlie’s eye and mouthed “I’ll call you,” putting her thumb and pinky up next to her face as an invisible phone, the other hand rubbing fingers together to indicate money. Then she smiled again when Charlie seemed to understand. Taking ‘charity’ from someone who had already done so much wasn’t something that Elodie needed to hear or be involved in. Dahlia knew from lots of personal experience just how dramatic teenage girls could be. Once Elodie was ready, she smiled at Charlie once more. “Thanks again,” she said. “I’m sure we’ll be in touch.” She backed up a couple of paces, then turned to head for the door she’d come through.
Elodie didn't really know how to say goodbye to Charlie without feeling weird about it, so she waved a bit instead and followed Dahlia outside. It was kind of weird leaving the house, but she had never really considered it hers anyway. If Dahlia turned out to be super lame, then Elodie figured she could always come by for a place to sleep if she wanted to. Glancing at Dahlia as they approached the truck, Elodie slipped her backpack off her shoulder. "Have you heard from my dad at all?" She hadn't, but that wasn't super surprising. She hadn't heard from her dad in a long time and it had never really bothered her. But if he was dead or something, she figured she ought to know.
It was a bit of a relief to be out of someone else’s space, even if being alone with Elodie made her a little nervous. Dahlia figured that would fade in time, she just had to get to know the girl better. She pulled her keys out and hit the button to unlock the van. The question wasn’t completely unexpected but still startled a little bark of a laugh out of her. “Uh, just once,” she answered. “We spent most of the phone call yelling at each other, per usual. Have you? Heard from him?” Dahlia wouldn’t be surprised if the answer was no. Her half-brother was a piece of crap and had been for many years. That was part of what had compelled Dahlia so much to come and take care of Elodie, as brief as it might end up being. She needed at least one stable adult in her life, and Dahlia was ... well, she was close to stable. She climbed in behind the wheel.
"Fuck, no." Elodie laughed, even though it wasn't very humorous. "I don't remember the last time he called me. I think he called my mom last year sometime. They fought about child support all the time." Opening the van door, Elodie climbed inside and began to look around, trying to get an idea about who Dahlia was now. She waited until Dahlia was in the van with her before eying her curiously. "You really want to live here for like, 3 months? This town is really, really boring." It wasn't boring, not really, but that was because it was some kind of Hellmouth that sucked people into different worlds and spit them out chewed up and damaged.
That sounded about right to Dahlia, much as she hated to know she was related to that kind of turd. “Yeah, Jack’s a total fuckhead,” she muttered with a frown as she started up the van. She hadn’t unloaded anything yet, really, though she planned to bring her art and supplies inside tonight. She was still going to take Sheriff Hotstuff up on his offer to help them move in, so she wasn’t touching the U-Haul until the next day. Elodie’s statement made her immediately think of how her heart had been pleasantly racing the night before, making out with the man sitting right where Elodie was now. Point Pleasant had been anything but boring so far. “I’m pretty good at making my own fun,” Dahlia told her niece with a little grin. “Plus the quiet helps with creativity, so I’m hoping to get some art done. Have you had dinner yet? I can pick up something on the way to the apartment.”
Elodie couldn't help but snort a bit when Dahlia called her dad a fuckhead. That was pretty accurate. But she was of the mind that her entire family was pretty shitty. Licking her lips, Elodie settled against the seat as they got moving. "You definitely have to make your own fun here. Just like, be careful doing it and stuff." She had forgotten Dahlia was an artist, but now that she remembered, Elodie thought that was pretty cool. She had no artistic talent herself, so she was always kind of in awe of people who did. "I could eat," Elodie said, shifting a bit in her seat. "I don't have any like money... I was thinking of getting a job, but I don't know what yet."
‘Be careful making your own fun’ was good advice in general, but it wasn’t something she’d really expected to hear out of a teenager. Dahlia smiled, a little amused that Elodie at least didn’t think she was too old and boring to get into trouble. She’d proven that to herself a hundred times, but proving it to a seventeen year old was a different thing. She wondered what Elodie might think of the fact she’d been making out with a stranger in this town already. Not that she was going to jump to volunteering that information. “I don’t expect you to have or contribute any money,” she said, moving on to more practical concerns. “I’m here to house and clothe and feed you until you’re able to get on your own two feet. A job is a step in the right direction, if you feel ready for that, but not a requirement until after your birthday.” Dahlia glanced over at her. She was sure they would talk about expectations and all that, but ‘immediately’ probably wasn’t the time for it all. “I’ve already gotten pretty hooked on Dino’s pizza, does that sound okay?”
"Are you going to bathe me too?" Elodie huffed out a short laugh before it faded abruptly. "Sorry, no, I get it. I mean, I've been okay on my own and like, even before... things, I took care of myself. I just don't want you to think you have to babysit me. I'd rather get a job and make some of my own money so when you ditch out I can keep my own place and all that." She would probably have to find a roommate and all that shit, but Elodie could worry about that later. She had a couple of months. "Pizza is totally fine with me. I like Dino's."
Dahlia didn’t much like the phrasing ‘ditch out,’ but she could understand where it came from. It sounded like Elodie had been abandoned over and over again, and she barely knew Dahlia, so this probably seemed like just another temporary adult in her life. Dahlia hoped they could bond enough to get past that -- she didn’t want to financially take care of Elodie for forever, of course, but she wanted to be there for her if the girl would allow it. But that would come with time and proof, not words, so she didn’t bother to say any of it. “I was an awful babysitter, so I have no interest in doing it again,” she said with a little smile. “You’re practically an adult, I’m just here to help you in the interim. And get to know you better, we’re family, and now we can actually have a conversation. Eventually. For now, pizza.” She stopped at a stop sign and then turned toward Dino’s.
Elodie was well aware that her mom hadn't abandoned her but it was just easier to push that deep, deep down and try to not think about it. It was her fault her mom was gone. It was her fault her grandma was gone too. Maybe she was indirectly responsible for one, but she was definitely responsible for the other. But her dad was MIA and her brother had his own life so now she was here with an aunt she barely knew. It was kind of embarrassing. Elodie was more than ready for pizza though, and she preferred that over talking about "important" stuff. "Have you checked out Point Pleasant at all?" she asked, reached into her pack for her cigarettes. "I mean, other than the apartment. I'm not a good tour guide or anything."
Now wasn’t the time for deep talks, Dahlia agreed. They had a lot of work ahead of them the next day, and a night that wasn’t going to be the most comfortable. Dahlia had realized that the beds she had were at the back of the U-Haul, and she was really going to need help unloading it. She had couch cushions and sleeping bags though, and she hoped that would be enough for Elodie for tonight. “I’ve explored a little, yeah,” Dahlia answered, a small smile crossing her face. “It’s a cute little town. I checked out the local dive bar, and ended up meeting the sheriff. He offered to help move us in when we were ready, so I’m going to call him tomorrow.”
Elodie's stomach jumped at the mention of the sheriff and she paused with her cigarette and lighter in her hands to stare at Dahlia. "Seriously? The sheriff? I didn't know it was in his like, job description to help newbies move in." She tried to avoid the PPPD as much as possible in this town. It wasn't like she was a delinquent or anything, but she didn't want them asking her questions and she definitely didn't want to hang out around the Sheriff, who probably knew her mom was missing. What if he started talking to her about it? She supposed she could always just throw Cam under the bus but then there would be a big thing and she would have to explain shit and Elodie didn't feel like doing any of that.
It was impossible for Dahlia to miss Elodie’s emotional reaction to the news, and one of her eyebrows lifted as she tried to suss out just what the girl was feeling. Had she had run-ins with the cops in this town? Grady had known her name, but seemed to only connect Elodie to her mom’s disappearance, but it wasn’t like they’d talked in depth on anything about Elodie. Dahlia tossed a glance over at the girl in her passenger seat, already hoping this wouldn’t turn out to be an even bigger mess. “I’m sure it’s not, but we hit it off over a few beers and he wanted to give me a hand with the heavy stuff ... is that okay? Is there something I should know about like ... legal trouble you’re in? Have you had a bad encounter with him?” she asked, trying to make her tone as neutral as possible.
Elodie arched a brow, digesting the information and everything else. They hit it off? Oh boy. Sighing, Elodie lit her cigarette and rolled the window down a little. "I'm not in any legal trouble," she said before clearing her throat. "I haven't really had any encounters with him. I try to avoid the cops, to be honest. Not because I'm like... doing anything illegal. I just don't like them." She took a small drag from her cigarette. "Does giving you a hand with the heavy stuff mean fucking? Because no one likes helping people move or unpack or anything like that."
The fact that Elodie didn’t like cops didn’t really surprise Dahlia. It was kind of a family trait, and she wasn’t overly fond of them either, usually, especially being a mixed race woman. But she’d gotten good vibes from Grady, and he’d been an excellent kisser, so she didn’t think he was one of the bad ones. “There’s been no fucking yet and won’t be any tomorrow, but we might get there eventually if things go well,” Dahlia answered, unfazed by the question. “Not go well with the move, just in general, as people. He seemed like a good guy. But you don’t have to talk to him, or even be there, if you don’t want to be. I definitely won’t let him question you about anything, not the time or place.” Dahlia turned the van into Dino’s and started looking for a spot to park. “What kind of pizza do you like?”
Elodie wrinkled her nose a little. She had no hang ups about casual sex or anything like that, but with the sheriff? Out of all the guys in this town? "I definitely don't want to be there," she said. And she wouldn't have to help Dahlia unpack or anything like that either. Let the cop do all of that, since he probably wanted to get into Dahlia's pants. He might as well work for it. "But I guess if you're going to screw anyone in town, it might as well be the Sheriff. He's hot, at least." And that was really all Elodie knew about him, other than he was the dad of someone she went to school with. Her stomach rumbled as soon as she saw Dino's and Elodie was already hoping they could get some buffalo chicken wings with their pizza. "I like most pizza, to be honest. Anything but... what's that fish stuff that put on it? I can't remember what it's called. But no fish stuff."
Dahlia just gave a hum and a little smile -- he was hot, at least in her memory of the night before. She would see if they still had any chemistry outside of a bar on a special night for him. And if not? Well, it had been a very nice night, and that was all it had to be. Dahlia would see. She definitely wasn’t going to let a teenager dictate her love life to her, so if she and Grady turned into an item, so be it, but she would keep Elodie comfortable as much as possible in her own home. Dahlia didn’t mind doing the unpacking and arranging herself, Elodie could do her room on her own time. She parked the van and grabbed her purse. “Anchovies. No fish stuff, got it,” she said with a soft chuckle, pausing with her fingers on the keys in the ignition. “You wanna come in with me? Or wait out here?”
"Why don't we just eat inside?" Elodie asked, already pushing open the door to climb out. "I can ask you a bunch of questions and all that. I mean, if you want to take it back to the apartment, that's cool, I don't care." Maybe she felt a little hesitant about going to the apartment and seeing her new "house". Elodie couldn't quite pinpoint why it was making her nervous, but it was. She had been on her own for months now, so slipping back into some kind of... routine... felt weird to her. But fuck, what didn't feel weird anymore?
“Oh! Well sure, that’s fine, here’s good,” Dahlia said, sounding a bit surprised. She supposed it wasn’t any different than eating at the apartment, it might even be more comfortable. And if Elodie truly wanted to ask her a bunch of questions, it was probably better to get those out of the way. She killed the engine and moved to climb out herself, locking up before she pushed the door shut. Dahlia walked into Dino’s with Elodie and headed to a booth. Once they were settled in, she skimmed the plastic menu until she landed on a pizza that sounded good, with no fish stuff on it.
Elodie studied Dahlia as she looked over the menu. She was really pretty and Elodie couldn't really see any of her dad in Dahlia's appearance. That was probably a good thing. "Where were you living before you came here?" she asked. "Like, did you bring everything you own? Or just like... enough to get by for a few months." For all she knew, Dahlia owned a house somewhere much nicer than Point Pleasant. She supposed if that were true, they would have probably tried to make Elodie go live with Dahlia, rather than Dahlia moving here, but Elodie didn't know for sure. People could be weird and they made weird decisions.
Dahlia loosely crossed her arms on the edge of the table and gazed back at her niece. She certainly had grown up a lot, turned more beautiful than was warranted by her dad’s side of the family. She must have gotten good genes from her mother. “I lived in Charlotte, North Carolina,” she answered. “I’d been there ... maybe three years or so. I relocate pretty often, so yup, I brought everything I own. It all miraculously fits in a U-Haul and a van.” Dahlia gave her a small smile. “Plus some stuff for you that I bought right before I left, bedroom furniture. Just the basics, but we can shop for anything else you want.”
Elodie's expression took on one of suspicion, but only for a moment. It was hard for her not to question someone's motives when they bought her things without her asking first. Bedroom furniture seemed weird. She had been sleeping on a sofa pullout bed since she moved to Point Pleasant. And then Jasper's bed, when she crashed there. She hadn't had a real bed of her own since she lived in New York. "Why do you relocate so much? Just because you want to?" Maybe Dahlia was something of a nomad, which would be kind of cool, actually. Elodie was pretty sure she didn't want to stay in Point Pleasant her whole life and it had been kind of fun being able to do and go wherever she wanted for the past few weeks. Imagine doing that all over the country.
She was fairly sure there were some laws about providing a minor a bed at the very least, but Dahlia hadn’t looked into it very deeply. She just knew that Elodie deserved her own bed, so she’d gotten a simple frame and a full-sized mattress and box spring and some sheets, along with a wooden dresser and a nightstand she’d found on Craigslist for not much. She’d almost painted some flowers on the dresser while it was sitting in her living room among all the boxes, but she decided that was presumptuous. Maybe Elodie didn’t like flowers. Just the basics, like she’d said. Dahlia gave a slow nod at her questions, looking thoughtful for a moment. “I’ve had a lot of reasons over the years -- job opportunities elsewhere, the end of bad relationships, just because somewhere else sounded better ... but that sums it up well enough, I guess. Because I want to.” She smiled a bit. “Different scenery with different people inspires me.”
"I like that," Elodie said finally. Wandering was so appealing to her, and apparently, it was to Dahlia too. So maybe that was something they had in common besides her dad. She fell quiet when the waitress came and they ordered their drinks and pizza. After they were alone again, Elodie leaned back against her seat. "Have you had a lot of bad relationships? I kind of remember my dad saying you were married before. Do you have any kids?" She knew she was being nosy, but she wanted to know. That way Dahlia would be more of a person to her instead of some woman sent to babysit Elodie for a few months... though she had already promised she wouldn't be babysitting that was still kind of what it felt like.
The approval meant more to Dahlia than she would’ve expected, and she smiled a bit wider before the waitress arrived. The follow up questions were less pleasant, but Dahlia had no urge to lie to Elodie or cover anything up about her life. Besides a few obvious things she was discreet about, Dahlia preferred to live with as much honesty as she could, and she wanted to treat Elodie like an adult wherever possible. “I have had quite a few bad relationships, yes,” she said. There was no shame in it, it was just a fact. “Two of them turned into bad marriages. Or they turned into marriages that turned bad, anyway. But no, no kids. I decided a long time ago that kids weren’t for me. I’m starting to think husbands aren’t for me either.” She gave a wry smile. “Am I allowed to ask you stuff back, or not yet?”
"Men are shit," Elodie said simply. "Most of them anyway." They were fun to have sex with and make uncomfortable, but that was pretty much it. Dahlia being married more than once wasn't terribly surprising to her. She sort of felt like her entire family was fucked up, even the ones who liked to pretend they had their shit together. Bad marriages probably just ran in the family like everything else. "If you want to ask me stuff, you can." Elodie smirked softly. "I've never been married, so there's one for you." There really wasn't much for Dahlia to know about her. Elodie's life had been wholly uneventful and boring, which was why Elodie had learned to make her own fun.
The first bit made Dahlia laugh shortly. Some might think Elodie was too young to have learned that kind of lesson, but with the way the world was, Dahlia wasn’t too surprised, just amused by the bluntness. She wasn’t wrong -- most men were shit, in some form or fashion. “Well that’s good to know, no crazy ex husbands coming around to break down the door,” she said with a smirk. “Since we’re talking about men, how about boyfriends? Any of those hanging around I should be aware of? Or, even more importantly, anyone you don’t want hanging around I should be aware of?” Dahlia wasn’t going to be babysitting Elodie, but she did feel responsible for her safety, and if there were abusers in her life, Dahlia wanted to know. She had a gun and wasn’t afraid to point it in the face of any unwelcome guests.
It was impossible not to look horrified. "Boyfriends? Fuck no. The guys in this town are hot, but just... not my type. And I don't think I'm their type either." She thought about Dahlia's other question, who Elodie didn't want hanging around and while Cam entered her mind, she hadn't seen him since coming home and she doubted he was the type to just show up. For all she knew he left town after graduation. "So no, you don't have to worry about anyone hanging around who shouldn't be. Not to sound too self-aware but I think I'm too weird for most of them. Or maybe too trashy? I don't know. I don't care." She shrugged and was happy to see their drinks being delivered. Elodie picked up her straw and began to peel off the wrapper. "I'll do the whole sock on the doorknob thing though if I ever have someone over. Isn't that what people did in college when you were younger?"
Dahlia was amused and a little proud of Elodie’s denial of having any boyfriends -- there was nothing better and more powerful than a young woman who knew her worth outside of a man and actually had standards she stuck to. “Maybe they’re all just too fucking boring for you,” she suggested. At least she wouldn’t have a teen on her hands who was juggling a dozen boyfriends at one time. Not that Dahlia would judge her for it, that sort of shit just caused the kind of drama that was exhausting. She laughed a little at Elodie’s question. “I only went to college for a couple of semesters, but ... yeah, that’s what I hear people do. We can put a red lamp in the front window or something, I won’t even come inside.” She unwrapped her own straw and stuck it into her drink, leaning in for a sip.
It was impossible not to laugh, so Elodie didn't bother trying to hold it in. Maybe the guys were too boring for her. She definitely preferred that thought over the possibility that it was her. "A red lamp in the window... that's sexy. Everyone will think we're running a two person brothel in the apartment. Then they'll think you're fucking the Sheriff so he'll turn a blind eye to all the illegal activity." Elodie took a quick sip of her own drink, hoping the pizza came soon because she was suddenly starving. "Anyway, yeah, all that sounds good. But, no boyfriends. No girlfriends. I didn't graduate either so I might try and like, do that this summer. Or just try to get my GED so I can get a job. Other than that, I don't really have anything exciting to tell you about."
The first part made Dahlia laugh too, and she gave her shoulders a little wiggle. “I always wanted to be a madam,” she said, amused at how spaghetti-western it all sounded. She was absolutely joking, of course, there would be no prostitution in their apartment, but damn it would be nice to have an excuse to wear a corset. Plus it was good to get a rapport going with Elodie, some shared sense of humor to bond them a bit. “That sounds like a good plan,” she said with a nod. “Have you talked to the school yet, tried to work anything out with them? Let me know if you need me to like ... come sign papers as your guardian or anything.” Dahlia didn’t want to try to step in and do that stuff for her, only if she needed the help. She wanted to ask about the vague things she’d heard about Elodie being missing, Dahlia still wasn’t sure what that was about, but it seemed too soon for that.
Elodie didn't really want to whore herself out for money but she was willing to bet she'd make a lot if she did. It wasn't really on her agenda at the moment though and she sipped more of her drink while shrugging one shoulder. "I've talked to Ms. Harris about it. Charlie. She said she'd help with it. Since I didn't finish I could take my GED, or do like, summer school crap. That doesn't sound appealing to me at all. I only missed the last quarter, so..." The last thing she wanted to do was go to school after having this much freedom. "I'll figure it out. If I need your signature for anything, I'll tell you. Are you going to get a job while you're here? Or are you like, loaded with money already."
Dahlia nodded her head from side to side a bit. She thought that having the real high school diploma was more useful than a GED, and since Elodie had only missed part of the year, she could have it done in a matter of weeks ... but she wasn’t going to give her opinion on that unless asked. She truly wasn’t there to start bossing Elodie around, it was her life. And Charlie was a teacher and seemed to have her shit together, so at least someone responsible was advising her. The last question made her chuckle. “I’m definitely not loaded,” she said. “But I already have a job, more or less. I sell my art, it pays the bills plus a little extra, so ...” She shrugged. “No punching a clock type job. But I try to stay busy, so I won’t be at the apartment all the time. We’ll look into getting you a car soon, too.”
Elodie barked out a laugh and shook her head. "A car? Seriously?" It was really hard not to be suspicious now. A bed and all that was one thing, but a car? What did Dahlia want in return? Or maybe she was just pretending to be cool until Elodie trusted her or something. Messing with her straw in her glass, Elodie eyed her, a grin still playing on her lips. "This town is pretty small... I can walk pretty much anywhere. Cars are like... expensive. I don't even have my license." That much was true anyway. She'd never gotten her license because she'd never had a car, or needed to drive anywhere.
The incredulous tone in Elodie’s first questions made Dahlia raise her eyebrows. What seventeen year old didn’t want their own car? The rest of it surprised her even more, and it showed. “You don’t have your license? We’ll have to fix that at least, even if you don’t want a car,” she said, gesturing with her drink before she took another sip from it. “And I wasn’t thinking like, a Corvette or anything, something used and sensible ... you can find almost anything on Craigslist. Just something to get around in. When I was your age I was dying for the freedom of driving, don’t you want to get out of this town sometimes? Anyway, think about it. We’ve got time.” Dahlia glanced up as the waitress approached with their pizza, sitting back a bit.
"I think used fits my personality a lot more than sensible does," Elodie quipped. She reached immediately for a slice of pizza to put onto the plate the waitress had set down. The cheese was gooey and hot so Elodie picked at it, pulling some off of the pizza to eat. "And yeah, I want to get out of here like all the time. It's just that sometimes it feels like I can't. If you want to get me a car that's fine, I mean, I'll use it. I just don't want you to feel like you've got to do everything for me. I can get a job and do stuff for myself too. You're only here for a couple of months, right? Unless you and the Sheriff screw so much you end up falling in love. My dad would shit himself if he ended up with a cop for a brother in law."
The last part made her laugh again, and Dahlia rolled her eyes a bit. “It would serve him right,” she murmured. Elodie had some valid reasons to be a cynical teenager, but it was still kind of predictable and funny. “I don't feel like I’ve got to do everything for you, don’t worry,” she said, pulling a pizza slice of her own to her plate. “I can help you get some wheels, which will help you get a job, which will help you find your way out of here and off into your own life, however you want it to look. All that’s up to you. I had a lot of help at eighteen too, so I’m just ... paying it forward, I guess. I’m probably here longer than a couple of months, depends on how I feel about the place. So don’t feel like you’re on a timer or anything with me. If this works out and we don’t want to kill each other after a few weeks, you’ve got a roof with me for as long as you need it.” She picked up her pizza to have a bit, then winced and sucked in some air to cool it.
Paying it forward was just an odd concept to Elodie. She was used to doing things on her own, taking what she needed or wanted. It was survival, and all that. She knew on some level her parents loved her, but they rarely did anything to help her. "Okay," Elodie said finally, because she didn't really know what she was supposed to say. She still wondered what Dahlia was getting out of the whole thing but Elodie supposed she would find out eventually. "If you want weed or anything, I can help you with that." At least she wouldn't be totally useless then.
Dahlia could sense the wariness and confusion in her niece, and while she understood some of where it came from, it still made her a bit sad. She kept that under wraps though, giving a little grin at the offer of weed. “I’ll keep that in mind, thanks,” she said. She didn’t want to come off as trying too hard to be cool ... she was just genuinely laid back about a lot of things. Dahlia had seen and felt plenty of people at their absolute worst, Elodie smoking weed and being sexually active didn’t seem like a big deal in comparison. Dahlia had been doing the same at her age. She ate a bit more, then glanced up at Elodie again. “So what do you do for fun?” she asked. “We’ve established that the boys here suck, and it’s a boring tiny town ...”
Elodie took her time chewing her piece of pizza, not entirely sure what Dahlia was looking for. What did she do for fun? Did she even have fun? Dahlia probably wanted to know about local hotspots or something. After wiping her mouth with her napkin, Elodie took a sip of her drink before answering. "People have a lot of parties here," she explained. "So if I feel like it, I'll go to those." She trailed off, her brows furrowing together thoughtfully. "I don't know... it feels like I haven't really done anything in a long time. I mean, nothing you would consider fun for someone my age, I guess." Elodie found it odd, she had nearly forgotten where she had been for the past few months. Almost like her brain had pushed it into some deep, dark closet to forget about. "This dude drove me home the other night. I got him to tell me some of his secrets. I guess that was fun."
She had been something of an introverted teenager herself, so Dahlia had been thinking more along the lines of hobbies, favorite TV shows, that kind of thing. Parties and harassing men were something though, she supposed. “I mean, whatever’s fun for you is your fun, doesn’t matter what I consider,” she said with a faint chuckle. There was something about what Elodie was feeling that was off kilter, but she couldn’t quite figure it out. “What were his secrets? You must be a good talker to do that. Are you into anything? Music, art, movies ...? Making videos for some social media app I’m too old to know about?” Dahlia gave her a little half-smile.
"I should probably keep his secrets secret," Elodie said before taking another bite of pizza. She didn't know why Kane told her what he did and she didn't really care. It had been different and unexpected and that made living in Point Pleasant a bit more tolerable. She liked the weirdos in this place. Dahlia wanting to know what she was into felt odd in a way that made her a little uncomfortable. Maybe Elodie just wasn't used to adults asking her about herself. Her parents had generally just let Elodie do her own thing once she got to the age where she could bathe and feed herself. "I don't really use that stuff," Elodie said finally. "Like, Snapchat and shit like that. I like horror movies and obviously I like music, because who doesn't like music? What do you listen to?" Elodie asked, mostly because she wanted to stop talking about herself.
Dahlia could sense that confused discomfort and that it came from a long history of neglect, and her heart gave that empathy squeeze again. She had gotten lucky to have an excellent mother, as opposed to the deadbeat father she and Jack shared. It didn’t seem that Elodie had gotten that same privilege. It made Dahlia want to hug her tight and pet her and promise that she was there now, she would be a trustworthy, reliable adult in her life, even though Elodie was almost an adult herself. She would still need guidance, and Dahlia wanted to be there for her. Actually saying all that would just make Elodie pull back further though, and Dahlia knew it. She couldn’t force that trust, she just had to prove herself with time. “I have such a wide taste, it’s almost hard to say,” she said with a faint chuckle before she sipped from her straw again. “It’s all about mood. I like some hard rock, some classical, some old 70s stuff, electronica, funk and soul, R&B ... some I can’t even really put into a genre. We’ll have to trade some recommendations sometime. And with horror movies, I’m a horror fiend.” Maybe eventually they could have a regular movie night or something. Her brows lifted with a bit of enthusiasm. “Have you seen Hereditary yet?”
Elodie tended to like various genres of music too except for country and bubblegum pop. She grew up listening to her brother's taste, mostly alt-rock, so it tended to be her favorite because it reminded her of him. It made her wonder now where he was and if he knew she was here, or that she had even gone missing. He had to know their grandma was dead, at least. Right? Elodie picked a bit at the pizza crust but her lips twitched a bit, feeling mildly appreciative that Dahlia was trying so hard to connect, even if it was still odd. "I haven't seen that one yet, no. It's been a few months since I've seen any kind of movie. It's also hard for me to like, find people here to watch that shit since they think this whole town is its own horror show. If you like those kind of movies though, that's cool because you know... that'll give us something to do."
“Yeah,” Dahlia agreed with a warm smile. “I’ll try to get my hands on it somewhere, I don’t think it’s streaming yet. It’s pretty intense.” There was that mention of a months’ long gap in Elodie’s life again. Gods, she was dying to ask what happened, but Dahlia held back. She needed to give the girl some time, some room to breathe and get comfortable with her first, they were practically strangers. “Anytime you want to have a movie night, you just say the word, I am always down to stuff my face with popcorn and watch something fucked up.” Dahlia paused to take another bite of pizza and chew it, already thinking they were going to need a to-go box for the rest of it. She was also thinking she ought to maybe ease off on the questions and just be for a while.
Elodie chuckled softly before downing the rest of her drink. She did enjoy fucked up things so maybe Dahlia wouldn't be so bad to live with. Unless she was just pretending for Elodie's sake, but Elodie wasn't getting the impression that the woman was phony. When she finished, Elodie settled back against her seat. "I know this is going to sound... ominous, or whatever... but this town is fucked up. There's a lot of people who live here who are fucked up too. I mean, it looks normal and boring, and sometimes it is. But really, it's super fucked up, so... just be aware of that when you're like... out alone and stuff." She probably sounded paranoid or overly dramatic, but Elodie decided that she maybe liked Dahlia and if the woman was really going to help her out somehow, then Elodie didn't want her to die, or go missing or anything like that.
Dahlia wiped her hands off on one of the paper napkins, her brows slowly lifting at that definitely-ominous-but-very-vague warning. “Fucked up how?” she asked. She wasn’t sure if she was dealing with teenage naivete about how shitty small-town people could be -- people in general, really -- or something else. “Is it a big meth town or something?” She finished her own drink and tore a small piece of pizza crust off to pop into her mouth. If this was one of those places plagued by drugs, she felt bad for Sheriff Grady McHottie, that was for sure. The police force here had to be small, he probably had a lot on his plate.
She snorted before she could help it. Meth was nothing compared to what Elodie had seen so far. "Not meth," Elodie said. "It's not drugs. It's..." Scrunching up her nose thoughtfully, Elodie tried to think of the best way to put it that wouldn't convince Dahlia to try and get her committed somewhere. Ah, what the hell. "It's not normal. Like, reality normal. Things that you wouldn't think could happen, happen. Horror movies? Totally real here." Elodie tugged a piece of crust off of the pizza and popped it into her mouth. "Ask the Sheriff. He's always coming up with lies to cover things up because no one would believe the truth, or because they would believe it and everyone would like, panic."
If she hadn’t been an empath, Dahlia might have thought that Elodie was fucking with her. Possibly to make Dahlia look dumb or crazy to Grady, since she brought him up again. But Dahlia didn’t sense any deception in her. She was being completely sincere, and seemed to even have a touch of worry of her own about how Dahlia would perceive it. She knew that psychics were real, obviously, since she was one, but Dahlia hadn’t had any experiences with anything ‘not normal’ beyond that. Her expression was cautiously skeptical as she chewed on everything Elodie said. It really begged so many more questions, but not any she was very prepared to ask yet. “Okay,” she said slowly. “Duly noted, and I ... suddenly have a million questions, but let’s wait on those for now.” Maybe she would ask Grady first, see how he felt about it, how much he tried to lie to her. Dahlia nodded to the pizza. “You done? Let’s get a box for the rest.”
Elodie nodded. "I'm done." It was definitely possible Dahlia would be inquiring into therapists or psychiatric hospitals to send her niece, but Elodie wasn't too worried about it now. She could handle shit like that easy. "For the record, you might have a million questions but that doesn't mean I have a million answers. I've been here a while but nowhere near as long as most people who live here." So if Dahlia really wanted to know shit, she could ask around. Elodie had her own experiences but she still wasn't sure if she wanted to tell Dahlia. Which was weird because she would have told serial killer ride share guy. Probably because she wouldn't really care what he thought. "I'm going to go to the bathroom if you want to get a box and stuff."
It was mostly Elodie’s own experiences that Dahlia had questions about, which seemed even more intriguing now. But she thought it was the right call to wait. They would have plenty of time to talk later on. Maybe when Dahlia had a better idea of what she meant about the town, if she could get the truth out of someone else first. She gave Elodie a smile and a nod for the moment, moving to get up herself. “Okay, meet you back at the van.” There was still some work to be done at the apartment to make it comfortable enough for them for the night, and she was ready to get it done so they could both rest. Plus she needed to call Grady to make sure he was even available the next day to help, before it got too late in the evening. Dahlia got a box for their leftovers, paid the bill, and went to wait for Elodie in the van.
Elodie didn't really need to use the bathroom, but she did need a few minutes to herself. She needed to decide what to do. The urge was incredibly strong to sneak out and run. Being on her own was fun and unpredictable. And maybe... maybe she was slightly afraid that what she did to her grandma would come back and she would do it to Dahlia. It wasn't like she knew the woman terribly well or felt any real emotional attachment, but still. On the other hand, she had someone willing to spend money on her, even for a car. And Dahlia didn't seem overbearing and she definitely didn't give off any bitchy vibes. Though Elodie wouldn't have minded it if she did. Finally, after thinking about it for probably far too long, Elodie left the bathroom and headed outside to the van where she climbed into her seat. "Okay," she said, like she was making up her mind. "Let's go."