Rekindled (Emmi-Mae x Agnores)

[Emmi-Mae]

The roads were slick with both the fresh falling snow and the sludge the snow plows had created with their salt sprays likely hours before. Oraya carefully reached for the radio to turn down the volume of the Disney music she'd been forced to listen to for the past three hours. It was as though turning down the volume helped her see better... how strange that was. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened as her sage green eyes turned towards the GPS mounted on the dash, Three Minutes... Three more minutes but holy shit this final stretch had been terrible driving. "Momma?" The sweet little voice of the tired child in her car seat spoke from the back, Her leg still bouncing to the music even though it had be turned down. "Is Daddy going to remember me now that I've gotten so so big?" The worry in the five year old's voice was evident. Oraya glanced up at the rear view to see the sweet ringlets of blond curls bouncing upon the bright and cheerful face of her Daughter. "Evie my sweet thing, Your father would NEVER forget what you look like even if you were as large as a giraffe" Oraya's soft voice murmured gently as she watched the wide grin form on her daughter's lips before her soft giggle filled the room. "Ive never seen this much snow, Momma. Are we gonna turn to popcicles?" The child asked, Earning another giggle from Oraya as she began to speak. "I Don't know, Maybe we'll ask Elsa to protect us from the cold"

"In One Hundred Feet your destination will be on the right" The GPS spoke with its annoying monotone. Carefully Oraya prepared to turn, easing the car into the snow filled driveway, carefully ensuring that she didn't fishtail on her way in and Ruin her ex-husband's car. It had been almost a year since she'd seen him. Of course she wouldn't have made the journey alone with just Evie had her current Husband, Jason not been such a prick about the whole situation. "You can either stay here or you can go bring the brat to her dads without me...I'm not going anywhere near the asshole" Jason had grumbled the night before during their argument. "Look baby, We're here" Oraya said cheerfully, putting the car in park and turning off the ignition she watched as Evie excitedly unlocked her carseat. "Im gonna Scare him!" Evie said as she dropped down to the floor of the Van and crawled behind the front seat. "Oh okay.. I'll pretend I lost you half way" Oraya played along as she inhaled slowly, checking her reflection in the mirrior carefully. Trying to make sure that, A) her ginger locks hadn't been tussled to much during the drive... not that it mattered Liam had been there while she was heavily pregnant and highly unattractive... they were beyond the point of looking good so she wasn't entirely sure WHY she cared... and B) she wanted to make sure the foundation she'd applied to the right side of her face covered the scar she'd tried so desperately to conceal for the past year. It wasn't the only one but it was the most noticable. Running from just below her right eyebrow across her cheek bone and stopping at the corner of her nose had been once slash she'd gotten in an argument with Jason on her birthday a year ago. She was lucky she hadn't lost her eye. 'If you didn't make me angry you wouldn't have gotten hurt' Jason had said.

Once she was certain that she looked decent and the scar was covered she opened the car door and tapped her chin in thought. Knowing that Liam was by the front door. "Its so odd... I swore I had her back at that rest stop an hour ago..." She sighed as she glanced towards the front door through the large flakes of snow falling from the sky, Giving her ex a look that said. 'She's in there and wants to scare you... play along' She moved over towards the other side of the car to open the back door to grab hers and Evie's suitcases. "She's not back here... maybe she crawled into her suitcase." Oraya wondered, Smirking slightly at Evie's mischievious giggles that were not very sneaky nor stealthy

 

[Agnores]

Liam was, to be frank, a mess. His kitchen was a mess. His living room was a mess. Hell, he remembered how irritated Oraya would get with him for leaving his dirty clothes on the bathroom floor...and now that he had a house to himself, they were everywhere. His chronic procrastination was at it again, and Liam was stressed. He worriedly ran his fingers through his long brown hair, then sighed as he shut off the oven and stove. It was done, but not plated. He could plate it real quick, but it probably wouldn't hurt to let it cool. After all, he should probably get his clothes picked up before Oraya - his thoughts froze as the sound of the snow and ice in his drive way crunching under tires filled the silence.

"Fuck."

Liam dashed, grabbing his phone and quickly trying to pull up his doorbell camera app and gather the clothes from his quaint little living room. He could quickly through them in his bedroom, let her in, then jump back into the kitchen to finish plating. A sneaky bathroom break later, boom, no clothes. Thankfully, Liam noticed, she was taking her time getting out of the car. He quickly swept around the living room, picking up all his stray bits of clothing that he had left about. Why did he wear so many socks? Why was there underwear here, what the hell had he been doing? Probably best he forgot. He heard the car door open, and he sped up. More socks? He was swearing off socks after this.

His living room was small and practically furnished. He had a couch and a loveseat in an L pattern that dominated most of the space, with a coffee table between them and the TV, of course fully equipped with all the latest game systems. Currently he had his Netflix up, streaming some show he had put on just for the noise. A new addition to his living room however was the small Christmas tree, under which rested presents for his daughter Evie, and even a couple for Oraya. He had wrestled with himself on whether he would get her anything, but finally decided just to do it. Why not? What was the worst that could happen.

How little did he know that Christmas tree would spell his doom. He heard her voice coming from his camera app, and something in his brain clicked. It sounded heavenly, just as he remembered it. His mind raced with how sweet and...sad?...she sounded. They had been together for quite some time, he thought himself quite knowledgeable on how to read her emotions. But they had also been split up for quite some time...how much had she changed? And what did she say about not knowing where Evie was?

He gathered the last sock and sent to turn, just and run for goal with all his clothes, when his foot caught the power cord that ran through the middle of his living room to give the tree its lights. With a small yell, Liam tripped, face planting on his floor, scattering the clothes he had so quickly gathered all around him. Before Liam could react to his fall, he heard another clatter behind him - rustling pines and glass ornaments falling to the ground. Yup, the tree had fallen over too. And as if to add insult to injury, as Liam slowly opened his eyes to assess the damage, he came face to face with yet another sock that he had missed earlier because it had been hidden under the couch.

"...fuck."

 

[Emmi-Mae]

Oraya's eyes glanced towards the window as she saw through the icy haze the beautiful christmas tree on display, A soft smile lifting her lips at the thought of Liam taking the time to decorate the tree, She knew he'd done it soley for their daughter. Christmas was tomorrow and She was originally only planning on having to stay at Liam's house for a few hours before taking the drive back home, Jason likely wouldn't be happy with her if she delayed her return home. They usually took turns every other year for who got Evie for each holiday but Jason had urged her three years ago to fight for custody, further pushing the tension between her and Liam. He was truly a good father and did everything he could to make sure raising their daughter was not stressful. However Jason had a way with putting thoughts into Oraya's mind.

She'd already moved passed the window with Evie's suitcase in hand as well as her purse when she heard the rather loud thump, crash and curse. It was the flickering of the christmas lights from the window she'd passed that drew her attention first. Carefully she opened the front door and peered inside. Her face pressed into the crack as she looked at the familiar form of her ex-husband laying on the floor with both ornaments and clothing thrown about. The look of genuine concern crossed her soft features as she glanced back towards the van, which was already getting a soft thin coat of snow on the roof and hood. "Are you alright?" She asked him as she moved inside and set the suitcase down, She'd offer help with the tree and the clothes without even giving him a chance to protest. "Evie's in the Van, She's in a jumpscare phase but hides in plain sight" She said as she fixed the tree, looking at the extension cord that went across the carpet with worry, Evie was an accident prone child who enjoyed running full speed into walls this cord would trip all of them all night. She tucked a strand of her ginger locks behind one ear and looked up at him when there was an awkward pause of silence and neither of them spoke. "U-uhm... Merry Christmas, By the way..." She stuttered as she toyed with one of the old ornaments in her hand, When she glanced down she noticed it was the 'baby's first christmas' ornament they'd gotten when Evie was born... It had also been the year She'd found out about Liam Cheating on her with her best friend Rebecca.

Eager to take her mind off the thought she looked back at him. "Why don't you go get Evie from the van, I'll clean up for you" She said with a soft smile on her lips, her Bottom lip far more pouty than the top naturally. Once Liam was gone she turned to all the scattered clothes with a sigh, She wasn't annoyed by the mess she felt the nestalgia coming back as she began to pick up each item of clothing, moving to toss them into the washing machine as she went.

Evie hunkered down between the front and middle row of seats waiting, The five year old could barely contain her excitement as she heard the front door open and close once more and she listened to the crunch of snow of footfalls get closer... She didnt care who it was that was coming to open the door even if it was momma she waited to hear the click of the sliding doors and then her trap was sprung as she jumped to her feet with her arms raised like she was trying to be a bear. "RAWR!!!" The blond child roared out before breaking out into deep belly giggles at the reaction to her chaos.