𝙎𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙏 𝙎𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙏 𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀, 𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩

𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯

( tw : mention of eating disorders and hint at abusive relationships )

before tammy could react, rose walks into the kitchen, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "good morning you two," she says. her irish voice is raspy with sleep. she sees the fork with a melon chunk on it. you smile at her and pop it in your mouth. she grins back before leaning against the counter, sipping on the steaming coffee.

"good morning, rose." tammy says, the corners of her lips raised to a small grin.

both of the women exchange glances before rose clears her throat. "so, i trust everything is okay?" she questions with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"we handled it," tammy quickly responds before lou and debbie make their way into the kitchen.

debbie smiles at you, pouring a cup of coffee for herself and lou. "good morning, kiddo. did you sleep alright?"

you nod your head with a smile. "i did."

"i'm glad," debbie responds, handing the cup of coffee to lou. "so, i was thinking maybe today we could go shopping for some decorations for your room? i know you brought some stuff over, but i was thinking you might want something new for your new room?"

"really?" you ask, your voice laced with excitement. 

"really." debbie confirms, her chocolate brown eyes locking in with yours. 

you wanted to protest but tammy places a comforting hand on your back. it felt like she could sense your hesitation or rather your guilt. you just got here and debbie is spending so much money on you. "it'll be fun, honey!" she reassures with a wide smile, her hand gently rubbing your back.

"alright then," you say, eating the last piece of melon from the bowl. 

you decided on a brown turtleneck sweater with plaid green pants as your outfit. you brushed through your wavy hair, deciding to leave it as it was. you put on simple natural makeup to tie the whole look together. debbie's black car ran smoothly through the busy streets. the radio is playing holy moly & the crackers, but the volume is rather low, so it's more like background music. you both sit in comfortable silence as debbie hums along to the song. you turn to look at her with a small smile and wide eyes. "you like cold comfort lane?" you inquire, slightly shocked.

"well duh," debbie says, turning up the radio. 

drag me down cold comfort lane. baby, when it's over we'll start it again. dare to square up for the last 'bout. bear your chest and dance your heart out.

you sing along with the chorus earning a smile from debbie, who joins in with your singing. when the song is over, she turns down the volume a little bit, so she could talk to you. "you got some good music taste, kiddo."

you smile back at your aunt, who is beginning to grow on you. "same for you." 

'you know i'm no good' subtly plays in the silence of the car. "so, what do you think about the group so far?" debbie asks, breaking the silence.

"i like them," you honestly respond. "i thought it was going to be difficult connecting with them, but you were completely right about them."

debbie's heart fluttered a little bit with your openness. but also with a huge rush of relief. she was nervous that you weren't going to be able to establish a relationship with them. but, you exceeded her expectations by a landslide. "i'm so happy to hear that!" she exclaims. 

"i really like lou too," you say, absentmindedly. "i mean, i think she's a really good fit for you."

debbie's eyes softened as she smiles to herself. "i think so too, kiddo." she turns on her blinker and pulls into a concrete parking structure. she parks her car on the ground floor and locks her car once you both got out. there was a little map of the shopping center you were at, which caught your wandering eyes. you walk over to it, observing all the listed shops. at the top of the map read 'green haven shopping mall.' they all seemed like small locally-owned businesses and companies, which you never heard of. "you ready?" debbie asks from behind you. you turn around nodding your head, as debbie leads you out of the parking lot into the entrance of the outdoor shopping center. a small grey fountain was in the center of all the shops, and a light water stream gently came from the top. multiple green bushes and trees lined the pathway, along with large vines that covered most of the stores. large bulbed lights hung from the multiple streetlights lining the bushes.

"wow, this place is gorgeous," you say in awe as you look around.

debbie smiles to herself as she watches you. sometimes she forgets that you are related to her. how could someone as sweet and caring as you be related to her? along with that love comes the guilt of not being there for you sooner. she gets distracted in her thoughts before you pull her out of them.

"aunt debbie?"

debbie blinks a couple of times before meeting your eyes. you had stopped walking, looking intently at her, presumably waiting for an answer to a question. "hm?" she hums.

"i asked which way are we going," you repeat with a small giggle. "there is quite literally a 'fork in the road,'" you say biting your lip to contain a goofy smile.

debbie shakes her head gently with a small laugh, walking to the right. "you have a sense of humor like your father," she says with a light scoff. "which, trust me, isn't anything to be proud of."

you laugh before sticking your tongue out at debbie, who leads you into an adorable little shop. sun-catchers are hanging in the windows of the shop, creating rainbow prisms that bounce around the store. along with the sun-catchers, there are multiple crochet pillows and blankets stacked upon beige shelves, with beanbags lining in front of them. "woah," you breathe out. your fingers trace over the crystals of the sun-catchers. "these are beautiful."

"do you want one?" debbie asks, walking behind you, also looking at the sun-catchers.

"can i?" you spin around, facing debbie with wide eyes. 

"of course, you may have anything you want."

you and debbie walk out of the shopping area of the center, with multiple bags in hand. you managed to find a large variety of cute items to decorate with. you'd never been shopping for things inside your room before. your room was decorated by your mother and you never had the heart to change anything in it. it wasn't decorated in a childish way, it was more sophisticated than that. you grew quite attached to the way it looked.

"you hungry, kiddo?" debbie asks. her black sunglasses shine in the bright sun.

"i could eat," you respond, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to your eating problems. if you were being truthful, having people who were aware of your struggles helped you feel more comfortable with eating and the idea of being completely yourself. especially since tammy had struggled with the same thing. and the way rose responded when you broke down in front of her gave you a better sense of security and safety. she didn't yell at you or verbally degrade you, which made you feel better about having such strong emotions.

debbie opens up a swinging glass door of a café, holding it open for you. you walk inside, thanking debbie as you do so. it smelt strongly of croissants and coffee as the hostess smiles at you and debbie. "hi, a table for just the two of you?"

"yes, please." debbie politely responds.

"okay, right this way," the hostess says, leading you to the table outside. she places the menus down on the back wooden table as she smiles once more. "your waitress will be with you shortly." and with that she leaves you and debbie sitting there, scanning over your menus.

"do you have eyes on them?"

"yup."

"good, we'll send victoria in very soon. we'll give her time to settle in."

"copy that, boss."

( a.n : sorry for the short chapter and the long break, my loves! this school year kicked my ass and i plan to write so much more this summer, with some more fics in the works. if you have any ideas for potential fics, please let me know! i hope you all are on the edge of your seat because i have some very big plans for this fic. i'm planning on updating this fic at least once a week. so, stay tuned and take care of yourself! you deserve it! )