Miller's Girl (2024)

location : redstone bar

time : evening

for : taylan ( @ofvolatile )

there were two things the town seemed to be in silent agreement on when it came to the yalçınkayas. one, their kid was bad news. two, they weren’t talking about the daughter or their 20(?) cousins. wherever taylan went, trouble seemed to follow and it didn't take kennedy much convincing from their parents to keep their distance from him. and yet, it always felt like like taylan was always lingering somewhere in the periphery of her upbringing—as selin’s problematic brother, santiago’s troublemaking friend, and a thorn on redcreek's side. but with the recent murder of one alaina price, taylan's return to town was beginning to feel less of a coincidence and more like an omen. was alaina's downfall the wrath of a boy who never quite grew out of his rage?

he was a recognizable figure, even from behind. a head of brown messy waves sitting on top of broad shoulders and an aura that just screamed for someone, anyone, to just give him a reason. against carefully developed instincts, she approaches. the stool beside him creeks against hardwood as she settles herself onto it, announcing her arrival to both taylan and the bartender. “tequila soda, please.” her gaze darts over to taylan, as if to size him up, before turning back to the bartender and tipping her head towards him. “—and whatever he‘ll have.”

YOU'RE  BIG.  LARGER  THAN  LIFE.  she’s  heard  that  before.  in  a  voice  that  sounded  like  rafaels,  but  wasn't his.  close—painfully  so—  but  not  quite  as  deep.  the  familiarity  is  bittersweet,  endearment  and  affliction  flickering  through  her  almost  as  quickly  as  the  lights  around  them.  kennedy  is  glad  his  back  is  to  hers  then,  grateful  for  the  bodies  he  has  to  navigate  through,  taking  advantage  of  those  extra  seconds  gained  to  compose  herself  before  they  reach  their  destination.  “used  to?”  an  eyebrow  quirks  at  that,  lips  parted  in  a  silent  scoff.  “don’t  give  up  on  me  yet!  i  still  have  time.”  that's  what  they  would  like  to  tell  themselves  anyways.  that  one’s  life  isn’t  over  if  they  don’t  achieve  all  their  goals  by  age thirty.  that  her  return  to  redcreek  didn’t  mean  she  failed.  it  was  only  temporary. 

now  settled  by  the  bar,  kennedy  is  suddenly  aware  of  how  much  they  have  had  to  drink.  the  room  was  still  swaying  even  though  they  no  longer  were.  they  blink,  slowly,  the  buzz  from  the  liquor  washing  over  them  like  a  blanket,  warm  and  heavy.  maybe  that’s  why  it’s  easy  to  make  promises  for  next  time.  to  get  caught  up  in  the  excitement  of  reconnecting  with  him.  as  if  she  hadn’t  spent  the  last  years  carefully  curating  a  distance  between  them.  “yeah?  are  you  saying  i  can  just  show  up  one  day  and  ask  for  that  dance?  i  know  where  you  work,  velazquez.”  she  flashes  him  a  pleased  grin  as  he  slides  the  drink  her  way,  quick  to  raise  the  glass  to  her  lips.  “it  suits  you,  by  the  way.  the  tattoo  shop.  you  always  were  the  creative  one.”

isn’t  that  right,  joaquin?

the  thought  arises,  a follow-up that feels as natural as breathing,  but  gets  lodged in  her  throat  when  she  turns  to  share  a  look  with…  NO  ONE.  picture  frames  of  tender  moments,  but  no  house  to  hold  them  anymore.  is  that  what  grief  is?  as  rafael  leans  into  her  initial  touch,  her  hand  flattens  against  his  skin,  the  pads  of  her  fingers  pressing  weakly,  as  if  to  check  if he’s  really  here.  she only catches the tail end of his question, gaze flickering to meet his once more.  “no.”  she  breathes  out,  a  subtle  rasp  in  her  voice,  that  knot  tightening  over  her  chords.  dark  hues  scan  his  face,  committing  every  feature  to  memory.  as  if  he  too  was  going  to  disappear  the  moment  she  let  go.  “you  look  beautiful.”   once  again  taking  his  lead,  dropping  by  her  guard  to  reveal  an  unexpected  moment  of  sincerity  in  the  least  ideal  setting.  only  this  time,  she  doesn’t  have  the  time  to  think twice before another slip—  “i  really  missed  you,  you  know  that?”  

at  that,  rafael  laughs  -  a  small  shake  of  his  head  all  that's  needed  for  a  few  stray  stands  to  fall  over  his  eyes.  eyelashes  blinking  through  them  to  watch  her,  "i'd  love  to  see  what  you'd  do  with  that  power,  kennedy  -  you're,  big.  larger  than  life."  it's  something  joaquin  would  say;  the  memories  barely  skim  the  surface  of  his  thoughts  -  he  strikes  a  rainboot  through  them,  sinks  them  further.  "used  to  think  you'd  -  conquer  the  whole  world."  it's  genuine,  too  genuine  for  the  club  -  for  the  crowd  around  them,  for  the  buzz  at  the  back  of  his  head,  warming  where  spine  meets  skull.  "yeah,"  he  agrees,  easily;  a  passing  laugh,  "but  it's  still  true,  either  way."

his  forearms  meet  the  edge  of  the  bar,  still  close  to  kennedy  -  still  allowing  space  between  them.  it's  the  most  they've  spoken  since  -  since  then.  for  once;  rafael  doesn't  want  to  think  about  it.  "you  know  where  to  find  me,  ken  -  door's  always  welcome  for  a  good  -  waltz."  beer  left  on  the  counter,  rafael's  turned  towards  them,  sliding  the  tequila  sunrise  her  way.  he's  always  one  to  lean  into  touch,  subconscious  as  their  finger  hooks  onto  him.  another  laugh  escapes  him,  so  easy.  "you're  the  first  one  to  get  it,  i  think  -  yeah,  the  tall  guy.  dunno...  felt  easy,  at  the  time.  now  i'm  feeling  a  bit  like  a  -  misplaced  film  bro.  do  the  wings  make  me  look  pretentious,  ken?  you  can  -  be  honest,  with  me.  can  handle  the  truth."

santiago's attempt at levity makes her scoff, and it's only because she got most of her bitching out already that it manages to add a hint of amusement in there. "you're so annoying." and right. when has santiago ever listened to kennedy? how many friends has she warned him against? how many parties did she try to dissuade him from going? how many family dinners did she suggest he attend? kennedy knows that santiago has always been the type to march at the beat of his own drum. maybe she wouldn't get so worked up about it... if it didn't sometimes feel so personal. "i'm glad you didn't get into any trouble." she huffs, "- and that you're okay." she makes her way over to the other side of the couch and settles themselves down there. "i wonder what the fight was about... do you think it was just some drunk dudes pounding their chest at each other?" men are so unserious.

⁑ ❝ okay, but— when have i ever listened ? ❞ santi asks, trying to shift the mood to something lighter. he wants to roll his eyes, but she does have medicine in hand & his head is starting to pound. the wound on the side of his cheek stings, but nothing too bad. santiago huffs and adjusts the frozen bag of peas on his head, holding out his free hand. ❝ i'm alright. at least i didn't get in the fight, right ? ❞

RYAN DESTINY as ALEXANDRA CRANE in STAR (2016-2019)

♰  ⋅  ⋆  ───  #𝑩𝑹𝑵𝑻𝑶𝑼𝑻 .  .  .   is a  dependent,  multimuse blog  for  REDCREEKFM  brought  to  life  by  aime,  twenty7,  she/her,  mst.

Ⅰ . . . 𝚃𝙷𝙴  𝚂𝙷𝙴𝙿𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙳  —  vikram  shah.   thirty5.   he/him. funeral  director.

ⅠⅠ . . . 𝚃𝙷𝙴  𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙳𝙸𝙶𝚈  —  kennedy  stuart.   twenty8. she/they.   journalist/author.

Ⅲ . . . 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙱𝚁𝙾𝙺𝙴𝙽 𝚁𝙴𝙲𝙾𝚁𝙳  —  joey harlow.   forty4. she/her.   owner of redstone bar.

vikram shah ​🇹​​🇭​​🇪​ ​🇵​​🇭​​🇦​​🇳​​🇹​​🇴​​🇲​ makes an appearance @ the warehouse, this halloween!

location : the register

time : early afternoon

for : ricardo( @inadeqcies)

in response to this

it was kennedy’s day off. they had plans to unwind. do some grocery shopping. take themselves out on a date to the movies like they had been meaning to. maybe even try not to think about the murder that had been weighing on their mind since halloween. the last thing on their todo list? a literal manhunt... yet there they were, storming into register, stomping past familiar cubicles and any coworkers that might still be lingering in the area. if anyone had said anything to her, kennedy couldn’t hear them over the blood roaring in her ears. “what—” the door slams behind them as they barge into his office. they knew ricardo was in there—could practically smell his cologne from the moment they walked into the building. intrusive. out of place. like the rest of his presence in redcreek. . “—in the ever-loving fuck—” a copy of the newspaper is slammed on top his desk, the sides wrinkled from where they had dug their nails into it, red ink scattered angrily across the print. almost like a bloodstain. “—were you thinking? quickly.”

vikram makes no move to interrupt her rambling about what she lost. instead, he nods now that he understands what's truly at stake.  “i see.” he can't relate to the attachment kirby holds for her candy but he can respect that it matters to her that the bucket be recovered and that's enough. her question earns a bashful head dip and a chuckle from him, clearly flattered that she got the reference he was going for. maybe his costume isn't all that bad. “depends - are you going to kill me if i bring you back to my place?” he replies back with a smile, half concealed by the mask. jennifer check and the phantom... now there's a crazy combo! “okay then. you think you hid them down here?" he pulls out his phone and activates the flashlight before lowering to his knee and bending down to check under the cars beside them. “nothing here... are you sure you left it on this side of the street?”

god  ,  every  single  part  of  her  wants  to  sing  out  “  the  phantom  of  the  opera  is  here  ”  at  this  exact  given  moment  .  gerard  butler  amiright  ?  she  peers  down  at  the  cape  that  is  swishing  behind  him  and  raises  an  eyebrow  .  “  it's  a  pumpkin  container  filled  with  candy  .  i  left  it  somewhere  out  here  but  i  cannot  fuckin'  remember  where  and  i  was  in  the  ‘burbs  so  most  of  those  are  full  sized  candy  bars  .  ”  she  shuts  up  for  a  moment  ,  recognizing  that  her  incessant  rambling  about  her  love  for  the  ’  good  ‘  halloween  candy  matters  very  little  to  other  people  ,  actually  .  “  are  you  gonna  put  me  in  a  boat  and  row  me  through  a  shockingly  expansive  sewer  system  ?  ”  she  couldn’t  help  herself  ,  she  had  to  get  one  good  one  in  .

"you know i was trying to flirt?" vikram is totally butchering this. it's painfully obvious he doesn't do this often. a mental note is made to run this scenario by his therapist next time he sees them. 'i approached this lady but she thought i was flirting and i was not, not flirting but she called me out and i made it awkward. so how do i do that better next time?' something like that. "to be fair... it was a good hiding place. i don't think anyone would have thought to look down there." he wipes whatever debris was left on his knee from bending down, a chuckle escaping them once more at kirby's words. to think that the phantom's sins could be washed away by finding someone their candy bucket is nothing short of amusing. "i'm glad i could help." he looks around, noticing they’ve wandered onto one of the less populated streets. "can i walk you home? or... back to the main road, maybe?"

was  her  flirting  off  ?  no  ,  she  was  good  at  this  ,  so  good  she  did  it  on  accident  sometimes  even  .  “  i  know  you  were  ,  i  was  trying  to  -  ah  ,  forget  about  it  .  ”  she  followed  him  ,  a  dumb  move  to  follow  a  masked  man  but  he  was  looking  for  her  pumpkin  and  that  made  him  a  halfway  decent  guy  in  her  book  .  “  oh  great  ,  holy  shit  ,  why  did  i  put  it  under  a  car  ?  ”  she  racks  her  brain  trying  to  make  sense  of  the  rationale  there  .  what  if  the  person  whose  car  it  was  decided  to  back  up  over  her  candy  or  just  drove  off  ?  was  she  as  smart  as  she  thought  she  was  ?  clearly  the  fuck  not  .  “  thank  you  so  much  ,  i  was  gonna  spend  the  whole  night  just  moping  around  my  apartment  ,  wishing  i  had  a  fuckin'  snickers  or  something  .  see  ,  the  phantom  was  the  good  guy  all  along  !  ”

soon as she unblocks me the wedding is back on