To Breathe No More; Alice

[drake andrew sailers]

Now...
LOVE

is just another word I'll never learn to pronounce
---------------------------

It was 2 AM when the apartment door creaked opened. The light from the hall darkened his silhouette, powerful shoulders and spiky hair, before he vanished into the blackness with the closing of the door. The sound of keys dropped on the table, followed by the subtle whoosh of his shirt as it was pulled off and tossed into the laundry. Drake wasn't home much these days. Not since Alice and Noah came, saw and utterly took over. Well...who was he kidding. Drake all but swung Alice's sword for her. Stupid bitch and her stupid brat. The two of them had slipped his mind for the moment though. Drake was coming down off a dope high and not in the best of moods. Even now, he was craving it again.

"The hell is wrong with me..." Muttering absentmindedly, he collapsed into the love seat, elbow on the arm rest and face in his hand. He felt...nothing. But it was almost alright. If he felt something like he did before the results would be nothing short of anguish, the cold, black hands of failure and regret constricting around his heart and pulling it downward. That sinking sensation again that never went away... The guilt and the shame. Though...perhaps that's precisely what he needed, to simply be pushed over the edge. "But you won't because you're a pussy." His own voice echoed in a distant chamber of his mind. No...not his own. Not his voice anymore. Drake liked the numbness because it kept the nearest pistol inches out of reach of his desperate hands, despite the fact he knew that he, and the rest of the world for that matter, were better off with him dead. But if he didn't care, like this, he didn't care. He just existed.

He opened his eyes, striking blue irises encompassed by the redness from the drug abuse, to stare off at the cabinet above the bedroom door. The new location of his 45 ACP. He'd moved it there when the duo settled in, fearing the plundering brat might find it in its previous location and splatter his brains across the wall.

The knob was a siren, singing to him, seducing him, beckoning like the delicate, deleterious finger of a succubus. She had no flaws...lurid perfection in a sense that drew one down a tunnel of desire like an unquestioning sheep. To the slaughter? No...no it was justice.

The criminal tore his gaze away, fixing it instead out the window. The city was beautiful at night. Snow flurries drifted, lights of all colors speckled the dark outlines of skyscrapers and buildings; it wasn't beautiful to him. The anemic light glistened on his hair, however dull it may've been, and over the chiseled musculature of his chest. Drake had the constitution reminiscent of a wolf. Starved, wild even, but generously muscled. He sighed and got to his feet, limping toward the bedroom but not for the gun. Drake wanted to sleep until the day of his fucking death.

Still not really thinking about Alice or Noah, or the fact that she'd probably taken over his bedroom in the two weeks that he'd been gone, he reached for the handle and pushed the door open.

How do I say I'm sorry cause the word is never gonna' come out

[ruby]

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LITTLE DARLING, THE SMILES RETURNING TO THE FACES
little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
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It had been a long day today. alice had woke up bright and early to go job hunting and she has yet to find a job. it didn't help that she was so shy and stuttered after every other word, but no one would tell her why she wasn't getting hired. perhaps she was searching for the wrong kind of jobs. if only someone would hire a chef, then perhaps she would actually have a better chance at getting a job. she was a great cook. it was probably the only thing she had going for her. that was practically the only thing michael appreciated from her. or rather, his business friends anyways. she wasn't sure if michael appreciated anything she did. all he ever does is put her down. everything she loved doing, he would tell her she was bad at it. not once has she ever heard a compliment escape his lips. at least not any compliments about her. however, michael had been great to her in high school. she had loved him with her heart and he had treated her right. he whispered sweet nothings in her ears and showed off to the entire school just how great she was.

But then after they got married, michael was an entirely different person. he was angry all the time. nothing ever pleased him anymore. she was never allowed out of the house, and he kept telling her that he was only teaching her how to be a good wife. "it's for your own good, ali. i just want to be proud of you." he'd say when she cried after he had beaten her. she hadn't know what to think of it. if she disagreed with what he had said, she knew she would be in trouble, and so she just agreed and nodded. she listened like a good wife should, and kept her mouth shut unless he asked for an answer. however, she did receive very few criticism from michael when it came to the thing she cooked. except for the few times where he requested something impossible to make, and alice had accidentally burnt it. she had promised michael it would never happen again, but no one was perfect, and the other few times that she did burn his meal, she would be beaten up to a point where she had to go to the hospital.

It seemed like no one was hiring these days, so by lunch time, ali had given up for the day and went home to check on noah. she felt bad that she was staying at drake's apartment and not helping with the rent. he was so adamant with not accepting her help. and she had no idea why he had been so nice to her. she was just some stranger, but drake had been there that night. and if it weren't for him, well... she wasn't sure what would have happened to her. nor did she want to think about it. those drunken men.... they reminded her too much of michael and she had been scared off her butt. drake had came here to save the day, and if that wasn't heroic enough, he had offered her and noah to stay when she told him about her situation. and all she could do was help him clean around the place and cook some meals. although, she had rarely seen him around here. perhaps a glimpse or two, but that was about it.

Maybe it was a bad idea for her to move into drake's bedroom. believe her, she's considered this idea many times, day and night, but drake was never home, and there was an empty bed. she had barely been able to catch a wink of sleep since she has gotten here in paris. she was still afraid that michael would find her. he'd kill her. he'd drag her back home and he'd skin her alive. he'd take noah away from her. and she couldn't possibly let that happen. her son was too important. the thought of losing him scared her out of her mind. but she was tired and she was still nursing some bruised ribs, and all she wanted to do was sleep. she figured she would just sleep on drake's bed for a few hours. that was all she needed. a few hours, and then she'll be out of his bed. she hadn't expected to fall asleep. so when the door to drake's room opened, she had jolted awake, and sat up in less than two seconds out of habit, afraid that it was michael. her eyes were wide with fear and surprise as it landed on the dark figure at the door. "drake! o-oh gosh... i... i'm so sorry! i didn't.... i didn't mean to!" she exclaimed, scrambling out of bed, avoiding his eyes, shivering in fear.

[/blockquote]

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LITTLE DARLING, I FEEL THAT ICE IS SLOWLY MELTING
little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
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tagged; drake andrew sailers
lyrics; here comes the sun by the beatles
listening to; lightweight by demi lovato
word count; eight eight one
outfit; here
credit; to brooke from caution

[drake andrew sailers]

Now...
LOVE

is just another word I'll never learn to pronounce
---------------------------

Surprise slipped over his features. But it was brief and faded into something liked tired annoyance. "No, no..." He muttered, rubbing his face, as though he were the one who'd just been woken up. "It's fine. I'll take the couch..." Screw his life.

Any other time, and had she been any other girl, coming home late to be surprised with a hot blond in his bed would've been awesome. And, no doubt (to him at least), Drake would've found a way to maneuver those panties over her toes. But heroine wasn't called a downer for no reason; Drake couldn't have been in a worse mood. He really just wanted to be alone. And that overly submissive behavior she always displayed didn't do it for him.

He was turning to leave when a sudden thump came near the front door. Drake paused halfheartedly, not sure he'd heard anything or if he even cared. But the streets taught one vigilance, and more than once it'd saved his life. A second thump, more subtle than the first, but more definet.

Drake's eyes swept up to the cabinet which held his gun. "Where's Noah?" Perhaps the kid was just sneaking out of bed to...do whatever 5 year olds did when they snuck out of bed. Certainly miss psychopath wasn't making good of her threat. Even if she was, they couldn't have possibly followed him here.

Could they?

How do I say I'm sorry cause the word is never gonna' come out

[ruby]

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LITTLE DARLING, THE SMILES RETURNING TO THE FACES
little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
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She knew how this would end. drake would get angry at her. he would yell at her for hours, throwing things at her. he'd slap her mouth every time she accidentally let out a squeak. he'd kick her, punch her, and drag her around. and then he would strip her until she was only in her bra and panties and throw her out the door to sleep on the steps for everyone to see just how much of a shameful girl she was. alice would have no way of predicting how many days he'd leave her out there. maybe she'll freeze to death. or starve to death. it seemed like she had forgotten that she wasn't with michael anymore. that michael was still on that business trip and wouldn't realize she was gone until a few days later. and she prayed for her dear life that he wouldn't find her. with no money, she isn't even able to file for a divorce. oh god, she'd be married to this awful man for the rest of her life. and there was no way out. he made sure of it. it was his plan. he would kill her if he realized that she had been sneaking some of his money for herself. of course, she had only taken what she needed to survive until she found herself a job. she'd paid him back.

And that's if he would even listen to reason in the first place. she wouldn't even be able to let out a sound before he hit her. he would be furious with her. hell, she'd be lucky if she got away with just torture. she could do with torture. she's already been through it for five years, but she couldn't deal with death. she couldn't possibly leave noah on his own- especially not with michael. she couldn't possibly stomach the thought of leaving noah with that man. it made her sick. tomorrow. first thing in the morning. she'll write a will. she didn't care if brenden didn't know. she trusted him with noah way more than she did with anyone else in the world. he was her best friend, and she loved him. to be honest, she still did, but it didn't matter anymore. it's been five years. she wouldn't be surprised if he, too, were married to someone else. still, she'd rather brenden take care of noah than to leave their child with foster care or michael. if anything were to happen to her.... she'd never forgive herself if noah ended up in the hands of the wrong person. he was too important to her, and if she could help it, michael would never get his hands on her son.

Alice rubbed her tired eyes, backing away from drake slowly, trying not to tremble in fear too much. she knew sleeping on the bed was a bad idea. she should have just stuck with the couch like most nights- even if she wasn't getting enough sleep. it wasn't right to sleep in someone else's bed- even if they're not home most of the time. it was wrong. very very wrong. just because no one sleeps on it most nights didn't give her the right to. he would have every right to be angry with her. to punish her like michael always did. her green eyes went wide when he offered to sleep on the couch. she shook her head as her blonde curls whipped against her face violently. "o-oh n-no.... that's.... that's quite alright. i-i can.... i can sleep on the couch. i'm so sorry..." she stammered, looking down at the ground as she spoke to him, not daring to look up at him. he could only be so nice to her so many times. she didn't want to take the risk and look at him, afraid that he'd punish her for it. she wouldn't dare take the risk. taking risks meant more punishments. just because she got away with a few things didn't mean she'd get away with this one too.

She turned her head towards the sound with a raised brow. she wasn't sure if she had heard it right. perhaps it was just a figment of her imagination. who could possibly be there? it was two in the morning. her heart rate shot up in panic when she realized it could be michael. oh god. he was here. he found out she left. and somehow, he found out she had followed drake home. oh god. she was going to die. and she'll be the reason for drake's death. and noah. oh god. noah. what was she going to do? michael was a furious man to begin with. if he found out she had been sleeping on the bed of another man, he'd never forgive her. it couldn't be him. he couldn't possibly know she left. but it had to be him. it's the only reasonable explanation. she was going to die today. but damn her soul, she was going to try to put up a fight. she would die trying to protect noah. she glanced at drake with a nervous and panicked look, "he's.... he's in the o-other room." she managed to get out, casting a long glance towards the room noah slept in as if she could see past the walls. her gaze immediately went back to the sound again. please don't let it be michael.

[/blockquote]

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LITTLE DARLING, I FEEL THAT ICE IS SLOWLY MELTING
little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

tagged; drake andrew sailers
lyrics; here comes the sun by the beatles
word count; nine oh two
outfit; here
credit; to brooke from caution