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Cara Forrester

0 · 1,054 views · located in New York, NY

a character in “The Lost and Found”, as played by LaurenAFI

Description

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Full Name:
Caraline Lauren Forrester

Preferred Name
Caraline, Cara

Age:
21

Birthday:
May 12th

Sexuality:
Heterosexual

Hometown:
Upper East Side, NY

Length of time on the street:
1 year

Role:
The Princess


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Disposition:
Aside from Nick and Brooklyn, Cara doesn't think that anyone else knows where she comes from. She doesn't want everyone to know that she's only living in the basement to prove her father wrong, and show him that she can survive on her own, because it's essentially making a joke out of the dire situation that they're all in. For her, being homeless will always be a temporary thing. She has too much of an ego right now to move back in with her father and stepmother, and if she uses his credit card to rent an apartment or a hotel room, it'll just prove that she isn't surviving on her own. Going as far as to live in a musty basement says a lot about how out of touch she is with being truly homeless and having no other options but to live there, but it also speaks to how she wants to be independent.

In a lot of ways, Cara is your stereotypical rich girl. She has always been ignorant to a lot of the problems that "real" people face, but coming onto the streets has certainly changed that for her. Only a little over a year ago, she was the girl snapping at waiter's for bringing out a slightly incorrect order at the upscale restaurant that she and her friends were dining at. She had to have the newest phone, the nicest shoes, and the most expensive bag. Material items made her feel good, and they still do, but she's not a snob or a bad person. Once she realized that the exclusive world she lived in was not the real world, she got a bit of a reality check. She's the type of girl who is willing to change and wants to be compassionate and down-to-earth, but takes a little longer getting there because a lot of the problems that she has are so different than those of the people she lives with. What might come off as her being arrogant or out of touch with reality is simply her not living in the same reality as the others. She really tries to understand where they're coming from and does have a lot of sympathy for them, but just as much as she wants to offer that support, she doesn't. It wouldn't mean anything for her to give her input when she doesn't fully understand their situation and her opinions don't hold any weight. Because of this, Cara tries to keep to herself. She definitely doesn't isolate herself and enjoys conversing with the others, but she doesn't throw herself onto people and doesn't come close to Holly's level of friendliness. Her main goal in the basement is to not step on any toes. She's happy to make friends and be friendly to everyone else, but she doesn't go overboard with it. By the others, she would probably be described as being positive and easy to talk to, but not overbearing or extremely friendly.

Likes:
Birthdays, vanilla scented things, iced coffee, lemonade, babies, alcohol, fruity drinks, dancing, swimming, warm weather

Dislikes:
Cold weather, being out at night (if she's sober), beef jerky, her father, her stepmother, terrorism, cream cheese, wool sweaters, rodents, insects

Fears:
Terrorism, being cut off from her father's money (the only link she has to her "real world"), her friend's finding out about her situation, being infertile, STD's

Dreams:
Her short term goal would be for her stepmother to leave the picture, and for her to be able to resume her normal life. Three years have gone by without that happening, so it's pretty clear that it won't be a reality any time soon. Cara is still too resilient to give in yet, so her more realistic goal is to at least become civil enough with her father to talk him into paying for a separate apartment for her in the city. She does eventually want to go to college (with no specific major in mind).


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Background:
Caraline was born into a life of wealth and privilege, and becoming homeless definitely wasn't a part of the game plan that Lauren and William Forrester created for their only child. Being raised in the Upper East Side of New York meant that Cara lived the silver spoon life. The preschool she attended cost more than some colleges do. She went to the same elementary school as the children of billionaires and brushed shoulders with future politicians and actors and musicians. With everything at her fingertips, it seemed impossible that her life could ever take such a drastic turn forcing her onto the streets. In a way, it didn't. Choosing to be homeless, or rather, live in a dingy basement of a bar, when you have a key to a ten bedroom penthouse on the other side of town is a bizarre and incomprehensible choice and Cara knows this. For her, it's so much more complicated than that, though.

Her mother was one of the 2,606 victims of the World Trade Center attack in 2001. Cara was a child at the time, and while not old enough to fully grasp the idea that her mother had perished in an unthinkable way, she knew that her mother was dead. She had been close with her mother, who had opted to raise her rather than follow the Upper East side norm of hiring a live-in nanny to deal with the 3 AM feedings and crying fests. It was only when Cara was old enough to start school that her mother resumed her top position at the law firm her father (Cara's grandfather) owned, and even then, for the short amount of time that she was working, she still made time for her daughter. The same couldn't be said for William, who, when he wasn't spending time at the investment firm he was the CEO of, was having affairs. He was doing so before his wife passed away, so needless to say, once she was gone, he moved on fairly quickly. Cara moved on from her mother's death as well. It was a tragic event, but she never felt responsible for it, it didn't cause her lifelong depression or ruin her chance at a normal life. It sucked, and no amount of nannies could ever replace her mother's devotion, but Cara was young enough where it became normal to live without her mother.

She doesn't realize it, but it did have a bit of an effect on her as she grew up. Not only did she lack her real mother, but when she turned seventeen, her father started dating their au pair, Alice. At this time, she had been living nanny-free for nearly three years, so her father suddenly hiring a twenty-one-year-old Swedish woman to care for her was absolutely strange and illogical. Sure, Cara had become a tad bit rebellious. She was out nearly every night partying underage with her friends, but her father wasn't around to parent her ever before, and she was used to disregarding his authority. Regardless, she didn't need someone only four years her senior babysitting her, and soon it became apparent that Alice wasn't there for Cara. Six months after moving in, William proposed to her. To say that Cara was caught off guard is an understatement. She had seen her father go through pretty, young girls on a monthly basis but none of them, especially not one who came from nothing, ever lasted. And yet, suddenly, he was marrying this one. Maybe it was because she was so young, or maybe it was because Cara really wasn't okay with the idea of her mother being replaced, but either way, she had it out for this woman, and in an attempt to run her out, made the possibility of the three of them living peacefully together impossible.

Cara was spoiled and used to getting her way, and as a last ditch effort, refused to apply to any colleges unless her father kicked Alice out. It was the seventeen-year-old version of holding her breath until her face turned blue if her parents refused to buy her the doll she wanted. Unlike that, though, this didn't work. Her father told her to go to school or get a job, or get out. He probably didn't mean it, but Cara wanted to spite him and left after graduating high school. She spent a year with her grandparents in Miami, Florida, before coming back to New York at her grandmother's insistence that she make amends with her father. Two minutes into their reunification and she stormed out in tears, and decided to return to "running away". It was childish and absurd for a girl like her to think she could survive on her own (which wasn't really on her own, since her father left one of her credit cards activated). She had no street skills, no experience doing anything on her own, and a lifetime of luck with living on the other end of the lifestyle spectrum. If it wasn't for her meeting Nick and Brooklyn at a club one night, she probably would have returned home after the summer ended and her friends all left for college. Living with the rest of the group is not something that Cara wants or plans on doing for the rest of her life, but she's still too prideful to run back home to her dad and stepmother. While she's currently living in the same place as the others, it's not a secret to anyone that Cara isn't in the same predicament as them. What's a game that she can end at any time to her, is a life to these other people.

Job:
She is not working at the moment. Her credit card linked to her dad's bank account is still functioning, so there's no need for her to work. She does, however, have a bar tending license that she and a couple of friends earned when they turned eighteen, so if need be, she could always do that.


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Height/Weight or build:
5'10, 130 lbs

Eye color:
Blue

Hair color:
Blonde

Other:
N/A

Face claim:
Lindsay Ellingson

So begins...

Cara Forrester's Story

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Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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Come late August, Cara would be celebrating her one-year anniversary with the basement. It wasn't an achievement worth celebrating in most people's eyes, but spending a year in a musty basement with eleven other homeless people was something that even she didn't know she could stand. Cara would like to say that she was used to this like by now. The humid basement that constantly smelled like marijuana and cigarette smoke, mold and whatever fast food someone brought in. Not having a refrigerator filled with fresh food down the hall. No bathroom and jacuzzi tub connected to her private bedroom. No private bedroom at all, actually. Living on a twin mattress with a couple of cardboard boxes holding the few things she had taken with her from home was something that Cara would never get used to. She didn't understand how any of the others could get used to it either. Most of them came from lives that were far worse than hers, but still. The conditions here seemed inhumane! She didn't understand how the others had managed to live this way for years and didn't seem too anxious to leave it behind. Again, the cycle of homelessness was something that she probably would never understand. She could leave the basement at any time and go back home. Her pride and hatred for her father and stepmother were strong enough to keep her out here, but if she cracked, all it would take were some crocodile tears, a fake apology and a promise to go off to school or get a job for her father to let her back in. For her, being homeless was a learning experience. She genuinely wanted to become more independent and worldly, but it was also a game. She was using it as an escape from her own life and as a weapon against her father, and it was not only immature, but insensitive to use someone's harsh reality as a way to get back at her father.

Physically, the basement wasn't a pleasant place and honestly, emotionally it wasn't the healthiest place either, but her time on the streets hadn't been all bad. It certainly helped that her father hadn't cancelled her credit card and she didn't have to resort to getting any sort of job to care for herself, but aside from that, she made friends. She wasn't going out of her way to try to make the group one big happy family since Caraline knew that wasn't her place, but after a few days with Holly, she got closer with Makayla, and she now considered her to be a real friend. Then there was Nick, who had brought her into the group in the first place. She knew him from back when she was in high school and he used to sell prescription pills and marijuana to some of her more experimental friends. Brooklyn too, was someone that she could call a friend, though that was only because she didn't take offense to Brooklyn's unavoidable wrath. She wasn't sure what she would call Jackson, but if she was drunk and in the mood for sex, you could hear her yelling his name from a block away.

Today, Cara had kept out of the basement as much as possible. She was awake before Makayla and Holly and didn't stick around to see if Makayla needed help, since she recalled her saying something about taking Holly out yesterday. Instead, she took a cab uptown to the gym. It was one of those expensive gyms, frequented by the petite, blonde wives of multi-millionaires. It offered tens of different types of yoga classes, had state of the art equipment, a rooftop pool, and amenities that made it seem more like a spa than a gym. Cara's family had belonged to it for as long as she could remember, and with the flash of her ID, she always got in without a problem. Going here always made her feel guilty because it was the perfect example of the double life she was living. While her friends were showering off after spending a night selling their bodies to survive, she was laying by the rooftop pool, praying that the clouds held off for a few hours so she could get so color. She hated how easy it was for her to switch on the rich, privileged girl personality. What was worse, was that she didn't even realize when she was doing it until after the fact. Today, it took a staff member's dramatic apology after she made a comment about her diet Coke not having the lemon wedge she requested with it for her to realize it. It made her sick just thinking that this was something that she couldn't shake. Even if she toned it down at the warehouse, her upbringing had ingrained being a snob into her blood. She wanted to shake it out of herself, but she knew that would mean cutting herself off from this life and that wasn't something that she couldn't do.

It was around four o'clock when she left the gym. She soaked in one of the hot tubs for a half hour and then showered before making her way back to the basement. She hoped that Holly and Makayla would be back by now. They could go get dinner, or if Makayla planned on working tonight, she could give her some time to rest and take Holly herself. The youngest of the group was always good company, and Cara's patience allowed her to tolerate much more of the energy than some of the others. Plus, she really did feel bad for Makayla and if getting a headache meant relieving her of some stress, it was worth it. Out of all of them, Cara felt like Makayla had it bad and maybe it was because they were the same age, but she somehow felt connected to her. Like it wasn't fair that she had been dealt her cards in life while a girl with even more potential, probably, had been dealt such poor ones.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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Normally, Cara would have walked back from her gym in the Upper East Side to the basement. It was an hour and a half trip, but she didn't mind it. Despite the chaos going on around her, it was sort of relaxing for her to be alone, yet surrounded by thousands of people. She could walk and not speak with anyone, yet she wasn't physically isolated from the world. Today, however, the sky was greying and she didn't want to risk being caught in the rain halfway through her trip. The subways and public buses had never been her thing, which again had her disliking herself for still being so picky. At the same time, two years ago she thought she was too good for cabs too, and here she was hailing one. Fifteen minutes and forty dollars later, she was at the end of the block that Finn's bar was located on.

As she approached the bar, she spotted Makayla and Holly walking towards it from the other end of the street. The pair were hard to miss, thanks to Holly's unnaturally bright hair and loud, high-pitched voice. The sight of Holly's mouth moving a mile a minute had Cara smiling before they were even close enough for her to hear what Holly was saying. It faltered slightly when she was able to make out the expression on Makayla's face, though. She looked bad. Cara didn't mean it offensively since Kay was definitely a pretty girl, but her face looked paler than normal and she looked more than exhausted. She had briefly said something about feeling sick a few days back and Cara now assumed that she hadn't gotten over whatever she had then. Holly's never ending supply of energy probably wasn't allowing her to relax and feel better either. Cara decided that even if Makayla wasn't working tonight, she would insist on taking Holly out so Makayla could at least catch up on her sleep.

"How was the pool? It's a good thing you went early, since it looks like it's going to rain," she smiled. She knew she was inviting Holly to ramble on about their day's adventures and she was fine with that. It wasn't hard for her to entertain the girl's thoughts and imagination and hopefully, it would give Makayla some relief from having to listen to it all day. "Hey, do you want to grab a drink at Finn's before we go down? I can only imagine how humid it's gotten downstairs since I left this morning." Cara was oblivious to the drama unfolding downstairs but she already could sense that Makayla was stressed out enough. Maybe a drink and some air conditioning would help that.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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One of the few positives to Holly's sometimes unbearably long and hard to follow stories were that they were long and hard to follow. It meant that Makayla could get away with simply nodding or giving a "wow, really?" every now and again, and it was sufficient. Most of the time, that wasn't even necessary. Holly would become so entertained by her own recollection of the events that she didn't pause to breathe, let alone see if Makayla had any response. Today was one of those days where that was coming in handy, because as they neared Finn's, the heat was making her body come close to shutting down and she couldn't bring herself to care about the stuffed animal dog or lost pair of shoes that Holly was speaking about. She would feel guilty for thinking it later, but now, she really just wanted Holly to be quiet. If she had more than five dollars on her, she would have bought Holly ice cream just to get five minutes of peace and quiet. She didn't though, and as Holly went on about her day, Makayla's mind was racing with thoughts on how broke they were.

She and Holly's soggy bathing suits in her backpack reminded her of how she had been putting off doing their laundry all week. That would be at least three dollars, or three fifty if she brought Holly, who always insisted on playing that stupid claw-grab stuffed animal game. Holly had been begging her for new sandals and Makayla knew she did need them. According to the snippet she caught, Holly had been careless enough to lose the pair Cara had purchased her, so that would be another fifteen dollars down the drain since Makayla had too much pride to ask Cara to buy her sister another pair. She needed new lingerie for work, and even though she always bought the cheap ones, that would be another twenty dollars too. Adding in the amount of weed she had gotten from Nick with the promise of paying him back, the Advil that she knew she was going to need to buy before the night was over, and the high chance that she was going to need to go to a clinic soon... Makayla knew she was screwed. It left her wanting to cry but as always, she couldn't do that. She had to force a small smile onto her face as they approached Cara by Finn's. This was her life and she was going to have to deal with it, like always. She had to be strong for herself and Holly because if she fell apart, Holly wasn't going to be able to survive either. Kay hated how it felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders, but she couldn't remember a time when it hadn't felt this way.

"Hey," she offered, releasing Holly's hand for the first time since leaving Wendy's. She knew that Holly would want to share stories of their day so she let her answer Cara's question about the pool. When the blonde then asked if she wanted to get a drink, Makayla was hesitant. She needed something to numb this headache and a couple shots of vodka would do the trick, but she was also unsure if her stomach would be able to handle it. It was so easily triggered over the past few days and the thought of hard liquor was already making her queasy. Plus, she was broke and although Finn sometimes offered them free drinks, she wasn't just going to expect a handout. The reminder of how stuffy the basement was going to be made the decision for her, however, and she nodded, deciding that she would just savor the cool bar and not drink. "I'm not feeling great so I don't think I'll get anything, but we'll sit with you. You're right, it probably is bad down there." It was bad in more ways than either of the girls knew.

Makayla wanted to send Holly downstairs and actually relax with Cara for a few minutes, but she didn't know who was down there and couldn't toss her sister and the responsibilities that came with her onto whoever it was. "Holly, come," she tugged at her sister as she followed Cara in. It was happy hour, a pretty popular time at Finn's, so Makayla knew that she couldn't bring Holly to the actual bar counter. Not only did Holly have a tendency to test Finn's patience, but there weren't even three empty bar stools together. Instead, she found a vacant high top table towards the back of the place and headed towards it. On her way, she spotted Nick lingering by the bar and she didn't need to be standing right next to him to smell the amazing aroma of marijuana. That, more than anything, had her senses tingling. "I'm about to just stand next to you and get a second hand high," she laughed, nudging him as she passed by. She didn't know what had went on downstairs or that he was in a bad mood, but she also wasn't the type to try to make conversation either. It was just a friendly acknowledgement, and maybe a hint that she would be looking to share a blunt later on, before she continued with Holly to the table they had spotted. She figured that Cara was going to stop at the bar to order, and motioned for Holly to sit before doing the same. "We're not going to order anything here. Okay, Holls? Even if Cara asks, because we just ate, remember?" Maybe it was wrong of her to still have a bit of pride when they were already homeless and at the end of their rope, but she hated being so broke and desperate. Cara was always so kind and generous, but Makayla didn't like taking advantage of that. Not when she was supposed to be the one taking care of herself and Holly.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft Character Portrait: Robbie Amello
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"Look, it's Cara!" Holly spotted the blonde from the other side of the street and soon realized that they were home. She was excited to see her, and even more so after her story to Makayla reminded her of how enjoyable hanging out with Cara was. Makayla and Cara exchanged greetings but Holly didn't even get out a "hello" before Cara brought up their day at the pool and her mind was racing to explain the day. The cold water. The kid with the Spongebob bathing suit. The strawberry scented shampoo Makayla brought to the showers. There was a white dog that they passed on the way to the pool, and a swarm of pigeons that they interrupted on their walk back. She had to tell her about Wendy's, how they were out of all of the good toys, and how she wanted to go back to Toys R Us again. There was too much for her to say and she didn't know where to start. "It was so fun, right Kay?" her sister gave her a strained smile and a nod of her head. Holly was about to start her narrative of the day's events when Cara suggested they go to Finn's. The two girls were old enough to drink, and regardless of Holly being twenty-one, she still frequented Finn's if Makayla was going. That wasn't to say that she was welcomed there, because even though Finn made an effort to put up with her, he couldn't always put up the front that the others could. All it took were a few questions that he disliked and had answered a million times - why he had an accent, why he left Ireland, why he didn't have a girlfriend and why he liked beer so much - for him to remind Makayla that she was too young to be sitting at his bar.

"Holly, come." Her sister tugged her before she could object or continue her story to Cara, and as they stepped inside, her mind had shifted from the story anyway. Finn's bar was familiar to her but her eyes still wandered whenever she walked in. It was generally the same people who frequented the place but Holly was always curious to see what company she would have for however long they stayed up there. Tonight, the bar was as crowded as it got, which left Holly with many potential conversation partners. There was a woman in her mid-thirties who caught Holly's eye first. The skimpy pink halter top she wore revealed a large skull tattoo on her bare shoulder, and upon sighting it, Holly was intrigued. She wondered why the woman had chose a skull when she could have gotten a picture of a dog or the sun instead. She was sure that she must know Roman, since his tattoos were the most remarkable thing about him in Holly's mind. Others in the basement, including her sister and Nick, had tattoos, but before she could approach the woman, her freedom was again limited by Makayla's grab. She was tugged past the lady, only briefly noticing Nick when her sister slowed her pace to say something to him, and then led them to a table. It was the most isolated table in the bar and had probably been chosen by Makayla with good reason.

She followed Makayla's direction and sat on one of the high chairs, only silent as she tried to process the loud and interesting scene around her. Makayla's insistence that they not order anything had Holly nodding, but only because she wasn't listening to what her sister was saying. Of course she was going to order something when Cara insisted! Why wouldn't she?! Holly didn't understand the type of logic and etiquette that her sister tried to adhere to. She was already dependent on Makayla, so being dependent on Cara too didn't bother her at all. She again, wasn't sure what to say first, and her eyes were frantically moving across the bar as if she were trying to settle on the most important thing to start on. "I need to tell Savannah that Nick is here!" she finally chirped, jumping off the chair and heading towards the back staircases before Makayla could do more than reach out and try to grab her.

As far as Holly knew, Savannah didn't work, and whenever Nick wasn't on a drug run, he was with Savannah. She assumed that Savannah was downstairs and must not have known that Nick was home. Aside from Savannah's interest in writing and reading- two of the very few things that Holly disliked, Holly liked her. Her accent was interesting and Holly never ran out of questions to ask her about England, especially since she humored them more than Roman did. She bounded down the stairs and skipped the last three, opting to obnoxiously jump to the floor. "Savannah!!! Nick is upstairs for you!" she shouted, before even looking to see if Savannah was there. When she did glance around, she noticed Alex at the table eating Chinese food, Zero sitting by her area, Savannah close by... and Brooklyn! Holly's exclamation probably couldn't have come at a worse time but she didn't even remember the reason for coming downstairs when she spotted Brooklyn. Zero and Savannah were probably caught off guard by how tense the basement was, but Holly wasn't aware of any sort of negative vibes present. Brooklyn was back and even if she was the one that Brooklyn was very vocal about disliking, her presence brought a wide smile to Holly's face. "I didn't know you were still alive!" she spoke, not hesitating to kneel down next to Brooklyn and throw her arms around her shoulders. "Did you know that I went to the pool today, and this is Savannah and she's friends with Nick, and she lived in Australia, and Zero is that boy." There was so much to catch Brooklyn up on, and as her eyes fell upon what Brooklyn was doing, she was glad to see that the blonde was going to be staying next to them. She didn't even notice how that had caused her and Makayla's stuff to end up knocked over and shoved into Cara's area, or how Zero was doing his best to fix it. Her mind was moving even faster than it had been at the bar, if that was possible, and before she could utter another jumbled thought to the trio, she was up, passing Lennie and taking Zero's empty seat at the table next to Alex. "Hi Alex," she beamed. She studied the Chinese food containers in front of Alex, but was still full from the meager Wendy's meal and didn't request some for herself. There was one thing she was interested in, though. "Did you get any fortune cookies?"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft Character Portrait: Robbie Amello
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Savannah felt as if she were holding her breath, as she waited for Brooklyn to speak. It wasn't until Holly's voice sprang out from nowhere, did she breathe, even if it was only gasp a little. "Savannah!!! Nick is upstairs for you!"the young girl called, and Savannah closed her eyes, yet smiled. She looked at Brooklyn, tension evident in her posture before Holly came running over, and careening into Brooklyn with a hug. She swallowed. She could use a 'Holly Hug' at the moment, the girl was as sweet as can be, and Savannah wouldn't mind a nice big bear hug from the tiny girl.
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The girl went on 'introducing' everyone to Brooklyn. "Did you know that I went to the pool today, and this is Savannah and she's friends with Nick, and she lived in Australia, and Zero is that boy." she went on before skipping off.

"Well if you will excuse me." She said to Brooklyn and if she were honest, she was glad that Holly relayed the message so blissful unaware of the tension in the room, Savannah smiled and nodded and went off but not before chuckled. "London, England, Not Australia." She told her before going off to find Nick, wherever he may be.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Robbie Amello Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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Cara was not going to accept Makayla's insistence that she didn't want a drink. She had spent her entire day with Holly. Of course she wanted a drink. Even Cara, who had the patience of a saint when it came to Holly, was ready for a drink by the time that Holly passed out or Makayla returned from wherever she had went alone. No one could deny that Holly's energy and optimism was infectious but it was draining to deal with for more than a couple of hours, let alone the many years Makayla had been tasked with it. She gave her a knowing look but didn't object as she and Holly took the lead and headed inside. Cara had a feeling that Makayla's reservations with drinking had more to do with money than a lack of a desire to drink. She hated pressing the issue because she knew how uncomfortable it made Kay, and rightfully so, but she also wished that it wasn't such a big deal for her to offer help sometimes. It wasn't like Cara was asking her to accept a thousand dollar check. If she wanted to treat for dinner sometimes at a place nicer than Burger King, she didn't understand why it had to be such a big deal. Again, give her predicament, it was probably something that Cara would never fully understand.

Makayla and Holly gravitated towards the less populated back of the bar while Cara stopped at the busy counter to order her drink. It was definitely best that they sat away from the bar, since not only was it crowded, but Holly was sure to disrupt the patrons who were looking to unwind on their Friday evening. When Finn caught her eye, she ordered two vodka cranberries. Normally she went for more complicated mixed drinks - a Mai Tai, Miami Vice, flavored martini or a Sex on the Beach, but Finn's bar served beers for the most part, and she didn't want to push her luck. She also ordered a virgin Shirley Temple for Holly and left a twenty on the counter to cover their tab, as Finn already seemed engaged in a conversation with another customer by the time she found it in her purse.

She had only taken a couple of steps away from the bar when she spotted Nick and Robbie standing at the other end. It didn't seem necessary to go say hi to them. Robbie was probably already wasted and Nick was probably high as a kite. Making small talk would only make them all uncomfortable and like she wanted for Makayla, they had probably come up here to unwind as well. By the time that Cara had found the table the two girls claimed, it was now only occupied by Makayla. The door that led to the back, "employees only!" area of the bar, was left halfway open, and it didn't take much to piece together that Holly had probably run downstairs for something. Cara took the opportunity to slide Makayla's drink towards her, take the seat across from her and look Makayla over now that she had the chance to. She definitely didn't look good, and it was something more than just stress. "Kay, you really don't look like your normal self," she commented, pausing only to sip at her drink. Knowing Finn, even in the bare way that Cara did, came with its perks. The free basement space was an obvious one, and the overpowering ratio of alcohol to cranberry juice was almost as good in the moment. "I bumped into one of my old friends earlier today and he works at one of the Hilton's over in SOHO. What if me, you and Holly spend the night there tonight? Sleeping on a real bed will be nice and you can shower and relax and I'll take Holly down to their indoor pool or something." The whole "friend working at the hotel" thing was a lie, but Cara hoped it wasn't obvious. She would take the risk of her father seeing she was spending a night in a hotel if it meant that Makayla could actually relax for one night. If she said yes, Cara would end up convincing that "friend" to get them two rooms too, so she could really give Makayla the peace and quiet she needed and keep Holly away all together. She pulled the liquid through her straw faster now, knowing that if it had been so hard to get Makayla to let her buy her a drink, a night in a hotel would be nearly impossible. Still, she had to try. Something was off with Makayla and Cara liked her too much to just let it go without at least trying to dos something.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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Makayla could tell that Holly wasn't listening to her because she didn't try to argue when she insisted that they weren't going to order anything at Finn's. That alone signaled that Holly wasn't processing a thing that she was saying, but one look at her sister's darting eyes proved that Holly's mind was elsewhere. Makayla couldn't pinpoint where it was, because she doubted that even Holly knew where it was. Her sister's thoughts moved far too quickly to for anyone to follow and it was sad to watch. It was sad to watch Holly frantically try to process the world around it. Everything seemed to overstimulate her and although Makayla wasn't proficient in medicine or psychology, she was sure that the world Holly lived in was different than the one she lived in. Not in some huge way, but she imagined that everything was brighter and shinier, louder and more colorful. That's the only way that Holly being so captivated by any and every thing made sense to her.

"Okay, good, Holly. We won't get anything right now but I'll leave some money with Cara so you can get something to eat later, okay?" Her sister still wasn't listening but she hoped that reiterating it a few times would help it sink in. It didn't. She shouldn't have expected it to. Before she could react, Holly had jumped down from her chair and saying something about Savannah and Nick. Makayla lunged to grab her arm but it was to no avail. Holly was through the back door and probably already on her way down the stairs by the time Makayla could react. Her reaction wasn't as much as it normally would have been, anyway. She was too tired to chase after Holly and when she spotted Cara headed towards her with three drinks in hand, she lost whatever care she had left. "I owe you," she smiled appreciatively as Cara slid the drink to her. She was not in a place to reject a drink right now, especially as she continued to glance as the back door of the bar, hoping Holly would reappear on her own. If Savannah was down there, they would be fine. Although Makayla didn't leave Holly with her regularly, she had proven herself to be nice enough to her sister and Kay was definitely grateful for that.

Luckily, the mixed drink soothed her stomach more than upset it and Makayla downed it as if it were just a glass of water. It was definitely strongly tainted with vodka but it wasn't enough for her to smile genuinely when Cara expressed concern for her. Even less so, when Cara offered to bring them to spend a night in a hotel that her friend worked for. The drink was enough of a handout. Makayla would not and could not accept a hotel stay! Even if it cost no more than one-hundred dollars and if that was significantly less due to Cara's connections, she just couldn't accept something like that. Besides, she needed to work tonight. "Please, Cara, I'm fine! Holly dragged me into the pool today and that chlorine smell always gives me a headache. Besides, I'm still getting over the flu or whatever bug I have that I told you about last week. " She considered not even responding to the hotel offer but glancing away from her nearly empty glass and towards Cara, she knew she had to acknowledge it. The blonde was so sweet and her intentions were only good, even if Makayla wished she wouldn't dangle things like that in her face. On the plus side, at least Holly wasn't there to hear the tempting offer. "I appreciate it, Cara, but if I bring Holly somewhere like that once, she's never going to want to leave. I already hear too much about how we need to get an apartment and staying at a hotel will only be more of a headache," she chuckled. Aside from hating handouts, that was the truth. How could she explain to Holly that they were living in a dump when there were hotels with big, clean beds just down the road? "I was thinking about working tonight, though. Is there any chance Holly could stay with you for a few hours? I promise I won't be long." The slurping sound signaled that her drink was now officially empty. She again met Cara's gaze, praying that the blonde would say yes, when she caught sight of Savannah coming out from the back of the bar. Holly wasn't with her which was alarming, but again, Makayla was really too tired to go investigate. Instead, she just waved Savannah over. "Hey, Savannah. Is Holly okay down there? I mean, is she bothering everyone?"

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Robbie Amello Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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Finn's bar didn't offer any of the peace and quiet that Nick was suddenly longing for, but it did offer free beer, and that was going to have to work for now. Patrick Finnegan, who refused to go by any name other than Finn, stood behind the bar with a younger guy who Nick recognized as the extra bartender Finn had hired for the summer. The small Irish pub was pretty crowded, which Nick would have been happy with on a good day, considering how bad business had been all winter for Finn. Tonight, he was even more happy with it, because it meant that Finn was already engrossed in some heated conversation with one of his regular patrons when Nick walked in. The middle-aged man only slid a Guinness towards Nick to acknowledge his presence and it was a gesture that Nick was grateful for. He wasn't in the mood to be dragged into one of Finn's arguments or conversations. The man was the epitome of "the fighting Irish" stereotype and had opinions so strong that Nick was sure he could spend an hour ranting about something as trivial as the weather. Not only did he not have the patience for that right now, but he assumed that Finn was already in the loop about Brooklyn's return. If Nick was like Finn's son, Brooklyn was undoubtedly a daughter to him, and would probably be the first to tell Nick he had to sort out whatever was going on with his relationship with her. Nick had just heard that from Roman and really, he didn't need either of him to tell him what he already knew. He knew he was screwed. God dammit, he knew he was really screwed.

Although Finnegan's served the purpose of a bar more than a restaurant, aside from the long bar counter, there were tables scattered about the place. They were generally just used by people who wanted to sit more privately with friends and order drinks, but Finn did have one waiter and one line cook in the back for those who wanted something to eat. The menu held your typical pub stuff: burgers, chicken fingers, fries, onion rings, and the likes. It certainly wasn't the quality of a five star restaurant but after a food beers it was bearable. Again, the fact that Finn liked Nick enough to put his tab on the house made it taste all the more better. He had eaten with Savannah only an hour or so ago, but as the Hispanic kid who doubled as the lone waiter and busboy passed by with two plates of onion rings, he realized that he was hungry again. "Mind telling 'Rique to make me a burger?" Nick said when he had caught the kid's attention. He knew Finn's line cook, Enrique, well enough to go back there and ask him to make it himself. Nick had actually met Finn by taking a job as his dishwasher and spent many days under Enrique's watch, but honestly just didn't feel like getting up. The kid nodded and hurried off, and Nick returned to the foaming beer in front of him.

The familiar voice that was quickly matched to Robbie, who had chosen a seat a few down from his, reminded Nick that Finn's wasn't the best place to go to get away from people he knew. It was following by a touch to his back and the soft voice of Makayla commenting on how much he smelled of marijuana. That brought an authentic smile to Nick's face but luckily that was all he had to respond with, since she didn't stop to chat after leaving him with the comment. Nick liked Makayla. She was independent and didn't cling to anyone, despite having the weight of keeping herself and Holly alive on her back. When Brooklyn was around, he sometimes wished that she would just let Brooklyn be Brooklyn, but even he knew that was wrong of him to expect. While he was usually okay with being Brooklyn's punching bag, he couldn't expect that of others. Makayla took a lot of shit from Brooklyn and when she snapped, it was usually very justified. Over the past two months with Brooklyn being gone, any reservations he had about her had disappeared. He saw clearly how she did try to keep Holly on a leash and that she didn't get into fights with anyone else, so if it wasn't already obvious, it was by then that Brooklyn had been the problem in that situation all along too. Especially with Roman distancing himself after Brooklyn's departure, Nick had grown to enjoy occasionally lighting up and talking with Makayla.

His burger came out pretty quickly but by then, he had already been through one and a half beers. He usually smoked more than he drank, but even his high wasn't enough to keep him calm at the mere thought of Brooklyn and Savannah living in the same space. Tonight was going to have to be a night where he doubled up on the weed and alcohol. He couldn't imagine getting through it any other way.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft
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When Brooklyn asked where Cara was the first time, Alex hadn't quite been paying attention. She was rather absorbed in her own lack of thoughts that came with the exhaustion she was feeling. She glanced up when Robbie announced his departure, her eyes sliding over to where Zero was fixing Makayla and Holly's things once Robbie went upstairs. A small smile graced her lips in approval. The kid, as she fondly called him, was probably confused as all hell. It took her a moment to realise that he had came after Brooke left, as had Savannah, and so he'd never met the other blonde girl. Poor kid.

More than that, she knew she'd have to talk to Nick at some point. Not because she was of any particular importance to him, but more because he must have been stressed out of his mind at this point. With the realisation she'd had that he was still in love with Brooke, after having seen the look in his eyes when she walked into the room, she knew that he was now caught in the almighty cliche romantic trap. Torn between the girl that had once been his, and a girl who wanted to be his. He was a hell of a ladies man.

Alex could see why. She'd had her own crush on him too, after he'd agreed to take her in and let her be a part of the group. He'd been everything she considered ideal at the time. His confidence and warm friendliness had drawn her in. The fact that he was very, very attractive helped as well. Then she got over it.

When the bundle of energy and enthusiasm and words that was known as Holly came bouncing down the stairs, Alex flinched. She could very well remember the the dislike that Brooklyn had for Holly's personality, and prepared herself to verbally defend the younger girl if needed. But, to Alex's surprise (she supposed that she should give Brooklyn more credit for this), it wasn't needed.

When Holly wrapped her arms in a hug around Brooklyn and her words came flying out of her mouth, Brooklyn only quietly murmured a quick "Hey Holls" before Holly finished and moved on to her next victim. Alex.

"Hi Alex."

"Hey Holls," Alex smiled warmly. There was something infectious about Holly's smile that made it impossible for Alex to not smile around the redheaded girl.

"Did you get any fortune cookies?"

Alex's eyes quickly darted to the interior of the bag that Lennie had brought. Seeing the telltale plastic wrapper and orange-ish coloured cookie inside, she nodded. Alex reached into the bag and took one of the cookies. Handing it to Holly, she said, "Lennie got some, and we saved them just for you."

"Is Cara around?" Alex looked up at Brooklyn, now standing beside the table. Alex shrugged.

"Not to my knowledge. Probably out doing something," she answered, using the chopsticks to put a last bit of the Chinese food in her mouth before setting down the container.


In a string of luck that seemed to be endless that day, Alex's favourite dickhead walked in in the form of Jackson.

"Shit, Lex. Now that Brooklyn's back, you're gonna have some competition if you wanna sleep with me as bad as I know you do. You know I have a thing for blondes, and this just adds one more into the mix."

"Fuck off, Jackson," Alex said casually, as though it was something she said every day. Which, to her credit, it was something she said every day. She both heard and, in the corner of her eye, caught the slap. She let out an internal groan, knowing that Brooklyn was liable to slap the crap out of Jackson back. However, that didn't happen as Roman crossed the room faster than Alex could think 'What an asshole'.

She pretended to pay attention to her nails, watching the exchange out of the corner of her eye.

"Watch where you put your fucking hands." She heard Roman growl the words at Jackson. At that, she looked up, only to see Jackson be his usual asshole self.

"Shit, my bad, man. For a minute there, I thought your name was Roman, not Romeo. Don't worry, Juliet is all yours. I'm in the mood for something foreign tonight anyway." With the wink in her direction, Alex characteristically responded with her favourite means of expressing her feelings: sending her middle finger pointed at the sky. Watching Roman standing there fuming, she stood and made the few quick strides to her own neat, little living space. It was relatively organised, a few cheap but waterproof plastic containers holding her clothes, shoes, and few valuables alongside her mattress. She reached down for her bag, counting out $200 of the total amount in there. She made a mental note to set aside $500 for Makayla to help take care of her and Holly. Folding up the four $50 bills to hide them in her hand, she walked over to Roman. She placed a hand on her should to let him know he was there, and in the moment he un-balled his fist she slipped the bills into his hand.

"Use wisely," she said with a wink, walking back. She was planning on dividing up the money between everyone anyways, and had decided to reward Roman with the nice secure feeling of having money in his possession first. Setting aside more for herself, who had done the work, and Makayla, who had both herself and Holly to take care of. Not to mention cutting out Jackson and Robbie. Assholes.






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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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Cara wasn't oblivious to how quickly Makayla was consuming her drink, but she didn't comment on it. The least that the girl deserved was a drink and Cara would have been more than happy to buy her a second one had she made it clear many times before that she didn't like her buying things for her. That's why it didn't surprise her when Kay politely denied her offer for the hotel stay. The reason made sense. Of course Holly wouldn't understand that Makayla couldn't afford to keep them in a hotel and spending one night in what would probably seem like heaven to her would be hard to recover from. It made Cara feel horrible, really. Not only did she have the power to take herself off the streets at a moment's notice, but really, she could do the same for Makayla and Holly too. Her penthouse had ten bedrooms, far more than her father, his wife and she needed. Not only that, but it would just take a short conversation with her father to secure Makayla a job as someone's secretary or assistant. She wouldn't be making millions, but Cara knew what a difference a $10 an hour, safe and respectable job could do for Makayla. She could get Holly back into school, save up for her own apartment, go to a community college and get a degree, and get a job that she would love. It was that easy. The only thing standing in the way of it all was that Cara wasn't ready to go crawling back to her dad. It was immensely selfish and sickening, but that was how much her pride was costing her now.

The thoughts had her chewing on her lip as she instantly responded to Makayla's question. "Of course she can hang out with me! Is she down--" Cara stopped mid-sentence as Makayla's attention was diverted to Savannah who passed by their table. The curly-haired girl must not have heard Makayla's inquiry in the loud room, for she proceeded past without even a glance in their direction. It had answered Cara's next question though, on where Holly had disappeared to. With one look towards Kay's empty glass, Cara pushed hers towards her. "You finish this for me and I'll go check on Holly," she insisted, hoping her attempt at being stern would stop Makayla from trying to object. She headed into the back room of the pub and just as she was about to open the door to the basement, it swung open and Holly appeared. "There you are! I was just coming to find you," she smiled. "I have to show Makayla my fortune so I can get good luck! Roman said so!" Holly exclaimed in her normally excited tone. The smaller girl grabbed her hand before Cara could examine the tiny piece of paper Holly was waving, and pulled her back into the bar. Only a minute had passed since she left, so she found Makayla where she had left her and smiled apologetically as the bouncing redhead interrupted the lone minute of solitude that Makayla would probably have all day.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Lennie Adams
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When her help was turned down Lenny just shrugged and continued up the steps. Needing a drink she walked into the bar and headed straight for one of the chairs. With a smile on her face she greeted Finn and they began a conversation about what was going on down in the basement and about working the bar today. Lenny told him about how Brooke was back even though he probably knew all that but that's all. She really didn't have anything to say on the matter other than her joke about how Finn might be short a runaway soon with Brooke being back and the whole situation with Nick and Savannah.

Wine was a very unusual thing people ordered at bars but Lenny didn't think so. Finn had half a bottle of an old grape wine just for her and he filled up a fancy looking glass for her halfway. She'd promised him that she would get dressed to work the bar after this one glass but when she scouted the crowd for a girl to chat up her eyes landed on a familiar redhead. Jumping off the chair she headed towards the table where Makayla, Cara and Holly sat. Lenny pulled up a chair and sat in it in a reversed manner so the back of the chair and her were facing towards the girls.

"Hey there all my beautiful girls, " she greeted with a bright smile before reaching over and patting Holly on the head. "Been downstairs yeah? Did you eat the fortune cookies I left you?" Lenny asked before turning her attention to the other two.

"Brooke is back and tension is building up down there like crazy but hey on the bright side I get to dress up fancy tonight!" she said while taking a sip of her wine. In reality Lennie didn't really own any fancy clothes but she did own a buttoned down white shirt and some fancy looking black shoes even though they costed only 25 bucks and they wern't really fancy anyway. Add in her nicest looking black jeans and her old black bow-tie and she looked as fancy as she could get for a runaway that is. "So tell me what have my girls been up too today?" Lenny questioned setting down her drink. Right now Len was happy to be out of that basement and seeing Makayla and Holly, two of her favorite people on earth and of course Cara too but the two sisters just a tad bit more.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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After spending a few minutes with Lennie, Holly and Makayla at the bar, Cara took Holly out. It took a lot of insistence on her part since Makayla claimed that she wasn't leaving to work for a few hours and didn't need her to take Holly yet, and then a lot of resistance when Makayla tried to offer her five dollars to cover Holly's dinner. Cara, of course, refused the money. Not only did she not need it, but though she'd never say it, five dollars wasn't going to cover Holly's dinner. She didn't ever go anywhere fancy with the teenager, but she also wasn't a big fast food eater and generally ended up at a diner or a casual restaurant like TGI Friday's or Applebee's. They were places that she rarely frequented a few years back but seemed like a luxury compared to the food that her new peers dined on, and on the plus side, they served alcohol. Tonight, upon Holly's insistence when they walked past it, they chose The Hard Rock Cafe. It took thirty minutes for just the two of them to be seated, but it was easy to keep Holly occupied with exploring the restaurant since it was her first time there, and well, it was Holly. It didn't take much to excite her. Cara ordered a grilled chicken arugula salad and in a similar fashion to Makayla, ended up picking at the nearly full plate of macaroni and cheese that Holly still had when she insisted she was full. (Un)surprisingly, Holly suddenly became hungry again when the waiter offered them a dessert menu and they ended their meal with a Hot Fudge Brownie, and on Cara's end, a second Mai Tai.

It was nearing eight o'clock when they left the restaurant with no real destination in mind. Holly suggested that they see a movie and with no desire to return to the basement just yet, Cara agreed. She was well aware of how much Holly loved the movie theater. She asked to go on a daily basis and it was really the only thing that Cara knew of that could keep the girl's mouth closed for two hours straight. Cara was usually hesitant to take her since Makayla always tried to pay her back for Holly's ticket, but the outdoor summer movies usually held in the public parks were cancelled tonight due to the rain. There were countless indoor things to do in New York City on any given day of the week, but not so many with a hyperactive child who lost interest in things after only a few minutes. Cara wasn't slightly interested in the cartoon movie Holly decided they would see, so she ended up dozing off for most of it. It was only when the lights came on and she heard Holly's voice that she was pulled out of her half-asleep, half-awake state. "That was the funniest movie ever, right Cara?!" Holly was clearly too caught up to even notice how startled that Cara was that the movie was over and that she had managed to sleep through it all. "It was," she agreed thoughtlessly as she hurried to collect herself.

It was ten o'clock by now, and probably late enough to go back to the basement. The others seemed to be night owls, but probably because their jobs depended on the darkness. Brooklyn worked at a strip club, most of the other girls as prostitutes, and many of the boys as thieves or dealers. There was a good chance that the basement would be empty and that she could get Holly to fall asleep before anyone's presence riled her up any further. But Cara didn't want to go back to the basement. It was a disgusting place to live on a normal day, and with the rain that had fallen over the past few hours, it's normal scent of smoke, drugs and alcohol would be tainted with one similar of wet dog too. Makayla had shot down the idea of taking Holly to a hotel quickly, but Cara was being selfish and she didn't want to sleep in that basement tonight. She had spent a year down there with only two nights at a hotel over that period of time and dammit, she deserved one night in a real bed! So did Holly and Cara would make a point of explaining to Holly that this was just an adventure for one night. Makayla would get over it when she realized that Holly understood that.

"Holly, what do you say we go on an adventure tonight? She that hotel over there?" Cara pointed at a tall building across the street: The W New York. It was nothing special in Cara's spoiled eyes, but it was a pretty nice hotel. "We're going to have a sleepover there. Just tonight though, okay?" The rooms probably ran around $300 a night and while the price wasn't the problem, she just hoped her father mistook it for a charge he made when he skimmed through his credit card bills. She hated the idea of him knowing that she wasn't as independent as she wanted him to believe. That she was relying on him and his money just to have a roof over her head. Even if it was just one night, it bothered her. It didn't make much sense since she swiped that same card tens of times a day on food and clothing purchases, but this seemed different. As the rain pelted down on her and Holly as they hurried across the street, she couldn't find it in her to care very much though.

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Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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Like most nights with Cara, tonight was an exciting one for Holly. They went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square. It was one of the more famous restaurants in the area, making it a "must see" for tourists. This meant that at six o'clock on a Friday night, even the wait for a table for two took a good thirty minutes. Not like Holly minded, though. She spent a large portion of that time dragging Cara around the restaurant admiring the music memorabilia that were displayed throughout it. It wasn't like Holly had much of an idea who Elvis or Madonna or Bruce Springsteen were, but she enjoyed the atmosphere. Any new place was a cool place, in her eyes, and since Makayla hated bringing her into Times Square where there were always hundreds of things pulling at her attention, this would probably be the first and last time that Holly would eat there. Not to mention that the final cost of the meal for just she and Cara, including her multiple drinks and Holly's dessert, was enough to finance a few days worth of meals for she and Makayla.

Their good night only got better when Cara agreed to see a movie of Holly's choice without even an ounce of resistance, like her sister would have given. While Holly enjoyed just about everything, watching movies or the television were a whole different thing for her. Growing up, she was rarely allowed to watch TV. It wasn't because her mother had her best interest in mind and didn't like the idea of her wasting her days away in front of the machine, or felt that it lacked educational value. In each of the houses Holly grew up in, there was only one television. The cable bill was rarely paid, but when it was, it was to be used to watch sporting games only. The men of the house would crowd around it to watch Sunday football or a boxing match, and if Holly dared to make a sound during those hours, she'd end up with bruises to remind her not to do it again. Still, whenever she caught a glimpse of it, she was mesmerized and when she was tossed into Makayla's care, she was allowed to watch it more frequently. They would go to the library and pick out a movie, and while Makayla worked on school assignments, she would be glued to the screen. It was, and probably still is, the only thing that could keep her captivated for hours at a time.

Holly's unusual silence throughout the movie could have left her mistaken for being dead, but as soon as the lights brightened and the screen turned dark, her energy was back. She was tired and could feel how her eyes seemed heavier than they had before the movie started, but she ignored it and turned to Cara with excitement. "That was the funniest movie ever, right Cara?!" She didn't notice how Cara scrambled to un-slump herself and adjust to the now fully-lit theater. As Cara led her out of the theater, Holly continued to recollect on the movie, perfectly content with Cara's distant nods as she spoke. "When we get back home, let's tell Makayla that she has to see it because it was so good," Holly suggested. They paused briefly at the doors leading out of the movie theater when they noticed it was raining. It was a good thing that Makayla had made her change into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt before they left because at least now, she was able to shield her head from the rain with the grey hood.

"Ooooh! I love adventures!" she responded gleefully. She gripped Cara's arm as she felt the rain lightly pad against her clothes, and nodded eagerly when Cara pointed out the hotel across the street. She wasn't sure why she was supposed to be looking at it until Cara continued and stated that they were going to spend the night there. A night in a hotel?! In Holly's sixteen years, she had never stayed in a hotel once. She had been to a seedy motel in Staten Island multiple times when her mother was delivering drugs to a man who lived in one of the rooms, but she had never slept in one. This was going to be an adventure and again, she nodded eagerly to Cara. "Makayla said that hotels cost a lot of money, though," Holly added as her pace turned into a near-jog to keep up with Cara as they crossed the street. Holly didn't notice it, but there was an aura about Cara that just made her seem like she belonged in a nice hotel like this. She felt natural walking past the doorman and leading Holly into the hotel as if she lived there, while Makayla seemed to have a heart attack if Holly even attempted to play in the spinning door of a hotel like that for even a minute. "It's okay, this one doesn't cost a lot of money," Cara insisted in a hushed tone as she scouted out the front desk and tugged Holly towards it. That bare insistence was enough to satisfy Holly's confusion.

The dark, stormy night had quickly been replaced with a bright hotel lobby. It was cool and air conditioned inside, with calm music playing in the background that seemed to tie the ambiance of the modern hotel together. Just like every other new place, there was so much for Holly to see and do that she didn't know where to begin. As Cara spoke to the woman at the desk, she kept a tight grip on one of Holly's wrists so the most she could explore now was the bowl of mints that sat on the counter. "When Makayla is done with work, she's going to come too, right?"

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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Cara was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a vacant room available for them. With it being a Friday night and a holiday weekend, she expected the upscale hotel to be fully booked. She was even more grateful when her credit card was approved with no issues. It wasn't like it had rejected a single time in the many months she had been estranged from her father for, but every time she swiped it, there was always a flash of fear that it would reject. She was scared that her father would finally get sick of financing her life when she had cut him out of hers, or that his wife would have convinced him to cut off his ungrateful and bratty daughter once and for all. The fact that he hadn't done that yet definitely said something about their relationship, or simply that there still was a relationship there.

Cara mindlessly signed the receipt that the woman placed in front of her, took the plastic room key in her hand and gently pulled at Holly once again. The redhead had remained unusually quiet for most of her exchange with the hotel employee, and as Cara glanced down at her, the fist full of mints explained why. "When Makayla is done with work, she's going to come too, right?" Holly asked as they headed for the elevator. It took only a click of the 'up' button for the door to slide open and Cara led her in as she responded. "She's going to be working really late tonight, Holls. It's fine though, we'll just see her in the morning." Cara reached out to hit the button to take them to the third floor but before she even extended her arm she rethought it. Holly's change of expression had made it obvious that she was ready to press every bright button on that wall and Cara intercepted the teenager's hands before she could. "We need to go to the third floor, so just hit the button with the three on it," she instructed. She watched as it took a few more seconds than it should have for the sixteen-year-old to figure out which button that was and even then, she gave Cara a look suggesting she wasn't sure if she had made the right choice. "Perfect," she confirmed with a smile. It was hard not to feel bad for Holly. Cara was never a straight A student but her school issues stemmed from a lack of care and couldn't even be compared to Holly's problems or disabilities. It made a bleak future look inevitable for the younger girl. Cara couldn't think of a single job that didn't require basic literacy or math skills, let alone one that would hire someone who hadn't even finished middle school. She knew it wasn't her place, but she didn't understand why Makayla didn't enroll Holly in school, or better yet, put her into foster care. Cara admittedly knew very little about their predicament or how much worse being placed in a totally new environment could possibly be for Holly, but at the same time, could it be any worse than this? Holly deserved at least a chance to utilize whatever resources the state could offer. Although Cara had an enormous amount of respect for the care that Makayla put in to raising a child as difficult as Holly, times like this made her doubt that it was the best choice.

"Can we call the library to tell Makayla to come when she finishes work? 'Cause even if it's really late, that's okay and she can still come for a little while until it's morning time." Holly was being surprisingly persistent about this. Cara couldn't recall her ever really caring about Makayla being with them, and the sister was usually only referenced when Holly exclaimed how excited she was to be getting something when Makayla had already told her no. At the same time, it made sense. Makayla was probably one of the few people in Holly's life that had always been good for her. She played the role of the mother, the father, the sister, the teacher, and a lot of times, probably the psychologist too. Holly depended on her for everything, be it as obvious as money to survive to things that seemed trivial, like someone to listen to her rambling or take her swimming. Cara clearly remembered Makayla's request to not bring Holly to a hotel, but she really didn't think that going against that was that big of a deal. Plus, if Makayla showed up, it probably would put the seemingly-anxious Holly at ease. "Sure, we can try," she replied with another smile, glancing away from Holly as the elevator bell pinged and the doors slid open again. They were now out of the lobby and on the third floor, where the walls were lined with doors leading to different hotel rooms. "We're in room 308, Holls." Surprisingly, Holly didn't run off in search of the room herself. Cara supposed that it was because it was getting late and she was just tired, or that she didn't want to try to identify the room on her own, or maybe that she was actually worried about being away from Makayla for so long in a new place. The possibility of the third one being true made Cara feel guilty enough, that her first action after sliding the plastic key into their door was to find the phone. "Pick out which bed you want and I'll see if she answers, but I don't think she's allowed to talk on the phone while she's working," Cara said, sitting on the edge of one of the beds as she toyed with the phone. She wasn't sure how she remembered the phone number to Finn's bar. It was written on the glass door leading to the bar in paint that had mostly chipped off, but she had always kept it in the back of her mind "in case of an emergency". It paid off now, as she dialed the number and waited until the last ring when it was finally picked up.

"Yep?" The thick Irish accent and unprofessional greeting instantly identified the man on the receiving end as Finn.

"Hey. Finn? It's Cara. Sorry to bother you and all, but would you happen to know if Makayla is downstairs? I just need to talk to her for a quick sec-" She spoke in a hushed tone since Holly was jumping on the bed beside her in an attempt to determine which bed was "the best and bounciest".

"Makayla? Eh, hold on a sec." He cut her off before she could finish and after a few seconds of muffled chatter, a new voice sounded.

"Wow, Cara. I really thought I was your best friend and here you are, calling for Makayla and not me." The feigned offense in Brooklyn's voice made Cara roll her eyes, but she could tell that the other blonde was being playful. She had heard that Brooklyn was back but this was the first time they were speaking, and though she was glad to hear from her, now wasn't the best time.

"Ha ha, very funny. Look, I'm with Holly at a hotel in midtown and I just need to talk for Makayla for a second. Can you get her for me?"

"Aw, tell the little brat I say hi." Cara could feel the sarcasm in Brooklyn's words and though it was muffled, could hear her requesting another shot after she finished speaking.

"Please, Brooke?"

A dramatic sigh from the other line, followed by, "I really should be appointed as the next saint or something," brought a smile to Cara's face as she knew that Brooklyn was going to do it. The next five minutes involved her pleading with Holly to stop jumping because it would wake the people sleeping below them, and then Holly running off to the bathroom to shower.

The "Hello?" that came after what felt like an eternity was a huge relief.

"Makayla! Hey! It's Cara. I don't know if Brooklyn told you, but I ended up taking Holly to a hotel in midtown and--"

"A hotel? That's where you two are? Cara, I told you not to bring her there!"

The upset and possibly anger in Makayla's voice was genuinely surprising to Cara. Sure, she had said not to take Holly there, but at the time, it had felt more like she was saying it because she couldn't afford it and was being dramatic about the whole Holly not understanding that it wasn't permanent thing. "I know, I know, but it was raining and we were already across the street and I thought it would just be nice to sleep in a clean bed for one night. She's fine, Kay, really. She just wanted me to call you to see if you would come spend the night with us." Cara tried to keep her positive tone up, hoping that Makayla would drop the aggression when she realized how innocent her intentions had been. It was to no avail, though.

"Yeah, well tell her that I'm going to come, but just to pick her up. What's the address?"

Cara was surely taken aback by this side of Makayla that she had never dealt with. She didn't know that a lot of it was related to all of the stress that she had just endured working and simply thought that she was blowing up at her for what she thought was an act of kindness. "It's really not that big of a deal, Makayla. Why don't--"

"What's the fucking address, Cara?" The demanding and angry tone was enough for Cara to withhold the address, and as the line beeped, signalling that Makayla had hung up on her, she was left confused and offended. She didn't bother to get Holly out of the shower, partly because she still didn't think it was necessary, and partly because she was so caught off guard by how abrasively her friend had just treated her.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Zero Diamond
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Brooklyn wanted to clock Roman in the face for leading her down to the bar while Nick was there too, but she knew that wasn't some setup on his part. They had to go through the bar to get outside and it wasn't Roman's fault that Nick was a pathetic, sulky alcoholic who was drinking away his feelings for her. Had she not spotted Nick right away, she would have noticed how long it was taking for Roman to hail a cab, and for that, he would have to pay, but she didn't. Nick looked stressed and vulnerable and he instantly captivated her attention, though it probably was only apparent to him. She ignored him as if they were complete strangers, purposely choosing a seat on the opposite side of the bar. Maybe it was her ego speaking, because she refused to glance in his direction, but she was sure that she could feel Nick's eyes roving over her. She could now agree with Roman that if she was going to talk to Nick, looking as good as she did now would be a good time. But no, Brooklyn had too much pride to succumb to that temptation. Nick was the one who needed her back, and she would wait a million years for him to beg for her to come back rather than her do that to him. She tried to remind herself that he needed her, not the other way around, but there was a part of her that needed him. Even if she refused to admit it, it was there. If it wasn't, she wouldn't have come back, and she certainly wouldn't have stayed once she realized that he had tried to replace her with Savannah.

Finn was busy debating sports with a grey and balding man beside her, so he distractedly slid her usual vodka shot to her without much more of an acknowledgement. Now was one of the few times that Brooklyn wouldn't have minded listening to the man's rant. She needed something to busy herself with to distract herself from Nick. And then the phone rang. Considering it very rarely rang, Brooklyn was startled by the sudden ringing. Finn apparently was as well, since it took nearly all of the rings for him to locate the portable phone somewhere under the bar. In his search, he had shifted from her end of the bar closer to Nick's, so it made sense for him to hand the phone to Nick when it was revealed that it was Cara on the other end. Brooklyn jumped up as soon as she heard that, though. Not only did she feel closer to Cara than Nick, but she still needed that distraction and, she wanted to make it even more obvious that she was ignoring Nick. She sped towards him and quickly snatched the phone from Finn's hand before Nick could take it. It was immature and she knew it, but she couldn't resist brazenly elbowing him in the arm as she turned with the phone pressed to her ear.

"Wow, Cara. I really thought I was your best friend and here you are, calling for Makayla and not me," she huffed, pacing back towards her end of the bar. She hadn't seen Cara in weeks and while she did miss the fellow blonde, she didn't miss her enough where she would have cared enough to intercept the call had she not wanted to make a statement to Nick. "Ha ha, very funny. Look, I'm with Holly at a hotel in midtown and I just need to talk for Makayla for a second. Can you get her for me?" Cara retorted. "Aw, tell the little brat I say hi." Brooklyn said, ignoring Cara's last request in favor of keeping her involvement in the conversation going. She placed herself back on her bar stool and, pressing the phone to her chest, ordered another shot from Finn before raising it back to her ear. "Please, Brooke?" Cara followed up in an exasperated tone. After the flick of her wrist sent the cool alcohol down her throat, she gave Cara a dramatic sigh and obliged, but not before saying, "I really should be appointed as the next saint or something."

She only took a few steps towards the back of the bar when she realized why she was in here in the first place. It wasn't to spite Nick or to help Cara, it was because she was waiting on Roman so she could go to work. Her shift didn't start until eleven, so even if she spent another five minutes here, she would be okay, but where the hell was he?! It couldn't take this long to hail a cab, not even with the rain. With that in mind, she made a quick spin and headed for the front door that he had wandered out of at least five minutes before. Before she could push the glass door open, it was pulled open from the other end, and Roman revealed himself. His frustrated facial expression suggested that he hadn't intentionally taken so long, but she didn't hesitate to possibly frustrate him even further by shooing him back towards the door. It worked in her favor that she had caught him so close to the entrance because she now led him out with the phone still pressed to her ear. "I have to get Makayla, so tell this driver nevermind and you can hail another one for me in a minute," flashing him an innocent smile. She shrugged her hood over her head and continued towards the side of the bar, not responding to whatever Roman was saying behind her.

To her surprise, she didn't even need to go downstairs to find Makayla. The girl was standing in the alley and it only took a few steps for Brooklyn to indicate a potent smell of marijuana on her. It was only significant when considering how the alley already had its own strong stench of trash and tonight, wet pavement. "Do your 'clients' just pay you in the form of weed now? Like, an 'I'll suck your dick for a dime bag' type of deal?" she taunted, only now pulling the phone away from her ear to keep Cara out of the conversation. Brooklyn wasn't nice to Makayla. She wasn't nice to most people, but it was obvious that her dislike for Makayla was much deeper than it was for some of the others. While she would snap at Lennie or Alex or Robbie for annoying her, she tended to make the initiative to start problems with Makayla. Tonight was no exception, but it was apparent that Makayla wasn't in the mood for it. "What do you want, Brooklyn?" she snapped, stepping towards Brooklyn as if to prove she wasn't intimidated. It only brought a snicker out of Brooklyn, who matched the step forward. "Maybe I wanted to come out and say hi to you. You know, try to start things off between us on a friendly note since your attitude problems really made it impossible for anyone to like you before I left." Makayla still seemed unfazed, which disappointed Brooklyn who was looking for some reaction from the girl. She could feel the rain begin to seep through her hood, and that was the only thing that forced her to speed their conversation up. "Your daughter's nanny is on the phone looking for you," she said, waving the phone in her hand to show Makayla that she was serious. "The call will get dropped out here though, so I guess I'll be nice and let you come into the bar," she continued, offering another dramatic sigh as if she were a patron saint for extending an invitation that she held no authority over.

Makayla didn't seem skeptical at all, which surprised Brooklyn, but only because she didn't know that Makayla was unaware of Cara and Holly going to the hotel. She smiled victoriously as Makayla rolled her eyes and followed her into the bar. They stopped in the doorway, barely stepping into the place before Makayla snatched the phone out of Brooklyn's hands. "Oooh, aggressive. Do I have to pay more for that?" she continued to mock, eliciting a glare out of Makayla who was now too busy speaking to Cara to either shoot Brooklyn back a retort, or judging by her glare, punch her. Brooklyn was only half listening to Makayla at first, but when she caught onto Makayla's genuinely angry tone, she tuned in more. It was a tone she herself received fairly often, but Brooklyn couldn't imagine, in a million years, Makayla using that with Cara. The two were so in sync that it seemed like they had the potential to be the Nick and Roman of the girls in a few years. In an unfiltered reaction, Brooklyn shot Roman a look of confusion, hoping he was eavesdropping as well. The conversation was quick and ended with Makayla muttering some address, apparently in an attempt to remember it. She placed the phone down on the counter and before Brooklyn could offer some snarky comment, the younger girl was whisking past her and towards the door. Brooklyn wasted little time in grabbing Roman's wrist and pulling him with her, close behind Makayla. "I'll be damned if she hails the only cab in this neighborhood," she murmured.

The concern was apparently unnecessary since it took less than thirty seconds for Makayla to flag down a cab, forcing a glare out of Brooklyn as her head snapped towards Roman. She was tempted to shove Makayla out of the way and take the cab for herself, but after patting her pockets, Makayla turned back to them with a look of distress. It instinctively brought a smirk to Brooklyn's face, which only grew when she spoke. "I left my money in the basement and I'm really in a rush to get to Holly and Cara. Can either of you lend me a few dollars for the fare? I swear I'll pay you back as soon as I get back here." Showing no sympathy, Brooklyn only shrugged her shoulders. "No," she offered, with no explanation or attempt to claim she just didn't have the money to give. Then, an idea hit her. It was clear that Roman hadn't care enough to hail her a cab earlier, probably with the intentions of forcing her to speak with Nick, and now he deserved some payback. Payback in the form of forced socialization, which she knew the boy was not comfortable with. It only had her smirk growing as she placed a hand on Roman's back and gave him a small shove forward. "Roman's got your back though. He'll make sure you get there and back without a scratch on you, won't you, Roman? A bully in the ring but a gentle giant in our hearts." She knew she was pushing it, but oh well! Another cab passed and she took the initiative to wave this one down herself. "You two have fun!"

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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Makayla was probably overreacting to the whole situation. Cara meant no harm by taking Holly to the hotel. In fact, if anything, she was doing it to be helpful. She probably wanted to sleep in a clean bed in an air conditioned room just as much as Holly did, and Makayla was lucky that Cara was kind enough to watch Holly for her. On any other day, in any other mood, she probably would have thanked Cara and just let the whole situation go. Tonight, her mood was in the perfect place for her to explode. Had she stayed in the basement for five more minutes, Lennie or Robbie would have been on the receiving end, and maybe, they would have deserved it more than Cara. Makayla was already in the mindset that she had been wronged enough today to let this go, though. Holly was the one thing in Makayla's life that she had control over. She wasn't a dictator or power hungry. A lot of the time, actually, she liked to relinquish a little bit of that responsibility by having her hang out with Cara or by giving her a extra space to roam in Central Park or the basement when they were alone. She was okay with Cara letting Holly have sweets too close to her bedtime when it happened occasionally, and she was okay with Cara spoiling Holly with unnecessary toys that would be broken or lost within hours.

She wasn't Holly's mother but at the same time, Holly was Makayla's responsibility. Cara could babysit her for two hours and not have to worry about her again for days. She could leave the basement tomorrow, and Holly would never be a thought on her mind again. Makayla wasn't that lucky. She was responsible for Holly and she was the one who had to deal with the aftermath of all of the choices that other people made regarding her sister. Most of the time she let things go. She would stay up with Holly during the sugar rushes from her late night ice cream, even when her body begged her to go to sleep. She would deal with never being able to walk by a toy store again because Cara had brought her in there and acted like spending fifteen dollars on a plush toy was no big deal. She let things like that go, because even after she asked Cara not to do it, she tried to focus on how pure Cara's intentions probably were. Tonight, she just couldn't do that. So, she snapped at Makayla on the phone. She didn't care that Roman and Brooklyn were only a few feet away and that she probably seemed crazy and over dramatic. She would be damned if she let one more person or thing walk all over her today and in her bout of emotional rage, Cara felt like that person.

With the hotel's name and street squared away in her brain, she headed out of Finn's bar and into the street. By her first stroke of luck for the day - or maybe the month - it took less than a minute for a cab to pull to her side of the curb. She had nearly sat down when she realized she had no money on her. The forty dollars she had left from working was situated in the bottom of one of the boxes in her area. She could go down, risk losing the cab, and have to explain herself to Lennie and deal with the high on some shit Robbie, but it didn't seem worth it. Not when she was still riled up and wanted to stay that way until she got to Cara. So, in a move that was very out of character for her, she turned to Roman and Brooklyn with a humiliating and desperate plea for cab fare. Brooklyn proved herself to be the spawn of the devil that Makayla remembered her to be, and refused to offer any money, all while probably having at least one hundred dollars on her. And then she shoved Roman into the car with her and asserted that he would take care of the fare. If Makayla wasn't so desperate, she would have said nevermind and got her own money, but the cabbie seemed impatient and so was she. "I really appreciate it, Roman," she said quietly once the car started moving. She was lucky that it was Roman who was with her, because from the little she knew of him, she knew that he wasn't any more of a fan of small talk than she was. It didn't alleviate the awkwardness of the ten minute car ride to the hotel, but her refusal to speak didn't make it any more awkward than it had to be.

Spotting the hotel in front of them brought Makayla's anger back in full force. It was a nice hotel, a really nice hotel. That wasn't saying much coming from her, because any hotel was a step up from every place she had ever called home, but this one had to be a three or four star hotel. Makayla was too fuming to care about being out of place when they stepped into the modern, tranquil lobby. She knew that she smelled of marijuana, and probably far worse things considering how her night had went, but she didn't care. She had to get to room 308 and she didn't even give the woman at the reception desk a second to smile at them as she slammed a finger into the elevator button. "You know how Holly is. She doesn't understand that this isn't our life. And I told Cara that, god dammit, I told her not to bring her here and what does she do? She brings her here. God, I'm going to hear about this for months. I know I can't take care of her well enough already, and now every day that we pass by a fucking hotel and Holly asks why we can't stay there, it'll be a great reminder of that." Even if Roman hadn't been standing next to her, she probably still would have vented aloud. She wasn't looking for a response, she was looking for a release of this stress and anger and feelings of unfairness.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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As the elevator proceeded to lift to the third floor at a painfully slow pace, Roman avoided Makayla's eyes. He wasn't sure if she was directing her rant towards him, in want of a response, or if she was just venting aloud for the sake of venting. He didn't mind Makayla. Compared to some of the others in the basement, he preferred her since she tended to keep to herself and didn't cause any drama, apart from her relationship with Brooke. Roman was honest enough with himself to admit that he knew Brooklyn was at fault for this though. In the awkwardness that followed Makayla's talking, he leaned against the wall, watching the floor numbers increase. He wasn't sure what to say, as this was the first time he was hearing about this. From what he understood, Holly and Cara were here, and Makayla didn't want that. It was nearly impossible for him to relate. He was an only child, for one. He didn't have to take care of the equivalent of a four-year-old. His solution would be to lie to Holly and tell her that the hotels turned into libraries or schools or something she didn't like; anything to disinterest her. But he didn't know Holly the way that Makayla did, and he definitely wasn't trying to step on her toes, so instead all he said was, "You do fine with her."

Immediately after saying that he mentally slapped himself. He meant it to be sympathetic, but he didn't know Makayla well enough to be sentimental. Even if he did, that kind of socialization made him uncomfortable. He wanted to tell her that Holly would probably be dead if it wasn't for Makayla, which was pretty much a God given fact. Not only that, but Holly was always happy despite everything around her, so that was also a fairly good indication of Makayla caring for her well. Again, he didn't know what it was like to have that kind of relationship with somebody. He couldn't begin to understand her worry or whatever it was she was feeling, and he didn't want to overstep his boundaries by pretending he did. Especially since he's sure he just came off as a jerk, it was probably best he stayed quiet, but he still felt somewhat guilty as he followed her down the hallway.

"She's probably fine," he said in a low enough voice to make him wonder where his volume went. The hotel was really nice. Walking in his worn down, dirtied shoes felt like a sin against the beautifully and intricately designed carpet. It was awfully quiet and the silence made him sleepy. There was some type of tranquility and ease that came with being in a hotel. When he went traveling with his grandparents, they had stayed in quite a few. It was probably the last time he was in one, and being here now made him feel brutally out of place. He hoped no one stepped out of their room and saw them. He was more so concerned with himself over Makayla though. He was always worried with how strangers perceived him. In his mind, he thought others saw him as dangerous, especially now in such a nice place, which only doubled his insecurity. It shouldn't have bothered him so much, but he'd always had a problem with it. Too often did he concern himself with the judgment of people he would likely never see again. This didn't stop him from holding his breath as they passed each door on the way to 308, hoping no one came out.

Once they arrived to the door, he wasn't sure if he should have waited outside or not. This wasn't really any of his business, and it would be a good way to get back at Brooklyn for putting him in this situation. He was sure she would want to know all the details, since she could be like a teenager when it came to gossip, especially with someone she didn't like. Cara was inside too, he remembered, with Holly. Cara was pretty nice and he knew that she got on well with Makayla. It only made him even more anxious since Makayla seemed rather upset with her. Although it wasn't in her nature, with Makayla's temper at Cara coming as a surprise, Roman didn't want to risk Cara snapping at him for being present. It would be completely out of the norm, but so far the night had been just that. Still unable to find his words, and somewhat too unwilling of talking to Makayla, he stammered some before closing his mouth and looking at the opposite end of the hall, embarrassed of himself. Right then he decided it would be best if he just stopped trying to talk. His focus was set on the window at the far end of the hall, and he leaned his head back against the wall, hoping he could somehow sink into it.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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{Written in collaboration with Bandit}

There was a fifteen minute wait between the unexpectedly tense phone call between Cara and Makayla, and the knock on their hotel room door. During that time, Cara idly flipped through the television channels, too stressed, confused and upset by Makayla's call to even appreciate an episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills when she landed on that channel. Maybe she should have stopped back at the basement before taking Holly to the hotel to check with Makayla. Holly was her sister, and in some ways, more of a daughter than a sister. Makayla deserved to know where she was. But it wasn't like Cara had taken her to some brothel. They were in a nice, safe hotel - probably the cleanest place that Holly had ever slept in in her life. Makayla's initial annoyance could be justified by her wanting to be in the loop about Holly's whereabouts but her freaking out over it to the point where she was cussing at her? Not only was that out of character, but in Cara's mind, it was unacceptable. Yes, she was spending the night at the hotel to help keep her sanity. Anyone could get sick of living in the poor conditions of the basement, but a girl raised in the Upper East Side had far less of a tolerance. Plus, even if she really wanted to stay there for herself, she was giving Holly one night of luxury too! One night of sleeping in an air conditioned room, on a real bed with clean sheets and fluffy pillows and with a bathroom that didn't have a shower drain clogged with strangers' hair.

A little bit of the privileged, "everyone should bow down to my requests" Cara was sneaking up on her as she worked herself up over how Makayla reacted. The phrase "how dare she?" seemed to be playing on loop in her thoughts, and only stopped about ten minutes in, when she realized that Holly was still in the bathroom. The last thing she needed was for Makayla to show up in a rage and for Holly to have somehow drowned herself in the shower. With the little energy she had, she padded towards the bathroom door and knocked on it loud enough to be heard over the rushing water. "Holly, is everything okay in there?" she asked, turning the doorknob slowly just to make sure that it was unlocked if she needed to go in. Luckily, it was, but the redhead responded instantly. "Yes, and did you know that this shower is a bath tub too? I don't know how to get the water to stay in it but I think we should try that tomorrow." Maybe Makayla was right. Maybe Holly wasn't going to understand that they weren't going to be here tomorrow and that this was really just a one time thing. It definitely made her feel guilty, the thought of exposing Holly to a life she would possibly never experience again, but at the same time, was it that big of a deal? "Try to finish up soon, Holls," was all that she responded with. She didn't want to tell her that Makayla was on her way, because she wasn't coming to stay and she wanted Makayla to be the one to ruin Holly's night, not her. In an impulsive move, Cara's next destination was the mini fridge on the opposite side of the room. There was a laminated sheet of paper on top of it, listing the dramatically expensive prices for all of its contents, but Cara didn't even glance at it as she pulled out three miniature bottles of Jack Daniel's. She poured one down her throat in one easy motion, but the burning that followed the liquid going down left her hesitant to drink the other two just yet. On top of the drinks she had with dinner, the first bottle would probably give her enough liquid courage to deal with Makayla without crying.

Knock... knock.... knock...

Makayla's ears were ringing too loudly for her to even process Roman's mumbled responses to her elevator rant. She was grateful for him coming, only because he was paying her fare, really, but she wasn't looking for his advice. Not because she disliked him, but because no one was going to understood how fed up she was feeling right now. She felt like for her entire life, she was being kicked while she was down, and tonight was one of the very rare occasions when she actually snapped. It was only possible for her to take so much shit before she just couldn't keep her cool anymore, and Cara, the person she thought she could trust the most, disregarding her so brazenly was enough to push her over the edge.

Cara froze. If she wasn't sure that Makayla was angry enough to start shouting at her through the door and wake up their neighbors, she might have hid on the bed and waited for her to leave. That wasn't an option now, though, and reluctantly, she opened the door. Before she could get a word out, Makayla was speaking.

"Where is she, Cara? Huh?

"In the bathroom. She's just showering." Well, the liquid courage did nothing to give her real courage. She could already feel her voice shaking. Cara used to be okay with confrontations. She grew up with a slew of bitchy girls and having a sharp tongue was kind of a necessity for social survival. It was just catching her so off guard that it was Makayla who was being so rude to her, and again, for no good reason!

"You have some nerve bringing her here when I specifically told you not to." Makayla's eyes remained set on hers as her fist rapped against the bathroom door. "Holly, get dressed. It's time to go home." The way that her voice didn't even get softer when addressing her sister made Cara even more worried. Makayla probably knew that a request like that, even in an angry tone, wasn't going to be enough to get her sister out of the shower that easily, so after fiddling with the doorknob for a few seconds, she shoved the door open. Cara was still hovering nervously by the fridge and glanced at Roman, who was standing in the doorway, with a helpless expression. "Shut the door!" she hissed at him, though it ended up being closer to a meek whisper than she wanted it to be, and her frantic hand movements were probably the better indicator of what she wanted him to do.

Seeing the hotel that Cara had brought Holly firsthand made Makayla even more upset. It was a gorgeous room that probably cost as much per night as Makayla made in two weeks. In her emotional state of mind, she was certain that Cara was trying to rub it in that she had this much expendable money and that she could take care of Holly better than Makayla could. As if she didn't feel that way enough, when Holly would come back from her excursions with Cara with new clothes or shoes or just stories about the nice places they went to... now Cara had to top it all off by bringing her to some luxury hotel. Not only was she rubbing it in Makayla's face, but she was dangling this unrealistic lifestyle in from of innocent Holly's eyes. As Makayla had raged over earlier, she was going to be the one to have to break Holly's spirit by telling her that this was something they could never afford again. It wasn't fair and as soon as she had Holly out the door, Cara was going to be the punching bag for every bit of anger that Makayla had harbored for the past few months.

"Holly, get out," Makayla demanded, barging into the bathroom as pulling the shower curtain open a few inches. The redhead gasped in surprise but Makayla wasn't in the mood for questions or hugs or "Yay!!! You're here!"'s right now. She didn't want to snap at Holly, but at this point, there was little she could do to control her emotions. She tugged a towel off of the rack nearby and pulled her sister by her slippery arm out of the shower. As she tossed the towel at her with one hand, she turned the water off with the other. Holly's clothes were balled up on the floor nearby and she snatched them from the ground and tossed them at Holly, who had only just begun to dry herself off. "Get dressed and go outside, Holly. I don't have time for games today, okay?" She would regret being so short with Holly in the morning. Her sister's confused and almost frightened expression had her conscience tugging at her mind, but it wasn't enough. She had been too good to Holly and to everyone for too long to just continue to be a doormat. She left the door halfway open as she stepped back outside, only turning towards the now-closed door to address Roman quickly. "Would you mind taking Holly outside when she gets dressed? I don't want her to be in here for this." She didn't wait for his response. Again, that was something she would feel bad about when her adrenaline rush subsided. Roman was only here to help her. He certainly didn't want to be here any more than she did, and his posture, mumbled responses, and the vibes radiating off of him made that clear. But she would pay him back. She would pay him back and apologize for dragging him there and dragging him into this. Once she was back in the basement with a clear mind and a joint between her lips, she would make things right with him.

"Makayla, why are you getting so mad over this? I really didn't think it was a big deal. I'm sorry for not telling you, but, like, wouldn't you rather Holly be here than in that basement? With... those people?" That definitely didn't come out right and as Makayla's eyebrows shot upwards, Cara was chewing on her bottom lip.

"'Those people'? What the hell's that supposed to mean, Cara? I am one of 'those people'. Actually, you're the only one who isn't one of 'those people'. So, yeah, I would rather Holly be here than in the basement. What kind of fucking sister would I be to say no to that? Do you think I don't want Holly to have the best life possible? You think that I don't know that she deserves better than a dark, dirty basement, sleeping next to drug addicts and thieves, and oh, shit - a prostitute? I know all that, Cara, but - and maybe this is a newsflash for you, so be prepared - that's not the world we live in. You've been good to Holly for as long as I've known you and I will never deny that, and honestly, Cara, I really tried not to judge you because you've been so good to us, but wake the fuck up. Not all of us are Barbies living in a dream world like you. We don't have mommy and daddy's credit card to use when we feel like going on vacation to a pretty hotel, and I understand that, but she doesn't. I don't need you flashing around your money in front of my sister just so that I can be the one to let her down when I tell her that compared to you, I'm nothing." Makayla had stepped closer to the blonde with every sentence, until she was only inches from Cara. She so badly wanted to grab the girl by her shoulders and shake her until maybe this all made sense to her. She could have went on for hours about how Cara would never understand what it was like to have to dehumanize herself just to be able to afford some barely edible food for her and Holly. How there were days when she ate nothing so Holly could eat. How fucking hard it was to watch her sister growing up for her entire life in one place that was all the more shitty than the last. Cara would never get it. They were in the same room, but living in entirely different worlds.

Even as she watched Roman and Holly leave the room during Makayla's rant, it was impossible for her to distract herself from how volatile Makayla was being, as the girl stepped closer and closer to her. "I don't know... I don't know what you want me to say, then. I'm sorry for being nice to your sister." It was pathetic and Cara knew it, but she could feel tears welling up in her eyes from being yelled at. It was sort of an instinctive reaction for her. Whenever her father or stepmother would shout at her, she could get maybe one or two nasty remarks back before she lost her strong front and broke down in tears. With Makayla, someone who was supposed to be a friend, on the offensive end, that front came down even faster.

"Well, don't worry. I don't need you to be nice to her anymore. I'll have whatever I owe you for her half of the room tomorrow, and you won't have to do anything good for us again."

Cara was definitely going to burst into tears if she even tried to open her mouth to respond, so it was probably best that Makayla spun around and left, slamming the door dramatically on her way out. In an equally dramatic move, Cara allowed herself to fall back onto the bed behind her and finally drop the wall preventing her tears from falling. She didn't know what the hell just happened, and she didn't think she wanted to know.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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Holly went from a relaxing, steamy shower to the shower curtain being pulled open, a tight clasp on her arm, and having a towel tossed at her bare form all in a matter of seconds. Makayla was the one who interrupted her shower, and while her sister's arrival normally would have made Holly excited, she was now only confused and startled. Makayla got frustrated with Holly occasionally. It was something that no one could blame her for, since Holly's energy was hard to handle for a few minutes, let alone for years, on her own. If Holly was even paying enough attention to notice, she would usually frown at her sister being short with her. If it involved being denied ice cream or candy and she was in the perfect mood for a tantrum, there would sometimes be whining involved, but it rarely even got to that extent. Makayla was patient enough with Holly that she rarely even noticed when her sister was getting tired and fed up with her antics. So, being pulled straight out of the hot shower and into the cool air with no explanation, aside from a warning that Makayla "didn't have time for games today", definitely caught her off guard. She was the last person to be labeled as perceptive, but even Holly could sense the anger that seemed to border aggression in her sister's voice. It was enough for Holly to not even vocalize her concern that she wanted clean clothes to change into, and not the same outfit that she had come in, or that she was supposed to have a sleepover at the hotel tonight. She threw her clothes on quickly and hurried out of the bathroom. Before she could step towards Makayla and Cara, who appeared to be on the verge of war, Roman waved her towards the door. She was too confused to process much of what was going on and without question, followed him out the door. "Come on, Holly. Let's go see the rest of the hotel," he said as he closed the door behind them, with the duo reaching the hallway just a second before Makayla started shouting.

"Is Makayla mad at me?" The fact that it was already close to eleven o'clock and Holly had spent most of her day bouncing off of the wall probably had something to do with how focused her thoughts were. She wasn't questioning Roman about how many doors he thought were in the hallway, if they could ride the elevator again, where the hotel's swimming pool was or if they could get a snack from the vending machine. Her mind was slowing down and for once, narrowing in and something that was actually important. "No, you didn't anything, Holly. Don't worry about it," Roman responded. He then waved the ice bucket in his hand - another thing that Holly had been too focused to notice - and changed the conversation. "Want to see something cool?" No amount of lethargy or nerves could keep Holly's curiosity from surfacing now, though. She looked at the bucket inquisitively and then back at Roman, nodding eagerly as she pushed her wet hair behind her shoulder. "Yes! What's that for?" It wasn't brightly colored or sparkly with flashing lights, but until she knew what it was, she wasn't going to assume it was boring. "It's for ice. You go to this machine and fill it up. It makes this really loud noise, and..." He paused for a second, seemingly searching for a way to spin uninteresting device to seem cool. For Holly, it just seemed like a dramatic pause and she was listening even more intently by now. "It does this really cool thing that you have to for yourself. I can't explain it." Her eyes, though still heavy with exhaustion, lit up at the prospect of something "really cool". "Where's the machine?! At the places that me and Makayla eat at, there's sometimes a machine for all of the drinks in the world, and when you push one of them ice comes out too, and Makayla always gets so mad at me because I like to fill up her cup for her because I'm really good at it, but she doesn't like when I fill hers all the way up with ice. Is it like that?" When Roman responded with, "Yeah, just like that but imagine it ten times bigger. And you can fill it up to the top as many times as you want, but only this one time. You can't do it at restaurants, okay?" she was quick to nod, despite not really processing what he said, just so he would hand her the bucket. This was definitely going to be a good distraction from what was going down in room 308.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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Roman watched the tired excitement in Holly's eyes as he handed her the ice bucket. It was almost saddening to see her constant curiosity and restlessness. There was no way she'd be able to survive on her own, and as he walked with her down the hallway, he felt a pang of guilt for being anxious about his own troubles. They no longer seemed as urgent or validated as before. Sure, he had a lot to worry about, just like anyone else, but next to Holly they didn't seem as bad. He was able to fend for himself, but Holly was a different story. A lot of the people in the basement, mainly the girls, thought Holly was implausibly adorable because of her hyperactivity and other childlike qualities. And while, like a kid, there was a natural charm about her, he couldn't only see the good in her personality. It was almost scary to see how Holly seemed to be in another world. For a four-year-old, being excited over getting ice made sense, because they were four. But at sixteen or however old Holly was - he wasn't entirely sure - there came an inevitable worry at that same excitement.

Halfway down the hall was an alcove that held two vending machines, one for soda and one for snacks, and the ice machine. Roman grabbed the bucket, still letting Holly keep hold of it, and guided it against the lever. The machine shook alive and churned and, as expected, expelled large chunks of ice. He went over to the window and looked at the few cars that passed on the streets. A strike of lightning briefly illuminated the sky from miles away then seconds later, a roll of thunder cracked overhead. He looked back at Holly, wondering how long this would entertain her. He typically didn't interact with her for more than a few minutes, and then Makayla would intervene, but there was no telling how long she would take now. Roman's mind pulled over different things that might appease Holly. It was hard, considering normal things like ice didn't excite him, but he tried to remind himself that simple things spiked Holly's curiosity. Still though, he thought it could border on being somewhat detrimental to think her so simple-minded that anything would interest her. For now though, this seemed to be doing the trick as the ice overflowed while she spoke to him.

"We should get one of these for our house, right? Because then we can fill up the whole basement with ice and it will never be hot again. It will be like Alaska because I think that's supposed to be the coldest country in the whole entire world."

"You would want it that cold?" Roman asked her, but before she could respond, Makayla appeared, taking Holly by the arm. She again seemed in a rush, and in a breath said, "Thanks for staying with her. We can go now; I'll pay you back as soon as we get in."

Killens took the bucket from Holly as he reached into his pocket. He figured Makayla should be by herself, and to be quite honest, he didn't want to be around her. He was sure she probably didn't want him around either, and anyways, he felt like he had already intruded enough as it was. He handed her the cash, suppressing the sigh that was building up in him. He wasn't sure when she'd pay him back, and money was tight to begin with, but he didn't really have a choice now. "Here," he said. "Just go without me. I have to go somewhere, and it's faster to walk, so." It was a lie, but he knew Makayla wouldn't question it. As Makayla pulled Holly away, he heard part of her protest, "But I didn't finish helping Roman with the ice..." before it trailed off.

After realizing he still had the bucket and should probably return it, he dumped some of the ice out so it wasn't as full and walked back towards 308. A growing uneasiness settled in his stomach as he got closer to the door. He stood outside for a moment, his hand hovering over the door, before he finally knocked. It took long enough for him to worry if Cara was still inside, but sure enough she answered the door. Her face was blotchy and her eyes were red, clear evidence that she had been crying, but he tried not to focus on it and pretended he didn't notice. He lifted the bucket in his hand some.

"Hey," he said. "I thought you might want this back."