Originally From: 18.06.27
Rewrite Started: 22.11.15
Finished: 24.03.19
Words: 1,333
In honour of my 6th book Broken turning 3 this month (Mar. 19th), I thought it’d be fun to revisit the world with a short story based on the characters. This story has 0 bearing on the book’s plot and is not meant to be a sequel. If anything, this is technically a prequel (if you’ve read the book, you’ll know why). This is just a fun one-off story.
A fanfic based on my own book, if you will.
Regardless of what you choose to call it, I hope you like it!
“Are you sure about this?”
Stacey took in a deep breath, in an attempt to steel herself against what she was about to do as she accepted the plastic cup, “Yeah, I’m good.”
Jesse didn’t look convinced, but didn’t stop her from walking toward the cabin, anyway. He watched her go, small boulder settling into his stomach, “Be careful.”
The blonde turned away from the doorway, sly smile on her face, “Never.”
—
Stacey groaned, blinking her eyes open slowly as she woke up. She squinted against the harsh light streaming in from between the curtains, tilting her head away as she felt the familiar stab of needles in her brain.
The blonde carefully sat up, needing to swallow hard to keep her nausea at bay, that never gets easier. She stretched her legs out under the covers, freezing as her left leg hit something that definitely wasn’t bedding.
Oh no… Dreading what she’d find, she slowly turned to her left, peering over the pillow to the person who was sleeping beside her. Who did I…? She leaned a little closer in an attempt to identify the person, but it was no use – they were on their stomach, and their brown hair and tangle of arms was obscuring their face.
Stacey slid herself out of bed as quietly as she could, not wanting to disturb her sleeping partner. She couldn’t help the shiver that ran through her as the cool air hit her body.
Her entire body.
She swallowed thickly and started scrambling around the room, on the hunt for her clothes. She quickly shrugged on her t-shirt before continuing the search, doing her best not to completely freak out. Crow wouldn’t have let me do anythi-
She froze on the spot as the person on the bed rolled over, subconsciously holding her breath. Once it was clear they weren’t waking up, she continued the search for her pants.
And phone.
Where are they? She frowned as she turned around the bedroom in a small circle, not seeing the rest of her belongings. She let out a deep sigh before making her way over to the door, guess we’re doing this old school.
The blonde pressed her ear to the door, trying to hear if anyone else was awake on the other side. After a minute of not hearing anything, she carefully cracked it open.
She slipped out the door and nearly tripped. What the…? She rolled her eyes as she saw the floor was littered with passed out party-goers. Didn’t anyone go home last night? She started down the hall, taking care to step over every sleeping teen.
Stacey let out a small breath as she reached the top of the stairs and noted it was empty. Thankfully. She made her way down the stairs quickly, using her unfortunately intimate knowledge of the cabin to her advantage to avoid the creaky parts of the steps.
Once she was at the bottom, she practically ran the short distance toward the front door, stopping just as her hand reached the knob as someone cleared their throat from behind her.
“Forgetting something?”
She braced herself as she heard the accent and turned around, plastering a smile on her face as she spotted the owner, “Hey, baby. What are you doing up so early?”
“Cut the crap, Sweetheart.” Crow half gestured to the empty space between them, “Everyone who cares is asleep.”
Stacey shrugged, posture changing, “Force of habit.” She walked the short distance over to him and reached for her phone, not bothering to hide her annoyance as he held it out of reach, “What the hell, Crow?” She swiped for it again, shooting him annoyed daggers as he took a step back, “I already stayed for your stupid party. Now let me leave.”
Crow’s brows rose at her tone and he gave her a once over, sly smile pulling at the corner of his mouth, “Didn’t leave the money on the dresser, eh?”
Stacey rolled her eyes, and turned on her heel, “You know what? Keep the phone.”
She was out the door in the next instant, and let out a groan as she heard him follow.
“Whoa, hey, there’s no need for that.” Crow cut in front of her path, blocking the porch steps. He dug a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and held them up, “Breakfast?”
“I have to go.”
“Emma’s fine.” At the raised eyebrow, he held up his hands in mock surrender, “Adam tailed her. He never came home.”
The blonde eyed him for a minute before letting out a sigh, moving to sit on the half-wall, “One.”
Crow wasted no time in following her the short distance over, holding the pack out to her. There was a moment of silence as the two teens lit up before Stacey blew out her first breath of smoke, eyes drifting over to the trees that hid the cabin from the rest of the park.
She could feel his eyes on her as she took her second drag, “So, how long are you going to be extending our deal, exactly? Y’know, just so I can plan the rest of my year.”
Crow let out a chuckle at that – not the obnoxious fake laugh he used around his cronies, but his real laugh – and shook his head, “I forgot how good you were.”
“At?”
“Ruining nice moments.”
“It’s a gift.” She paused to take another drag before raising an eyebrow, “Well?”
“If you came around more, I wouldn’t need to extend it.”
Stacey rolled her eyes, “Oh, puh-lease don’t go pretending like you’re the victim here. You know exactly why I left.”
“Actually, I don’t.”
Stacey scoffed and gestured to the cabin, “You’re a drug dealer!”
“And you’re a whore.”
Because he was standing behind her, she missed the guilty look that crashed onto his face as soon as the sentence left his mouth. Stacey bristled at it, and turned back to look out over the trees.
He hung his head for a moment, damn it, before forcing himself to take in a deep breath, “I mean…” he chanced taking a small step closer to her, half-raising his hand in a failed attempt to touch her shoulder, voice softening, “I-I miss you.”
“What?” The incredulous chuckle that left her mouth cut him like a knife and he quickly dropped his free hand back down to his side. She half-turned, raising an eyebrow at him as she brought her cigarette back to her mouth, “You’re gonna go out of business if you keep using your own product, y’know.”
“I’m not high,” Crow shifted his posture, not realizing his attempt to cover up his soft-side made it more apparent, “Forget it.” He dug the cell out of his pocket and tossed it at her, “There, now get out.”
Stacey blinked at him in stunned silence for a moment, “T-Tony, I…” her sentence died on her lips as she checked the phone and noticed all the missed calls, “Shit.”
Crow couldn’t help but be concerned as she jumped off the wall and smashed out her cigarette, “What is it?”
“He did come back.” She pushed passed him and ran down the porch steps, “I’ve gotta go.”
He momentarily shook his head, I’m going to kill Adam. He took another drag as he watched her disappear into the trees, barely registering her bare legs as she went.
“Yo, Queen, I’m making-” The voice from behind him made Crow turn to the cabin door, junkie’s face falling as he noted the empty porch, “pancakes.” He frowned and leaned out the door a little further, “I thought I heard her out here.”
“She had to leave.” Crow took one more drag from his cigarette before putting it out on the wall, “So, breakfast?”
The junkie’s brows furrowed more and he stepped aside, “I didn’t know you smoked.”
Crow let out a small sigh as he made his way back over to the door, “I don’t.”
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