Gold Rush

Next of Kin

The firehouse buzzed with the familiar routine of a normal day. Bobby bustled around the kitchen, the delectable aroma of dinner filling the air. Meanwhile, Aurelia and Buck were fighting over the game controller, their voices bouncing off the walls as they wrestled for it.

"Lia, Lia please. Someone call HR!" Buck yelled as Aurelia snatched the controller away from him.

"Chimney! Here, you're up." Hen announced as she pulled the controller out of Aurelia's hands, prompting both Buck and Aurelia to shoot her their best attempts at puppy-dog eyes, silently pleading for one more turn. Chimney just walked past them silently and marched straight into the kitchen, the three of them quickly following him.

 Chimney stood at the island, looking dejected staring at the bottle in front of him. The three of them stared at him in silence, not knowing what to do. As Aurelia opened her mouth to ask him if he was okay, he looked up looking at them before asking, "I'm a good-looking guy, right? I mean, like, you could do a lot worse than me, yeah?"

"Chimney, I've done a whole lot worse than you," Hen assured him.

Aurelia chuckled softly before responding, "Chim, the only guy I've ever dated is six feet under, and still, I can confidently say that yes, I could do far worse than you."

"I asked Tatiana to marry me." Chimney revealed.

"Wow, um... okay," Aurelia said, shock completely taking over her as Hen's mouth dropped open and Buck's eye's grew wide.

"Um...well...what happened?" Hen asked.

"First, she said she cheated on a fiance that I didn't even know about and now we need to break up, then she said she didn't know. I..."

"Did you offer her the option of an open marriage? It's super modern." Buck suggested.

"Buck!" Aurelia chided, shaking her head in exasperation. Buck ran away, knowing she would have swatted his arm if he stayed within reach.

"Chim, I'm sorry. It may not have been the answer you were looking for, but it's not a no."

"It might as well be," 

"Probably for the best," Bobby muttered, earning a glare from Aurelia as she turned towards him. Sensing an impending argument , Aurelia chose to join Buck and Hen as they began setting up the table.

"I never said I didn't like her. I don't like her for you." Bobby said as the three of the turned around, now invested in the argument happening in front of them.

"And what does that even mean? No. Come on. Come on with it, wise man, just say what you want to say cause I'm getting real tired of you standing there, just silently judging me with that...yeah, right there, with that smirk on you face. You know, you're always so quick to comment on everybody's life, but you completely shut down whenever we ask you about yours. Why is that? Huh? I mean, how long have we worked together, Bobby? I know nothing about you. I've never even met your wife and kids. You know why? Cause all you do is you sit there, brooding, staring in that little book of yours." Chimney ranted as they all watched.

"You know what? You're upset, let's drop it." Bobby replied.

"Oh, my god, Bobby. Come on, just say it! What is it? Say it!" Chimney shouted.

"All right, you're living a lie, man! You let her manipulate you. You pretend to be somebody you're not when you're around her. Making up stories to satisfy some her fetish of hers? What is that?" Bobby argued.

By this point, Aurelia had already tuned out. As much as she'd hate to admit it, she couldn't bear the shouting. She hated that it reminded her of her own home, one that she tried so hard to forget. One that she had managed to escape. Yet even after all these years, she could still picture her parents screaming at each other while she tried her best to stay quiet, afraid that her mother would lash out at her. Aurelia was so consumed by her thoughts that she didn't even register Buck calling her name.