Blaine Sativa grows up in a family of hysteria. Her mother, a bitter woman who raised her in the remote woods of Colorado, dies shortly after Blaine's older brother Clarke is institutionalized. That fateful day after losing her family, Blaine lives...
Any relationship is a structure which requires a foundation to weather the storm. In order to thrive, a pairing requires a firm and reliable basis of trust. Blaine's love for Travis is nurtured by his tireless efforts but the foundation is cracked and caving in around them.
She wants to trust he isn't involving himself with The White Lipped Kings or off getting high. There isn't any romanticism in a gang regardless if he isn't a member. She's haunted by it, jumping at shadows, and looking over her shoulder whenever she's alone.
Travis seems more like himself than he has in months. They laugh often enough and sleep together rather than as two cold stagnate bodies on entirely different galaxies. Before it was difficult to communicate with something as intangible as star dust separating them. All of that progress is wonderful... but Blaine wants more.
She sits outside the supermarket for a smoke break. Blaine watches Tina walking towards her from the other side of the building. The unbalanced metal picnic-table tips dangerously when she sits on the bench across from her.
Untying the knots in her plastic bag Tina says, "Thank god for lunch! I was starvin'." Always starting with dessert, since she was a toddler, she tears into a pudding cup first. "When's your shift over?"
"An hour." Blaine flicks ash from her cigarette before taking the last drag.
Sucking on her spoon, Tina eyes her suspiciously. "You seem down. Want to go to dinner with Clark and I this evening?"
"But it's Tuesday."
She shrugs. "So? He's having a good day and I realize I've missed him."
Today is a bitter day. She nearly retorts that Tina should have realized years ago but such negativity would be unjustified. There's no reason to inflict her sour mood upon her siblings. Especially after all the progress they've made.
"I can't," she relents. "I have a date with Travis."
"Mmm." Nodding a little too enthusiastically Tina forcefully stirs her spoon through the pudding. "Things better with him?"
"Yeah. A lot better actually."
"Then why don't you sound happy about it?"
She lights a second cigarette. Relieving stress coiling a tenseness in her body and fusing a short in her mood.
"It's not him. Or us." She says through a cloud of smoke. "We're good but I feel like all the bad shit in this town is going to make it impossible for us to be happy... legitally ya'know?"
"A downhill slope."
"Exactly." Pointing Blaine adds, "You have pudding smeared on your chin."
Tina wipes the mess away with her sleeve then asks, "You still want to fight for him?"
"Of course. Just, preferably, somewhere else."
"So you gonna talk to him about moving on your date?"
Blaine tucks her bottom lip under her teeth, indecisive. "Maybe."
"Well don't get yourself in a situation like I did."
It's the same song different verse so Blaine simply nods before checking the time. "I'm two minutes late from break. How bout we carpool after shift?"
"Okie dokie artichoke."
Blaine stomps out the rest of her cigarette. After a small wave goodbye she walks across the lot. Trying not to be too distracted by thoughts of Travis while she's stuck here unable to do anything about it.
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