run right back

[Deleted]

The room was bleak despite her best efforts to spruce the place up her attempt had been futile. No amount of wall art or flowery candles could mask what this house was. It was not one filled with joy or warmth as accustomed to a house. It was devoid of emotion, of care but that was its sole purpose. He wanted her to feel desolate and barren, his willing captive. Only she knew nothing of the sort, to her he was a savior. He was the man she had always dreamed of meeting, the man who had made it possible for her to enter the world and the very man who taught her how to ride a bike. He could do no wrong in her eyes and his intentions were that of gold. ”Has anyone been asking about me?” her tone was hopeful as she sat up in bed with his hands in hers ”no” he replied curtly ”but remember what I said, you don’t need them. And it’s better if you stay here; just have some time for yourself, alright?” he adopted a softer tone as he tucked her hair behind her ear ”call me if you need anything and remember to keep a low profile, we don’t want anyone recognising you do we?” it was more of a demand rather than a question and his feeble daughter only nodded in response. Seeing her dejected face, he bent to kiss her forehead before departing. Was he growing sentimental towards the girl? Hardly, he just had to ensure he came off as the only one who cared.

He had arrived back at his beach house in the early hours of the morning; the drive from Mexico was both tiring and tedious and with only the car radio to keep him awake it was safe to say he was ready to collapse. But he couldn’t, it was 10am and as if on cue his phone rang. ”Anna.” he sighed in exasperation. She was perhaps his biggest obstacle, being a mother she could never quite give up on her daughter no matter what her decision were. Which left him with the predicament of dispelling her worries. He would take driving to and from Mexico if it meant not answering that call. It was pathetic that the woman could not take a simple hint; she was like an annoying little dog who kept following him around. But on that morning he simply couldn’t abide her incessant dribbling, with an aloof reply to her question he hung up the phone before she could answer. Switching his phone off, he made a beeline for the shower.

Feeling less groggy he flopped onto his bed for a nap that last far longer than he intended. Despite getting the money he came for he still wanted to keep himself busy. Be it with business, which was booming, or pleasure which was neither in short supply. Speaking of which, he had another meeting with a very young and naïve newbie actress who had no clue what a producer could legally ask her to do. Freshening up and donning a suit, he made his way towards rodeo drive. He was in his element; confident –though that had hardly wavered even in his darkest moments- and he was well funded. Andrea had provided him with more than enough money for him to live comfortably and lavishly. Hence the 8,000 bucks suit he was now picking up, he had always been a big spender and it was useless to try and teach an old dog new tricks. With the hanged suit in the garment bag slung over his shoulder, he left the tailor with the intent to hook up with the young blonde but was side-lined when he caught a glimpse of another young blonde, one he didn’t particularly like nor had wished to ever see again.

tagged; schu/addie!
outfit; minus waistcoat

[Deleted]

There was something about Rodeo Drive that was almost magical. Even in the brisk December air, there was just something in the air that Schuyler couldn't put her finger on. She hadn't been there very much before this day, just once or twice. Mostly to window shop. This was the first time she'd thought about going here in her free time; before, she'd always had a party to attend, or plans with a best friend, or work, or trying to network. But this morning, she'd slept in, had breakfast, and then realized that her day was... nothing. The petite blonde had nowhere to be, nothing to do, no one to talk to. There was no itinerary, nothing she had to do and nowhere she had to be at a specific time. She'd gotten dressed and headed out, with no real idea where she was going to end up.

And that place wound up being Rodeo Drive. It was almost ironic- she'd never been much of a shopper. In her high school years, she didn't have any money. After high school, when she had a job, she never had the time to go shopping. Her days were characterized by working her multiple jobs, trying to save enough money to move out to Los Angeles. Now that she had the money and the time, she figured that she would give it a shot. And it had wound up being a good decision. Sky wasn't particularly a big spender, but she did choose a few dresses and a sweater from a couple of stores. Happy with her purchases, she headed out of the stores and back onto the sidewalk, only to see someone in her path that she didn't want to run into. Ever.

Richard Nolan.

She thought maybe she could just leave and not talk to him, but his face brought back a flood of memories (and a lack thereof) that proved this would be impossible. The man standing not but six feet from her was the man who had managed to nearly destroy her life, taking almost everything away from her. A lot of her friends. He made her look poorly to the public eye. Blackmailed her for what felt like a lifetime. Every part of her was screaming to turn and walk the other direction, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, and for a single reason. Drea.

She hadn't seen the girl that had formerly been known as her best friend in all too long, and if there was one person who would know where she was, it would be Rick. Her father. They'd grown close, it had seemed, much to Sky's dismay. She knew that he wasn't everything he advertised himself as to his daughter. Getting a better grip on her bags, she walked up to him, tilting her head back to look him in the eyes. She wasn't afraid, really. There was nothing she had left to lose, at this point. "Hello, Rick," she said, her tone matching the cool air. "I know you're not really one for small talk, so I'll cut to the chase, because I'm not enjoying this anymore than you are. Where's Drea? Is she alright?"

[Deleted]

It had completely escaped his mind that it was close approaching Christmas. He had never been a man to celebrate such holidays; he had neither close friends nor family to spend it with so it was just a normal day in the life of Richard Nolan. He didn’t care for decorations or a festive glass of eggnog; his apartment lay bare and he settled for a neat whiskey on Christmas day. Holidays were commercial ideas presented by the media in a way to sucker people into spending money they didn’t have. The whole concept of Christmas was foreign to him; he didn’t see the point in it all. He was Scrooge, the Grinch who sole purpose was to destroy Christmas. Only he had no desire to waste time trying to ruin everyone’s lives, especially when they had so little to offer.

He restrained himself from rolling his eyes at the petite blonde as she strode towards him. Someone had clearly gained some ne confidence around him, he didn’t like that but that could easily be amended. He raised his brow in surprise at her forwardness, she had indeed grown gutsier around him ”Andrea is spending some time on her own right now. Not that it’s any of your business Schuyler” he replied curtly. Now that Andrea was out of the picture there was simply no need to entertain the young girl before him any longer. She had served her purpose, though not without a few troubles. Why she had decided to take it upon herself to make herself an annoying presence in his life, it was beyond him. ”She’s fine where she is and she does not need anyone disturbing her, especially you” he gave her pointed look.

Moving Andrea to Mexico had been a far too easy feat that even he had to doubt it. But with her recent break up with that boy, it seemed the right time to pounce. She was vulnerable and her self-esteem shattered, he fed off it like a leach starved for days. She left without word, just how he had advised. The power he had over her was overwhelming, he was her saviour. A means to escape and by that she had made a deal with the devil himself. She was in his debt, at his mercy. But he wasn’t as cruel to cause her harm; she was after all his daughter. His own flesh and blood, he was of better use alive than dead.

”Don’t you have a wedding to be fawning over?” he asked, hoping to get rid of her ”though it escaped me how you managed to trick a man into marrying you” he commented on the whole affair. He had heard of the upcoming nuptials through a grape vine and though he had not lost any sleep over it, it was still an unwelcome surprise to hear it ”oh let me guess, another drunken night?” he winked ”shot gun wedding?” he ventured once more eyeing her stomach for any tell tale signs.


tagged; schu/addie!
outfit; minus waistcoat

[Deleted]

This man stood in front of her that she had once been so afraid of; afraid of what he could do to her career and her life, to the relationship between her friends and loved ones. He held her future in his hands, at one point, and it was honestly one of the most terrifying things she'd ever lived through. Schuyler had hated that feeling. Knowing that she could do everything right and he could still go and ruin her. The only way that she could appease him was by doing things that shifted towards the shady side of her moral compass, and it was a daily struggle. Do the right thing, or save herself? Eventually the former won out, and she had to tell him that she was done, that she couldn't play his little games anymore. And then he had gone and done exactly what he had said he would, should she cross him.

So now that he'd done all the damage he could, what had she to lose? Nothing. There was no reason for her to be afraid of him anymore, and so she wouldn't. She wanted information from him, and that was what she would ask for, what she would try to get. Her lips turned down at his response, her eyes darkening a shade and her head tilting to the side. "I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's none of my business, Richard. Especially considering that I cared about her more that you do, or really ever did." She shrugged and straightened her spine, shifting her weight as she did so. It was a feeble attempt to match his height. Confidence around him felt weird. Not normal. Out of place. But if felt good, in a weird way. It was empowering. She had overcome what he had done to her and she could handle anything he threw at her.

Even the wedding card. She barely flinched at his suggestion that the only way someone might marry her was because of a pregnancy, and the cool look on her face never faltered. He wasn't getting out of telling her where Drea was with that topic change, not at all. And he could not put a damper on her happiness over the wedding. "Actually, I've stopped drinking, thank you." She smiled calmly, tilting her head to the side. Of course, it hadn't been easy, and she wouldn't have made the decision on her own- Cooper had refused to marry her unless she sobered up. But it had happened, and she was proud. "And no, I'm not pregnant, but thank you for your concern. I just couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else. I'd try to explain the concept to you, but I know you've never loved anyone besides yourself, so it would be a waste of energy."

Nothing in her words was venemous, and there was no malice in her eyes. But deep down, she was proud of herself. The way she was acting was completely out of character- Schuyler was known as a sweet girl, usually never rude to anyone. But if there was one person on this planet that deserved it, it was Richard Nolan. She had no respect for the man. Moving her bags to the other arm, she raised her eyebrows at him. "So, you're not going to tell me where my best friend is. I'll find out eventually, I always find things like this out. But you can at least have the decency to tell me that she's safe and happy." She pressed her lips together in a tight line and waited for his response, quickly growing tired of his games. She just wanted answers.