"Oh, it looks like the next one is on the house." Cashier smiled as he put the last stamp on the coffee pass. "You want anything else with that?" Man asked while sliding the takeaway mug across the counter. Girl shook her head as she took her coffee and collected her, now full, coffee pass. In return she counted her coins before passing them along the counter with a bland expression. "No, thanks." With that she tucked coffee pass back into her pocket and left without saying another word. A cold breeze welcomed her back outside from the warmth of the indoor kiosk she had been visiting a lot lately, more times than she liked to admit.
Moira took a deep breath. Running away from home at the edge of eighteen. What a joke she was.
"Next one is on the house.." Brunette repeated the words with a chuckle. That would make this her fourth getaway this month and it wasn't even two weeks in. When arguments with her family got out of hand more than usual she was out the door even before Barry could start bringing up the past mistakes on top of whatever they were fighting about. From there it was always the same routine. First she would wait on a street corner until she was calm enough to show her face to people without snapping at them with anger or having teary eyes. Once calm Moira would make a stop at the kiosk for coffee to drive the cold away. After that she took a bus to the city center to wait it out at the mall or at the library. Barry would calm down eventually.. And so would she.
When she would get back home both of them would say "Sorry" without meaning it and hate each other in silence until something, that being Moira's behavior, would drive them into the next argument. Mom almost always sided with Barry, which didn't help things, even if Kathy was trying her best to get along with her oldest daughter. Polly would stay in her room to study, or to act like she was studying, when her big sister was home just to avoid the family drama. It wasn't the best way to deal with problems but it was the Burton's way to deal with them. They had been falling apart for years now. Barry was too stubborn, old and proud to listen, take blame or budge in a fight and Moira had given up on trying to make him understand her side of things a long time ago. It was fucked up. It was beyond fucked up to be honest.
Just thinking about it was enough to get her eyes water up again. "God damn.. Urgh." Groaning in frustration Moira brought her hand up to wipe away her newly formed tears with her sleeve. She wouldn't cry. Not out here, not now. Steeling her nerves she started to walk against the freezing wind towards the bus stop. Downside of getting out of the house in a hurry was that she usually forgot something important. Last time it was her phone, this time it was her gloves. Wrapping her fingers around the coffee cup with both hands eased the cold but the wind was enough to afflict stinging pain on the back of her hands.
The few people girl saw on her way to the bus stop seemed so happy. Winter holiday had just started and christmas was around the corner. "Why wouldn't they be happy?" She thought. Christmas was the best time of the year for the family or at least every damn advertisement tried to sell you that lie. If there was families like that, Moira Burton certainly didn't belong into one. For her christmas was the worst time of the year. An annual reminder of how things could get from bad to worse. The last thing her family needed was outside pressure to try to act normal and like everything was okay when it wasn't. If only the damn holiday didn't exist. When everyone was at school or at work they functioned well enough as a family since no one had energy or time to argue about things.
A faint smile formed on her face as she finally saw the bus stop in the distance. All she had wished for was a peace of mind and to just stare out the window without thinking anything for ten minutes. Luckily for her there was only a couple of people standing around waiting for a ride which meant she would be left in peace for the drive in a half empty bus. Reaching the bus stop she took shelter under it's roof like the others. Claiming her own spot to wait girl leaned against the wall while taking regular sips from her coffee to keep her warm for a short wait. Thought it wasn't a short wait. By the time the bus actually arrived Moira was trembling from the cold. Of fucking course the bus had to be late today, a lot. Her hands were shaking as she gripped on the half empty cup trying to find comfort from it's warmth as she was the last one waiting in line to get in. Maybe having a proper winter jacket instead of a leather one would have helped but it was a bit too late for that.
"Could you be any more late?" Moira snapped at the driver while swiping her bus pass on the card reader. He was about to reply something but in all honesty she didn't care to hear it and just walked past him. Other passengers sit down at the front while she headed for the back. Taking a seat near the end of the bus Moira finally had time to just sit back and clear her head. For a moment she just stared out of the window while they started moving, though a lot slower than usual with the driver trying to stay on the icy roads. Guess that explains why he was so damn late. After finishing the coffee Moira placed the empty cup on the next seat to wait there until getting off and finding a trash can for it. Brunette lited herself up from the seat just enough for her to reach the back pocket of her jeans to pull out her music player.. Which wasn't there. Moira dropped back down and let herself sink into the seat. The player was propably sitting on the counter by the front door of the house where she forgot it in a hurry. After a frustrated kick at the back of the seat in front of her she took a deep, wavering, breath while trying to fight back the tears that were coming back. Moira felt pathetic. Something as minor as forgetting a music player at home was enough to push her towards the edge. However she was soon forced to pull herself together, or at least act like she had done so, when she noticed one of the passengers staring towards her. Feeling embarrassed Moira just leaned back in her seat again and closed her eyes wishing the others would mind their own business.
If the music couldn't take her away from here the sleep certainly would.