10.26 am, Monday, August 8, 2022
The hardest part of each of Isabelle's disappointments was the mornings. Her head was buzzing like a beehive, her stomach felt as if it was about to explode, her exposed back was as cold as ice. Isabelle turned around in the bed slowly; there was no one on the other side of her queen-sized bed, just a mess of a duvet and an empty spot where he was last night. The old plushie unicorn covered in patches was staring at her condescendingly, but she ignored it as always.
"Irving?" Isabelle called hopelessly, but heard not a sound. She stood up and wrapped herself in a dressing-gown she found laying next to the bed. All his things were already gone, she didn't hear anyone beyond her in the flat. And then, she found a sticky note on the kitchen tabletop with couple words scribbled on it.
It's been a crazy night!
Next week same place?
679-2
Irving
Her head hurt so much Isabelle struggled reading the letters, but once she recognized them, she shivered with disgust and surrender. But then, what else was she expecting from a married guy with two sweet children? That he'd stay? Serve her a breakfast to the bed? Alvarez snorted resentfully and went to the bathroom. She took a long, cold shower that'd help her sober up, clear her mind. She loved to feel freezing, it was somehow… cleansing.
When she was done and she found herself reaching the point only when she was freezing, she dried up and went back to the kitchen. She grabbed the breathalyzer and checked the result; 0.92 per mile alcohol in blood; no way she was going to work today. Isabelle called in sick and found the rest of wine she still had. She drank it straight from the bottle, hoping it'd help the hangover a little bit as she was recalling last night. What a disaster. Truly, a capstone of one awful week; she had broken up with a boyfriend of month, a guy she really had high hopes for, had a fight with Jason Wolford who kept talking crap about her behind her back and then, that party last night; a glorified train wreck. Why did she even do it? What's the point of seducing a married guy that will run away before the sunrise? Well, it felt real nice while it lasted. And that realization with how little effort she could have him even when he kept claiming how loyal he was to his wife… Isabelle sighed deeply and emptied the wine bottle. No more cures for aching head and broken heart, it seemed. She found her phone and browsed through the contacts pointlessly, stopping over at Kaylee Reynolds for a second. Funny rabbit, she was; she still remembered the whole thing with Max, quite reasonably, and yet, she seemed to have gotten over it quite smoothly. As if the two of them simply pretended to hate another, too stubborn to admit that they could have been getting along really well, were it not for their start. She chuckled, imagining the two of them being friends and continued swiping through the list only to drop the phone with surrender and stare in the ceiling blankly.
Silence. Oh, how she despised this silence of this dead flat of hers. How she despised lack of any noises beyond the soulless hum of the refrigerator and muffled, barely detectable murmurs of the street. She despised it from the bottom of her heart.
2.39 pm, Monday, August 8, 2022
The cashier of the small shop net to Isabelle's flat knew her even too well; he glared at Alvarez condescendingly every time she'd come there and buy traditional two bottles of some cheaper wine. These were the only thing she bought there considering the prices of rest of the products and the cashier never missed his chance to mutter some witty comment about condition of ZPD that she was representing. Isabelle ignored it as always, put the two bottles in her wide purse and headed back home only to see a familiar car just next to it; it was Max Reynolds. He stood out of the car and greeted her cheerfully.
"Hey, did something happen?" She asked, concerned.
"Prosecutor Moore called to see us about the gas explosion. He said it was very important and I was in the neighborhood and I figured I'd see if you can come. I mean, depending on how bad you're feeling," he explained.
"Oh… Whatever, I can go," Isabelle shrugged it off. She technically wasn't doing her work this way, was she? And the silence of her flat was killing her anyway.
"Do you need to change or…"
"No," she refused and went to the police car. Isabelle was one of the girls that would never leave her house dressed anything worse than ready for an audition with a mayor; constant confrontations of likes of Frederick Thunders with her uncle in least expected situations taught her that much.
"Cool," Max stepped back inside the car and headed for Downtown, where prosecutor had his office. "Is it something serious? I mean, I don't want to carry you around if you're feeling poorly or just…"
"I'm drunk," she confessed.
"Oh," Reynolds paused awkwardly. "What's… the occasion?"
"Celebrating being single yet again, I suppose," shrugged Isabelle.
"I'm sorry," he said and she chuckled.
"You keep doing that. It's not your fault, silly," she remarked amusingly.
"I know, I just…" he paused awkwardly. He probably knew she found it funny at best. "That is shame, but I bet he wasn't worth it."
"Yeah, another one off the list," she muttered bitterly. Maybe even a bit too bitterly, since even Max noticed it.
"Well… Fortune's a fickle horse. It might turn around any moment," he tried to cheer her up. It was quite cute, how there was no right thing to say and yet, he was trying. His naivety almost made her feel better.
"Isn't it called a gambler's fallacy?" She muttered.
"I'd say optimism?"
"Yes, wishful thinking, it is," she concluded and he didn't argue again, but she could still feel this pity of his. Isabelle liked Max a lot; working together was pleasure. Still, she hated this pity she felt from him at times. And yet, was it even surprising? The more they talked, the more she deserved it, probably. Max was simply being a decent person there and she was rude, not being able to suck it up.
"Maybe. Wolford's been complaining whole morning about how you slapped him on Friday, you know. He can't get over how you talked him down," Max snickered, which brought out a smile of hers.
"I thought he was your friend?"
"He is. He was my groomsman, too."
"Aren't you supposed to be taking his side there?" She noticed skeptically.
"Am I now? He kind of had it coming this time," he noticed. "He's an alright guy overall, but… he has these moments where he really doesn't know when to shut up."
"I've noticed," Isabelle muttered only. They continued to drive in silence until they reached the prosecutor's office.
Mr. Moore accepted them in their office, cluttered as usual. The weasel seemed really tired; he didn't even notice officers stepping in at first.
"Oh, Officers. Please, please sit down," he pointed at the two chairs with a gesture of paw. They took their seats and eyed one another carefully. Somehow, they had bad feelings.
"Any news, prosecutor?" Max asked finally.
"Plenty, actually. Like you know, we've almost reached the conclusion of the investigation of that terrible gas explosion in Happytown. Long story short, we are quite certain it was a gas explosion, ignited in the hall of Lionel O'Dyna's flat. The gas supposedly came from damaged gas pipe; considering the time between explosion and O'Dyna's departure from house, gas concentration would be too high to cause such an impactful explosion," he said and the two officers nodded.
"We still do not know what caused the spark," Isabelle remarked.
"We rarely do for sure. The explosion doesn't leave much of evidence," the prosecutor replied, a bit impatiently. Suddenly, he did not remind them that vigorous weasel they had started working with two months earlier.
"Well then?" Alvarez asked, quite annoyed.
"The most possible reason, the one we tend toward, was a static shock during opening ofs the door," prosecutor Moore sounded like he hardly believed his own words. Max and Isabelle eyed each other carefully.
"But… What about that hyena? What about the break-in?" Max protested. "We spent last two months chasing that guy around and you're telling us…"
"Quite unnecessarily, apparently," Moore confirmed his fears.
"That's bullshit! We wasted two months for this case! Just a week ago, you were still encouraging us to chase him, quite sure he was our guy and now you're what, telling us to just drop the thing?!" Isabelle snorted, quite enraged. The prosecutor sighed deeply.
"If it depended on me, we'd still be…" he paused, eyeing the two of them. He massaged his forehead, as if struggling with migraine. "Officers, I find you both experienced and reasonable, so I guess you should deserve to know… there's been a lot of pressure on this investigation from the very start, not just from media. A certain party… really wanted it concluded as quickly as possible. Concluded as an accident. And they are losing their patience," prosecutor Moore confessed and both Max and Isabelle considered his words in silence.
"So we're just… shutting it down?" Max asked with disbelief.
"If you found that Ryuk and got him to confess, we could still fight for it. Otherwise, I have no choice, I am afraid," the prosecutor explained.
"How much time do we have left?" Isabelle asked.
"Well… basically none," Max muttered. "Chief seems like he's lost his patience already."
"At the request of prosecutor's office, the investigation will be concluded tomorrow. By then, I expect your final reports," Moore added. "But when it comes to looking for him on your own… I can delay signing of the official report till end of the month… maybe second decade of September. If that helps anyhow," Moore explained.
"It really does, prosecutor. Thank you," Max assured with the smile and the weasel bobbed his head. He bided them farewell and Max and Isabelle left his office in silence that lasted till they came back to the car.
"So… someone pressured Moore into closing the investigation. He did seem quite shaken up," Reynolds noticed.
"He does have family, a decent position… he could fall really low, if someone wanted it hard enough," remarked Isabelle.
"Any idea who?" Max asked her.
"I hate to be crying wolf, no pun intended, but if I were to name one mammal… it'd be your sister, Anastasia," Isabelle suggested rather confidently and the per miles in her blood were only helping. "Do you remember how she tried to recruit me? Well… she seemed quite interested in our investigation. She tried to disregard it as just a test of my loyalty, but it could be not the case. And besides, everyone knows she hates Duchess and her O'Dyna and she is quite a… bitch to that," Alvarez explained. Max snickered.
"Basically. Oh, cute, silly Spice, blackmailing people left and right…" He muttered. "It really could be her. The question is, what do we do about it?" Reynolds wondered.
"I say, we find Ryuk. Until tomorrow, at best."
"I say, we do, even though it doesn't look good," he nodded with satisfaction. "We have only twelve hours."
"You go to the laboratory. I'll stay at the station, read through the files, check the archives. We might have missed something," Isabelle suggested.
"Working under influence?" Max doubted half-jokingly.
"You can let that slip or you can work alone," riposted Alvarez.
"Fair enough. I'll drop you at the Downtown first," conceded Reynolds. He hurried back to the station, a bit over the road limits. Time was not their ally, after all.
7.15 pm, Monday, August 8, 2022
To be fair, claiming that situation wasn't good, was even too optimistic, as it implied they actually had a chance when in fact, things were pretty hopeless. Max Reynolds kept calling Isabelle every hour that day, each time both of them having less and less to report.
"And that'd be the last thing I could have checked. I'm out of ideas now," he confessed grimly.
"So am I," Isabelle admitted, leaning over the desk. Head and stomach still ached, but she had sobered up completely by now. "It was kinda naïve thinking we'd solve it just because we have deadline on our heads, isn't it?"
"I'm afraid so. Go home, Isabelle, have some rest. I'm sorry I dragged you into wasting your day."
"Don't be."
"Should I pick you up or…"
"I'll finish it here and grab a taxi, don't worry about me," Isabelle assured. "Go to Kaylee and see you tomorrow," she said only afterwards realizing that it sounded more pathetic than she intended for it to do and Reynolds' pause expressed it even too well.
"See you tomorrow."
"Yeah, bye," Isabelle hung up and sighed deeply, staring in the screen. What a day. What a week, actually. It made you want to grab a bottle of wine and chug it all down. Isabelle glanced at her purse lying just next to her; the two bottles she had bought earlier were still there. She stood up and looked around the place; not a living soul at the level. Everyone from Investigations were home already, eating dinners with their families like reasonable mammals they were. Isabelle reached for the bottle and uncorked it. What a day.
8.11 pm, Monday, August 8, 2022
Sometimes, the only mammal you can blame for your own misery, is yourself, August thought, as he left the Technical Officer's bureau over three hours later than he usually would. Well, he had been helping Wilde and Hopps whole afternoon to find and identify their ATM thief, which would hopefully soothe Chief Bogo for a while. And then, there was that report that Andersen needed very badly for tomorrow and so, Fares just sat down by his desk and, with help of couple coffees and music, completed it all. He went upstairs to the Investigations section to leave Andersen a pendrive with report, when he heard a hiccup in the distance. He froze with his ears perked up and then, he heard it again, accompanied by pitiful wailing this time. After short moment of hesitation, he followed it to one of the boxes. There, he saw Isabelle Alvarez. She was laying under the desk and sobbing pitifully with a big, empty bottle of red wine just next to her.
"Isabelle?" August called her uncertainly and she stopped to turn her head at him, wiping a tear discretely.
"Oh, it's you," she noticed grimly and hiccupped. "Hey, August."
"Um… Hi," he sat down on the floor right in front of her. He felt a buzzing phone in his pocket, but he ignored it. "What happened? Are you alright?"
"Alright, alright, alright! Nothing's alright!" Cried the wolf. "Everything's bad and my life sucks and nothing's alright and I can't even find the right word for it!" She complained with a drunken hiccup in the middle of it.
"Umm… if not right, then maybe… all-left?" The rabbit suggested half-jokingly, hoping to cheer her up.
"All-left! Why is my life going all-left!" She cried again, covering her face. "Why am I even like that?" She asked in vain.
"Maybe… that empty wine bottle is an indication?" August suggested shyly.
"What?! No! I never am sad-drunk! Happy-drunk or sexy-drunk, sure!" She smiled funnily, as if clumsily trying to seduce him. August took for an innocent joke and chuckled. "But never, ever sad-drunk!" She protested and groaned with frustration. "August, could you just grab my gun and put me out of my misery?" She begged.
"It's a tranquilizer," he reminded her.
"Damn it. I guess I'll just drink myself dead. Hand me the bottle, will you?"
"It's empty," he noticed with mixed feelings. On one hand it meant she couldn't drink more. On the other, it implied she had downed whole bottle already.
"No, no, the other one. In my purse," Isabelle pointed at the purse just next to him.
"You carry two bottles…"
"Stop judging my lifestyle, you prude," she scolded him. August sighed deeply and reached for the bottle in order to hand it to Isabelle. She uncorked it with dexterity of someone who had been doing it drunk probably even more times than she had done it sober. The wolf drank some and offered it to the rabbit, but he shook his head.
"No, I… probably shouldn't."
"Hah, chicken," she muttered and took another gulp and then, continued to stare in the void blankly.
"So… what happened?" August asked and she eyed him suspiciously.
"You're just being nice, aren't you? You don't really care."
"No, I do care," he promised truthfully. Despite how impolite she was toward him, August liked Isabelle. She was independent, firm, if overly confident and she had that specific charm to her.
"Yeah, right," she muttered disbelievingly.
"If I didn't, I'd just politely excuse myself to the bathroom and never come back," the rabbit remarked. Isabelle was calculating it in her head, watching him carefully.
"It's a long story, you know."
"I don't have plans for the evening, really," he promised.
"Other than me?" She smirked, causing him to blush and turn his sight away. That only amused her more. "Well then, have a drink and we can start. It's not a story to be taken soberly, you know." She offered him the bottle. August sighed deeply and drank some of it reluctantly.
"So… what happened?"
"You weren't the popular kid back in school, were you?" Isabelle asked instead.
"I was considered a dork or a nerd, I suppose."
"Yeah, I bet. Well, I… I was a popular kid. You can imagine," she bragged with melancholy and he nodded. "I was some party animal, never missed fun. I mean… until the certain evening," she paused for a moment and then, continued to tell August the same story she had revealed to Max before; how she was drugged during a party to the point of poisoning and nearly died due to it. How they never found the mammal responsible. August listened to her carefully, not quite sure why she was sharing it with him. Did she even like him? Or was it just because he happened to be there and she needed someone to vent?
"And do you know what was the worst part?" Isabelle asked rhetorically and, hearing no reply, continued. "That when McNamera had to cancel his parties over that situation, they all blamed me. Because, you know, I couldn't have just been drugged and abused like a good girl should!" She snarled angrily.
"Wow. That's…"
"Bullshit, right?" Isabelle agreed as she reached for the bottle. She was done with half of it already. "Suddenly, I was not the popular girl. I was the girl that screwed up the best teenage parties in Tundratown. Basically dead in the high school with no friend suicidal enough to stand up for me."
"Did you move to another school?" August asked.
"Yeah, didn't help much. Everyone knew the Party Crasher," she muttered with despise. "But there was one place where I could have fun without any teens spoiling it. The clubs."
"The clubs? Like normal nightclubs?" The rabbit doubted.
"Yeah, I looked pretty mature for my age and there are plenty of clubs letting ladies in for free. And you wouldn't imagine how many guys there are, willing to buy a beautiful stranger a drink or two, even if all they get in the end is a pretty smile," smirked Isabelle. "At first, all I gave them were smiles, but one night… I changed the rules of the game."
"Do you mean…" He paused, most disturbed. He knew where the story was going from the start, but he really hated to hear this part.
"I saw a guy fighting with his girlfriend; I remembered them from McNamera's party. Awful mammals, the two of them, disgustingly vain. When they went their ways, I hit on the guy. They hadn't broken up yet, was one of the first things he told me," Isabelle laughed. "It didn't stop me from seducing him and having him dump his girlfriend of eight years for me so violently there was no turning back for him. I wrapped him around my finger, took from him what I wanted and before the dawn came, I broke his heart. Oh, you should have seen him, begging for me to stay!" Isabelle laughed aloud. "And then I realized… They hurt me, but I can hurt them too. I have all I need to hurt people, to ruin their relationships, to… conquer their hearts and then, maul them to pieces. And so, I did," the wolf explained while August listened to her in silence. "Some of them are quite decent guys… and some of them, this type do I prefer, are pieces of shit, having wives and kids and all and yet, looking for one-night adventures. Some of these even dare to pretend they aren't there for this sort of thing…" she chuckled. "But do you know what I like about the clubs the most?"
"Huh?" August asked.
"How easy it is. I just walk in, pick a guy, married or not and… I can have him if I only want. Sometimes I turn them down just for fun. You know, because I love watching their dreams and hopes shattering. Or sometimes, when married guys take me to their place, I leave lipstick stains on their shirts and drop them in the dirty laundry, so their wives find them and see what trash they are. It's petty, but damn, I do love it," Isabelle stared up blankly, reflecting on her own words. She must have felt the vanity of these actions.
"Does it make you happy?" August asked finally and she snorted.
"I… guess? For these short moments when I'm with someone? Before I dump them or they dump me or we both realize this is going nowhere… I guess, I am," Alvarez said quite hesitantly. "I mean I have some stable relationships too. But you know, they don't last long. Usually." August thought for a second that her eyes grew watery, but then she blinked several times and it was gone. "We're not making it out alive, so possessions have no value. Only experiences do," she said after a long moment of silence.
"Well, technically, but…"
"Even the bad ones! Ray, my boyfriend, just dumped me yesterday. And at the club where he did it, I found some married guy whom I enchanted like that and then, he just left before the sunrise. You know, like I was some…" She paused and eyed the rabbit carefully. "You despise me, don't you?" Isabelle accused him. She walked up to him on all fours, with bottle in one paw. "Because I'm a bitch, you think, you little prude."
"No, I don't," August refused. "I'm just worried about you," he assured and Isabelle laughed, most amused.
"Worried! How can you just sit there worried, you cute little thing?" She asked, leaning over to the rabbit. "Cute crossed legs, cute little paws, cute long ears, cute big eyes. Sweet like a candy. It's dangerous! Someone could want to… snack on you!" She snickered, showing all of her teeth. August shivered with them being just inches from him, but before he realized, her jaws were already enclosing on his neck.
"Isabelle…" He tried to protest, but then he felt her teeth against his skin.
"Just like that. Om, nom, nom" she pretended to be crushing his throat with couple quick snaps of her jaws and with each time she touched him, his heart skipped a beat. And then, she pulled back with a chuckle that died immediately when she met his sight. "Oh Lord. I made it awkward, didn't I?" She realized with horror.
"Oh, why am I like tha… Yeep!" She squeaked as she leaned back too much and fell on her back. The bottle of wine shattered as it hit the edge of the desk covering her in glass debris and remains of wine. The wolf was just lying, weeping as August jumped down to her panicked.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"No, all-left," she replied and they eyed one another in silence. August snickered and they burst out with uncontrolled laughter. Isabelle tried to drink some of the wine, but all she had was a bottleneck in her paw. They laughed for a solid minute until they managed to control it. August watched her with concern.
"Isabelle, let's put you back together, alright? You're tired and drunk and you need to go home."
"I can clean it up…"
"You go to the showers. I'll clean this mess," he disagreed firmly and she succumbed to it reluctantly. He guided her to the showers and then, swept the floor, gathered the glass remains and washed the wine stains from floor and desk. It took him a while, but no longer than it did Isabelle to clean the mess she was. When she came back half an hour later, August called her a taxi. They waited for it outside, not talking much, but smiling to one another. When cab arrived, the rabbit wanted to bid her goodnight, but she insisted he'd come with him; she was way too drunk to open her door anyway and she needed someone to make sure she made it safely. August agreed a bit hesitantly and they drove to Tundratown. He paid for the ride, walked with her to her block of flats and helped open the front door. He pushed it open and let her in, but she only leaned against the doorframe and smiled flirtatiously at him. Even with the amount of alcohol she had consumed, the effect was quite astounding.
"My flat's door will need your help too, cutie," she remarked with rather obvious intent. August shivered, most disturbed at realizing how tempting it sounded from Isabelle so drunk she could barely stand. He could see now how easily she must have been seducing all those guys at the parties. Well, not him. August just watched her with pitiful disapproval.
"Why are you doing this to yourself?" He asked only.
"Come in and you'll see," she giggled drunkenly.
"We both know you're not interested in me and I am certainly not interested in a b… someone like you," he pointed out enraged even more than he'd anticipate himself to be. "So why are you trying to do it?!" He asked and smile disappeared from her lips slowly. She let her sight down and sighed deeply.
"All that counts are experiences, right?"
"There's more to life than these experiences," August replied with disgust and she snorted resentfully.
"And for a second, I thought you were alright," she muttered bitterly.
"Sorry, just an all-left nerd," he said coldly.
"Huh. I almost forgot," she bounced from the frame smoothly and slammed the door right in his face. The rabbit stood in front of it in silence, cursing himself in his head. What an idiot he was, to lead this all to such a conclusion. He should have never entered that taxi. And then, he felt buzzing in his pocket. He reached for the phone; it was Judy.
"Hey," he said, realizing how tired he sounded.
"August, I've been trying to call you for like…" She seemed really worried.
"Sorry, I got… caught up in something," he explained himself awkwardly.
"What happened?"
"Isabelle got herself drunk at the station… Like really, really drunk. She downed almost two bottles of wine on her own and someone really had to get her home," he explained.
"Oh, dear. Is she alright?"
"All-left, rather," August muttered. "I tried to talk some sense with her, we had a fight and… well… I basically called her a… b-word. Normally she probably wouldn't even care, but I think I really hurt her this time. You know, because she opened to me and I treated her like this," August confessed. Judy was taking her time, trying to comprehend how such a nice and polite rabbit like him could be using such words.
"What was it about?" She asked finally.
"A long story. Really long story, not for a phone. And anyway… I don't really know what to do now," he confessed quite helplessly.
"Can you make it any better if you talk to her now?" Judy asked and he shivered at the thought.
"I hope? If she doesn't maul me to bits first, that is?" He said carefully.
"Then you could try," she noticed like he knew she would. August clenched his fist and took a deep breath, considering his options.
"You're right. OK, I'm going in. If I don't call or text in half an hour, call police. I'm not joking."
"OK? Take care?" Judy said hesitantly, probably only now acknowledging the actual threat.
"I will," he assured and hung up. Thanks to someone leaving the building he got inside without using intercom and climbed the stairs. He found Isabelle's name at the mailbox and went to her flat. Rabbit pressed the knob carefully; the door was unlocked. He stepped inside the dark flat carefully. It felt rather small, even for him, and quite messy to that. He passed by claustrophobic kitchen and followed the quiet weeping noises to what appeared to be Alvarez's bedroom. Isabelle was lying there, wrapped up in a plushy duvet, sobbing. August stepped inside the room carefully and then, her cries stopped at once and her eyes, two flashy points in the dark, focused straight at him.
"Get lost," she snarled.
"I wanted to apologize."
"Get the hell out of my flat!" She yelled at him, showing her snow-white teeth and he stood back, but stopped at the doorframe. She growled with frustration. "Why are you… Stop staring at me like that!" She yelled, but he said nothing at first, as he continued to eye her.
"I… I am sorry for…"
"Don't you dare to look down at me!" She snarled in furious despair. "Do you think I'm proud of myself?! Of how I am?! You think I have any sort of glory in… in being me?!" She cried pitifully. "I don't! I rutting don't, OK?! I'm a piece of shit and you're right and you're so much than me! That's what you wanted to hear?! Now get lost!" She yelled choking on her tears.
"Why are you hurting yourself like this?" August asked pitifully instead. "You don't have to do this. You could be…"
"Well, maybe I rutting have to!" She yelled back. "Maybe for once in my life, I want to not feel alone?! Maybe I want to wake up in the morning and see by my side someone? Anyone?!" She begged hopelessly. "Maybe at these short moments when I'm with someone, I feel happy?! But what would you know?! You just judge me like everyone!" She stared him deeply in the eyes, tears flowing down her cheeks.
"You know they're fake, though?" August sat at the edge of bed and put paw on her shoulder carefully. For a second he thought she'd bite his paw off and the thought seemed to cross her mind as she snarled, but none of them moved. "They're not… real. And certainly not lasting."
"Fakes are enough," she muttered unconvinced.
"Are they? Is what you have enough?" The rabbit doubted and she turned her sight away.
"It's so easy for you to be saying that. You have Judy," she muttered jealously.
"And she's the best thing that has happened to me. But I was single for long. I know it feels shitty at times, but… You've got to keep hoping that someday you'll find someone… someone. You know. The one."
"Wow, so cliché," she muttered.
"I know," he shrugged awkwardly. "But I guess that's me. Cliché."
"All-left."
"All-left," he confirmed and they both chuckled and then, fell silent, staring at each other in silence. August could feel that she was battling with thoughts and he waited for the result patiently.
"August… Do something for me," Isabelle pleased, as she lowered her sight.
"Huh?"
"Stay here for night," she pleaded.
"What?"
"I don't mean it that way. Just… Stay here, in this room. I can sleep in the chair or anything. I just… I don't want to wake up alone," she explained awkwardly and watched him in silence. And then, she shook her head remorsefully. "Sorry. It was stupid. You have a girlfriend and I…"
"I can take the chair," August assured. "If it makes you feel better."
"I… really?"
"Yeah," August nodded. "Don't worry about Judy. She'll understand."
"God, I forgot what cutie-pies you two are," Isabelle sighed and then, yawned. "Be here in the morning," she pleased, as she cuddled up covering herself with her duvet and closed her eyes. It wasn't fixing any of her problems and yet, August felt that it really felt important to her. This feeling… illusion of defying loneliness.
"I will." He promised. Before a minute passed, she was already sleeping. August smiled, covered her with the duvet gently and took his seat in her big rocking chair. He soon felt that he was feeling just as ridiculously tired as she was, but before he'd go to sleep, he needed to notify Judy. He took out his phone and turned on the messenger.
August: Hey, I'm alive. What a wild ride…
Judy 3: Oh, she didn't eat you? :D
August: Apparently wasn't that hungry. But she did scare me for a moment
Judy 3: So, what happened? Are you on your way?
I mean, it's too late for a movie, if you're still in Tundratown, but you really should be going home. We have plenty of work tomorrow, you know.
August: About that… Well…
Judy 3: Oh, what happened?
August: Long story short, we talked and…
Don't even know where to start ^^;
Judy 3:Well, I don't know for sure :P
August: OK, so you know how Isabelle changes her boyfriends like… you know, weekly?
It happened again today. Had just broken up with a boyfriend she had high hopes for, met some guy at a party yesterday, took him home…
And he was gone before she woke up in the morning
Judy 3: Ouch :(
August: And I think she took it harder than usual
She brought this wine to station and when everyone went home downed it
I found her when she was starting the second one
Judy 3: You weren't helping her, were you? :D
August: Not even encouraging, I swear
Just tasted it since she demanded
Anyways, I cleaned the mess she caused
Called her a taxi to get her back home
I went with her just in case. You know, given her state
When we were at the door she kinda….
Invited me in
Judy 3: You mean…
No, you don't mean…
August: To kinda… bed me?
Judy 3: What a… I don't even have words for that!
August: I know? And I basically called her names and told her how disgusted I was with her and she was really pissed off
Judy 3: Well, I am too, now! -.-
August: I know, right?! I was mad too! But then you called
Judy 3: And you didn't tell me?!
August: I'm telling you now?
Judy 3: Tell me that you're in her house and you're so dead!
August: Can I finish the story, first?
Judy 3: Sorry, I just can't believe… Urgh! What a…
August: I know. So, I came in. She was crying in her bed and was really pissed to see me
Like expected
She started yelling at me. For a moment I was sure she'd jump to my throat
And then she started crying…
You know… she's not doing it because she 'wants' me. Or probably any of these guys
She's doing it because otherwise, she feels shitty about herself
Like… she's alone? Really alone?
Like there was this one time when someone hurt her real bad and then everyone turned their backs on her, because they thought it was her fault?
And she never really had anyone really close?
Like, she then found out that wrapping guys around her finger only to hurt them before they would hurt her was one way of coping, or just her not feeling alone for a moment?
And even when she finds someone worth keeping, they usually don't last a week and she feels even shitter because they're gone just like that?
Like she wasn't worth some random guy once he sobers up?
So she does it again to try and feel better?
I know it sounds stupid, but…
I think she's a really sad, sad person, actually
Like… she's stuck in some weird vicious cycle?
And she knows everything she has is… fake?
But doesn't know how to find something authentic, so she's stuck?
Does it make any sense? I hope I'm not babbling or something
Judy?
Judy 3: It does. Sweet cheese and crackers, it does.
So… What happened next?
August: She asked me to stay for a night. Like, sleep in the chair or anything, because for once, she didn't want to feel alone. She needed someone to be there. Someone who wouldn't just run away once he'd get what he wanted
I know how it sounds…
I'm sorry, but I just… I just couldn't leave her like that
I've never ever seen anyone so low. So I'm sitting in the chair, texting you.
She's already sleeping
I'll just turn the light on…
Here goes the photo
You sent a photo
Judy 3: God, she looks pitiful.
August: I know, right?
Are you mad at me?
Judy 3: No, of course not! I mean, I was for a second. :D
Now I'm just… sad about this all?
I want to be mad at her, but then again, I think she's had enough of it. :(
August: I felt kinda awkward about everything, because, you know…
I'm sorta spending night in her flat? :/
And you must have all those weird thoughts…
Judy 3: It's cool, really. :) You're just too good, August. :D
August: Hey, you didn't dump me where I stand!
You're clearly too good for me too :D
Judy 3: What for? Telling truth? :P
August: Not every doe would be as understanding!
Judy 3: I guess you're right :P
So, see you tomorrow?
August: If she doesn't figure out to actually eat me in the morning
Judy 3: I really can't tell if you're joking or not.
August: Me neither
That's the fun part
Judy 3: You're too good to be eaten.
Good night and see you tomorrow :)
August: Right
Judy?
Judy 3: ?
August: I love you
Judy 3: 3
August: Goodnight :)
August glanced at Isabelle as she was muttering something to herself in her sleep and he giggled watching Judy's last response and he felt this fuzzy feeling in his chest. Oh, how much he'd give to actually hear it from her.