"You know I'm competing in a boxing tournament in a couple weeks. It's not that important, I mean it's for a local championship, but you know." Lacy casually mentioned as she, Lemy and Lincoln played 'Serpent's time: Crusades' in the living room on the family's G-box 730
She wasn't that into video-games. But when she saw Lemy and Lincoln playing, she thought it'd be nice to join in. She was still trying to get Lincoln to be her friend. And it been a while since she and her little bro did something together.
She chose to play as a Dwarf-small, but tough, just like her and her mom.
The man took a sip from the beer he had on the Couch. "Yep."
Lacy frowned a little. Was she too subtle? "I-I mean its' pretty important. The whole family will be there. Right, Lem?"
Her brother sipped the coke that he had on the Couch before replying. "Yep."
"See, it's pretty important. You could come too if you want. No pressure."
Please come.
"Don't worry, Lace. I'll be there to see you take home the..belt? Trophy? I don't know. I'm sure you'll do great, kid."
He affectionally pounded her shoulder.
Lacy smiled at the praise. She was winning him over day by day.
"I'm heading out, last calls for a Lily hugs." Lacy's aunt said, entering the living room wearing the backpack that held all her stuff. Lacy got up to hug her aunt. The older tern kissed Lacy on the head. Lily went to the Couch and reached over to give Lemy a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Lemy didn't object but didn't return the affection either.
"Hey Linc, want to get in on some of this? You know what they say, a hug from a girl named Lily means good luck."
"That's not a saying." Lincoln pointed out, his eyes still fixated on the game
"Let's make it a saying," Lily replied cheerily, while still grasping her nephew.
Lincoln grunted to that before taking another sip.
Lily frowned. "Kinda early to be drinking, isn't it?" she'd probably say the same thing an hour where Lincoln was on his first can. Lacy got up to fetch him his second. She thought that it may be a little too much, but she didn't want to be a buzzkill, so she didn't say anything. The three of them were having fun.
Why ruin it?
Lincoln just chuckled. Lacy chuckled too.
She didn't know what was funny.
"Yeah, probably." before taking another sip.
Lily got a look of concern. "Just saying to take it easy, man."
"Don't worry. I'm fine," he said while waving a dismissive hand.
Lily still looked hesitant. "But_."
"He said he's fine," Lemy said curtly. "Just let it go. We're having fun. Right, Lace?"
"Right." She said, wearing a big smile.
Lily didn't press. She squeezed Lemy's shoulder one last time befroe she left.
ALincoln took one final chug of his beer.
Lincoln frowned as he prepared to get up. Lacy got up instead. "I'll get it, Lincoln."
The white-haired man smiled. "Thanks."
Luna sat in the circle in the small circle of her AA support group. The meetings were held in the break room of the Royal woods community center. Posters lined the white cracked white walls, a lot of them featuring mottos that were supposed to be uplifting. The group had finished reading over the 12-steps, and 12-traditions and asked to share.
Luna's road to recovery didn't start at what many may was the worst period of her life, meaning her time in the big house.
She actually got more drunk more during that period. It was surprisingly easy. The drinks(often being brewed from her own toilet) were disgusting, but also made her forget how disgusting the food, her fellow inmates( especially those who sexually assaulted her), the guards(one of whom also once sexually assaulted her), the jail, and her life was too. Sometimes if she fucked or sucked a guard off, he'd smuggle in something for her. Even after she got stabbed, during a fight where she was liquored up so much, Luna was surprised she didn't leak gasoline instead of blood, she went right back to drinking.
When she got out, Sam was the one to pick her up.
The blonde woman didn't say a word. Sam drove the two to a diner where she made her ultimatum-go to these sorts of meetings, and see the therapist Sam was paying for out of her own pocket, and live with Sam on the farm or Luna couldn't stay with Sam and her wife, and that Sam would fight tooth and nail to keep Lyra and Lemy in her care.
Luna was tempted to curse her old friend and say she would be taking back her kids anyway until Sam showed Luna a picture. The picture had a ten-year-old Lyra, Sam, Sam's wife Christina, and Lemy all smiling over the carcass of a deer with an arrow sticking out. Lyra held a bow, and she was sporting the biggest grin Luna had seen in years. Lemy was smiling too. Her children were happier with Sam than they ever were with Luna.
Luna had considered taking her children away from that because her best friend was trying to save her life.
That was Luna's bottom.
Sam gave Luna some pills to help her with the withdrawal and booked her a couple days at a hotel to detox. The pills helped, but going through detox was still one of the hardest things Luna ever went through. There were times she thought she'd die. There were times she wanted to.
She managed to get through it, though.
That was the first step in her journey, but she's managed to not stray from the right path. By the end of her first year, she moved out of the farm and took her kids to live at her family home. Luna said she wanted her kids to grow up in a big family like Luna had. The ex-rocker didn't reveal the incest parts. Luna loved Sam, but couldn't risk her misinterpreting things like her parents did.
Her parents had died never understanding what Luna and her siblings were doing was them just expressing their love. The thought that they died hating her and her siblings hurt. Luna did try to reconcile with her folks. She didn't regret shacking up with Lincoln-her kids were her pride and joy-but she knew she hurt her parents, and wanted to make amends with them, and very much wanted to forgive them for the pain they caused her. She once reached out to them on Gobook, and in response, they threatened to call the cops.
Luna was thankful for having someone like Sam in her life.
Luna was also thankful she'd become pregnant with Lyra after the breakup. Luna suspected Sam would have forgiven her, but maybe not. Them breaking up wasn't because the two found each other's company unbearable. Sam was and still is one of the coolest chicks Luna has ever met and her best friend. They just worked better as friends.
When Luna got arrested for assaulting an officer that was sent to shut down a party, Lua found herself liquored up at she called her old friend instead of her sisters for a straightforward fact; Sam was better equipped to handle the load. Most of her sisters were dirt poor, her youngest sisters Lisa and Lily lived at home with the rents.
Sam had loads of money from her farm, and a great wife to help her. It was a big ask, but her friend pulled through for her, and then some. The woman also turned Lyra way more religious. Sam was a priest, so it wasn't that surprising.
The ex-rocker didn't have an issue with it, of course.
Luna wasn't an atheist or whatever.
She guessed she believed in Jesus and God and a lot of that jazz, but it just didn't seem ultra-important to her. The higher power she chose to invest in was humanity as a whole-in its ability to be rocking.
Luna finally stood up to talk.
"Sup dudes. Name's Luna. I'm an alcoholic."
"Hi Luna," the group responded back.
"You know its lately' been a pretty bum deal. Many of you know an important person to me has gone missing. I still don't know if that important someone is coming back. Don't know if he's hurt, or a-alive. I know I'm vague, but the situation still kinda calls for it. The morning he went missing, I-I nearly went out. I was supposed to come to a meeting, but instead, I stopped by a drug-store and picked up a bud-light. I opened it in the car and just sat there, knowing if I took a sip, I would make things so much more of a fucking disaster that I'd become a cock-up. But I couldn't dump it out. I was like in limbo. I only snapped back to reality because I got a text from Stacey with one phrase: one phrase that' I always found cheesy. 'Meeting makers make it," Luna pointed to the short, brown-haired woman, and her sponsor during these last couple of years. "Thanks again for that, mate. I tossed the can right out the window and sped like hell to get here. Today's my fifth birthday. 1825 days of staying sober." at this group applauded. Luna got a little teary-eyed. It wasn't the first time she's cried at these meetings. Luna knew it wouldn't be the last time either
"That important someone's still missing, but I know I'm going to try to keep being sober. I know he'd want me to make it."
The group clapped as she sat. A couple other people talked, about their own difficulties, not falling into the trap she barely escaped from, and she saw many people die from. Luna listened intently and showed the appropriate level of support. She asked a few questions to the new newcomers who decided to speak, offered some advice where she thought she had something that could help.
After the meeting came to an end, Luna's sponsee came over to her and gave her a big hug. Luna gently patted Annie on the back and chuckled.
"Luna, you're awesome." the young woman said with total adoration in her voice. "I've been praying that important someone comes home to you."
"Thanks, brah." The ex-rocker said.
Annie's hold kinda lingered, so Luna had to gently detach herself from the girl.
Annie gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry, didn't mean to be clingy."
"It's cool, no need to fret."
Luna knew Annie had a crush on her-a a crush that Luna did not reciprocate.
It wasn't because the girl was ugly. Far from it.
The girl was slight, blond, with a round tight looking bum, and nice sized rack.
Or because they didn't have stuff in common. They both loved rock, for instance, it's lore, as well as its fundamentals.
Its just Luna could not if she tried to see Annie as a potential Romantic interest, or a possible sexual conquest
When many people saw Annie, they'd see a beautiful piece of ass, they could easily pick up.
Hell, if Luna met the girl outside of AA, she'd fuck Annie, long and hard, if the girl showed interest.
But Luna had rules: not fucking a sponsee was one of them. People who come to AA need serious help in dealing with their disease. They're in an emotionally vulnerable position, especially the women. Luna would exploit them just to get herself off as soon as she'd say Mick Swagger wasn't the greatest star in the universe-so basically never.
Sexual-harassment was generally clamped down in Luna's particular support group. Still, she's heard stories of sponsors using their authority to pressure insecure women like Annie into boning them. Luna found the idea sickening. AA was supposed to be a safe place. A place of healing.
Annie already had a history of sexual abuse. Annie got molested by her parents before she hit puberty, which leads her to couch a lot of her self-worth towards her ability to give sex.
Luna wouldn't exploit that. Luna couldn't use that. Annie needed help, and it was Luna's job as a sponsor to give it to her. Learning more and more about her made Luna see her more like one of her kids than anything. She was actually only a couple years older than Lyra.
"Do you have any plans to celebrate? " Annie asked.
Luna shook her head. "Just gonna have a party with my fam and Sam's family. Like I usually do for my birthday."
It's good to remember why you quit drinking. It gives you more reason to not start.
Luna arrived at the house to pick up her kids at around 4 p.m. She saw Lincoln smoking while playing with Lacy and Lemy on a game. She frowned at the sight. Some of her sisters all expressed some form of concern with the white-haired man's habits. Lana had taken two beers from his pack, and he got angry about it.
It sounded like Lincoln had the disease.
She'd talk to him after her dinner with Sam's family.
Lemy, having noticed her presence smiled. "Happy birthday, mom."
"Happy birthday, aunt Luna! You're an inspiration." Lacy declared, giving Luna a thumbs up.
Lincoln quirked an eyebrow. "Luna's birthday is in August. Right? Least it was in my world."
Luna nodded. "August 31st for me too, dude. 'Birthday' can refer to how long a person's been sober in AA. Today's my fifth."
"Hmm," Lincoln responded.
Lyra came down soon after, walked straight up to Luna, and gave her a hug. "Happy birthday, mom. I'm proud of you." Lyra said with adoration. Lyra had been old enough to remember when Luna was at her worst. The ex-rocker was so thankful her daughter has forgiven her.
Lemy got up from the Couch. He softly punched Lacy's shoulder and fist-bumped Lincoln. "Gotta hang with mom. Kill as many dragons you could while I'm out." her boy said.
"We got this. Right, Lace?"
"Right!" the girl said excitedly
The ex-rocker felt conflicted seeing that. It was nice to see Lemy open up to someone. Lately, he's been rather glum. He's been a lot more withdrawn. But She wasn't sure if Lincoln would be a positive influence.
When Luna and her kids arrived at Sam's house, it was their daughter Martha who opened the door. The girl looked like a miniature version of her friend, though just a tad darker, with the same toothy smile. Christina's brother had been cool enough to play the donor. The small girl immediately hugged Luna.
"Moms, they're here." the girl hollered out to the house.
"Ah, my day was going so well. Tell them to go away." Sam responded to a whiff of humor in her voice.
"Sam." her friend's wife groaned rather loudly.
"Fine, I guess they can come in," Sam said.
Martha let go of Luna and hugged Lemy and Lyra. The girl was four-years-old when Luna's kids came to live on the farm. Sam said the three hit it off right away.
The three Louds walked into the house and into the dining room and were greeted by Sam and Christina . Sam's wife was a tall a buxom Latina. A total babe, and a wonderful person, Luna had to give Christina mad chops for scoring someone like Sam.
Sam's smile, despite being plastered on a face that had been half-burned off and missing an eye, was still in Luna's eyes was as beautiful as Sam's soul. Sam was the victim of a hate crime when she was twenty-two years old. She was coming out of her first gay-bar and got acid thrown on her face by some bigot. It put an end to the prospect of Sam's ambitions in the military. Instead of being daunted by the attack, the woman became dedicated to fighting such bigotry. She helped open a youth center to help LGBT+ teens who've been bullied, tortured, or cast off by their family, and for every attempt to roll back their rights, Sam was there to try to push back against it. In Luna's eyes, she was a hero.
Homemade pizza, Koolaid, and a chocolate Cake laid on the table.
"Now, who would like to say grace?" Sam asked. No matter the occasion, Sam and Stephnie always thanked the big man in the sky for what they got on the table.
Lyra raised her hand quicker than lightning. This was one of the girl's favorite parts in coming over.
Everyone bowed their heads and clapped their hands together as Lyra began the prayer.
"Be present at our table, Lord, be here, and everywhere, adored, thy people bless, and grant, that we may feast with paradise with thee. Amen."
And with that, they started gorging down on the food.
"You know I keep having you guys over here for this, right?" Sam asked, rather loudly of her guests.
"Why?" Luna asked with a cheeky smile.
The blond woman pointed to her wife beside her. "Because this tyrant only ever lets me and Martha have the good stuff when we're celebrating something important."
"Yeah!" Martha piped in indignantly.
Christina shrugged while munching down on her pizza. "I'm pretty monstrous for wanting my family to live long and healthy lives."
"Thank you for admitting it, sweetie," Sam said without missing a beat.
Luna smiled."Well, now I have a good reason to keep not drinking; gotta make sure my girls get loaded on the blessing of pizza and cake."
"Amen," Lyra said solemnly.
The table broke into a laugh. Even Lemy got a small smile.
After the meal, the two made their way to the living room. A karaoke machine that begged to be exploited lay there.
And for hours, it was.
The first pairing was Luna, and Lyra played 'Let it be loud' by Smooch.
Then Sam and Christina came up to play an old folksy country song about God and forgiveness.
Lemy and Martha went next with her, dragging the boy up to his hand. Martha eagerly started singing the song "Release" that new song from the live-action frozen movie. Lemy sang with the girl he loved like a sister. He blushed furiously, but he managed to scrounge out the lyrics.
Luna and Sam went third. They sang Mick Swagger's 'Tint it dark Nineteen years rocking together, and the two hadn't lost their magic.
For the next couple of hours, that's all they did, and Luna couldn't be happier, and the smile wouldn't leave her face
It went when she saw Lincoln pop open a beer in the living room.
Lincoln walked toward the fridge for one final drink. Something to just help him smooth down. He felt a little she was surprised to see Luna standing behind him wearing a frown.
He clicked open his can and began sipping it.
He wouldn't drink all of this one. He'd save the rest for later.
"Hey, Linc. You sure you need to be drinking that man."
The white-haired man sensed a trap. "Well need is a kinda strong word, but I want to," he responded carefully.
"Linc, little concerned, you may be overdoing things with the beers."
Lincoln began walking to his room. Luna followed.
"It looks pretty bad, dude.
"Sure I'm an addict," Lincoln said jokingly. "Heck, I once sold my liver for a five-dollar scotch and a pack of Cubans."
Luna didn't join in. "Addicts often joke about being addicts, man."
"So do non-addicts," Lincoln said tersely. "Seriously, though sure I like dark jokes. Who doesn't? But I have limits. I never drink and drive, I don't regularly pass out, I can do my goddamn job."
"A person could be high-functioning-meaning being able to do what you're doing and still have the disease."
"Being an addict ain't a disease," Lincoln responded. "And even it was-it isn't-but a person can drink just because they're just a little stressed out. I need a little break now and again. It's no big deal."
"How many times a day do you need a break?" Luna asked softly.
Lincoln was starting to get irritated. "As many times as the day calls for it," Lincoln replied while trying to remain calm.
"Have you considered going to AA?" Luna asked.
The white-haired man grimaced at the suggestion. "Got dragged there, by Clyde once. Listen, I'm all for actual addicts trying to better themselves. Still, even if I was an addict, I don't see myself getting much from it. Honestly, I think the 'you're powerless' and the whole 'submit to god' stuff is a big turn off. Any fuck ups I've had in life were entirely my own choosing. I'm in control. I don't need to pass the buck for anything."
"AA doesn't preach no responsibility_."
"It's literally the first step."
"No-its admitting you're powerless to a terrible disease. You can choose to try to make sure it doesn't ruin you. Also, your higher power doesn't have to be the big man, dude. I personally prefer thinking of it as humanity. We're all family, we all must do good."
Was this woman seriously lecturing him on what family should be doing? That made Lincoln ground his teeth.
"I'm not ruined, I don't need your program, and quite frankly I don't think anyone else really does either. If you like it, fine. Go. Stop trying to force it on me."
"AA has saved millions of lives. It could save your life too."
"I'm fine," Lincoln said as they finally arrived at his bedroom.
"No-real talk Lincoln, you're a miserable addict, and you need help."
There was a moment of silence.
"You don't get to judge me given the shit you've done," Lincoln whispered.
"I'm not_."
" You're the messed up one, not me. I don't need advice on how to live from a brother-fucking pedo bitch from Someone who fucked up her life, and thinks no longer being a drunk-something, most people never we're including me-is some great accomplishment." Lincoln started screaming towards the end. He didn't care.
Luna looked hurt.
Lincoln took satisfaction in that before slamming the door in her face and chugged down the remaining contents of the drink.
A/N Here's whete I ramble.
I feel I may lose followers and favs with this chapter.
The phrases Luna used such as "Go out" and "Birthdays" are from what I gather AA lingo
In my research into AA for this chapter, I was suprised to see many things surrounding it. It's interesting to say the least. There's a lot of debate surrounding it, I encourage anyone whose considering the program to look into it. There's a lot more nuance than I initially thought.
For clarification: Sam is priest the Episcopalian Church. They have male and female priests, and each is allowed to marry.
I personally find Over-zealous Christian Lyra to be funny in most instances.
I also like the idea of her being Christian, and not being someone Pat Robertson would get along with.
Whenever I see people declare systhemic homophobia, and homophobia being wide-spread at least in regards to the US being a thing of the past, I can't help but wince when I can help but recall the fact there are muliple states with state laws(as of now deemed unconstitutional), that make any same-sexual relations illegal, that actual goverment statsics show LGbT youths are way more likely to be bullied by their peers. I wish it was. I suspect it'll get worse.
