Margo Valentine
I was sick of restrictions, sick of the boundaries.
Posts: 35
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Post by Margo Valentine on Nov 7, 2011 21:16:48 GMT -5
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By the time Margo made it out to the parish that was once run by the late Pastor Jim, it was nearly 6 am. Everleigh had slept through the entire ride, and was just now starting to stir in the passenger seat. Luckily for the little drunk, Margo had stopped at a 24 hour pharmacy and picked her up some aspirin, there was no doubt she'd be needing it.
As the tan, 66 chevy truck pulled into a spot on the rear side of the church, a curvaceous elder woman slipped out the back door and hurried over to Margo's cracked window. "We've been expecting you, miss Valentine. I'm Patty, Henry called late last night, we've got a room all set up for the child." She proceeded to strain her neck and looked at Everleigh through squinted eyes. "Oh, dear. She looks a mess." She shook her head, making a tisk-tisk noise with her tongue.
"She'd been drinking when I found her." Margo offered a partial explanation for why the child looked as though she may have died on the way over. "Though, I can't blame her." She reached over and brushed Everleigh's hair from her face, revealing the fat lip and bruised eye socket. "I'd have stolen some rum, too." She unbuckled her seat belt and gently jostled the girl's shoulder. "Everleigh. Everleigh, we're here." She called out in a soothing tone.
She paused for a few moments, turning back to look at the church. It was much bigger than she remembered. Granted, the last time she'd been here, it had been closed for construction. They'd added an entire wing dedicated to those who needed a place to stay. The contrast between the older portion and the new sector, was quite apparent. On one side was rustic, smooth stoned walls and stained glass. The other featured tinted windows, seated into bright red bricks. Both sides were lovely. "Everleigh. Time to wake up." She spoke louder this time, giving the girl a good shake.
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Post by Everleigh Mason on Nov 7, 2011 21:53:10 GMT -5
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I can feel you, all around me.
Her head felt like it was going to roll right off her shoulders. Her head lolled in Margo's direction when she shook her and she groaned as her eyes opened into slits. Already? She groaned. The little girl whimpered as she tried to open her eyes more. She couldn't. It hurt too much at first. After rubbing her eyes red and blinking a few hundred times she finally managed to squint and look around. She had no idea where they were but she was guessing it was pretty far from where they'd been since they had been driving for so long.
The building looked like a church but it was huge. Why are we at church? Did Margo already tell her this? She couldn't remember, especially through the pain in her head. Everleigh managed to roll her eyes down and notice the aspirin in the seat console beside her. She sighed gratefully and downed two of them with the rest of the water that was in her bottle.
When she lifted her head again she finally saw the woman standing by the car and gasped in surprise. Oh...hi. She blushed before laying her head back down. Damn, her head really hurt and her stomach was queasy again. If she wasn't so out of it she probably would have realized by now that this was where she would be living now. At least the lady by the car seemed nice but a lot of the people that had hurt her in the past had seemed nice as well. Then again, Margo had taken care of her and protected her and the child didn't think that she would bring her to someone who wouldn't continue to protect her and take care of her. That would be counterproductive. This made the child relax a bit but she still felt like crap.
After a few more minutes of resting against the seat she forced herself to sit up and unbuckled her seatbelt. After another couple of minutes she managed to open the car door but she was a little shaky and wasn't ready to stand yet. All she managed to do was swing her legs out and rest her feet on the ground.
NOTES:
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Margo Valentine
I was sick of restrictions, sick of the boundaries.
Posts: 35
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Post by Margo Valentine on Nov 8, 2011 18:45:56 GMT -5
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As the child moved to exit the truck in what seemed like slow motion, Margo introduced her to the woman who would be taking care of her for the next... however long she needed. "Everleigh, this is Patty." She gave a reassuring smile, pocketing the pain meds the child had just taken, worried she may try popping pills the next time she felt the urge to self medicate. "We're in Minnesota, at Pastor Jim's." She paused, pleased at the realization that it was still named after the late hunter. He deserved the memorial.
"They provide people, kids, with a place to stay when they have no where else to go. They'll take good care of you here, love." She swung her car door open, walking past Patty to end at Everleigh's door. She swooped the groaning girl into her arms, kicking the car door closed behind her. "Let's head inside?" She directed the statement towards Patty, though her tone was more questioning than decisive.
"Oh, yes, of course. This way my dears." The woman's voice was sweet and thick with sincerity, something that was almost non-existent in the world of a hunter. In fact, she reminded Margo of a character from her favorite childhood film, Beauty and the Beast. Mrs. Cups, Margo smiled to herself, following the woman through the heavy metal door of the church. Apparently the back entrance lead directly into the shelter portion of the parish, because as they walked through, several pairs of shifting eyes flickered between them.
"This is the common area." Patty spoke, waving an arm towards several clusters of couches and chairs, there were even a few televisions and a gaming system. "Down that hall are the rooms. Everleigh will be staying that way." She turned towards the child in Margo's arms and smiled brightly. "Don't worry, dear. You'll be safe here." She persed her lips together before continuing on the tour. "We can head over to the dining room in a bit, I'm sure you're both simply famished. But, I'd like to have Sister Helen take a look at Everleigh's eye first. She's our resident mama bear, takes care of bumps and bruises." She glanced back at the child, as if waiting for a sign of approval.
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Post by Everleigh Mason on Nov 9, 2011 8:55:58 GMT -5
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I can feel you, all around me.
The child looked up at Patty, smiling shyly. Hi Patty. She turned to look at Margo, a bit confused. Who's Jim. Does he work here too? At least the Patty lady looked nice. The church was kind of nice from the outside too....and big. You mean it's like an orphanage? Everleigh hasn't been in one of those since the first week after she left the hospital after she was attacked by her uncle. She pretty much been bounced from one foster home to another for the past six years. She turned to look at Patty. So there's other kids to play with here? The idea of that made her smile. She hasn't had many kids to play with in a long while.
When Margo came around and lifted her out of the truck Everleigh was relieved. It would be embarrassing to have to stumble around in front of strangers. Her head was killing her too. The less she had to move the better. The little girl held on tight to Margo as they entered the building and Patty showed them around. She wasn't looking around the building so much as eyeing all the kids. She wanted to make sure that there were no bullies in the building but all the kids seemed to get along well. That was a relief. She found she was actually believing Patty when she said she would be safe there.
Everleigh liked the idea of eating. Her stomach was settling and she was, thankfully, feeling hungry instead of sick. The idea of seeing the resident nurse, however, made her nervous. She looked from Margo to Patty and back again as she thought about it. Maybe if the nurse was as nice as Patty maybe she would be able to see out of her eye, or at least maybe the pain would get better. She took a deep breath and nodded. Ok.
NOTES:
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Margo Valentine
I was sick of restrictions, sick of the boundaries.
Posts: 35
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Post by Margo Valentine on Nov 10, 2011 17:50:50 GMT -5
wish me monsters; [atrb=style, background: #000000; border: dashed #ffffff 4px; border-radius:50px 0px 50px 0px;] [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, border: dashed #ffffff 3px; width: 400px; height: 500px; float: left; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 25px; padding-top: 25px;]
The pair of women had chosen to leave Everleigh's previous questions unanswered, until they were securely isolated from the other residents. "Pastor Jim, was a special man. He was the pastor who originated this church, he came up with the idea to turn this parish into a refuge." Her tone quieted a bit, "but he didn't live long enough to see his dream fulfilled." Margo gave the girl a light smile, turning to Patty, signalling the older woman's turn to speak. "Yes, he was a sweet man." She gestured towards a picture hanging on the wall, which featured a candid shot of Jim Murphy. "Oh, and no, dear. It's not like an orphanage. But yes, there are other children here. We usually have about five or six kids here at a time, along with about ten adults. Plus the members of the church staff, of course." Patty smiled down at the orphaned child, attempting to keep her tone light. "Most come from a dangerous, destructive lifestyle, and take a bit of time to warm up to outsiders." She reached a delicately aged hand out to pat the girl's shoulder. "But, don't worry dear, you'll get along just fine." Once the child had given them the green light, Patty led the way to a small room along the back wall of the lobby. Margo guessed it had once been a closet, and thought nonchalantly that her shoe collection couldn't even fit along the shelves. Which seemed to be fully stocked with basic medical supplies, bottles of water, and... packages of socks and undergarments. "Here we are. Take a seat and Sister Helen will be right in to patch up that eye for you. I'll be waitin' for ya's in the kitchen, which is just up this hall here and to your left." Patty nodded with a smile, and waddled off, closing the door behind her. Margo moved to sit in one of the folding chairs, sliding Ev off of her lap and into the seat next to her. "You okay, kid?" She thought this must be hard for the girl. Losing her family, being tossed into a system that had failed her, winding up drunk on the side of the road, wandering to some unknown destination. At least Margo had found her. At least the self reliant, fiesty, hunter with a soft spot for kids had given her a safe place to sleep off her stupor. At least Jim's parish had room for her. At least she wasn't dead, and that was always something to appreciate in this line of work. The parish wasn't much, a dozen tiny rooms, with an equally small kitchen, one bathroom, and mandatory church attendance. But, it was a warm bed and a hot meal, and the people here had more love to give than Everleigh had probably gotten throughout her entire childhood.
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Post by Everleigh Mason on Nov 10, 2011 21:46:01 GMT -5
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I can feel you, all around me.
Now Everleigh felt bad for asking. She didn't know that Pastor Jim was dead. She frowned apologetically at both women. I'm sorry. Was all she could think to say. Ten year olds weren't good with things like this.
The little girl was surprised at how disappointed she was to find that this wasn't like an orphanage. Her deepest wish was to eventually be adopted into a good family. If she wasn't in a place where she would meet potential parents then how would that ever happen? On the other hand, the foster care system had failed her greatly so far. She knew she was much safer in a place like this but it didn't help the pain she felt from the news. Still, she tried to put a smile on her face anyway. It'll be nice to have other kids around. It sounded like a lot of the people that stayed there were like her, though. They had issues with trust as well. Maybe that meant she would fit in.
Margo carried her into the tiny medical office and she started to become a bit nervous. She had never been much of a fan of doctors or nurses. Just being in the office was awkward for her. It was a good thing someone else was carrying her in. She tried to smile to Patty as the kind lady left them to head to the kitchen. Everleigh sat in the chair that Margo placed her in and looked around the room until the woman asked her if she was ok. She didn't really know how to answer that but she smiled lightly and nodded. Yeah, I'm fine. Just nervous. New place and everything. It wasn't a complete lie. She had always been nervous in new situations, especially given her circumstances. She just didn't know how to explain to Margo about her desire for adoption. She didn't know how to explain about her desire for what she had before she lost her family, before her uncle showed up and took everything she loved away from her. Instead, she sat in the seat and waited for the nurse to show up, dwelling on everything she couldn't say out loud.
NOTES: The poor kid is such a worrier lol
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Margo Valentine
I was sick of restrictions, sick of the boundaries.
Posts: 35
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Post by Margo Valentine on Nov 15, 2011 18:04:00 GMT -5
wish me monsters; [atrb=style, background: #000000; border: dashed #ffffff 4px; border-radius:50px 0px 50px 0px;] [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, border: dashed #ffffff 3px; width: 400px; height: 500px; float: left; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 25px; padding-top: 25px;]
Reaching a slender hand from her lap, to the child's knee, Margo tried to be reassuring. "Don't worry, love. You'll do just fine." Giving Everleigh a gentle squeeze she smiled, and turned as the closet door swung open. A particularly tiny woman appeared. Her button nose was slightly wind burnt, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were peering over her thin framed glasses to give the pair a once-over.
"Hello Everleigh, Margo!" Her voice was high and chipper, "Don't mind me, just got in from running errands for the parish, boy that wind sure is gusting out there!" She walked over to the small desk that was pushed against the far wall and filed away some papers, before turning back and speaking to the girl she had come in to inspect. "Quite a bruise you have forming just there," she said warmly, pointing towards Everleigh's eye, "with a lip to match."
She rose to her feet, crossing the distance between them and leaned down close to Everliegh's face, catching a whiff of her hair and clothing she added, "we'll have to get you cleaned up after breakfast. Now then. Let's get some New Skin on the cut, and an ice pack to take down the swelling of your eye. Other than that, it's just bumps and bruises." Turning to face Margo she added, "we can handle things from here, Miss Valentine, if you have somewhere you must be."
Margo looked quickly from the nurse, to Everleigh and back again, her hand still resting on the girl's leg. "Well..." She trailed off, unsure of what her answer would be. She really should be going, Henry was waiting for her, and she was sure the Sisters here at the parish would take exceptional car of little Everleigh. But, she still preferred to say her goodbyes in private.
Seeming to pick up on Margo's thoughts, the nurse said, "no rush, I'll just run over to the kitchen and pluck an ice-pack from the freezer, and be back in a jiffy." She smiled at the pair, and slipped out the door as quickly as she'd come.
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Post by Everleigh Mason on Nov 16, 2011 8:46:34 GMT -5
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I can feel you, all around me.
The child smiled at Margo's reassurances, hoping that she was right. Everleigh could at least feel that this place was safe and the people that they had met were genuinely nice. Her ability gave her at least that much comfort. Her attention turned to the door when it opened and the woman who entered. She looked freezing and just seeing how cold she was made Everleigh shiver a bit herself. She smiled at the stranger in greeting, noting that she had the same kind, caring vibe as Patty had and this made the child relax a bit. She watched as the nurse wandered to her desk and shuffled some things around a bit before coming to inspect Everleigh's eye. The child just nodded at her assessment of the child's injuries, watching every move this woman made closely, out of nervousness stemming from her fear of all medical professionals and not anything personal against the woman in general.
Her attention snapped back to Margo when the nurse told the hunter that she could go. Everleigh hadn't focused on the fact that Margo would be leaving her until now. With everything else going on it hadn't entered her mind yet. There was a sadness in the child's eyes at the thought, not just because this woman was a comfort to her because she knew her slightly better than the people at this parish but because she felt a slight bond with her from all the help and safety she's provided for Ever since they met. The girl was dimly aware that the nurse had left them alone now. She smiled sadly at Margo, reaching to give her a hug out of impulse. Thank you for helping me. It sounded lame given the situation but it was all the child could think to say. It would be hard to watch the woman leave but she had to understand that she would have to go eventually.
NOTES:
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Margo Valentine
I was sick of restrictions, sick of the boundaries.
Posts: 35
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Post by Margo Valentine on Nov 18, 2011 22:17:55 GMT -5
wish me monsters; [atrb=style, background: #000000; border: dashed #ffffff 4px; border-radius:50px 0px 50px 0px;] [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, border: dashed #ffffff 3px; width: 400px; height: 500px; float: left; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 25px; padding-top: 25px;]
Margo was slightly taken aback as the child flung her tiny arms around her neck, she stiffened for a moment, but soon relaxed and reached an arm around Everleigh's back to give a friendly squeeze. Leaving her here would be difficult, but on the road with the Kochs was no place for a little girl, and Margo was no mother. Thinking of her own sister yet again, she smiled, and allowed the embrace to linger a bit longer before pulling back and reaching into her jacket pocket.
Withdrawing a sharpie marker, she took Everleigh's hand in hers and scribbled down her phone number, as well as Henry's, on the child's palm. "If you need anything," she insisted, gesturing towards the numbers, "call." She reached a hand out and gave Everleigh's knee on more reassuring squeeze before standing to exit the room. Sister Helen pushed the door open, ice pack and antiseptics in hand. "Handing out now Margo? Great! Now the real fun can begin." She smiled, turning to offer Everleigh a wink, "have a safe trip now."
With that, Margo glanced over her shoulder one last time to smile at Everleigh, pointing at her own palm pointedly, before exiting the room and heading to her truck to go find Henry and the Kock siblings.
notes; all's well that ends well ^^
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