[hr][hr][center][color=seagreen][h3][b]Riley Reese[/b][/h3][/color][/center][hr][hr]
[i]Sometime around 11 am...[/i]

Having been told by his twin that she wanted to apply to jobs at the mall until it was interview time, Riley found himself sitting still in the driver's seat of his late mother's van. He had dropped Kylie off around 9AM, with no idea how the hell she would spend the next six hours at a mall seeking employment. Perhaps, his twin would make a friend or two. She sure needed to socialize with people that wasn't her blood or Tara. Someone to keep her mind busy and her hurricane emotions at bay. Still very much in the mall's parking lot, his hand grasped tightly on a manila stationary paper with elegant handwriting. The envelope itself did not have a return address. 

Today had already started off strange with a phone call from his ex... Jenny. But now... his blue orbs stared at the letter. How should he feel about this? His free hand traced the beautiful handwriting, while his face was completely stoic, contemplating his thoughts on this odd occurrence. 

[hider=Mystery Letter][indent][i]My Dearest Riley,

[indent]How's my handsome boy doing? It's been so long since I last saw you. I heard your parents passed away not too long ago, my deepest condolences. I would love to see how much you've grown. My disappearance must have been hard for you... I am alive, don't you worry. My personal life stole me away and I'm sorry for that. Soon, I'll be able to visit you.

Now that you're older, I'm curious about the ladies that followed after me. Do they make you smile like I did? Do they spoil you with love and kisses? How much do they truly love you? I do not doubt that you're a lady killer. I always knew you would grow to be such a charmer, that's why I had to make you mine. 

I would be lying if I said I didn't miss you. All I do is think about the time we shared, do you still think about it too? You always did have the brightest gleam in your ocean blue eyes. How I miss them so... I know there is no return address, my chaotic life is not something I want you to be involved in right now. That doesn't mean I don't want a reply. 

Write me a letter. Give it to me the next time we see each other, okay? And I promise, we will see each other.[/indent]

[right]Yours faithfully, 
C.L.[/right][/i]
[/indent][/hider]
Breaking from his daze, Riley felt compelled to take a detour to work. He had somewhere he wanted to stop at, to stash this letter that meant the world to him. His mind couldn't take in these overwhelming feelings rushing through him. She was back... She would see him soon? [color=seagreen][i]S-she... missed me.[/i][/color]

After ten minutes, he edged closer to his house. There was no one at home. Thank the gods. Pulling into the parking lot, stepping out of the car, the desperately confused man held the perfume scented letter close to his chest. Sprinting to his destination, he didn't want to take in any of his surroundings. Recently, he's found himself visiting his treehouse more often... how strange life was. Feeling his phone vibrate in his right pocket, he ignored it for the time being. His mind completely encompassed by the woman, who sent him this letter. 

Out of breath, he reached his childhood safe haven. Things looked quite smaller now that he was older. After pulling the rope, which extended the ladder, and entering it with ease, he went to an oh-so-familiar area with a surprisingly new addition. By the corner, on a wall was carved [color=f9ad81]E.L. ♥ O.R[/color].. [sub][@Emma][/sub]

The only person he knew with the initials E.L. was Elliot Longstreet but... that could be anyone in Olivia's class, right? The red-haired male thought nothing of it. Instead, he found a small hole that was right beside the R in Olivia's initials and stuck his finger in it. Gently, he pulled the thin wood slab off the wall to reveal a hidden cabinet. Inside the cabinet resided many things like a tin box filled with love letters, medieval action-like figures, a blonde princess and a knight in shining armor, faded pictures of a mysterious figure taped to the cabinet door as if it were a school locker, drawings he made with fantasy-esque imagery with this mysterious figure, his collection of marbles in a jar, his old journal with crumpled, old petals residing in it, and even a pouch filled with money. 

A loose [url=http://imgur.com/mPWVC08]galaxy marble[/url], a marble that was on the expensive side back in the day, had rolled out of the cabinet and onto a cushion on the floor but Riley was too distracted to notice it. A marble that truly looked like it held the galaxy within the glass. There were many layers of varied colored fragments that gave it three dimensions and shined brilliantly. C.L. had given this marble to Riley... something that symbolized he could hold the galaxy in the palm of his hand. 

Staring, briefly, at the inside of his secret cupboard, his eyes grew teary, reminiscing of a distant time when life was alright. She was truly back, wasn't she? Opening the tin, he put the new love letter inside of it, taking one last sniff of her scent before putting the lid back on. He would have to come back here sometime to look over all his tender memories, maybe even write his letter to her in here. A spark was lit inside of Riley as he felt a new era approaching. He was going to become a better man for her. If she saw him again, how would she think of him? He needed to give her every reason to not look away. She needed a man that could--

The image of Claire appeared in his mind and the man's gaze weakened. Guilt. Heart wrenching guilt. The worst boyfriend award should go to him. He... he needed to come clean with her. She deserved to know the main reason he dated anyone after his first love. Sadly, the man was still in love with a woman that made him feel things he still didn't quite understand. The excitement died as fast as it ignited. Somewhere deep inside, made him feel like he didn't want to lose Claire, but... on the other hand, how would his first love think about him dating another woman? He... he had to break up with Claire, a girl who was too good for him and deserved the world he couldn't give her. 

[i][color=seagreen]You don't even know when she'll see you... what if it isn't for another year? Are you seriously going to break up with that sweetheart for a woman that suddenly disappeared on you? Do you know how worried you made your parents? Your treehouse wouldn't even have been made if your 'first love' didn't abandon you. What's wrong with you, Riley?[/color][/i]

Pushing all thoughts aside and having missed three hours of work, Riley decided to make his presence known at the Queen's Orchid. Before he left his treehouse, he made sure the slab of wood was securely on the wall once more. Examining it quickly, everything seemed perfectly aligned, as if he was never there. Walking back to his car from the woods, he checked the text message from earlier, it was from Tara. By now, she should know he was one of the worst people to text, in the world. Quickly, he sent a reply.

[center]To: [color=0b5fbd]Taramisu[/color] [sub][@Knight of Doom][/sub]
[color=seagreen]A-OK. Awesome gurlfran!
[hider=Proud of U!][img]https://media.giphy.com/media/YTbZzCkRQCEJa/giphy.gif[/img][/hider][/color]
[/center]

Hopefully she could assume he was at work because that's where he was going. Entering his car, the conflicted man blasted the radio music so that it could enter his mind and drown out his thoughts. Banging his head on the steering wheel, making a loud horn noise, Riley muttered to himself, "[color=seagreen]I don't want to break her heart...[/color]" 
[center][h3][b]~[/b][/h3][/center]

Entering the diner, Riley acknowledged his sister talking with... Wes Harmon... with a low wave and James talking to some customers, not facing his general direction. Walking passed them straight to the kitchen, he sighed to himself. Personally, the man didn't want to deal with such a powerful nuisance, plus he had some cooking to do.

Seeing Ron, the Fox grinned, "[color=seagreen]I'm surprised you put up with our shit. Thanks for holding down the fort again, man.[/color]" the burly chef shrugged in response and threw Riley's apron at him. Time to put in some hours before Kylie needs to go to her interview... [color=seagreen][i]Just cook, don't think about anything else[/i][/color].

[sub][@The Muse][@Saint Girralo][@Viciousmarrow][/sub]

[hr][hr][center][color=limegreen][h3][b]Nana Darling[/b][/h3][/color][/center][hr][hr]

Unfortunate circumstances. Nana truly needed to take some time off. Her sleep schedule was atrocious and now she looked absolutely terrible in one of the Warren boy's eyes. Sitting up, the mother patted her hair down and swiftly finished her duties, not having time to respond to the boy who ran away. Instead, she called his father and apologized deeply. Surprisingly, the man was understanding and figured she overworked herself. Why else would she be a maid if she didn't make enough money? Though, that was nearly a cover up for her night job. The older man simply told her to not do it again and to make sure to clean the house thoroughly, including his sons' bedrooms. The problem with the last maid was she let his boys get away with murder. He would respect Nana more if she stood her ground. After the phone call, Nana felt a little better but still needed to write a letter to the youngest son, Blake. In her purse, she pulled out a small notepad and a pen and began writing a short, heartfelt apology.

[hider=An Apology Note][indent][i]Dear Mr. Blake Warren,

[indent]I am truly sorry for falling asleep on your bed. This behavior is unacceptable, no matter the excuse. I have called your father and he has given me another chance. I will not inconvenience you in the future. However, your father has ordered me to continue cleaning every room in the house, including your room. Since he is the head of the house, I cannot disobey his orders. I come to your house three times a week: Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, between the times 8:30 AM to whenever I complete my tasks. I will not go in your drawers or your closet and I stand by my word that I will respect your space. 

If you have personal complaints, here is my business card with the direct line to my job.[/indent]

[right]Thank you for your time and understanding.
Nana Darling[/right][/i]
[/indent][/hider][sub][@The Muse][/sub]

Along with her job's number was her cellphone number but she didn't think a kid would directly call her, he had no need to. Leaving her business card felt like the most professional course of action in this moment. 
[center][h3][b]~[/b][/h3][/center]
After she entered her car, the mother decided to give her next client a call and take a sick day (god knows she needed sleep). The call ended quickly since she went straight to voicemail but she knew they would be fine with her taking a day off, since Nana has never missed a day since she started her job. With that, she decided to get something to eat and then pick up her baby from daycare. 

As the mother drove around, debating what she should eat, she stumbled upon a vehicle she knew all too well drop off a sweet blonde girl. Knowing Wes, he probably scared the poor girl shitless. Sighing to herself, Nana parked her car and approached the frazzled blonde. 

"[color=limegreen]Hey, are you alright? My name is Nana Darling, I just wanted to check and see if you were okay. Wes can be a handful but I haven't known him to put a girl in physical harms way... not yet at least. I know you're probably done with talking to strangers, but as a person whose dealt with Wes on more occasions than I'd like to admit, I just wanted to see if you needed a hand with anything. If he gives you any problems in the future, mention Mimi. I can give you her number and she'd be able to cool him down in seconds. I'm about to pick up my son soon but if you need a ride somewhere, I can take you.[/color]" Taking out her wallet, she showed the girl a picture of Jude grinning with a sailor boy's hate on.

[sub][@BlueAjah][/sub]

Note: Nana's post is happening a bit before the timeskip (Assuming Wes has dropped Claire off around the time 9:30 to 10)