a nightmare [open]

[MILO COSTELLO]

so let mercy come, and wash away
and let go of what i've done

White smile on his face his hand swung back and forth, intertwined with a young lady's, who had long ago stolen his heart. She had a little skip to her walk, the adorable eleven year old, and smiled kindly to everyone that past by. Milo was escorting her to La Banda, having nothing else to do on his day off. At this very moment as they walked down the sidewalk she was telling him about her day and how mean the girls were at her school that constantly teased her. The child talked on and on, barely taking breaths in between as she spoke, gradually becoming bitter. “Maria that's no way to talk. Can't you just ignore them?” Milo said with a frown, looking down at his baby sister. Of course, the man had never had the problems of a preteen girl. He didn't remember any occassion when the other kid's would tease him about anything... Then again, girl's always appeared to be more catty. He wouldn't even attempt to put himself in Maria's shoes.

“But Milo!!” she whined, pouting at him as if he would never understand. She took her hand back, becoming cross. It was obvious she had wanted him to be on her side and he hadn't said the answer she truly wanted. He just smirked at her, continuing to walk and putting the other hand in his black leather jacket. He wouldn't apologize or take what he said back. With his experience with Maria, he knew she'd get distracted and 'forget' why she was so mad. It was really only a matter of time. Letting his brown eyes leave the younger person for a short while, he watched the people conversing in the streets.

Everything appeared to be calm within Melilla for the time being. He was still cleaning up scum at a growing rate, but there wasn't any visible signs that the town was going through a rebellion like the other officers whispered about. The island was free of such blemishes and Milo could only hope that the town would become quiet once more. He was getting tired of arresting people for silly things. Going to church was a good example. Why couldn't the citizens just go to mass on Sunday? It wasn't like the government was asking for much. They were just pushing them to get closer to god, was the truly that terrible? It was a petty reason to get arrested, in Milo's point of view, so simple to avoid.

Eyes returned to the darling child, watching as she fussed with her hair, spotting La Banda around the corner. This would be one of her first trips going to the mall with only her friends. It wasn't hard to tell that she was very excited. Her friend's mother would still be wandering by, but overall she was off her leash that had slowly loosened over the years. “Hurry up, Milo! We're going to be late!” she urgently ordered, picking up her pace. When they got to the building, the brother held the door open for her like a gentleman and watched as she ran to her friends who had accumulated around the center of the mall. Maria, nearly jumping up and down by this time, greeted her schoolmates and giggled at some inside joke. Spotting the mother that would be trailing them, Milo offered a wave and a small smile. Then, not wanting to be in his sister's hair any longer than needed, he walked into the nearest clothing store.

Once in, the man eyed the apparel with little enthusiasm. He was just trying to kill time before he'd have to walk his sister home. Glancing at his watch, a frown formed on his lips. That gave him a four hour slot. Other than working, Milo had few hobbies and fewer interests. A long four hours would feel like decades to him without entertainment. Worst of all, he didn't have much of a taste for shopping. If you don't trust him, just look at his clothing. Bland jeans, basic gym shoes, a dark t-shirt, and a leather jacket. The man definitely wasn't going to win a fashion award anytime soon. Sighing, he went to a rack in the back of the store, pushing through it's collection of shirts. Boring, boring, boring... This wasn't an environment he was used to at all. Part of him debated about just going to the theatre, sitting in the back, and sleeping through another brainwashing movie.

wordcount: 755
muse: alright
tag: up for grabs
notes: sorry that it's kind of rambling xx

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[EMILY LEXINGTON]

__________________________________________

Emily smiled as she picked up Jonas, her little three year old pug who hapily licked her cheek before she set him down in her purse, which was one of those doggie-bags where your pup wouldn't suffocate but instead poke his head out and enjoy the ride. The pug seemed content as she handed him a doggy treat and he munched on is cheerfully, a few little kids pointing and saying how cute the pup was. Jonas was super loyal and he was friendly. If someone was robbing her cottage, he would probably jump right into the person's lap. Well, speaking of which, she should get a guard dog...

But she was perfectly fine with Jonas.

The two were skimming the mall in search of a nice present to get her doctor. His birthday was coming up and his wife mentioned he needed a new suit for when they go out to dinner. So now she was on a mission to buy him a suit for helping her throughout the years with her amnesia problem.

Jonas barked, his stub of a tail wagging as Emily let the little boy pet him before they entered the clothing store for men. She wore a cornflower blue sun dress that hugged her slim frame, spagehtii straps, and some white flats. She had her usual cross necklace around her neck and her blond hair was down in its usual fashion.

"Yes! That's perfect! Thank you so much!" she smiled sweetly at the man that had been helping her for the past half hour in picking out the perfect suite. She went on over to the register, paid for it, and then was heading out to leave the store. She would pick up the suit tomorrow morning and it would be set to go.

Jonas happily played with his chew toy and she was thankful he had busied himself. A million thoughts ran through her mind at that moment. She had to come up with another story, for one, and the second thing was her dream last night. A wedding. But she had never been married before. And if she had...she would remember the guy right? There was no way she would be able to forget such an important day like that.

All she remembered was Penelope and her in the back room like it was a movie playing out. Penelope was helping her with her veil and overall, she never thought she had seen herself look so stunning-as conceited as that may sound. The dress was beautiful, with lace, and hugged her frame before it became loose around mid thigh. And she looked...

Happy. Like she was the luckiest woman in the world at that exact moment. That nothing could ruin this sudden state of bliss she had entered....

And then, right when she was leaving the room to walk down the aisle...black. It all disappeared. And no matter how hard she tried to hold onto the memory-to grasp it and make it her's again, it just flew away and she couldn't get it back. She took the medicine she was suppose to to make sure that she should be remembering...But it wasn't working. She must have been doing something wrong...

But what she was doing wrong she couldn't figure out.

[MILO COSTELLO]

so let mercy come, and wash away
and let go of what i've done

He felt like he had shuffled through the same rack for hours, swearing he had looked at the same blue collared shirt for the hundredth time. This is what happened when he was bored. He wasted time looking blankly at a newspaper or staring at the sky. He thought once in awhile about his life and if he could do more with it, but typically he just kind of sat there. It was almost depressing if you thought about it. Feeling useless without his job. Even his younger sister told him that he should get out more. He considered it, but... that wasn't him. His purpose was to work. Not waste time like he was right now.

Feeling the eyes of manager burning through his back, he realized he was caught loitering. Not wanting to get glares next time he happened to walk into the store – in a case he actually needed something – he grabbed the first tie that caught his attention. The purple cloth wasn't especially appealing, but he wouldn't want to be embarrassedly kicked out for no purchasing anything. He wouldn't like that attention nor the idea of being escorted by a rent-a-cop. That was just demeaning. Walking over to the register he placed the tie on the table and took out his wallet. Paying for it in cash and collecting the bag he took a few steps, making a bee-line for the exit, only to feel his fingers lip.

Frowning he bent down to pick up the bag, coming face to face with a pug in a purse. He couldn't help but smile, picking up the bag and walking forward. The man always had a soft spot for animals. “What an adorable little guy,” he said, not particularly directing it towards anyone. His first reaction after coming closer to it would be to pet him, but than something clicked. The dog was in a purse, and the purse had to be owned by someone. Trailing the arm holding up the bag to the owner's face he immediately became sheepish. The woman was breath-taking, the cross around her neck showing she was a loyal believer. Any other man would have used his charms to start up a conversation, yet Milo was doing his best just to remain calm.

The man had always been shy, so this intimidating woman wasn't making it easy for him at all. Rubbing the back of his neck, he finally got the guts to say something else, guessing she'd caught him complimenting her dog. “Umm, ah. Your dog is cute, a pug right?” he said, making his crooked smile more easy. “May I pet him?” Ice breakers were so difficult. If he had seen her and hadn't stupidly already caused attention to himself he wouldn't bother speaking anymore. Still, he didn't want to look like a moron that said stuff and then walked on his jolly way. A confident man would have probably been asking her name, kissing her hand, and easily holding his composure. After his question, Milo's own eyes diverted else where.

Hah. When interrogating criminals he could be anyone's nightmare, but look at him. In front of a sweet looking woman he forgot up from down. Shoot. He didn't even introduce himself. “Oh, I'm Milo.” Smoooooth. “If your in a hurry, I'm sorry for, um, slowing you down. Just saw your dog and he reminded me of my own.” Closing his mouth he let his hand going through his blond hair. Great. She probably thought he was a rambling psycho. If that dog wasn't already in her purse she'd probably be whacking him with it.

[/size]

[EMILY LEXINGTON]

__________________________________________

The blond chuckled softly,"Yes, of course you can pet him," her voice came out sweet, as it usually did, while she took Jonas out of her purse, the pug happily wagging its stub of a tail as he looked at Milo.

"I'm Emily," she smiled,"and I'm in no hurry. As a matter of fact, I have to kill time," she shrugged absent mindedly as Jonas seemed to inch towards Milo curiously. Sometimes she wondered if the pug had a cat mix in him or something, even though the woman at the shelter said that he was surpringly a pure breed, which was why the litle guy cost her a small fortune.

Te guy looked familiar. Like a face one would see in the crowd and recognize but have no idea if its because they look like someone you know or if they were someone you know...Weird, but that was what Emily was feeling.

"You look familiar..." she bit her lower lip,"But I can't place it..." she seemed to contemplate it but it didn't seem to work. She wouldn't get frustrated over it. Surprisingly, her memory problem was one thing she didn't have patience with.

"I think I've seen you in church," she figured that must be it. It had to be the only reasonable explanation as to why she would think he was familiar. Whatever it was, her memory was still fuzzy. wether she knew him in the past or not, she was currently remeeting him and she would make the best of it!

Jonas seemed so bark, hough his barks came out tiny like a puppy's. The pug seemed to want to go back in the bag since it's chew toy was in there so she carefully placed him back into her purse where he happily started munching away again on the purple bone like toy.

Emily chuckled softly. When she went to get lunch she would have to feed him and give him water then let him run around a little. Maybe they'd go to the beach and play there or go to the park. It all depended on how the day went at the mall. She really, currently, had nothing else to do.

Oh yeah. She had to meet up with her doctor. But that was way later, around dinner time. Maybe she should go see a movie. Jonas knew to be quiet, unless he had to use the puppy restroom, when it came to movies.

She looked back up at him and her eyebrows furrowed again,"I swear I know you from somewhere..." and she seemed determined to find out how she knew him-but it really didn't seem to be registering in her head. Just like when the doctor held up a picture of some man-apparently he was some man she was not allowed to associate herself with because he was not as devoted a catholic as she was-she could have sworn she knew him-knew him well in fact, but she didn't know his name or how she knew him...

She could recognize people, but that was about it when it came to that. So whoever Milo was, she honestly wished she had her memory back. It might have been a nicer reunion or something....