Tame Your Demons

[Layla Harlow]

Old habits die hard, especially when the world seems to be crumbling around you. To say that Layla was a mess would be hardly scratching the surface. Valentine's day had proved to be much harder than she ever thought it would be, seeing as it was usually a nonentity to her. It had not only been the first Valentine's day since the passing of someone very close to her heart, but she'd been forced to face demons that she thought she'd tamed long before. Since that night, she'd been a wreck, barely able to be a mother and finding it more and more difficult to find herself in the chaos.

Nicholas was her priority, he always would be, and this was something that they both needed. He was staying with Patch and Emma while Layla faced what she had to alone, without worrying about disrupting her seven year old and stunting him further than she already was. She needed time to process what she was doing, what she was going to do to fix it and how she was going to keep her shit together from here on out. If she continued the path that she was on, she worried that he would follow her and that was a path she'd never want for such a great little boy with problems of his own.

The first step Layla was taking was to find herself and to remember who she was and who she wanted to be. Perhaps the setting wasn't the best, a crowded bar could hardly be considered therapeutic. But Layla had always felt comfortable blending in with a crowd all the while enjoying whatever attention she got. As a teenager...before the mom part, she'd been fun. She'd partied and drank her fair share, but with Nicholas she had decided to stop and become responsible. Maybe the problem was that for a night, she needed to be irresponsible.

Layla waved the bartender over and ordered a shot of tequila and a beer to get her night started.

[Carleigh Davidson]

Crowded bars were hardly Carleigh's ideal social scene. Gone were the days where she would sneak in under age, clutching a fake I.D and eager to see where the night would take her. Her days of reckless youth were over; for the most part, anyway. There were always exceptions to the rule. But the twenty four year old make-up artist had settled down into a life that called for routine. Calling her life routine seemed to be a bit of a stretch considering how much freedom Carleigh was granted with her current job.

So, to avoid staring at the ceiling for a few hours, she decided to go out. Why not hit up one of the bars and scope out the scene she once loved to be a part of?

The blonde stood near the bar, patiently waiting for the bartender to catch some form of a break before ordering. Blue eyes shifted, landing on a dark haired girl who managed to catch his attention; for good reason. Her eyes lingered momentarily, before making eye contact with the bartender so that she could order a beer for herself.

Carleigh looked back over at the stranger. "Well, someone's gonna have fun tonight." She commented with a smile.

[Layla Harlow]

Layla was drinking to forget her burdens, forget her problems and all of the drama that she'd built up over the course of her teenage years and into her early twenties. She had a go-to when she drank to forget and tequila was her baby when she began drinking so early on. Her parents had grounded her countless times just for the smell of it lingering, especially after the body shots she'd done at many many of the parties she'd attended. She had been a body shot queen. But that had been seven long years ago and now she was lucky if she had tequila once a year on her birthday. Her life had been kid-proofed and she tried her hardest not to regret it.

The bartender set the drinks in front of her with a lemon wedge and salt shaker nearby. She thanked him and took a deep breath as she stared at the Jose Cuervo in front of her. At one point, he'd been her best friend. He'd also been her wingman when she hooked up with her son's father. Tonight was about letting go of control and responsibility, yet her nerves were making it next to impossible. The sound of a voice had her pausing before she reached the shot and she laughed shortly at the comment made by a blonde she didn't recognize.

"If I can actually grow a pair and throw this baby back," Layla said sheepishly before she ran a hand through her hair. "Wanna offer some moral support and do one with me? It's been a while and I do better with social drinking." It was a long shot, but this was the kind of person Layla had been. Talking to strangers, making friends with anyone who didn't think she was obnoxious and attention-seeking. Of course now, she wasn't either of those things, but she wanted to be. She wanted to get back to that confident, sassy girl that she'd been rather than this low-key, snarky mom that she turned into.