If There Was One Thing Salem Couldn’t Say No To It Was A Shopping Trip. Retail Therapy Had Always Been

"okay, we can talk about it tomorrow." she said quietly while quickly wiping the tears from her eyes. salem watched leon as he walked out of the living room before shutting the light off. her mind was racing for what felt like hours. she couldn't sleep and for some weird reason, maybe out of habit, found herself knocking on the bedroom door. "can i come lay with you?" she asked after peaking her head in the door. leon was half asleep and told her to come in. salem crawled into bed with him and cuddled up against him. it was comforting to be this close to him again and all she wanted was for things to go back to normal. "im so sorry for how much i've hurt you." she wasn't sure if he was awake or not but she needed to get it off her chest. "i don't want things to end and how much i love you actually terrifies me. but i don't know how to be the person you deserve..." she turned to him and realized he was sound asleep. salem ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his forehead gently. she turned back around to cuddle against him before eventually falling asleep.

when morning rolled around salem was woken up by the sunlight peaking through the curtains. she looked around the room and then over to leon who was still sleeping. her hangover was raging and the thought of the inevitable talk they were supposed to have made her stomach turn. she got up out of bed and quietly tiptoed out of the bedroom slowly closing the door. leaving this way probably wasn't the best decision but she felt like there wasn't much left for her to say anyways and she truly was tired of hurting him and that's what the end result would be anyways. so she grabbed her shoes and her bag and left the apartment.

this is too much. he hates seeing her so heartbroken. absolutely destroys him. but at the end of the day, he really can't be just a punching bag. he has a lot to think about. "i can't do this right now," he looks down at her with tears bubbling in his eyes. the fact that she can't promise not to break his heart again, it kills him. and he wants to trust her. they both bring so much baggage into this relationship. but he sees himself in her, and it really feels like she's the only one who understands him. the only one for him. she's his soulmate. "i'm going to bed," the man says. he presses one hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her in somehow. "the bathroom's that way and the kitchen's stocked. we'll continue this tomorrow, okay?" it fucking hurts to pull his hand away, and it hurts even more to leave her in the living room as he goes to the master bedroom. he just wants to hold her, fuck her, make her feel good and trust her to not fuck him up again. is that really possible? leon takes off his shirt and climbs into bed with just sweatpants. he scrolls through his phone for a few minutes, but he can't concentrate on anything. so, he switches off the light of the lamp on his nightstand and tries to sleep.

salem didn't intend on stealing rohan's cat, technically, but when she came across the cute orange creature she assumed it was a stray and had the bright idea to bring home a friend for stevie. her brain was buzzing with ideas for how the two cats could play and the matching outfits she'd already been plotting on putting them in. secretly she was hoping no one would come looking for it but after some back and forth in the group chat salem realized she did in fact already have a home. the owner in question though was unfortunately it was rohan.

"actually, it's me being a good cat mom and it's you being a horrible cat dad by letting her roam so far i was able to snatch her up. you couldn't pull yourself away from the ocean for two seconds to check on her? truthfully i think she’d be better off with me." salem replied sarcastically as the two sat on her couch observing the napping cats. "you know, if i didn't believe in karma i would have stayed silent in the groupchat but i'd be inconsolable if my cat, stevie which is her name by the way, went missing and i couldn't find her."

closed  starter  for  SALEM  (  @cybermuses  ) location  :  wherever  the  kitty  cats  are  at  right  now  lmfao

-ˋˏ ꒰ 🐚 ꒱ ── boat  cat  does  look  comfortable,  curled  up  in  the  basket,  sleeping  next  to  the  second  cat,  the  black  one,  exactly  like  the  picture.  it's  a  fact  rohan  can't  deny.  he  never  worried  that  she  was  in  the  wrong  hands, really the cat has always come and gone as she wanted,  but  he  did  have  a  lot  of  questions  that  were  left  unanswered  :  how'd  she  get  here  ?  where  did  salem  come  across  her  ?  did  she  know  anything  else  about  this  little  orange  cats  other  alter  egos  ?

"  so  is  this  like.  .  .  some  kind  of  messed  up  cat psychological experiment  thing  ?  "  he  asks  her  dubiously,  "  you  just  go  out  onto  the  street  looking  for  other  unsuspecting  cats  and  then  play  matchmaker  ?  bring  them  home,  set  them  up.  .  .  "  he  gestures  vaguely  towards  the  napping  cats  with  his  hand.  that's  a  weird  hobby,  he  thinks,  ever-curious  to  see  just  how  the  tabby  ended  up  in  this  most  recent  situation.  "  hope  they  live  happily  ever  after  ?  "  he  points  to  the  second  cat,  the  culprit  in  question,  "  can  i  least  know  their  name  or  is  that  an  impolite  thing  to  ask  ?  " 

salem let out a small chuckle and shook her head. "i promise it's okay, don't apologize. if i could i'd find a way to bring the band to you." luna's disappointment was valid despite whatever salem had going on. she shrugged a bit at the question. things were weird at the moment between her and leon and it was particularly hard to put into words why. "honestly? things are kinda just...up in the air at the moment i guess?" ( if that's what you would refer to hookups and constant bickering with your ex as anyways ) despite being the one that ended things in a moment of distress she deeply regretted it but had the feeling she'd done enough damage in the relationship. "you'd have to make a salem voodoo doll if that's the case. i'm sad to admit that i'm the fuck up in this relationship and this is now the second time that i left him because i'm just allergic to stability apparently."

               at   the   mention   of   the   way   salem's   life   was   progressing,   luna   felt   immediate   guilt   for   her   pouting.   luna   had   only   been   separated   from   drew   for   a   few   months   and   the   entire   world   felt   like   it   was   coming   to   end;   and   they   hadn't   even   been   together   that   long   before   the   break   up.   leon   had   told   luna   was   that   he   was   going   to   propose.   that   kind   of   unimaginable   love   had   to   come   with   some   unimaginable   pain,   and   there   they   were   moping   about   a   band.   "   i   don't   need   it   more   than   you,   i'm   sorry.   "   luna   conceded,   pushing   salem's   hand   that   held   the   necklace   into   salem's   chest.   "   i'm   just   more   dramatic   than   you.   "   luna   was   probably   more   dramatic   than   the   entire   valparaíso   region,   but   they   didn't   want   to   think   about   that.   "   how   are   you   holding   up   ?   all   things   considered.   do   you   wanna   talk   about   it   ?   i   have   some   voodoo   dolls   i   can   die   the   hair   a   blonde   color   and   you   can   really   let   your   anger   out.   it   really   works.   "   luna   knew   from   experience.

salem grabbed the flowers and started cutting the stems as leon spoke preparing them to go in the vase. they were beautiful and normally something so simple would make her feel like the happiest girl in the world but the longer she looked at them the sadder she got about things all over again. his comment threw her off for a moment and the most she could manage to reply with was a chuckle at first. how was she supposed to respond to that anyways? "well, i've been here and i haven't left so i'm not sure why it's so weird for you without me. shouldn't be the other way around?" the words blurted out of her mouth without a second thought. it was probably a bit harsh but it was the truth. before she could respond to his question he ripped the band-aid off for the both of them and decided to address the elephant in the room. she nodded as she placed the flowers in the vase and looked over at him. "you're right, we should talk about things. i'd love to know what you're doing here and why you've suddenly just barrelled back into my life like things didn't end the way they did. it better be one hell of an explanation too." things were different this time. her guard was way up with him.

leon chuckles at her teasing, he'd missed her so fucking much. "they're no pastel de choclo, but i figured you'd like them better," he attempts to lighten the tension that's building between them. it could easily be cut with a knife. after salem starts small talk, leon twists his lips out of nervous habit. "it's been fine. not the same without you." it's actually been weird as fuck. he doesn't feel as connected to the city as he used to. adjusting back to the valpo lifestyle has been complicated, especially because he's really tight on money right now, and everything's even more expensive than before he left. oh right, and the weird feeling of not being cooped up in a house with his grandma and his teetering-on-alcoholic mother. "you?" leon huffs out the word, but clearly he'd rather talk about the elephant in the room right now. "actually, listen, i'm really so fucking sorry, sal. can we sit down and talk about it? please." he doesn't expect the conversation to bring everything back to normal. she has all the right to not trust him right now. he knows he fucked up. he didn't mean to tho. leon loves the woman standing in front of him with all his messed up heart. it beats faster as the words roll out of his mouth. he wonders if she can hear it.

status: closed for @vroyales // leia

after spending some time on the tilt-a-whirl and wandering around the grape maze salem convinced leia to tag along with her to the petting zoo. she was shamelessly enjoying every moment of it despite all the kids running around and crowding the area. "there's no way i can leave here without taking one home with me. it isn't fair." salem said while holding the piglet in her arms and gently petting it. "i mean, i could literally just put her in my tote bag right now and go home. do you think anyone would notice?"

"i figured maybe we could just hang out like we used to. i also have this song i've been working on and i need your musical genius." salem said after stepping inside. the tension between the two of them lingered in the air as she made her way to the kitchen to set the food down on the counter. "i also came over because i feel like i need to apologize. i know things have been weird between us lately and i just feel really bad about it. plus im actually sober this time so maybe it won't be a complete disaster." she nervously laughed at the last part, the last time she came over things went horribly and resulted in her leaving without the two of them really getting a chance to talk about the breakup or even about how leon felt about everything. salem wasn't sure if that would even be discussed tonight but above everything else she really just missed her best friend.

sundays can be a drag. especially since you still haven't recovered from partying -and more- from two days ago. the headache was gone but he was just, so tired. maybe it wasn't that he went that hard with the booze or the drugs, he doesn't remember doing too much. but seeing salem there, it made him miss her so bad that his body was literally aching for her. he sits on the living room sofa, scrolling through the ubereats app on his phone when he hears three knocks on the door. frowning, leon wonders who it is. he opens the door and is surprised to see her. she looks so good in his bowie t-shirt, and whatever she's got in her hands, it smells great. when salem opens her mouth, his heart melts. a small smile creeps onto his face and he pinches the bridge of his nose before letting her in. "i haven't," the blond closes the door behind him. "thank you."

salem playfully rolled her eyes at his comment. "it's not a matter of being weak they're just disgusting." she says while pushing the raisins off to the side of the plate. as the two sat there quietly while the jazz music played in the background salem thought about how the night was going perfectly. having dinner with leon and their playful banter was reminiscent of how things were back when they were just friends and sometimes she missed the simplicity of that. looking over at him as he spoke she gave him a small smile, knowing the inevitable talk about things was about to happen made her anxious but she knew it needed to happen. "what am i afraid of? well..." salem thought for a moment. knowing exactly what she was afraid of when it came to her relationship always felt silly when she said it out loud. it wasn't like leon had never really given her any reason to be fearful of committing to him fully. "truthfully? you're the only stable thing in my life. with how i grew up going back and forth between places and being on tv i've never really had anything that i've felt completely secure in." pausing for a moment, she ran her fingers through her hair. "it just scares me to have finally have the stability that i've always needed but in a person. that's really the only way i can put it." it felt nice to be open with leon about why the relationship was so scary to her, her only regret being not doing it sooner. "also, me leaving had nothing to do with you. this last time everything got so hectic with trying to plan this next album that i felt like i wasn't being the girlfriend you needed. it was just all so much and i had a hard time juggling everything. i got in my head and figured you'd be better off with someone a little more put together than i am. with you being here and me being back home my insecurities were raging. i'm sorry for doing that in general, especially over the phone like that."

"well, i guess i have the right connections," he teases. the look on her face makes his heart warm. that look used to be reserved for him alone. when they went on vacation together to cape may. the beautiful sights that made her eyes light up. and he treasures those moments still. when she says she misses him, he can't help but fall for her even more. what is wrong with him? "raisins aren't for the weak," he jokes as he takes a bite of his own dish, quickly taking the raisins off her plate and adding them to his own. he stays quiet for a moment, the jazz music playing in the distance. "you know..." he says as he puts the fork down. he stares at the waves crashing in front of them. "i really wanted this time to be special. for both of us. and i know you don't like to talk about this. because it's hard. i know that." leon sighs and takes a sip of the beer he'd brought along with the food. "but... we have to talk about it," he finally says, now looking at her, looking for her eyes. looking for the love in her eyes. the worst part of it all, is that he sees it there. he knows she loves him. why is she so scared then? "what are you so afraid of?" there's no anger or anguish in his voice. not this time. he's genuinely curious. and he wants to know what goes through her head. maybe he'll understand her better. maybe things aren't doomed for them.

cybermuses by mar. she/her. 29. est. dependent muse for VALPOHQ.

˖ ✶ ˙ ˖ ✶ salem west - INTRO. PINTEREST. ˖ ✶ ˙ ˖ ✶

closed- for @bvlladonnas // esme location - los fantasmas

"if i ask you to make me the strongest drink you guys have here you promise not to ask any questions right?" salem said a bit stressed as she sat down at the bar. she was relieved to see esme was working tonight, spilling her guts to locals would probably be a new low for her. "i did something kinda bad to leon...again." regretfully that was becoming a reoccurring theme in her life. "does it count as ghosting if you just leave early in the morning without saying goodbye? or am i really just a horrible person? i'm the worst aren't i?" she let out a groan before resting her head on her arms.

status: closed for @alkaliineee // solana

salem beamed as she strolled through the vineyard with solana. she couldn't contain her enthusiasm as the two picked grapes and placed them in the basket. "i'm super excited for this, can you believe i've never done a wine tasting before either?" she said to the other. grape picking and creating your own wine was completely different from salem's typical idea of fun but she was quickly starting to adapt to trying new things while living in valpo. "please don't roast me too hard on how little i know about it all." she said a bit embarrassed. "my parents are more of the whiskey in a dive bar types than wine sipping on a vineyard you know?"