❪  a romantic drama!  ❫
written by april
© PEARLJARS

━━━━━━   ╱ INTRODUCING . . .
▍Heavy Coat ✷ AN ORIGINAL ▍

for the best reading experience,
a white background is encouraged.

I wear my grief like a heavy coat,
letting it coax me into comfort though the
chill still surrounds me. Still, still, still.
╱  Original Poem, written by Me.

❪ SISTINE'S V.O. ❫

I'm afraid of many things in this life. The dark and needles. Spiders and heights. Small spaces and thunderstorms. The one I'm afraid of the most though is forgetting about you. All that you are. All that you were. And all that we made.

            I'm afraid I'll awake one morning and forget the way your scent covered the shams. I'm afraid I'll forget your morning brew, the way its aroma consumed the kitchen. I'm afraid I'll forget the sound of your voice against the walls as you crooned to a Hozier song. I'm afraid I'll forget the way my skin would heat at a single touch, a brush of your fingertip or a skim of your thigh against mine. I'm afraid I'll forget your soft smile and your tender hands. Your loving heart. Your beautiful mind.

            I'm afraid I'll fall for him, leaving you to collect dust in the shadows (I fear!) in a place I won't be able to remember you.

            I want to carry you with me every day.

            But how do you suppose I do so with him at my side and you in the soil?

❪ MILLER'S V.O. ❫

You were the greatest comrade. A friend in arms. One hell of a fireman, and one hell of a husband. You would've made an even better father. There's no apology worth what I've done. I thought it was the right thing, being there when you couldn't be. I made a promise when they pulled you out of the smoke.

            Had I known what would become of us, who she was for all that she is, I'd have bypassed her with a ghost of a smile and kept wandering, sending a prayer her way instead of a "How are you holdin' up?"

            That's what I tell myself. It kills me to pretend that I am telling the truth. I am an honest man, despite that single lie. (I promise you that I am!) It comes as no wonder why you stopped for her, why you asked for her name, and why you loved her so.

            I did, too. And I do. And what's worse is that I'm not really sorry for it. Even if I wanted to be. Even if I should be.

            Would you have wanted me to leave her be? For me to sit idle while her lips dipped farther down? Down, down, down. They were so very sad. Would you have wanted me to keep my heart to myself? Loving someone and expecting misery of them when you've gone off to another realm, it sounds selfish.

            But it seems so am I.

            And I'm sorry, but I'm not.

            You left and I am here.

Small town artist, Sistine Elizabeth 'Beth' Sommers, had always been the epitome of light. Sunshine in a bottle incarnate, never spotted without adorning her signature grin. But when her world is split in two by the sudden loss of her fiancé, her lips take on a new demeanor. Now frowning and forlorn with both hands grasping a growing belly, she buries her grief the best way she knows how to—by delving into motherhood, mind steadied in hopes to still the ache of her heart.

Miller Rhodes is the town's Deputy Dreamboat. One thirds charming and two thirds empath, he's determined to bring a smile to his late fellow in arms' fiancé's face, intent on mending all that has been broken by grief and providing for her in a way his comrade is no longer able to. He just didn't expect one of those provisions to be: Accidentally falling in love with her.

𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑮 . . . ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

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˗ˏˋ Sistine Elizabeth 'Beth' Sommers 。 ˎˊ˗
Portrayed By ✷ Riley Keough

❪ 24 ❫ Widowed Mama. Artist.
Denim Overalls. Handknit Gifts. Antique Pottery. Peach Nectar Skin. Oversized Tees.
Warm Bubble Baths. Vintage Films. Lace
Bodice. The Color Ivory.

&&

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˗ˏˋ Miller Rhodes 。 ˎˊ˗
Portrayed By ✷ Chris Wood

❪ 29 ❫ Visionary. Police Officer. Diners
At Midnight. Cuffed Sleeves. Plaid &
Corduroy. The Month Of October. Soft
Smiles. Thousand Piece Puzzles.
Bergamot & Cobblestone.

┏━━━━━━━━━━━┓
𝑨𝑫𝑫𝑰𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑨𝑳 𝑪𝑨𝑺𝑻 & 𝑪𝑹𝑬𝑫𝑰𝑻𝑺
┗━━━━━━━━━━━┛

♱ ELLIOT WELLS . . .
portrayed by Luke Grimes
LUTHER 'LUCKY' SOMMERS . . .
portrayed by Drew Starkey
SYBIL 'BILLIE' SOMMERS . . .
portrayed by Sixtine Rouyre
EVELYN SOMMERS . . .
portrayed by Rachel McAdams
CADE SOMMERS . . .
portrayed by Jensen Ackles
SIERRA RHODES . . .
portrayed by Sandra Bullock
♱ MONTGOMERY RHODES . . .
portrayed by Matthew McConaughey
MAGNOLIA 'MAGGIE' MORRISON . . .
portrayed by Fiona Palomo
LENNON IVERSON . . .
portrayed by Suki Waterhouse
GIDEON REESE . . .
portrayed by Garrett Hedlund

& 𝑽𝑨𝑹𝑰𝑶𝑼𝑺 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺
. . .         𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗱

NOTE: You can imagine whomever
you'd like for each character, I'll just
be writing my character's with their
appearances in mind throughout this
story.

┏━━━━━━━━━━━┓
𝑫𝑰𝑺𝑪𝑳𝑨𝑰𝑴𝑬𝑹
┗━━━━━━━━━━━┛
IT IS TO BE NOTED THAT . . .
16+ mature language & content is ahead
( sexually explicit scenes, profanity,
grief, loss of a loved one, etc. )
PLEASE BE ADVISED!
this is purely a work of fiction.

APRIL SPEAKS!

🧦 i'd like to begin with a special shout-out
& dedication to the lovely, sweetmvgnolias.
lauren, my earth angel, thank you for
lending a hand with this one. without
you, these characters wouldn't even exist.
this series is all thanks to you. i appreciate
     you for the DM that day that set this entire
     series in motion. you're the brightest light.
love you forever. 🤍

🧦       this is a very heavy story, especially with
everything that has gone on in my life.
willa beth holds a special place in my
heart, as does this story. so please, be
kind and most of all, enjoy! <3

🧦       this one's for you, dad. i hope it
makes you proud. 🪽

┏━━━━━━━━━━━┓
𝑻𝑨𝑮𝑺 & 𝑫𝑬𝑫𝑰𝑪𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺
┗━━━━━━━━━━━┛
foliosriot thegoldxnangel surfology
VALOISTAR chrsevanslover m6lfoy palerots
peachstains goldenstarkey sunkills burszt
killersrot palerots radioheadrot superqche
paradiseearth auroranny -BLOODYPEARLS
voidemmy chaseatlxntic romanovabarnes
slashlovr obxslvt weasleyrd -digitaly bittenlace
pedrified -whiteoak -jjantics girlcanines
faerieribs sweetmvgnolias balorswife
surfology valentinestexas kissxtde
iheartcvpid girlhoodrot lunarsurge
fuckerlicious prodicgy madelynscline
-rottenfruits -inslaytiable szndior

some of you didn't ask for a dts
but i love you nonetheless (don't
feel obligated to read 🤍)

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© 2023 | april