Work Text:
Alexis woke to a weird achiness in her body and the sounds of her mother’s shrieks through the paper-thin walls of the Motel. She had been dreaming that she was back on Stavros’ yacht with bottomless mimosas and cartel members— all a cruel trick her mind played on her so she could wake up and remember the hellhole that was her life now. The lamp on her bedside table flickered to life as Johnny burst into the room, yelling about plumbing. Alexis groaned and attempted to hide her face with her hair, barely making out her brother’s snarky remarks over the sound of the ringing in her ears.
“There’s a whole Bob Cratchet thing going on there.” It clicked hazily; her brother was making fun of her dad’s nightgown. That she could get in on.
“Oh, that’s who I was thinking of!” Her response was weak, but it would at least tip Johnny over the edge and send him back into his room. Alexis groaned again and attempted to flick off the lamp, hoping to get a bit more rest. She could barely lift her head off of her pillow, and her arm hung limply off the side of her bed. “David, can you just?”
She heard rustling and annoyed grunting as her brother turned the lights off. “You’re lucky that I’m exhausted.” It was a few more minutes of rustling before David settled back into snoring. Alexis closed her eyes, trying to stop the spinning that started when the room was plunged into darkness. Ugh, she hoped that she’s not sick; she can’t imagine what kind of doctor would live out here.
Crammed into a tiny booth with the rest of her family staring at the swirling text of the oversized menu feels like torture to Alexis. She blinked hard to try and get the text to stop moving, and her eyes blurred further before settling on a few items on the menu. She tried to stay as quiet as possible as her family bickered and complained before a waitress approached them.
“Hi everyone, my name is Twyla and I’ll be your server, what can I get started for you?” Alexis stayed silent as her family prattled on about different breakfast options, and the sound of some of the food they were ordering was turning her stomach. Before she knew it, the waitress— Twyla, her name was Twyla— was looking at her expectantly, her green eyes trained on her. Alexis did her best to sit up and cleared her throat.
“Just a water and a fruit cup for me, thanks.” Twyla’s eyes widened and she leaned in slightly, her pen pausing on her Steno pad.
“Sorry, water and a what, I didn’t catch that?”
“Fruit cup,” David spoke over her before Alexis got a chance to answer. “My sister must have broke into something before we walked over, she practically tripped her way up the road.” Alexis did her best to muster up a glare in her brother’s direction, but it was short-lived as Twyla plucked the menus out of her family’s hands and rushed back to the kitchen.
“Alexis, you weren’t drinking, were you?” Johnny leaned across the table in her direction, and Alexis felt heat rise to her cheeks.
“You were slurring your words, dear, and that little idiosyncrasy is genetic.” Moira’s voice was grating on her ears, which had begun to ring again.
“No, I just must have not slept well. David is a terrible roommate.” Alexis cast a look out at the Cafe floor as David wound himself up beside her. She felt like she was moving through gel; everything was coming at her slowly and she couldn’t keep up. She caught a flash of green and focused her eyes on Twyla, who was behind the counter, staring at their booth. As soon as their eyes met, the waitress busied herself with a rag and Alexis settled back into the booth, sliding down slightly against the cracked vinyl seat. The lights of the cafe were irritating her eyes, and she massaged her temples with her fingers in an attempt to alleviate the weird sensations wracking her body.
Soon enough Twyla was back, her arms laden with their breakfast, and Alexis watched as she shuffled all of the plates and bowls into place. Twyla went to hand her a glass of water, and somehow in the exchange Alexis managed to knock the glass over, sending water spilling into her lap and across the table.
“Oh, sorry, sorry!” “It’s fine, it’s alright, I’ll go get some paper towels.” Alexis and Twyla spoke at the same time as Alexis slid out of the booth, standing shakily in her heels. Twyla seemed to shrink as she stood, and Alexis practically had to tilt her chin down to meet her eyes.
“Um, is there a bathroom that I can use?” It seemed to take Twyla a second to process what she had asked, or maybe Alexis took a while to process what she was saying, but suddenly Twyla was nodding and gesturing to her to follow. Alexis squeezed past tables, painfully aware of how silent the Cafe had gotten in all of the mess. Twyla pushed open a door and ushered her inside. To her surprise, she didn’t leave her to dry off her dress, but closed the door shut behind her.
“I hate to intrude, but are you okay?” Twyla had her locked in her gaze, those green eyes pinning her to the wall. “You don’t look so good.”
Alexis tried to swallow, but her throat felt dry. She played it off by clearing her throat and mustering up a smile. “I mean, besides spilling water on myself? I’m fine, thank you for the concern though, babe.” She turned to face the sink, steadying herself on the yellowing porcelain as she tried to stop the room from spinning.
“What were you on before you came here?” Alexis froze on the spot. “I know that a lot of famous people tend to get into drugs, and with my family’s history, I might know a thing or two to help.” The question wasn’t malicious, it sounded genuine, like this woman was actually concerned for her. But no one in a small town who asks that is doing it for good reasons, right?
“I wasn’t on anything.” Alexis felt her defenses rise. It was a reflex; whether it was TSA, international police officers, or her brother, she had learned that the answer to any substance questions was always no, deflect, and redirect. She risked a look back at Twyla through the mirror, expecting some sort of judgment. All she saw in the waitress’ eyes was sympathy.
“I know a drug withdrawal when I see one. My mom’s boyfriends went through them all the time. It’s not anything heavy, is it?” It wasn’t the explanation that she was expecting, and against her better instincts, Alexis felt herself visibly relax as she gently shook her head.
“It’s just molly, nothing serious. I should be fine in a few days.”
“I’m assuming your family doesn’t know?”
“They sent me to rehab like five years ago, they think I’ve been clean. I’m usually better at hiding this, but…” Alexis trailed off, not sure where she was going.
“The move has been stressful.” Twyla simply nodded her head as she spoke, a soft smile on her lips. “And it can’t feel great knowing that you’ve lost your supplier.”
“It’s not like I was addicted or anything,” Alexis felt the need to defend herself against this woman that she doesn’t even know. “I had been partying with my boyfriend when I got called back to the house, and we had been chilling on this cute little resort island….” she could tell that the waitress wasn’t following her story and gave up the act. “It’s just what we’d do.”
That sentence spurred Twyla into action. “Sit down here, don’t worry, I just cleaned it this morning,” she moved across the small space and set the toilet lid down on top of the seat. “I’ll grab you some water and you can stay here until you’re feeling better.”
Alexis nodded and made her way to the toilet, putting her head in her hands once she sat down. She heard Twyla leave the room, the bustling sound of the cafe grow louder then muffle again as the door shut. She sat unmoving, focusing on the sound of the vent fan and the slight buzzing of the fluorescents. The noise of the Cafe swelled again and Alexis lifted her head to see Twyla juggling two glasses in her hands as she slipped back into the bathroom.
“Okay, so this is just a bunch of juices thrown together, I only had a bit of orange juice left so I threw in some other stuff. It might not taste amazing, but it’ll help with the weakness and dizziness.” She set the glass on the small counter, then held out a glass of water. “Hydration is important too, so drink up. Let me know if you need help with anything.”
Alexis sipped at the water, feeling strange as Twyla watched her. As soon as the water hit the back of her throat she realized how thirsty she was, nearly gulping down half the glass before stopping. Twyla offered her the other glass and Alexis took a careful sip; the acidity and sweetness of the drink was nearly overwhelming.
“Mmm! Uh, thank you, uhhh…” She trailed off, reaching for her name through her brain fog.
“Twyla.” The woman smoothed out her apron and clasped her hands together.
“Twyla.” Alexis smiled and held the glass in her lap, unsure of what the other woman was expecting. Twyla’s face broke into a grin.
“You’re welcome! I’ll just leave these here. I, uh, let your family know that you’re cleaning up in here, so take your time. This is the employee bathroom and we’re in the breakfast rush, so no one should be bothering you for a good half hour or so if you need it.”
They sat in silence for a few beats, Alexis looking at Twyla and Twyla staring back before she jumped into action, motioning back through the door to the Cafe. She slipped out of the door as Alexis took another sip of the citrus juice, pulling a face now that she had left.
But Alexis had to admit, it did help. She was able to face the family and make it back to the motel without passing out, and she was able to act a bit more like herself.
This tailgate party was a total bust. Sure, flirting with the guys was fun, as desperate as they were to get her to hang around, but there wasn’t anyone here that felt like they would make good revenge for Stavros. Even thinking about him made Alexis’s neck tense. She moved away from the bonfire, perfectly content with stealing her brother away from the weird front desk girl and walking home, but then she collided with someone behind her, nearly dropping her phone in the process.
“Ooh, sorry! I should watch where I’m walking.” slender hands rested on Alexis’ waist to steady the both of them as she turned to face the stranger. “I’m not super observant when I’m drunk!”
“Oh!” Alexis found herself staring back at bright green eyes, the color still visible in the firelight. “Twyla, right?” She watched as the woman’s eyes lit up in recognition, her hand leaving her waist to point.
“Alexis Rose! Your brother’s here, he didn’t want a marshmallow!” That smile was infectious, suddenly Alexis found herself grinning right back at the tipsy woman. “Oh, how are you feeling?” Twyla’s hands move to grab at her wrists, Alexis feeling something spark at the contact. “Have you been getting better?”
“Oh, uh, yeah, I’m doing a lot better, thanks.” She could hear the dismissive tone in her voice and mentally cringed; Twyla was being so considerate even when she was drunk and she just brushed her off. If the Rose family will be stuck here until they can sell the stupid town, she better be nicer to the people, especially someone who serves her food. “The juice really helped.”
“Awe, I’m so glad!” Twyla gently shook Alexis’s wrists as she spoke “I felt kinda bad that I couldn’t do some more for you, it’s always so rough having to go through a withdrawal like that.”
Alexis glanced over her shoulder, seeing David getting dragged closer to her. She had a feeling that Twyla was the type to latch onto a conversation, and she couldn’t risk her brother overhearing. “Um, why don’t we get away from the fire, I’m getting a little smokey.”
Twyla nods amicably and leads her by the wrists to some logs that were positioned at the edge of the clearing. She finally released her hands, and Alexis couldn’t help but file away the chill that came with the loss of contact. Twyla cleared her throat, looking a little more sober as the evening air cleared away the party feeling.
“You know, I really did feel awful that I couldn’t do more.” Twyla began to repeat herself, but barreled on before Alexis could cut in. “I know that it really boils down to the body healing itself, but I’m still sorry that you had to go through that.”
“It’s okay, Twyla, really.” Was Alexis blushing? No, it’s probably some of the alcohol getting to her. “It’s not like I haven’t gone through it before.” She laughed nervously at her own joke while Twyla looked on, something brimming in her eyes.
“I’ve heard that doing yoga can help. Take the mind off of it and give the body something to do. If you want, I run classes sometimes for the town, you’re welcome to come.”
Alexis met Twyla’s eyes, blue meeting green. “Yeah, sure, I’d love to.” Twyla’s grin nearly split her face before she launched into some rambling story about an attempt at goat yoga that ended with a new city law about farm animals and recreational activities.
In the mild Canadian evening, sitting nearly in the dark with a kind, compassionate waitress, the idea of Schitt's Creek being a degree above hell entered Alexis’ mind for the first time.