Waving a taxi down, I helped load Simon and my small suitcase into the trunk, then gave the driver directions to my parents’ community. Fuck, I guess it was just my mother’s now. My phone beeped in my pocket, and I rapidly went to grab it.
*Just say the word and I will be on a plane to you.*
*Have a good show* I texted back, then pressed the power button on my phone. I needed a breather from that life, in order to deal with this one.
I punched in the gate code for the taxi cab, and then held my breath. Looking ahead at the house, there were at least fifteen cars parked out front in the large circle driveway. Glancing back down at my attire, I was in no shape to see my mother, death in the family or not.
“You can just stop here,” I said quickly to the driver, having him stop far away from the front door as he could. Handing him cash for the fare, I waited as he grabbed my bags from the trunk.
“Deep breaths, Molly, deep breaths,” I reminded myself, standing there staring at the large mansion up on the hill.
My father was gone, and I was absolutely terrified to deal with my mother. Feeling this way shouldn’t be real. Family was meant to stick together; through the good times and the bad. That was the staple that people needed to survive in this world; always knowing that you had people to stand behind you. Sadly, the only man that ever showed an ounce of what family really was to me, was now gone. No wonder why I’m so screwed up.
I snuck through a back door, quietly making my way through one side of the house to a spare bathroom. I knew I had stuffed a pair of black skinny jeans and my grey sweater in my bag, so hopefully I could make it to the bathroom unseen, so I could change. My jeans and long sleeve shirt were not proper attire for my parents’ home, and this wasn’t a time I wanted to battle my mother on the subject.
I made it to the bathroom and quickly changed my clothes. Catching my reflection as I stuffed my other clothes back in the bag, I almost broke down for a second time today. My hair was purple. Why in the hell did I color my entire head purple? Not only was my head the color of a damn Easter egg, but it matched my bruised face, too. I was starting to panic when a knock came through the door.
“Molly?”
My heart plummeted when I recognized the voice; Jefferson. Biting my lip, I unlocked the door and turned the knob.
“I noticed a taxi pulling out of the driveway, then saw your jacket by the backdoor…………… and wow, your hair is purple,” Jefferson remarked, his eyes fixated either on my disaster of a face, or my bright as fuck hair color.
“Yep,” I managed to blurt out, squeezing my lip tighter between my teeth. At least he was polite enough to not talk about my horrible face.
“Come here,” Jefferson stated, holding his arms out for me to walk into.
Had you told me three years ago that I would have been standing here, contemplating letting Jefferson hold me again, I would have claimed you were fucking bat shit crazy. Now, the familiar face that had been there for me so long ago was almost comforting to my soul.
My eyes began to burn with the tears pooling up under my lashes. Without giving it a second thought, I stepped right into Jefferson’s outstretched arms, letting the familiarity of his touch comfort when, when no one else could.
I cried quietly for several minutes in his arms. When I had finally composed myself as much as my body could, I pulled back and wiped my face with the back of my hands.
“Thanks,” I said softly, laughing lightly.
“Not a problem Darling.”
“So, who is all out there?” I asked cautiously. I had to face them eventually; however there were certain people I would rather not deal with right now. One of them would have been Jefferson, but obviously that’s not an issue now.
“Several of your father’s business associates, some of your mother’s friends, my parents, and I think your sister’s husband’s parents too.”
Taking one last look in the mirror, I wiped my face again and forced a smile. “Well, I guess I better go say hello.”
Jefferson nodded and reached out to grab my hand. I really didn’t want to be holding his hand right now, but I guess since I told Reid not to come; I was going to need someone in my corner when I faced the masses. Sure, this was the ass-wipe that broke my heart into unfixable pieces, but at least he was someone.
Gripping his hand tighter, I let him lead me down the hallway to the great room. Breathe, Molly Anne, just breathe.
My mother was seated on the couch, trying her best to keep it together. All I wanted to do was scream Mommy, and run into her arms. But, that wasn’t how this family worked. I had to show my composure in this situation; crying was for the weak my mother always told me. A few heads turned as we walked into the room. Unfortunately, I bet most of the smiles were because of my appearance, not the fact that I had lost my father.
“Mother,” I said timidly, holding my breath until she acknowledged me.
“What have you done to yourself? You look like you were beaten senseless, and that hair………….your father would not approve of this look, young lady,” she scolded, dabbing the corners of her eyes with her tissue.
This woman was unbelievable. I hadn’t seen her in almost three months and the first time we set eyes on each other was because my father died. Who gave a fuck that my hair was purple, or I wasn’t in the best of attire? She didn’t even ask me if I was okay, considering the entire right side of my face looked like ass. At least I fucking made it home, you stuck up bitch.
“I’m sorry, Mother.”
“Can you call Francis, Susan, and see if they can get Molly Anne in before the wake tomorrow evening?” my mother asked her friend sitting next to her.
A hard lump developed in my throat, as I refused to let these people see me cry.
“I’m going to go get myself situated in my old room, if that’s okay with you, Mother?”
“That’s fine, Molly Anne; and don’t forget your pearls when you come back down,” mother replied, basically ignoring the fact that I came home for her.
“Welcome home,” Jefferson whispered into my ear while squeezing our still connected hands.
“Thanks,” I muttered, still fighting the lump that continued to grow in my throat.
The noise had moved to the kitchen with all the house guests, so I figured dinner was ready. I had sat in my room alone for the last couple of hours; contemplating on how I was going to get through this. It was obvious that my mother didn’t need me here, and I had yet to see my sister. So there I sat, in my old room, wondering what I was going to do next.
I grabbed my phone from my side bag and turned it back on. I really didn’t want to talk to anyone, but I had promised to update Stephanie as soon as I knew what my plans were. I don’t know how I still had a job with NP, but apparently I had someone looking out for me. I knew who that person was, but it didn’t make our relationship any easier.
“Knock, knock,” Jefferson’s voice came as he stepped into my old bedroom.
“Hi,” I said softly, stuffing my cell phone under a pillow.
“I just wanted to let you know that dinner had arrived,” he said from the doorway.
“Thanks. Um…………..Jefferson? Do you know what’s going on?”
“What do you mean, Molly?”
“Like the plan for everything. Mom mentioned that the wake was tomorrow night, but I haven’t heard anything about the funeral or burial services,” I said softly.
“All I know is that the wake is tomorrow night, and they have a graveside service planned for Tuesday,” Jefferson offered, giving me a weak smile.
“Thanks.”
“Are you coming down?”
“Maybe later, you know, once more of the crowd thins out.” I shrugged, flashing a weak smile back.
Jefferson tightened his lips, but nodded his head and left the room quietly.
Grabbing my phone from under the pillow, I quickly punched out a text to Reid.
*I’m sorry*
Powering down
my phone once again, I decided I would send Stephanie a text later. Right now, I needed some more time for just me.
Chapter 29: I’m going to do me, and well, you can suck it.
The house was finally quiet when I snuck down to the kitchen for a bite to eat. I really didn’t feel like explaining to every one earlier why I up and left Georgia, and yes, my hair was purple. It wasn’t like anyone would have talked to me, anyway.
All of the food had been put away already, but I hoped the maids left a plate out for me like they did in the old days. Opening up the gigantic fridge, I poked around for that special plate. Jackpot! I hated being a part of my parents’ functions; so when I didn’t have to attend, I stayed hidden in my room. The maids had gotten into the habit of making me a plate and sticking it in the fridge. This way I didn’t mess up their clean kitchen before morning. “Perfect.” I smiled, turning around to close the refrigerator doors.
“Ah!” I screamed, coming face to face with my sister. “You almost gave me a heart attack, Rebecca,” I gasped, clutching my plate tighter.
“Don’t be so dramatic, Molly.” She rolled her eyes while walking over to a cupboard for a glass.
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at home with Ben?” I questioned, pulling the saran wrap off my late night meal.
“Really, do you have no heart, Molly? Mom is alone in this big house now. I didn’t know when you were coming back, so someone needed to stay with her. Is that why your face is black and blue, because you are a heartless bitch?”
She knew damn well I was coming back today, considering I talked to her on the phone, and then sent several text messages before and after the plane ride. And since when has Mom ever been technically alone. Both maids stayed on sight, and I’m sure Susan was staying out back in the guest house.
“I don’t want to argue, Rebecca, and no, I wasn’t hit. But thanks for caring about what happened.”
“Really, then why in the hell did you show up? The only reason you came back home was to be an awkward unsocial bitch. Did you think people would feel sorry for you looking like that?” she exclaimed, placing her glass on the counter and resting her hands on either side of her hips.
“Because he was my father! Did you forget that I’m family too?” I snapped, glaring at the nitwit standing on the other side of the island.
“Molly, you up and left with no explanation after my wedding. Do you know what that did to Mom and Dad? Then you refused to talk with any of us until now. Did you really expect anyone to be excited to see you?”
“Wow, Rebecca. You always were a little snit, and well now, now you’re just an evil cock juggling thunder cunt. I left after your wedding because there was nothing here for me. I didn’t want to be the charity case for Mom, or Rebecca’s sad older sister. I wanted to make a name for myself; find a place that accepted me for who I was, and not for who they wanted me to be.”
“Well, that seems a little selfish.”
“Are you kidding me? This coming from Miss Teen Georgia who refused to go on stage because one of the contestants had the same shade of dress color as you did? I can’t believe you just said that,” I argued. Of all things in life, being part of this family, I had never been accused of being the selfish one.
“Did you even know he was sick Molly? If you wouldn’t have run off trying to ‘find yourself’, then you would have realized that during the last couple of months his health continued to deteriorate.”
“How could I know when none of you ever talked to me?”
“Whatever, Molly; go back to wherever you came from. We don’t need you here,” my sister snarled, sauntering her way back out of the kitchen.
I couldn’t believe we just had a conversation like that. Well, technically it wasn’t a conversation, more like a pissing match that ended in her telling me to leave. I have always shown respect for my family, and for her to claim otherwise was a flat out lie.
I glanced down at my plate on the counter and pushed it away. Walking back to my old bedroom I fought to control my emotions.
“No one needs to see you cry, Molly Anne. Save those tears for your pillow,” my mother’s voice once again ran through my head.
Opening the door, I dashed for my bed before letting the tears emerge from my eyes.
“Molly Anne, are you awake?” My mother’s voice screeched over me.
My eyes flew open, once I remembered that I was back home and not on the tour bus.
“Good, you’re awake. I got you an appointment with Francis in an hour. Hurry up and get ready to leave, we don’t have all day to fix this disaster before your father’s wake,” Mother barked, quickly turning in her heels to leave the room. “Hopefully they can do something with your face,” she muttered quietly.
“Yes ma’am,” I replied.
“Oh and Molly, wear something tasteful please.”
The door shut and I was left to stare at the creamy white color of the ceiling. I didn’t want to see Francis this morning, but I also didn’t want to be excluded from tonight’s ceremony. I grabbed my phone from my nightstand and pushed the power button on.
Quickly, I sent Stephanie a text saying I would be back on Wednesday, after the graveside service, and then rolled my body out of bed. My phone buzzed and I looked down at the text.
*Miss you*
*No you don’t* I punched back, quickly turning my phone off again to avoid conversation with Reid. He didn’t miss me; he missed the comfort of having me around.
I stumbled to my closet, unsure of what I was going to wear this morning. My mother wanted tasteful, and that would include a skirt and blazer. That wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, so I silently prayed that I had something that I left years ago in here that would please the vile woman.
I pulled out a grey pinstriped pants suit with a coral colored top to go underneath. There wasn’t a huge selection to choose from, so making this work was my best bet. I tossed my hair up in a small ponytail, considering it was going to be ‘taken care of’ at the salon, so why spend time trying to make it behave this morning. Slipping my mother approved attire on; I grabbed a pair of black flats from my bag and hurried down the hallway to the kitchen.
“I thought you were going to make us late,” Mother remarked as I walked into the kitchen.
“Sorry,” I replied modestly, tossing a small smile at one of the maid’s behind the counter.
“Well, let’s get going then. Hopefully Francis can salvage something with that hair of yours before everyone sees it tonight. I don’t know what they are going to do about your face, though; you really screwed it up this time, didn’t you?” Mother shuddered as she picked up her purse and headed for the garage door.
“Yes ma’am,” I replied, trailing behind her like a good little doggy. I hated what was going to happen, but knew it had to be done if I wanted to attend the wake. And my sister called me selfish last night; stuck up bitch.
My scalp was on fire as I sat under the dryer, once again in Francis’s shop. This was the third time they had placed some sort of chemical on my head to try and get rid of the purple. Now, they were just attempting to get the perfect shade of blonde in their eyes. I about choked on my own spit after the first rinse of the product, silently crying on the inside for what they did to me.
It’s not like my purple hair defined who I was, but it did make me different than everyone else walking the streets. Now, I looked like one of my sister’s Barbie clones; just missing the hot pink and sparkly heels, minus the huge purple bruises on my face. Other than that, I was a spitting image.
“I think you’re done, darling; let’s go get you a blow out,” Francis’s assistant said sweetly while guiding me to another chair. Quickly, a black cape was draped around my body as another stylist came up and started to slather more crap into my hair. I closed my eyes as he pulled and cooked my now very blond hair into a sleek bob. I knew my mother would approve of the end product; I just wasn’t so sure I would.
A good twenty minutes later,
I was instructed to open my eyes to the masterpiece they created. Now I fit in perfectly with my family, and all it only took was my dad dying. I lived in a completely fucked up world.
“Now, let’s go see what they can do to cover that,” the stylist said while pointing to my face, never once asking what happened, just silently judging as he led me back to the makeup room. Snob.
A knock on my door came later as I finished buttoning up my black blazer to complete my outfit.
“Come in,” I yelled at the door, grabbing a pair of kitten heels from the closet and slipping them on my feet.
“I just came by to see…………………oh wow,” Jefferson’s voice trailed off when he caught sight of me.
“Yeah, I had an appointment with Francis this morning,” I mumbled, walking over to my vanity to grab my pearls.
“I didn’t mean that to sound negative, it’s just………….wow, I haven’t seen you like that in a long time.”
“We haven’t seen each other in a long time, Jefferson,” I commented, rolling my eyes at the man.
“Need help?” He motioned at the necklace in my hand.
“Please,” I said softly, walking over to him and giving him the pearls. I lifted the back of my hair up as he draped the necklace around the front of my neck; letting his hands linger on my bare skin just a little too long for my liking.
Dropping my hair quickly, I turned around and forced a smile on my face.
“Are you ready?”
“As ready as I could ever be,” I stated, placing my hand in the crook of his arm as he guided me out the door. I might still hate the man, but would never forget my southern manners.
The wake was awful, but I managed to keep my composure through the entire thing. I noticed my mother had yet to shed a tear when I was around her. She would claim that was proper southern upbringing; I called it being a cold hearted bitch. Even with my new and approved appearance, only a few people actually spoke to me, besides standing in a stupid line while people walked past, offering their condolences. It really was for the best, considering most of the people that attended tonight I couldn’t stand, anyway.
Hot Southern Mess (Hide Your Crazy) Page 23