Untamed

39

The mansion was quiet and like every other day Melissa cooked enjoying the creepy silence of the mansion. She had gotten used to the eerie silence long before her bones had grown weak, her first few years in the mansion were terrible, she would squeal at any sudden noise; remembering it made her chuckle at her young self. Heather made it her life mission to scare Melissa at every turn, she was always surprised her heart stayed in her chest pumping erratically after a Heather episode.

Heather grew out of her pranks maybe because Melissa stopped falling for them or she realized Melissa was getting too old to get her heart racing at every turn of her head.

An empty smile graced Melissa's lips, so many memories in this cursed house with most of them being bad, so many incidents that changed everyone who stepped foot into the house, maybe Melissa should have warned Shelby before the demons in the walls found her.

Shaking off the melancholic feeling, she focused on the meal she needed to prepare for the occupants of the house.

Renee was surprisingly still in the house, exchanging harsh words with Melissa every chance she got, Heather got spared since she looked like the angel of death was hovering over her right shoulder. The vibrant Heather was still as beautiful as ever even with her skin as pale as a fresh corpse, her hair shined like she was getting ready to starr in a commercial, her emerald green eyes were dull but yet bright.

"I wish I got to look like that every morning." Renee stared at Heather in envy. "How do you get to look dead yet beautiful while at it?"

The emerald eyed beauty forced herself on a stool mumbling a 'thank you' when Melissa dropped a plate of steamy lasagne in front of her, it was her best meal ever since she was a child, one of the reasons she always came home was for Melissa's famous lasagnes.

It was indeed a beautiful dish, the beautiful aroma permeated the kitchen like a breath of fresh air, Heather took a deep breath like always taking in the delicious scent, picking out all the ingredients Mellissa poured into it, she licked her lips hoping to catch a taste in the air.

"You look like a creep." Heather crashed back to reality at the sound of Renee's voice. "smelling the food instead of actually eating it."

The lasagna was getting cold, Heather watched the steam caress the edges of the pasta, her hunger suddenly diminishing at the sight of actual food.

Nowadays she just sat at the table not taking anything asides water, listening to the comfortable banter between Renee and Melissa.

"You need to get food into your system child, you'll push yourself closer to death if you don't start eating." Melissa loured.

"I'm not hungry." Heather pushed the plate.

"Just a few bites won't hurt, you haven't eaten anything in God knows how long." Melissa pushed the plate back. "A few bites then you can go upstairs."

Heather gulped to keep the nausea she felt down, "I'm honestly not hungry anymore, I'm just going to go on upstairs."

Melissa knew a losing battle when she fought one. "If you won't listen me" Melissa smiled softly at the woman who made a flashy appearance into the kitchen. She always had perfect timing. "You'll listen to her."

"Well hello everyone, you look ravishing Melissa and-" Danita nodded stiffly in Renee's direction.

"Mom!"

"It is I in the flesh." Danita grabbed her daughter's bony chin. "You look like glorified shit sweet heart, you need to add some flesh to these bones so I can beat it out of you."

Heather shivered from her mother's cold glare, the plate was placed once again in front of her. "Now eat." She didn't need to be told twice, wolfing down the first, second and third plate Melissa effortlessly placed in front of her immediately after one was gone.

"You really took after me." Danita caressed her daughter's face pinching her cheeks till they were red.

"Ouch!" Heather jerked wincing at the pain radiating through the left side of her face. "What was that for?"

"Quit whining you stupid girl." Danita tsked smacking her ignorant daughter upside the head. "Melissa has filled me in on everything that went down, disappointment isn't the only thing I feel right now. I thought when you told me you loved women you would treat them right but how could I expect you to create signs and wonders when you didn't even know what it was supposed to look like. The first woman you ever brought home was a beautiful, resilient and happy woman now she's so cold and hard."

Heather ducked her head letting her mother's words wash through her. "You always get defensive when I bring up your father but you're like him in every way. I left you at the point of your life when you need direction, coming back later to pick up the pieces of what he left wasn't fair to you but what you do to people defines who you are. No one will blame your father for making you scared of love or me for finding love in a man that wasn't your father, you're old enough to rise and fall on your own, to love and break things all on your own. Oh! My foolish child."

Heather cried into her mother's bosom filling the air with her loud sobs. "You can't love someone else if you don't love yourself. Shelby may not be the woman you were destined to be with but you weren't woman enough to be with her either, every woman you meet is too good for you if you have only your warm sheets to offer."

Melissa busied herself, wiping the clean plates to hide the tears spilling from her eyes. Danita was always the only person who could make sense of every situation, Melissa wished she had come earlier.

Renee packed up her laptop quietly not wanting to disrupt whatever was going on, there was a new knight in the house who wasn't dark and brooding, she wasn't needed anymore. She could go back home now.

"Wait"

Renee froze mid-step taking a few steps back when Danita was suddenly in her way, what did the woman want from her? Renee steeled herself expecting a slap.

"I want to apologize for my daughter, I know why you tucked tail and ran, it wasn't easy, walking away from the woman you loved. I want to apologize for not training her right, for allowing you go through that hurt wondering why she couldn't love you the way you deserved to be loved." Danita grasp Renee's clenched fist. "I am sorry for everything, on my daughter's behalf I'm begging you to forgive her and heal."

Renee blinked rapidly cursing the tears forming in her eyes, no one had apologized to her, no one had spoken to her like she was a person since she walked out of their perfect life.

Everyone had judged her asides Heather's father who kept her close only because he could use her.

"You are my daughter too, Heather was always the foolish one but you-" Renee cried harder when Danita hugged her tight. "You were amazing and still are the best thing that has ever happened to Heather and this family so thank you for loving her."

"Now that everybody is comfortable, tell me about Shelby and all the mean things you said to her. Melissa please make some chicken soup, get me an ice pack as well, Heather might need it." Heather's puffy eyes widened when her mother folded her sleeves.

"It was all Renee's fault."

"It wasn't me." Renee shook her head violently, Danita was scary when she wanted to be.

"Since no one is at fault, I'll be the judge of that myself." Danita smiled evilly pointing at the stool beside Heather. "Sit dear."

Renee sat beside Heather trembling slightly. She should have gone home sooner.

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