Becoming Popular ✔ (EDITING)

Chapter Nine-"Are you going to be my sister now?"

Holly smiled in return, sticking out her tiny hand before whispering loudly, “You’re supposed to shake it.”

I laughed, placing my palm in hers, noticing how tiny she really was. Jeff clearly happy with Holly’s and my reaction grinned happily along with my mother. Holly turned to Jeff suddenly, a frown on her lips and placed her tiny hands on her hips. Her green eyes narrowed slightly as she puffed out her chest slightly. Adorable as she was, she looked a little angry at Jeff who was giving her an innocent smile.

“Daddy, you were supposed to help me with the pasta sauce,” Holly scolded, “and Mandy said that I’m too small to carry the bowl.”

Jeff rolled his eyes in affection, “Holly, why don’t you leave Mandy to cooking and show Vivienne your room, if that’s okay with her,” he asked, turning to me.

I nodded numbly. Was this how it would have been if my father hadn’t left my mother? All these years I’ve grown up, not really minding having no father around, but maybe I had missed out something important. I mean, who was going to be there to be protective of me when it came to boys? And it wasn’t like I had an older brother, it was just me and mum. No family that I could really remember when I was growing up and certainly no father-daughter like moments. I shook the thoughts away, as soon as I realised that my mother was more than enough.

“Sure,” I replied, “it would be great.”

Holly beamed up at me, before she took hold of my hand again and tugged me up the spiral staircase. For a brief moment, I glanced back down and noticed the small smile on my mother’s lips as she looked at Jeff. It seemed that she was in love, and for once since I had learnt about Jeff’s existence, I wasn’t going to object to their relationship. After all, if my mother was happy, then the least I could do was support her just like she had to me all these years.

“Hey Vivienne,” Holly asked in her childlike voice.

I glanced down at her and smiled, “Yes?”

“Are you going to be my sister now?” she asked with hopeful eyes.

I found myself at a loss for words. Did I tell her that no my mother wasn’t going to marry her father and that after they broke up that we’d never see each other again, or should I tell her that yes, we’d be sisters forever and ever and nothing would change that. Seeing as how cute Holly looked and the way she smiled at me sweetly, I opted for the latter of the two. I may have been the only child, but I was not going to shatter this young girl’s hopes.

“Sure we are,” I replied with a wide smile.

Holly surprised me by wrapping her tiny arms around my waist before pulling me towards her room, “Come on Vivienne, I want you to help me with something.”

I followed the tiny girl curiously wondering what she needed my help with. It was obvious that the house was well maintained by cleaning and cooking staff and that Holly probably was treated like a little princess by everyone. She was the cutest girl I could have ever seen, so it was pretty hard to imagine anyone not helping her with anything. Holly came to stop in front of a white panelled door that had ‘Holly’ stuck onto it in big, bright purple letters. Pushing open the door, Holly tugged me into the large fairy tale themed room.

I fought a gasp as my eyes travelled across the large room, taking in the double bed that sat against a wall in the far right, surrounded by a veil of lace around it. The covers were a deep purple, with embroidered flowers sewn expertly into the duvets. The design seemed to have been continued onto the walls, because against the ceiling panels, the tiny flower pattern was painted intricately around the room with images of princesses all around the walls. There was one with Rapunzel looking down from her tower at her prince and another with Snow White in her glass case with her prince waking her up.