For the next 48hrs I will reply to every single comment that you post! I seriously love doing this, it's a lot of fun engaging with you guys!
|| Chapter 24 ||
Olivia skips the stairs two at a time and steps onto the patio, a wide smile on her face. "Izzy! What's up? You look old." She lets out a squeal and ducks as a cane flies across the patio. My mother stands with her arms crossed, watching people shriek and move out of the way.
The cane clears over the banister and hits the grass. I grin and start walking across the yard, stooping to pick up the cane. "And how are you supposed to hit me now?" I can hear the smirk in Olivia's voice.
"Come here and we'll find out," the rough Spanish voice of my favorite evil mastermind grunts.
Our guests are all standing around awkwardly, uncomfortable expressions on their faces. "Izzy, so great that you could make it," My mother walks over to Izzy and gently puts her arms around her.
"Clary, your dress has flowers on them, I don't like it," Izzy comments, putting one arm on my mom's back and patting it once.
Mom leans back a sweet smile on her face, "Brave thing to say coming from someone wearing an old shower curtain."
Izzy cracks a smile and grabs my mothers chin gently bringing her face closer, "I've missed you."
"Likewise Izzy."
They had always been close, Valentina, Izzy's daughter/Olivia's mother had been best friends with my mother since they were in Junior High. After Valentina passed away when Olivia was only six, my mom promised to always take care of Olivia since my parents are her godparents.
I hold the cane to my chest and walk over to Izzy. "Hi Izzy."
Izzy scrunches an eyebrow and looks over my mothers shoulder and at me. Her blank face cracks a small smile which makes me grin in return. "Tess, why haven't you come to visit me?"
I shrug a shoulder casually, "Oh you know, destroying peoples lives, one day at a time."
"Good to see people doing the Lords work," Izzy says, taking the cane from my hands.
My mother pats my arm gently and says a quiet 'oh my god' as she walks away. Olivia puts an arm around Izzy and guides her across the patio. Izzy gestures for me to follow them
Izzy nudges Olivia's arm and she leans down to her Grandmothers level, "Okay, give me the rundown."
"Mr Hayes' parents are here, including Ingrid," Olivia whispers. Izzy lets out a scoff. "Ingrid and Jenna have already gone through the pre-game but we're waiting for the real show to start, we think it's gonna be a good one, Sebastian is pumping her with booze." Izzy nods her head in agreement. "Courtney's parents were a no show-again, I think they're just embarrassed that their son got kicked out of his summer camp for the third year in a row," Izzy barks out a laugh. "And Tessa shoved Harry down the slip 'n slide for being a dick, naturally."
I shrug with a proud smile on my face. Izzy gives me a sharp nod, impressed. "The Hayes grandparents are here?" Olivia and I nod. Izzy eases herself into a chair next to my mom. My mom holds her hand gently and Izzy smiles back at her. "Olivia, get me the tequila, I have racists to take down but I don't want to do it sober."
Mom pats Izzy's hand with her free one, "Remember how you used to be when Valentina started dating Johnathan, Iz?"
I perch on the edge of my mothers seat, wrapping an arm around her so that I can hear the story. Olivia leans her arms on the back of Izzy's chair, an excited smile on her face at the mention of her parents story.
Izzy nods her head, "You're right, and I was educated and changed my ways."
Mom snorts and looks at Olivia and myself, "If by 'educated' you mean Valentina kicked her in the metaphorical ass then yes." Olivia beams at the actions of her mother. Izzy rolls her eyes. "And you, Izzy are not allowed to get involved with Peter's parents, I am in no mood to visit a hospital today thank you very much."
"Isabella, good to see you again," Grandma Vicky walks up to us and leans down to kiss Izzy's cheek.
Izzy returns the kiss half-heartedly, "Victoria, your daughter is ruining my fun." Olivia hands Izzy a whiskey glass, that her father gave her, that has a double shot of tequila in it.
Grandma Vicky shakes her head at her daughter, disappointed, "I did not raise you to be a bad host, Clara Jane."
My mother's eyes widen. "Mooom," she whines, covering her face with her hand. She looks at Izzy with a glare, "Tattletale."
"You're being a bitch," Izzy throws the contents of her glass down her throat and holds out her empty glass for another one. Olivia is only too happy to comply. Grandma Vicky frowns at the vulgar language but knows better than to say anything to Izzy about it. Knowing Izzy if Grandma Vicky ever complained, she would make it her mission to say the most cuss words in one sitting than ever been said before.
Aunt Jenna appears from behind her mother with a scowl on her face, "Izzy, please tell me you're here to kill the enemy."
Izzy tilts her head from side-to-side in thought, "Depends on the enemy and how big the threat is."
"Ingrid Hayes, or as I like to call her, Satan's reincarnation," Aunt Jenna grumbles, leaning against the patio table.
"Clary do you have any rat poison in the garage?" Izzy asks innocently enough.
My mother gives Izzy a blank stare, "We are not poisoning my sister-in-law, Peter would be upset."
"He'll move on eventually," Aunt Jenna comments nonchalantly as if discussing the weather. "He may even thank us." I give her a bland look and she takes it into consideration, nodding her head. "Tessa's right, he'd kill us." She groans, folding her arms over her chest.
"Olivia, Tess, go play with your own friends, let the grown ups talk," my mother tells us, pointing in the direction of the backyard where our friends are.
Olivia throws an arm around my shoulder, "Come on Tessy, let's go socialize."
I roll my eyes, "You obviously don't know me if you think that that is something I would enjoy doing."
Olivia laughs as we walk down the steps and onto the grass. "So, word on the street is that you're looking to enact some form of revenge on your brother."
"I already did, didn't you see him flailing around on the slip 'n slide?" I ask, a smile on my face as I remember Harry's 'accident'.
"Not Harry, although that was so perfectly done, the asshole deserved it," she winks at me, genuinely enjoying Harry's pain. She's never been a big fan of him. Charlotte once told me of the fucked up mess that was their Freshman formal and Harry ditching Olivia to hook up with some desperate girl. The amount of drama surrounding them both horrifies and entices me.
I stop in my tracks and look at Olivia, "You're willing to help me enact revenge on your boyfriend?"
She throws her hands up in surrender, "Woah, I never said I would help, maybe point out a few weaknesses but let's face it Tess, you're brutal and I cannot betray my man like that, even if it would bring me joy."
The corner of my mouth lifts in a smirk. "Fair enough. What kind of weaknesses are we talking about?"
She only grins in response.
|| ✨ ||
I practically skip over to my friends and lean over the back of Addison's chair, "I need your help."
She turns in her seat and smiles at my neutral face, "With what exactly?"
"A little sabotage, maybe some vengeance," I shrug, playing the casual card.
Her eyes brighten, "Oooo, sabotage? I'm intrigued."
"Cool, let's go," I grab her arm and she stands up, letting me lead her. I stop at another persons seat and lean towards their ear so as not to be overheard. "Wanna cause someone harmless yet emotionally scaring pain?"
Isaac's grin is evil as he looks at me, "My favorite. What do you need?" He's up and ready before he can even finish his sentence.
"Follow me," I gesture and he stands next to Addison who has a nervous but excited smile on her face. Drew raises an eyebrow at the three of us as we walk away but I just blow him a kiss and he rolls his eyes, a small smile on his face.
They follow me silently, the only sounds coming from us are our feet shuffling through the grass as we come to a stop in front of Charlotte and her friends. "Hey Char."
Charlotte looks up at us, her eyes questioning my presence but she doesn't voice it. "Hey Tess, what's up?" Olivia leans back on her hands, a secret smile on her face.
I look over my shoulder at Isaac who shrugs before I look back at my oldest sister, "Nothing much, you remember Addison right?"
Charlotte slowly gets up off the ground from where she was sitting and smiles politely at Addison, "Of course, the kidnapper."
Addison beams, "That's me!" Charlotte's friends chuckle, looking back and forth between us.
"Did you know that Addison has never seen any of the High School Musical movies?" I ask innocently. Addison quirks an eyebrow in question to my random statement but Isaac just pokes her arm telling her to go with it.
A gasp comes from next to Olivia and I hide the smirk that's dying to come out. "What kind of a childhood did you even have?" Sebastian's voice is a mixture of shock and accusatory as he stares at Addison with furrowed brows. Addison opens her mouth to reply but Sebastian cuts her off, "No childhood, that's the answer."
"She was just telling Isaac and I that she's debating whether or not to watch them because they're past their prime."
A few of Sebastian's friends nod their heads in agreement and then you have Nathan who just shakes his head in amusement.
Sebastian beckons Addison closer and Olivia scooches over to make some room. He grabs Addison's arm and yanks her down next to him, patting her on the head. "Now Addison, you've come to the right person to help you during your time of need."
Olivia snorts and leans her head close to Addison whispering something in her ear which makes Addison lose focus for a split second before she glances at me and gives me a subtle nod. Message received. Sebastian dives into a complex theory as to why High School Musical defined a generation and it takes everything in my body to not laugh at him.
"Okay we'll leave you to it, bye!" I quickly state, not leaving any room for anymore conversation as I speed walk towards the house. Isaac follows along behind, a pleased smile on his face.
We walk up the patio steps and I bypass everyone, not even looking up as I walk straight into the living room and towards the stair, Isaac following closely behind. "Remind me what we're doing?"
I glance at him over my shoulder as we hit the hallway with all the children's rooms. "I haven't told you what we're doing, just wait a minute." I open the door to my bedroom and give him a second to look around since he's never been upstairs let alone my bedroom.
"Wow, this is...anticlimactic. I totally had you pegged as a tough girl with a secret boyband obsession, boy was I wrong." He takes in my simple mint green bedroom walls that do not have any pictures with friends or posters. The only thing of sentimental value I have on display is a picture of my family at Sebastian and Sophie's graduation last year. Mom has a picture taken at every child's graduation and then has it blown up and placed throughout the house but I chose to keep a copy in a small picture frame next to my bed.
My medals are on the shelf above my desk. It was technically supposed to be a bookshelf but I played more sports than I read books so I decided to showcase them and keep the few books I actually own and did not steal from my siblings', in my closet. "Shut the door," I tell him sternly.
I walk over to the small cushioned lounge chair at the end of my bed, kneel on the ground and start pulling the pillows and cushions off.
"Hey now, if you wanted a little bedroom time all you had to do was ask," Isaac's teasing voice is behind me and I flip him the middle finger without looking. "Feisty." He comes to stand next to me and watches me fidget with a lock on the chair. "What the hell?"
I unlock the chair and open the latch, lifting the lid, showing Isaac the contents. "What the actual fuck." He kneels next to me and starts rummaging through my things. "How...how do you have these things?" He pulls out a little Ziploc bag filled with small round red wrinkled plants. "What even are these?"
"Don't touch those." I quickly rip the bag out of his hands and hold it away from him, checking to make sure it is still completely sealed and taped shut on top of the two Ziplocs they're in. "They're called Carolina Reaper Chilli Pepper."
Isaac's eyes are wide and he frantically starts wiping the fingers that touched the bag on his shirt. "How the fuck buckets did you get ahold of one of the hottest chilli peppers in the world? These things send people to the hospital!"
"Can you shut up? The last thing I need is my parents finding it, okay?" I gently place the peppers in their little box, securely shutting them away.
"You know, most teens hide drugs or alcohol in their rooms, you hide death peppers," Isaac comments, continuing to dig through my secret stash. "So how did you get your hands on them? Those are like black-market shit."
I pull out the itching powders and box full of Sharpies and keep digging. "Izzy knows a guy, she thought that I should be prepared for anything."
Isaac stops digging around and stares at me with a disbelieving look, "The old lady with the cane?"
"Don't say that too loud around Izzy, she'll kill you with that cane," I chuckle pulling out the green hair dye. "Bingo." I start carefully placing everything back in, straightening out all the different hair dyes I have; moving the food coloring bottles and the classic edible gummy insects that I hide around the house when I'm bored. There's a bunch of other stuff further inside but I have the one thing I need so I close it all back, locking it again and positioning the cushions neatly. Isaac stands next to me, glancing at the box of hair dye. I poke his chest with my pointer finger, "Don't tell anyone about what you just saw, not my siblings, or my friends, not even Drew, do you hear me?"
Isaac sarcastically salutes me, "Yes ma'am."
"Okay, let's get to work," I tell him and walk across the hallway and straight to Sebastian's room, hoping to be able to get into the Jack and Jill bathroom that him and Sophie share between their rooms. We stop in front of his door and I test the doorknob to see if he's locked it. When the lock turns easily I shake my head with a chuckle. Idiot. "Let's get one thing straight before we go in." Isaac leans against the wall next to Sebastian's door, his arms folded across his chest. "If we get caught, you were looking for a clean shirt."
"Why me?" We walk into Sebastian's room and I take in the mess around me.
Sebastian has never been the cleanest Hayes' Sibling, Charlotte wins that award, but he's definitely the messiest by a long shot. There's clothes lying all over the room, empty cups are piled on his dresser by the door. I grab a piece of Pop Tart that Sebastian had been eating before everyone got here and smear it on the edge of Isaac's shirt, "Because you need a clean shirt." He just gapes at me.
"You're such a bitch," he narrows his eyebrows at me, grabs the Pop Tart and slimes it on the white shirt I'm wearing.
"Dude! This is my sisters," I smack my hand on my face and groan, "She's OCD you jackass, I am so screwed." I look at the stain and debate the different places I can hide the shirt if I can't get the stain out in the wash.
"Now we match," Isaac gives me a cheeky smile before turning his attention to the bathroom door. "Bathroom?" I nod my head and we walk over together.
I open the bathroom door and walk inside over to the shower and open it, pulling out Sebastian's shampoo. "How is he not going to notice that his shampoo is green?" Isaac asks, sitting on the clean counters in-between Sophie and Sebastian's sinks.
"You obviously don't know my brother as well as I do, trust me, he won't notice, we're lucky if he can remember what color underwear he puts on every morning."
Once I've finished pouring the dye into his shampoo bottle, I give it a little shake and put it back in it's exact place, and quickly exit the both rooms but not before grabbing a spare shirt from Sebastian's closet for Isaac.
When we get back into my room, I shut the door while Isaac strips off his shirt, throwing it at my head. I scoff and throw it on my floor, walking over to my closet and standing inside it, trying to find another shirt to wear. I pull a simple black crop top out and take off my shirt to change.
"Hey Tess, Harry said something about your Aunts-." Drew's voice cuts off as he opens my bedroom door.
I walk out of the room, not concerned about two guys seeing me in just my bra, it's the same thing as a bikini, and pull the shirt over my head. Isaac is still standing shirtless, looking at Drew like a deer caught in the headlights. I ignore the tension and look at a dumbstruck Drew.
"I'm sorry, didn't mean to interrupt," his voice suddenly has an edge to it.
"You weren't. What were you saying before?" I ask, straightening my top and pulling a too-big for me flannel over it, leaving it unbuttoned.
He just looks between Isaac and I for a second before shaking his head. Isaac, looking smug, pulls the shirt over his head. "Harry was saying something about your Aunts, I didn't really understand, she was a little flustered."
My jaw clenches, "Fuck, I better not have missed it." I walk to the door and push it open, rushing down the stairs and out of the house, coming to a stop on the patio, which has since emptied out a little from all the parents an guests walking around the backyard.
"Oh Honey, trust me, I do not want, nor need your advice, this coming from the girl who is in her forties and still single!" My Aunt Jenna's voice echoes off the patio and I come to a complete standstill.
My siblings excluding Maddie, are standing by the patio stairs, blocking anyone from thinking of coming upstairs to the unfolding drama. My mother is standing behind Aunt Jenna, a grimace on her face, probably from previous words being said by both parties. My fathers parents are standing off to the side behind Aunt Ingrid and Izzy is sitting at the patio table, a bag of the blue packet Doritos in her hand, enjoying the show.
"Jenna be realistic for five minutes, are you capable of that?" Aunt Ingrid says in a condescending tone.
Aunt Jenna pulls off one shoe, pointing it at Aunt Ingrid, "You don't know what I'm capable of."
Isaac and Drew come out behind me and I put an arm up, blocking them from walking further into the battlefield.
"You are not fit to be a mother Jenna, you are already half drunk and your children have to rely on their cousins to watch them." I suck in a sharp breath. Harry and Sebastian look more pissed off than entertained.
"Don't you fucking talk about my children, ever. I am not drunk either, so what I'm a parent now and I can't have fun anymore? No, my husband is right there with our son, perfectly sober. Believe it or not but my nieces and nephews actually enjoy spending time with my side of their mothers side of the family, seeing as we're not stuck up racist assholes," Aunt Jenna's face is starting to turn a blotchy red from the pent up anger.
Aunt Ingrid doesn't seemed phased by the things Aunt Jenna says and just continues to stick her nose in the air. "Clara maybe you should deal with your sister."
"Maybe you should shut up," my mother fires back, a reassuring hand at her sisters back.
"Clara," Grandma Delilah walks up to Ingrid, not touching her but standing next to her, "This kind of behavior at an event you organized is disgraceful."
My mother rolls her eyes, "Thank you for those kind words Delilah but you are not my mother, I don't need you to parent me in my own home."
"It's a good thing I didn't raise you, because then I wouldn't be so embarrassed as a parent should be right now." Harry and Sebastian move quickly, coming to stand on either side of mom and Aunt Jenna.
"Woah." My mother is completely shocked by her in-laws words. "I will not be disrespected like this in front of my guests and my children."
"Clara, your children are the most disrespectful people I know. Tessa was completely rude to Jacob and myself when we wanted to start and innocent conversation and do not even get me started on that girl that your son is dating, disgustingly shameless, talking to us like she has a right," Grandma Delilah hisses the last word, clearly indicating what their real issue was with Olivia. "People like her should just go back to where they came from."
Olivia's face has a smug smile on her face as she lets the insults fly right over her proud Hispanic heritage passed down by her mother. Sebastian takes a step, completely ready to throw down with our grandmother but Harry grabs his collar and holds him back.
"Well, I'll speak in English so that your simple brains will be able to understand every word out of my mouth for the next few minutes," Izzy says, putting her feet up onto the patio table, eating a few more Doritos. "You are no different than me. We were both born in this country, albeit I had to work hard for the life I wanted to live, 'work' must be a hard concept for you rich white supremacist's so I'll keep it simple; my parents didn't hand me money, I earned it. Clara and her family had to earn their money too and we have different skin colors. I have every right to anything you have because we are equal in everything but skin color. You don't get to just decide that because you're white, that other races are suddenly inferior to you and must grovel at the ground you walk on, because I would rather eat dirt for the rest of my life before I let you tell me whether or not I belong in this country that wasn't even yours in the first place."
Everyone stands completely still watching Izzy casually talk while eating Doritos with her feet on the patio table. "So next time you talk about my granddaughter with that tone because of her skin color, understand that I don't mind going to jail for murder, I've already lived my life and I'll end yours before you can say one more racist word, okay?"
"I invited you here under the understanding that you weren't going to be difficult," my fathers voice sounds from behind my sisters who turn around and quickly move to the side letting him and Johnathan, Olivia's dad, through.
My mother turns to face him, tears on her cheeks and the expression my father gives his own parents is deadly. "Jen has every right to unwind and relax, she's on vacation and knows her own limits. Tessa, is allowed to choose what she does outside of school hours and if she wants to spend time with her friends then so be it, you have no say nor do you deserve any say in how our children are raised," he says putting a comforting arm around out mother who immediately leans into his touch.
"And Olivia may be a free spirit but she's family and if you have a problem with that then leave. You've never been good at being engaged parents anyway, Ingrid is a fine example of that, I luckily met the love of my life who showed me how, manipulative you were, and how I didn't want my children to grow up surrounded by people like you." My mother rubs a spot in the middle of my fathers spine, comforting him. "So if Isabella has nothing left to say," he looks over at Izzy who shakes her head, emptying the leftover crumbs from the bag straight into her mouth without a care in the world, "Then kindly fuck off, I've had enough of all of you."
The Hayes Siblings all start exchanging glances with each other, trying to put together the fact that our father is finally on our side with his crazy side of the family and that he just cursed in front of all of us for what feels like the first time in our lives.
Grandma Delilah shocked face is comical as she huffs, pulling her handbag further up her shoulder, if that's even possible, and grabs her husbands arm, pulling him along. "Come along Ingrid, we're clearly not wanted here."
"Bye Karen!" Olivia shouts at their backs, making us younger people on the patio chuckle. Harry and Sebastian have their arms around Aunt Jenna squishing her between them. My mother is apologizing to our father for letting things get out of control but her just shushes her softly and kisses her soundly.
Izzy and Olivia high-five each other before pouring themselves a shot of tequila each, handing the bottle to Johnathan who starts filling a couple more shots for anyone else who wants. Johnathan walks over to me with three shots in his hand and a smirk on his. "I think we all deserve one after what we just witnessed."
I laugh in agreement and hand a shot to Isaac and then Drew, clinking our glasses together and downing it in one breath. I pinch my lips together at the terrible taste and Isaac laughs, knocking his back and shaking his head in a rush. "Gotta love fourth of July parties."
|| ✨ ||
Wow okay that was intense! Hope you all enjoyed it, let me know what you think, I love reading every comment I get!!
So the news is out, I am officially back in South Africa!!
Until next time,
Sammipott xx