For the first time in recent memory, Marley was grateful for Gabbie's constant chatter. Usually, back home in the city, where the three girls shared one small bedroom, half the size of the current bedroom they were all hanging out in, the mix of Gabbie's never-ending stream of consciousness and Stella's short temper meant disaster, frustration, and causalities.
But as Marley stood at the edge of her bed, staring at the same three outfits she had been staring at for the last half an hour, the presence of her two sisters and their complete ignorance of the war of nerves raging within her abdomen was the only thing keeping Marley from pulling her hair out.
Her warm and sunny disposition waking up after her night-time excursion with Felix died quite quickly under the harsh cold sunlight of the morning. She remembered Mr. Reigns. She remembered her encounter with him at the restaurant only a few days ago. It was one too many encounters, in her opinion, and enough interaction to know that she never wished to see him again.
And yet, here she was. Getting dressed up to walk right into the lion's den.
Marley had been too focused on the dread building in her stomach at the thought of having to have dinner with Mr. Reigns, keeping her from eating anything at breakfast, that it wasn't until Christian arrived that she remembered Winter.
Her two brief encounters, if they could even be called that, with Winter had been far from pleasant and Marley couldn't shake the memory of the girl's piercing glare. And Marley was supposed to be crashing Winter's birthday dinner.
The look of relief and excitement on Felix's face the night before when Marley agreed to go as his date was soon being smothered by a host of fears brought on by reality.
Marley wasn't paying attention to a single word Christian was saying as he passed on the supposedly exciting news that he had found them a New Year's Eve party to attend the next evening. And she still wasn't listening when Gabbie repeated, almost verbatim, the same news while Marley tried to figure out what to wear to dinner.
The look on Felix's face kept popping up enough, trying to push through the mass of apprehension, to keep Marley from calling and backing out.
"- house is owned by some big Hollywood music producer but he's never there. Apparently, his daughter has complete run of the place and a few years ago, held a party out there every night for the summer. Christian says the parties are incredible," Gabbie's excitement finally burst through Marley's fog.
"And she's throwing a New Year's Eve party, just because?" Stella asked, the incredulity thick in her voice.
She would be going as there was an unspoken agreement between the three of them; they weren't to miss out on a single opportunity to experience this life their mother had left behind. They might not get the chance ever again. As much as Marley knew Stella wouldn't have gone on any other occasion, they would all be going. No matter what.
"Apparently! And then, one day during that summer, she just stopped throwing parties. Then she just showed up a year and a half later to throw this huge New Year's Eve bash. No one ever knows when she's going to be back in town so it's always last minute. Isn't that exciting?"
"Not really."
Marley hadn't realized she had spoken out loud, the first time words to leave her mouth in a while until the room went silent and she looked up to find Gabbie rolling her eyes.
"Thank goodness I have Christian. You two are so boring! Come on, when are we ever going to get the chance to ring in the New Year in the Hamptons, of all places? This is gonna be so much fun!"
"Gabs, Marley's got bigger things to deal with right now. Obviously. One major event at a time."
Stella reached out and grabbed Marley's only available hand as the other was in her mouth, her nails getting torn to shreds. Marley squeezed her sister's hand and Stella squeezed back.
"Enough of this. Here. Wear this one."
The outfit out of the three Marley knew she would never wear and Gabbie picked it up and handed it to her. Gone were the make-up artists and hairstylists, the hanging rack of gowns. For this event, Marley had had to pull from all three of their luggage and the results were depressing.
"No. That's a terrible idea. Marley, in heels? This dinner is going to be torture enough. Wear this one. And your interview Converse. You'll be comfortable and cute," Stella was now pushing her choice into Marley's arms instead.
"And completely undressed," Marley countered, letting both sisters hold onto to their choices, pulling her arms away and taking a step back, suddenly overwhelmed.
"It's a family dinner, how fancy can it be?" Stella asked.
"They're the Reigns, Stella. It could be as fancy as any other party we've attended."
Gabbie was voicing Marley's biggest worry at the moment and she could feel her heart rate accelerate as if it weren't beating hard enough already.
"What if I show up in jeans and a nice pair of sneakers and Winter comes down in a full-on ballgown? I'm gonna look like a joke!"
Marley's voice pitched up at the end and she knew she wore her panic on her face.
Stella stood and placed her hands heavy on Marley's shoulders, an old trick she did when Marley got freaked out about homework and school projects.
"Marley, calm down. They can't kill you just because you show up to a dinner undressed."
"Yeah," Gabbie chimed in. "They could kill you just because they wanted to."
"Gabbie! Not helping!"
But Stella's stern words didn't keep Gabbie from giggling. Somehow the ridiculousness of her statement helped put Marley's concerns into perspective. She was right. They already had a multitude of reasons to hate her and she hadn't even arrived yet. She wasn't going for them. She was going for Felix.
"Wear this one."
Stella once again grabbed her outfit choice and this time, Marley took it from her. A soft sound came from the doorway, the sound of their mother clearing her throat.
The three sisters looked up but Marley looked immediately away. She knew the head nod Avery must have given Stella and Gabbie because her sisters left the room without another word, leaving Marley and her mother alone for the first time since arriving in the Hamptons.
Marley focused on placing the outfit in her hands back down on the bed with the other two options as Avery approached. She leaned against the tall bedpost but still, Marley didn't make eye contact.
They hadn't had one on one time yet because there had been too much going on. And Marley had a sneaking suspicion that being back in her mother's house was harder on Avery than she was letting on. There had been many long talks with Thea over countless pots of tea that Avery had had to sit through. They were trying to rebuild their relationship and it was sure to be hard work.
"Are these the outfit choices for tonight?"
Marley nodded, her eyes staying focused on the clothes, her fingers searching for something to fidget with, hovering over buttons and clasps on the pieces of clothing.
"You and a Reigns. Why am I not surprised?"
The laugh in her mother's voice finally forced Marley's eyes away from the clothes. Avery wore a look of humor but with a heavy dose of concern.
"What? What do you mean?"
The words were out of Marley's mouth before she even knew they were coming.
"If ambition, cruelty, and hotheadedness are hereditary in that family, so its charm. If he's anything like his father, Matt, was in high school, that is."
Marley felt the side of the bed suddenly beneath her. She hadn't realized that her legs had given way in shock.
"You knew Felix's dad in high school?"
Avery nodded and took the seat next to Marley, both of them ignoring the piles of clothes beneath them.
"I'm ashamed to say we dated. For a while."
"What?"
Avery chuckled at Marley's complete surprise.
"Believe it or not. He was the prologue to my epic Romeo and Juliet story. He was my... what's the name of the guy that Juliet's parents want her to marry at the beginning of the play?"
Marley shrugged.
"I'm a lit major and an English professor and I can't even remember. I don't deserve tenure. Anyway, he was that guy. We dated for about a year when I was a sophomore in high school, he was a senior. Our parents thought it was going to be the ultimate solution to all their plans. Instead of having to apologize to one another and actually resolve their issues, they could just merge the families and the family businesses. Problem solved."
"What happened?"
"I did."
Marley couldn't help but smile at the look of triumph on her mother's face.
"I broke up with him. He was a total jerk! I never really liked him anyway, I just dated him because my mom really wanted me to. She was... less than pleased when I told her."
The humor had dissipated, leaving the room chill with tension.
"I've heard good things about Felix, though. And you're a smart girl, I know you wouldn't willingly walk into a dinner with Matt Reigns if it weren't for someone you genuinely cared for."
"I hope not."
"He's a real winner, that guy. He did not take it easy when I dumped him. And he was all too pleased to talk all sorts of trash about me to everyone we grew up with when I eloped with your dad. I wasn't planning on coming back here but he made sure I never wanted to."
"Wow. He does sound like a winner."
Avery let out a huff of laughter and then the room fell silent. The one question on Marley's mind, for as long as she could remember, popping up now more than ever since they had come to visit Thea, hung at the tip of her tongue and she knew of no better time than that moment to finally ask if.
"Why... why did you leave? I mean, obviously, you fell in love with Dad and wanted to marry him, your parents didn't approve, all that. I know that side of the story. But, I mean, you left everything behind, all your friends, your family, everything. Why?"
Avery breathed in and then let out a long, slow exhale. Her eyes moved from Marley to the window just behind her, as though her mind was transporting her to a time and place far from there.
"I couldn't do it anymore."
Marley waited for her mother to explain, to expand. Slowly Avery's eyes wandered back to hers.
"I was a junior in college when I met your father. I was a business major."
To the look of shock on Marley's face, Avery nodded.
"Yeah. I know. It shocks me, too, looking back. I was a business major because that's what my dad wanted me to be. I was his protege. I was all set to take over the family business when I graduated. I was twenty-one and I had my whole life planned out for me by someone else. And then... I met your father and everything changed."
"How?"
Avery sighed and a small smile crept up her lips.
"I had never met someone so happy before. So content. Here was this college student, flat broke, barely making ends meet, working two jobs on top of school and writing anything he could freelance. And yet, he loved his life. And he knew what he wanted to do with his life. He had since he was little and he had decided that path for himself. He was free."
Avery raised her hand and ran it through Marley's hair, an old gesture she used to do when Marley was young, a gesture she hadn't done in years. Marley felt like a little girl again, listening to her mother tell her all her old stories of a life before Marley even existed.
"I didn't leave this life because of your father. That's the story that Thea believes, that's the story everyone believes and it's partly true. And no, your grandparents did not approve of Christopher and yes, your grandmother did say some things that made it seem as if I wasn't welcomed back if I married him. But, the truth is, I didn't want to come back. I let things explode between me and my parents because I wanted a clean break, I wanted my own life. I needed to start fresh, on my own, without them."
Marley saw tears start to appear in the corner of her mother's eyes as Avery looked away. She swallowed to keep her voice steady as she continued.
"I wish I hadn't cut ties completely. I missed a lot of years with my father and out of everything I've done, I regret that the most. That you girls didn't get to know him as well as you should have. But I'm here now and I want you to get to know your grandmother and I know she wants to get to know you, too."
Avery was smiling through her tears but it did little to disperse the sadness in her eyes. Her hand was again stroking Marley's hair.
"Marley, I know you like this kid and I'm glad. I am. I know you've talked to your grandmother about the family business, you even made it through the Murray's boring charity dinner. It's just... This life... I can't explain it. It's not real. It doesn't matter. What matters is family. What matters is what you want, not what other people want for you. So go to this dinner, enjoy your time here with your grandmother, but don't let this life outshine the wonderful life we have back home, okay?"
Marley nodded, unsure what else to say. Avery reached forward and gave Marley's hands a squeeze before standing to leave. Marley stood as well, once again faced with the clothing options laid before her.
Before going too far, Avery leaned forward and pointed to the option Stella had chosen.
"Go with that one. It looks the most like you."