“Well, girls, it’s been a total blast.” I stood up, handing my credit card to the cashier and gave them a flutter of my fingers. “I’ll see you two tomorrow. Is the plan still to come over to my place before the party?”
“Of course,” Madison gushed. “Your place is the best. I’ll bring my stuff over and ride with Marley. Daddy still hasn’t given me my keys back,” she huffed and pouted her lip out. “He’s such a pain in the ass; hopefully he gives in soon.” Hmm, I wonder why Madison. Could it be due to the fact that you were driving it shitfaced and ran into a tree before you even left the driveway of Kristy Michael’s house at the beginning of the summer? Even I wasn’t that stupid. About drinking and driving at least.
“Meh. You have Marley to chauffer you around everywhere, no need for a car,” I replied sweetly.
Madison giggled as she blew on her finished nails. “So right, Adelaide.” I watched as Marley stiffened next to Madison and gave her an icy stare.
I bet Madison really did love having someone to drive her around, even though we all knew Marley had to scrape money together to get the piece of shit car she had, while Madison and I had brand new cars bought for us the second we turned sixteen. She tried to hide it from everyone, but I made sure to let it slip, by accident of course, that her father was a janitor at some factory, and her mother was totally out of the picture. She had only been able to attend the prestigious private school like the rest of us, thanks to a scholarship.
I guess money couldn’t buy everything though. I had always been a little jealous of Marley for the relationship she had with her father. He seemed to actually care for his daughter and not just see her as some pawn in the game of life. Or as a complete and utter failure.
Chapter 2
“Adelaide Elizabeth McGregor, what time did you get home last night? I thought we had come to the understanding that you are to be home every night before midnight,” I heard my mother’s high pitched voice call out through my locked door. Well maybe if she was ever here she would make sure I followed that little rule.
I groaned, unable to peel my eyes open after the late night I had out with a group of friends I had met at Marshal County Community College or MCCC as we tended to call it, since it was such a mouthful. They tended to party almost every night and got even crazier during the summer break. I guess you could probably call them hardcore stoners, and they let me join in whenever I wanted.
“Don’t even think about ignoring me, young lady. We need to have a talk, and this cannot wait until later.” I sighed loudly and pushed my comforter down to crawl out of bed. Might as well get this over with.
“Yes, Mother?” I stood inside the arched entryway to my room and leaned a hip against the doorframe.
“Oh, don’t you look wonderful, I can only guess what you were doing last night. Well, I’m waiting,” she stated while pursing her puffy collagen enhanced lips at me. I think they made her look like a fish, but apparently it was the in thing to do for women her age.
Everyone said how much we looked alike and how we could easily pass for sisters. We both had the same dirty blonde hair, pale-blue eyes, and perfectly curved nose. The only difference was the wrinkles on her that were starting to pop through and a few gray hairs that could be seen if she didn’t make it to her stylist in time. I loved to point each one out when that happened.
“I went to get my nails done with Marley and Madison. Yesterday was the follow up for filming, remember?” Really? How could she forget? She was, in fact, the reason why I had done the show in the first place. I had been totally against it. The opportunity came at probably the worst time of my life, but she had insisted I needed to do it. My dad wasn’t around much, so he just went along with whatever my mom said.
Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, I had been in heaven. I had two parents that loved, and life seemed golden. We lived in a tiny two-bedroom ranch-style house and often ended up shopping at the thrift stores, but I didn’t care. We didn’t have anything we wanted, but we had everything we needed.
Then my mother had to go and ruin it all.
She always had an air about her, like she was better than everyone else, but she didn’t let that fa?ade slip too often. Well, I guess she finally decided that my father wasn’t good enough for her fancy ass. One day, when he came home from work, she informed him that we were leaving, and handed him divorce papers. I think she only took me away from him to rub it in his face.