Previously...
Primrose starts asking for a sibling, but Amelia refuses. It eventually estranges them from each other completely and while Amelia mourns over it, Primrose, while having a great relationship with her father, starts to enjoy rebelling against her mother. In her teens she gets sidetracked, however, by the lovely Bella Bachelor who soon becomes her girlfriend. But an encounter with her old childhood friend Deric stirs something in her.---
The following week Primrose felt that she was fighting a losing battle. Every time she tried to convince herself that she had been wrong that day when she met Deric in the park, something happened that only confirmed what she was trying to deny.
“I'm just going through the motions, I don't feel like myself anymore.” She told her father, who was always there to listen to her when she needed to talk.
“Oh, sweetie.” He looked at her compassionately and grabbed her young, warm hand in his wrinkled and slightly trembling one. “I know something has been going on with you. I thought you would tell me when you felt ready. You know I'm always here for you.”
Primrose sighed. Of course he had known. Of course he had noticed. And why shouldn't she tell him?
“I'm in a relationship.” She watched her father's old face for horror, or anger or at least surprise. But he seemed quite unfazed. Maybe he had gone through something similar with Tilly, and had been more prepared this time, she thought. “With a girl.” She went on, and while she did think she could discern a hint of surprise this time, Mort quickly composed himself.
“That is great, honey. So... all this feeling out of sorts, it's love trouble, then?” Primrose shrugged. She didn't really know what was going on. Then she decided to tell her father exactly what she was thinking and feeling.
“To be honest, I've been doubting this whole thing for a while. I think...” She bit her lip. “I know this is gonna sound totally idiotic, a-and it is, but I think I might have gotten a girlfriend just to spite mom. And it's so stupid, 'cause I haven't even told her about it. So I've been deceiving myself, and Bella... For nothing?”
Primrose wasn't very worried that her father would scold her because she once again wanted to anger her mother. He was used to the nature of their relationship by now and knew that there was nothing he could do. But hurting someone else's feelings because of your own devilish schemes, that was another thing completely, and her father didn't disappoint.
“That is a very bad thing to do. If Bella really has feelings for you that you don't have for her, you can't lead her on like that. That's not how I raised you, Prim.”
He was as calm and kind as ever, but there was a note of seriousness in his voice. Primrose could feel tears threatening. As she had listened to him, the truth and the awfulness of it had seemed to hit harder with every word. And all the pieces of the puzzle came together in her mind as if they had been turned upside down and only now were being turned back up and put in their right places. She didn't love Bella. She wasn't even in love with her. Sure, she had enjoyed every second they had spent together, but not the way Bella did, not the way she deserved.
Telling her mother had lost its appeal in an instant, of course. Something else, some new discovery no doubt, had lurked at the back of her consciousness, but before she could pay attention, that puzzle piece had been turned upside down again, and Prim didn't fight it.
“I have to tell her.” Primrose said mechanically and walked out of the room. Mort sighed deeply as he watched her leave, wishing that he had known earlier, that he could have spared his little girl this heartache.
“You just have to do it.” Primrose mumbled to herself as she paced back and forth in the gloomy park.
She had texted Bella asking to meet her there, “our place” she had written, which was enough. Maybe it wasn't the best place to break someone's heart, but it was the only spot she could think of that would surely be empty. And it was. There was no one in sight, as usual, so when she heard footsteps on the pavement she knew who it was. Bella's face lit up as their eyes met. She jogged over.
“Hi darling! What's up?” Primrose's eyebrows knit in pain over what she was about to do. This just might ruin their friendship forever. Bella saw this change, and instinctively took Primrose's face in her hands, like she had done so many times before.
“What is wrong, hun? Are you hurt? What's the matter?” She tried to peck her lips softly but Primrose shook her head. She took Bella's hands in hers and looked straight into her eyes.
“Bella, I have something to tell you. I care for you so much. I've really enjoyed spending time with you these past few months.” Her hand trailed up to Bella's cheek and caressed it softly. She was smiling. She didn't expect a thing. It hurt to see her this blissful and know that it would be gone in an instant.
But she forced herself to go on. “I hate to do this... but as much as you mean to me... it just isn't enough. I don't love you the way you deserve to be loved. I thought I did. I wanted to. But...” Bella's expression had turned into fury and she backed away with a look of contempt.
“You've been leading me on for seven months and you didn't even like me that way?! Oh, now I get why you brought that thing to bed last weekend.” Primrose looked genuinely shocked. “ Yeah, I saw, I wasn't asleep. But I didn't want to embarrass you!” She stopped talking but her whole body was tense, seemingly ready for a fight, and she was trembling. After collecting her thoughts for a moment she went on with new fervor.
“I was never enough for you! I should have realized! How could I be so stupid, how could I actually believe that you loved me? Well... maybe because you said you did.” Both their hearts were racing. Bella took a deep breath again. She was composing herself and when she next spoke, it was with an unnatural air of calm and utter coldness.
“Fine. We're through. See if I care.” She turned and walked swiftly away from the place.
The sounds of the night seemed to have died out and for a good minute Primrose could hear nothing but Bella's footsteps and sobs becoming fainter and fainter until they were out of reach.
To Primrose's surprise and relief, life actually became less troublesome from that day on. She missed her best friend immensely, of course, but not having to live a lie anymore weighed up for it. That alone told her she had absolutely made the right decision. She wasn't about to drop her schemes against her mother, though, and with no relationship taking up all of her spare time, she ventured to take up a new hobby.
That new hobby was staying out so late at night that the police had to come find her, due to her mother's distressed calls to the department. The policemen were usually quite nice and Primrose was never worse for wear after being dropped off by them. She rather liked the little arrangement.
That new hobby was staying out so late at night that the police had to come find her, due to her mother's distressed calls to the department. The policemen were usually quite nice and Primrose was never worse for wear after being dropped off by them. She rather liked the little arrangement.
After a few times the whole thing lost it's appeal, however, as Amelia learned to control her motherly concern and just waited for her daughter to come crawling back when no police car turned up to give her a ride home.
“What are we gonna do with her, Mort? She's spiraling out of control.”
Mort chuckled lightly.
“Oh, my darling, you have nothing to worry about. Don't you realize that this is a good sign? She's back to her old self.” At first Amelia didn't understand this statement and it took several batches of blueberry muffins, mulling over things had always been easier for her when she was cooking, for the penny to drop. But when it did, there was a broad smile on her lips.
As much as she had longed for a deep, meaningful relationship with her daughter, it was by now nothing but a far fetched dream. And if Primrose being rebellious towards her was her natural and happy state, then surely, just as Mort had said, this going back to basics was a good sign. The “calm months” would have worried her far more if she had realized this, so she was happy that Mort had been quiet about it and only enlightened her now that the crisis was apparently over.
On the other side of town, more specifically at The Community School for the Gifted, Primrose and the other youngsters were having their lunch break. Not a lot of people had come out from the canteen yet, but when she stepped out into an almost blinding, bright sunlight she could see a familiar silhouette sitting on a bench, reading as always.
She smiled reassuringly to herself and took a deep breath. It was high time to rekindle the old friendship and she was dying to make up for lost time.
“Hey, I'm gonna go talk to Deric. See you later?” She called to her friends who had just left their trays and were making for the exit. She ignored their raised eyebrows, and walked over to Deric, sitting down next to him very gingerly.
She didn't want to bother him in his reading, that would probably get them off to a bad start. So for several minutes she sat quietly on the bench, waiting. After a little while she started getting restless, and looked at Deric very poignantly. Surely he noticed. Primrose looked up at the large clock on the school building. Only four minutes left until the bell rang. Just as she was about to give up, Deric turned his head towards her with an irritated expression.
“Oh, will you stop it? I can't stand your fidgeting around, what is going on?”
Suddenly all the words she had prepared were gone and her mouth felt dry.
“I... well I...”
He looked at her with a slightly milder expression of annoyance. “I miss you. I guess. And I wanted to try and become friends again. I know I haven't been the best friend lately, but can't we try again?” Deric snorted.
“Ahh, I see. Your girlfriend broke up with you and you feel all alone so now it suddenly seems like a great idea to make friends with the nerd again, huh?” She couldn't believe the animosity in his voice. When she didn't answer, Deric went on.
“Well, I don't need a friend who's only there when they have nothing better to do, so thanks but no thanks. You're just trying to replace Bella with me anyway.”
Oh, how the words stung. From any other person they probably would have meant very little to her, but Deric... When he uttered them, there was depth. And in spite of her constant denial, somewhere inside her she knew that what he said wasn't completely false - maybe she did want to replace Bella? The bell rang and all the people in the schoolyard scuttled to their feet, jumped off swings, put the finishing touches to sand castles, and went inside. Primrose and Deric stood up.
“Just for your information, I'm the one who broke up with Bella, not the other way around.” Primrose said under her breath and strode off to rejoin her group of friends. She didn't look back. But she wanted to.
To distance herself as much as she could from Deric on the next break, Primrose urged her friends to sit down by the swings to gossip. The cackling and laughing of the gang was quickly the dominating sound, drowning out all others. But something made Primrose turn her head, and she saw a young man walking across to the gate. Their eyes met for a moment, and he smiled. She thought his eyes twinkled.
Before she could return the smile, a hand grabbed her arm and she was jerked in another direction, almost falling off of the swing.
“Hey!” She exclaimed, offended, but the girls around her started pointing at the man and whispering.
“He's sooo hot.” Whispered Amber, the girl who had pulled her attention away from the man. “His name's Don, I think. Haven't you seen him before? Oh, Primmy, he's been hanging around for a few days now. He's a salesman, or that's what Marcus told me anyway. Did you see the way he was looking at you? He was totally flirting!” Primrose usually didn't pay much heed to the never ending love connections that Amber and her friends came up with. There was usually no truth whatsoever to them, even though she had been right about Mrs. Pigg, the biology teacher, and Mr. Markham, the now ex-gym teacher. But something drew Primrose to this man and as she turned around to look for him she could see that he was standing on the other side of the fence, smoking. As the girls started scuttling around in panic to find a lost earring, Primrose saw her chance and darted over to the fence with no one noticing.
“Hi.” She said casually. The man turned around, and as he saw her, his face was lit up by a broad smile.
“Well hello there. I'm Lothario. Don Lothario.” He winked at her and she laughed at the joke. The cheesiness of it couldn't be denied. But Don didn't seem to notice, still looking dead serious, and then he gestured towards his cigarette. “Sorry about this. I don't usually smoke around the school. I just had to get out for a quick one.” Primrose smiled politely and tried not to cough, though the smoke was horrible. But he intrigued her. She stood silent for a while.
“Do you like dancing?” The man asked out of the blue.
“I guess... Why?”
“Well, I was thinking of going to this place a few blocks from here. Oh, not now, I mean later, tonight. You can come if you want.” He didn't seem very eager, but that only made her more interested.
“Yeah, sure! Where is it?”
Don gave her the address and told her to meet him there at six. Primrose went back to her friends with a contended smile on her face. This would effectively put Deric out of her mind at least for the evening, and it was also a potential way to piss her mother off. She didn't know how old Don was, but he certainly wasn't school age, and dating an older man... Well that was always a no-no to any mother's instinct, right?
Mort and Amelia heard their daughter shout that she was going to Carmine's, before the front door slammed shut and all was once again quiet. They looked at each other and smiled wearily. Teenagers. But when Primrose was certain that she couldn't be seen from the house, she made an abrupt turn and started jogging towards the other part of town instead.
Towards the dance club, or whatever the place was. She arrived a few minutes early, but Don was already there. When he saw her, his whole face seemed to change. There was suddenly a deep, deliberate benevolence in it.
“Almost too happy” she thought fleetingly but had no time to reflect on it. They had dinner. They had drinks at the bar.
They danced. They touched each other in places where dancing usually doesn't require touching.
Mesmerized, Primrose looked up at this gorgeous man, even more breath taking up close, and thought that if the guys in school were like him, no one there would be single. Then her cell phone rang and she saw that it was her mother.
“Oh damn!” She exclaimed and looked up at Don with an apologetic smile. “I kinda have to take this or they'll think something's up, you know?” Don nodded silently and watched her walk over to a more quiet part of the room.
The moment she heard her mother's voice, she knew that she wasn't calling about Primrose not being at Carmine's. This wasn't even about having alcohol, at a club, with an older man. This was utter despair.
Even though Amelia hadn't said anything, the uncontrollable sobbing made Primrose fear the worst and she clutched the phone with both hands.
“Mom!” She said in an alarmed voice, despite having aimed for a calming one.
“Prim! It's your father!”
---
Okay, so I just had to break this chapter up into two. There was just way too much to tell! But I'm quite happy that I got a cliffhanger in. :P And I'm sorry, Jed, this means there isn't much of Amelia in this chapter after all, but you just wait for the next one. :)
/Alexandra
/Alexandra
Prim, you're a complex little girl, aren't ya? Well, she seems like one of those rich bored kids that do stuff like that just to tick off their parents or to satisfy their own rebellious nature. Good thing though, that she's through with Bella. She just looks weird, and snooty. Prim has a bit of a reputation at school, I see. Otherwise Deric wouldn't say those things, I guess. But reading her reactions to what he said, makes me think. She does have a thing for him. He seems the only other person, other than Mort, who sees her true self. Deric is certainly hurt by her 'abandonment', either that or he likes the ladies, I mean men. ;)
ReplyDeleteAhahaha... Don Lothario on the prowl. Such a sleazeball. Prim might just go out with him to even more spite her mom.
Is Amelia an elder now? She still looks good. She seems more mellow now. Looking forward to read what you'll do with her. And what could have happened to Mort?? OOHHHH heartattack??? Noooo, poor Mort!
Love your writing, and this family! Keep it up!
Oh and I see what you have Prim do under those covers. ;) Naughty Naughty!
ReplyDeleteAnd those pics on the Outtakes page are hilarious... aside from the creeper's.
Aww, thank you so much! I've written the next chapter already but my new aim is to post chapters every three days, so you'll just have to wait and see. ;)
ReplyDeleteYes, Amelia is an elder. I really regret not having her in the previous chapter, that way I could have made her transition from adult to elder a bit smoother. Oh well!
I love that you really think about Prim (and the others) as a character. I do too, of course, but you never know if it comes across to others. She is a bit of a brat, yes. And you're absolutely right, Deric is very hurt that she just ignored him because she found all these other friends. She's not a "popular mean girl" though, she just has her group of girlfriends that she hangs out with wherever they go.
Don is a total creep. 'nuff said.
Haha, I wasn't sure if I should put that naughty bit in, but I really do like to put some more mature stuff in every now and then. But I try to keep it clean. Hinting rather than outright saying. :P
Mort!!!! D: D: D: D:
ReplyDeleteI had to giggle when Bella said "I saw what you brought to bed." Hahaha. XD
I was right about Prim, though. Yay for me. Sad for Bella.
And don't get involved with Don, Prim! He's no good!!
I can do nothing but agree on all points, Emy. Well said. :)
ReplyDeleteOh God, 'Don Lothario' ?! I'm cringing he's so cheesy, stay away from him Prim!
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for Bella, but Prim was just acting out. 'Brought that thing to bed' hahaha!
I feel kind of sorry for Prim about the whole Deric thing, I hope they work it out! x
Yeah, I felt bad for Bella too. She really loved Prim with all her heart. But life is tough. :P
ReplyDeleteIt's okay, Mortimer has his opening now, to woo her over to the straight side! Dun dun dunnnn. Haha.
ReplyDeleteD: Not Mort! I love Mort! Waa.
And Don Lothario. Bleggghhh. Wouldn't it be funny if someone had a story introducing the disappearance of Bella? I'm certain it's been done, but still, I'm momentarily amused. ^^
O___O oh jeez... don lothario is NOT good news.
ReplyDeleteMORT T__T i think... i know... what's coming... *takes deep breath* not that i think i'll be able to handle it :'/
i feel bad for both deric and bella. primrose seems to be acting a little senselessly - not really remembering that others have feelings too :/ but she's a good girl underneath, I'm sure. mort raised her well^^