Chapter 7: Rejection Never Felt This Good
I was woken the next morning by noise made by my sister Erica; it sounded like she had dropped something. Groaning, I rolled over and snuggled further into my pillow and blankets. I didn't want to get out of my bed, not yet. The jet lag was still weighing down on me like a dark cloud on a sunny day. Speaking of sunny days, the ray of light piercing the curtains hit my face as soon as I changed sleeping positions. It was almost as if the world was taunting me; keeping me from my beloved sleep.
"Come on lazy bones, you have to get up." Erica's voice invaded my peaceful state and the cushion she lobbed at me automatically triggered a grumpy mood.
"I strongly dislike you at this moment in time." I mumbled, trying to keep my cool.
"And Aaron will strongly dislike you forever if you sleep through his birthday." My eyes flew open and all hopes of sleep were lost.
"Oh gosh, that's right." I sat up in my bed, feeling strangely wide awake now. Erica was leaning on the doorframe with a hairbrush in hand and half of her shoulder length, dark brown hair straightened. Even from across the room I could see the sly glint in her dark blue eyes; she knew I forgot our brother's birthday.
"Ha," She huffed cheekily before turning around and walking further into the bathroom, nearly hiding her smirk from me.
"Don't be like that, I didn't forget. It was a momentary lack of memory caused by severe exhaustion." Erica turned and gave me a look that said 'are you for real?'
"Whatever. Did you get his present?"
"I sure did, because I am a fantastic sister." She sniggered loudly as she picked up the hair straightener and carried on with her hair.
"What did you get him?"
I let out a scoff as I opened the curtains fully, exposing the room and myself to much needed sunlight. "You do know that these walls are thin, don't you Erica? I'm not telling." I could visualize her rolling her eyes at me.
I opened the window and leaned on the windowsill, poking my head outside. I breathed in the salty smell of the ocean, feeling my lungs fill with a pleasant sense. The air was never as fresh or as invigorating anywhere else as it was here. The sight was also never quite the same.
The waves of the crystal blue sea crashed against the luminous sand, emitting the most comforting sound. You know how people would close their eyes and imagine the waves on a beach on an island paradise? When I did the same, I saw this place. Not some tropical destination on the back of a postcard, although the place was suitable enough for it.
Picturesque was the perfect way to describe the area in which our family home was located. The beautiful, secluded beach blended with the rolling hills on the other side of the house; broken by the strikingly fluorescent, golden sunflowers in the paddock between our house and our neighbors land. Our neighbors were an elderly couple who had lived on their farm most of their lives. Their home was perched halfway up on of the hills with a winding dirt road leading to the main road that took us back to the city. I could see Mrs. Briggs bathing one of their two dogs, Ralph. I called out her name and waved my arm high in the air so she could see me. She glanced up from Ralph and a smile broke onto her face as she waved back enthusiastically. I made a mental note to go and visit them later.
"Come on!" Erica exclaimed angrily, dragging my attention back inside the house. I left the window open, letting the fragrance of sea fill the room, and walked to the bathroom.
"What's going on?" I asked timidly as she threw the can of hairspray onto the floor.
"We're out of hairspray." She stated, putting her hand to her forehead. I had to try to keep a straight face. Honestly, I couldn't have cared less about hairspray at the moment and I couldn't quite understand why she was getting so wound up over it either. As far as I could remember, Erica was the tomboy. She never brushed her hair or touched makeup back then and now she was getting upset over hairspray? I wondered what had brought on the sudden change in her persona, but I didn't have time to question her. I heard Aaron run down the hall, banging on the walls and repeatedly yelling that it was his birthday.
Erica and I sighed in unison; today was going to be long and painful.
"I swear, if his ego has gotten any bigger overnight I'm going to have to stab him in the eyeball with a chopstick!" My sister's face was completely serious, which made me giggle. "Ugh, I'm gonna have to wear it up today."
"Hmm?" I questioned as I walked to my open suitcase, taking out my makeup and toiletries bags.
"My hair," She said dejectedly. "I'm going to have to tie it up today." I rolled my eyes at her sudden diva ways. I really don't know what had gotten into her.
"Um, can I take a shower seeing as you won't be needing the bathroom?" She nodded and walked out with her hands in her hair, pulling it into a ponytail. I smiled at her thankfully as I headed in. I noticed that there was a bottle of hair product on the floor next to the empty hairspray can. That must have been what woke me up. I gave the bottle a dirty look before jumping into the shower.
Later…
I skipped down the stairs, in a decidedly happier mood, and smoothed out my white A-line skirt as well as the purple flower-print top that I had borrowed from Erica. My feet had fully recovered from the abuse over the last couple of days and were now comfortable in a pair of white flats.
The house was relatively calm, except for my idiotic brother running around shirtless and in his Superman boxers, exclaiming to the world that he was a year older today. You'd think by the age of 17 you wouldn't fuss over birthdays as much, but that wasn't the case for Aaron. He was excited as ever and making it known to all of the sleepy people in the kitchen, sitting around the island counter lazily sipping coffee.
I felt excitement build in the pit of my stomach at seeing my whole family again. I had gone straight to bed last night, only saying hello to Erica because we slept in the same room. No one had noticed me standing at the base of the stairs yet; they were all focused on telling Aaron to calm down, so I snuck up behind my father and put my hands over his eyes.
"Guess who?" I asked and felt him smile. I let my hands fall as he turned around and engulfed me in a huge hug.
"Ingrid… my baby girl!"
Yes that's right, Ingrid. It isn't a pet name, it isn't a nickname… it's actually my real first name. My full name is Ingrid Philippa Delilah Fielding. I never thought Ingrid suited me so I just went by Pippa instead; my family even called me by that name for the majority of the time. I wasn't alone though, my parents had a niche for unusual names which resulted in all of us children copping it.
My older brother is Dion Stanford, my sister is Erica Layla Amity and my brother is Aaron Gabriel Jaxson. Thankfully none of the names were too outrageous, just uncommon. My cousins escaped with fairly mainstream names, Gwendolyn Nicole, Jezebel Natalia and Oliver Seth.
"Hi daddy, I missed you a lot!" As I pulled out of the hug, the first thing I thought of was Bill's joke when I first met him and how I had imagined my dad in a leprechaun costume. I stifled my laughter.
"I missed you too sweetheart! Are your feet ok?" I was utterly puzzled at his question. "Your feet, the shoes that you wore to the awards. You nearly tripped over!"
I tried to act annoyed but his laughter was infectious, so much so that the whole room was giggling at me soon enough; Aaron even did an impersonation of me. I couldn't help but laugh.
Once everything died down again, I walked over to Dion and gave him a hug, struggling to fit my short arms around his muscly chest. "Hey there little bear." He grinned at me and I rolled my eyes. No matter how old we got, he would still call me little bear. It used to get on my nerves but I had grown used to it.
"Hi there big bear." I said back and received a dazzling smile. I let go of him and moved to my aunt, kissing her on the cheek. I gave Jezebel and Gwen hugs and ruffled Oliver's hair. Just quietly, he was my favorite cousin. I adored him and his chubby 14 year old self. He was almost a mirror image of Dion; they had the same shaggy dark blonde hair and caring brown eyes. Ollie was like a younger, plumper version.
"Darling are you hungry?" Mama asked me as I said good morning to Alice and Vaughn. I had only just noticed that she had cooked just about everything you could think of for breakfast. I nodded and she handed me a plate as she dished more bacon out. I filled my plate, I was absolutely starved. I don't think I had eaten properly since before we had left Germany. Sitting between Vaughn and Oliver, I proceeded to stuff myself silly.
"Oh my gosh, Mama I missed your cooking so much." I said as I downed the last of my orange juice. She just smiled happily at me.
"Well that's what you get for travelling everywhere, wanting to be a big rock star!" I nearly rolled my eyes at her but settled for a cheeky smile instead.
"Anyway!" Aaron announced loudly, standing up from his place. I noticed that he had spilt ketchup on his bare chest. At least he hasn't dirtied a shirt. I thought sarcastically to myself. "I think it's time to open my presents!"
Later…
The morning passed quickly, all of the excitement about opening presents over within a couple of hours. Vaughn and Alice left, both citing that they had work to do. I was hoping that they could stay but I understood that they had other things to do.
"I'll call you tonight ok? We're going to have to arrange something soon." Alice said as she hugged me outside the front of the house.
"What do you mean 'something'?"
"Probably a television interview and a video thanking your fans. I'll call you tonight though and we can work stuff out, ok?" I nodded my head and smiled as she waved and got into the taxi. I waved to Vaughn and her as they drove off and slowly made my way inside, letting reality sink in. It was then that I remembered something important.
I rushed inside and upstairs to mine and Erica's room, retrieving my mobile phone from my hand bag.
"Bill, Bill, Bill…" I muttered as I searched through my contacts. I found his name and called, hoping that he wouldn't be mad at me for forgetting.
"Hallo?"
"Bill? I-it's Pippa."
"Pippa! I was worried about you! Are you alright?"
"I'm so sorry Bill, but I was so tired and I fell asleep in the car. I'm so sorry, I should have messaged you or something!"
"No, it's alright. I just got worried, that's all. How have you been? Oh say happy birthday to your brother for me."
We continued to talk to each other for nearly two hours, never having to sit through an awkward silence. The only reason we ended the call so soon was because Bill needed to sleep, he had an interview tomorrow. If he hadn't of had to go, we could have talked for hours more. Conversation was so easy with him, even across the world.
"Hey, who was that?" Jezebel asked coolly as she leaned on the doorway. I dropped my phone on the bed, suddenly feeling a little alone.
"Uh a friend." She lifted her head once in a nod.
"Well um, everyone's going swimming and I came to ask if you wanted to come along?"
I mulled it over in my head for a minute. "Uh, ok. I'll be down in a second."
"Ok." She said simply, turning and walking away. That girl was still a mystery to me. She was currently suffering from depression because of her parents' divorce. I had tried time and time again to talk to her and get her to tell me how she was feeling but she never let anything slip. Admittedly so, I was no psychologist but I thought that I might be able to get her to share something with me. She was determined to carry on with her depression though, she had been through several psychiatrists and God knows what else, but nothing ever changed. I honestly think she had given up hope for herself.
I let out a strained sigh, jet lag was still plaguing me. I hauled myself off my bed and changed into my bikini, deciding try and have as much fun as I could today. I had a feeling that tomorrow wasn't going to be a relaxed day.
Slowly, I made my way downstairs wearing a towel over my plain white bikini. I saw Aaron making out with his girlfriend Tracey near the front door. I had to hold my breakfast as my stomach flopped.
"Uh Aaron," I said sternly. He detached himself from Tracey and rolled his chestnut eyes at me. "I know it's your birthday but perhaps that… activity would be better suited as something private?"
"Yes, mother!" He saluted me, grabbing Tracey's hand and leading her out the back of the house, to the beach. I followed a few steps behind, giving them their space. To be frank, it surprised me that they were still together. As far as I knew, she wasn't exactly loyal to my brother and for that I felt strong animosity towards her. No actually, I hated her and I wished he would cut ties with her altogether.
"Pip, come 'ere." Dion called out to me from the sand. I left Aaron and Tracey and walked over to where everyone was sitting on towels on the sand. I unwrapped mine from my body and laid it out, sitting down next to my older brother. "I see she's still hanging around like a bad smell."
"Dion," I warned. Just because I hated her didn't mean I was going to insult her, and I knew that's exactly where my brother was going with his train of thought.
"I'm just saying, I don't see what he sees in her. She was off… cavorting with other guys and they were still together. If I was Aaron, I would have dumped her sorry ass as soon as I found out."
"Dion c'mon, don't be like that. Maybe… she's actually a nice person?" The look he gave me said it all. "Ok, well maybe she has family troubles or something? You know, she might not be as evil as you think she is."
"Whatever, all I know is that I don't trust her one bit. I've heard rumors about her you know, and how her brother deals." He said the last bit quietly. I was starting to get annoyed with him.
"Just because her brother has an unconventional lifestyle, it doesn't mean that she's a bad person. In fact, that might be the source of her problems." I inhaled deeply. "Look, it's not really any of our business and it's his birthday so why don't we just change the subject?"
"Alright then," I was pleased that he dropped the subject so easily. He could become difficult sometimes. "So… who's that guy you were hanging out with in Germany?"
My jaw dropped. Now he was going to scrutinize my relationships? Me in a relationship with Bill? Ha, I wish. "Um, who?"
He laughed scornfully; he knew I was playing stupid. "That Bill guy, the one with the weird hair."
"His hair isn't weird." I mumbled quietly and looked down at the sand, practically admitting defeat.
"Knew it!" He sang at me, even going as far as to point a finger at me in a teasing way.
"Di, please don't be like this." His manner changed at my quiet, reserved words.
"What's up? Did he do something?" I shook my head no. "Well then why are you so… touchy about him? Oh! Wait a minute, you secretly like him but he just wants to be friends. That's it, isn't it?"
Tears sprung to my eyes, stinging them painfully. I kept my head down as I stood up and walked away from Dion, back into the house. I got myself a glass of water and drank it, trying to cool my emotions.
I don't know why I had become so defensive about Bill. It shocked me at how angry and sad I got when Dion tried to evaluate our relationship.
Ugh, stop saying relationship! It's a friendship!
I slammed the glass down onto the table, not quite hard enough for it to break but hard enough to make a piercingly loud noise. Taking deep, calming breathes, I leaned on the counter. Thoughts raced around my head, making feel a little dizzy. I started to question myself in a private little conversation located in a dark corner of my brain.
Is Dion right? Do I love Bill? I don't know; I feel strongly towards him but that's hardly love. Maybe… maybe I do love him. Maybe I'm just scared. Scared of what though?
"Rejection." As soon as the word slipped from my mouth, the overwhelming thoughts stopped racing around my mind, leaving just one to linger menacingly.
I am afraid of being rejected by Bill.
Well now, did you like the chapter? There was quite a lot of new stuff in this one, a few things that you might need reminding of lol
Let's kind of recap what's happened in this chapter:
-Pippa's sister Erica has changed. [Keep it in mind ;)]
-She goes by Pippa; not Ingrid.
-Bill and Pippa both have interviews tomorrow. [Don't go thinking that they'll be interviewed in the same place lol that's a bit unrealistic]
-Her brother Aaron's girlfriend seems to be a bit of trouble.
-And finally, Pippa has sorted out the root of her 'Bill problems' [ Yay! :D]
Leave me a review of what you think is going down? You never know, I might steal one of your ideas [of course I would credit you for it though ;)]
