Well, again, I can only apologize for the long wait between updates. I can't promise another one soon, but if you're reading RMW, I have started on an update for that one too.
So, this is unbeta'd, so any mistakes are mine. I don't own Skins, in case you've forgotten.
Thank you for your patience and support for those still reading this. Reviews are always lovely. If nothing else, let me know if you still want this to go on. Any kind of constructive criticism is welcome, or even if you just want to say 'hey', yeah?
So yeah, this is long enough now, so on to the story!
xxxxx
"Hold your fucking horses," Effy called out as the banging on the door continued on.
As she flung open the door she was surprised to see Naomi and Emily standing there. She chanced a quick look behind her, then back to the couple, her voice even and calm, "Naomi, Emily, to what do I owe this pleasure?"
Naomi had long since worked herself up, and she could feel the energy coming off of Emily in waves as well. "Can we come in?" the blonde said in an irritated fashion.
Effy looked at her best friend, if she could still call her that, before a pair of heels were audible clicking against the hardwood floor. "Who is it babes?" called out the distinct lisp of Katie Fitch. Effy turned around and walked in, leaving the door open for the two other girls to follow her. "Oh," Katie stated as she saw who was stood at the door, and she followed Effy into the kitchen. Naomi and Emily watch in fascination as the other two girls walk down the straight corridor. Naomi grabs Emily's hand and pulls her through the still open door, closing and locking it behind her before follow her friend.
"Vodka?" Effy asked over her shoulder as she retrieved the unopened bottle from the cupboard.
"Yeah babe, with orange juice please," Katie stated as she sat down at the head of the table.
Effy turned around with a smile, glancing at the older Fitch twin. "Screwdriver for Katiekins. What about you two?" she said looking to the newest visitors with her eyebrows lifted for emphasis.
"None for me, thank you," Emily said softly her eyes looking up to her twin with a confused look on her face. Her gaze moves from Katie over to Effy, then back again. She watched as Katie simply shrugged her shoulders with an irritated look and her arms crossed under her breasts.
"Naomi?" Effy inquired, looking expectantly over to the blonde.
Naomi's eyes were staring ahead as her as she sat down at the table. She didn't even hear her friend's initial question about wanting a drink. She had too much going on in her head for such things as conversation. Even on their drive over, Naomi had been fairly silent, lost in the confines of her own thoughts.
"Naomi," Effy stated more loudly than prior.
"Huh, what?" Naomi gets jostled from her mental prison and her blue eyes look up to darker azure ones.
Effy seemed to be completely irritated as she deadpans, "Vodka?"
"Oh, um, no, I...no, it's okay." Naomi stammered out.
Effy shrugged and went about pouring her a glass full of straight vodka and Katie's with a bit more orange juice than vodka. She's stood behind Katie's chair and put the screwdriver down. "Well, what is it you want?"
Naomi and Emily look at each other then together look back over to Effy and Katie, which would have been rather comical if it weren't for the situation. Both girls hope that the other one is going to open up and explain their unannounced visit.
"Out with it, I've got things to do," Effy said blankly.
"Do you have photos of your mum?" Emily blurted out, covering her mouth the moment the words had left her mouth. Chocolate orbs gaze down to the table. "Sorry," she whispered softly.
"Emily, what the actual fuck?" Katie exclaimed nearly splitting out her mouthful of liquid, sputtering on it in the process.
Effy put her hand gently on Katie's shoulder and she leaned down to whisper something into the older twin's ear. Katie's anger visibly softened and she glanced up to the brunette, who just nodded once. Katie was still visibly irritated, but she didn't say anything more.
Effy smirked with an air of confidence on her face when she responded, "What is it you want to know about my mother?"
Emily glanced up to see her sister's wrath had been extinguished and Effy was looking at her curiously. She wished that her twin wasn't there, that would have made the inquiry so much more simple. She had to take what she could get though, and right now she had Effy's attention, well, she and Naomi did, and her blonde girlfriend didn't seem to be very verbal at the moment.
"I'm just trying to figure out some things," the redhead stated cryptically.
Effy takes a drink of her vodka, not flinching at all when it moves smoothly down her throat. Her eyes burned into the chocolate brown ones of the younger Fitch as she silently asked for Emily to continue. Effy waited patiently for Emily to continue, and when she didn't start speaking Effy walked around the table. "Think I could steal your girlfriend for a minute," she said to the blonde.
Naomi looked up to the brunette, and then briefly down to Emily to see if she thought it was a good idea. Emily nodded slightly and Naomi smiled. "Yeah, Eff, I suppose I could let you take her for a bit."
Effy grinned and picked up Emily by her bicep and walked up the stairs, all but dragging the redhead up.
Naomi looked worriedly over her shoulder as her best friend and her girlfriend disappeared around the corner to go up to the second floor. Her head snapped back to her least favourite twin and she tried to smile.
"Fuck off, lezza," the older Fitch said after she finished her screwdriver, standing up to wash out her glass.
xxxxx
Effy closed the door behind herself and the redhead and her head tilted to the side.
Emily felt as if Effy was staring into her, which made her feel even more uncomfortable than she already did. It was a small bit of reassurance that Katie wasn't around, she already knew enough just by knowing their mum and her had had a row.
The mysterious brunette moved toward the bed, indicating that Emily should have a seat there. She walked to a chest in the corner, digging a key from a drawer next to it, and unlocked it. Effy rummaged around for a few moments before finding what she was looking for. She turned back to the redhead who was eyeing her curiously, and in her hands were two different items.
"So how long have you suspected?" Effy asked rather cryptically.
"What?" Emily said, trying to figure out what the brunette was talking about.
Effy didn't answer. Instead, she sat next to the ginger and looked down at the objects in her lap. She set one to the side, it looked almost like a book, but the binding was completely black without any script on it. The other item she opened to show that it was a picture album. She smiled softly down as she looked at the stranger known as her mother. She'd been too young to remember her mum at all, so all she had were pictures of her.
In honesty, the moment she met Jenna Fitch, she immediately recognized her. She had figured it out nearly a month prior that her mother and Jenna had known each other. Well, they didn't just know each other, they were much closer than that, according to some of the photos in the album.
Effy put the album between them and started flicking through the pages, quickly getting to one that showed her mum in a cowgirl hat and tight jeans holding the reins of a black horse standing next to Emily's mother who had her arm around Anthea's shoulders. They just looked like good friends in the current picture, but Effy knew better. She'd looked through this album time upon time.
"So our mums did know each other," Emily said as she looked at the pages being turned. Of course in Emily's mind she was still looking for any kind of proof that her mum had been more than friends with Effy's.
Effy laughed slightly and flipped a few more pages, stopping on a particular page with a smirk on her lips, "Yeah, they were best mates, weren't they?"
Emily's eyes nearly bulged out of her head and she became absolutely speechless. This photo she was staring at looked as if it was the next picture clicked compared to the one she found in her mother's album.
Young Anthea had twisted her head away from the camera and Young Jenna had turned toward the blonde. Their lips were pressed sensually together and both eyes were gently closed. This was not some friendly lip lock that was for sure.
"Quite the affair they had, wasn't it?" Effy teased.
Emily still couldn't speak, and she couldn't remove her gaze from the photograph either. She was even more stunned when Effy turned the page one more time.
The photo was still in line with the other two, but slightly off centre. She could see both women's mouths had parted and could see her mother's tongue reaching into Anthea's mouth, she also noticed that the blonde woman's hand had come up to cup Jenna's cheek.
Effy slammed the album closed and handed it to Emily, then picked up the mysterious black book that had been set aside earlier. "This is my mother's journal, I'm sure you'll find her thoughts about your mother were anything but pure," Effy explained as she handed it over to the redhead.
Emily looked down at the black book and opened the front cover. Written in blue ink at the top right corner was Anthea, and in the middle of the page was her mother's name within a red heart. She quickly closed it and looked to the brunette, "T...thank you," she muttered out almost inaudibly.
"Well, that was fun," Effy said as she stood up from the bed, striding toward the door to her room, "but you and Naomi really need to fuck off now, Katie has some studying to do." Her lips curled into a smirk and walked down the stairs. When she didn't hear the redhead following she turned around with a smug smile now plastered on her lips, "Coming?" She lifted her eyebrows suggestively before chuckling and continued downstairs.
Emily was still stunned and mute when she walked downstairs. She took in the awkward situation between her girlfriend and her twin. They didn't look too happy, even if she and Effy were only gone for at most ten minutes.
"Alright?" Naomi asked immediately, standing and facing her lover. Emily's eyes are showing her shock and the blonde rushed over and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, kissing her temple. Naomi whispered gently into her lover's ear, trying to figure out what the hell Effy did to her upstairs. It's when she pulled Emily closer that she feels something hard pressing into her. Naomi leaned back slightly to see what appeared to be a book and a photo album in her girlfriend's arms.
"Can we go?" Emily stated.
"Yeah, Ems," Naomi replied gently. She turned toward Effy, "Thank you, Ef."
Effy raised her hand dismissively, "Yeah, now go on," she said.
Naomi chuckled and ushered her girlfriend to the door, sending one last look over her shoulder to her best friend, smiling and nodding her thanks.
xxxxx
The two girls ended up back at Naomi's after a drive where Emily stayed mostly silent and in her own head, strapped into the passenger seat staring down at the belongings of Effy's mother, Anthea. She was lost in her own thoughts, and she never really settled onto one subject. Sometimes it was horrible thoughts, sometimes not so bad. She really wished she could talk to her dad about it, but it would only hurt him, and he's almost the last person she would ever want to bring emotional strife to.
"Hello my girls," Gina responded happily to when she heard the door open. Her face took on a look of realization when she saw that neither girl held a smile on her face. Naomi looked worried, probably about Emily, and Emily looked like she was in some kind of shock. "Come, come... let me make you some tea," she said as she waived the pair in.
They complied walking in with their hands clasped firmly between them and sat down as was requested of them. Emily set the album and journal on the table and leaned into Naomi's shoulder. The blonde's arm came around the petite girl and she placed a soft kiss on her crimson tresses.
Gina finished the tea and set a mug in front of each girl and sat on the opposite side of the table and began to nurse her own heated beverage. She wanted to ask what was going on with the two young women in front of her, but didn't think it the best time. Instead she reached out to be nosy, like she would have been with her own daughter, and grasped the photo album that Emily had sat in front of her.
"Mum!" Naomi exclaimed. "Can't you mind your own fucking business, please?"
"It's okay, Naoms," Emily quickly addressed her girlfriend and placed a peck on her pale cheek.
Gina looked from one girl to the other then opened up the album. She looked at the brunette woman then to the blonde and after squinting for a moment her hand came up to her mouth, which wasn't lost on the younger Campbell.
"What is it, mum? Surely you recognize Mrs. Fitch," Naomi stated tiredly.
Gina's eyes snapped up to her daughter, then back down to the brunette. It wasn't Jenna she had noticed right off the bat, it was the young blonde woman. "Anthea?" she said, not even registering her daughter's question.
"You know Anthea, er, knew, Anthea?" Emily asked gently.
Gina's eyes moved to Emily, "Y... yeah, she and I went to primary together. We were really close until we hit our teens, then we kind of drifted apart. She was into her horse competitions even at that age, and we didn't have much in common anymore. I started doing homeschooling at that time so I didn't even see her at school. That was kind of the nail in the coffin." She paused then realized her error, "That was a horrible thing for me to say."
Naomi couldn't help but laugh a bit at her mum's inopportune wording.
"Gina," Emily began asking, her chocolate orbs glancing up and fumbling on her words, "so you knew Anthea, but you didn't know my mum?"
Gina shook her head, "I didn't know Jenna until you and my daughter started making rainbow bunnies. But..." she turned the pages on the album and started laughing lightly, "... it looks, Emily, like you weren't the only one in your bloodline that has a fondness for ROYGBIV."
"ROYGBIV?" Emily asked innocently.
"The colours of the rainbow, Ems, or an acronym for them, at least," Naomi responded. Emily's face flushed slightly when she didn't know the term and Naomi leaned over to kiss her cheek.
A slightly awkward silence descended on the trio and Gina smiled to Emily as she handed the photos back to her. "I can see why Jenna is so against you being a lesbian," she stated as she finished her tea.
"How?" Emily inquired.
"Well, according to those pictures, including the date stamps on them, I'm guessing that the little affair that Jenna and Anthea had together were after they were already married. Your mum seems like a Christian woman, and that would make that sort of thing wrong in so many different ways," Gina explained.
Emily was reflective as she nodded. She hadn't ever really thought of why her mum was so against homosexuality, or even if it was just Naomi, but Gina made a very valid point. Was that what her issue was? Emily guessed that it did make a bit of sense, but not completely. She'd have to think about it and unfortunately she'd also have to have another conversation with her mother. "Thanks Gina," she said sincerely.
Gina smiled and nodded her head. Her eyes glanced to the other item that Emily had in front of her, but refrained from reaching out to it. Instead she picked up the three empty mugs and went about washing them.
A thought suddenly came into her mind, "Mum, you know that Effy is Anthea's daughter, don't you?"
Gina stopped washing and stared into the water for a moment before replying casually, "Well it's no wonder I see Effy as a second daughter then. I never made the correlation, but now that you mention it, Effy does remind me of Anthea when she was younger, same hair, same eyes, and even the same body type. Of course Anthea filled out a bit by our teens where as Effy kept her lithe frame." Gina laughed slightly, "I've known Effy for most of her life, you know, after you met Effy when you two were small. I met Jim Stonem..." the elder Campbell looked to Emily to add, "... he's Effy's dad..." before she returned her gaze to Naomi and she continued, "... and I knew that Effy's mum had passed when she was very little, but it never clicked that Anthea started pushing up daisy's about the same time as the woman who was Effy's mum."
"This is just all a headfuck," Naomi said as she pinched the bridge of her nose to try to alleviate the pressure that was building there.
Emily turned to Naomi, "Can we go upstairs now? I need you to help me sort this all out." Emily picked up the album and the journal and got to her feet. "Thank you again, Gina, for everything," Emily said as she walked around the table and pulled the older Campbell into a hug.
"Of course, darling. I wish I could have been a bit more helpful," she said with a grin.
"You've been lovely, as always," Emily mirrored her smile.
Naomi gave her mum a nod and entwined her fingers with Emily's and they walked upstairs. Apparently they had a lot of information to process, and she was nervous to hear about the new information that Emily had gathered with Effy's assistance. She'd find out soon enough.
xxxxx
Don't forget to let me know what you think in a review!