Misty sighed for what must have been the tenth time that day. She gave her suitcase a swift kick, and then hopped around the room cursing as pain shot sharply through her toes.
"You dancin', swampie?" Madison was leaning against the doorframe, her mouth turned up in a smirk as she watched Misty standing awkwardly in the middle of their room.
Misty sneered at her. "You got my accent all wrong, Maddie, it just sounds like you burnt your tongue."
"Aw, swampie," Madison said airily, sweeping into the room and going over to their shared chest of drawers. "That's just how you sound."
Misty chose not to engage. The only good thing about going home – apart from seeing her siblings – was that she would get away from Madison for two whole weeks. Two whole weeks! Otherwise, she was just going from one hell to another. She finished packing her stuff, and exited the bedroom, not looking back. She knew that ignoring Madison would infuriate her more than anything Misty said. If there was one thing that girl hated, it was not being the centre of attention.
Cordelia had left early – Misty hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye. And now she faced two long, barren weeks without Cordelia. She was glad they had exchanged addresses – they would be able to write, at least, though who knew if the letters would even arrive in time for them to be read.
Outside, the front lawn was a mess of people and luggage, screaming and shouting and waving and hugging. Misty scrunched up her nose – she hated big groups of people. Especially big groups of people she didn't like.
She saw Zoe standing a couple of feet away, and walked over to her friend, who was chatting animatedly with Queenie and Mallory. "Zoe!"
"Misty! Oh, I'm glad I saw you before you left. Thought I wasn't going to have the chance. You've been so… busy lately." Zoe's lips turned up into a cunning grin.
Misty rolled her eyes, but despite her efforts, a laugh snuck out. "You know how it is."
"Sure," Zoe laughed. "Before I forget, Cordelia asked me to give this to you." She handed Misty an envelope – Misty recognised Cordelia's handwriting on the front. Her girlfriend's handwriting was surprisingly messy – Cordelia seemed like a person who would have neat writing. But it was even messier than Misty's.
"You two seem real close," Queenie said, tilting her head. "I thought you weren't meant to see each other anymore."
"We're not," Misty said, shrugging. "But to be honest, I don't give a rat's ass what we're meant to do."
Queenie laughed. "I like how you think."
0o0o
After a long bus ride – yes, bus ride, her parents didn't even care how she got home – Misty stepped out onto the all-too-familiar lawn. After they'd gotten rich, her parents had invested in a huge, ugly McMansion, complete with an ornate fence almost as tall as the roof. Misty took a deep breath, and strolled up to the gate, knocking once and hoping someone would answer and she wouldn't be left outside all night like last time.
"Who is it?" The voice crackled somewhere to her left – Misty jumped and looked around, not finding a source for the voice.
"Misty?" she said, and the word sounded more like a question than an answer.
"Ugh. You're home. Okay, get in." The gate creaked open – she recognised, after a moment of thinking, the voice – it was her younger sister Roxy. She picked up her suitcase and strolled inside, summoning all the confidence she had. She would need it, to face her family.
The gate slammed shut behind her.
Misty gulped, and walked down the road towards the ornate front doors. She pushed on one, and it creaked open – despite the illusion of grandeur the mansion had, everything inside was run down, ugly, or both. Guess money can't buy taste, she thought.
"Mist!" Lizzy shrieked. Misty looked up – her sister was leaning over the railway around the stairs, her long blonde hair falling around her face.
"Hi, Liz!" Misty said. The sight of her sister brought happiness to her soul – she hadn't seen her siblings for so long, and she missed them all, even the ones who hated her guts.
"Hold on, I'm comin' down," Lizzy said. She ran over to the stairs, and slid swiftly down the banister. Misty laughed – when they'd first moved into the house, she and Lizzy had spent all their time sliding down the banisters. Lizzy landed smoothly on her feet, and bowed.
Misty laughed and applauded. "Well done. My god, have you grown."
Lizzy strode over to Misty and enveloped her in a tight hug. "Not enough. I'm still the shortest in my class."
"You'll grow soon. I was short and then when I was fifteen, I shot up."
"Better happen soon," Lizzy groaned. She leaned back, and studied Misty's face carefully, as if she was looking for any changes. "You're different."
"Different how?"
"You're happy."
Misty smiled. She sure was happy – and it was all thanks to Cordelia. She still hadn't opened the letter – she was saving it for later, for after she dealt with her parents – she would no doubt need a pick-me-up after seeing them again. "Yeah. I am."
"Good. You deserve it."
"And you?" Misty asked, cupping Lizzy's face in her hands. Lizzy squirmed, but Misty held tight. "Are you happy?" Lizzy shrugged. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and averted her eyes. Misty frowned. "You're avoidin' the question."
"Well, what do you want me to say?"
"The truth, Liz," Misty said, as gently as she could.
Lizzy sighed, before shaking her head. "Nah. I ain't happy. It's shit here. Wish they sent me away, too."
"No, you don't."
"Well, at least you're not stuck here!" Lizzy said indignantly. "Trust me, it's worse here."
Misty felt a flash of anger – if the kids were being hit… she clenched her fists tightly. She hadn't even seen her parents yet, and she was already furious with them. "What are they doin' to you?"
"The usual," Lizzy said, shrugging. So they were being hit. She took a deep breath, and forced a smile onto her face, but Misty saw straight through her. Lizzy was a terrible actress. "Enough chit chat. You gotta unpack before dinner."
She took Misty's hand and dragged her along. "So, Ma and Pa got an intercom?"
Lizzy snorted. "Yeah. But despite spendin' god-knows how much on it, they're still too cheap to get someone to answer it, so they've got us on rotations. It's Roxy's turn today."
Misty laughed – that was just like her parents, to spend a heap of money on something and then cheap out halfway. They'd always been like that, even before they'd gotten rich, and it was no surprise they got the kids to do the work for them. "She didn't sound very happy to see me."
Lizzy pulled a face. "Yeah. I meant to tell you. The kids are gonna be treatin' you bad."
"More than usual?"
"Way more. Ma's spent the past week tellin' them how sucky you are. And you know how they are. They only want her approval."
"Yeah," Misty said sadly. She'd been the same, once – she would do anything to make her parents happy. She wanted them so badly to break out of their cold shells and actually engage with her, and she'd done everything she could to make them happy, whether that was winning awards at school or cleaning the house from top to bottom. Nothing made them smile, though – at least nothing their kids could do. So she understood why her younger siblings would go along with whatever her parents to say. They wanted their parents to love them, too. Misty – and Lizzy – had learnt by now that there was nothing they could do to make their parents love them. Their siblings were still young and naive though – to young to know the truth about their parents.
Lizzy kicked open the door of her bedroom. It slammed loudly against the wall, and Misty saw a hole exactly where the handle met the wall – Lizzy must kick it open often. She smiled at her sister, who was still talking a mile a minute. "You're sleepin' in my room. Non-negotiable."
Misty smiled. She'd missed her sister. "You ain't getting' rid of me."
"Good," Lizzy said.
Yeah, I know they probably didn't have intercoms and automatic gates or whatever in the 50s, but I don't really give a fuck tbh. Just pretend. Hope you liked the chapter.
Chapter title comes from 'Landslide' by Fleetwood Mac.