10 years later*
An adult Chilli stretched in her hotel room as Trixie spoke on the phone ordering some food for the both of them. Brandy had come along too, but mostly because Mort had urged her to go and socialize more.
Ever since Brandy moved into her own apartment at 20, she has had the opposite of a social life. She would come around and visit Mort often, but whenever the topic of socializing came up, Brandy always caved in and admitted that she wrote and went straight to the couch to binge some shows. Sometimes she was so out of the loop, she'd forget to eat a meal, sometimes two meals, heading to bed with only breakfast in her stomach.
So here she was, at 22 years old, gritting her teeth every time Trixie and Chilli tried to talk to her or ask her about her personal life- why was it any of their business, Trixie especially?
"Brandy? Would you like anything?" Trixie covered the speaker on the phone.
"I'm fine," she answered. "I ate a few hours ago."
"But that was lunch," she gave her a concerned look. "You need to at least eat a snack before we go to the party."
"And you need to understand that I'm not hungry," she glared.
"Brandy!" Chilli rose up from her bed. "She's just looking out for you, why are you being such a cunt?"
"Because if I say no, I mean no. I shouldn't have to say it twice," she growled. "Now my chapter is due tomorrow and I'm only halfway done, so I'd appreciate some silence, dammit."
"If you're gonna have an attitude, go and buy your own room," Chilli said. "I've been tolerating you because I know you don't like socializing and all, but this is the final straw!"
Trixie placed down her phone before turning to the sisters who looked about ready to claw each other to death. "Look, I ordered our pasta alfredos and a kids size pizza slice for you."
She looked at Brandy, who was about ready to explode. "So the pizza is yours, I believe? Because if anything is handed to me, I will throw it out the window."
"You can't go to a party with an empty stomach," Trixie put her paws on her hips. "You're really going to go drinking with nothing in there?!"
"I guess it makes sense why you're so obsessed with food," Brandy motioned to Trixie's hips and a bit of belly. "It has left its mark all over your body."
"Oh, that is it," Chilli growled. "I am done!"
"No, it's okay," Trixie stopped her best friend. "Let's just drop it, this getaway trip's already expensive enough as is without worrying about paying for two rooms."
"Good," Brandy turned her back on the best friends, going back to typing on her laptop.
"I'm sorry about her," Chilli placed her paw on Trixie's shoulder. "Ignore what she said, you're beautiful and you've got a heart of gold."
"Thank you," she smiled. "I really can't believe Sadie's already married though! She and Lester are the cutest!"
"I know," Chilli smiled. "I wonder where she got all that money though. You think her parents are paying for the party?"
"No way they aren't at least paying half," she said. "Sadie's the Queen's great grandniece, her family's loaded."
"You think we'd meet the Queen via Sadie?" Chilli joked around.
"Well maybe you could, you've been friends with her since you guys were children. I only knew her since that time we hung out at your place," Trixie said, pondering. "Plus, even if we could meet her, I can't curtsy at all."
Brandy sat in the background, hearing about Sadie, her ex-friend from early childhood. It didn't really hurt her anymore since so many years have passed since then, but it was definitely a factor in what had caused her socializing issues. Still though, the fact that Chilli and Sadie got along much better than she and Brandy ever did always felt like it could reopen an emotional wound she'd rather have sealed in for good.
Hell, I wasn't even invited to the wedding, much less the party. I was lucky Sadie didn't see me at the wedding, but what if she does at the party?!
While the two friends continued on about the party and Sadie and the Queen, the delivery guy finally knocked on the door.
"Ooh! The pasta's here," Trixie's tail wagged. "I'll get the door, food's on me this time."
"Thanks, Trix," Chilli smiled. "Breakfast tomorrow's on me, yeah?"
Trixie nodded before opening the door. The delivery guy was a short dog that seemed to be half Rottweiler and half German shepherd. He handed her a bag which had steam flying up from the opening.
"Thank you," she handed him some money. "Keep the change."
"Thank you kind ma'am," his tail started to wag. "Have a good day."
"You too," she shut the door.
Brandy found herself isolated. As usual. The bridesmaids were chatting at a table near her, the bride herself, Sadie, was busy chatting up Chilli and Trixie's ears, even the groom was talking to some of his buddies, one of which was a blue heeler. It was also necessary to mention that the party was LOADED with people, the music was cranked up to the nines, and there were couples hitting it off on the dance floor.
She eyed him a bit closer, not knowing what this feeling within her chest was.
He reminds me of the beach for some reason. Maybe it's because of his coat?
She took another sip of her rum, this being her third cup, but she wasn't really feeling drunk, although she definitely acted so. It wasn't long before the blue heeler turned to look at her, probably having felt the sensation he was being watched. Their eyes made contact for a second before Brandy's eyes went wide.
I know this guy!
He turned away, a bit frightened by her reaction, maybe. She continued to stare at him anyway, catching the attention of the groomsmen near him.
"Hey Bandit...," spoke the other heeler next to him. "That chick's over there's been giving ya the googly eyes...and she's not bad lookin' either."
"Has she?" Bandit looked back at Brandy, the awkward eye contact returning before she hurriedly turned around and decided to wolf down the rest of her rum. "Are you sure she's not like looking past me or something?"
"No way, man! Man up and get yourself another bitch," he lightly punched Bandit on the shoulder, the blue heeler rolling his eyes.
"I'd rather not," he said. "I just left Kate a week ago and I'm not sure if I'm ready for another relationship so soon to be honest."
He forced the awful memories away, feigning a less disturbed expression rather than show the true expressions he felt.
"Forget Kate, she was a cheating whore anyway," he shook his head. "Like she really cheated on you with that McDonald's employee?!"
"Not. Helping," Bandit growled between grit teeth. The other men turned to look at them, curious if their ears have heard the right thing.
"Wait Bandit...Kate cheated on you with Hal from McDonald's?!" Lester raised an eyebrow. "How did you lose against a momma's boy?!"
Bandit blushed, all the attention on him. So many eyes staring into his soul, their ears craving the answers to how he lost to a very sheltered McDonald's employee. "On second thought, maybe I'd rather hang out with that chick."
He slowly walked up to the red heeler, who was already busy asking the bartender for yet another drink.
"Hey," he said, a feeling of embarrassment and shyness creeping up on him with the force of 1,000 suns. He should've stayed with his mates; he should've taken a joke...Now here he was, hitting up a stranger who happened to look at him a little longer than usual.
Brandy turned to look at him. "Wait, you remember me?"
"Huh?" He raised an eyebrow. Don't tell me I got the nutter.
"Bandit," she shook her head, muttering a 'never mind'. "You were that dumb kid from the caravan park like ten years ago. I'm Brandy, which you might've forgotten."
He pondered for a moment before it hit him. The friend he had made during that vacation, this was her!
"Oh, now I remember," he sat down next to her, waiting for the bartender to get to him. "And you're really gonna call me dumb like that?"
"Well so was I," she said, grabbing her refill as Bandit quickly ordered his drink. "We were kids at the time, kids are not the brightest people around."
"I guess," he said. "And your sister...Chilli, I hope I got it right, how's she doing?"
"You did," she reassured him. "She's here actually. Friend of the bride. She's busy playing never have I ever with the girls over at that table now. Now, I remember you had two brothers, the youngest Rad, oldest Stripe? How are they?"
"The other way around actually," he corrected her. "And they're...fine. Stripe was gonna tag along, but something came up last minute for him."
"That sucks," she said, watching Bandit drink a light beer.
"Yeah," he said.
The bar was awfully silent for a long time before Brandy groggily looked up at him. The drinks had finally caught up to her, a throbbing pain piercing her head and a burning feeling in her throat. She was clearly not in the right state.
"Are you okay?" He asked in the midst of a sip.
"Of course I am," she growled. "Maybe you're not okay."
"Why wouldn't I be? This is my first drink I've had in weeks!" Bandit shot back.
"No, not that," she shook her head. "I mean, there's something telling me that you're not okay...something like...betrayal.."
Bandit set his empty can down, intrigued. "Betrayal?"
"You look like you need a shoulder to cry on," she started to gag. While Bandit slowly sipped on his beer, Brandy had finished another four cups of heavy rum, still demanding more from the bartender. Bandit's ears fell behind his head, afraid of what was happening. "I'll be that shoulder...tell me, I know exactly how you feel..."
Just before that, she threw up. All over the table and all over Bandit's suit, one that was very exquisite and so very expensive. He stood up in shock, watching in disgust as the vomit trailed his suit, dripping onto a huge puddle on the floor.
"I think you need to go home, Brandy," Bandit said with a look of concern. "Where's Chilli?"
"I dont need her help. I am completely capable of walking to the hotel by myself!"
"No you aren't," he remembered what a more sober Brandy had told him. "Oh, and I just remembered that she was with the bride and her bridesmaids."
"You aren't gonna force me to go there!" Brandy crossed her arms, gulping down the next cup that the bartender brought her, making faces at the mess she had made.
"Sir, you'll have to take her away, she's clearly intoxicated beyond belief," the bartender whispered not so quietly into the blue heeler's ear. "The last thing she needs is alcohol poisoning."
"I know," he said. "And I'm sorry about the mess."
"Ugh," she rolled her eyes, pulling a mop and some cleaning spray. "As if."
Bandit side eyed her, but wrapped Brandy's arm over his neck, lifting her out of her seat. Brandy's dress was relatively clean somehow, but the bumping into his body made it just as nasty, if not nastier, than Bandit's suit.
It wasn't long until he had made an awful discovery that it wasn't just Brandy who was "intoxicated beyond belief", but rather that the whole table was also so drunk that they were slurring their words together and were having a hard time keeping themselves up.
"Chilli," he nudged a red heeler that he assumed was Brandy's sister. Luckily, he had gotten her right, but Chilli was so drunk she had no idea who he was. "Chilli, you need to go. I found your sister drinking heavily...she's so drunk she even vomited all over me."
"Oh come on! The party is just gettin' started!" She complained. "Can't you take her home?!"
Trixie, the least drunk one out of the entire table, although still pretty drunk, turned to the blue heeler with a worried look on her face. "Shit, Chilli, maybe we really should go. Brandy's not looking real good.."
"Ugh!! The dance starts in a few minutes! We can't miss that!"
Suddenly, the lights got even dimmer than they already were and the multi-colored lights from the disco balls emerging from the ceiling started to rotate all over the room.
"I got to go," said Sadie, who got up, wearing a shorter dress than the one she wore to the wedding ceremony. "Lester's waiting for our speech."
Her small tail wagged happily as she fell into the arms of her lover. While both were visibly drunk, their love for each other was still adorable as if they were sober.
"Okay, we really need to go Chilli," Trixie urged her.
Bandit felt a blocked nostril arise out of nowhere, his stomach churning from the awful smell of Brandy's vomit.
I don't have time for this. He put his finger up his nose, trying to unclog it before Chilli turned around and smiled with a dorky look on her face.
"You pick your nose in public?" the red heeler chuckled as Trixie helped her up.
"I'm not picking my nose, I'm trying to unclog my nostril," Bandit explained, offended.
"Right, right," she laughed harder. "Welllll...we DID give Sadie our gifts and we DID come to the wedding and party..."
"Yeah, so lets go," Trixie said. "The hotel's 10 minutes away by foot, so chop chop, I mean it."
"Wait, you guys are going on foot?" Bandit asked them. "You guys didn't rent a car or anything?!"
"I'm sure I made that pretty obvious," Trixie rolled her eyes. "Anyway you can put Brandy on me, we're heading back. And...take care of your suit problem.."
"Look, I've rented a car here...I'll be willing to give you guys a ride back," he placed Brandy on Trixie, who seemed to have less trouble carrying her than Bandit did. For a female heeler, she was pretty strong.
The best friends gave each other a look.
"Should we trust him?" Trixie didn't exactly whisper. "He's a man. Can't be safe enough around them."
"I think it'd be okay," Chilli muttered. "He wouldn't stand a chance against us if he did try anything..."
"I won't," he clarified. "Look Trixie- you can drive, just try not to crash it. The rental was expensive enough on its own."
"Okay, I will," the gray coated heeler accepted.
*10 years ago*
It was relatively late at night; Mort and Chilli had finally stepped foot in their cabin. Brandy was awake, watching cartoons at a beastly hour. It was nearly 12 AM.
Mort placed his sleeping younger daughter on the bed she was sharing with Brandy.
"Hey Dad," Brandy waved, eye bags under her eyes. She wasn't used to staying up 3 hours past her bedtime, but she couldn't fall asleep. Even the mind-numbing cartoons did nothing to help.
"Hey Brandy," he gave her a look. "Why are you still up so late?"
"I don't know."
"Well I guess it's good that you're still awake right now," he shrugged. "I was wanting to talk to you alone, like you wanted."
"Yeah, so did I," she replied.
"Your friend Bandit said you said you had a squabble with me...and that you'd rather stay put and finish your novel than play with him and Chilli," Mort explained. "I just wanted to know why you said that."
"Because my friends are never my friends!" Brandy snapped suddenly. She stamped her foot, growling with so much ferocity. Brandy wanted to scream, to hit, to hurt someone. And she wasn't sure if she wanted to do that to all her "friends" or...Chilli. "Every time I make a friend, we get along, they meet Chilli, and then it's over from there! They play with her and forget all about me! Every. Single. Time!"
Mort didn't say anything, he continued to listen.
"Lily, Tori, Sadie, now Bandit! Even friends from before that! Treveston took one look at Chilli and ditched me in exchange for trying to sweep her off her feet! Kailee from year 4 said she was so much prettier than me! Dad...I'm tired of being in Chilli's shadow all the time."
Mort gave her a sympathetic look, not knowing how to take this information. Of course her pain pained him...She was his daughter. "Come here, sweetheart."
The teary-eyed red heeler did as told, hugging her father so tightly she accidentally ripped off some of his fur.
"Chilli has her merits. She's sociable, she's kind, she's charming, she loves dancing, and she's gotten real good at hockey lately. She's like a foil to you; you're introverted, you're very stoic, and you aren't as patient as she is. But you've got your own merits that not even Chilli has. You're a great storyteller, your art is amazing, and your school grades are to die for. I need you to know that you're special to me in the same way Chilli is."
"But you're our dad...You're supposed to love us equally," Brandy said. "Everyone who's not you just sees me as 'Chilli's sister' not Brandy. If I'm really unlucky, they'll call me the average Chilli."
"So? Who cares what they think?" Mort set her straight. "What matters is how you feel about yourself. If they get so swayed easily by Chilli, then it was only a matter of time before they replaced you even if they hadn't met her."
"That makes sense," Brandy said. "Now I understand. Thank you, Dad."
"Of course. I love you very much, Brandy..."
"Brandy..." his voice distorted, echoing all over the cabin.
"Brandy..."
"Brandy!" Chilli shouted as she shook her sister furiously.
"Ugh...," Brandy opened her eyes a bit. She had dreamt about Dad again. Every time she fell asleep, it felt like every dream was a therapy talk between her and her father. Whether it be real like the one she had dreamt about or a made-up one that seemed to only happen when she was older, the effect was always the same. She'd wake up with a throbbing headache and get the feeling of nausea in her stomach, except this time that feeling was amplified by 100..
I shouldn't have drank so much...Why did no one stop me...Why didn't Chilli stop me? Wait, but I was with...Bandit...
"Oh my dog, you're alive," Chilli sighed in relief. "I really thought there was a chance you passed in your sleep."
"I wish I did," Brandy muttered.
"Oh...Is everything okay?" Chilli asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," she hugged herself as a form of defense.
"Well you should get up. We're taking Bandit out for breakfast," Chilli explained.
"So that wasn't some fever dream I had," she groaned, holding her head. "So Bandit was really at the party?"
"Yes, he actually was generous enough to let Trixie drive his rental car back here," Chilli explained. "And coincidentally, he's staying in the same hotel, he's the room right across from us."
His room is right across from ours, like his cabin was when we were kids...
"Great," she said, brushing her fur. "It'll be fun to catch up."
"No, no," Chilli grew a worried look on her face. "We're gonna lie and tell him we're not the girls from the caravan park. How he met me last night was embarrassing."
"Oh grow up," Brandy shook her head. "I accidentally told him last night anyway and I was the one who threw up all over him.."
"Yes, and we had to suffer through the ride here because it didn't smell nice," Trixie held her nose.
"I'm sorry about that," Brandy apologized. "I wasn't feeling good yesterday and I just kept drinking more and more, and it clearly didn't work. And Trixie, I'm so sorry about what I said yesterday. There was no excuse."
"Apology accepted," Trixie smiled. "But are you at least feeling better now?"
"A little," she admitted. "But I'll manage just fine."
"Good to hear, sis," Chilli smiled.
A soft knock was heard at the door, alerting Brandy.
"I'll get it," she opened the door, her tail starting to wag at the sight of an old childhood friend. "Hey Bandit!"
"Hey," he greeted her back. "You're sober now, right?"
"Of course I am," Brandy playfully said. "About that though...sorry about the hell I dragged you into."
"It's all good," he dismissed it. "The suit wasn't really my thing anyway and the guys back at the party were insufferable.."
"What did they do?" Chilli asked from behind, combing her fur. "If you don't mind me asking, of course."
"They kept bugging me about some stuff that happened recently," Bandit kept his answer vague on purpose. It was a first time seeing the sisters since the caravan park thing and he wasn't about to spill his entire life story with Kate!
I'd rather not think about her anyway. Not when I should be enjoying myself.
"What kind of stuff?" Trixie piped in from the background. Bandit tensed up.
"Well..."
Trix, that might be a bit of a personal question to someone you just met last night," Chilli said.
"Oh, right. Yeah, sorry," she went back to finding the perfect ribbon to tie around her ear.
"Thanks," he mouthed to Chilli, who nodded with a smile.
"Anytime," she mouthed back.
After some small talk, they headed to the rental car, Bandit deciding to drive this time. Brandy sat in the passenger seat and Trixie and Chilli sat in the back.
"So you know London?" Trixie asked.
"I do," he responded. "I come by usually twice a year with my mates, but this time I came on my own for the wedding."
"Oh, so like a holiday or something?"
"Sure, most of the trip is just us being idiots near the city. We usually come by to play music during events though. Kinda built a rep here for my band and I, y'know?"
"Huh, I would've never guessed that about you," Chilli said. "You play back in Australia?"
"Yeah, sometimes we head to Sydney for that, but we're just placeholders until the world-famous guys come around. Kinda why I prefer coming here for that."
Brandy listened in on their conversation, as usual being silent and forgettable. She looked out the window, feeling this wave of nostalgia, which was unusual because this was her first time in London.
This is a strange feeling I'm getting right now..
"Brandy, you like London sweetie?" a figure spoke to her within her mind. The silhouette wasn't much taller than Brandy, only having a few centimeters im difference. "Oh, I remember taking you to one of my business trips when you were so young. You loved it almost as much as you did home."
Wait...what?
Brandy flinched, choking on her own saliva. She threw a fit of coughs, catching everyone's attention until she finally got in control of them and calmed down.
"Accidentally choked on my spit," she told the others.
"Sounded like a bit more than that," Chilli said.
"I'm serious, it just happened out of nowhere," Brandy said. She was shivering slightly, staring at her shivering paws on her thighs. Ever since she had stepped foot in London, she's gotten an eerie feeling about the city in general. The dreams about her dad, writing about strange daydreams she's had about the place in her stories, and now these flashes in her mind. "It's true.."
Bandit shared a suspicious look with the girls in the back, but they left her alone.
Brandy held the leftovers, placing them in the mini fridge. Breakfast was good, they had gone to an American restaurant near the corner and she ate well. At least for her standards, a kid's meal consisting of two pancakes and some scrambled eggs on the side were plenty for her. They had gone to downtown before they ate lunch at a Vietnamese place and landed back in the hotel during the evening.
She hadn't talked much as usual, leaving the conversation up to Trixie, Chilli, and Bandit.
Still though, something about the whole situation made her cheeks turn coral in color.
Why do I still think he's..
"Hey," Trixie nudged her. "You've been acting really weird since yesterday. Anything up? It can stay between us."
"No," Brandy lied. She could've told her alone since Chilli was taking a shower, but she hadn't felt comfortable enough yet. "It's nothing to get worried about."
"Well...alright," she said, uncertainly. "If you ever need to talk, I'm here."
"Thank you," she smiled. But I'll handle it on my own like usual. "I'm gonna go grab a snack from the vending machine. I'll be back."
She stepped out of her room, heading to the hall with the 4 machines. She craved chips the most, but was open to chocolate if there was any. Just as she was about to insert money into the machine, she saw this shadow fall onto her, covering part of the machine. She turned around slowly, feeling a bit nervous.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he smiled.
"Oh, Bandit," Brandy gasped in relief. "Am I glad to see you."
"So am I," he said. "If you were anyone else, this might've turned very awkward.."
"It sure would have," she felt a hot feeling on her cheeks. Why now of all times..
"What are you getting?"
"Oh, just a bag of chips and maybe chocolate," she answered. "I've been craving the stuff since I got here. What are you getting?"
"Getting the jumbo bag of chips. Lester said he was coming over tonight," he pulled out some money once Brandy collected her bag from the machine. "Figured I had to plan ahead or he'd eat the normal sized one."
"They're not going on a honeymoon or anything?" Brandy asked, shocked.
"Yeah, but they leave in 2 days," he shrugged. "Sadie's been driving him nuts, actually."
The duo began to walk to their hall.
"Of course she is," Brandy laughed, knowing exactly how Lester felt. "I'll guess, and you tell me if I'm right. She made him split the cost of the wedding in half despite being very well off financially."
"Correct."
"She's ignoring him by having a girls' night out the literal day after the wedding, so he's seeking you to not feel lonely."
"Ouch. But that's very likely."
"She tried on every wedding dress imaginable before going with her mother's wedding dress," Brandy muttered.
"...How'd you know that?" Bandit asked, curious. "You're not like a spy or anything..?"
"I'm not," she said. She just hasn't changed a bit since I cut her off from my life. "I used to be close with her, so I know how much of a headache she could be at times."
"Oh, what happened then?"
"Well, she met my sister," Brandy answered.
"...and...? I'm kinda lost here," he admitted, unlocking his room.
"Well it was more than just Sadie. My whole friend group," she said. "They met her and they got really obsessed with her and kinda left me behind. This was a long time ago, but honestly I'm not surprised that she hasn't changed a bit."
"Oh, that sucks," he said, going in his room. "Wanna come in?"
Brandy's cheeks turned scarlet this time, but she nodded. "Yeah, actually. Chilli and Trixie might try to steal my bag."
"Hey Trix," Chilli stepped out of the shower, looking like a puffball after drying her fur. "Where's Brandy?"
"Oh, she said she was gonna get a snack," Trixie shook her head. "But I heard her talking to Bandit in the halls and she went with him. Couldn't make out much of what she said, but she doesn't seem to like Sadie very much."
"Oh dog, not this again," Chilli sighed. "She really doesn't like Sadie."
"Why not?"
"Honestly, I don't know," Chilli scratched her head. "I asked about it once and she told me to mind my own business. Like I know it, one day she was best friends with Sadie's group, the next, she wanted nothing to do with them."
"And this happened how long ago?"
"Probably 10 years," she groaned. "It's been so long and she still is adamant on keeping her grudge.."
"It must've been real bad if she's still angry about it a decade later," Trix noticed. "I want her to open up a little, but she's always saying she's fine."
"She's like that," Chilli said. "She's afraid of opening up to people, but she never told me why. I know Dad knows though, but he won't tell me at all because Brandy told him not to."
"Darn," she said. "I admit I am being a bit nosy, but if she lets something slip around Bandit, I hope he'll at least hint at it."
"Same here, I'm getting s little worried," the red heeler admitted. "Dad told me that this is her first time in 2 years coming out for anything other than shopping or seeing him."
"She doesn't work?" Trixie gave her a concerned look.
"She's a writer. Writers aren't obligated to work outside of home, so of course this was the perfect job for her," Chilli explained. "I'm sure you've heard of Stars Under the Bridge?"
"No way," Trixie gasped. "I love that novel!"
"Yup," Chilli nodded. "Mitzi Cattle is her pen name."
"I've got to ask her to autograph mine sometime," Trixie mentioned. "To be honest, I never would've thought it was her behind the scenes. Opal's almost nothing like Brandy is.."
Chilli looked away. I honestly never read her novel, so it's not like I'd know how Opal is. "It's interesting for sure."
-End-