4AM update, let's go gamers. Hopefully you lovelies enjoy this chapter. It's the beginning of something special. ~Shaymie
Angela
God, I forgot how fun running is...
Angela sighed happily as she took a seat at the end of the dock. She didn't really have anything better to do today and decided to go on a run around town. Running always gave her a rush. How ironic that it was something she'd initially only started because of Molly, yet she wound up enjoying it more than her sister. Molly was never really a fan of going on jogs but she thought it was necessary to stay fit.
She would have asked Molly to join her if she wasn't busy working herself to death. To make matters worse, Chase, lovestruck idiot as he was, is currently helping her work on Mara and Gideon's birthday cakes. He might have been able to talk her into taking it easy but he's only contributing to the issue. Angela felt like she was going insane. How the hell was she the only person who had a problem with how Molly was handling everything?
And she meant everything.
Cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner, tending the fields, taking care of her animals, handling all of the laundry, planning Thanksgiving dinner, and now adding Mara and Gideon's birthday stuff on top of that? She's one person, not a fucking machine!
Kasey should have had Angela's back. Wasn't he supposed to be nice now? But no, he decided to snap at her just like the good old days. He didn't say a word to Molly but he had no problem scolding Angela like she was a petulant child. He's always had a ton of favoritism towards Molly. She could do nothing wrong in his eyes. Molly didn't make mistakes. Molly is a precious doll who needs to be protected no matter what.
Why couldn't there be a gym around here? Sometimes Angela just needed to punch something. She loved Molly but she couldn't deny that dealing with her could be frustrating at times. Her stubbornness was nearly impossible to break through. She was definitely the worst of all of them. She's stupidly stubborn, to the point where it wasn't even cute anymore. Just annoying.
Especially when she claimed they were "treating her like a child." God, it was so frustrating.
It's a miracle she didn't fight Kasey more when it came to quitting ballet. She could have fought more for it. Even if she wasn't performing herself, she probably could have been a teacher or something... something other than just completely abandoning ballet altogether. They might have been able to come up with some alternative if Kasey hadn't panicked and decided to just shut everything down for Molly's protection. And if Molly wasn't so dead set on being exactly like Mom, she might have considered other options.
Angela sighed out at the ocean. A big part of the reason she moved to Castanet with Molly was so they could hopefully get closer. She wanted to be a sister Molly could confide in but clearly it wasn't working out like she'd planned. She was just destined to always be second-place to Kasey. Hell, Molly might even be closer to Fritz than she was to Angela, and that hardly seemed fair.
Fritz wasn't the one who practically helped raise her.
Fritz has never helped sing her to sleep after a nightmare.
Fritz didn't sit with her in the hospital for a week straight—
Her stomach rumbled almost aggressively, cutting into her frustration and reminding her that it's around lunch time. Chase and Molly were definitely still at work in the kitchen so there's no way she's going home and dealing with them acting like school children around each other. She wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut. Lunch at the inn it is, then. Alone. Luke was out in the forest and Owen was probably still deep in the mines. Molly packed them both lunch this morning to thank them for helping with the harvest.
Luke was excited about all the spinach they'd grown. Angela wasn't lying when she said she'd plant extra for him. It was cute seeing how excited he was. She didn't realize how satisfying making her boyfriend happy could be. She loved seeing his bright eyes and goofy grin. She loved when he was so happy about something that he picked her up and kissed her. She even just loved hearing him say her name.
Reina and Muffy were right, she did have it bad.
Angela walked into the inn and ordered lunch—a large pizza with a slice of blackberry pie for dessert. She used to be self-conscious about her appetite. It wasn't exactly the most... attractive feature to have. Most guys don't want a girlfriend who could eat them under the table. Luke didn't mind. He didn't judge her for it, either, because he said she deserved to eat well after all the work she did.
"Thanks for letting me use your bathroom." Angela looked up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice and did a double take. The person walking out from the back of the inn looked like Chase. Like, a scary amount. But Chase obviously wasn't a... tiny teenage girl. If he were older, Angela might have thought this was some secret love child of his. Unless he was lying about his age. Asshole did act like a grumpy old man sometimes.
It was definitely creepy to stare at a teenager like this but Angela's nothing if not a nosy bitch.
"Excuse me," she called out to the girl. Her heart skipped a beat when she caught a glimpse of the girl's violet eyes. She could have passed the hair off as a potential dye job, but purple eyes weren't exactly that common. "This might sound weird, but are you related to... Chase?"
She certainly wasn't expecting the girl to respond in the affirmative.
"I know he wasn't expecting me to visit, but he could at least answer his phone," the girl—Maisie—scoffed as she scowled down at her phone. Yeah, she's definitely Chase's sister. They had the same scowl. The shock was starting to wear off a bit, though it was still hard to believe. Chase has a younger sister. A sister he hadn't heard of until just a few months ago. Did Molly know? They spent a lot of time together and maybe Molly's softened him up enough to get him to talk about his personal life.
Even Kathy didn't know anything about him, and they've been working together for a couple years now. He clearly didn't like talking about himself. Or, well, talking to people in general. It's surprising he even started talking to Molly.
"He's probably drooling over my sister right now." Angela snorted at the thought. She's caught him staring at her when he thought nobody was looking. Sometimes staring a bit too much... Angela didn't mind guys checking her out but she didn't want them looking at Molly like that. She had to teach her sister that there's such a thing as negative attention.
She had to teach her how to pay attention to her surroundings in general. Molly's such an airhead that she didn't even notice the way Chase's eyes would linger on certain parts of her body. She probably wasn't used to people having anything to look at. She's been small her whole life. Angela fondly remembered her sister complaining that puberty was a scam because she barely even changed.
She didn't realize how good she had it. She never had to deal with creepy older men catcalling her or getting in trouble at school because her shirts were too tight and distracting.
...Now Angela understood why she used to spend so much time out of the house. It was so she didn't have to feel all this petty jealousy welling up inside her. She didn't know it was possible to love someone with all her heart and also envy everything they had. Envy it so much that it nearly hurt. She felt wrong for that. It wasn't fair to Molly in the slightest.
She had to get her emotions under control before Thanksgiving. Molly's been looking forward to it for weeks and the last thing Angela wanted to do was ruin it with her shitty attitude. Aunt Dee would notice immediately and ask her what was wrong. And Aunt Dee never left anything alone until she got an answer. Angela's not going to be the grinch that ruined Thanksgiving. Not after all the preparations Molly's done for it. She's been working her ass off in the kitchen.
"Are Chase and your sister dating?" Maisie asked with twinkling violet eyes, her phone quickly forgotten. It didn't really matter if Chase answered anyway. They're almost to the house.
"God, I wish. Neither of them have made a move yet," Angela sighed. Even though it was killing her, she made a promise to Molly. No meddling. She did issue another warning to Chase just in case. She'd gladly break her promise to her sister if he ever treated Molly with disrespect. There were some things she couldn't let herself just sit by and watch. She's not making the same mistake she did with Mark.
"Oh... Lame."
Angela snorted. Lame was right. The only good thing about those two not dating yet is that they wouldn't have to deal with Kasey's macho overprotective bullshit. Angela wasn't innocent of it either, but she pulled back once she realized that Chase was actually a good guy just trying to act tough. He was nice to Molly even before he started developing feelings for her.
Bell was on them the second they walked onto the farmland, beady eyes narrowed as she carefully examined Maisie. Angela rolled her eyes. They were probably the only people on the planet to have a guard chicken. At least Minnie was a chill cow. She shooed the bird away (shuddering a bit at the way Bell seemed to glare at her) and led the teenager to the house before Fiona decided to follow in her sister's footsteps.
Talonsteps?
Man, I hope the next animal Molly gets is normal...
"Wait a second. Do you hear that?" Maisie stopped Angela from opening the front door and tilted her head. Angela paused to listen. It sounded like music and... laughing? She'd recognize Molly's lighthearted giggles anywhere but there was another set of laughter. Was that Chase? She didn't think it was even possible for him to laugh. He was always so serious.
"No, not like that, silly! Are you even looking at the video?"
"I thought ballet was your thing. When did you even learn this?"
"I'm a girl of many talents!" Another giggle, and then the music stopped for a brief moment before playing a previous verse again. She must have rewinded the video. Angela recognized the song as one from some TV show Molly used to be obsessed with. "Now pay attention, okay? Watch how he does it."
Was Molly teaching that grump how to dance? Angela held up a finger for Maisie to wait and pulled out her phone. She had to record this. Maisie's eyes lit up as she did the same, her lips curling up mischievously. Angela noticed a beauty mark near the lower right of her mouth. Looks like she isn't a complete copy and paste of her brother. She always thought it was a bit creepy when siblings that weren't identical looked too much alike.
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Angela heard Chase say just as Maisie opened the door for her. Stupid brace. It was easy to forget about it until moments like this rolled around. The sight waiting for her was better than anything she could have expected. Molly hasn't danced since her accident—at least, not that Angela knew of—but she was as graceful as ever, her skirt fluttering with every move. They didn't call her a prodigy for nothing. Like she said, she was a girl of many talents.
Chase on the other hand...
Angela got perfect footage of him fumbling around like an idiot with two left feet. Maisie was cracking up behind her. Chase froze in the middle of his awkward shuffle, face blossoming into a deep red. He looked between Angela and Maisie in clear confusion, peachy eyebrows knitting together as his brain struggled to catch up. Molly blinked in stunned silence as her gaze went from Chase to Maisie, and then back to Chase. Guess she didn't know after all.
"What...?" Molly murmured, though her attention was quickly grabbed by the kitchen timer going off. She gave Maisie one last curious look before heading into the kitchen. Angela frowned at her sister's fading dye job. They'd have to touch that up some time soon. Hopefully they'll find time before their vacation.
"Maisie? What are you doing here?" Chase cleared his throat and looked at Angela for a brief moment before asking, "Do Raeger and Carmen know you're here?"
"Duh! What, did you think I ran away or something? Raeger's the one who told me I should visit you early! He said it'd be a nice surprise!"
"It's a surprise, alright," Chase grumbled, pushing his bangs back from his face. His hair was so long now that he often tied it up alongside pinning back the unruly bits with his not-so-trustworthy hairpins. He should ask Molly to cut it. She used to cut Kasey and Ash's hair all the time. Sometimes she'd even fix Dad's hair if he let it get too long.
"Um... If you two need some privacy to talk, we can finish this later." Molly set a cake on the counter and gave Chase a small smile. There was no hiding the disappointment in her eyes. She was probably looking forward to spending this time alone with him. Angela should have stalled for more time by giving Maisie a tour of the town.
"No, I... I promised I'd help you. It's almost the rugrats' birthday, right?" There goes that tone of voice again, and that look in his eyes. Soft and gentle and reserved just for Molly. Her smile widened as she nodded and grabbed a bowl. It was one of their clear ones which was filled with what Angela assumed was homemade frosting. Chase turned to Maisie with an inquisitive eyebrow. She had already made herself comfortable on the couch. "Don't you have school?"
"Did I never tell you? I graduated early. Mom and Dad were letting me take a gap year or two before... well, you know." Chase tensed at the mention of their parents. He went from sweet to sour in an instant. Angela was itching to know what the deal was with their parents. She wanted to know what the deal was with them in general. How do two siblings go sixteen years without knowing the other existed?
Even if Chase stopped talking to their parents as an adult (hell, maybe they got tired of his attitude or something), he was still a kid when Maisie was born. Probably around six or seven. None of this was adding up.
"By the way, I'm gonna have to stay with you," Maisie said with a sigh as she started scrolling through her phone. "Tried getting a room at the inn but they said I needed some form of identification. I already dropped my stuff off at your place. By the way, you should find a better place to hide your spare key."
"Wh—no way in hell are you staying with me!"
"Don't worry dude, I'll put headphones on so I won't have to listen to you and your girlfriend banging."
Molly squeaked and dropped her spatula into the bowl of frosting she'd been mixing. Her face was so red that it was practically glowing. And Chase looked like he was in some odd in-between of stunned and annoyed. His blush was more subtle than Molly's, but it was still there. Angela reopened her camera app and snapped a picture of his face.
This is going to be fun.