Howdy howdy, ya girl's going through some things right now but I'll try to update when I can! Very excited for this next chunk of the story and I hope y'all enjoy it! ~Shaymie

Molly

"Mollipop!"

Molly's eyes lit up at the sound of her cousin's voice, her cramps temporarily forgotten. Angela took a startled step back as she sprang out of her seat. Fritz was running over to them, followed by Aunt Dee walking at a leisurely pace. She met Fritz halfway and giggled as he pulled her up into a near bone-crushing hug. Despite being around that age where puberty and growth spurts hit, he wasn't that much taller than her. He'd never hear the end of it from Angela.

Fritz may be short, but he certainly wasn't weak. He swept her off her feet like it was nothing even though she knew she had to weigh far more than she used to. She hasn't stepped on a scale since her last appointment with Jin, when he complimented on her weight gain. She's been working hard to not skip any meals.

It's odd, actually wanting and needing to gain weight. Her entire life, she's been told that she was underweight. Not enough to be considered unhealthy or anything. She's just always been small. Always. Even when she started gaining just a bit of weight, it didn't look noticeable to her.

But it was to Chelsea... God, how much attention did Chelsea pay to her to notice even the slightest change in Molly's weight? She remembered her father defending her against her doctors, claiming that her size was just genetic. Mom was short and tiny, too. In every picture Molly's ever seen of her, she looked... delicate. Like she'd be blown over by the slightest gust of wind.

Molly was sure she weighed more than her mother ever had. Even now, she still wasn't sure how to feel about it.

Her chubby cheeks made her look even younger than she already did. The stretch marks on her arms and thighs were a sight to behold... She's sure they're on her stomach, too. She just hasn't had the courage to check yet. She almost complained about it to Angela before realizing that her sister wouldn't be much help. She'd just say that it's a good thing. A sign of progress. Angela wouldn't understand. She's sure nobody would understand.

"God, what the hell, Raeger?" She looked over at Chase's yell. He was caught in a headlock by a guy that she'd vaguely noticed walking alongside Aunt Dee and Fritz. She just assumed he was a random stranger and not with them.

"This is what you get for not visiting, you little shit," the man—Raeger, Molly assumed—grit out. Hold up a second. Raeger. This is Chase's brother. She looked at the man curiously. She didn't know why she expected him to share Chase and Maisie's features. Instead of peachy curls, this man had tousled copper hair. She couldn't see his eyes from where she was standing but she could safely assume they weren't the vibrant purple she was familiar with. "Four years, Ollie? Seriously?"

"Three and a half. And quit calling me that," Chase grumbled, finally escaping his brother's grasp. He stepped away and tried to fix his hair. Maisie giggled. He shot her a glare. It's odd suddenly seeing Chase as the middle sibling. God, she wasn't even used to seeing him as an older brother yet! Maisie was always conveniently out of the house when Molly came over for their morning tea. She was probably trying to give the two of them some privacy, but it would've been nice to get to know her.

"Where'd Ollie come from?" Angela asked, leaning against one of the suitcases. Luke held it still for her so it didn't roll off.

"Oliver's my... middle name." Chase trailed off at the end like he was embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his neck. "It used to be my first name, but when Gramps adopted me and changed my last name, he let me change the rest of it if I wanted since it wouldn't cost anything extra. So I just switched my names around."

"What? And you didn't name yourself something cooler? You could've been, like, Lazerbeam Tyrannosaur or something," Angela scoffed. Chase rolled his eyes.

"I was eight, Angela. I wasn't an idiot."

Aunt Dee sighed as she walked over, completely ignoring Angela and Chase's bickering. Raeger made the occasional comment, revealing some of the names Chase almost went with. Apparently Dante was on the list because he'd watched Raeger play Devil May Cry with some friends from school.

Angela cracked up at that, gleefully calling Chase a nerd and ignoring the middle finger she earned in retaliation. They flipped each other off so much it was basically instinct at this point. Maisie's giggles turned into full-blown laughter.

"Somehow this is exactly how I expected them to get along," Aunt Dee murmured under her breath.

She and Mom were fraternal twins, and before seeing pictures of them Molly didn't realize how different twins could really be. Angela and Kasey were also fraternal but they were still really similar. Same nose (at least before Angela got hers busted up playing softball), same jaw structure, same laugh. With Aunt Dee and Mom, it was all different. Though... maybe it was because Aunt Dee got to live past her 20s.

She was tall and stocky, probably from the years of working on a farm. Her hair, currently tied up in a haphazard bun that flopped with every movement, was red as opposed to the varying shades of brown the rest of the family had. It was wavy as opposed to the curls her sister and Molly had. She often joked about getting all of the reject genes from her parents. Unlike Molly or even Angela, Aunt Dee didn't really bother with make-up.

Molly only wished she could be that comfortable in her own skin.

"Hi, Aunt—oof!" She grunted as her aunt pulled her into just as tight a hug as her cousin did. She returned the hug awkwardly. Aunt Dee shouted above her head, telling Angela to quit bothering Chase for two seconds and get in on the hug.

"Promise I won't mess ya up more than you already are!" she laughed, referring to Angela's sprained wrist. She was hoping to get the brace off shortly after they came back from this vacation. Chase looked relieved as Angela sauntered over to join them.

Molly's heart felt full and warm. Hugging Fritz and Aunt Dee after so long was comforting. She missed them so much.

If only Kasey and the kids were here...

Fritz didn't want to leave Molly's side, so she allowed herself to be dragged along on an enthusiastic tour of the town. She didn't have the heart to say no to him. He kept a firm grip on her hand as he introduced her to anyone that happened to be walking around outside. She envied Angela and Luke just a bit. They were relaxing in their room, worn out by their long day of travel. The train didn't have the most comfortable seats. She didn't understand how Maisie was able to nap in them. It was pretty cute to see her use Chase as a pillow, though.

"Fritz," Molly called, tugging on his hand before he could pull her towards a rather nice-looking two story house. "I think I need a bit of a break before we start making house calls. Talking to people outside is one thing, but..."

She nibbled at her lip. In all honesty, her social battery had run out about seven introductions ago. She needed some time to relax before her anxiety started going haywire. Thankfully Fritz didn't push and instead led her to a bench so she could rest. Maybe Aunt Dee had a talk with him before they got here, telling him to tone it down a bit. She'd done the same after Dad died. It was odd seeing Fritz so quiet and subdued.

"Sorry, Molly. I was just excited to see you again..."

"I know," Molly smiled sweetly, pulling her cousin into a hug before he could get too down on himself. He returned the hug with a pat on the back. She had to resist the urge to pinch his cheek as she pulled away from him. She still remembered when she first met Fritz. It took some time for Aunt Dee to save up the money to visit, so Fritz was practically a toddler by the time she finally got to meet him. He was obsessed with her even then, always trying to follow her into the kitchen when she practiced her baking.

Or maybe he just knew where the food was... They'd pulled an old high chair out of storage and put him in it so he could keep an eye on her without getting in the way. Kasey complained about being watched so intently by a baby, but Molly thought it was cute. She always made a snack for Fritz to chew on while he watched. Something soft for his growing baby teeth.

Taking care of Fritz whenever he visited may have fueled her desire to have her own kids someday. And until today, she'd been worried that it was no longer a possibility. She never thought she'd be so happy to have her period again. Surprisingly, the cramps were manageable. She'd been expecting much worse like they usually were.

Now that she had a bit of a break, she decided to catch up on her messages. There were a few texts from Kasey but upon opening them, she noticed that they were riddled with typos and emoji spam. The kids must've gotten ahold of his phone again. They honestly scared her, the way they were able to sneakily grab Kasey's phone when he was asleep and use his fingerprint to unlock it. Somehow he hasn't noticed yet.

It'll be a bit hard for him to not notice the abundance of texts he didn't send.

Molly happily replied to the twins' messages, but made sure to scold them for taking their father's phone without permission. Not that she thought Gideon would listen. She hoped he didn't get Mara in serious trouble some day. She always followed her big brother's lead no matter where it took her.

Ash had texted her a picture of his "battle scars," asking what she thought of them. She felt Fritz trying to look over her shoulder and leaned away from him while she texted back. He was almost worse than Kasey, the way he'd question her break-up with Ash. She knew everyone expected them to get married someday. Even she thought that she'd end up his wife. Maybe it would've happened if things hadn't gone down the way they had.

She still loved Ash, of course. Just... in a different way now.

Maya texted her, freaking out about Ash's picture. Molly's eyebrows raised. She could understand him sending her a shirtless picture considering how close they were, but he also sent it to Maya? When did he get so bold? Maybe Maya was right and Ash would be brave enough to ask her out when he visited.

There was also a text from an unknown number. Her brows furrowed as she tapped it.

Hello, Molly. This is Sabrina. I hope you don't mind me texting you. Ash gave me your new number a little while ago and I've been so busy I haven't had much time to talk. How have you been?

She blinked at the message. Hadn't she thought about Sabrina just the other day? They had sort of drifted apart after what happened with Vaughn. Molly was happy that her friend was in love, of course, but she felt a bit... weird for how the relationship started. Maybe a bit guilty. She hated Chelsea now, but back then they were best friends and she wasn't brave enough to tell her that she was being cheated on.

Now, however, she felt bad for completely choosing Chelsea over Sabrina. She actually really liked her. It was nice to keep company with someone who was just as quiet as she was. And Sabrina was a good person. Actually, genuinely good. Not like Molly, who sometimes doubted herself. She wondered if she was really a good person or if she was a faker like Chelsea said. After all, she spent ages only acting the way she expected her mother to act.

I'd have done anything to hear Dad say I reminded him of Mom... Her lip returned to its familiar spot between her teeth as she tapped out her response, choosing to push her doubts aside for the moment. Like she always did...

hey, sabrina. it's been awhile hasn't it? i don't know if you heard but me and angie have moved to a place called castanet to start a farm. i've also been really busy but i hope we can talk more soon!

She finished the message with a few smiley faces and sent it before she could fuss too much over the wording. Angela always teased her for her "proper" way of texting. Bridget had also sent a video of her, Damon, and Linh at karaoke (which was bound to be interesting) but Molly decided to watch it later since she didn't have her headphones. She tucked her phone into her cardigan pocket and sighed. Fritz eyed her curiously.

"So uh... Angela told me you like Chase," he blurted without a care in the world. She shushed him and looked around frantically, cheeks flushing furiously. What if someone heard and word somehow got out to Chase? That would be the worst way for him to find out!

"Fritz! God, when did she even tell you?"

"When you were in the bathroom at the station. Look, I gotta tell you something. You met Lillie, right?" She nodded. She'd just met her earlier in the day. Her father owned the inn and introduced them when they all checked in. She heard that Lillie had a little sister, but apparently she had just missed her. Fritz's face scrunched up. "Well, she used to date him. And I don't think they were that happy together. I don't wanna see him hurt you."

"Maybe they just weren't a good fit for each other. Not everyone can be like Angie and Luke."

She felt that nasty, ugly feeling rearing up again. Jealousy. It was stupid to be jealous when they'd already broken up. But she couldn't help it. Lillie was pretty and popular (she was the local weather girl!) and she's probably done everything with Chase that Molly could only dream of. She got to hold his hand. Kiss him. Go on dates with him. God, they've definitely had sex. How could they not have?

I'd do all that and more...

She looked up at the sound of a baby crying. A couple was leaving the house Fritz had attempted to drag her towards. A blonde woman and a man with dark hair, accompanied by what she could only assume was their child in a stroller. Something about the sight of them tickled her brain but she didn't understand why until the man glanced up and she met his amber eyes. They hadn't known each other for too long but he was still kind enough to send her gifts every once in a while.

"Mr. Klaus!" Molly gasped excitedly, popping up from her seat. He refused to let her call him Mr. Mueller so this was her compromise. She glanced down at Fritz. So that's why he was so excited to take her to that house. He was there when she met Klaus for the first time in the city. Through some odd circumstances, Molly ended up as the face of some of Klaus's perfume lines. It was also how she met the celebrity hairstylist Allen Schmitt. He was... Well, he was high-maintenance. Molly liked him well enough as long as she ignored every other sentence that left his mouth.

The baby's screaming ceased as it was taken out of the stroller by the woman and given a few comforting pats on the back. Molly's eyes widened as she approached.

That's... Iris Gardner... She looked just as good as she did in the photos on the back of her books. She was amazed at the woman's natural beauty. And maybe just a little bit envious. Iris was the epitome of beauty and grace. Molly had to work at it. She was naturally clumsy, and she didn't think anything was particularly beautiful about a face full of freckles. They made her look childish. But Iris made beauty look effortless.

"It's nice to see you again, Molly," Klaus said, a hint of a smile on his lips. She tore her gaze away from literally her favorite author on the planet and forced herself to look over at him.

"Y-Yeah..." She was still a bit stunned. At least she wasn't staring with her mouth open like a complete idiot. No matter how surprised she was, Dad raised her to have proper manners. She gave an apologetic smile and cleared her throat. "Sorry... I didn't mean to be rude. I just... wasn't expecting to see you here."

The address she mailed her letters to was in the city. Had he recently moved? It'd explain why Fritz didn't bother to mention that he lived here. Her cheeks flushed when she noticed Iris was looking at her. Molly suddenly wondered about her appearance. Did she look alright? She had freshened up a bit in the bathroom at the station but that was hours ago! And it's been windy so she's sure her hair's a mess. Oh, this wasn't any way to meet her favorite author.

Fritz should have warned her. He knew how much of a fan she was!

Klaus introduced Iris as his wife and the baby as their son, Nicholas. She was shocked to learn that they've been together for a while now, but just married last year. The two of them liked to keep their personal lives extremely private.

"How have you been?" he asked as she reached out to grab Nicholas's tiny hand. Molly faltered, her mouth suddenly going dry.

The last time she saw Klaus, he had called her a bright young lady. Bright? She's the furthest thing from it. A bright young lady would've seen what was right in front of her, would've known that her best friend hated her. A bright young lady wouldn't have developed an eating disorder off of some bad advice and ruined her entire future. God, seeing someone who knew her from before everything happened was completely different. Because Klaus knew what she'd been like. He'd seen her at her best.

She moved to Castanet for a fresh start, ecstatic at the thought of getting to start over and now here's someone from her past who's going to see what a failure she's become.

"C-Can we talk later? Like... have a serious talk?" she asked, voice barely audible over the wind. She never necessarily lied to him, just... kept the entire truth to herself. He didn't need to know about Chelsea's deception or Molly's bulimia. It made her feel better to know that he'd always think of her as that bright young lady he met at the mall, who'd just happened to have a tragic accident that put a stop to her career. But now, seeing him in person, she felt bad about keeping things to herself.

Klaus nodded, worry shining in his eyes. Molly forced a smile onto her face and brushed off her cardigan, though she knew there was nothing on it.

"Okay, then. I'm a bit tired from all the traveling so I think I'll head back and rest. It was nice seeing you again, Mr. Klaus. And nice meeting you, Ms... Er, Mrs..."

"Please, call me Iris."

"Mrs. Iris. And you, you little cutie," she gave Nicholas a little handshake before heading back to Fritz. She didn't like that worried expression on her cousin's face and tried to will it away with a hug.

"Love you, Mollipop," he whispered. She smiled despite the emotions swirling in her stomach.

"Love you too, Fritz."

When she got back to the inn, she was surprised to see Chase waiting outside her door. Embarrassingly enough, her heart actually skipped a beat when he smiled at her. Angela told her that she was the only person Chase smiled at. She didn't believe it at first. Then she started paying a bit more attention and realized that it was true. And it only made Chase's smiles that much more special.

"I'm pretty sure the inn has a no loitering policy," Molly joked, cheeks flushing when Chase laughed. It wasn't fair. Why did it have to be him? He felt so out of her league but she wanted him so bad it hurt. Wanted him so badly she literally dreamed about him. She glanced at his nails, the sparkly purple polish catching the light just right. Mara picked the color. Just before they came here, Chase asked Molly to repaint his nails and it took everything she had not to drool over his hands.

The last thing she wanted was to scare him away because of her stupid hand fetish or whatever.

"I'm pretty sure the inn also has a no Chase policy," he replied with a bit of an amused snort. "The owner kind of hates me."

"Because you broke up with Lillie?" Molly cursed her big fat mouth. She'd only spent a little time with Fritz today and he's already rubbing off on her. The smile fell from Chase's face instantly. She was surprised he didn't ask how she knew. Maybe he just assumed Fritz or Aunt Dee told her.

"That was years ago. Maurice always hated me. Called me a punkass kid who wasn't good enough for his daughter." He scratched his cheek and let out a rueful chuckle. "Guess he was right. Lillie's not like you. She thought I was a rude bastard and seemed convinced she could... fix me or something. We didn't date that long."

Molly nearly leapt out of her skin at the loud squeal that suddenly echoed through the hallway. Chase grimaced, his brilliant purple eyes suddenly full of disdain. A little girl, surely no more than ten or eleven, dashed over. Molly didn't miss the furious look the girl shot Chase, though it was gone almost as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a bright sparkle in her big blue eyes.

They looked vaguely familiar...

"You're Molly Rose!" the girl gasped, bouncing on her heels with excitement. Molly nodded in confusion. "Fritz didn't tell me that his cousin was the Molly Rose Parker!"

"Um... I didn't think I was the anything..." Except the girl who hit her head... She knew that the video of her accident had gone fairly viral. The original of it was taken down at Kasey's request, but reuploads were everywhere. People seemed to love watching other people get hurt. It thankfully cut off before the puddle of blood got too big, and before her first of who knew how many seizures.

"You're the reason I started ballet!"

Her chest felt tight. Almost painfully so. Nearly two years ago, those words would have filled her with glee. She would have loved the idea of being someone's role model. Then she started "dieting" and started hating herself and she didn't want anyone to look up to her. God, if she kept going, she would've probably ended up accidentally promoting bulimia to some poor kids.

I'm going to be sick...

"I, um... Excuse me for a moment." Molly went into her room and made a mad dash for the bathroom. She'd barely made it to the toilet before puking up what little food she'd eaten today. Breakfast was a quick thing of toast with jam and some tea, and Chase shared some snacks on the train. Her eyes watered as she emptied her stomach. She's always hated being sick. She hated vomiting. She hated it, so why the fuck did Chelsea suggest that "diet?"

Tears streamed down her face. This was different. She's not purging. She's been doing a good job of not going back to that horrible habit. But this just reminded her of how many times she's been in this familiar position, crying over a toilet bowl until there was nothing left but pain and disappointment. She hated herself every time she did it, but she couldn't stop. Not when she thought that not doing it meant the end of her career.

Such cruel irony.

Molly finished up and flushed the toilet. A glance at her reflection in the mirror made her grimace. She looked ragged. She wiped away her make-up and gargled some water to get rid of the bile aftertaste lingering in her mouth. She'd brush her teeth if Chase and that little girl weren't in the hall waiting for her. She didn't want to leave them waiting much longer. They were already going to wonder what happened.

Chase was alone when she left the room. He raised an eyebrow at her sudden lack of make-up, but didn't comment on it.

"Melanie left. She feels bad about upsetting you and wants to find something to apologize. You'll probably have some flowers in your room by lunchtime tomorrow." Melanie? So that was Lillie's little sister. No wonder she looked so angry at Chase...

"S-She doesn't have anything to apologize for," Molly stammered. It wasn't Melanie's fault that she was still so sensitive about her past. Chase shrugged.

"She said she was sorry for bringing it up. She didn't think mentioning your career would upset you that much." Molly didn't think so, either. She thought she was past it. Maybe she would be past it if she wasn't so stubborn with therapy. If she could just... talk to Dr. Kane, then she might feel a bit better. Maybe she'd feel a little more whole. "Anyway..."

"Anyway?" She looked into Chase's pretty purple eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. He did that a lot, she noticed. Mostly when he was talking to her.

"I know you're probably tired from traveling and hanging out with Fritz all day, but I wanted to know if you... maybe wanted to take a walk with me?"

All of Molly's exhaustion was quickly forgotten. Wasn't this what she'd imagined happening just a short while ago? The two of them, taking a peaceful walk through Oak Tree? She had even suggested he show her around. Of course, Fritz already gave her a tour, but Chase didn't have to know that. Besides, she had a feeling he'd be a much better tour guide than her cousin.

"I'd love to!"

Hopefully she didn't come off as too enthusiastic. Then she remembered the deal she made with Angela. Her sister had managed to get Chase to join them on their mini-vacation to the city after this. So she had to ask him out. Well, she'd probably have had to ask him out even if he said no. The deal wasn't to get him to go with them. It was just for Angela to ask him. And she did. Molly was beginning to regret making that deal. Was her sister trying to set her up for rejection?

Maybe I can work my way up to it... Do little things to show that I'm interested. Then hopefully he'll show me some pity...

Molly swallowed nervously as she locked the door behind her. As much as it terrified her, she knew she had to get an answer eventually. She couldn't just live her life pining after Chase forever. Either he'd like her back (which was highly unlikely) or he'd reject her. And she could sleep better at night once she got a definite answer.

"Freckles? You alright? Maybe you should lie down—"

"I'm fine! Come on, let's go! Time's a-wasting!"

In a rare show of courage, she grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the stairs. And briefly, for just a moment, she let herself think about how perfect his hand felt in hers.