𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐆𝐄 - 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲

three | the incident

-THREE-

"Valerie, sweetie, can you check on Lily, please?" Cam asked, looking at his daughter who was sitting next to Skye.

Valerie stood up and almost left the room before the doorbell rang.

"Surprise!" Exclaimed Dede, Mitchell's mother. Valerie visibly paled and swore, "О, блядь." (Oh, fuck.)

"Mom!" Mitchell shouted, his eyes going wide.

"I'm gonna just leave--" Said Skye, hurrying out the door, making Valerie scoff and mutter curses in Russian.

"Aww, I haven't seen little Valerie in ages! How are you, sweetie?" Asked Dede, hugging the girl who in turn, stood stiffly with her hands clenched at her sides.

"Hi, honey." Said Dede, turning to Mitchell.

"Hi. I-I didn't know you were in town. You didn't call." Mitchel admitted, shutting the door as Valerie stood behind Dede's back, making retching sounds 

"Well, I couldn't wait to see your new baby. Where is she?" The woman asked. "Valerie, show me to your sister please."

Valerie begrudgingly led Dede out, to bump into Cameron.

"Mitchell, who was that?" He asked.

"Uh, it's my mom."

"Oh, yeah, right. 'cause the last time she was here, the refrigerator magnets rearranged themselves into a penta...Grandma!" Cameron gasped upon seeing Dede twisting Lily around by the legs.

---

Valerie: Don't get me wrong, I love my family. But Dede is someone who's guts I hate so bad I want to rip them out and make her eat them.

Cam: Val, that's your grandmother you're talking about.

Valerie: Besides, she's hated me ever since my dad's took me to meet her during...the Incident.

Mitchell: Oh dear lord--

---

"Mom...Mom, what are you doing to her legs?" Mitchell exclaimed, seeing Lily with Dede.

"Valerie, how are you standing there so calmly?" Cam asked.

"I'm not." Valerie admitted through gritted teeth, moving her hands in front of her to show the wooden plank she was going to break.

"Tai chi. I did it every day in Sedona. Cameron, you should try it." Dede said, her tone subtly scalding. "And living in Sedona has been transformational."

"If you don't let go of Lily, I'll show you a real transformation." Snarled the tween.

"I get up every morning, and I go to a vortex meditation site and work with a shaman to finally understand how to live my spirituality." Dede admitted.

"Valerie, calm down." Cam whispered, taking the plank away from her.

"Yikes." Admitted Mitchell.

"And I've learned that the only way I can move to the next level of my awakening is if we all can somehow get past...the incident." Dede admitted.