marilyn thornhill one shots

secrets

info: you find out something shocking about your mother and confront her about it. request by @cassandra22020

fluff/angst - tw/cw - none :)

italics(𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸) are your thoughts!

i sneezed once more at the mass amounts of dust in the air. i could hardly see and i peered around the attic to our home. taking my phone from my back pocket as my other hand gripped the side of the ladder, i finally illuminated the room and stepped into it fully. it was nothing shocking. just loads of boxes and items of various stories all around. 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘪 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵? my face was pressed in confusion as i shrugged and walked over to a simple cardboard box. i kneeled down and used my sleeve to wipe the side of the box, removing the dusty veneer and revealing one word in cursive, black sharpie. 'photos', the box told me. i lifted the folded lid and removed a small pile of polaroid pictures which had slight signs of age. i was now sat with my legs crossed, a smile forming at the sight. 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦. chuckling and tucking some loose hair behind my ear, i flicked through the photos. some showed me bathing in a sink; licking icing off of a wooden spoon which was significantly larger than me, my mouth coated in chocolate; and other photos of me in various locations like the park or the beach.

i put the photos back in the box gently and rose, looking around until i noticed another box. this one seemed to be more hidden. the old floorboards creaked as i leaned my body on them, cringing from the irritating sounds. i got to the box, and kneeled down in front of it. repeating my actions from before, i wiped the dust of the side of the box and read the formal ink. 'certificates'. 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴? my eyebrows furrowed as i slowly unveiled the top of the box and removed a small hand-full of the contents. squinting to see better, i took my phone again and raised the light above the sheet. 𝘪𝘵' 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦. i smiled in relief as it meant that i was, in face, a real person. then i lifted the sheet and looked at the one below. however, as my eyes scanned the page, i felt a sting in my chest and worry seemed to take over my body. the same two words were my fixation. i read them again and again and again. 'laurel gates'. 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴?

my nervous curiosity took the better of me and i looked at the sheet under the birth certificate of 'laurel gates'. it was a name change certificate. 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵- 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦? under the words 'former name', it said 'laurel gates'. 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵. it was too late. my eyes unintentionally darted over to 'new name' and read the two inevitable words underneath. 'marilyn thornhill.' my mouth grew agape as i dropped the papers on the floor, some of them sweeping out of the pile due to the draft. 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦? 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦? 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯? i felt my shaky breath occur more often as i breathed faster. i picked myself up and hurriedly placed the papers in the box, closing the lid like it was before i disturbed it's restful sleep. 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘪 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳? 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴. i zoned back with my hands on the back of my head. this whole situation was a shock to me. i sped down the ladder to the attic and closed the door, leaving not a trace of life behind me.

***

i was sat on our couch, leaning forwards with my elbows resting on my knees and my fingers intertwined. my body rocked me back and forth in a pathetic attempt to comfort me. but nothing could help me now. i was too lost in my own bubble of thoughts. 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦? 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦? 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯? over and over again. it's all my brain was able to do. i was so confused. i had also come to the realisation that i had to talk to her about it. i couldn't just move on and pretend like i didn't see anything. she was my mother, for gods sake. she is my mom and she has been lying to me for my whole life. as far as i knew, she was lying to everyone. but we were close. she was my best friend, so i also felt betrayed that she didn't feel as though she could talk to me about it, let aloe even make me aware of this identity façade. my body shot into an up-right position as i remained still. i heard the engine to her car in the drive, then it stopped as she turned the car off and i heard the door open and close behind her. 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵.

the front door opened and i watched as she turned to close it behind her, locking it with her key. the flower keychain i got her for her birthday rattled as it hit against the door. her body turned and she stood calmly as she looked upon me. she smiled like always as walked over, kissing my cheek as she made her way to our kitchen while putting the key in her bag. her voice rung out from behind the wall where the kitchen resides. "how was your day dear?" i could hear her shuffling and moving things around, as she was cooking dinner like always. "uhh- it was good." i stood up and leaned against the opening to our kitchen, watching her as she turned the stove on and added oil to the pan over the blue, mesmerising flame. "how was your day?" she was taking a chopping board and placed it on the counter, looking up at me briefly for all the time she spoke. "yeah, yeah it was good. are you sure you're okay? you seem- off." her expression seemed to morph into concern as i swallowed the knot in my throat, my eyes wide.

i dropped my head and she seemed to notice this. she placed the knife down and turned the stove off, before walking over to me and placing her hands on my face. this forced me to look up and into her eyes. i examined the worry she held behind those circular glasses which were placed softly on her nose. she stroked my face as she spoke. "hey, what's wrong? you look terrified. c'mon, you know you can talk to me." her hands fell and she conjoined one of hers with mine, walking us to the couch. we sat down and she intertwined our fingers on my lap. then her sweet voice was soft as she let the words fall off her tongue. "what's happening angel?" i looked into her glassy eyes, pressing my lips together subconsciously. "i uh- i was bored. so, i went into the attic." her expression seemed to grow confused, like she didn't know where this story was going. "i was just gonna look at some baby pictures, but i found something else." she seemed to gulp, but maintained a strong face for me. "why didn't you tell me?" i grew frustrated as i shot her a look of hurt, my voice sounding me aggressive causing her to flinch.

she let go of my hands and looked down, she seemed to be thinking about her response. the she looked back at me, her eyes looked dreadful, then she spoke. "look (y/n)," i looked at her, taking a deep breath. "i didn't tell you because it's in the past. it happened a very long time ago and no one needs to know about it." i felt my eyebrows shift into greater confusion. "why did you change your name, mom?" my voice was stern and she looked at me, my lips parted. "because, my family are not good people." i looked to the ground in shock and frustrating confusion. i felt her take my hands as she spoke again. "did you ever wonder why i never talk about your grandparents? you never wondered why you have never met them?" i looked back up at her, my eyes becoming watery. "they died a long time ago, and it's probably a good thing." i let go of her hands and stood up, my hands following my words as i spook angrily. "how can you say that? they are your parents, do you not have any respect?" her eyes looked gloomy now. "(y/n), they were bad people. you have to understand. even if they were alive, i wouldn't let them anywhere near you." i sat down, looking at my lap and my palms which faced me. the she took my hands;kissed my forehead; and spoke into my hair as she pulled me into a well-needed hug. "i know you're confused, but you should just forget about it. it's not worth getting stressed over. she rocked us and she continued to reassure me.

a/n - heyy so how do we feel about this? have a great day/night, i love ya! <3