The Materialists | Book 1 + 2 ✔

19 | Lucifer is a Saint

Before you came round I was heading for a small disaster
Before you came round I was ready to blow me down

♕

FIND A BOYFRIEND. Should've been easy enough. Except it wasn't. Now that my parents had other plans for how I'd managing my love life, the thought of a boyfriend started making me want to gag. Well, I assumed that's why they wanted me over on that very Sunday for a family dinner since I missed the last one. We never did family dinners, rarely, actually. They were only for special occasions and the last time we did have one, they thought it would be a wonderful idea to invite their co-worker, his wife, and his son who kept eyeing me up from across the table. So this time, I'm assuming it was to meet another wealthy friend of theirs who has a decent looking son and while they conversate on how to get us together to preserve their legacy and money, he tries to get in my pants. It happens almost every family dinner.

Mother called at 1 PM, saying the driver would be ready to bring me over at 3 so I could arrive before around 5. That left me a good 2 hours to get myself looking presentable, in Mother's eyes, which means basically looking like I'm ready to walk the red carpet. I took a 30 hot bath, wasting the time just to soak in the bubbles and bath bomb, resting my head back against the cold metal of the tub. I haven't seen my parents in almost 3 weeks, not a long time but a good enough time for me to not miss the constant scolding and stalking I'd received from them.

Once my fingers got all wrinkly, I took this as a sign it was time to get out and hopped into the shower. One, to rinse off the bubbles. And two, to actually scrub my body and wash my hair. I only had 1 hour to get myself together after I got out of the shower and blow-dried my hair. I wrapped my hair in a cloth shirt to soak up the rest of the water, lotioned my body, and changed into the dress I'd picked for the night. Black, opposed to my usual red. Mother always said red was my color, and I felt like not taking her opinion for once in my life. A small act of rebellion that she wouldn't care about, but it felt like a whole victory to me.

Proudly strapping on the pointed 1-in heels and white 3/4 socks that had a fringe, I glanced in the mirror. Maybe black was my color. It certainly was a nice color against my pale-ish skin. For some reason, it brought out the pale blue in my eyes too, a color that most people mistook for grey. Brushing my hair back and slipping in a headband, I quickly put on concealer, eyeliner, mascara, and blush and highlight. I didn't want to do my eyebrows and whatnot, but I felt like if I didn't mother would find something to criticize.

By 3 PM, I was just barely ready. I didn't wear pearls. My Mother always hated pearls, obsessed with those stupid gold necklaces, earrings, watches, anything that was sold with that ugly golden glitz. I despised it, even. Purely because for 16 years of my life there wasn't a day she didn't have gold wrapped around her finger. A day she didn't have me wrapped around her finger. She knew it, and I knew it, and there was nothing either of us wanted to do about it.

But that's beside the point. In the 2-hour car ride, I thought of all the possibilities as to why we'd be having this meeting. It's not like I had a company to take over like many of my New York friends, my parents didn't own a company, they were just CFO's of a very successful one. I didn't do anything bad like smoking pot and juuling in the bathroom of my apartment like all these Brits do. 

Really the only they could be bugging me about now was the same thing they'd be doing since the first date we got together. The day I told them about him, and expected them to be happy since he was so fucking perfect. So. Fucking. Perfect. Of course, though, Mother had many things to say about him and desperately tried to replace him with every second of the day. 

I don't like to think about him though, there's no point. It's not like thinking about him is gonna bring everything back.

Shaking my head, I opened messages and scrolled down a few before seeing his name. So fucking perfect. I wonder what went wrong, nothing went wrong actually, maybe I just didn't care enough. Maybe he cared too much. But still, I fucked it up anyway and no matter how many times he tries to call me back after I'd spammed his phone with texts for a month straight before I left for England, I wouldn't answer. But I promise one day I'd let myself see what he wanted. 

Today was not that day.

Today I had to focus on the fact that my Mother texted me halfway through the car ride, saying to be polite when her friend and her friend's son come over for dinner.

Today I had to focus on the fact that she didn't forget to mention his age, same as mine, and that he was supposedly good looking.

Today I had to focus on the fact that my mother was trying to set me up with yet another guy and this time I had no excuse, nothing to stop her from continuing. Not that me being in a relationship ever stopped her from trying before, anyway.

Today I had to focus on the fact that I'd actually have to sit through a painful dinner with the two people I love yet hate so much at once.

I was a saint compared to them. Even with the number of sins I'd committed.

Song Of The Chapter:

I was kind of all over the place this chapter but here's a quick explanation:

In the first chapter, I mentioned how she looked at her phone which had been dinging a lot and threw it across the room. Here's the continuation of that. Basically, before she left for England she'd been in a relationship with a guy which I will not name yet! The reason they ultimately broke up is kind of vague but he thought she didn't care about him enough and Laura thought he cared too much in a clingy sort of way. But they both loved each other so it was hard for them and that's why he's trying to call her all the time. Also while in this relationship her Mother tried to set her up with multiple guys at these family dinners which is why Laura thinks that's the only reason they are having one. I will continue on this idea and you will find out why this is important for the story later on as well! 

Question: How do you feel about the flashbacks?

Question: Whose point of view, besides Laura, would you like to see the most! I'm thinking of doing a chapter from someone else's point of view.

Last Question: I kind of want to make a new cover so how do you guys feel about the current one? 

Thank you for reading and thank you so freaking much for 700 readers! 

Don't forget to vote and answer the questions because they help a lot (: