The Thing About Timing (The Becoming of Elliott Goode)

Chapter 40

Finally, the supreme got back in the car and headed back to the hotel, staying far later than she had originally planned. Cordelia knew Elliott would be asleep by then, and she briefly felt guilty for not cutting the night short, especially considering something was obviously going on. But Cordelia didn't really need to talk to the girl to know why she was upset, she already knew. It wasn't like Elliott's emotions were a mystery to her, as much as the young witch tried to keep them hidden. She could feel her anxiety pick up anytime her and Cordelia were in the same room, the way her energy bottomed out whenever the two of them were alone. She felt her anger spike during the conversation earlier, and the supreme didn't know what made her feel worse, the fact that Elliott was still hurt from the things she said, or the fact that she was trying to hide it from her. Truthfully, Cordelia dreaded going back to that hotel room, lying next to her daughter and being trapped in her own thoughts, knowing she had hurt Elliott time and time again.

Luckily for her, she ran into the girls on the way back to the room, who were obviously drunk and heading back after an excursion for ice. They invited her back to their room for drinks, which she was quick to decline, saying she needed to check on Elliott. "She's already asleep, we checked on her when we got back. God, we aren't inept Cordi." Madison said, "I'm starting to feel like you just don't want to spend time with us. Do you hate us that much?"

So Cordelia ended up in their room, nursing a whiskey neat that she knew damn well she wasn't going to drink. It wasn't that she didn't like the girls, or spending time with them. It was just weird to be getting drunk with the girls she practically raised. "You haven't drank that at all." Queenie pointed out, noticing the still full glass, which made Cordelia roll her eyes.

"We have an early morning." The supreme stated, setting the glass down on the counter in the suite.

"Would it kill you to not be so uptight?" Madison said sarcastically, "I know you get off on being mother hen to us, but we're actual adults now. You have a real kid to parent now, stop trying to parent us. God forbid we actually see you let loose a little, or do you save all that for swamp rat?"

With that, Madison "magically" spilled her drink down the front of her, the girls snickering around her as Cordelia smirked. "Hm, struck a nerve did I?" Madison sneered, "Careful Cordi, you don't want all of us to see you're actually a human being. Might ruin your image."

"I thought being an emotionless bitch was your calling card." Cordelia shot back, making Madison smirk.

"It is, and I don't like to share. You're too soft to be emotionless anyways, I was going more of the stick up the ass perfectionist route." Madison quipped, "Honestly it blows my fucking mind that you haven't collectively lost your shit over the fact that you can't control your mess of a kid. I know it kills you. I do have to say, you're handling it better than my mom did, she just started drinking."

"And you wonder why she never wants to hang out with us." Zoe said pointedly, making Cordelia laugh.

"Oh don't get me wrong, I love Elle. She's a messy bitch and I live for it. I'm just saying she would be a lot more fun if she actually embraced it instead of trying to cover it up. You should have seen her in the greenhouse Cordi, she was incredible. She just locks that shit away so mommy doesn't get mad at her again." Madison said, watching everyone get slightly angry and actually trying to smooth things over for once, "And by mommy, I didn't mean you, genius. I meant every parental figure she's ever had, Fiona included. Kids been through some fucked up shit, I would run from myself too if I was her."

"Speaking of Elle." Zoe began, trying to deter the obviously doomed conversation, "How do you think she would feel if I asked her to be in my wedding?"
Cordelia was shocked at the change in conversation, definitely not expecting that question to be where it led, "She hates dresses."