𝗥𝗘𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗘𝗦, 𝙅𝙊𝙃𝙉 𝘽 ¹.

𝙫𝙞𝙞. 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣

( 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙎𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙉 . )
▬▬▬∘◦ ☆ ◦∘▬▬▬

APPROXIMATELY TWENTY MINUTES after dropping a grand on John's bail, Jaylene found herself sat in her parked car with her eyes focused on the home sat in front of her where the Harrington's resided. The red home stood out the most compared to any other house on that particular street. The roof was slightly damaged from the hurricane, the grass was freshly cut, the porch leading towards the front door was lined up with sunflowers. It looked exactly like the picture.

As she gripped onto the steering wheel with her gaze settled on the house in front of her, all she could hear was John's voice taunting her. Deep down she knew he was right. She knew that she had no business involving them in her lavish life. There was a reason why they hadn't tried to reach out to her and her brother after all these years. For all she knew, they probably hated her guts and never wished to see her.

But being the stubborn girl she was, she pushed the obvious facts to the side before stepping out of her car and heading towards the front door, hesitantly reaching her arm towards the doorbell, growing anxious when she heard the sound erupt through the home.

Before she could even get the chance to turn to walk away, the door was pulled open and in front of her stood Florence Harrington. It took her a few seconds to recognize the girl stood in front of her, but when she did, she gasped in awe.

"Well I'll be damned." Her hand hovered over her mouth, unable to believe the sight of the girl stood in front of her. "It's about time your old man finally let you cross that invisible barrier separating us."

Jaylene couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle, awkwardly smiling in the process. "Actually, my dad has no idea that I'm here. He thinks that I'm off shopping."

Florence pursed her lips into a thin line, disapproving of the girls actions, but nonetheless, she stepped aside, welcoming her granddaughter into the cozy home. "Why don't you come in. I'll make you something to eat to get some meat on those bones of yours." She spoke with a smile.

Without a second thought, the brunette entered the home, waiting a few seconds until Florence led her towards the kitchen. On the way there, her eyes lit up with glee at the sight of numerous pictures that were lined up on the cream-colored walls. Most of them were family pictures which consisted of six family members. She wasn't aware that her mother had siblings until now. "Is it just you here? I thought you were married."

"Mark owns a bait shop near the dock heading towards figure eight. He spends most of the day there all seven days of the week." The older woman explained, heading into the kitchen with Jaylene close behind. "We paid the house off a while ago, but there's still bills we need to pay for the utilities."

"I'm really sorry for coming here without a notice. I understand how uncomfortable you must be right now." Jaylene leaned her body on the countertop, sending the brunette an apologetic smile. "You probably can't even stand the sight of me after all the horrible events that occurred with my moms death—"