Holidays In The Hamptons [COMPLETE]

Chapter Eleven

For the first time in recent memory, Marley was grateful for Gabbie's constant chatter. Usually, back home in the city, where the three girls shared one small bedroom, half the size of the current bedroom they were all hanging out in, the mix of Gabbie's never-ending stream of consciousness and Stella's short temper meant disaster, frustration, and causalities.

But as Marley stood at the edge of her bed, staring at the same three outfits she had been staring at for the last half an hour, the presence of her two sisters and their complete ignorance of the war of nerves raging within her abdomen was the only thing keeping Marley from pulling her hair out.

Her warm and sunny disposition waking up after her night-time excursion with Felix died quite quickly under the harsh cold sunlight of the morning. She remembered Mr. Reigns. She remembered her encounter with him at the restaurant only a few days ago. It was one too many encounters, in her opinion, and enough interaction to know that she never wished to see him again.

And yet, here she was. Getting dressed up to walk right into the lion's den.

Marley had been too focused on the dread building in her stomach at the thought of having to have dinner with Mr. Reigns, keeping her from eating anything at breakfast, that it wasn't until Christian arrived that she remembered Winter.

Her two brief encounters, if they could even be called that, with Winter had been far from pleasant and Marley couldn't shake the memory of the girl's piercing glare. And Marley was supposed to be crashing Winter's birthday dinner.

The look of relief and excitement on Felix's face the night before when Marley agreed to go as his date was soon being smothered by a host of fears brought on by reality.

Marley wasn't paying attention to a single word Christian was saying as he passed on the supposedly exciting news that he had found them a New Year's Eve party to attend the next evening. And she still wasn't listening when Gabbie repeated, almost verbatim, the same news while Marley tried to figure out what to wear to dinner.

The look on Felix's face kept popping up enough, trying to push through the mass of apprehension, to keep Marley from calling and backing out.

"- house is owned by some big Hollywood music producer but he's never there. Apparently, his daughter has complete run of the place and a few years ago, held a party out there every night for the summer. Christian says the parties are incredible," Gabbie's excitement finally burst through Marley's fog.

"And she's throwing a New Year's Eve party, just because?" Stella asked, the incredulity thick in her voice.

She would be going as there was an unspoken agreement between the three of them; they weren't to miss out on a single opportunity to experience this life their mother had left behind. They might not get the chance ever again. As much as Marley knew Stella wouldn't have gone on any other occasion, they would all be going. No matter what.

"Apparently! And then, one day during that summer, she just stopped throwing parties. Then she just showed up a year and a half later to throw this huge New Year's Eve bash. No one ever knows when she's going to be back in town so it's always last minute. Isn't that exciting?"

"Not really."

Marley hadn't realized she had spoken out loud, the first time words to leave her mouth in a while until the room went silent and she looked up to find Gabbie rolling her eyes.

"Thank goodness I have Christian. You two are so boring! Come on, when are we ever going to get the chance to ring in the New Year in the Hamptons, of all places? This is gonna be so much fun!"

"Gabs, Marley's got bigger things to deal with right now. Obviously. One major event at a time."

Stella reached out and grabbed Marley's only available hand as the other was in her mouth, her nails getting torn to shreds. Marley squeezed her sister's hand and Stella squeezed back.