Holidays In The Hamptons [COMPLETE]

Chapter Thirteen

The sound of Marley's solo footsteps walking down the long driveway with no one chasing after her followed her into her dreams. The chill from the Reigns house permeated the walls of Thea's. Marley tossed and turned as echoes bounced off her subconscious, things said right to her face the night before manifested as nightmares.

She kept the blankets pulled tight around her as her shoulders curved inwards, her core shaking in the imaginary chill that had sunk into her bones.

Her heart hurt. Her head was filled with images alternating between the grand splendor of the last week and her homey little apartment back in the city.

Suddenly she couldn't sleep without Gabbie's light snores coming from the other side of the room, without Stella's steady breathing to harmonize with her own. Suddenly her room for the week felt three sizes too big, the ceilings too tall, the walls too bare.

She missed the sound of her father typing on his keyboard late into the night just beyond her bedroom door, the soft reminders from her mother for him to get some sleep. The guilty thought of their little blue spruce Christmas tree standing, waiting for them, in the window of their living room, keeping watch under they returned, kept her from sleep.

It was only once the winter sun started to peek through the blinds that Marley's body finally gave in and let her sleep.
Marley stirred when Gabbie's quick footsteps passed her door at a rate too high for so early in the morning. She stirred once again as Stella's familiar slow tread passed by but didn't awaken for either of them. It was only when Gabbie's persistent banging on Marley's door jerked her awake that Marley became aware that the night had finally faded away.

A thought of staying in bed all day kept Marley in place. But then the thought of her sisters coming to investigate, asking questions about the night before quickly poked holes in that idea. Even at the party that night (an unpleasant thought that soon rushed to the forefront of her mind to join the host of other unpleasant thoughts that had already taken up residence), she couldn't avoid it, not without disappointing Christian and igniting the curiosity of her sisters. Things needed to seem normal, just fine, if she was going to make it through the day.

Marley had no choice but to finally get out of bed when Gabbie's banging came once more, followed by the cry of "The stylists are here!" Marley gave one long look at her suitcase in the corner of her room and finally pulled herself out of bed.

The excitement of the stylists return offered enough of a distraction that the dark circles under Marley's eyes were not commented on, merely covered up. Gabbie chatted enough for the three of them, Stella offering in her own comments here and there when she felt like it, that Marley's silence was not noticed.

Except by Thea, who reigned over the scene with a hawk-like eye. She moved between the three stations, whispering one thing here to these hair stylists, another to that make-up artist.

She held Marley's gaze in the mirror Marley was seated in front of but Marley was the first to look away, her fingernails suddenly requiring her attention.

She had expected to find herself, once more, dressed up like a doll, trying desperately to find something in the standing mirror in front of her that resembled herself. Instead, she found...

Herself.

Or at least, a version of herself.
Was this what she would have looked like if she had grown up in this world, Felix's world, Thea's world?

She was wearing a ball gown because why not? There were shorter options, more comfortable options but it was time to go big. She was ready to go home.

The black was accented with gold embroidery and the skirt shimmered when Marley moved. Thea appeared at her shoulder and nodded approvingly.

A warning of ten minutes was given until the cars were to arrive and Stella and Gabbie were in the kitchen leaning over the counter, trying to eat something without getting it on their dresses. Marley excused herself and left the stylists to clean up. With her matching heels in hand, Marley raced upstairs.