the moral of the story

chapter twenty-nine: the night everything went to shit

i wish i never went home that night. i wish i stayed out, or found a family who would take me in as one of their own, so wouldn't have ever had to face mine again. or even just escaped into the woods and eventually end up with a pack of wolves. anything would have been better than going home that night.

but i did end up going home that night. i was supposed to meet up with james, but he had to cancel at the last minute. i'll admit i was a little disappointed, i wanted to spend as much time as possible with him before i had to head home. but i understood. he lived a demanding life, i couldn't be selfish with him, as much i may have wanted to.

the stroll home was nice and peaceful. the streets of london could be beautiful, especially if you were actually paying attention. the cracked sidewalk may have seems ugly to some, but to me, it represented a city full of history, and how many people may have walked over it at some point. and the sky. oh the sky. i was one of those people who just adored everything the sky had to offer, but it was especially beautiful in london. maybe it was the thought of inevitability ruling over it that clouded my judgement, but there was nothing more beautiful in that moment.

the wind blew through my brown hair as i watched the people walk past me, laughing and smiling and just enjoying the weather. it was a peaceful seventy degrees, which i personally found to be my favorite temperature. but i crossed my arms right over my chest as a breeze blew quickly onto me. i was only wearing a pair of loose jean shorts and a white cotton tank top. i noticed some people turn to glance at me, but i just figured it was because i was a girl walking alone at dusk.

i turned into my aunt's house, climbing up the steps to her flat and pushing the door open. i heard commotion going on in the other room, but i decided not to see what it was all about. i didn't feel like talking to my family. they always asked about james and how we were doing. and i understood their nagging, really, i did, but it was still a bit much sometimes. i needed some space.

but before i could, verona appeared from the living room. "dad, she's back."

and i knew that tone in her voice. it was the same one she used when i accidentally broke mom's favorite case when i was seven. and verona saw and immediately ratted me out. and i think that was when i knew that something happened.

then dad appeared. right in front of verona, with crossed arms and his face all twisted up and red as a damn tomato. when verona and i were little—when we actually used to get along—we liked to call that his fire truck face. because how red and angry it was. but fire truck face only meant one thing in that moment; i had massively screwed up in some way.

"hey," i said casually, swinging my backpack off and hanging it upon the stair pole. "what's goin' on?"

"why don't you come watch this, florence." dad said, disappearing into the living room where i could faintly hear the tv in the background.

i glanced at verona, who refused to meet my eyes. i furrowed my brows. she usually never missed an opportunity to be smug when i was in trouble. i bit back a remark on how she must've been feeling under the weather or something. she just followed dad into the living room, and i shrugged, treading behind her. whatever it was, it couldn't have been worse than the time that i accidentally broke the tv by throwing a slinky at it. you had to be there.

my mom was in there as well, staring at the tv with wide eyes and clutching the remote close to her chest. i opened my mouth to ask, but dad just shook his head, he and verona found seats next to mom, and i sighed and collapsed onto the love seat. i fixed my gaze on the screen and tuned in.

a woman who was basically the poster child for anchorwoman was on the screen, yapping away in a british accent that four months ago i would've found unbearably annoying. "prince james is considered the most eligible bachelor in the world at just eighteen years old. and for a few months now, he's been courting evangeline king, popular influencer and heiress.