Someone Like Hugh -Draft Complete And EDITING-

Chapter One:

Amelia's POV:

The sun was just barely rising. I scurried around the kitchen trying to ensure that everything was in the proper place.

My mother never liked it when things were out of place, and she was always quick to inform me of that. I turned on the radio. After tuning into my favorite channel, I carried the plate warmers into the dining room.

My family was all going to be staying at the manor to celebrate Thanksgiving later this week. Cousins, uncles, aunts, everyone. It was always an interesting time when they all congregated, but I enjoyed it in it's own odd way.

My mother personally never had a big family. It was always her and her mother until she met my biological father. The day I was born, my mother had gone into labor early because I was choking myself with the umbilical cord. She called my father and he left work to rush to the hospital. On the way he was hit by a drunk driver and killed on impact.

A part of my mother always blamed me for his death. About five years later she met my step father. He was a wonderful man who treated me well. After she married him we moved here, to his manor. Together they had a wonderful set of triplets, all three boys.

It quickly became my responsibility to raise them and care for them while my step father worked. Over the years my mother began to change, she grew irritable and angry. She began to lash out alot.

I stepped up and took the brunt of the abuse so my brothers would never know that pain. After a few years of torment, we found out that at the age of 46 my mother had early onset Dementia, as well as a few other conditions that affected her memory, anger, and impulse control.

I quickly became her personal punching bag, waiting for the day that I would be able to move my brothers into a new home with me.

Any time my mother would have an outburst, the others would sympathize and show their support, but never in front of my mother. Even my step father was petrified of the things she may do if he spoke out.

So I took it all on myself, suffering in solitude. I did my best to hide most of the abuse from them, but it didn't always work.

I set the place settings, and brought the last of the food into the dining room. I signed softly. As I heard the footsteps of my relatives approaching, I rushed back to the kitchen.

I took a deep breath and cleaned everything I could, making sure to look busy. I didn't want to get singled out or yelled at.

Before long my family had come down and finished breakfast. I quickly cleared the table. I packed up the leftovers and began washing the dishes.

The music stopped for a moment and the radio host came on. "Hello everybody, it's your host Jeffrey Morgan and you're listening to 101.9 Rock FM. In local news, many of you are familiar with famous actor Hugh Hunt. Today he will be bound in holy matrimony to the beautiful Joanna Jones in our very own Main Street Chapel. This one is for the happy couple!" Then the next song started.

Just as I finished the dishes my mother entered the room. "Breakfast was satisfactory. Do better with dinner," she spoke. "Today we are hosting a special meal with the family, your cousins, aunts, and uncles will be here. You'll need to go into town and buy the things necessary. You will prepare the food, but for appearances you must join us at the table for dinner."

"Yes mother," I replied. She reached out and grabbed onto my shoulder where my already aching wound from last night rested.

"Do not forget that I see and hear everything. And do not forget what will happen if you disappoint me," she added gripping tighter. I refused to.give her a reaction, inhaling through the pain. She glared down at me.before hitting the spot, knowing full well it would be hidden by my gown tonight.

When she still didn't get a reaction, she turned and left. I sighed softly to myself. I saw how she was with my siblings and for the most part things were okay, until her dementia acted up and she mistook them for me.

I reached into my apron pocket and grabbed the three pills I had there. I quickly swallowed them without water.