Unlikely Conditions

Chapter 12

Meadow grabbed a handful of shirts from her duffle bag before placing them in her dresser. She placed them neatly side by side each other in the dresser.

"Aren't you gunna mingle?" Nicole asked as she stood in the doorway to her bedroom. Meadow jolted with surprise, turning round to face her with a slight glare.

"Stop doing that!" She snapped back at her as Nicole then entered her room, approaching her bed to help her unpack. She reached inside pulling out a black shirt. She dangled it in front of her face. It was Keegan's shirt. She raised her eyebrow slightly as she looked it up and down with confusion.

"Where did you get this? This isn't usually your thing." She asked curiously. Meadow spun round, quickly grabbing the shirt from her hands to fold and put away in her dresser.

"I..I thrifted it, I thought I'd be comfortable for bed. If you're gunna nit pick all my clothes like my mom you can leave!" She snapped back at her as she finally finished putting all her clothes away, dragging the empty duffle bag off her bed and placing it down beside her dresser. Nicole rolled her eyes at her as she sat herself on the edge of the bed.

"Not spending time with Dec I see." She commented, Meadow gritted her teeth as she turned to meet her with a glare.

"Why do you care? What's going on in my relationship is my business! If I decide to you anything then that's up to me!" Meadow hissed back at her. Nicole smacked her lips together with a tch as she got to her feet, walking towards the doorway of her bedroom.

"Whatever." She added before she left. Meadow sighed heavily as she took one quick glance around her room before turning her head towards the footsteps heading towards her room. It was Riley. He stood a few inches from her doorway.

"Mom wants you." He announced, Meadow sighed heavily at him as he then approached her, gently wrapping his arms around her gently. He held her close as she buried her face in his shoulder.

"I don't wanna do this.." She mumbled as her eyes began to fill with tears. Riley gently ran his hand up and down her back for comfort.

"I know, I'll be right there the entire time. I haven't been the best brother over the years and I'm sorry for that but I wanna make up for that. I've got you, I promised." He declared as he pulled away to look at her tear filled eyes. He leaned in to softly kiss her forehead with a smile. Meadow quickly wiped the tears from her eyes before following him downstairs to the garden were their mom was standing talking to two reporters. She turned to look over at Meadow, the fake smile plastered across her face.

"Meadow!" She called over, gesturing her towards her. Meadow took a deep breath before approaching her. Her mom gently pulled her beside her with a smile. Meadow looked round at the two reporters surrounding them, glasses of wine filled to the top.

"Is this your daughter?" One of them asked with a smile, quickly glancing Meadow up and down. Meadow hugged herself for comfort as she took a slight step back from them.

"Yes! She studied at one of the top universities in the city! She's working towards a high paying career in law as we speak!" She lied. Meadow was stunned by the lie her mom had just told about her. She stayed silent trying to take it all in.

"Impressive, I see that your determination and smarts have been passed down! You must be so proud Mrs. Ainsley!" One of the reporters cheered before taking a sip of their wine. Her mom gently tapped her shoulder blade which indicated that she wanted her to leave. She didn't need to be told twice as she turned on her heels and walked away back into the kitchen in search of something to drink.

"What are you looking for?" Declan asked as he peaked into the kitchen. Meadow quickly spun round to glare back at him, rolling her eyes slightly as she then continued to search.

"I'm just looking for something to drink, you can go back to avoiding me." She declared as she grabbed a glass from the cupboard as she then poured lemonade into it. Declan froze for a moment before gritting his teeth back at her.

"Avoiding you!? You haven't said a word to me since we arrived! I understand that you don't wanna be here but don't take it out on me!" He snapped back at her, folding his arms firmly across his chest in frustration.  Meadow huffed as she threw back her lemonade, wiping the residue from her lips with the back of her hand.

"I'm not taking anything out on you! You haven't even tried to come see how I am! You know how I feel around these occasions but yet you act like you couldn't care less!" She hissed back at him as she slammed the glass onto the kitchen counter. Declan could feel all his words get stuck in his throat as he tried to figure out what to say back at her.

"You-" He began to say before suddenly being interrupted by Tonya entering the kitchen. She raised an eyebrow at them both as she glanced at Declan for a moment before turning her focus towards Meadow.

"Oh don't mind me, please continue." She commented as she approached the table filled with food and drinks. Declan shook his head in a huff before simply walking back into the garden. Meadow glanced over at Tonya as she turned to face her before leaning back against the kitchen counter with a sigh.

"I-"

"He's not worth your time or energy." Tonya commented as she took a sip of her champagne. Meadow lifted her head to look at her in shock, unsure of how to respond to her. She simply nodded back at her.

"We...just aren't how we used to be. It will pass.." She sighed, rubbing her temple a little as Tonya approached her. She put her body weight on her left hip as she stood in front of her.

"Will it? He's already proven that he's stopped caring about your emotions and mental health. That's a sign that he's completely given up on repairing any part of your relationship together." Tonya commented as Meadow looked at her in complete shock. This was the first real conversation the two had had. She had made a judgement on her too quickly just by the way she looks, mostly due to bullying she experienced in high school.

"We've known each other since senior year, we even survived two separate universities together.." She stammered in response. Tonya took another quick sip of her champagne before placing the glass down on the counter.

"And? That means nothing if the person isn't willing to put in any effort anymore. I know now isn't the best time for you both to discuss it but think about it. Put yourself and your mental health first." Tonya suggested before walking past her to make her way back in to the garden were Riley was waiting for her. Meadow took a quick glance over at Declan sitting by the pond his phone in one hand and a beer bottle in the other. She sighed to herself, turning away and walking back upstairs to her bedroom. She stopped in the doorway for a moment before turning to look at the bathroom facing her bedroom. She quietly made her way inside, closing the door behind her as silently as possible. Everything still seemed to be in place, almost like she never left at all. She stood in front of the sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror that sat above it. She opened it, searching round for a moment before grabbing a small tin box that was hidden behind boxes of tampons and pads. She sat down on the edge of the bath tub. The tin was a gift from Iris after one of trips around the world. It was white and painted whit blue roses. She lifted the lid slowly to glance inside. She sat in silence as she stared blankly at the razor blades and band aids inside the tin. She doesn't do that anymore. Shes in a good place. She's clean.