MY TOXIC TAURUS

CHAPTER 17

Veronica sat in the living room,lights off as she waited for Gia just like her mom would wait up whenever she got late on her nights out raving with her friends.

It was getting late and everyone else was asleep. They had probably gotten used to Gia's timing but she needed to talk to her. Maybe clarify some things between them before she could go to bed.

Gia got home at 10pm and from the look of it she had drunk a bit. At least she was sober enough to drive herself home and she was not angry anymore.
She walked into the house stealthily probably assuming that everyone was asleep. She got startled when she saw the figure in the room the moment she switched on the lights and it took her brain a second or two to process that it was Veronica.

"Jesus Christ!! You scared me."
"Sorry."
"What are you doing up at this time anyway?"
"Waiting for you," Veronica said signalling for Gia to sit beside her, "can we talk please."

Gia sat next to her without a word appearing more calm than she had been earlier that morning.

"I thought about what you said earlier and...you were right. I have been too self centered. I didn't realize my actions hurt you guys and for the longest time I ignored your pain and focused on mine. Like you said, an apology isn't enough so ... I want to try and make it up to you- all of you if you just give me a chance."

"Even Steph?" Gia asked expecting a response contrary to what she got from  Veronica.

"Yes. Even Steph. While you were gone I had sometime to reflect on a lot of things and I guess I was wrong about her."

"You were wrong about so many things trust me. I get that losing mom really affected you and I don't know what went on in your mind then. I know it was hard on you a bit more than it was on us. You were alone at the time and to be honest, I never would have managed if I were in your shoes. But I need you to understand that no one is trying to replace mom, no one can. And dad- you completely misunderstood his intentions.'

"I know that believe me, and i promise I'm going to fix things. I'll speak to dad and Stephanie tomorrow and get everything on the right track. For now I just needed us to be okay."

"We are. You're my sister, you'll always be and no matter what happens or how angry I am at you, we'll always be cool."
Veronica hugged Gia glad that the first step to making things better  went well. It was as a matter of fact a  lot easier than she expected and they made their way upstairs into their rooms.

"Hey," Gia called out in a whisper when Veronica was at her door, "I'm sorry I called you a whinny little bitch earlier. Goodnight."

Veronica smiled and went into her room. It felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulder.
The next morning, she woke up earlier before everyone else and took over the kitchen despite the head chef's efforts to convince her to give them instructions and let them do the work.
She made sure to set the table by 7pm and instead of waiting for everyone to make their way downstairs, she hit a wooden spoon on a metallic tray to get everyone down.

It worked and soon everyone woke up complaining as they went to check on what the noise was all about.

"Good morning everyone. Please make your way down here. Breakfast is served."
"Jesus Ronnie, is this how they teach you to wake people up."
"No Drew but perhaps this is how you should be woken daily. Get your ass down here."

Breakfast for a change that morning was lively and unlike the usual 'dressed up for breakfast ', everyone was in their robes and pajamas.
"May I please have everyone's attention," Veronica said getting up from her seat as everyone at the table turned their heads in her direction.

"God I'm the worst with this but, I believe I owe you all an apology. Especially you Stephanie. I hate being wrong but I have to admit, I was. I'm sorry for being what someone called a whinny little bitch and I'm sorry I created so much tension and drama between us. I'm sorry dad for not exactly being the best daughter and I'm sorry to everyone," she sat back down to have her food and noticed that everyone was still looking at her expecting her to say more than she already had, "that's all ...you can keep eating now."

"You were right, you are the worst when it comes to apologies," Gia said.

"You didn't wrong me but can I get some money instead of an apology," Steve joked.

"Apology accepted Ronnie even though you didn't have to. And I'm certain your father never once thought of you as anything but the best daughter."

"Thanks Steph."

For the first time in several months, Henry felt like things were right, his family was just right. He knew that having Veronica around would change some things. She took after her mom when it came to fixing things, specifically relationships even though theirs had failed.

Everyone was happy. Happier than they had been in a while as family, but even behind her smile, he could see that Veronica had something on her mind. She had the same look the very night she had arrived and he was worried. She was not the kind to share her issues no matter how much it ate her up.  Unless someone pushed her into it and he would. He was going to get whatever the problem was out of her.

After breakfast, he watched as she made her way to the bench to sit and watch the swans like she had the previous day. She was shutting the world out, zoning out and he was going  to find out why.