Unlikely Conditions

Chapter 17

Meadow stared down at her phone screen as she typed out her reply to Heidi, a slight chuckle escaping her lips as she laughed at the meme on her screen. She lifted her head to hear the sound of Nicole's voice downstairs. She shifted, placing her phone on the bed before making her way downstairs to greet her. There was a wave of tension between the two of them as they stood facing each other.

"This way ladies!" Her mom called out with a smile as she led them to the dining room. They sat in the seats that had their name on the plate in front of them. Meadow stared down at the perfectly polished plate and cutlery in front of her.

"Aren't you gunna say anything?" Nicole asked with a slight frown as she turned her head to glance at her. Meadow rolled her eyes for a moment, not turning to look at her.

"So you can make me feel bad bout the Declan situation? Fuck no!" Meadow snapped back as Nicole simply turned her head away with a heavy sigh.

"I just-"

"I don't wanna hear it! I've heard enough from my mom!" Meadow hissed back as she folded her arms across her chest, slumping down in her chair slightly. Her mom came up behind her, lightly smacking the back of her head as Meadow then quickly sat up.

"Sit up properly! You better not embarras us!" She hissed into her ear as Meadow shuddered a little as she walked away to answer the door. Meadow nervously picked at the polish on her nails as the guests slowly began to arrive.

The food was brought out one by one onto the table, all professionally done since her mom hadn't cooked her own meal for these occasions in what seemed like years. Meadow raised an eyebrow at the stuffed red pepper placed in front of her as she looked away quickly from noticing her mom glaring at her out the corner of her eye.

"This looks amazing Erin!" A lady announced with a smile. She was one of many campaign supporters that her mom had invited for this weekend.

"I made sure to only get the best cateria for this occasion!" Her mom declared happily. Meadow's eyes suddenly met with the woman sitting across from her. She swiftly looked back down at her stuffed pepper. The woman then turned her focus back towards her mom.

"Who's this lovely lady your daughter has with her?" She asked as Meadow rolled her eyes at the question, listening to her mom chuckle for a moment.

"That's her friend Nicole! They both attended Saint Peter's all girls academy together!" Her mom declared proudly. Meadow noticed Nicole smiling proudly at them both as Meadow nervously played with the ends of her hair.

"I see, I assumed she was her girlfriend or something for a moment considering I was informed that she was bringing a date." She commented as her mom chuckled loudly at her, waving her hand in the air briefly as she then covered her mouth to compose herself.

"No no! Her date sadly had to cancel. If you ask me this 'gay' thing is a fad. There's no possible way for two women to be together, it's not biology." Her mom chuckled as the woman and Nicole chuckled along with her. Meadow's heart dropped to her stomach as she noticed Riley resting his hand on top of Tonya's for comfort, she could see Tonya hiding her anger behind the glass of red wine in her hand. Her aunt rolled her eyes at the comment, shaking her head in disgust while her dad simply sat in silence as usual.

"Couldn't agree more Erin!" The woman declared with a chuckle as the rest of the food was brought out onto the table.

"So, Meadow did you attend university?" The husband asked as Meadow lifted his head to meet his gaze suddenly unsure of how to answer a simple question.

"Y..Yeah, I-"

"Of course she did! She studied law!" Her mom interrupted with the same lie she told the reporters. Meadow noticed Riley looking away awkwardly as Nicole simply sipped on her glass of wine. Meadow gritted her teeth, narrowing her brows in a frown as she could feel her blood boil.

"Actually my mom is lying, I didn't study law." Meadow declared as she noticed her mom glaring her down, she shook her head at her as Meadow ignored her gestures that meant stop talking.

"Meadow!" Her mom hissed at her. She ignored her as she kept eye contact with the man sitting across the table.

"Oh? I was informed that you studied law, is that incorrect?" He asked. Aunt Iris chuckling silently to herself, enjoying the family drama as usual.

"I studied art actually. Graphic design to be exact." Meadow declared proudly as the couple looked back in shock, ignoring the look on her mom's face from the end of the table. The man suddenly chuckled out loud at her as Meadow gazed back in confusion.

"Why ever would you study something so useless? Your mother is right to tell people that you studied law." He chuckled as Meadow narrowed her brows in a frown, parting her lips ready to snap back at him as her mom suddenly got to her feet.

"A word please Meadow." She announced as Meadow got to her feet and followed her into the study, her mom closing the door behind them for turning her focus towards Meadow with a disapproved girl.

"I warned you! I warned you multiple times about this meal! I told you not to disappoint me! This is a very important campaign meal and you're running everything like you always do!" Her mom yelled at her, Meadow rolled her eyes at her. She took a slight step back as she shook her head at her.

"You ruined it on your own by lying about what I studied in university." Meadow added as her mom gritted her teeth at her comment before inching closer to her.

"If you actually chose the major I told you to study I wouldn't have to lie about it. You decided to make my life difficult as you always do by picking a major that will get you nowhere in life." Her mom hissed back at her as she placed her hand on her hip with a sigh. Meadow could feel the adrenaline running through her body as all the anger she kept locked up suddenly came flooding out in front of her.

"It's a good major! And it's what I wanted to study! Just cause you aren't happy with yourself doesn't give you any right to take it out on me! I didn't even wanna be here and neither did Riley but you feel the need to drag us into everything to save face so you get some stupid votes that mean nothing at the end of the day! Because at the end of the day if your supporters saw who you really are you wouldn't get anywhere!" Meadow yelled back at her. She could feel her body shake from fear as her eyes filled with tears, slowly making her mascara run down her face.

"Everything I did, I did for you and your brother! He's actually made something of his life and got himself a girlfriend he sees a future with! You're wasting your life at a disgusting diner! You even drove Declan away with your shit!" Her mom snapped back at her. Meadow clenched her fists tightly as she could feel her blood boil with every word her mom spoke.

"I have made something of my life! I'm glad Declan left! He was a horrible boyfriend to me and I deserve better! I actually like someone who treats me like a person and doesn't use me like a toy! I like my job, just cause you aren't proud of me doesn't mean everyone else is!" Meadow hissed back at her, wiping the tears from her face. She smudged the running mascara around her eyes, making her look like a panda. Her mom shook her head at her with a sigh.

"I could never be proud of a daughter like you." She sighed in disappointment. Meadow wiped the tears from her face as she tried to compose herself again.

"Because you're not even proud of yourself!" She snapped back at her. She rolled her eyes at her as she reached to open the door.

"Go to your room for the rest of the night. You've ruined everything enough already." Her mom demanded before leaving the study. Meadow suddenly fell to her knees as she hid her face behind her hands, tears streaming down her face.