Little Miss Perfect - Kelly Aldrich

3

The next few days were very slow and slightly painful for Paige. Her and Mary have been very awkward and tense the past few days, talking sometimes but it was still very clear to Paige that Mary was mad at her. Paige wanted Mary to forgive her but she sucked at apologies, they never came out meaningful. She knew she'd need to clean the air before she left for her trip, she was just dreading it. Mary wasn't even there most of the time. During the days when Mary was at work, Paige was watching over Jody. After Mary decided to keep her home for a few days, Jody's cough got slightly worse so Paige had to monitor it better. But nine the less, she still made sure Jody had fun during the day, playing games but making sure she was also doing her homework. She cooked Jody lunch and made sure all her medications were on track. It sometimes feels like a lot to handle, but Paige didn't let the stress get to her head. She enjoyed spending time with Jody, she just didn't like to admit it to others as it made her feel slightly lame. Paige found herself getting very bored though. She had finished her book and convinced Jody to steal her one more but she didn't have her phone. She couldn't see what Allie or Will were texting her and she couldn't check her socials or anything. Paige wasn't glued to her phone like most of the kids in her school were, she was often glued to her books, but she did like to be able to check everything from time to time, especially to make sure she isn't missing anything important or gossipal. So instead, when not attending to Jody, she found herself laying around, mostly on her bed, reflecting on her actions, mainly how she hurt Kelly. Ironically, Kelly has been on her mind a lot over the last few days, maybe just the guilt she felt, but for some reason, she felt like there was more of a reason. She couldn't think of it though, and it began to bug her. I mean, this was Kelly she was talking about. Kelly alright, little Miss Perfect, the girl that gets on Paige's nerves within seconds. Why, why, why, was Paige thinking about her? It caused her to have a headache, so she just rolled over and closed her eyes.

That Sunday, the day before the trip,Paige spent most of her hours that she wasn't attending to Jody on packing. Having the OCD that she does, Paige HD to make sure everything was packed according to when she would need it and based on the day, not to mention the type of clothing it was. Tops and bottoms on one side, undergarments, toiletries and anything else she needed on the other. She made sure to bring an extra set of clothes in case of emergencies and made sure to have extra pads in tampons, just in case the other girls needed some. She wasn't supposed to be on her period this week, but it's better to be prepared than to be caught slipping. She also made sure that she had some books, she stole two cause she figured two would be fine for five days. Especially since they will be doing lots of activities so Paige won't have a lot of down time besides the night. She also packed her notebook in case she felt the need to write and her chargers. Now all she was waiting for was her phone. She knew she'd get it tomorrow before she left but tomorrow couldn't come faster. She felt anxious, watching the time go by minute by minute until Mary would get home that night for dinner. She sat at the table, waiting patiently, until she saw car lights coming close to the house, followed by the car horn as the car locked. She heard a key rustle in the lock before the door swung open, as Mary walked in, holding a bag of groceries. When she saw Paige sitting there in front of her, she stopped hesitantly, as she looked around the room. "Where's Jody?" "In her bedroom. She just wanted to relax for a little. I think she's just watching something on her iPad." "Oh...okay." Paige stood up and walked towards Mary, taking the grocery bag out of her head and placing it down on the counter. "Thanks...." "can I uh, talk to you?" "Sure." Mary replied. She slid out of her coat and took off her shoes before Paige led her to the table. The two sat down as Mary looked at Paige patiently.

"Well..?" "Mary, I'm sorry. I am. I'm terrible at apologizing but this wasn't fair to you. I was a brat and I didn't think about how my actions would affect you. I was selfish and I was wrong. And I'm sorry that I took things out on you. It's not fair. You gave up the amazing life you started in order to give me and Jody a chance at survival. You lost everything you worked for..." "hey! That's not true. I worked for you and Jody, and I havent lost either of you." Mary could see Paige deteriorating as her eyes began to glisten. She grabbed ahold of her little sister's hand, causing Paige to look back up at you. "Paige, I'm sorry that I came at you so strong. I just was so angry because....because your such a great kid. And when you get in fights and mess up, I feel like I'm responsible, like I've failed. But you are not a burden and you are not selfish. You are strong and stand up for yourself. I could never do that when I was in high school." "You're strong too Mary. Look at the life you've built for all of us. Look at how you take care of Jody. You are superwoman. And I don't want you to feel like you've failed to raise us. You are doing an amazing job. And I love you so so much." Paige felt two tears run down her face as Mary put her fingers up to wipe them away. She then felt the warmth of Mary's body as Mary's arms wrapped around her, pulling her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around Mary, as she laid her head in her chest and felt Mary's hand rub her back and head. Before she could say anything, she felt Mary place a kiss on her head before they got up to unpack the groceries.