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BRONWYN LENNOX never had a good relationship with her mother, nevertheless before the Incident, when they were happy. Fleeting smiles and indifferent words and evanescent affections were only ever shared between them sparsely; rare moments which she often found herself longing for.
Though she never knew what it was, or why it was-- only that they'd never seem to get along. How comical should it be, then, that they'd grown so alike.
Finding herself in her mother's work truck-- the seatbelt seeming more a tether than anything, binding her to the suffocatingly warm seat-- as the airport faded within the distance and silence was naught but a heavy stretch of grief, Bronwyn couldn't help but find the situation ridiculous and entirely out of place.
City lights whizzed by her passenger seat window, bright and slightly disorienting as she leaned her head against the cold material. She felt exhausted and extremely jet-lagged, though sleep refused to find her. Her mother sighed-- it was the only sound for miles, other than the hum of the engine and the screeching of tires. She didn't say anything, and Bronwyn was grateful for such. The early morning silence was a comfort. The presence of her mother was not.
Her fingers twitched and hovered above her iPhone, mindlessly opening and closing the same apps in search for some sense of distraction. Her mind whirled on and on into the hurricane she'd known it to be; therapy, group counseling, her brother, her father, her mother, her old house, her new house-- what would her new house look like? What would her new life look like?
Bronwyn sighed. It all felt like a lifetime ago now, worrying over such things. Kildare island was meant to be a fresh start, a new beginning. Soon enough, she'd start worrying over what posters to decorate her room with, and schoolwork to keep ahead of, and shopping for clothes to acclimate this new weather. Soon enough, she wouldn't have time to think of what was, what could've been. Soon enough, she'd have to face her mother.
Bronwyn Lennox felt nothing but despair as the island rolled into view-- oh, boy.
JJ MAYBANK didn't know his mother-- not as much as he'd like to, anyway. She'd left him when he was young, far too young to remember what her smile might've looked like, to remember the distinct glint in her eyes, or the exact brassy tone of her blonde hair. Far too young to remember the exact cause of her abandonment. And yet not young enough to erase the everlasting memories of his parents' disastrous mariage.
They hated each other. He'd seen it in the storm of resentment in his mother's usually kind eyes, and he'd felt it time and time again in the fists of his father's blistering anger. Fiona hated Luke Maybank, and he-- in a cruel cycle of faith-- couldn't stand the sight of his own son.
He resembled his mother far too much in certain lights. He hated it.
JJ didn't mind the distaste his father seemed to hold for him, at least not anymore. Maybe once-- when all the other kids' father's took them to school while his own could be found passed out and drowned in tremendous quantities of liquor in the early morning hours-- did he feel a deep longing for his father's love.
Though now, all he felt was a numb sea of melancholy that sometimes arose and crashed in great waves when he felt specifically... what?
What does one call complex emotions when having not a parent to teach them such?
JJ found that he couldn't care less. Who the fuck had time for pussy ass feelings, anyway?
He was perfectly content in continuing the legacy his father had instilled for the Maybank name. Smoking, cheating, lying, stealing; these were waters he knew well-- waters in which he was more than pleased to wallow in for the rest of his life.
Until suddenly, in a comical twist of faith even he couldn't explain, he found himself no longer willing.
( RISSA SPEAKS ! )
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2024 - 10 - 04
word count: 675
hello !
this is pretty short lol, but i didn't want to overwhelm both myself and you guys this early into the story (i feel like i already have??). anyway, i hope you enjoyed this brief little thing and have an idea/vibe settled for the rest of the book. please vote, comment, and lmk what you thought of this !
