Serenity Falls

Chapter 21

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It was Friday evening and darkness had fallen over the Taylor’s mansion and grounds. The fountain outside the main entrance to the house was lit up, transforming the stream of water into a million crystals. The gardeners had been busy at work that day, and that shrubbery was looking neater than ever, shown off by the light from the built in spotlights that lined the path.

Inside, the house was quiet. As per usual, Mr Taylor was not home, but this time Tiffani was also away. The two of them had still not returned from their trip to Hawaii, and their return date had not been specified. The only people inside were Alyssa and a couple of the housekeeping staff who had not yet returned home, along with almost permanent residents Kayla and Courtney.

The night air was cold and the wind was picking up, blowing the net curtains that hung over the doors to Alyssa’s bedroom balcony. Inside the room, Alyssa was sat cross legged on the king size bed with a box of tissues at her feet.

"You know what? We need to do something fun," Courtney said.

"Yeah! Let’s go to Taco Bell!" Kayla suggested enthusiastically.

Alyssa glared at her before aiming the tissue box at her head. Kayla didn’t duck quickly enough and it hit her, startling her slightly. "We are not going there. Have you seen how fat I am?" A small tear rolled down her cheek, before she broke into another round of sobs. "That’s probably why he dumped me. No one wants to be with a fat bitch."

"That is sooo not true, babe," Kayla said. "You are totally skinny! Half the girls at Serenity Falls would kill for your figure. Right, Courtney?"

"Oh yeah," she agreed quickly. "Anyway, you can find someone way better than Carter."

"We were perfect for each other," Alyssa went on, ignoring the girls’ admiring comments. "Why did that slut Olivia have to ruin it all? I wasn’t serious about Aaron – Carter should’ve known it was a stupid, drunk mistake. Well… that and the other time. But still! She’s ruined it all!"

"You’ll find someone else," Courtney said, trying to sound sympathetic, but Alyssa glared at her through tears.

"I don’t want anyone else!" she shouted, clasping a tissue to her face and falling back onto the bed. She was sobbing again, tears streaming down her face and gently falling onto the bed covers. "It was supposed to be me and Carter."

Kayla and Courtney had never seen Alyssa like this before. She’d been with Carter for over a year now, and the two of them had been inseparable for all of that time. Well, apart from a couple of months ago when Courtney started to get interested…

"What if he’s got someone else?" Alyssa sat up suddenly, a look of pure fury and jealousy upon her face. "What if he’s had someone else all along?"

Courtney froze. There was no way she’d be able to find out, she told herself. The only person who knew aside from her was Carter, and he wasn’t dumb enough to spread that around. Unless someone had seen them? The thought of Alyssa finding out made her feel nauseous. If she was chucked out of the A-list crowd, she’d be freefalling to the bottom of the social ladder faster than anyone had before. Her life would be ruined.

"He must have found someone else! I mean, why else would he dump me?" Alyssa was now in full power mode, racking her brains for possible suspects.

"He might have just… needed a break," Courtney suggested, but it was half-heartedly. She was no longer able to relax when Alyssa was getting closer and closer to the truth with every second that passed.

"I bet it’s that slut from his Chemistry class. What’s her name? Brianne, or something? She was always throwing herself at him, the little skank. And she wasn’t even hot," she scoffed, as an image of Brianne’s fiery red hair and freckly skin entered her head.  "I mean, has she ever heard of a spray tan?"

"Carter would never cheat on you, babe," Kayla assured her. "And he would definitely not hook up with Brianne. That’s just… so gross."

Suddenly, somewhere downstairs, there came the sound of a door slamming and someone walking inside the house, heels tapping on the marble flooring. There was a pause before the familiar sickly sweet voice rang through the halls, calling, "I’m home!"

Alyssa sat up, rolling her eyes. "And just when I thought my life couldn’t get any worse…" She threw the tissue she was using across the room towards the bin and kicked the box of tissues underneath her bed. There was no way she was going to let Tiffani take the piss out of her. There was no freaking way she was going to let her have one over on her in their constant battle.

Still, she should’ve known, it wasn’t going to be that easy.

"I’m back!" Tiffani screeched, popping her head round Alyssa’s bedroom door without bothering to knock. "And more tanned than ever!" She stepped inside, lifting her huge diamond studded sunglasses from over her eyes to the top of her head and carrying a handbag with a tiny Chihuahua puppy inside.

Her skin was looking even more orange than before and she had so much make up plastered on her face it was a wonder how she held her head up. And when she flashed a smile it was obvious she’d been for another whitening.

"You bought a freaking dog?" Alyssa raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, do you like it? Say hi, Princess," she looked down at the puppy, who looked petrified inside the huge designer handbag. "She’s already peed on like ten bags, but whatever. Totally cute accessory, right?"

"Whatever," Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Isn’t Dad back?"

"Uh… does it look like he is?" Tiffani scoffed. "I don’t blame him for wanting to stay away from annoying little sluts like you."

"Is that why he dropped you back home?" Alyssa answered, a perfect imitation of Tiffani’s fake smile plastered on her face. The likeness was almost uncanny.

"Wow, you’re so funny," Tiffani said, sarcastically. She reached into her bag and pulled out her brand new state of the art iPhone and started tapping on it rapidly, probably texting one of her snobby friends about nothing in particular. "It’s no wonder your Dad wants to spend so much time with you."

Alyssa wasn’t in the mood to respond with a witty comeback. "Just get out and leave us alone, okay?"

"Whatever, missy. Don’t get all stroppy with me, spoilt little brat," she looked up from her phone and suddenly noticed Alyssa’s puffy eyes and lack of make-up. "Anyway, what’s wrong with you? Oh wait, did your douche bag boyfriend realise what a slut you are and break up with you? Now there’s a shock." She smiled to herself as she turned and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Now there’s a shock," Alyssa mocked in a high pitched voice, pelting the tissue box at the door which Tiffani had just exited out of. "God, I hate her. I wish Dad would just hurry up and get shot of her. That’ll be the best decision he ever made."

"That tan is so not real," Courtney added, referring to Tiffani’s orange-tinged skin, raising her eyebrows at Alyssa. "Seriously, who does she think she’s kidding?"

"The sooner she’s gone, the better," Alyssa said sighing. "But that’s gotta be soon. There’s only so much Tiffani one person can take."

"Agreed," Courtney said.

"Now all we gotta do is figure out how we’re going to take that skank Olivia down," Alyssa smiled maliciously. "I’ve got a feeling I’m going to enjoy this."