Mirrors only show the truth, and that can be cruel and unforgiving. Her upper body shows a story of scars that had been gifted to her by her dad and his new family. Her once unblemished skin is forever tattooed by their cruelty. She pales at the thought of her upcoming visit. Not going would bring more problems than going. Being in the public eye means anything they decided to say or share about her could be front cover news. It could be the ammo needed to destroy her career, and ruin Little Mix. She couldn't do that to her friends. Grabbing the T-shirt from the bathroom counter, she slips it over her head and then shrugs in the jacket, the clothing items provide the much needed barrier between her and the reminders on her skin.
She's not sure what's on the TV, after she had left the bathroom she joined Jade on the sofa in the lounge to watch some reality show the shorter woman had been trying to catch up on. It's a comfortable silence, not one full of awkwardness or pauses needing to be filled with random conversation. Sometimes silence is all that's needed, but other times it's a blank canvas for the bad memories and thoughts to take over and destroy. Jade had taken the blonde's hand in hers at some point during the show, Perrie hadn't realised at first, not until there was a gentle squeeze of her hand. Looking down now, she doesn't stop the soft smile on her lips from spreading. What she would give to have this same feeling every day.
The peacefulness is broken by the chime of her phone, altering her to an incoming call. Collecting the device from the coffee table, Perrie walks out the room and into her bedroom when seeing Ryan's name on the caller ID. Her heart rate increases. A call from Ryan usually meant trouble. She swipes her pale finger across the screen and places the mobile phone against her ear.
"Hey." She says, timidly.
Ryan replies, "Did you forget? Mom and dad wanted you here today." She wracks her brain, trying to figure out if she has forgotten or not. "You better get here quick, they're in a bad mood as it is."
"I will-" she doesn't finish, he hangs up not caring for an explanation.
A bad mood? When aren't they in a bad mood when she's around. Even getting older and earning more money than the average person isn't enough to make them turn sweet. She thought by having more money than sense they would change and try to butter her up for a slice of the cash. Instead they became crueler and more controlling. They had decided between them that they are entitled to her money, they deserved it after all the years they put up with her.
Perrie quickly changes into some jeans, a T-shirt and her go to leather jacket than hangs on the back of her bedroom door. She doesn't bother to redo her laces, she shoves her feet into her trainers and and then quickly pulls her hair into a ponytail, double checking her appearance in the mirror on her way out the room.
"Where ya heading out to, Pez?" A voice asks, she turns and spots Jesy carrying the washing basket with a raised eyebrow.
"To see my friend, she's in the area and asked to catch up. I haven't seen her in a while." She explains calmly, even though her chest is thumping.
The older woman smiles, "I need to do the same, it's easy to get swept up in this new fame and forget our roots." Jesy replies. "We are thinking of getting a takeaway later and putting on the movie Leigh keeps talking about. Let us know if you will be back and we can make sure there's enough for you as well."
"Thanks Jes, I will do." Perrie gives her a grateful smile and then heads to the front door. "Let me know if you need anything whilst I'm out. I can stop at the shops." She calls over her shoulder.
"Sure thing, thanks Perrie."
The taxi drive goes faster than usual. Normally she has time to go through her breathing techniques and think of possible things to say to lessen the severity of what is to come. Pulling up outside the modest looking house, she takes as long as she can to mess with her handbag and pull out her purse. The driver lets out a short huff, she apologises and quickly hands over the fare as well as a little extra then clambers out the car. The taxi drives off with little delay, leaving her standing alone outside the house. Looking around, she spots a few people out and about, no one pays her any attention. Walking up the steps, she takes each step a fraction of second slower than the last, but in the end she ends up at their door. Raising her hand now shaking with nerves, she knocks twice and waits.
