Hindsight

Odious

About a hundred metres away down the corner, through her big and dark rimmed sunglasses, she spotted a familiar face sitting by the steps on Voight's porch, smoking a cigarette. With that big fluffy faux fur coat, skirt and dirty blonde hair, she will never forget that awful combination of outfit no matter how much she tried.

"Ugh! You've gotta be kidding me!" she cursed at herself for actually leaving the house today. She knew she should've listened to her gut and just crawl into a hole. Reluctantly, she still listened to her brain and strutted a few blocks away to the grocery store.

Clutching onto the keys in her hand and the bags of groceries on either arms, she stopped on her tracks. Contemplating on whether turning back around was a better idea. She've had enough drama in her life to deal with for a lifetime.

Just as she was about to make a 180 degrees turn, the familiar voice called out. "Dandelion!"

Feeling like she've just been punched in the stomach, she was yet again taken back to those long days and endless nights in that haunted mansion. Remembering how in her desperate state, she had hallucinated about her deadbeat mother.

"What's with the sunglasses, baby girl?" her mother wondered, arms around hers in an awkward embrace. The brown paper bags created a riff between them.

Having no recollection whatsoever of how she'd made to the front door, she was glad that her shades had successfully mask her confusion.
"Nothing." she pushed pass her mother and unlocked the door. Gesturing for her mother to step into the warm house.

"I knew that boyfriend of yours was too good to be true!" Bunny shook her head. Never did she liked that Jay fellow. He was too nice, too sweet and too loving. Something out of a fairytale. In all fairness, she had to admit that she was a little jealous of her daughter. While she was still finding her true love, her own daughter had already found hers.

"So what?...Did he slap you around? Shoved you a little so that's why you're wearing those pathetic sunglasses! You look ridiculous, Erin."

"Says the woman who dresses like a cheap prostitute half the time." Erin mumbled under her breath as she stuffed groceries into the refrigerator in the kitchen. Letting her mother ramble on in the hopes that she'll eventually drop it. But she didn't.

"Is that why you're staying here, huh? With the beast."

She knew she looked insane to be wearing sunglasses in the middle of winter in Chicago. Being afraid of seeing sheer pity when one gawks at her, she'd rather people think she's crazy. Not even knowing the whole story, people will automatically jump to conclusions. Just like Bunny.

"To answer your first question..." she walked out of the kitchen to see Bunny making herself comfortable on Voight's couch and resting her feet on the coffee table.
"No. Jay would never hurt me like that. Unlike the men you end up with, Jay is a good man. For a matter of fact, he's amazing. And he loves me." she rubbed it on Bunny's face.
Her mother snickered, rolling her eyes as Erin slapped her feet away from the table before taking a seat on the other end of the sofa.
"And to your second question, it's none of your business!"

"Whatever floats your boat, dandelion."

"Stop calling me that! And how'd you even know I was here?" she wondered.
"Oh right. I stopped by at your place, some neighbour said you haven't been there in weeks. So I went to your work, lucky the beast didn't saw me. Anyway, yeah, I bumped into that Mexican hottie. The one that works with you. He said you'd be here."
Erin looked at her in shock. Blinking a few times to comprehend her mother's choice of words in describing Antonio.

"Whatever. Come on then. What do you want from me now? I know you didn't just come here to give me relationship advice." she asked coldly. Busying herself by neatly rearranging the magazines on the coffee table that Bunny had messed up.