Red

Chapter Fifteen

Chandler POV:

By the time I knock on Mac's door, the tears have finally stopped. I still look like an absolute wreck, but at least I'm not crying anymore. Mac opens the door, and as soon as she sees me, she appears concerned. "I'm so sorry, Chandler," she says. "I'll help you get your stuff put away in the guest house." 

She gets the key from a hook by the door and reaches out to take my school bag, gesturing for me to follow her. I do, quietly walking down the driveway behind her. The guest house (the one I'm staying in) is just off to the right of the house, and there's another to the left. Her dad really is loaded. Once we get to the door, she puts the key in the lock, unlocking it and opening the door for me. I walk inside, and she follow behind.

"Your room is over here," she says, walking off to the left, but I'm stopped by the sheer size of this house. There's a kitchen and a living room just beyond that with a T.V., a couch, and a comfortable-looking chair. There's even a table between the two where I eat and do schoolwork. 

"This place is fucking huge," I breathe.

"Dad really had his guests in mind when he had this place built," Mac replies with a bright smile. "I'm glad you like it."

I follow her to my room, and when I walk in, I can't believe what I'm seeing. The sheet set is all red, and there's a shag rug in front of the bed that's red, too. There's a red cloth clothes hamper by the closet, and there's even a red towel set folded neatly on the bed. 

"I personalized it," she tells me, seeming to notice my shock. "Do you like it?"

"Mac, I don't just like it," I say. "I fucking love this. Thank you."

She smiles a shy smile, setting my backpack down near the wooden desk pushed against the far right wall. "I know there's a kitchen here, but Mom says you can eat with us anytime you'd like. The fridge is pretty much always stocked and so is the pantry, so there's food here if you'd rather be alone. Other than that, everything else really speaks for itself." 

We stand in silence for a few moments. I know she's going to ask the question I'd dreading to hear, the one I really don't want to answer, and I brace myself. She went through all of this trouble to let me stay here. The least I can do is tell her what happened to bring me here.

"How, um..." she begins, voice quiet. "How'd it go? What happened, I mean?"

"Mom didn't take it well," I tell her. "She was already drunk when I got there, and when I told her, she... she hit me. She screamed at me to get out, and I already had my shit packed, so I just left."

"She hit you?" Mac asks, a look of concern mixed with horror on her face. 

"Yeah, she did," I say. "She was drunk, and she didn't really know what she was doing. I probably should've waited for her to be sober before I said anything, but she's hardly ever fucking sober." I'm finding ways to blame myself for this. Maybe I should have waited until my dad got home. Maybe the timing was all wrong. Mac pulls me out of it.

"Whether she was sober or not, she shouldn't have hit you," Mac replies, a sad look on her face. "That isn't okay."

It goes quiet again. I don't know what to say to her. That my mom used to be okay? That she used to love me? That the woman who threw me out isn't my mom? It's the alcohol, and it always has been.

"I still remember the first night she got drunk," I say finally. "I was still a kid. I think I was ten, eleven at the most. It was right after she got home from her first trimester examination. She was excited before she left. I was, too. After the first trimester, you're supposed to be fine. The baby is supposed to be healthy, y'know? Mom's baby died, though. When I came home, she'd already downed an entire bottle of Grey Goose. I tried to help, and I tried to comfort her, but she was so angry at everything, even me. She's been taking her anger out on me ever since. She used to be good, Mac. She just went through hell and hasn't come back from it."

"I'm so sorry, Chandler," Mac replies quietly. I'm shocked when she wraps her arms around me. I really don't enjoy hugs on a typical basis (or ever, really), but right now it feels normal. I hug her back, albeit awkwardly. When she pulls away again, I smile at her.

"Thank you, Sunshine," I say. Before I can say anything else, I hear my phone ringing in my bag. I kneel down to pick it up, accepting the call. "Hello?" 

"How'd it go? Has it happened yet?" Veronica's voice asks from the other end of the line.

"It was fine," I lie. "I'm at Mac's house. She's helping me move into the guest house."

"Then it didn't go fine," Veronica replies, concern and sadness lacing her words. "I'm sorry."

"That's okay," I tell her. "Don't worry about it. We're still going to the Grove tonight, right?"

"Absolutely," she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice. "And I'm still paying."

"Fine," I say, fighting a smile. Though I'll probably pay anyway (she really doesn't know what I'm capable of), it's sweet that she wants to. 

"I could pick you up at six," she suggests. "Is that okay?"

"Six is fine," I reply.

"Alright. I'll see you in a few hours then!" She sounds excited. How precious.

"Okay," I say. "Love you."

"Love you, too," she replies, and I can tell that she's smiling considerably more than she was before. 

I hang up the phone, dropping it into the pocket of my blazer. Mac looks at me with a smile on her face. 

"What?" I ask.

"You guys say 'I love you'," she replies with a giggle. "That's so cute!"

I laugh. "I've got a date to get ready for," I tell her. 

She gives me another smile, walking out of the room. I hear the front door close, and I sigh, sitting on the bed. I lay back, letting myself relax. I may not have my parents, but I have my friends. I have Veronica. I love Veronica.

***

A/N:

I promise the next chapter will include Veronica's POV, but Chandler's been going through a lot, hence why the past few chapters have been in her POV. I was going to post this last night, but I fell asleep. Sorry about that! Vote and comment if you feel so inclined, and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Thanks for reading.

-LittleMissBlitz