The Wicked of Wicker Woods

The Univited

Check Celeste at the top, get ready for a wild ride disguised as a grandmother!

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"𝙻𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘'𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚒𝚜-𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚐𝚗𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚑."

"Where the hell have you been?" Scott yelled, his voice rising with each word leaving his mouth.

Anna hadn't gotten more than three feet in the front door before his wrath fell upon her. She was still soaked from the rain and the door behind her was wind open, allowing the breeze to cool her further.

"Dad," she started, her voice breaking slightly as she glanced up at him. It was urgent she told him who she had just came home with, before it was too late.

"No, you don't get to speak!" His large finger pointed at her, his free hand rested on his hip as he took a step towards her. Nora pulled at his chest gently. A move that showed she was unsure of how his temper would pan out, but he continued his movement, "What you pulled tonight was bullshit and you sure as hell are going to be punished for it. I gave you in order to stay in this house and what do you do?" His brows raised, waiting for her to answer the question. But Anna knew it was best not to make a sound, "You have your 15-year-old sister lie to our faces and now you're the reason she's grounded for 3 weeks."

"You always did have a short fuse Scott," Anna's grandmother admitted as she appeared in the doorway, taking a step into the house.

"Celeste," Nora whispered, undoubtedly shocked by her presence.

Anna looked at her father and watched his face change. The anger he was portraying was washed away as he stood silently.

Celeste's eyes wandered up to the stairway and along the walls with a smirk playing at her lips. As if she were a vampire who had finally been invited into the home for her next meal.

She was an elegant woman, whose hair was never any color other than a rich blonde. Her clothes were modest but fitted, stylish and true to her age. Anna had always seen her as empowering, being that she ran with more of a male attitude.

For that reason, she never understood how her father could deem Celeste as crazy. She looked like anything but a crazy person.

"You're not welcome here," Scott barked lowly, his tone now much more aggressive as he peered past Anna.

Celeste smiled, a crackling laugh escaped her red lips, "Oh but sweetheart, that's where you're wrong," she took a step forward, her black heels clicking against the wood of the floor as she slowly neared Anna, "Are you forgetting that I own this house? I raised you here, therefore, I'm always welcome."

Anna frowned, along with her mother. Her father had never mentioned the house was his childhood home.

For years Anna was told that her grandma had to be institutionalized for uncontrollable episodes, or 'fits' as her father liked to call them. It was for that reason that she was deemed too unstable to have any and all interaction with Anna and Grace.

But as Anna watched her so-called, mental grandmother, she was finding it hard to rationalize all the things she was told as a child. Yet, at the same time, Scott looked frightened and confused, which was giving her mixed feelings about the encounter.

"Grandma Cece!" Grace's voice pierced the stillness as her feet stomped down the stairs in an excited fashion. It was as if she were a child experiencing Christmas morning for the first time.

Celeste smiled and opened her thin arms to embrace Grace, the first person in the family to truly greet her and make her feel welcome, "My sweet Gracie, we have so much catching up to do!" Turning her attention towards her son, Celeste tilted her head, "Are you going to show me to my room or should I pick one myself?"

Taking a deep breath to control himself, Scott crossed his arms, "Anna, please show your grandmother to her room. Grace, it's time for you to get in bed, you're grounded, remember?"

Grace huffed and ran back upstairs, while Celeste started her way towards the guest bedroom on the main floor. Anna exhaled, relieved that the attention was off of her for the night as she followed her grandmother.

But as she brushed past her father, she felt his grip on her arm, holding her in place, "We'll be continuing our conversation later. You're not free and clear yet," he warned as his eyes peered down at her. She nodded slowly in compliance and continued her travels to the main floor bedroom.

She also was not done with the conversation, having loads of questions ready for why he worked to hard to keep Celeste out of their lives, but so quickly let her back in.

After the night she had, the last thing she wanted to do was attempt to rekindle a relationship that wasn't hardly there.

And what would Isaac think of what he encountered?

Grabbing fresh towels from the linen closet, Anna entered her Celeste's room and slowly walked the folded fabric to her bedside. It was late and it seemed that everyone in the house was owed some much-needed sleep, so Anna opted to leave the room before Celeste could catch her in a conversation she wanted no part of

She had to admit, although her timing was perfect tonight, it was also terrible. Anna knew that somehow the chaos in her personal life and at school would only get worse after the encounter she had with Isaac and Celeste didn't help with her abrupt freakish appearance.

Especially given what Emmett had said at the party, they all thought she might be going crazy. This was an idea Anna herself, was also afraid of.

"That boy you were talking to tonight, is he a friend of yours?" Celeste asked as she poured some hand cream onto her palms, gently massaging them together. She stood in front of the vanity mirror, playing with the crow's feet under her eyes as Anna set the towels on her bed, "If so, I'd consider some sort of the change in the relationship by the way he was putting his paws on you."

Isaac wasn't actually a friend, nor was he anything else and she wanted to make that known, but there was no way she wanted to feed into Celeste's 100 question game. And frankly, it was none of her business anyway. Walking away without a word, Anna strolled towards the closed bedroom door, in hopes to escape without a follow-up question.

"I've missed this side of the woods," her grandmother's voice broke through the thick air. Anna reached for the door, her hand gently wrapping around the knob in preparation to leave, "I think I might stick around for a while."

Stopping, the cold metal of the handle reminded her to shut the door quietly as she turned to face Celeste, who was seated on the edge of the Victorian bed. Her face fell in an amused smirk, like a young child playing an immature game.

Anna felt her gut sink, knowing that if her grandmother stayed, the higher the probability of everyone in the town comparing their mental health. Anna hadn't yet revealed the things she had been experiencing but she did make herself look like a crazy person as she accused her best friend of lying about her past.

Isaac made that very clear. 

Celeste's dark brown eyes squinted, wiping away the humor as fast as it came, "I know you don't want anything to do with me. You've made that perfectly clear and I'm not upset with you for it. You're mature enough to make your own opinions about people and that includes me. But we need to get one thing straight, your father despises me because of the stigma I've placed around him," she admitted, her diamond-studded fingers crossing over her lap ready to bring more into the conversation.

"And because you're crazy," Anna blurted, cutting her off and surprisingly, not meaning for the words to come out as harshly as they did.

Celeste scoffed, looking humored by the blatant insult, "I know it's easier for you to believe the things people tell you. In a town like this, it's scary how quickly one can become so blind to what's happening around them," and her face dropped, "But my dear Anna, I knew you needed me. I heard you calling and now I'm here to help."

Anna frowned, not because she was tired of the conversation with a woman she hadn't spoken to in years, but because she did need help.