sister sister // heathers au

ten

Heather said she teaches people real life. She said "Real life sucks losers dry. You wanna fuck with the eagles, you have to learn to fly."
- Veronica Sawyer, 1988

An incessant pounding on the door roused Emily, who got up from the sofa to see who was knocking. She pulled open the door to see her mother, distraught.

"Mom?" Emily groggily asked. She was sure she was dreaming. How did she find them?

"Get your stuff together. I'm bringing you and your sister home." Veronica replied and it clicked - Chloe called.

"But," Emily began.

"No buts, young lady." Veronica told her. Jesse came out of his room at the noise as Emily retreated to hers. "Jesse." Veronica greeted her son.

"Why are you here?" He asked. No hugs and kisses, no love for the woman who reared him.

"Your sister smells like liquor." Veronica said, ignoring the question.

"Yeah, she's been drinking." Jesse snickered. He found his mother's worry amusing.

"That's strange. I didn't realize she was twenty one. I could have sworn she was sixteen." Veronica remarked. "I also could have sworn that you weren't twenty one either."

"Don't be like that, Ma. Everyone drinks." He grinned at her. "So, where's the drug dealer?" He added. He was trying to rile her up. She didn't give him the satisfaction.

As she was about to dart to a different topic, she began to hear arguing from the guest room. She walked to the room and knocked on the door before opening it. Jesse was following her to see what was happening.

"You called Mom!" Emily shouted as the door opened.

"I wanted to go home!" Chloe yelled back. She was crying as Emily stood over her.

"Emily, get away from your sister!" Veronica said, getting between her daughters. As she looked into Emily's blue eyes, she could only tell that her daughter was seeing red. Veronica could sense Chloe's small frame, still curled up in a ball behind her. "What is the matter with you!?" Veronica asked.

"You know what." Emily seethed.

"Oh, but little Coco doesn't." Jesse contributed with a sneer, using Chloe's childhood nickname. "Poor thing, she doesn't even know that Mommy and Daddy are drug dealers." He added.

"We are not!" Veronica shouted at her son. There was the sounds of Jesse and Emily's laughter, stacking on the noise of Chloe's crying. Veronica pressed her fingertips to her temples and took a deep breath. She wished JD was here, he was always better at helping with the bullying their older children did to their youngest. "It's all a huge misunderstanding. But I'm taking you two home." She continued, putting all of Chloe's stuff into her bag.

"I don't want to go with you." Emily said.

"You don't have a choice. I'm your mother. And as your mother, I am telling you to pack your stuff and get it into the car so we can sort this mess out." Veronica told her, helping Chloe take her stuff to the car.

Emily plopped onto the air mattress. "God, she's such a bitch!"

"Maybe. But you're also drunk." Jesse replied.

"Chloe had to go and ruin everything for us. We were fine here." Emily said. Jesse shrugged his shoulders, he knew what had happened to Chloe.

"Just go home. There'll probably be a hearing. We can get you out of there then." He told his sister.

"Are you coming?" She asked.

"Fuck no. I lived nineteen years with her. You couldn't pay me enough money to see that shit go down." He answered.

Veronica came back into the room by the time Emily had gotten her stuff together.

"What about my car?" Emily asked.

"I can't trust you to drive it so it's going to stay here until I can get it." Veronica answered.

"That's not fucking fair!" Emily shouted.

"Please don't yell at me. You're drunk, Emily. Just get in the car." Veronica told her. She noticed all the people on the street staring at her and her daughter. It made her skin itch.

Emily got in the car. The three women drove back to Sherwood. The second Veronica arrived home, she called JD.

"I have the girls." She told him.