Loving Ms. Winters

41: Blair's POV

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~Friday Afternoon~

We had packed everything into Alice's car and drove a few hours before arriving at her mother's house. Alice had debated back and forth on getting a hotel but apparently her mom had insisted we stay with her. She had told her mom I was coming but I don't think she mentioned the fact that we're dating yet which had my nerves on end. She promised that we'd leave and find a hotel if things went too badly but I was still extremely anxious for this trip. I was surprised that Alice was letting me come with her since I had never met her family before. I honestly figured I wouldn't meet them until after I graduated but Alice was persistent that she wanted me there. We pulled onto a road with giant houses all painted white with the same aesthetics decorating them. It was a nice community and I could only imagine how much a house around here would cost. Alice had never struck me as the rich type but as we pulled into one of the driveways it was pretty clear her family had money. I knew she didn't speak to her mother much anymore due to everything that happened over the years so it made sense she hadn't mentioned much about her. As we started unpacking the car a woman who looked similar to Alice ran out towards us smiling wide.

"Alice I'm so excited you came!" She yelled pulling Alice into a tight hug

Alice seemed extremely uncomfortable but hugged the woman back for a short moment before moving back.

"You must be Blair, it's so nice to meet you, you can call me Cassidy." She smiled holding her hand out for me

I shook her hand, smiling "It's very nice to meet you as well."

"So how was the drive?" She asked while she helped us grab the few bags we had brought with us

Alice smiled as we walked towards the house "Not too bad, traffic was pretty light."

Once inside Cassidy smiled at us "So Alice has her own room and there's a Guest room so you two don't have to share one. I can show you to yours if you'd like Blair."

"She's actually staying in my room." Alice stated seeming uneasy

Her mom gave her a look "Wouldn't you two be more comfortable with your own rooms."

"She's my girlfriend." Alice stuttered out

Her mom froze looking over both of us "Your girlfriend?"

"Yes we're dating, I'm gay." Alice replies seeming to have regained a fraction of her confidence

Her mother nodded seeming to be thinking it over "Well that's a lot to just drop on your mother all at once."

Alice shrugged slightly, "I didn't want to tell you over the phone."

"Well," her mother started before turning to look me over, judgement clear in her eyes "you had to have known I wouldn't approve of this."

"I had a feeling." Alice mumbled out shaking her head before looking up at Cassidy, her eyes dark "We can just stay at hotel."

Her mom seemed to be debating the situation in her head "You don't have to do that, I'm just saying that I don't particularly agree with your choices."

"Good thing it's my life and not yours then." Alice grumbled before taking my hand and pulling me up the stairs

Her mom didn't follow us so Alice led us straight down the hall and into the second room on the left. It was decorated much girlier than I would've imagined her childhood room. The pink walls were covered in pictures of Alice as a teenager with friends and family. Her furniture was all white and the bedspread matched the walls exactly. I looked over at her old makeup desk and noticed a picture of Alice as a child with a young boy who looked very similar to her.

I walked over and picked up the picture before looking up at her "Is this your brother?"

She nodded and took the picture from me looking down at it "He really was such a great kid when he was younger, he had so many dreams."

She seemed miles away, lost in her thoughts for a few moments before returning the picture to where it was.

"It sounds like you loved him a lot." I said watching her unzip her bag

She nodded "I did but my parents pushed him to become something he didn't want to be and he changed."

"I don't mean to pry, but you don't ever talk about your father." I said as I unzipped my own bag to get changed

She smiled sadly "I was closer with him but my mom pushed him away too. She was always so hard on him and after everything with my brother he just couldn't take it anymore. He moved out and I haven't heard from him since."

"Do you think he'll come to the funeral?" I asked

She shook her head "As much as I want him to I don't think he will."

~2 Hours Later~

We had settled into our seats around the table, me and Alice on one side and Cassidy on the other. She had made fettuccine Alfredo and it smelled absolutely delicious even from upstairs before we had come down.

"So Blair what do you do for work?" Cassidy questioned as she served herself some of the pasta

"I'm an author." I replied with a small nervous smile before taking another bite of the pasta

She didn't seem very happy with that answer "There's not much money in writing from what I know."

Alice let out a laugh and her mom glared over at her until she spoke "Blair is actually one of the most well known authors in the world mom."

Cassidy's face fell slightly as her gaze settled on me "Then why haven't I heard of you before?"

"I wrote under a pseudonym, Aria Bac, I'm sure you've probably heard of me." I stated feeling my anger rising each time Cassidy made a snarky comment

She nodded seeming surprised, "I have but I still don't believe it's you."

I shrugged "You don't have to, I'm revealing my real name with the release of my first adult novel this summer. I'm sure you'll see it on TV or online somewhere."

"No need to be snarky young lady." Cassidy stated glaring over at me

Alice scoffed "Mom are you serious, all you've done since we got here is be rude to her."

"That's not true." Cassidy stated coldly "I made you girls dinner and I'm letting you stay in the same room despite how I feel about all of this."

"Thank you for cooking but to be honest mom, if you had tried to say we couldn't we would've went straight to a hotel. You can't control what I do anymore and I'm not going to sit here and let you be rude to Blair for no good reason." Alice grumbled seeming to grow angrier by the second

Cassidy seemed taken back by Alice's bold statements "Can you at least show me a bit of respect, I'm still your mother for Christ's sake."

"Not unless you show both of us the same respect you want in return." Alice grumbled "I'm going upstairs, Blair would you like to join me?"

"Sure." I mumbled out awkwardly before following her upstairs

I stole a glance at Cassidy as we went and she was glaring me down hard. Well I guess getting Alice's mom to like me was going to be a bit more difficult than anticipated.

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