Little Miss Perfect ✔~ trixya

Chapter 28: A Place Called Home

Trixie

"What's gotten into you?!" My dad yells at my mom.

Dad spent the night out with one of his many one night stands and when he returned home, mom just completely boiled over. Suddenly, all the built up anger and frustration came out, the shattered pieces of her broken heart flying towards him like arrows. 

"Don't you dare turn this around on me! You are the one who ruined this marriage. I was the perfect wife for you and all you ever did was run around town with any girl you could get in bed." Mom responds, a fire glowing in her that I have never seen before.

"You fucking ungrateful bitch!" My dad yells as he slaps her, making me gasp. Mom's eyes glow red as she stands tall against him.

"Get out of this house. Right now. And don't you dare come anywhere near Trixie's graduation. The moment she graduates, I'm leaving with her. I'll mail you the divorce papers." She says bravely.

"This is my house!"

"No, it's not. It was bought with my fortune before we were married so it's mine, and I'm kicking you out." She replies. 

Dad grabs is coat, shoes, and wallet in anger as he storms out the door. Mom breathes out deeply and sits down on the couch. I sit down beside her soon after.

"Are you okay?" I ask her.

"I'm fine, I actually expected worse. Of course, he'll likely be back, but I'm hoping for us to be gone before he does. You said Katya's family wanted to help, do you think they'd let us stay with them until your graduation on Thursday? I don't like to ask for charity, but I think it's our safest choice, knowing how angry your father will be once he returns." She says.

"I think they would let us stay. Are you actually serious about leaving tho? Going to Boston with me?" I ask her. 

I got into Harvard so I will be moving there, but I know that leaving is difficult for her. Mom grew up in this town, this is all she knows.

These white picket fences, this large house, this small town, this is her world. Her life is walking around in her garden, picking apples and baking pies, taking care of flowers and growing herbs. She was the perfect housewife, the perfect daughter, and had the seemingly perfect life, until now.

"Of course I am. Darling, I have wasted enough years of my life, and I won't waste more. I also refuse to watch you waste away in this town. And truthfully, I've never felt truly at home here. I remember your dad and I went on a cruise once for one of his business trips. As we were heading home, a ship traveling in the opposite direction passed us. I remember thinking that they were sailing away and we were sailing home, until I realised that I had no idea were home truly was. This place is a house, it's not a home. It hasn't been anything close to a home for years. It's just like Nora says in Ibsen's play, you know; our home has never been anything but a playroom, I've been his doll-wife, just as I used to be my father's doll-child. And then you, Trixie, you were my doll. I used to think it was fun when he came in and played with me, just as you thought it fun when I went to play games with you. That's all our marriage was..." Mom tells me.

"Yeah, that does sound familiar... I don't really know if I've ever felt home here either. Well, I guess when I was really young, but everything became about keeping our secrets and achieving more than everyone else. I constantly ranked myself, compared myself to everyone else, felt awful if I wasn't the best..."

"I promise, Trixie. I will take you somewhere where you feel safe to be who you are. Somewhere that you can feel welcome no matter if you're the top of the class or not. Soon I'll give you a true home, not this dollhouse that we've been living in. And I promise to show you that I love you unconditionally. I promise to do better." She says, hugging me close to her. 

"I love you mom, so much. Thank you for standing by me." I whisper. 

"Of course, my darling. You don't have to thank me, that was the least I could do." She replies. 

In that moment I feel the change coming. Soon we will be free from this godforsaken town, and Katya will be in my arms again. No more hiding, no more lies, soon it will just be me and her. We will be together when all is said and done.