Unloved Unclaimed Unbound

Chapter Three - Serenya

The air in my room is stale; some dust clinging to the curtains and some cobwebs in the corners. Band posters of no genre in particular, were scattered throughout the room, photos taped and pinned to the walls as well, all of them of just Kaelith and I. It smelled faintly of laundry detergent, musty books, the lingering ghost of a desperate girl wanting to have her parent’s attention and love. My desk still had notebooks full of notes, calligraphy and doodles. My bed was still unmade from the last time I slept in it. This relic of a time capsule of who I once was.

I looked at the blurry ceiling; I blink and sit up. Water rushes over me and I break through, sitting fully in the tub. Leaning back, I hang my arms over the sides of the cast iron enamel claw foot tub. The one thing I have missed so much other than my brother. I use my left foot and tap the knob for the hot water. Dang it, I was going to tell Kaelith about what I heard Mother and Father talking about before he let me in my room. Hm, that should be hot enough, tapping the hot water off.

“You know they’ll be upset they won’t have hot water later,” Kealith called from in my room behind the closed bathroom door.

I smirked. “I have no idea what you are talking about. I was adding cold water.” I heard him chuckle. “I’ll be out in a second.”

“One.”

“Asshole.”

Kaelith laughed, “You sure you want to wear this?”

“Wear what? I have my clothes in here with me.” Utterly confused.

“Oh dear, yeah, you should defiantly not wear this.”

I unplugged the tub, quickly scrambled out of the tub, dried off & got dressed. I towel dried my hair as I opened the bathroom door. Kaelith was looking at the evening gown on my bed. It was a sequined deep blue ombre to black at the bottom. I glared at it. It was a dress my mother made me get for prom, that I never got to wear because she and father sent me off to another state. It was the last time I had hoped that my mother was actually going to do something for me for once. No, it was just to get my hopes up and then crush them by sending me away. I had slashed the bodice before leaving. This wasn’t on my bed when I had gone to bathe. Dammit, I had forgotten to lock the door. “She did this on purpose.”

“Well, your band tee & your ripped whitewashed jeans are certainly going to make her mad,” Kaelith stated.

“Perfect,” I said, picking up the evening gown and tossing it into the trash bin. “We are eating here or out?” Kealith shrugged. “Great. Either way, I’ll still embarrass them.”

The sound of faint voices drifted upstairs through the closed door. “I guess that answers your question, huh?” Kaelith gave a big sigh of frustration. “Let’s get this over with...”

“Do you know that I am only here for the night?” I ask in a whisper.

Kaelith stops mid-stretch and straightens with a look of confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“I heard…” I began but was interrupted by the door opening. Brandi stood there in a tight fitted green gown, smiling brightly at Kaelith and then began to frown as she got to my room.

“Take a picture. It will last longer, and you won’t be in here,” I sneered.

Brandi’s face pinched, and she directed her response to Kaelith, “You are related to her in some way. It must be a relief to know that she will be gone again soon. I’ll see you downstairs, Kaelith.”

We watched after her before looking at each other. The parental units were not telling him anything about this either, and some lovesick puppy of their parent’s attorney knew more than Kaelith did. “Let’s get this s**t show started.” Kaelith sighed again. “So, tired of this s**t. I’d give anything to have normal parents.”

Same Kae. Same.

As predicted, my parents weren’t thrilled of my choice of attire. I awarded myself an inward smug smile. The Fontenot’s were just as hoity-toity as my parents, if not more, given that Ashton, Brandi’s father, was the lawyer & Kayla, Brandi’s mother, was a stay-at-home mom. My father sat at the head of the table and my mother sat to his right, Kaelith to the left. I sat to Kaelith’s left, Mr. Fontenot sat at the other head of the table, his wife to his left, and Brandi sitting in between her mother and mine. The seat to my left held air.

The “adults” were discussing mundane topics while we ate. While I was tempted to drive my heel into Brandi’s foot for attempting to play footsie with my brother. I’m pretty sure she is well aware that this table is a glass-topped table, just because the chandelier has a glare, does not mean that the glare affects the entire table. I vaguely hear someone pouring wine while I push my bland food around the plate.

“I'd appreciate it, Brandi, if you would kindly and respectfully keep your feet on your side of the table,” Kaelith said flatly. Talking and utensils stop. Brandi's face turned a brilliant shade of embarrassment. Keeping my face straight is quite difficult.

Kayla gave a haughty laugh, “That's my daughter.” I knew Kaelith and I had the same look of shock. Was she really okay with what her daughter was doing? “Just like her mother, she knows what she wants, and she will do what she has to do to obtain it.” Yep, totally okay with it.

“There may have been a moment in time, when what she wanted would have accepted her advances,” Kaelith said, “But she ruined any chances of that today.”

“Hush now,” our mother laughed nervously. “Let's not be hasty with decisions like this. Tonight is about family, friends and unity.”

“Exactly,” Ashton stated, dabbing his mouth with a cotton napkin and clearing his throat. “Glen, I believe you wanted to discuss this very thing tonight.”

“Yes,” Mother said, nodding her head in agreement. Then she looked at me, with a genuine gentle smile. “Tonight is about family. About legacy. To keep the Ashmare name untarnished, we've finally secured Serenya's future.”