Chapter Nine:shopping
1436 Words
Two weeks.
Two weeks of silence. Two weeks of existing in the same house like ghosts passing through walls.
Katherine had perfected the art of avoidance. She knew Damien's schedule now—when he left for meetings, when he used the gym, when he locked himself in the study. She knew Elijah was out most nights and slept until noon. She knew Sebastian haunted the library between 2 and 4 AM because she'd made the mistake of going down for water once and found him there, reading in the dark like a vampire.
She didn't make that mistake again.
Meals were the worst. Forks scraping plates. Ice clinking in glasses. No words. Richard at the head, oblivious or indifferent—she couldn't tell which.
Katherine ate fast and left faster.
The brothers didn't acknowledge her. Not a glance. Not a word. The kiss with Elijah might as well have been a fever dream. The cabin might as well have never happened.
She told herself she preferred it this way.
She was lying.
The morning Linda knocked on her door, Katherine assumed it was bad news.
"Get dressed." Linda was already in full makeup, hair done, wearing one of those effortlessly expensive outfits she'd acquired since moving in. "We're going shopping."
Katherine blinked. "What?"
"Shopping. You start school in two days. You need things."
"I have things."
"You have clothes from your old life. You're an Ashford now. You need to look like one."
Katherine wanted to argue. Wanted to say she wasn't an Ashford and never would be.
But Linda was already walking away.
"Be ready in twenty minutes."
The drive into the city was quiet at first.
Katherine stared out the window, watching the estate disappear, the trees thin out, the buildings grow taller. She hadn't left the property since the cabin. Hadn't wanted to. The outside world felt dangerous now in a way it hadn't before.
"You've been quiet lately." Linda's voice broke through. "More than usual."
"I wonder why."
Linda sighed. "Katherine. I know things have been... difficult. But you could make more of an effort. With the boys. With Richard."
"The boys left me in the woods to die."
"That's dramatic."
"Is it?"
Linda didn't answer. Just kept driving.
Katherine turned back to the window.
The mall was the kind of place Katherine had only seen in movies back home.
Stores with names she recognized from magazines but had never stepped inside. Everything gleamed.
Linda moved through it like she belonged. Maybe she did now.
"We'll start with clothes," Linda said. "Then shoes. Then makeup. Then we'll get lunch."
"Okay."
Linda glanced at her. "You could at least pretend to be excited."
Katherine shrugged. But something in her chest loosened slightly. Shopping. Normal. Something she used to do with Jenna on weekends, thrifting for hours, trying on ridiculous outfits, taking selfies in fitting rooms.
This wasn't the same.
The first store was overwhelming.
Racks of clothes she couldn't pronounce the designers of. Price tags that made her eyes water.
But Linda was in her element. Pulling dresses, holding up tops, shaking her head at things Katherine reached for.
"Not that color. It washes you out."
"This is cute but the cut is wrong for your hips."
"Try this. Trust me."
Katherine tried it. A silk blouse in deep green. It fit like it was made for her.
"See?" Linda smiled. Actually smiled. "I know what I'm doing."
For a moment, Katherine let herself smile back.
Two hours later, they had bags. Lots of bags.
Linda paid for everything without blinking. Richard's money. But still.
"Makeup next," Linda said. "I saw your collection. It's tragic."
"It's functional."
"Same thing in your case."
Katherine rolled her eyes. But she followed.
The makeup store was Katherine's weakness.
She'd never admit it out loud. It didn't fit with the image—basketball player, tough girl, didn't-need-anyone Katherine. But she'd spent hours on YouTube learning to contour. Had strong opinions about mascara formulas. Knew the difference between a buildable coverage and a full coverage foundation.
Author note: she isn’t a pick me ,I swear.
Linda didn't know this.
So when Katherine started moving through the store ,swatching lipsticks, examining eyeshadow palettes, asking the associate about undertones—Linda stopped.
"You know what you're doing."
"A little."
"Since when?"
Katherine shrugged. "I like makeup. Is that a crime?"
Linda studied her. Something in her expression shifted. Softer.
"Your grandmother was the same way. My mother. She could spend hours at a vanity. Drove everyone crazy."
Katherine didn't know anything about her grandmother. Linda never talked about her family. Never talked about the past at all.
"What happened to her?"
Linda's face closed off. "She died. Long time ago."
"How?"
"Katherine. We're shopping. Not doing therapy." She picked up a lipstick. "This color would look good on you."
Subject closed.
But Katherine filed it away. Another piece of the puzzle she didn't have.
They got lunch at a restaurant with white tablecloths and waiters who called them "madam."
Linda ordered wine. Katherine got sparkling water with lemon.
For a while, they just ate. Salads with ingredients Katherine couldn't identify. Bread that melted on her tongue.
"I know I'm not perfect," Linda said suddenly.
Katherine looked up.
"As a mother. I know I'm not..." She waved her hand. "What you needed. What you deserved, maybe."
Katherine didn't know what to say.
"I did my best. After your father—" Linda stopped. Took a sip of wine. "I did what I had to do to survive. To keep us alive. Maybe that made me hard. Maybe that made me selfish. But everything I did was for us."
"Was it?"
"Yes." Linda met her eyes. "I know you don't believe that. But it's true."
Katherine wanted to argue. Wanted to throw every cold moment, every dismissal, every time Linda chose appearances over her daughter's feelings.
But Linda looked tired. Older than Katherine had noticed before.
"Okay," Katherine said. "Okay, Mom."
Linda nodded. Went back to her salad.
It wasn't forgiveness. It wasn't understanding either .
After lunch, they walked.
The outdoor shopping area had little boutiques, cafes, benches under trees. Katherine carried most of the bags. Linda window-shopped, pointing out things she wanted to come back for.
It was nice. Normal. The closest to a real mother-daughter day Katherine could remember having in years.
She let herself relax.
They were passing a cafe when Linda stopped.
Not slowed. Stopped. Dead.
Katherine almost walked into her.
"Mom?"
Linda wasn't moving. Wasn't breathing, it looked like. Her face had gone white. Actually white. Like she'd seen a ghost.
"Mom. What's wrong?"
Linda's eyes were fixed on something across the street. Katherine turned to look.
Just people. Shoppers. A man walking into a*****e. A couple with a stroller. Nothing unusual. Nothing that should make her mother look like she was about to faint.
"Mom?"
"We need to go." Linda's voice was wrong. Tight. "Now."
"What? Why? We just—"
"NOW, Katherine."
Linda grabbed her arm. Hard. Started walking fast toward where they'd parked. Almost running.
Katherine stumbled after her, bags banging against her legs.
"Mom, you're scaring me. What's going on? What did you see?"
"Nothing."
"That wasn't nothing. You look like you saw—"
"I SAID NOTHING."
Linda's voice cracked.
Katherine shut up.
They reached the car. Linda fumbled with the keys. Dropped them. Picked them up. Her hands were shaking.
Katherine had never seen her mother scared before. Angry, yes. Cold, yes. Disappointed, constantly. But scared?
Never.
They got in the car. Linda started the engine. Pulled out of the parking spot too fast, nearly hitting a pedestrian.
"Mom. Slow down."
Linda didn't slow down.
"MOM."
"Put your seatbelt on."
Katherine put her seatbelt on.
They drove in silence. Linda's knuckles white on the steering wheel. Her jaw clenched so tight Katherine could see the muscle jumping.
"Who was that?"
Nothing.
"Mom. Who did you see?"
"No one."
"You're lying."
"I'm not discussing this with you."
"You're shaking. You nearly ran over someone. You—"
"ENOUGH." Linda's voice broke. "I said enough. Drop it."
Katherine stared at her mother's profile. The fear. The way her eyes kept flicking to the rearview mirror.
Like she was checking if someone was following them.
Silence.
Katherine watched the road blur past. Her mind was racing.
They got back to the mansion as the sun was setting.
Linda went straight to her room. Didn't say goodbye. Didn't say anything. Just disappeared up the stairs, bags abandoned in the foyer.
Katherine stood there. Alone. Surrounded by shopping bags full of expensive things .
- Writer
