I love how Bebe's Internet name is "Notinsane." It made me laugh. 
I was hoping that someone would catch that.
Chapter 5 – FalloutI'm okay.
I'm a total emotional wreck, but I'm okay. Yesterday was quite possibly the worst day of my life, and yet in some ways...perhaps it was one of the best.
Buckle up, this is going to be a long story.
Things have been a bit troublesome in the Alto household of late. Father found my weblog last week and flew into an insane rage. He deleted everything and grounded me for the next two weeks, stating that “Blatant disrespect will not be tolerated in this house!”
The grounding I could handle. I mean, it's nothing they haven't done to me before (though having to miss prom hurt...a lot). I think Ethan took it worse than I did.
But yesterday...mother and father hit a new low.
See, election season is gearing up and mother is in the running for Mayor. At first she was a complete shoo-in for the position, but recently her opponent (a really sweet lady by the name of Tori Kimura) has been catching up in the polls. Well, two days ago Miss Kimura managed to pick up the all-important endorsement of Nancy Landgraab, which gave her a serious popularity boost and shrank mother's lead to a mere two percent among likely voters.
Naturally mother was hacked. Seriously hacked. She hates Nancy anyway and this only added fuel to the flames. And of course, with the way her twisted mind works, retaliation was inevitable. Usually her vengeance involves some sort of bad publicity (she pretty much owns the newspaper) and a bit of name calling, but this time it was far more sinister.
It involved Nancy's son Malcolm and a planned “accident” with his bicycle.
I could stand idly by while mother and father engage in slander, but this? I had to do something. Early yesterday morning I snuck into my parents' study and snatched mother's address book. It took me a while to piece together her bizarre handwriting but pretty soon I had found what I was searching for. I hastily wrote down Nancy's phone number, replaced the address book, and quickly made my way back to my room.
“Hello, Landgraab residence.”
“Mrs. Landgraab, it's Holly Alto. Listen...Malcolm's in trouble.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“I overheard mother and father talking. They're planning to sabotage his bicycle.”
“Good gracious child, why on Earth would they do that?”
“To keep you from the rally tomorrow at Central Park! I guess they figure if something happens to Malcolm then you won't be there to support Miss Kimura, and...”
“Geoffrey, go check Malcolm's bicycle.” I heard her call to her husband. “Holly, are you sure? Is it possible that Vita could stoop that low?”
“Believe me, it's possible...”
I heard footsteps rapidly approaching and immediately started to panic. They had heard me. Oh Maker, they had heard me...
The door to my bedroom flew open, and before I knew what was happening my cell phone was wrenched out of my hand. I watched in horror as father dropped the phone onto the floor and crushed it with his foot, his eyes aflame with pure unbridled anger. Beside him stood my mother, looking equally angry but with an unsettling calm about her.
“You ungrateful little wretch,” she started. “First your slanderous portrayal of us on your website, now you consort with my enemies. How DARE you attempt to undermine my authority.”
“Your enemies? Malcolm Landgraab is your enemy? He is an innocent child!”
Mother narrowed her eyes. “How much did you hear?”
“Enough.” I felt tears coming to my eyes. “Enough for me to realize that you are an absolute monster.”
Father slapped me.
“You will NOT speak to your mother that way, young lady.”
I continued. “You will stop at nothing in your quest for wealth and power. If this is the sort of life that you want to live...I...I want no part of it!”
Now mother was absolutely irate.
“You want no part of it? Very well then, this will be the last day that you ever spend in this house.
Get out.”
“You're kicking me out?”
“Are you as hard of hearing as you are foolish? You have one hour to pack your things and leave. And don't even
think about taking the laptop or anything else that isn't your own personal clothing, since that was all paid for with something that “you want no part of”. Go live with one of your goody-two-shoes friends or that blonde brat you call a boyfriend. IF they are crazy enough to take you in.”
An hour later I was on the curb, my school backpack and a small suitcase in tow, with nowhere to go. A taxi rolled up beside me and I mindlessly got in.
“Where to, young miss?”
“Just...just take me to the park, I guess.”
I was numb.
I sat at the fountain for I don't know how long trying to collect my thoughts. Graduation was a little more than a month away, and I would probably be able to find a job afterward without much of an issue. But then, it would still be a long time before I was able to afford a place to live. Where would I stay? River's house wasn't an option. Aside from the fact that it the spare room was already taken her mother hates my parents and therefore doesn't much like me (this, sadly, is not terribly uncommon). Mr. Hart scares the living bejeepers out of me, so staying with Bebe probably wasn't in the cards either. Nancy and Geoffrey might take me in out of pity, but the scandal that would erupt from that would cause a media frenzy, and the last thing that I need is for my parents to add me to their list of enemies.
There was always Ethan...but I couldn't do that to his family. Not with the home already crowded and a baby on the way.
Where was I going to go?
I felt a drop on my head, then another, and pretty soon it was pouring rain. Wonderful.
Slowly I trudged my way up Maywood Avenue toward the one place that I had always felt welcome, always felt safe. It was already getting dark. At the very least maybe I could stay there for the night.
Oddly enough the rain stopped just as I was approaching Ethan's house. I took it as a sign. Maybe...just maybe, there was hope. Hope was all that I had as I stepped up and rang the doorbell.
Mrs. Bunch answered the door with a smile on her face. A smile that faded, I noticed, when she looked me over.
“Holly? Good grief, you're soaked!”
“C...can I come in?”
“Of course, dear! What in the world happened? Ethan's been worried sick about you!”
I just burst into tears.
A little bit later I was sitting on the sofa, pouring my heart out to Ethan and his mother. I told them everything, from my overhearing my parents' plans for Malcolm to mother throwing me out of the house. The whole time Ethan had me in his arms, holding me tightly as if afraid to let go. I didn't want him to.
“Well, to me there can be only one answer," Mrs. Bunch replied. "You're staying here.”
I was a little surprised to hear that.
“I couldn't impose like that. Not with a new baby coming.”
“Bah, don't you worry about that. We have a bed in the baby's room, and the little one won't be using it for quite a while. Besides, you're practically family anyway, as much as you're over here. I'd never be able to forgive myself if I knew that my son's future bride was out on the street somewhere.”
I felt Ethan tense. “Mom...”
His mother laughed.
“I'll talk it over with Jack when he gets home from the air show, but you know he likes you too, so I doubt it'll be much of an issue.”
He was all for the idea, as it turned out, and the rest of them didn't seem to mind either. Darlene was actually ecstatic (“Yay! A big sister who will actually play with me!”) though Lisa seemed more grudging. And Ethan...
Well...let's just say that he has hardly let me out of his sight since.
Despite everything that has happened I feel oddly peaceful. My conscience is clear and Malcolm didn't come to any harm (at least I think he's ok—I didn't see anything on the news at least).
It's time to start over. It's time to embrace who I really am versus who my parents are. It's time for me to be the real Holly Alto.
(Author's Note: Wow. That was a rough one to write.
Thank you all again for your support. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it! It's been such a long time since I have done any writing.)
