HELEN
“Show me a strong woman and I’ll show you the scars on her soul that made her so,” I whispered to myself, peeking through the dark violet blinds of my bedroom window. I stared down at the horde of people, young and old, who now covered the lawn behind the mansion, and out of them all, Dona stuck out like an orange in a field of apples, which wasn’t anything new.
In fact, none of this was new; parties like this were commonplace. However, it was the first time that neither my mother, Cora, nor my grandmother, Evelyn, were the ones organizing it. Dona had everything planned and set up to perfection…and she was radiant as she greeted people as they arrived, dressed in a beautiful, fitted orange cocktail dress, her black hair pulled back into a French braid.
“They even have the kids kissing the ring now,” Darcy snickered, coming over to me with a drink in his brown hand, using his free one to open the curtains further. He was dressed in a burgundy jacket and ripped jeans.
“Dona will have you kissing the grass soon if she sees you only wearing the jacket she sent you,” I snapped, looking him over.
He rolled his eyes. “How do you know she sent me the jacket?”
“Because I’ve seen those jeans enough times to know I hate them passionately. Dad gave you that watch and mom, the shirt…like a year ago.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know clothes have expiration dates on them,” he mocked me before lifting the glass to his lips. However, I took it right out of his hands. “Helen—”
“Go change into the clothes she gave you,” I said seriously.
Annoyed, he glanced over to me, cracking his jaw to the side. “Helen, I’m not a child! However, I am starting to get really fucking annoyed with having to put my life on hold for this family—”
“Your family,” I corrected him, staring directly into his hazel eyes as they glared into mine.
Standing up to his full height, which was much more than a few inches taller than me, he said, “You don’t need to remind me. I know who my family is!”
“Then you should have worn the damn clothes!”
“AH JESUS!” he groaned. “They are just clothes, Helen! If Dona or Ethan or Wyatt tells me to shit in the corner, are you going to walk me to the fucking corner? Are we their family or their slaves!”
Without hesitation, I punched him right in the gut and instinctually he bent over, his hands going to his stomach.
“U—!”
I wrapped my arms around him, hugging tightly. “Darcy, I’m not trying to pick a fight; I’m trying to keep you safe, stop making that harder for me, please.”
He froze for a moment, not really sure what to do. Letting go of him, I backed up and flicked his forehead.
“Ouch! Stop hitting me!” he snapped, backing further out of my hands. “Right now, I need someone to keep me safe from you. Christ, what’s up with you today?”
“Did you hear about what happened while Dona was running Chicago?”
He nodded, still rubbing his stomach. “A little - something about Boston and Ethan getting hurt or something.”
“Dona almost killed Ethan.” It wasn’t lie… It wasn’t the whole truth, either.
Again, he paused, his lips a hard line as he stared at me. “What do you mean? She wouldn’t—”
“Not because she doesn’t want to,” I admitted. “She realized if she killed Ethan she’d start a war and end up killing this whole family. No matter how badly she wants to be in control, she still loves this family…but one day she could stop caring. She’s a ticking time bomb and today is only adding more pressure.”
“What?” he asked, and I nodded back to the scene outside my window. He stepped forward again, moving the curtains aside to see. “She’s the center of attention—”
“Wait for it.” I told him. And we didn’t have to wait long.
Everyone stopped, everyone looked away from her, everyone’s smiles and greetings turned directly to Ethan, who walked out dressed in a fitted grey suit, Ivy on his arm dressed in a beautiful red dress. Both of them looked as if they had walked off the stage at New York Fashion Week: beautiful, strong…and in love, like they hadn’t been through hell. Ivy never let go of Ethan’s arm, even as others came up to them. Ethan even grinned as if the party was for him.
It was. He had won, like always.
“Just like that,” I said softly, my eyes shifting to Donatella, who stood by, smiling as her brother and sister-in-law made their way towards her, even though I could see her doing her best to fight her true feelings. “The ring is no longer on Dona’s hand. She’s just reverted back to sister of Ethan again. Everything she’s done, everything she will do… The credit will always be given to Ethan. She’s knows that, but on the same day she’s reminded of it, do you annoy her further by not listening to her? It’s not just clothes, it’s respect. She asked you to wear something, you wear it because you respect her. Give that to her before she lets her rage out on you.”
He rolled his eyes and nodded without saying a word and turned to leave… He made it a few feet before rushing back and punching me right in the side.
“Ugh…” I bit my teeth together while he just grinned.
“I was just treating you equal to any other guy.” He grinned from ear to ear and when he did, he looked so much like dad.
“You little shite…” I kicked off my heels but stopped when he opened the door, nearly colliding into Wyatt.
“Well, if it isn’t the little shite that cost me ten grand,” Wyatt snapped at Darcy, locking him under his armpit. “You lost to the Wizards? The fucking Wizards? Who takes a three pointer with thirty seconds on the shot clock, and two guards on him?”
“You only bet ten grand on me?” Darcy tried elbowing him to get free. “Since when did you become a such a cheapskate!”
Wyatt let him go, eyeing him down with a deep scowl on his face. “I earned that ten grand on my own—”
“Yeah, yeah… Sure. Fine, Doc, why don’t we go to the courts right now—”
“How about you both get downstairs? We’re late,” I jumped in, and they both looked at me in surprise, as if they had forgotten I’d been standing right there.
Walking over to Wyatt, I gave him a one arm hug, swallowing the lump in my throat and smiling as I said, “Welcome back.”
He hugged back, sighing in relief, “Finally, someone in this family welcomes me back normally; I was about to lose all hope!”
“Shouldn’t have left in the first place. Who has a mid-life crisis in their early twenties?” Darcy muttered as headed back to his room.
Wyatt let go of me, turning to yell, “People who are prone to dying early!”
I tried to make my escape, walking forward without either of them when Wyatt walked over, putting his hands my shoulders.
“Are you gonna be my wing-woman, dear ol’ cousin?” He beamed.
“To what end? Bringing them or keeping them away?” Rolling my eyes, I tried to lift his hands off my shoulder but he kept them on me.
He brought his face close to mine and looked like a child on Christmas morning as he replied, “Both?”
“I’m going to need a whore swatter,” I muttered to myself, pushing him away for real this time and walking on my own.
“Helen, I’m shocked,” he gasped dramatically, “Just because a woman enjoys to get—”
“Not them,” I said, getting on the elevator turning back to him to say, “You.”
He just grinned, getting in the elevator beside me, fixing his tie and standing straighter when the doors closed.
“To the mouth of hell we go,” he whispered, all traces of humor gone from his voice.
He was only at the mouth, and here I was, swimming in the stomach of it.
“You look nice by the way,” he said quickly, before walking out when the doors opened and I couldn’t help but think again, Show me a strong woman and I’ll show you the scars on her soul that made her so.