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 Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2011 7:32 pm
Home
”We’ve now touched down in Salina, Kansas. The weather is seventy degrees and sunny. Thank you for flying Southwest Airlines.” The sound of the voice coming over the intercom system on the airplane woke Victoria up with a start. She looked around, a hand raking through her firey locks. Where was she? Looking out the plane’s window and seeing the familiar landscape of her home state the events of the last few days came rushing back to her. For a moment her breath stuck in her throat, but then she relaxed exhaling slowly. Audrey had been stable when she left, she would still be fine. She couldn’t dwell on that now.
Standing up she stepped into the aisle, reaching up to try and pull her carry on from the overhead compartment. Even in her heels she was having trouble reaching, but lucky enough for her a taller passenger was thoughtful enough to reach up and pull the shoulder bag out of the compartment handing it to her. While she would usually brush off such an act of kindness she wasn’t feeling all that normal at the moment. Looking back at them she smiled, ”Thank you,” She got a you’re welcome in return and then she started to disembark the plane.
It didn’t take her long to maneuver through the small airport, and luckily for her she didn’t need to stop at the baggage claim. She had managed to fit a few days worth of clothes into her carry on. Even if she hadn’t she knew that her old wardrobe was still at the house. She doubted that her parents had used her room for anything since she moved out.
When she got out of the airport she closed her eyes with a sigh, letting the sun beat down on her face. After a minute or two of just standing there she shook herself awake. She needed to start working her way towards home, which meant finding a cab or renting a car. Her wallet was pulled out of her purse, checking her funds. Both means of transportation would be expensive, home was seventy miles away after all. For a moment she thought about stealing a car as Petalite, but no. She had left Destiny City to get away from everything for a couple days and that included the Negaverse. She’d just dip farther into her savings and rent a car.
Stepping up to the rental car counter it didn’t take her long to rent a small, but nice two door sedan. She had thought about springing for a convertible sports car, but it wasn’t worth the money. Taking the keys her heels clicked against the ground as she headed out to her rented car. She’d be home soon, then she’d be surrounded by her family and everything would be okay.
An hour and a half later she pulled up the gravel driveway stopping in front of her parent’s large farm house. A deep breath was taken before the car was shut off and Vicky stepped up, staring up at the house she had grown up in. It seemed like years had gone by since she last saw it, when in reality it had been less than one.
Smoothing her skirts out, she hitched her bag over her shoulder bracing herself. There were butterflies in her stomach which bothered her, she shouldn’t be nervous about seeing her parents. Shaking out the nerves she strode up to the door, opening it easily. Courtland was such a small city nobody locked their doors. ”Mom? Dad?” She called out for them, looking around the house. It looked exactly as she had remembered.
”Victoria?!” Her mother’s voice drifted from the kitchen and soon enough she followed, her face lighting up as she saw her daughter. ”What are you doing here?”
The moment Vicky had seen her mother she had dropped her bag running to her and wrapping her arms around her waist hugging her tight. ”Oh, Mama.” She sobbed into the front of her Mother’s shirt, and in a rush everything that had happened to her over the last year, except for her activities in the Negaverse. Telling her mother was the release she had needed, and by the time she was done she was limp in the older woman’s arms, emotionally exhausted but finally feeling at peace. She was home.
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Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2011 10:45 pm
Roundtrip
Vicky spent a whole glorious week at home, sleeping in her old bed, and eating a giant homemade breakfast every morning after milking the cows. It was surprising how easily she slipped back into the farm life. A part of her had missed it. It was nice not having to worry about energy quotas, and running around after senshi. She missed Audrey of course, and to her surprise she missed Blake nearly as much as she did her cousin. She had gotten a phone call from him a couple days after she arrived in Courtland, the redhead had almost let the call go to voice mail but picked it up at the last second. They hadn’t talked for very long, just long enough to let him know she wasn’t dead and why she left, but it had been nice to hear his voice.
Thinking of Blake made her smile and she looked out the window of the airplane she was sitting in, first class of course, only this time she was on her parent’s dime. The week she spent in Courtland had refreshed her both mentally and physically. She felt more like she could handle everything that was going, she could handle her cousin being in the hospital and not knowing if she was ever going to wake up. Those thoughts began to chase away her good mood and she quickly pushed them away, she didn’t want to be sad now. Her phone was pulled from her purse and a pair of earphones plugged in. She pressed the buds into her ears then settled against the seat, excited to be going back to Destiny City.
She had dozed off and the bumping of the plane as it touched down woke her up easily. Vicky looked around her baby blues staring out the window at the skyline of Destiny City. Even though she had ran away from it, she missed this place.
Sliding out between the seats she got her carry on balancing it on one shoulder, her purse slung over the other. This airport was much busier than the one in Salinas and she was getting a headache just trying to get to the parking garage where she had left her car. She’d have to pay that fee too, her trip had cost her almost all of her savings but it had been worth it. Seeing her Mom and Dad, and most her siblings…that was priceless.
Finally she broke free of the crowds, managing to get to the parking garage. It took her a while to find her car, but eventually she did placing a hand on its hood. It was surprising how happy she was to even see her car. Tossing her carry on in the backseat she slid into the driver’s seat sliding her hands over the wheel.
An hour later she was pulling into her own driveway, the sight of her run down cottage making her grin. She still hadn’t finished painting it and the roof needed to be replaced, but it was hers and she was so proud of the work she had done. Digging into her purse she pulled her cell phone out dialing Blake’s number. Lifting the phone to her ear she smiled as he picked up. ”Baby, I’m home.”
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Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2011 11:15 pm
Worry
Two days after Victoria got home from Courtland she managed to build up enough courage to go and see Audrey in the hospital. She was dreading seeing her all hooked up to the machinery, asleep, unresponsive was the word the doctor used. It was the last thing in the world she wanted to see but she had too. She would hate herself if she wasn’t there when her cousin woke up, or didn’t see her before she did. The redhead was tempted to call up Blake and convince him to go with her, at least she could use him as a rock while she stared at her hospital bound cousin. But no, she would do this on her own, she had too.
The drive to the hospital this time took twice as long as it had when she found out Audrey had first been admitted. Probably because Vicky was driving half as fast, she wasn’t looking forwards to seeing Audrey in the hospital. Her fingers tapped against the steering wheel nervously. Audrey was going to be okay, in a week or two she’d be awake and recovering, and she’d be able to tell her what happened. Vicky had no intention of letting whoever did this get off scot free.
Reaching the hospital she pulled into a parking spot, turning her car off but not stepping out of it just yet. She took a deep breath attempting to center herself. She was strong, she was Victoria ******** Collins, she could do this. Snagging her purse she exited the car, hitching the bag over one shoulder. The car door was shut with a decisive snap and she click-clacked her way up to the hospital. Who wore four inch heels to the hospital? Vicky Collins, that’s who.
Going up to the front desk she got Audrey’s room number and directions to it, stepping onto the elevator, her nerves fluttering up again. No, no Audrey was going to be okay. She kept repeating the words over and over again as the elevator rose. With a ding the doors slid open and she stepped out, looking right then left, before going right.
It didn’t take her long to find Audrey’s room, and she paused with her door on the handle, taking one more deep calming breath. This was it. Pushing down on the handle she opened the door stepping inside.
The reality of what she saw was worse than what she had imagined. There were monitors everywhere and tubes, and Audrey’s face was covered in a bandage. ”Oh, Audrey…” Her voice was soft, and pulling her blue eyes away from her cousin she searched the room spotting Elzo Xanis asleep in a chair. She wasn’t surprised to see him there, she assumed he’d been by her side the entire time.
As quietly as she could she moved to Audrey’s beside, careful not to wake Elzo up. She pulled one of the empty chairs up, sitting down in it. For a long moment she just stared at the bluenette, and then she reached out, very carefully slipping one hand under hers, the other resting on top of it. She could almost imagine that the younger girl was squeezing her hand, but she knew that it was all in her head. If Audrey was waking up she was sure machines would be going off and doctors would be running in.
For a long time she just sat at Audrey’s bedside, not saying a word just holding her hand. There was nothing more she could do but wait and hope.
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 2:58 pm
Proposal
Victoria Collins was planning to propose. Not marriage, she wasn't quite that insane. No, she was planning on asking her...Blake to move in with her. They still didn't have titles of any sort, well beyond the redhead calling him her boytoy. If pressed she'd admit maybe that was partly her fault, she hadn't pressed the issue or done anything about it. Unless that time she had a bit of a breakdown on New Year's Eve counted, and Vicky didn't like to think about that night (no matter how amazingly it had ended), so to her it didn't count. But this, this would be progress, it would be a big step. Sure she would have preferred for Blake to ask her out first, but she wasn't going to wait forever- it had already been a year. And moving in together made sense, it wasn't like he wasn't over at her place all the time as it was.
So, that was how Vicky found herself at Victoria's Secret alone, usually she'd drag Blake along to tease him mercilessly, but she wanted to surprise him. If new lingerie didn't smooth the path towards cohabitation, she didn't know what would. Maybe food, but she wasn't an amazing cook.
Slim fingers twisted her orange locks as she stood in front of a rack of teddies. After a moment of consideration she shook her head. No, teddies weren't quite right for the occasion, too sexy. She didn't want him to be completely distracted. Turning away form the rack she weaved her way through the store to find the babydolls. Much better. Sexy, but classy.
It didn't take her too long to settle on the perfect choice. It was white, and while the cups were opaque the rest, including the bottoms was transparent. It even had a bow. Happy with her decision she purchased the garment and left already thinking about the rest of her plan.
Truth be told, it really wasn't much of a plan, more of an impromptu slapped together an idea. She wasn't even sure if it was a good idea, but something needed to happen, and doing something logically like communicating would just be too easy. She had a feeling Blake wouldn't talk about it anyways, he'd most likely try and deflect with sex which always worked, because it was Blake and he was just that good.
Her footsteps came to a sudden stop and the redhead sighed, a hand lifting to rub her forehead, the thought she had been trying to avoid invading her mind. Audrey would know what to do, or at least, she'd come up with something, some kind of advice or a real plan. If nothing else her cousin would listen to her rant and tell her it was all going to be okay. Vicky let out a shaky breath before she steeled herself. Audrey was gone, falling apart over it, again, wasn't going to help. This would have to be something she did on her own.
Life sucked.
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:50 pm
Rage
If there was one thing Victoria hated more than anything it was being kept waiting. It was rude, inconsiderate, and most importantly a waste of her time. So, when Blake never showed up for their planned date to watch the Victoria's Secret fashion show she was pissed, and not just because he had killed any chance of her enjoying the show. The night hadn't been about the fashion show, not really. It had been about them, she had been planning on asking him to move in with her. She had bought new lingerie, brought home an expensive dinner from some restaurant, and generally made herself look even more gorgeous than she usually did. All that preparation wasted, and for what? She didn't even know because he hadn't bothered to call.
At first she had been worried, pacing her living room in her brand new babydoll thinking of all the horrible things that could have happened. He could have gotten in an accident, he could be lying in a ditch somewhere dying. And then all the normal worries were joined by the ones unique to their situation. What if he had been powered up and the senshi got him? As much as she cared about him (she refused to even think the L word) he could be cocky and stupid and it wasn't much of a stretch to think he took on someone stronger than him.
After an hour her bottom lip was beginning to chap from her gnawing on it while she worried and that worry was quickly changing into something else. Victoria Collins was getting angry. If he had been in an accident she would have gotten a phone call by now, she was his emergency contact (even if she had to sneak the card into his wallet). If something terrible had happened there would have been news, which meant that he was just blowing her off. She was being stood up. She'd ever only been stood up once, and unsurprisingly that had also been by Blake, but that had been a year ago. She thought they were past that, but apparently not.
When one am finally rolled around the redhead had given up hope of Blake showing up with some explanation to where he was all night. The TV was clicked off, and she looked at the table with a frown. All the food she had laid out was ice cold, the place settings never touched. Lacking the energy to deal with it, the whole thing just reminded her that he hadn't shown up, she pulled the robe she had put on an hour ago tighter around her and retreated to her room.
Her anger was gone, the empty space it left behind filling up with a mixture of loneliness and hurt. It was in that moment that the nineteen year old realized she had broken her cardinal rule. She had allowed herself to trust him, she believed him when he said he'd be somewhere. After her first relationship she had sworn to never let it happen again, but it had and now she was getting hurt all over again.
Well that just wouldn't do. The anger was back, burning out every other emotion until it consumed her. It was a shock that fire wasn't spitting out of her eyes, but when Petalite replaced Victoria the glow of her uniform on her face almost made it seem like that would be possible. It was obvious as she blinked out of her room that Blake wasn't going to enjoy this late night visit.
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Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2012 3:07 pm
Catastrophe
Click click click. Clack. Click click click. Clack. The three inch heels echoed off the tile of the small bathroom, the sound deepening each time the nineteen year old turned to pace back in the other direction. The house was old and some (most) of the tiles were cracked. Just one more thing she would need to fix to get the cottage to live to it’s full potential. One more thing that she possibly wouldn’t be able to afford in the immediate future.
Tick tick tick tick tick.
The recently returned bluenette made a sound that was somewhere between a growl and a sob. How could this have happened? Again! She had taken the damn pill, she had even taken it at exactly the same time every morning like the damn directions said too. Sapphire eyes glanced towards the porcelain sink and then away another strangled sound being ripped from her throat. No, no, no, no! She refused to believe this was actually happening to her. Things like this didn’t happen to girls like her. At that thought she stopped dead in her tracks and let out a dry bark of laughter. It wasn’t true, things like this happened to girls like her all the damn time. That’s what happened when you had gobs of sex with varying amounts of the protected and unprotected kind. But, what was true was that things like this did not happen to Victoria Rose Collins. She was perfect, and amazing, and she wasn’t going to let this happen.
Tick tick tick tick tick
Frustrated she half fell half sat on the top of her toilet crossing her arms under her breasts. She was not going to cry, this was not a situation in which crying would help. Talking would help, but without Audrey she was quickly running out of people to confide in. ”God damn it!” Her words were a scream and the bluenette lashed out slinging her hair brush against the wall with the force of a Negaverse Captain. The plastic brush cracked on impact, taking a decent sized chip of the drywall with it. It was all so messed up, she couldn’t understand how her life had ended up here. Half-dressed in her bathroom having a break down and completely on her own. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.
Tick tick tick tick tick
Uncrossing her arms she let her head fall in her hands, long blue locks cascading over her shoulders to shield her face. She didn’t know what she’d do if she had really made such a big mistake. She tried to figure out how it had taken her so long to notice, to realize. She had been cranky and bipolar for weeks. In hindsight it had been fairly obvious. But it hadn’t been until she was in the last stages of getting dressed that a glance at the sparkly red fabric had triggered her memory and she had quickly dissolved into pure panic.
Ding!
The sound of the egg timer Vicky had set going off nearly scared her half to death and she jumped startled off the toilet seat. It was an amazing feat that she didn’t topple over as her heels slid on the tile, but she had years of experience and shifted her weight perfectly to compensate. Hurrying over to the sink she felt her heart pounding in her throat as she stared at the small white stick balanced on the porcelain edge. Steeling herself she picked the stick up and narrowed her eyes at the small window that held her future.
Not pregnant.
The nineteen year old crumpled to the floor she was so relieved, one hand pressed against her bare chest, just above her bra able to feel her heart pounding against her palm. The other hand still held onto the pregnancy test, but she didn’t even notice. She was too busy nearly sobbing with relief. Her moment of reprieve didn’t last long, to the young woman’s confusion a sweeping feeling of loss rushed in after the relief and she found that her relieved laughter was turning into real sobs of pain. She didn’t understand why her heart was aching upon learning that she wasn’t pregnant. It was what she wanted, Blake wouldn’t stick around if a child was added to the mix and Blake was the only thing she wanted.
Wasn’t he?
Half an hour later she was still in the same spot on the floor, but her tears had dried. After quite a bit of introspection the bluenette had made a shocking revelation. She wanted children. Not now, not anytime soon. But someday. Her subconscious was trying so hard to tell her that the loss of even a potential child had triggered a dramatic overreaction. Once she had figured things out she had calmed down, and was able to handle herself in a much more normal fashion.
Slowly she pushed herself up, tossing the test in the trash before standing in front of the mirror. Wiping her cheeks she leaned forwards inspecting her face. After a moment she laughed, shaking her head. Maybe the most surprising thing she had realized is that, someday, she wanted kids with Blake. The idea of Blake Alison raising a child was equal parts hilarious and terrifying, but that somehow made the thought all that more appealing.
Luckily for both of them there were several, several steps to take before they got anywhere near children. Or even talking about children. Like Blake actually asking her out. That would be a huge step.
She wasn’t holding her breath.
There was one step she could take into her own hands though. Her mother had been bugging her about her lack of visits, and it was true. She hadn’t been back to Courtland in a coon’s age. She would do that, visiting her family would be good for her. She would just let the fact that she was dragging her city slicker boyfriend along be a nice surprise for everyone involved.
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