Alright everyone! As most of you know, Wattpad is experiencing some technical difficulties. Because of this, it deletes every chapter that I try to upload. So for now, welcome to Shay Writes Smiles! All chapters will be posted to Wattpad once the site is back up and running at it's best. But for now I hope you all enjoy chapter 5! Tomorrow, The Distance Theory chapter 7 will be posted to the blog as well. So stick around!
Also posted this week: Sneak Peeks January 8th - January 14th , and Official Wattpad Block Party Announcement! (Featuring a Sneak Peek at Gentlemen's Guide)
© Shay Spencer. All rights reserved.
Something More
[ Chapter 5 ] Daddy Issues and Drinking Just Don't Mix
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I wouldn’t usually credit my mother on her interior design skills. But one thing was for sure, the black suede couch and matching rug she had placed in the first-floor sitting area were far more comfortable than anything in the Pennington mansion.
“You seem twitchy,” Wren started with a sly look in her eye.
I glanced up, taking note of her obvious discontent with me. She was no longer following her all too detailed instructions while putting together the gift bags for the rehearsal dinner and wedding reception. Instead, she was eyeing me with everything she had.
“What does that even mean?”
She shrugged, “you’ve been fidgety and bouncy all day; and I know it isn’t the wine because I’ve seen you wine drunk before. You know what? I’ve seen you drunk in every sense, so I know it isn’t the alcohol.”
I barely bothered to look up at her, knowing she was watching me anytime I bounced my leg up and down anxiously, tapped my nails down on the glass table, or even when I continued to rip at the edges of the paper I’d been scribbling down notes on.
I was on edge, and even a barely mentally-present Wren Manny could catch onto that.
“I’ll be fine.” I waved a hand in her direction, picking up the glass and downing what remained of my pinot grigio.
Hayden was right, Elias had stocked the bar well the last time he and my mother visited the villa.
Wren frowned back at me, her eyebrows furrowing in her lack of amusement with my answer, “oh sure. We’ll go with that.”
Ever since the day before I couldn’t quit worrying; not only about my current roomies and what secrets they were keeping from each other - and me - but also about my mother and Elias.
Under normal circumstances, my mother would be calling and texting incessantly, never once putting down her phone until she knew exactly what had transpired throughout the day. But during our nearly three days in Paris, I had only talked to her once. It seemed there was more going on back in Beverly Hills than my mother had cared to share.
With how close my mother and I had gotten over the last four years, I hated thinking that she didn’t trust me with all that was going on.
“Come on,” Wren whined. She tossed a stray piece of chocolate at me, the object landing in my lap on top of a stack of photo paper. There went all my hard work in trying to keep it clean. “It’s me. Talk.”
I rolled my eyes and set the paper down on the glass table, gently throwing the chocolate back at her in the process.
“It’s not that big of a deal, Wren,” I tried.
“You’ve barely said a word to me since we sat down. I know wedding planning and bagging up little goodies for the guests isn’t exactly front page worthy news, but come on! I’m worth a conversation or two.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that.
“Is it because Hayden and the guys are still out?” Wren offered lamely as she shook the rice into place.
“Why would this be about Hayden?” I said, my voice cracking at the mention of his name.
She popped her eyebrows up and down once more. “You can’t tell me that since we’ve been here those old feelings haven’t come racing back. You two hooked up because you roomed across the hall from each other and were forced to spend every waking moment together. I’m getting a sense of déjà-vu here.”
“Shut up,” I laughed. “I fell for Hayden because he was all mysterious and we weirdly had a lot in common.”
“Like your daddy issues and the fact that neither of you wanted to leave the house to get laid.”
With that, I threw a pillow at my shit best friend.
“Seriously!” Wren giggled, the girl catching the pillow with ease and tossing it aside. “Are you all bothered because of Hayden?”
I shook my head. Out of quite literally everything that could be wrong at the moment, my still secret relationship with Hayden wasn’t one of them. Though things were still a bit touch-and-go with us after what happened between Axel and me, and our four years apart, we were doing our best to work through it.
“I know you and just about everyone else chooses not to believe this, but there is still nothing going on between Hayden and me,” I said.
That one sentence couldn’t have been further from the truth.
“Okay,” Wren gave in, holding her hands up in defense. “I’ll drop the Hayden thing for now. But do know that I recognized that little shirt you came sauntering down the hall in yesterday morning. Hayden wore that rag to the engagement party.”
I shook off the feeling of embarrassment, hoping my the reddening of my cheeks wouldn’t give anything more away.
“What about you?” I started in an attempt to divert the conversation. “How are you and Jay doing?”
Wren gave me a knowing look, one that let me know that she was onto me. “We’re getting married in two weeks. I think we’re doing pretty good.”
I nodded, tossing another finished bag of rice into the box. “You’re also pregnant with his child.”
“It’s a recipe for a good marriage if I’ve ever seen one,” Wren beamed back at me.
I bit my lip to keep from laughing before standing up from my all too comfy spot on the floor.
“I think I need more wine.”
“Oh!” She cheered before holding up her now empty glass of orange-juice as high into the air as she could stretch. “Me too?”
I plucked her glass from her hand on my way around the table, slowly making my entrance into the large kitchen.
The entire villa echoed in a way that I had never experienced as I strode across the white tiled floor, and even more so as I popped open the refrigerator. How my mother and Elias stayed here, and back home in the large mansion, by themselves was beyond me.
I couldn’t help but let my mind fall back to my small apartment in Massachusetts.
The last five years had been not only about beating the odds that Hayden and I were still facing today, but about finding myself. I hadn’t realized just how much I had relied on the people in my life until I was all alone and had been tossed aside in New York City. Even then I had reverted back to old habits and somehow found myself on Wren and Jay’s fold out couch for a week, only then to end up with my father or back with my mother before following Wren once again.
Moving to Massachusetts had felt like such an easy decision, following Wren wherever her life took her. I still had no clue what my calling in life was, and it seemed best just to go along with Wren and find out what it felt like to have your life so neat and put together.
Little did I know, Wren was in about the same position I was in, and it looked as if the only thing holding her together was Jay. That’s when I realized that maybe Hayden was the key to my happy ending.
Seeing as Wren’s glass was now filled to the brim, I closed the lid and set the bottle back into the fridge.
The simplicity of the night gave me an oddly comforting feeling. Wren and I hadn’t had a night like this since well before Jay had proposed, and what with us bunking with the group of five from New York, it was starting to feel like things would be up in the air for the remainder of the time until the wedding.
I walked back down the short hallway, finding Wren still sprawled out on the ground. Though this time she was playing with her phone instead of bagging up rice or little chocolates from some fancy chocolate shop in Paris.
“Hey,” I mocked, grabbing her attention when I set down the glass. “You’re not bagging.”
“Oh I’m bagging,” Wren smiled slyly, holding up her phone as she spoke. “Hayden’s giving me the 411 on what was happening down at the speakeasy without us there.”
“Why Hayden?” I asked without thinking much of it. “And what’s going on?”
“Hayden and I are friends!” Wren defended. “After Jay and I broke up for that millisecond-”
“And the millisecond after that,” I added.
“Yeah, whatever.” She waved her hand dismissively. “We made up after all that weird stuff with you two when Jay and I moved to Florida. But that’s not important! Hayden’s making fun of Axel cause he’s getting all drunk and spilling secrets from college.”
I could quite literally feel my stomach plummet to the floor. The last time Axel had gotten that drunk…
I didn’t even want to think about it.
“Maybe I should go pick them up,” I offered, pushing my drink aside as I pulled myself back up from the ground.
“They’ll be fine. They’re just about as drunk as you if I’m counting correctly.” Wren gave me a reassuring grin, one that definitely didn’t help my mood. “I really hate being pregnant.”
I shook my head, glaring down at my hands as my fidgety mannerisms seemed to return on their own. “Drinking isn't all it’s cracked up to be.”
I wonder what Axel will spill... Will the truth about what happened between he and Scarlett be revealed?? We'll have to wait to find out! Also, I promise Hayden will be in the next chapter! I keep forgetting to include him - I think it's because I'm writing Pennsylvania Minute at the same time :P
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed! The next chapter will be up on January 26th (as Pennsylvania Minute chapter 3 will go up next Friday!).
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