Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Chapter 30: Power

Things have been weird since Mom and Dad had the big blowout a few weeks ago. They barely speak to each other. Dad avoids Mom for the most part, I think he's even continued sleeping in a different room since that night. Everything else is normal, though, Dad goes to work and comes home, talks to me, and then disappears when Mom comes by. Mom just wanders around the house looking like she's up to something. She's so creepy and cold. Dad brought Joliana, his co-worker, to our house today. I know her because I've worked with her too. Joliana's been over to our house before a few years ago when I was in high school, and I know Mom doesn't like it even though her and Dad are completely platonic.


I wonder if Dad likes Joliana, but I know he'd never do anything with her as long as he's still married to Mom. I kind of wish somehow Mom and Dad would break up, but that's such a horrible thought. I wonder if Absolon's home. He's been dating Titanium, so he's often out with him. I wonder how Mom would react to that, boys dating each other. She hasn't been very cold to Absolon since he's not interested in me. She's so ridiculous, so mean to guys I date, but completely okay with him. I'm glad she's not picking on him, but she has all these hypocritical double standards that I don't understand. She listened to Dad about being nice to Absolon, so why couldn't she listen to Dad about being nice to Camo?

Messaging Log:
Absolon Marseilles <830-555-4364>

Absolon, are you at home? 5:24pm
Yeah, in my room. 5:24pm

Good, I think to myself. I could really use a friend right now. I haven't seen Camo for a few days and I miss him like crazy. I'm just about to go upstairs, but before I can exit my room, I hear Mom and Dad arguing.


"What the hell is she doing here again?"

"Chill out, Kalya, she's helping me with work. What do you mean, again? She hasn't been here for a long time."

"I mean again because she's been here before. Seriously, you are so dense sometimes, Charles."

"Oh so now I'm stupid? Leave me alone, Kalya, if you're not going to talk to me about our actual problem."


"You mean Verona? Yeah, until Verona stops sleeping around like a common prostitute, I'm not going to acknowledge her boyfriend choices as legitimate."

"She is NOT sleeping around! Ugh, Kalya. Joliana and I have work to finish."

"Work as in flirting with each other."


"I have never flirted with her. You should know, you are always spying on me."

"I have to or you'll flirt with her."

"ARGH! Kalya! You don't trust me! I'm done with this stupid conversation. I have work to do."

I pull out my cell phone and text Absolon again because I want to talk to him but I don't want to run into Mom. 

Messaging Log:
Absolon Marseilles <830-555-4364>

Ugh, they're fighting again.  5:27pm

Sorry. Do you want me to come down? 5:28pm

Please,  would you? 5:28pm
LOL, yeah, it's no problem, Verona. 5:29pm

It's not long before Absolon knocks on the door and comes in. I'm relieved to see him and even more relieved that Mom didn't stop to talk to him. I smile at him and then continue pouting.

"What's up, Verona?"

"I miss Camo a lot and I'm exhausted from all the tension that's going on in the house."

"They were really going at it just now. She's accusing him of cheating."

I roll my eyes and bury my face in the pillow. Absolon comes over and lays on my bed, rubbing my back.


"That's dumb. Your dad wouldn't do that."

"I know, right? He's been friends with Joliana for years, and every time she's over here, she acts like a complete lady. Do you know why Camo hasn't been at work?"

"Yeah, he and Titanium went to Egypt."

"Ugh, I wish I was with him. This is stupid. Is it mean of me to wish that Dad would kick Mom out?"

"No. Things fall apart sometimes. It's not like he hasn't tried."

I hear the door open and don't care to look up to see who is there because I don't want to talk to anyone but Absolon right now.

"Well, well, what do we have here, Verona? Cheating on your so-called boyfriend already? He was just here a few days ago."

Unfortunately, I have to get up because Mother is picking on me again. Ever since that night I punched her she has been on the warpath, like she has a personal vendetta against me. I think she needs a chill pill. No big surprise, she has a condescending tone to her voice.


"I'm not doing anything with Absolon, MOM! He's comforting me because I'm sad. Can't you see? I'm wiping my eyes because I've been CRYING?!"

"Comforting. Uh huh, sure, more like comfort by lust. You should be ashamed of yourself. I have half a mind to tell your boyfriend the next time he comes over how you cavort around when he's not here. Now I know the real reason you wanted us to take Absolon in. You wanted a boy toy."

I don't know what it is, but the stress of everything that's been going on and the fact that Mom just threatened to tell Camo mean things about me makes me start crying again. I bury my face into my pillow again, wishing I could just disappear. Then I hear Absolon talk to Mom.

"Mrs. Balestrom, Verona and I are not involved, I can assure you."

"Oh? Why should I trust you? You're a former nomad."

"I'm not interested in her."

"Why? She's a perfectly beautiful girl. What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing, Mrs. Balestrom, I'm just not attracted to her."

"Why? Do you not like brunettes?"

"Uh, no, that's not it."

"Then what? You prefer men?"

Absolon stops talking and I get up because Mom has crossed the line, yet again. Absolon's personal life and preferences are none of her business.


"Mom, will you stop?!"

"Stop what, Verona?"

"Embarrassing everyone?"

"Nonsense, Absolon shouldn't be embarrassed that he's a homosexual. Are you, Absolon?"

"Mom! That's not what I meant! You are slapping a label on him that is unnecessary! People shouldn't be labelled!"

"It's unnatural to be attracted to a man when you are a man! It's inappropriate."

"Absolon is NOT inappropriate! His life choices are just that, HIS! They are NOT something you have any right to judge! Get out of my room! I should have kicked you out of here earlier!"


"You can't talk to me like that. I'm your mother."

"Well you can't tell me to go to my room because I'm already in it!"

"I have every right to come and go as I please, Verona."

"Mom this conversation is pointless, what are we even talking about anymore?"

"We are talking about the fact that you are a slut and you make friends with people who have questionable lifestyles. You should be with Marcus because you need to be disciplined. Running around like this is unacceptable. I'm ashamed that your last name is Balestrom. You aren't worthy of that surname."

I snicker under my breath because Dad has just walked in. Mom's going to get it now.


I just let Joliana out of the house and see Kalya in Verona's room, torturing her yet again. Verona's yelling at her about something mean she said to Absolon and Kalya is looking smug. I hate her high and mighty attitude. Kalya says she wants Marcus to teach her discipline? No way. I need to intervene. Wait, did she just say what I think she said? She said Verona isn't worthy of her surname? My surname? It's not even Kalya's name to abuse! She married me, and it is MY last name. That's it. I've had it with Kalya.

"If there is anyone who isn't worthy of the Balestrom name, it is you."

"What? Charles, don't be ridiculous. Where is your mistress?"

"You can't talk to Verona and Absolon like that. I don't have a mistress. How many times do I have to tell you that? Are you deaf? Get out of my house."


"Well, I never! Are you saying you want a divorce?"

"Stop stalling. Get the fuck out of my house. That's what I'm saying."

"Why do you care about Absolon? He's not your son."

"I decided to take him in. I'm going to treat him like family. GET OUT."

"What does this mean for us?"


What does this mean for us? Well, I hate how she's dragging my name through the mud with her rude behavior and then accusing Verona of being the one who is causing trouble. She is so annoyingly stubborn. She wants to continue to be my wife and have a powerful name with a fancy house? She's going to have to stop being so pig-headed. I can't stand her. These past few weeks she's either been ignoring me, or picking fights with me. She's driving me crazy. I've decided that she needs to leave for a while. She keeps taking things for granted. I'm going to make her see that her life could fall apart very quickly.

"Trial separation. Get the fuck out."

"Where will I go?"

"That is not my problem."

"Charles, I'm sorry. We can fix this."

"That may be, but for now, you need to get out."

18 comments:

  1. Great update! Hopefully the separation gives Kalya the wake up call she needs to at least get a better relationship with her daughter if not save her marriage.

    ~ Seera

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    1. Hey Seera! Thanks for commenting! =D Kalya... yeah, who knows what she'll do. She's crazy.

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  2. OMG! Yes!! *pumps fist* Everything that I have been wanting to happen happened! I'm so glad Verona stuck up for Absolon, and I'm so happy Charles kicked Kalya the fuck out! Awesome chapter. I hate how judgemental Kalya is. Absolon's sexual preference is none of her damn business, and i'm happy that Charles is sticking up for him too!

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    1. Haha, thanks for reading. I was happy to write this chapter. I just wanted a good reason for Charles to kick her out since he's such an understanding person, but Kalya really went over the edge insulting Absolon now too. Yeah, sexual preference is whatever, people should be able to love whoever they want without being looked down upon. Charles and Verona both believe that.

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  3. Damn, I'm so proud of Charles. Bitch, gtfo. AREYOUDEAF? Hahahah
    Ugh, been waiting for that woman to get the taste of her own medicine. WOO!
    Now, Camo, come back and comfort her, so we can all bask in your face.

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    1. LOL. Yes Camo needs to come back from his trip... *spaces out* Teehee, I liked writing both those things, get the fuck out and are you deaf. Haha. How will she react when someone is down right mean to her stupid ass? MUAHAhAAA! LOL. Thanks for commenting. <3

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  4. I'm glad Charles finally threw Kalya out. He tried, but there's no fixing that relationship since Kalya can't see how she's done anything wrong. And keeping her around just hurts Verona in the end.

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    1. Yeah, he's pretty understanding, so I needed a really good reason for him to kick her out. Kalya is ridiculous and she needed to just go away.

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  5. AHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAH!!!!! Yes! Thank you, Charles!!! :D
    *happy sigh*
    Well, happy until I think about how much a bitch that Kayla was. Still, no big surprise there. I'm not surprised about how she treated Absolon. Not at all. Par for the course really.
    Damn, I was getting afraid there for a min that she'd abduct Verona to be with that slimeball.

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    1. Haha, yes the end of this chapter was probably the best thing to ever happen to this family. Charles was so annoyed with Kalya and then he saw her in Verona's room arguing with her, and Absolon's face, he knew something was up, like perhaps she went back on her word about being nice to Absolon, and he was sure she wasn't trying to really change her ways. Then when she still insisted that she was the one doing the right thing, he knew what he had to do. LMAO, Kalya might have kidnapped Verona or forced her into something if Charles wasn't there.

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  6. Uhg. I wish he wouldn't try to work it out with her. I love him for it, but I just know she's going to find a way to convince him she's changed when really she's just a spiteful old lady. :(

    lmao, I need to stop falling in love with every male character you create. Seriously, I have no loyalty whatsoever. :P

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    1. Yeah she's really manipulative. Here's hoping Charles figures it out that she's just trying to get on his good side for her benefit only, without really giving a shit about him. LOL!! It's okay that you love all my male characters! I'm happy that you do. =)

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  7. That all exploded on Kalya. She's insane. What the heck changed her?

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    1. When she overheard Verona say "I hate Marcus" to Camo the other day, she snapped. Then when Verona punched her, she is making it a mission to make Verona's life a living hell as punishment.

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  8. I literally gasped out loud when she told Absolon that liking the same sex was "inappropriate." I have lots of family members who are homosexual and it honestly pisses my the fuck off when people say that it's "wrong" (sorry for the language but this a very touchy subject for me). I have a "friend" who has told me on multiple times that they are "homophobic" and every time they say it I honestly don't understand why I hang around them. I absolutely hate the term, like seriously? People who are "homophobic" are just ass holes who aren't comfortable with their own sexuality.
    Anyways, that was my rant for the day, LOL. I love how thought provoking this story is! It really challenges the reader to face some serious subjects head on. Love, love, love. :)

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    1. Homophobic people are just... rude, and like you said, complete assholes. LOL. I thought it fitting that Kalya would behave like that, since she's so judgmental, and has so many rules about who should date who.

      I loved writing Absolon and Titanium as a same sex couple in this story because I feel like people should be free to love who they love, and it shouldn't be anyone else's business. :)

      I liked your rant, haha, it's nice to see people being passionate and feeling so strongly about things. So much of the world is on autopilot and people don't stand up for things a lot of times. Thanks so much for the compliments. :) I'm really glad that it's been thought provoking for you, it lets me know I did something right with this story.

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  9. Wow Joliana and Kalya are like polar opposites lol but she seems more like his type anyways and I'm not surprised that Kalya doesn't like her.


    "You mean Verona? Yeah, until Verona stops sleeping around like a common prostitute, I'm not going to acknowledge her boyfriend choices as legitimate." God damn Kalya is on a roll with all of these insults, huh?

    At this point she's just looking for a fight. She went in Verona's room and was just talking nonsense...Ugh.
    Absolon was trying to console her and then she starts talking about his sexual orientation..Wtf, that was uncalled for.

    "We are talking about the fact that you are a slut and you make friends with people who have questionable lifestyles." Does she not realize what she's saying? O.O


    "Stop stalling. Get the fuck out of my house. That's what I'm saying."
    "Trial separation. Get the fuck out."
    Damn Charles really reminded me of someone I know in real life when he said all that...Things are about to get very ugly really fast..Yikes!

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    1. Yeah, Joliana is in the movie biz with Charles, so they've got similar interests and values and all that good stuff. LOL, Kalya's afraid of losing her status, so she's really jealous of Joliana, she doesn't actually think Charles is cheating, but she wanted to throw that in his face. She is dumb because she doesn't realize her behavior is what's putting her marriage in danger.

      You're right, she was looking to pick fights with everyone, Charles, and Verona included. Even Absolon wasn't safe from her wrath. At this point she doesn't care what she says, she felt like the only to gain her footing back in the house was to try to intimidate everyone, but it backfired, especially when she started throwing around Charles' surname like she owned it, which she totally doesn't. >:D

      I greatly enjoyed making Charles just tell her off, the bitch deserved it so hard.

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