Chapter 3

Suzie

H olly, Liv, and I are sitting watching the TV, drooling over Charlie Hunnam while eating pizza and garlic bread. Plus, a bottle of wine or two, which I notice Holly isn't drinking.

I catch Liv grinning at the glass of water Holly has in front of her, and when Holly notices, she giggles and then asks, "What?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," Liv responds, but laughs as she turns back to the TV.

"Are you still getting the messages from your ex-cheater, Suzie?" Holly asks, and I turn away from the TV to look at her.

"Well, yeah, the asshole isn't taking no for an answer and I think Noah may give me some ideas or I'm going to have to get a lawyer involved."

Before either Liv or Holly can reply, my phone rings, and picking it up from the coffee table, I wave it in front of them with a dramatic sigh. "Speak of the asshole and he will appear."

Holly snatches the phone and grins before answering. "Good evening, this is The Road Rash Hotel. Be aware we only take accident victims here…" Throwing her head back, laughing. "Oh, dear, he hung up."

High-fiving each other, then chinking our wine glasses together, we laugh loudly. When the phone rings again, Liv grabs it and receives the call. "Good evening. You have contacted the devil's sister's gothic group line. How may we help you…"

Throwing the phone on the coffee table, Liv grins. "He didn't want to talk, oh dear me." Which, of course, sets us off once more.

Sitting up straight, I look at Holly, then Liv. "How about we all swap phones, then when our ex-cheaters try to contact they'll get someone else?"

"That's a good idea. Give me your phone, Holly." Liv grins, then hands hers to me, while I pass my phone to Holly. Oh, this is going to be fun. I can just feel it.

"Oh yeah, she keeps sending messages asking if she can have things out of my old room at the parents' place. I just keep ignoring her and the parents. Not much at my parents' but I warned them they touch a thing and I'll wreak revenge like they've never seen before, and I'd do it at one of their charity evenings." Holly smirks at what must be the image she has in her head.

"Hmm, now, it would be interesting if we three turned up at one of those events, don't you think?" I ask, waggling my eyebrows at them both.

"Why don't we go over to your parents' tomorrow and pick up what's left? Then you'll see if they've given your stuff to your sister. Hope the asshole with her is miserable as sin," Liv suggests.

"That may not be a bad idea. I don't take any calls or messages from my family, as I've told you. But they may go through my stuff and I have some jewelry from my grandmother and two necklaces that my monster-in-law, or mother-from-hell, whichever you prefer, gave me. If they've found them, I'll have lost them because you can guarantee they won't hand them back to me." Holly is scowling and looking pretty fierce, I have to say. "Yeah, let's go in the morning and scare the pants off them."

"What are your parents like?" I ask.

"Boring, stuck up, hateful gossips," Holly states with more than a little embarrassment.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed. It's their personalities that are at fault, not yours." Liv leans forward and squeezes Holly's hand.

"I agree. We all have people that have caused us hurt, but we have each other now, so we don't need them, anyway." Grinning as I pass the bottle over to refill Liv's glass. Holly is sticking to her bottles of water, needing to rehydrate from last night's drunken escapade.

"Okay, tomorrow." Holly lifts her bottle of water into the air, while Liv and I clink our glasses against each other and Holly's water bottle, giving her a grin at the same time.

"Tomorrow. I can't wait." I throw myself back in my seat and place my feet on the coffee table. When I let out a giggle Holly gives me a raised eyebrow. "I just need to see your parents' faces when we turn up. Can you imagine us three pushing in and rushing to your room to grab your gear?"

"I hope your sister, oh, what's her name?" Liv asks, looking at Holly.

"Charlotte." Holly grimaces, then crosses her eyes and puffs out her cheeks. Her antics have Liv and I laughing loudly.

"Oh, we could call her Char, or Chey, or what about Lottie? I bet she'd not like that one?" Liv giggles, and I look at Holly, who is struggling to keep a straight face.

"Well, actually when we were kids I used to call her ‘Car-Lot' because I couldn't say it." Holly's eyes are watering and when she throws her head back laughing it's not long before all three of us are wiping our eyes with tears of laughter.

"Are you both staying over tonight? We could get up early, have breakfast, and then surprise the parents and Car-Lot if she's at the house. What's your ex's name again?" I ask.

Holly giggles before responding. "Clyde. He was known as CD. Clyde Davenport and I changed my name to Mayberry as I didn't want to take my parents' name either."

"Why Mayberry?" Liv asks before I can.

"Well, it was May when I got the divorce final, and I was eating strawberries when the lawyer's office rang and asked if I wanted to change my name. Hence, May Berry, Mayberry."

"What did you say your ex was called?" Holly asks Liv.

"Gary, but everyone calls him Gaz." Giggling, Liv continues, "I call him an asshole." That has all three of us giggling once more.

The evening passes relatively quickly as we three enjoy telling tales from being young. Sad memories of our marriages, relationships, and even regarding our parents.

We all head upstairs to bed full of the idea we'll be putting Holly's parents in their places tomorrow if they get on a high horse when we arrive.

Breakfast the next morning we all three are excited, and after eating we do a quick cleanup before grabbing our jackets, and Liv shakes her vehicle keys to let us know she's driving.

Holly's parents' house is in a wealthy area of town. I'm shocked when she points us to her parents' home. Freaking heck, it's a mansion. My eyes must nearly pop out of my head, and as I side-eye Holly, she lets loose a cackle, not unlike a witch I would imagine.

"You never said you came from this sort of place, Holly. Shit girl, you must fart rainbows," Liv says in a bland tone.

"No, she said nothing. But, come on, they all still eat, shit, and have sex the same as the rest of us," I murmur, and I'm not sure if I'm trying to reassure Liv or myself.

"These people are despicable. Yes, they possess money. They, however, are devoid of kindness, morals, or any pleasant qualities." Holly remarks, and as I look at her, I can see she means every single word.

"Okay, let's get what you want and get the heck away from here. Then you never have to see them again." I'm looking at this house and although it's large and considered stunning, it has a mausoleum quality about it.

Holly laughs and my eyes flick to her questioningly. "You said that aloud. But I agree it is a mausoleum."

Once Liv has parked in front of the house on the horseshoe drive, we all three climb out of the vehicle and square our shoulders. Ready for whatever happens when Holly rings the doorbell.

It only takes a few minutes before the door opens and an older gentleman gives a small smile to Holly. "Miss Holly, to what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Hello, Stanley. I'm here to collect the last of my possessions." Holly looks like she wants to cry, and I rub her back to comfort her and let her know she's not alone.

"Mr. and Mrs. Sternlee are not home at the moment." Lowering his voice, "But if you hurry, you may get in and out without being seen."

"Thank you, Stanley," Holly replies and as he opens the door wider, Liv and I follow Holly across the hall, climb the enormous staircase, and along the corridor to what used to be her bedroom.

Opening the bedroom door, we are all shocked when the room is empty apart from a dressing table. "What the ever-loving…" Liv snaps and turns to look at Holly.

"Let me check the closet." Holly sighs and walks over to a door on the far side of the room. I stand next to Liv thinking, what the hell sort of family is this? The sad thing is Holly doesn't look surprised the room is empty.

"What are her parents' names?" Liv asks.

Responding, I grin. "Well, the sister is Car-Lot, of course, but her parents are Charles and Winifred."

"Okay, so we have Car-Lot, Charlie, and Wini…got it!" Liv smirks and I can tell she wants to call them that to their faces.

The door opens, and a woman walks in, dolled up like she's going to a nightclub and it's only ten in the morning. I give her the once up and down, followed by my nasty smirk. The one Noah taught me to do the one night we were drunk together.

Before I can ask who she is, Liv pipes up. "Oh, it has gotta be the Car-Lot. You know Suzie, the man-stealing piece of shit sister."

"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in here?" Car-Lot shrieks.

"Oh, dear, she's one of those that are high-pitched and nasally. You'd think she'd have more class, like her sister. But nope, she's your typical whore of a sister. She'd be good in one of those bikers' clubs, you know as a club whore, all tits, and no brain," Liv continues, and we both place our hands over our ears when she shrieks even louder.

"Why don't you ever learn to shut up? It's time you grew up, stamping your feet, and acting like you're still ten," Holly snaps at Car-Lot. "You go around thinking the world owes you a favor and I hope soon you learn that nobody owes you shit."

"What are you doing here?" Car-Lot whines.

"I've come for my possessions, but apart from this..." Holding up a jewelry box. "Everything has gone, so I'll be sending a lawyer's letter for compensation for removing my things. Now get out of the way bitch, we don't have time to mix with scum like you." Holly is giving a mean look to her sister, which seems to shock Car-Lot somewhat.

Both Liv and I are surprised at Holly, but we follow behind with our backs straight and noses in the air. We are walking down the stairs when the front door opens and what can only be Holly's parents with a man and an older woman step inside.

I look at Liv, and she looks right back at me. I lean over and whisper, "We take the shit out of Holly's hands. They'll run her down and take the opportunity to be assholes, so let's play interference." Liv nods in agreement and we rush down the stairs behind Holly.

"Clyde, Clyde, she called me names," Car-Lot shrieks again as she flies down the stairs towards the man who is still staring at Holly as though he has found a lost treasure.

"What are you doing here?" The first woman who entered through the door asks, and it's obvious she's Holly's mother by her hair color alone.

"I came for the last of my things, but since you have had everything removed, I'll be contacting my lawyer for compensation. I have the letter you so kindly sent allowing me six months to remove my belongings before you would trash them, and it's only been four months, so my lawyer will contact yours shortly." Holly sounds just as cold as her mother, and both myself and Liv are ready for whatever happens next.

Clyde speaks in a gentler tone than Holly's mother, but hey, he's a piece of crap as far as we're concerned. "Holly, we have contacted you quite a few times. You need to reconcile yourself to the fact that I'm with your sister."

"Who gives a shit that you are now married to Car-Lot? She's a nasty, man-stealing piece of crap, who, let's face it, has ended up with a nasty cheating asshole," I say clearly, making sure everyone in the hallway hears.

Holly snorts with low laughter and I give her a smirk, letting her know I have her back.

"Shut your mouth," the older lady who has the look of Clyde about her says as she steps a little closer to me.

"I'll shut my mouth when I feel like it, and I suppose you're the ex-monster-in-law, or mother-in-hell." Liv laughs but is giving the woman a steely-eyed look.

"You always were beneath the rest of the family. Clyde did the best thing he could, getting rid of you." The monster-in-law snaps, but I don't give her a chance to say more.

"Oh, that's right, the cheating son has a cheating wife with a monster mother. It's utterly perfect. You all deserve each other to rot in this cesspit." I lean forward and yeah; the piece of work steps back.

"Who are you women?" Holly's mother asks, but Liv jumps in before Holly can, and I can see Holly out of the corner of my eye getting frustrated that we won't let her get a word in. We are protecting her the best way we can and we'll continue to do it while we are in the vicinity of all these assholes. But also, across the hall, is the man who opened the door, and he's covered his mouth with his hand to stop his laughter from being seen. But you can't mistake the shaking of his shoulders for anything but mirth.

"It's time you all left. We don't want you here, and you never come back," Holly's father snarls.

"Oh, don't worry Charlie, Holly won't be back here. She doesn't need to associate with assholes like you. But Wini, we know your inner circle and we know your charities, hmm." Liv is wound as tight as a ball and she's ready to go for it, I'm sure. It's good that Holly told us a lot about these assholes, so we have ammunition to throw.

Now Charlie and Wini are getting purple in the face, and don't like the fact we are giving them shortened names, but we don't care. We only care about our friend, and she's not going to face these horrendous people on her own.

"Don't worry, you are all welcome to each other. But know this all of you, I'll still be invited to events because I have friends in your circle. Friends that know what you did, Car-Lot, and you, Clydie boy. Oh, not forgetting the monsters, Charlie, and Wini," Holly says before we can say or do anything. We all three walk toward the door and I think we scared all of them because they step out of our way quickly.

"Bye-bye, let's hope we don't see you soon," I add, as I'm the last out of the front door. I give a finger wave to Stanley and laugh as I slam the door behind me.

"Did you get what you wanted?" Liv asks Holly as we climb back into the vehicle.

"Yeah, I hid my jewelry box under the floorboard in the closet. But as you saw, they looked for it everywhere. My mother's eyes were popping out of her head when she saw me holding it," Holly giggles, and I can't help wondering what she has in that thing. "Now, next time, let me get a word in, will you? Honestly, I kept opening my mouth and then one of you would pipe up with something."

I laugh when I respond. "Well, you looked like a fish out of water. But Holly, we are your besties and that's what besties do. We both knew that if you spoke too much, they'd go at you more, but they would always be on the back foot if we did it. I'm sorry if we stole your thunder, but hey, you can always do it to us if it's needed."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Holly laughs.

"Good, we can forget about them for now. But I think we should cause them some trouble, don't you?" I giggle, and it's soon followed by Liv and Holly's too.