Chaotic (Imperfect Perfection)
Read Chaotic (Imperfect Perfection) Online
Authors: C.A. Williams
Chaotic
Book
#1: Imperfect Perfection Series
“Chaos
is rejecting all you have learned, chaos is being yourself.”
Emile
M. Cioran
Text Copyright 2013 C.A. Williams
All Rights Reserved
This
is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in
this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously.
All
rights reserved. This edition is copy-written by C.A. Williams and any portion
thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express
written consent of the author, except for the brief quotations in a book
review.
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1
“Excuse me, I
think this one needs to be redone. There’s a tiny little smudge. Actually, you
really should just start completely over to make it perfect.” I scrunched my
nose at the woman who was painting my nails in the Charged Up Cherry, who was
scowling at me. She proceeded to remove the color as I asked without a word, which
was probably a good thing, since I’m sure she didn’t want to be losing any
customers, and I could make that happen very quickly.
I wasn’t
trying
to be a bitch, but I was definitely on edge and that tended to make me not
so nice. I had basically been forced to go on this outing with Marley and
Madison. And although they were fun to hang with for parties or shopping, I
always felt like I had to walk on eggshells around them, like at any minute the
perfect façade, that I had worked on so hard, would suddenly slip away, and
they would see me for who I really was. And then they would be quick to drop me
as if they had never known me.
I gave the woman
a small smile as she glared down at my nails, hoping that would soften my tone
just a little bit.
“I just love
that color, Adelaide. It will look perfect with that dress you bought at Divinity
for the party. Did you hear who Chris is bringing by the way?” I lost interest
as one of my best friends, Marley, droned on and on about Chris Zander.
I could care less.
Been there, done
that.
And never going back.
At least Madison
was paying attention, hanging on Marley’s every word. Madison, with her dark
chestnut hair, petite frame, and doe like brown eyes, was all in all a good looking
girl by most people’s standards. But she tended to be a worshiper, and that
kind of made her pathetic.
Marley, on the
other hand, had flowing bleach-blonde hair that curled into soft ringlets,
stood as tall as most guys, but had a slim model-like figure with a pair of
perky double d’s that even I was a little jealous of. She definitely knew that
she was hot.
The three of us
had been best friends since I had moved here almost five years ago. And when I used
the term best friends, I used it lightly. They basically just welcomed me with
open arms because of who my step-father was.
I guess if you
wanted to, you could call me the one in charge. They both seemed to follow me
anywhere and do whatever I said, but they were also quicker than anyone to turn
around and stab you in the back.
It had all
started the summer in between junior high and high school, when I had a crush
on Chad Stanger. Marley knew that I liked him and that just made her want him
more, so she somehow managed to sink her claws into him first. I caught the two
of them hiding behind a tree with Chad’s hand up her shirt. Now that I thought
about it and passed him in the halls at the local community college, along with
the rest of his friends that liked to dress in all black, like they were going
to a funeral daily, it kind of made me gag.
Whenever I had a
guy, Marley had to have him next. Whatever. I guess she liked sloppy seconds.
The only guy she hadn’t managed to score was Chris.
Madison always
tended to side with Marley whenever the three of us had a little tiff.
Eventually I got over it. I had to admit, when they weren’t around to shop or
go out to parties with, things did get rather lonely. So I would forgive Marley
for whatever minor discretion and move past it, but that didn’t mean I always
liked hanging out with them.
I checked back
into reality when I heard a click and “That’s a wrap”. I blew out a breath at
those three simple words and relaxed just a little. The camera men began to
pack away their equipment while the director jotted down some notes and then
picked up his phone.
During our
senior year, our school had been featured on the reality show, Unrehearsed,
that centered on high school life and the everyday dramas. Luckily, they
switched schools after a year of recording. It had been stressful to say the
least, putting on a show for all of America, that everything in my life was
picture perfect. Far from it.
They had just
come back to do a follow up with some of the more popular cast members during
the summer while most of us were on break from school. Soon, Marley and Madison
would be gone again, off to their four-year college they were attending
together. And me? Well, I hadn’t really figured that out yet.
Somehow, I had
made it through the first two years at the local community college in a blur,
even though my mother had complained what an embarrassment I was for going to
such a lowly place. But that was only one of the minor things she tended to
complain about me. Now, I needed to figure what exactly I was going to do, and
really nothing interested me.
“Well, girls,
it’s been a total blast.” I stood up, handing my credit card to the cashier and
gave them a flutter of my fingers. “I’ll see you two tomorrow. Is the plan
still to come over to my place before the party?”
“Of course,”
Madison gushed. “Your place is the best. I’ll bring my stuff over and ride with
Marley. Daddy still hasn’t given me my keys back,” she huffed and pouted her
lip out. “He’s such a pain in the ass; hopefully he gives in soon.” Hmm, I
wonder why Madison. Could it be due to the fact that you were driving it
shitfaced and ran into a tree before you even left the driveway of Kristy
Michael’s house at the beginning of the summer? Even I wasn’t that stupid.
About drinking and driving at least.
“Meh. You have
Marley to chauffer you around everywhere, no need for a car,” I replied
sweetly.
Madison giggled
as she blew on her finished nails. “So right, Adelaide.” I watched as Marley
stiffened next to Madison and gave her an icy stare.
I bet Madison
really did love having someone to drive her around, even though we all knew
Marley had to scrape money together to get the piece of shit car she had, while
Madison and I had brand new cars bought for us the second we turned sixteen.
She tried to hide it from everyone, but I made sure to let it slip, by accident
of course, that her father was a janitor at some factory, and her mother was
totally out of the picture. She had only been able to attend the prestigious
private school like the rest of us, thanks to a scholarship.
I guess money
couldn’t buy everything though. I had always been a little jealous of Marley
for the relationship she had with her father. He seemed to actually care for
his daughter and not just see her as some pawn in the game of life. Or as a
complete and utter failure.
2
“Adelaide Elizabeth McGregor, what
time did you get home last night? I thought we had come to the understanding
that you are to be home every night before midnight,” I heard my mother’s high
pitched voice call out through my locked door. Well maybe if she was ever here
she would make sure I followed that little rule.
I groaned, unable to peel my eyes
open after the late night I had out with a group of friends I had met at
Marshal County Community College or MCCC as we tended to call it, since it was
such a mouthful. They tended to party almost every night and got even crazier
during the summer break. I guess you could probably call them hardcore stoners,
and they let me join in whenever I wanted.
“Don’t even think about ignoring me,
young lady. We need to have a talk, and this cannot wait until later.” I sighed
loudly and pushed my comforter down to crawl out of bed. Might as well get this
over with.
“Yes, Mother?” I stood inside the
arched entryway to my room and leaned a hip against the doorframe.
“Oh, don’t you look wonderful, I
can only guess what you were doing last night. Well, I’m waiting,” she stated while
pursing her puffy collagen enhanced lips at me. I think they made her look like
a fish, but apparently it was the in thing to do for women her age.
Everyone said how much we looked
alike and how we could easily pass for sisters. We both had the same dirty
blonde hair, pale-blue eyes, and perfectly curved nose. The only difference was
the wrinkles on her that were starting to pop through and a few gray hairs that
could be seen if she didn’t make it to her stylist in time. I loved to point
each one out when that happened.
“I went to get my nails done with
Marley and Madison. Yesterday was the follow up for filming, remember?” Really?
How could she forget? She was, in fact, the reason why I had done the show in
the first place. I had been totally against it. The opportunity came at probably
the worst time of my life, but she had insisted I needed to do it. My dad
wasn’t around much, so he just went along with whatever my mom said.
Growing up in a small town in North
Carolina, I had been in heaven. I had two parents that loved, and life seemed
golden. We lived in a tiny two-bedroom ranch-style house and often ended up
shopping at the thrift stores, but I didn’t care. We didn’t have anything we
wanted, but we had everything we needed.
Then my mother had to go and ruin
it all.
She always had an air about her,
like she was better than everyone else, but she didn’t let that façade slip too
often. Well, I guess she finally decided that my father wasn’t good enough for
her fancy ass. One day, when he came home from work, she informed him that we
were leaving, and handed him divorce papers. I think she only took me away
from him to rub it in his face.
My father and I had always been
close, and it was like she was putting the final nail in the coffin that
contained their marriage. I was upset, to say the least. My dad didn’t even put
up a fight for me though, so after awhile, I just figured he didn’t want me
either.
Little did I know, my mother had
another marriage all lined up. This one was more her style. My step-father,
Gerald R. Conklin the third, was the CEO of a marketing company that had been
in his family for generations in Connecticut. That was definitely a bit of a
culture shock when my mother whisked me away from our humble surroundings and
moved me into an extravagant mansion. It was a whole new world.
My mother on the other hand, had
always been a frigidly cold and uncaring, acting as if I was more of a nuisance
than anything. She fit in perfectly.
I started to act out once I hit
high school; I think mainly to try to get her attention. I had been threatened
at least three times to be thrown out of the fancy private school that Gerald
shelled out a ton of money for. When bad behavior at school just seemed to make
things worse in our relationship, I turned to boys and drinking.
When Chris came along, she seemed
to warm up to me just a little. One, because I had stopped acting out and two,
because he was from an even richer family than ours. It was all about the
social ladder with my mother. But any warm feelings from her soon cooled off
again once my life was completely flipped upside down, something that I had
never expected would happen to
me.