We'll Find Our Way There

"Dad, please, I don't want to be here. Not with her." Vivienne practically begged her father.

"Nonsense, we're here, and that's final." He told her.

Vivienne and her parents had been invited to a dinner party by an ex-friend, Talula, and her grandfather. Vivienne begged and begged her parents not to go, but their decision was final once they got the invite. All she could think about was how Talula was trying to spite her after their fight. If it were up to Vivienne, she'd be at home in the library with her grandmother, eating chocolate chip cookies and drinking champagne. But, instead, she was here, at a dinner party that would surely go up in flames.

"I already can't wait to go home." She whined.

"Oh hush, it'll be fine. Maybe you and Talula can even reconcile." Her mother said. "I doubt that." She muttered under her breath as her father handed the keys to the valet.

As the family walked in, Vivienne could smell the rich smells of chocolate throughout the halls. Looking up at the ceiling, she could see the row of chandeliers she had seen so many times, yet they seemed unfamiliar.

"Wendall, Fiona, Welcome!" cried a very hoarse voice.

Talula's grandfather, Joseph. He was a hefty man, with a big belly and short, stubby legs. He had a thinning hairline and multiple gold teeth, with rings that matched. He may not have been someone you'd look twice at, but he was a kind man, who loved Vivienne just as much as his own grand-daughter.

"Vivi! How are you, darling?" He asked.

"Fine. " She told him.

"Wonderful! What have you been up to?" He said smiling warmly.

"Well, I just joined the National Honors Society, and I'm also a co-cheer captain." She softly replied.

"Isn't that great!" He beamed at her "Come, come! Stop standing in the foyer as if you're a stranger! Lulu is upstairs in her room if you want to go and see her." He said.

Vivienne didn't want to see Talula, but she would just to be nice. After walking up two flights of stairs, she was standing at the deep mahogany double doors she had seen so many times before. She knocked, hoping there wouldn't be an answer.

"Talula? It's me, Vivienne. Can I come in?" She asked, hoping for a no, but at the same time hoping for a yes. After a few minutes of silence, Vivienne had thought about walking away until she heard a high-pitched voice.

"Come in."

Taking her deepest breath, Vivienne walked into the room. The walls were pink, covered with silver trimming. In the first large portion of the room sat an enormous canopy bed made of real wood deep brown in color, which boasted a sheer pink canopy curtain with silver stars sprinkled all over it. Talula's grandfather loved to indulge his only grandchild. He had the bed made special for her flown all the way over from Europe. The bed was covered with pink and silver feather pillows, staying true to the motif of the room, and the softest duvet covers you'd ever lay in. Just a few more steps until Vivienne reached Talula's closet. It was full of Coach and Chanel brand purses, and expensive clothes, shoes, and accessories, from various designers, all around the world, known and unknown. She looked at Talula, who was in the mirror, gazing at herself in her all salmon outfit.

"Hey," Vivienne muttered.

"Hey. How have you been?"

"Fine. You?"

"Fine."

The conversation was short. As expected.

"So."

"Vivi, it's just me. You don't have to be so nervous." Talula reassured her old friend.

"I know, it's just-"

The conversation was cut short, by the butler.

"Dinner has been served, Miss Talula. Your grandfather requests that you and your guest come down. The others have already taken their seats."

Vivienne let out a sigh of relief, thankful that she wouldn't have to continue the boring conversation. As the pair walked downstairs, Vivienne dreaded the grilling that was sure to start as soon as she and Talula sat down. And it did. The food was set and everyone was seated at the massive dining table, staring at her and Talula warily. Vivienne silently sat next to her mother and did her best to avoid the multiple gazes burning a hole into her flesh. Minutes later, Joseph asked the girls a question they didn't want to hear.

"So, girls. What was the cause of your fight?"

Vivienne's heart dropped to her stomach. She didn't want to relive that awful day. While she paled in horror to the question, Talula smirked, her eyes telling Vivienne that she knew everyone would soon be on her side.

"Well, grandpa. It was awful. So, you know, every year on Valentine's Day, everyone writes a card to their friend or their crush and passes them out. I told Vivienne that I hoped to get one from Tyler. I'd had a crush on him since the first time I saw him playing lacrosse in our freshman year. So, all of the candies and cards were passed out, right? Or so we thought, until Tyler got up, still holding his! I just knew he was going to give it to me, but he walked over and gave it to VIVIENNE! Told HER he had the biggest crush on HER!!! And as if that wasn't enough, he kissed her! Right there in front of EVERYONE! I wanted to die! The whole school knew I like Tyler and here he was making out with my best friend right in front of me! And it's not like she was trying to push him away either, she kissed him back! It's like my best friend and my First Love teamed up to hurt me!"

Vivienne could not believe what she had heard. Talula fabricated that whole story! Well, most of it anyway...Slamming her hands on the table and standing up, Vivienne was ready to defend herself.

"THAT IS NOT HOW IT HAPPENED AT ALL! I DIDN'T ASK FOR HIS STUPID CARD AND I DIDN'T PLOT AGAINST YOU! BUT YOU SPREAD A RUMOR ABOUT ME! TELLING EVERYONE THAT I WAS PREGNANT AND THAT THE FATHER WAS A THIRTY-FIVE-YEAR-OLD MAN! IT TOOK ME WEEKS TO CLEAR IT UP, JUST SO YOU COULD GO AND START ANOTHER ONE! YOU'RE LUCKY IT DIDN'T GET TO MY PARENTS! I SWEAR TALULA, I WILL REACH ACROSS THE TABLE AND STRANGLE YOU!"

By the time Vivienne ended her sentence, the whole room was standing still and staring at the scene unfolding before them, eyes and mouths open wide, horrified at what the two former besties were saying about each other.

"Is this true, Lulu?"

"No grandpa, she's lying! She always lies! SHE HURT ME ON PURPOSE AND I WANT AN APOLOGY!"

"YOU COULD KILL MY FAMILY, TAKE EVERYONE I LOVE IN A SPAN OF THREE DAYS AND I STILL WOULDN'T SPIT IN YOUR DIRECTION!"

The words echoed throughout the room, seeping into the walls. Vivienne couldn't take it anymore, she had to leave. So, she stormed out of the room and ran outside. Her black eyeliner mixed with the tears running down her cheeks, she called for an Uber to take her home. She didn't want to leave with her parents. After all, they were the ones who made her come. Once her Uber arrived, she didn't think twice before getting inside. Watching the house as she left, seeing her parents run out the door, hearing them shout after her. All she could do once the house was out of sight was cry. She couldn't wait to go home and just lie her head in her grandmother's lap.

(Sorry for the long chapter. It was my first time trying to write something serious and I got a bit carried away, plus my mom helped me out, but any way, thanks for reading!)