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One
Duke
Chadwick hollers into the vast silence of the ocean as we sail over the water. It’s the perfect day for sailing. The breeze is nice and steady, not too hot or cold. Ocean blue water moves below us, calm and steady as the breeze. Sunlight bathes the area around us. There is nowhere in this world where I feel more free than on this sailboat. The sailboat was a birthday gift from my father—one my mother has always hated. Actually, the boat was less of a birthday gift and more of a bribe
A few months ago I walked in on my father, Curtis Parrish, going at it with his secretary on his desk. My birthday was only a few days later and the sailboat seemed convenient—like my father was trying to keep me silent. You would think being the biggest plastic surgeon in Hampton Falls would mean you had enough common sense to lock a door if you’re going to have an affair but not good ol’ dad. The next thing I knew my dad was randomly dropping money into my personal account—then the boat showed up.
Of course my mother had a fit. She was convinced I was going to kill myself while sailing, as if I didn’t know how. I’ve been sailing all my life so I don't know why she was acting like the mom from that Christmas movie. The one where they keep telling the kid he’ll shoot his eye out if he gets a BB gun for Christmas. That’s exactly how I felt when it all went down. My dad won, as always. Sometimes I think my mom knows it was a bribe and that’s why she threw such a fit. I was just her cover story. Then again, I’m sure she got her revenge in the way of another sordid affair with yet another pool boy. Such a cliché the Parrish family is.
As I think about my parents—watching them not so secretly cheat on one another and the way they totally disregard each other’s feelings, only staying together to keep up appearances—is it any wonder that I don’t believe in love? Love is a laughable idea in my opinion. Most would say I’m too cynical at my ripe age of barely eighteen. Many would say I’m jaded. All would say my heart is stone cold ice. They would all be correct.
Love is nothing more than a gimmick that is pushed on us from the time we are born. It’s the basis of just about every entertainment avenue—books, movies, TV shows, music, even art. The idea is absolutely ludacris. You give a vital part of yourself to someone else, foolishly trusting them to protect it and care for it. I have blind faith in no one but myself. I know me and I know what I’ll do to get what I want. I’m all that matters.
Chadwick joins me at the stern. “This is the life man,” he tells me as he slaps me on the back. His normally dark brown hair is lightened to a caramel color, the same color as his sister Penelope’s hair.Penelope Wallace. My mind begins to wander. I may not believe in love at first sight but I definitely believe in the lust part. From the moment I saw Penelope I knew she would be the most perfect piece of art I’d ever find.
Penelope is full of wanderlust and daring ways. Her family isn’t sure what to do with her which I think secretly pleases her more than anything. She likes proving people wrong. Fiercely independent and smart as a whip. Her biggest downfall? Dating every wrong guy in the city of Hampton Falls. I haven’t figured out if she can’t see through them or if she just wants to irritate her parents. “How’s Penelope?” I ask Chadwick.
Instantly he shakes his head. “That’s a whole new story.”
“How so?” I ask with a chuckle. My imagination running wild with what she could have possibly done this time.
“Well, my parents decided to try and lay the law down the other night. It’s crap and I have to admit I’m on Penelope’s side.” Shock is evident in his voice. Chadwick loves Penelope and protects her at all costs but they butt heads a lot. So the fact that he’s on her side with this means something. “They’re trying to dictate where she goes to college and what she studies. I don’t think that’s fair. She has her own dreams and passions and she should be able to follow those. Trying to force her to become something she’s not just isn’t fair.”
I let out a low whistle. Chadwick is right, that’s not fair. Especially for someone like Penelope. She’s too full of life. There’s no way she’ll be happy living up to her parents’ expectations. I’ve known all my life who I would be when I grew up. That was accepted years ago, but I’m not like Penelope. Penelope is more like my sisters, Farrah and Londynn. They are always looking for freedom from our parents. They have too much spirit that has yet to be squashed by the society in which we live. I hope they realize the only expectations they need to live up to are their own.
Two
Penelope
I’m sitting by the pool, sunbathing while nursing a virgin piña colada. I was excited when I first woke up this morning. The day had the potential to be a great day. The Hampton Falls weather was as close to perfect as you could get. Then I had to deal with my parents and the day was ruined. They never fail to remind me how I disappoint them by not living up to their expectations.
So, now I’m lying next to the pool, acting every bit the role they expect of me. For whatever reason they seem to want some ridiculously spoiled child. One they can dictate how to live their life, starting with where I go to college and what I study. Their expectations are silly really, because they will dish out all the money for an Ivy League college and a degree I won’t use. What’s the point? All they really care about is who I marry. College is just something you do because it’s expected. What they really want is to marry me off to the boy with the biggest trust fund and that will in some way benefit my father and his company. Bile rises in my throat at the mere thought of it.
This is a constant battle we have been fighting lately, in the place we call home that is more like a mansion museum. As I’m lying under the sun my phone announces a text but I ignore it. At some point I doze off only to be awoken by a shrill voice. “Please tell me you at least have sunscreen on!”
I peek my eyes open to see my best friend and partner in crime standing on the steps that lead down to the pool area in my backyard. Lauren Reichmann. Lauren has been my best friend since our first day at the private academy. Lauren is a model-like, blonde with legs for days and a face that most of Hampton Falls would pay for. Don’t let her looks fool you though. Lauren is a math genius and has a bit of a hippie side, thanks to her environmentalist parents. Her parents are the complete opposite of mine. They allow Lauren to be exactly who she wants to be. I envy her for that. I laugh. “Well, if I don’t have it on, it's a little late to worry about it now.”
Lauren’s perfectly painted pink lips fall open before she cringes and makes her way towards me. “I really hope you do.”
Lauren is super into skin care and stuff like that. All organic and all-natural is all she will use. I hate to admit it but I’m nothing like that. Then again she’ll probably outlive me by forty years, especially if I end up being the person my parents want. “Chill out. I have it on. What are you doing here?”
She shrugs her thin shoulders. “Bored as usual. I thought I’d come and see what my bestie is up to.”
“Absolutely nothing.”
Lauren pulls her sunglasses down to the tip of her nose. “Are you trying to stick it to your parents again?” she asks.
“Aren’t I always?” I ask her with a smirk.
She sets her purse down beside her. Only Lauren, who has no concern for money, could set an eight hundred dollar purse down on the ground like it was nothing. “Do you want to talk about it?” She always offers but I normally decline. There’s no point in rehashing the same story of my life.
Society always has standards, but this portion of society has ridiculouslyhighstandards. We’re expected to be exactly who our parents want us to be. That generation seems to think money solves everything—like because they have money, everyone should bow at their feet, including their children. I’m not willing to sell my soul to the devil for millions. I’m sorry my parents see that as an option. My dad makes more money than he could ever spend. My mom married him for the money, gave him a couple of kids for leverage, and we all put on fake smiles in front of the camera—and for events—but behind the mansion door…there’s nothing here. So instead of talking about the same old story I roll on to my side and ask Lauren, “What do you have planned for tonight?”
Lauren smirks. “Does Penelope want to come out to play?”
“I can’t think of anything I’d like more.”
Three
