rissy stories

Hey guys,

This is the last part to this series! My future stories won’t be this long, I promise. Enjoy!

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Ellison & Hadley

 

Six years later

“Hads?” Ellison knocked on Hadley’s door, sounding soft and worried. Her heart was pounding – she had just come upstairs from downstairs, after talking to Babs and her prison girlfriend. She’d watched as they kicked Aunt Jay out onto the street, and she watched the poor woman walk away with nothing. She contemplated how she was going to explain the situation to a seven-year-old. Hadley looked up from her Barbie dolls and whined.

“What? I already cleaned my room,” Hadley said and looked back down at her Barbies. Ellison took a deep breath and shut her eyes for a moment, looking into the room that she used to share with Hadley. After Ripley graduated from community college a year ago and officially moved in with her boyfriend, Ellison was allowed to take her room. Now Ellison wished that she could go back in time, when Ripley was still living with them again and she had to share a room with her little sister who snored a lot. As much as her older siblings gave her grief over the years, she missed them dearly now that they were out of the house. She hated Brynn the most, but after she scored a full ride to the University of Pittsburgh to study biology, Ellison was left alone with her junkie of an aunt and her seven-year-old sister. Even her problems with Ripley vanished once Ellison grabbed ahold of her anxiety and they bonded over their lack of talent in comparison to Brynn and Van. She missed Ripley the most.

Ellison finally walked in and sat down on Hadley’s small bed, looking much too big for it now. She chewed the dead skin off of her lip and thought about what her mother had just said to her, “Don’t worry about Jay, I don’t want any more bad influences for you kids. Why don’t you go upstairs now and play with your sister while Laura and I get dinner started? We’re here to stay, okay? No more bulls*** this time, pretty girl. You’ve always been the prettiest.”

Sixteen-year-old Ellison still had her straight blonde hair, but it was grown out and dyed lighter. Her blue eyes were covered with heavy makeup and her band t-shirt had clearly shrunk in the dryer. She had a choker collar and bracelets covering her wrists, but she looked softer to Hadley than she normally did. Ellison had become very stand-offish within the past several years, especially after Van also scored a full ride to Iowa State University for wrestling. Van and Ellison had grown pretty close too, and he defended her against Brynn a lot. Ellison claimed her sudden change had nothing to do with Van, but Hadley knew she missed him. Hadley dropped her Barbies at her sister’s change in demeanor and stood up.

“What’s going on?” she asked, flatting out her pink dress. Ellison’s eyes shifted around the room and she rubbed her hands on her jeans.

“Do you remember mommy?” she asked quietly. Ellison thought back to the last time she saw Babette. In prison, she was a wearing bright orange jumpsuit that she swam in and her hair was a tangled mess. She looked scarily thin – it was a miracle she survived. Now she just looked naturally skinny, but Hadley wouldn’t notice the difference. Hadley furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head, walking over and sitting next to Ellison on her bed.

“No,” she replied. Ellison grinned.

“You’re lucky,” she said. “Both mommy and daddy went away when you were one, but the thing is… mommy’s back now,” she added unhappily. Hadley’s blue eyes went wide – she’d never really seen her parents before. Ripley never wanted her to visit them. Brynn and Ellison visited sometimes, but after the first year of them being in prison, they gave up. Ellison’s view of them had been tainted and that destroyed her will to want to fix things between her siblings and parents. Ellison knew she should have listened to Ripley more, but she did have to admit that the Hazeldines had it much better than they all originally thought that they were going to over these past several years. Everyone was actually getting out of the hood and going to college, but for Ellison, still a loner and not talented at much, there weren’t a whole lot of prospects up ahead. And now, who knew what was going to happen to Hadley.

“Mommy’s back?” she asked excitedly. Ellison took another deep breath and pushed her hair back behind her ears, something she hadn’t really done in years.

“And you know how Aunt Jay’s been sick this past year?” she asked. Hadley nodded, it was true. She hadn’t seen Aunt Jay eat anything in weeks, but she was still continuing to gain weight somehow. She always smelt terrible, her skin was always full of scabs, and her pupils were always way too big. Hadley also remembered when Aunt Jay had woken her up in the middle of the night a couple of months ago in a frantic state. She kept telling Hadley that they needed to leave because there were “munchkins in her room that were stealing her underwear.” Her speech was slurred, but Hadley was able to make out that Aunt Jay thought it was a sign the world was about to end. She also apparently “knew of a hideout at the bottom of the neighbor’s above-ground swimming pool.” Hadley had a playful imagination, so she knew what it was like to make up stuff like that. She didn’t think much of it and she just sent Aunt Jay back to bed with a “We’ll play in the morning.” She never told Ellison about it because it never happened again. “Well… now that mommy’s back and feelin’ better… she sent Aunt Jay away,” Ellison explained carefully, trying to preserve some of Hadley’s innocence.

“But who’s gonna play house with me after school?” Hadley asked. Ellison smiled with tears in her eyes, but she held them back and wrapped an arm around Hadley’s shoulders.

“Me,” Ellison replied. Hadley blinked up at her, not looking completely convinced. Ellison chuckled, not blaming her. Ellison knew she’d been pretty cold to Hadley these past couple of months. Someone had to fix Hadley dinner when Brynn went off to college last year, and exactly when Aunt Jay decided that meth was more important. Aunt Jay was still there to do the things that Hadley liked, but didn’t need, while Ellison always did what Hadley didn’t like, but needed. Ellison took Hadley to school every morning. Ellison stayed home from school if Hadley was sick. Ellison helped her with her homework while she struggled to finish her own. Ellison disciplined Hadley when she misbehaved. Ellison, Ellison, Ellison. Hadley had grown pretty sick of her always being the center of attention.

“But you don’t like dolls,” Hadley replied, clearly confused.

“I like you,” Ellison said.

“Does mommy like me?” Hadley asked. Ellison hesitated, a bit thrown off and conflicted on how to answer. She stared at Hadley for a moment and then looked straight in front of her, where Hadley’s Barbie dolls and their accessories were gathered in the middle of the floor. She was pretty sure one of the Barbie dolls was hers from when she was ten. She remembered playing with that blonde haired Barbie doll the night that they were arrested, right before she went to bed. She’d been pretending that the Barbie was hanging out with her friends – people who actually wanted to hear her talk about… well, anything, really. People who wanted to listen to her ask questions and express emotion. “Honey, you’re a natural beauty, you don’t have to talk to get attention,” she remembered her mother often saying to her.

“No,” Ellison whispered and then looked back at Hadley, who suddenly looked afraid. “Mommy doesn’t like anybody but herself,” she replied. Ellison never appreciated anything sugarcoated, so why not answer Hadley’s questions honestly?

“Why’d she come back?” Hadley asked.

“Because after she got outta prison, she had no place else to go.”

“What’s prison?”

“A place where bad, bad people go.”

“Why are mommy and daddy bad?”

“Because they are addicted to drugs that make them sick and they ignore their kids.” Ellison explained in a deadpan tone while Hadley visibly tried to put the pieces together.

“…is that where Aunt Jay is going?”

“No. Mommy and her hick girlfriend kicked Aunt Jay out and she’s too sick to fight back. Jay’s got guardianship over us, but now that she’s gone, mommy told me she’s tryin’ to get us back,” Ellison explained, her upper lip quivering with anger, her hands in fists in her lap, and her leg bouncing. She never really liked Aunt Jay, and she always suspected that this wasn’t going to end well, but at least her drug addiction for this past year was private. She never abused them, she just lost her mind. The cops were never called. Ellison and Hadley never had to run over to Ms. Lowell’s. Jay didn’t deserve to be thrown out on her a**, completely alone and defenseless, without a thank you from the parent of the kids she saved years ago. Hadley’s eyebrows furrowed and she played fondled her strawberry blonde pigtails.

“But what about Aunt Jay? Where is she?” she asked frantically. Ellison placed both hands on her shoulders to keep her from getting up, and to try and calm her down.

“I don’t know. We can’t think about Aunt Jay right now. We gotta figure out what we’re doin’ first,” Ellison explained calmly. Hadley started sucking her thumb, a habit she couldn’t break. Ellison wasn’t going to start in on her now, though. “Look, we can’t stay here with mommy and her girlfriend. They’re gonna get us into trouble, and you could end up in a foster home. You hear me?” Ellison asked. Hadley looked extremely conflicted, but nodded furiously.

“What do we do?” she asked worriedly, her speech muffled by the thumb still in her mouth. Ellison stroked a pigtail and patted her leg.

“You know the fire escape outside of Brynn’s room?” she asked. Hadley nodded. “We’re gonna climb out and catch the next bus to Northside,” she explained. Hadley gasped excitedly.

“Ripley and Zane?!” she asked. Ellison smiled and nodded.

“We need to see them in person to figure out what I need to do to get us out of this mess, alright?” she asked. Hadley jumped up from the bed and ran to her dresser. She opened a drawer and started throwing clothes everywhere. “We can only skip school a couple days, El, only pack for four,” Ellison added. Hadley nodded with a big smile on her face and then pulled out a small suitcase from underneath her bed. She loved visiting Ripley and Zane – Zane always gave her candy, and Ripley was soooo nice. Ellison watched her and smiled, wishing that she felt the same excitement. She knew that she only had two more years until she would become independent, but Hadley still had eleven years. Eleven years of living with Melvin and Babs, who were thankfully too old to have any more children, but f***-ups nonetheless. She’d end up in a foster home for sure, and Ellison couldn’t let that happen – not after all of the s*** her older siblings went through to make sure that Ellison didn’t. Family takes care of family. Always.

Ellison stood up, confident in her decision, and informed Hadley that she was going to go pack too. She left Hadley’s room and went directly across the hall into her own. She already had a suitcase on her bed and she started piling clothes into it, contemplating on whether or not she should actually inform Ripley that they were coming… and why they were coming. She felt rude just showing up at her doorstep with a s*** storm like this, but she was family, right? On the other hand, she also knew that Ripley would more than likely turn her away since it’s not her problem anymore. Ellison just didn’t know, and that was what bothered her the most.

She could hear her mother and girlfriend from prison arguing downstairs and it was almost like no time had passed. “Look at this place, I can’t find where anythin’ is! Jay f***ed it all up, and there’s toys everywhere!” Tears filled Ellison’s eyes again as she folded her t-shirts and shoved them inside a suitcase. “You think Jay mighta left any meth lyin’ around?” She moved onto her underwear, but forced herself to pause a moment and breathe. “Nah, Jay’s always been selfish as f*** with her drugs, don’t bother lookin’” She placed her hands on the bed and tried controlling her erratic breathing, the pain in her chest increasing with each second that passed. “Well let’s go get somethin’! I’m dyin’ ova her,” Tears fell down her cheeks and the tips of her fingers tingled as they dug further into the weak mattress. “For Christ’s sake, I just got outta prison, Laura! I’m tryin’ to do right by my kids… or what’s left of ‘em.”

Ellison’s knees felt weaker than they had a minute ago, her skin paler. She used every ounce of her willpower to pull herself out of her own headspace and walk over to the other side of the bed. She tried to keep her crying silent as she knelt down and opened up the little cabinet within her nightstand. With a shaky hand, she pulled out a Ziploc back with three RX bottles inside and a small box. She opened the bag, then opened the box that said Klonopin on the front and pulled out a square wrapper. She dropped the bag at her feet, started to wheeze, her head pounding. She ripped the wrapper open with trembling fingers and let a little white wafer fall into her palm. She raised her palm to her mouth and let the wafer fall onto her tongue. She closed her mouth and dropped the wrapper while sitting on the floor, her back against the bed. She sucked on the wafer and used her hands to try and wipe off the makeup that had been traveling down her face with the tears that never seemed to stop.

It had been awhile since she had an anxiety attack this bad, but at least she knew how to handle them now. She moved her tongue around, trying to dissolve the wafer faster while she focused on her breathing techniques, and it wasn’t long before she heard small, creaking footsteps at her door. Hadley paused for a moment before walking inside and putting her small Tinkerbell suitcase next to Ellison’s on the bed, then she walked around the bed to find Ellison on the floor. Ellison looked over at her with blurry vision, but neither exchanged words. Hadley simply knelt down next to her, hugged her right arm, and leaned her head on Ellison’s shoulder. Ellison shut her eyes and sighed heavily, still trying to wipe off her face with her other hand. They sat in silence like this for about five full minutes before Ellison’s breathing evened out. Hadley was pretty used to seeing this happen, and she knew enough about it to know that anything could trigger it, so she didn’t bother asking.

“C’mon, we gotta go now if we wanna catch the next bus,” Ellison whispered. Hadley nodded and helped Ellison back to her feet. They could still hear Babs and Laura arguing downstairs, but they ignored it as Hadley helped Ellison pack the rest of her things. Hadley grabbed Ellison’s medication bag and placed that on top of all her clothes. Ellison gave her a smile as a thank you and closed it up. Then they tiptoed over to Brynn’s room and walked over to the window. Ellison opened it with a grunt and looked back at Hadley, who had never actually climbed out of the window and onto the fire escape before.

“You gotta climb out first, gimme your suitcase,” Ellison said. Hadley handed it over and surprisingly climbed out of the window without help or a second thought. Once she was on the ladder, she automatically started climbing down, and Ellison watched in shock. Who knew Hadley would turn into a spider monkey. Ellison slung her suitcase over her left shoulder and held Hadley’s on her left wrist. Hadley was already on the ground when Ellison started carefully climbing out the window with both suitcases, focusing on not looking down. She didn’t even bother to close the window and made it to the ground safely. She took a deep breath of fresh, spring-time air and handed Hadley her suitcase. She grabbed her hand as they walked around the house, the setting sun turning Hadley’s hair orange and Ellison’s a darker blonde.

They kicked the grass as they walked to the sidewalk and went left, aiming to walk the mile to the nearest bus stop. They both glanced at a red, slightly broken down Jetta making its way towards them, but didn’t really look at it until it slowed down and stopped right next to them. Ellison stopped Hadley and looked over to see Idamae driving and Ms. Lowell hanging out the passenger seat window. Ellison pulled Hadley along and smiled at Ms. Lowell.

“Woo, girl, you’ve gotten taller!” Ms. Lowell said to Ellison and laughed. Ellison laughed, feeling slightly embarrassed, then she glanced back at their house to make sure Babs was still inside. “Where you girls goin’? It’s almost seven, dinner time!” Ms. Lowell asked. Ellison glanced over at Idamae and grinned at her, not knowing her too well, but she did know that Ida worked with Ms. Lowell now, she gave Van the idea of getting Aunt Jay to adopt them, and she was still dating Van. So, she could more than likely trust her too.

“Babs is back.” Ellison said. The smile fell from Ms. Lowell’s face and she turned to Ida.

“Did you know ‘bout this?” she asked. Ida shook her head.

“Nah, I just visited Van this weekend, he didn’t say nothin’,” she replied.

“She came back a few hours ago and kicked Jay out,” Ellison answered.

“What?!” Ms. Lowell and Ida asked simultaneously.

“We’re going to see Ripley,” Hadley chimed in happily. Ms. Lowell turned back to Ida.

“Hop in, we’ll give you a ride,” Ida said, unlocking her doors. Ellison raised her eyebrows.

“What do I gotta do for it?” she asked. Ida rolled her eyes.

“You’re my boyfriend’s sisters. You’re f***in’ family. Get in.”

xxx

Ripley stood at the stove with a wooden spoon in her hand, and she was staring down into a pan full of red sauce. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail as usual and she was wearing a very baggy HACC t-shirt with no pants on. She slid her black socks against the tiled kitchen floor of her apartment, patiently waiting for something.

“I smell somethin’ good,” a male voice said from behind her. She smiled and turned around to face Zane, a slightly chubby twenty-four-year-old with curly brown hair and green eyes. He was shirtless, but wearing jeans and socks. He smirked at Ripley who was giggling. “I was wonderin’ where my shirt went,” he said. She held out her wooden spoon to him.

“Taste test,” she said. He walked up to her and seductively licked the spoon. She burst out laughing and took the spoon from him, “That’s sexy,” she said sarcastically and flung the rest of the sauce from the spoon on him. It landed on his chest, so he wiped it off with his finger and ate it. She smiled wider, “So it’s good?” she asked. He nodded.

“Just add a little more salt and that should do it,” he said, walking over to the cabinet to grab two plates.

“I think we’re almost outta that,” Ripley said, licking the rest of the sauce off the spoon and reaching for the salt and pepper shakers on the counter.

“No worries, I’ll go buy some tomorrow after work and then I’ll make us dinner,” he explained and she nodded, turning off the stove to let the sauce cool. A knock at the door broke their rhythm. They both turned to look at it and then each other.

“One of your college buddies?” Ripley asked. He shook his head.

“Nah, we got plans the night after tomorrow,” he said and walked around a counter corner and into the living area to open the door. He looked out the peep hole first and then turned to Ripley.

“Rip, get over here,” he said.

“Who is it?” she asked worriedly and rushed over, clearly not remembering that she was only wearing a shirt, socks, and underwear. She didn’t even bother looking out the peephole and swung the door open. There stood Ellison and Hadley, suitcases in hand, in the dark. They looked exhausted, and Ellison had clearly been crying. Hadley smiled and squealed excitedly.

“Ripley!” she cried happily and ran up to hug Ripley’s waist, not caring that she wasn’t wearing pants. Ripley stumbled slightly but Zane kept her steady. Ripley patted Hadley’s head, but kept her shocked eyes on Ellison.

“S***, what happened?” she asked her. Ellison remained silent for a moment, like she was trying to think of what to say. “El, just tell me,” Ripley added. Ellison sighed, looking from Zane to Ripley. It had been a couple of months since they saw each other, and they looked so different. They looked… happy. Very much so. Ellison felt a pang of jealousy, but brushed it off.

“Babs is back. She kicked out Jay and wants to adopt Hadley and I,” she explained. Ripley’s face fell and she turned to Zane who opened the door wider for Ellison.

“Come on in, we were just about to eat dinner,” he said kindly. Ellison quietly thanked him as she walked through the threshold and Ripley inched out of the way with Hadley still clung to her waist.

“I’ve missed you Ripley,” she said.

“I’ve missed you too, baby. Why don’t you go watch some TV for a bit before dinner,” Ripley suggested. Hadley nodded and walked to the right, towards the couch. She grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. Ripley grinned – she was such a good, obedient kid. Ellison left their suitcases in front of the door while Zane closed and locked it. Ripley walked with Ellison into the kitchen area, several feet from Hadley, who was still flipping channels on the TV.

“First of all, relax, ‘cause Babs can’t kick Jay out. Jay is guardian, and as long as she’s-”

“She’s not, Rip. She started back up on meth several months ago. Babs could easily win,” Ellison explained. Ripley sighed and looked up at Zane who was standing behind Ellison.

“I f***ing knew somethin’ was off the last time we saw her,” Ripley said, talking to Zane as though it were his fault. “Why didn’t you tell us?” she asked Ellison. Ellison scoffed.

“Oh what, were you gonna move back in to take care of us?” Ellison said. Ripley shook her head.

“No, but it woulda been nice to know. I could’ve checked up on you,” she replied.

“That still wouldn’t have stopped our current situation,” Ellison said.

“Okay, fine. You said Babs is back. Melvin?”

“Still in prison,” Ellison chewed on a fingernail and stared at the pan on the stove behind Ripley. She sighed, suddenly remembering something. “She’s got a girlfriend.”

“Mom?” Ellison’s eyes widened slightly – Ripley rarely ever called Babs “mom.”

“Yeah.”

“What did she say?”

“She kicked out Jay, told me she was stayin’… and she called me pretty.”

“Of course she did.”

“She said she’s clean, but we all know she’s gonna f*** it up, and then Hads’ll get sent to a foster home for the next eleven years. I mean, I can try becomin’ her legal guardian when I turn eighteen, but I’m assumin’ Babs is gonna screw it up long before then, so Hads will already be gone. She’s young, she could still get adopted by somebody else-”

“EL,” Ripley grabbed ahold of her shoulders and shook her slightly. She was breathing heavy and wild-eyed. Zane was already getting her a glass of water. “Listen, you can’t take on Hads as a dependent,” she added. Zane handed her the glass and she gulped it down.

“Why not? She’s a good kid,” Ellison said. Ripley glanced over at Zane and sighed.

“You’re sixteen, El. Even when you turn eighteen I’m gonna be tellin’ ya – you’re eighteen. You’re still a kid, you can’t-”

“You did,” Ellison yelled. Zane shushed her and glanced over at Hadley, who was still staring at the TV with her backs turned to them. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t have ears. “You took care of us when you were only a year older than I am now! What makes you think I can’t do it too?” Ellison asked as a loud whisper. Ripley looked to Zane helplessly and ran a hand over her ponytail. She sighed again, red stress circles returning around her eyes.

“I never said you couldn’t do it,” she whispered. “I took care of you, yes, but you ever wonder why I never became your legal guardian? Solve all our problems?” she asked. Ellison looked around the kitchen, appearing frustrated, but remaining silent. She looked back at Ripley and shook her head once. She never thought about the legalities of it, and she remembered arguing about it the day after Melvin and Babs went off to jail, but she always just thought Ripley secretly wanted to leave them. She never thought about it much after that. Ripley took a deep breath before continuing.

“Melvin and Babs took everythin’ from us, El. Our childhoods, our past, a normal life. They took it all and left us with their screwed up genetics. I’m selfish like them, dear. What I’ve got goin’ here is great, and for once, I feel like I deserve it. I worked my ass off so Van and Brynn could have the opportunities to get full rides to college, and they deserve it. And guess what… so do you,” Ripley explained, she flashed a smile at Zane who smiled back.

“Deserve what? I’ve got nothin’,” Ellison said, tears streaming down her face.

“You got a life. A chance at a normal life, like me. We can’t control what happened back then, but we can control what happens now. I didn’t fight for guardianship way back when ‘cause I woulda robbed myself of all this. And I’m happy – really happy,” she said sincerely. Zane gave her a side hug and a kiss on the head as he started getting the rest of dinner ready.

“Taking on guardianship means you’re lettin’ our parents steal your future too. You gotta be selfish, here. You can’t parent a kid that didn’t even come outta you from sixteen to twenty-seven! You’ll be twenty-seven when you’re done parentin’ her, El,” Ripley explained further. Ellison sniffled and wiped at her cheeks. Zane grabbed a tissue box from the table in between the kitchen and the couch. He walked over and handed it to her. She thanked him and tried wiping off her makeup as best she could. Ripley still had ahold of her shoulders.

“So what, we just leave Hads twistin’ in the wind?” Ellison asked, her voice nasally now that her nose was stuffy. Ripley shook her head and pushed Ellison’s hair behind her ears.

“No. We fight,” she whispered. Ellison furrowed her eyebrows at her sister.

“We what?” she asked.

“I’m gonna take the next couple days offa work, and you’re gonna take a couple days offa school for family emergency. The three of us are gonna find Jay and get her sober. She’ll have nasty withdrawals, but we’ll figure it out. We make her look presentable so she’ll be able to put up a good legal fight ‘gainst Babs. Then I’m gonna make a little call to grandma to see what she can do ‘bout kickin’ Babs and her girlfriend outta the house she owns,” Ripley explained. Ellison’s face brightened at each word, until she was actually smiling at the end.

“That’s genius! But wait, what if Babs starts usin’ again?” Ellison asked.

“Then you spend the next two years focusin’ on school and takin’ care of Hads until you go off to college somewhere. What happens after we’ll have to figure out when it happens. But we gotta take care of Babs first. Baby steps,” Ripley said. At this point, Hadley had gotten up and was chatting with Zane, following him as he set up dinner. As Zane passed by Ripley again, he kissed her cheek and Ellison patted Hadley’s head as she followed him.

“You really think this’ll work?” she asked. Ripley smirked and leaned in close to her.

“I’ll let you in on a secret Van never really understood. If you really wanna take control and win-” Ripley was cut off by Zane handing them both plates and saying “C’mon guys, chow time!” Hadley laughed while Ripley and Ellison smiled, then Ripley gave Ellison a serious stare.

“You gotta play the long game,” she whispered, then turned around and headed towards the table, where Zane was already pouring Ripley’s sauce all over the spaghetti. Ellison stood behind and watched them act like a mom, dad, and daughter. She blinked a couple times, but mostly couldn’t take her eyes off of it. It was a strange sight to see, and it seemed just within arms-reach. Hadley caught Ellison staring and waved her over, and Ellison snapped out of her daydream and walked around the counter and towards the table. If the long game was what Ellison needed to do in order to achieve this… then bring it.