Vanilla 9, chocolate 19, strawberry 24: Mother Used To Say
Title: Mother Used To Say
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Vanilla 9 (mother used to say), chocolate 19 (solitude), strawberry 24 (ink), rainbow sprinkles (Yvonne), hot fudge (Yvonne), cherry (stylistic stuff), pocky chain, and just a hint of butterscotch (Yvonne is like five in the first one).
Word Count: 464
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Five times Yvonne thought her mother was wrong.
Notes: I legitimately did not realize how crazy this woman was until I wrote this. Rating is for disturbing mental processes.
1. "Give that back to your sister,"
she said, and Yvonne was so angry her eyes crossed and she wept with rage. It wasn't Theresa's, it was hers, whatever it was. She knew it was hers. So what if 'Resa wanted it? It shouldn't matter, because it was hers.
She kept count in red ink of all the things 'Resa took from her, and waited for her chance. She deserved so much better than what they gave her; and if they wouldn't see that, well, then, she'd just have to take it by herself.
--
2. "Leave them alone, child,"
she said, and Yvonne ignored her. Payback was a bitch. 'Resa and her mother were about to learn how true that was.
Hugh wasn't very handsome, objectively; lovely hazel eyes countered by a prematurely receding hairline and a lost-puppy look. But he was kind, and stupid about it, and Yvonne could make him worship her. She could pay 'Resa back, get what she knew was hers. She could do it easily.
The ink on their wedding invitations would be red, she thought, for revenge.
--
3. "Be careful what you wish for,"
she said, and Yvonne hated her for it. She had her revenge, and it had been so sweet at first, the looks on their faces, but now...
Hugh had been her slave, and now she had nothing and couldn't understand why. He spent all his time cooing over the baby, googly-eyed and idiotic, fucking besotted. Yvonne had been prepared to give up some of his attention, when she learned she was pregnant. But she would not give up all.
It was hers, dammit.
She began to keep count again.
--
4. "Don't burn your bridges,"
she said, and Yvonne had done just that, lighting the metaphorical match with glee. She'd got them both back with one stroke. Sheer elegance in its simplicity. Now she'd be free to pursue whatever she wanted, she thought.
But no one wanted a woman with a teenage daughter, no matter how beautiful she was, and Yvonne began to realize that they were all in on it. Everyone, all together, plotting to take from her what she deserved.
When Olivia left, it was the final blow. They were all against her now.
--
5. "As you sow, so shall you reap,"
she said, and Yvonne knew it wasn't true. It wasn't her fault, any of this. It was all their fault, all of them. If only they'd given her what she deserved, everything would have been fine. She would have her adoring husband and beautiful daughter, her perfect life, everything she wanted.
Instead they'd taken everything from her, and every time she tried to better her lot they slapped her back down. Every time.
It wasn’t her fault. It wasn't.
What had she ever done to them?
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Vanilla 9 (mother used to say), chocolate 19 (solitude), strawberry 24 (ink), rainbow sprinkles (Yvonne), hot fudge (Yvonne), cherry (stylistic stuff), pocky chain, and just a hint of butterscotch (Yvonne is like five in the first one).
Word Count: 464
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Five times Yvonne thought her mother was wrong.
Notes: I legitimately did not realize how crazy this woman was until I wrote this. Rating is for disturbing mental processes.
1. "Give that back to your sister,"
she said, and Yvonne was so angry her eyes crossed and she wept with rage. It wasn't Theresa's, it was hers, whatever it was. She knew it was hers. So what if 'Resa wanted it? It shouldn't matter, because it was hers.
She kept count in red ink of all the things 'Resa took from her, and waited for her chance. She deserved so much better than what they gave her; and if they wouldn't see that, well, then, she'd just have to take it by herself.
--
2. "Leave them alone, child,"
she said, and Yvonne ignored her. Payback was a bitch. 'Resa and her mother were about to learn how true that was.
Hugh wasn't very handsome, objectively; lovely hazel eyes countered by a prematurely receding hairline and a lost-puppy look. But he was kind, and stupid about it, and Yvonne could make him worship her. She could pay 'Resa back, get what she knew was hers. She could do it easily.
The ink on their wedding invitations would be red, she thought, for revenge.
--
3. "Be careful what you wish for,"
she said, and Yvonne hated her for it. She had her revenge, and it had been so sweet at first, the looks on their faces, but now...
Hugh had been her slave, and now she had nothing and couldn't understand why. He spent all his time cooing over the baby, googly-eyed and idiotic, fucking besotted. Yvonne had been prepared to give up some of his attention, when she learned she was pregnant. But she would not give up all.
It was hers, dammit.
She began to keep count again.
--
4. "Don't burn your bridges,"
she said, and Yvonne had done just that, lighting the metaphorical match with glee. She'd got them both back with one stroke. Sheer elegance in its simplicity. Now she'd be free to pursue whatever she wanted, she thought.
But no one wanted a woman with a teenage daughter, no matter how beautiful she was, and Yvonne began to realize that they were all in on it. Everyone, all together, plotting to take from her what she deserved.
When Olivia left, it was the final blow. They were all against her now.
--
5. "As you sow, so shall you reap,"
she said, and Yvonne knew it wasn't true. It wasn't her fault, any of this. It was all their fault, all of them. If only they'd given her what she deserved, everything would have been fine. She would have her adoring husband and beautiful daughter, her perfect life, everything she wanted.
Instead they'd taken everything from her, and every time she tried to better her lot they slapped her back down. Every time.
It wasn’t her fault. It wasn't.
What had she ever done to them?
