Sister Pact: Surrendering to Mr Snow

CHAPTER SIX: RAMPAGE

Viola had not understood why it was that her mother and father were visiting mountain Hill, but she had a feeling that it was urgent, so much that they had left the family business in the hands of capable staff in order to be here.

She sat in the living room chair and she immediately jumped up when she heard the sound of a car engine. That had to be her parents; she recognized the sound of that engine from anywhere.

Viola got to the door and as soon as she unlocked it, her parents were at the door, her mother’s hand just about to press the bell. Her mother smiled at her but her smile did not reach her eyes and Viola instinctively knew that something was wrong, she had no doubt that it had Scarlet’s name all over it.

Without saying a single word to her mother, Mrs. Albertson reached out and hugged her eldest daughter tightly. It had been long since Mrs. Albertson had hugged her daughter and this time she did not want to let her go.

Pain ran through Mrs. Albertson, feeling her daughter weakened by her hug, she wanted to cry but then she stopped herself realizing that she had to be strong for her daughter. She let go of her daughter and she looked at her precious daughter in the eyes.

“How are you my daughter?” Mrs. Albertson asked her daughter who simply smiled back at her mother. Viola’s eyes diverted her attention from her mother to her father; who looked more than pleased to see his daughter.

Mr. Albertson reached in and pulled his daughter into a tight hug.

“I miss you so much my dear,” Mr. Albertson whispered into his daughter’s ear and Viola was glad to hear that from her father. Her father was never the most talkative person; he believed actions speak louder than words.

“I miss you too, dad” Viola said, her heart broke. She was used to seeing her father almost every day right before she had gotten married and she had totally ignored him, only now she saw the importance of her father and she missed that moment with him.

“Come on in” Viola welcomed them in and immediately prepared their room and soon after, she settled in with them in the living room.

Their conversations bubbled over; it was filled with fun, and laughter. Viola missed times like these when the entire family would sit together and talk about how their day had gone; now all three sisters were all grown up and each was leading their separate lives.

“So where is your husband?” Her mother asked her, Viola sat on the couch, her cup of warm coffee in her hand and her legs curled onto the chair.

“Oh sorry about that, Tate went out with Ariel, it’s their father and daughters day out” Viola answered her mother and just then, Viola heard the sound of Tate’s truck drive into the property.

“Oh, I think they are here!” Viola called out and not soon after that Tate walked in, carrying their seven month old daughter in his hands, baby Ariel was giggling at something her father had said to her.

“Hi family” Tate greeted them and both Viola’s parents greeted him too and they began the conversation, which flowed naturally but Voila notice that something was very wrong with her parents. They were smiling but it seemed forced and it seemed like she was the only one noticing it.

“Viola, is there something the matter?” Viola snapped out of her mind as soon as her mother posed the question at her.

“Mother I know that you said that, both you and father are here to relax but I’m not buying this. Something is wrong and I can feel it”

Viola watched as her mother’s eyes began filling with tears, it hurt her that her mother was sad but she had to know why it was that her mother was hurt. Viola got off from her chair and sat down on the carpet, next to her mother’s chair.

“Mother, what is the matter?” Viola asked her mother, the room was now quiet and even her father looked away from her. Viola could see that it was paining the two of them, whatever it was that they were hiding.

“Mother I won’t ask again” Viola told her mother, who looked at her husband and then back at Viola.

“It’s Scarlet, she’s gone crazy”

Hearing her sister’s name made Viola mad, it could only be Scarlet that could cause her parents this much pain. The only difference was that Viola did not know what it was that her sister had done this time.

“What has she done now?” Viola asked her mother, readying herself for something ridiculous.

“Scarlet has been spending money uncontrollably ever since she’s been with her biological family” Viola’s mother cried out to her daughter, who did not see it strange that her daughter was spending money. Viola was used to her sister who had always had a knack for spending cash she did not make.

“Mother but Scarlet has always been spending money like this, it’s nothing new” Viola told her mother, who placed her hand over her mouth to stop the sobbing.

“But that’s not it!” her mother yelled at her, causing little Ariel to whine in fear. Mrs. Albertson felt bad that she had scared her granddaughter.

“I’m so sorry my dear,” Mrs. Albertson cried profusely, holding her hand against her mouth once more. Tate grabbed a sobbing Ariel and took her to her room to help her calm down.

“Mother what has Scarlet done?”

“She called and asked me to give her two hundred thousand dollars,” Mrs. Albertson told Viola, leaving Viola stunned that her sister had asked for such a large sum of money.

Viola knew that her family was rich and they were used to spending a lot of money, money that most people would find outrageous but this was far too much even for Scarlet.

“But what does she want to do with that much money? We can’t just give her that much money without any reason”

“That is exactly what I told your mother” Mr. Albertson chimed in. her father was not one to speak but when he did his words were final and Viola knew that her father would not change his mind one bit.

Viola did not know what to do anymore; she did not even know how to console her family anymore. She had to speak too someone and the only person that she could possibly speak to was her younger sister Amber.

“Does Amber know about this?” Viola asked her mother, who was now wiping her tears away.

“No, she doesn’t know yet. She is still your sister”

Viola stood up from the floor and placed her hands over her chest, she was angry that yet again Scarlet was putting her parents through all this trouble.

“Mother, I think both you and father have taken more than you can handle from Scarlet and it’s enough”

Viola had no idea what she was planning on doing but she knew that something had to be done otherwise Scarlet would not just destroy their family but she would destroy herself as well.

**

Scarlet was mad, her eldest sister had called her earlier telling her off about the amount of money that she was asking for. According to her sister Viola, that was too much money.

Scarlet knew that her plan to help her family was over and at this point she had to make alternative plans and that included what she was about to do at the moment. Scarlet did not take her car this time; she had to keep the remainder of the fuel that was in her tank.

The town was not so big, with only two hundred houses and the rest the forest and mountain hills and worst of all snow. Scarlet stood in front of the store and she took a deep breath in, she had seen the sign on the window at Rosanne’s Coffee shop.

Scarlet had no idea what she was doing and why she was even here looking for a job, she had never held a job before and worst of all, drawing up her resume was the worst of all because it looked so empty. Every course that she had taken up she had given up halfway through the semester and finally it was catching up with her.

Scarlet unlocked the door and the very same old women that she had seen when she first arrived, were sitting there having their cup of tea. She smiled at both women and they smiled at her back, which was a surprise to her.

Scarlet walked over to the counter and she rung the bell, within seconds Rosanne walked out from the back room with a big and bright smile on her face. Scarlet could not help but wonder if someone like Rosanne ever had any problems, because from what Scarlet was seeing, Rosanne looked like the happiest person in the world.

“Good afternoon my dear and how are you?” Rosanne asked Scarlet. Scarlet was speechless, she had never asked for a job in her entire life and here she was pitching for one.

“I’m here for the job advertisement you placed on your window” Rosanne’s eyes widened and Scarlet did not know why Rosanne was doing that but she hoped that it was nothing bad. She really needed this job, because nowhere else in town was there any job advertisement.

“And you are looking for a job?”

“Yes” Scarlet answered a bit embarrassed that she was reduced to asking for a job at a small town coffee shop and bakery. She had seen her friends from college holding down part time jobs as well as studying, Scarlet never understood how they could do both at the same time.

Rosanne removed herself from behind the counter and held Scarlet her arm and walked her to the seat at the very back of the coffee shop. They sat opposite each other for almost an entire minuet, Rosanne studied Scarlet.

“I’m sorry to ask you this but you look rich, so why then work?”

Scarlet stopped herself from rolling her eyes at Rosanne and at the same time she stopped herself from appearing to look irritated with the women, because if she did get this job Rosanne would be her boss after all.

“I’ve been facing some financial situations at the moment,” Scarlet told Rosanne and she was telling the truth. Her credit card had reached its monthly limit and at the very moment she was almost broke and this job was her best bet.

Rosanne thought about it for a while and she looked back at Scarlet who was too nervous to think now.

“Have you ever worked before?” Rosanne asked Scarlet, the one question that Scarlet was hoping that she would not be asked.

Lie to her, just lie to her. Scarlet’s mind told her repeatedly.

“No, I’ve never had a job before” Scarlet blurted, totally going against her initial idea to lie to Rosanne.

Rosanne held out her and to shake Scarlet’s hand but Scarlet was too confused to understand what was going on.

“Congratulations, you are now an employee of Rosanne’s coffee and bakery shop” Rosanne told Scarlet, who was still in shock. She could not believe that she had been hired at her first job; the feeling was like one that she had never felt before. For the first time something was not handed to her, she had gotten up that morning and had gotten herself the job.

“Thank you so much, you have no idea how happy this makes me. When can I start?” Scarlet asked Rosanne.

“Well you need to be here by sis in the morning” Scarlet thanked Rosanne one last time and she left. Although it was cold and snowing, Scarlet did not care that her fur boots were probably wet by this time, she was too happy.

Upon walking a few meter from Rosanne’s shop, the reality slapped Scarlet in the face, she would have to get to work at six in the morning. She was not happy with this at all, never in her life had she ever been forced to be anywhere that early.

On top of waking up early, she would have to work like her friends did in college and she knew nothing about working but she knew that she had to do it for both her grandmother and her aunts sake.

**

The cold was finally beginning to set in and Douglas could not help but wrap himself in his blanket, with the hopes of keeping out the cold. He could not warm his house because he was out of wood, his back was in pain and his leg was throbbing badly.

He did not know who the woman that had knocked him over was but he was sure that the next time he saw her, he would have to give her a piece of his mind. He looked over at the painkillers on the side of his bed and he thought about taking another pill but he went against that idea.

He remembered a time when he was addicted to such medicines just to keep reality away, to keep the pain of losing what was most dear to him and he not ready to step back into that world of darkness again.

 He tried to get up from hi bed and he felt a sharp pain travel through his body, a sign that he had to keep himself in check. The snow was coming down hard and Douglas knew that he had to chop wood before it was too late, otherwise he would freeze to death.

For the past two years he had been alone, this grand house was once a home filled with happiness. It was situated on top of the mountain, overlooking the entire town but now it felt like a haunted house, where sad souls roamed about.

He had no family or better yet, the only family that he had was gone and they could never come back. Douglas was forced to live in solitude; he had closed himself off from the rest of the town and kept everyone at bay, only stepping into town when he needed some groceries and other supplies.

“Damn that woman!” Douglas yelled out, slamming his hand against his table on the side of his bed.

It was days such as these that Douglas wished he still lived in the city, where food could easily be delivered to him at his door step, but in a small town such as this, there was no hope of that happening now or ever.

He tried to pull himself up and this time it was the same answer, his body refused, pushing his pains to the limit more than he could handle.

“I guess I have to sleep this pain over then” he told himself, knowing quite well that he would have to go hungry today.