Alli and I stand in front of the gates and I take a deep breath before ringing the bel
l.
A voice crackles on the speaker. "Yes?"
"Hello, err," I stutter. "My name is Pandora, Pandora Oakes. I... um..."
"What did you just say?" The voice sounds emotional now. "Pandora?"
"Yes, Pandora Oakes. I-"
I don't get to finish my sentence as the gates roll open. Alli and I exchange surprised looks before walking onto the property. We walk across the driveway to the front of the house. The front door flies open and a woman appears in the doorframe.
"My baby!" she cries out, rushing toward us. I don't even get the chance to drink it all in before her body smashes into Alli's and she hugs her tightly, tearing up as she looks into her eyes. "Oh, it really is you. I'd recognize you anywhere, my beautiful girl. You haven't changed a bit since you were a baby."
Alli looks pale as a ghost and I clear my throat uncomfortably.
"Err... I'm Pandora, actually."
The woman turns to face me then, giving me a better chance to examine her. She's of medium height, with glossed brown hair and several discreet procedures stretching her face taunt over the bones in her face. I can see the signs now. She's beautiful, though. And she even looks a bit like me.
"Ah, Pandora," she smiles with bittersweet sadness. "Of course. I'm sorry, your friend here looks just like..." She gives Alli another once over and then shakes her head. "Nevermind. My baby!"
She throws herself forward again, this time at me. The dramatic scene Alli went through moments ago is now repeating itself with me as a main player. My new friend and I exchange amused looks over my mother's shoulder before the woman pulls back, dabbing at her eyes as she watches me hungrily.
"I always knew you'd come here," she says, sounding pleased with herself. "I even have a room set up for you."
"Really?"
"Of course." She looks at me with an expression I can only describe as crazed. "I'm so glad you're finally home."
She motions for us to follow her inside with excitement, and Alli and I exchange glances before following her into her grandiose home.
My mother must be loaded. The interior of her modern day palace is decked out in original art, gold-plated everything and insane flower bouquets littering every available surface. The scent of flowers is so heavy in the air my nostrils fill with it, resulting in an instant headache.
"Lovely flowers," I manage to squeak. "Special occasion?"
"Oh, you like them?" Mom faces me with a brilliant smile, giggling coquettishly. "I have a lot of secret... and not-so-secret admirers! Now come on, I want to show you your room!"
"You do realize she hasn't even asked who I am?" Alli mutters in my ear as we head upstairs, taking the steps of an enormous pink marble staircase. We both giggle.
"Shh, she'll hear you. Maybe she took a Xanie to calm down," I mutter. She does seem a little out of it, but I'm not going to pass judgement on my mother just yet. My heart is already beating with more excitement at the thought of bonding with somebody normal—well... at least kind of normal.
"Here it is!" She reveals an incredible room. It's not just a generic room—it's personally decked out with one person in mind. And having been around enough people obsessed with Lily-fucking-Anna, I know right away this room wasn't designed for me. It's here for my dead, would-be sister. "Don't you just love it?”
"Yeah, it's amazing," I mutter, my eyes searching for Alli, my only lifeline in this place that's growing weirder by the second. "What do you think?"
She grins, putting down an Alice in Wonderland figure she'd been admiring to lean in and whisper in my ear. "I think it's amazing! Your mom's really cool."
I nod. I don't agree with her, but I'd seem ungrateful if I brought up Lily Anna now.
I feel humiliated and slightly nauseous. I retch, my eyes widening in horror. I press a hand to my mouth, my eyes dancing across the room in a panic. Before I can stop myself, I've vomited all over the throw on the bed.
"Oh," my mother mutters with distaste that strangely turns into delight the next second. "Oh, would you look at that. Just like me when I was pregnant!"
"W-What?" I manage. Alli and I exchanged panicked glances, but mother seems blissfully unaware of the silent conversation happening between us. "How did you..."
"Know?" She smiles sweetly, stepping forward. One of her hands finds my back and straightens me up, the other leads my chin higher up in the air. She smiles proudly, and my heart skips a beat. It's the most motherly thing that's happened to me since I left Wildwood and my real family. I want more of it. "We're blood, after all, Pandora."