Karma

~𝓞𝓷𝓮~

SONG OF THE CHAPTER: LET ME LOVE YOU BY ARIANA GRANDE FT. LIL WAYNE

Pop music blared from the car radio as the pitch-black BMW pulled into the loop driveway. 48 Kingston Drive. The epitome of wealth in Milton Brooke. The estate even topped all of the houses in Harrisburg, the ever-so-rich city right next to Milton Brooke. The car door swung open and as elegantly as an intoxicated teenager could, Isla Grey exited the front passenger side of the vehicle. From the backseat, a gaggle of similarly aged girls- Isla's equally-as-rich friends, had already poured out of the car and were now trying to keep their composure. All that was left was for Lara Collins, the designated driver for this outing, to exit the car. The stench of weed and alcohol was just barely disguised under the ridiculous amount of sugary perfume the girls had taken turns spraying on themselves until the bottle was nearly empty.

The first to stumble through the doors, Esme Harris, was met with a not-so-pleasant sight, at least for the situation the girls were in. Sat in a slate grey armchair facing the front door was Victoria, Isla's fourteen-year-old sister. As Isla walked through the large entryway, her facial expression turned from blissful to irritated. "Dad's still at the office if you were wondering." She cringed. "You should get to bed before he gets home and realises what trainwrecks you are." Isla scoffed, taking off her heels and hanging up her expensive coat on the hanger.

Shortly after, the group of girls made their way to Isla's room. Three of the girls, Eva Lamar, Taylor Hurley, and of course Esme were wrapped up in conversation regarding Anthony Marcel, a boy from their high school whom Taylor had developed a crush on.

"Can you believe that?" Taylor, who had been gleefully smiling only seconds before, cried out. She was on the verge of sobs. "I mean why the Hell would Mikayla say that if it wasn't true?!" She cupped her head in her hands, no longer caring that she would most likely ruin her hours-old makeup.

"I'm sure she's just messing with you." Eva attempted to comfort her friend, though she knew that it would be nearly impossible. "Yeah! After all, she is super close with Kylie and I heard from Camille that Ky's completely obsessed with him." Taylor didn't reply. "Besides what does Mikayla know?! I mean, yeah they're brother and sister but like I don't even know my sister's favorite colour let alone who she likes!" Taylor rolled her eyes. "Your sister is in college. You don't even see her weekly," she mumbled.

On the other side of the room, Isla, who was now in her pajamas, was busy trying to drown out the incessant gossiping of her three friends. It was nights like these that she wished she could just pull out a knife and stab the three of them. Or at the very least kick them out and never talk to them again. But she wouldn't—she couldn't. They were basically the only people she was close with. If she cut them out, she'd only have Lara and Bea and if she was stuck with those two then clearly she had made the wrong decision.

She loved both Lara and Bea, but Lara was her rival, and Bea was, well Bea. Her rivalry with Lara didn't affect their relationship, though. All that it truly was was just a little friendly competition between long-time friends but if that was all she had, she'd cry. So as annoying as those three could be, they wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Isla began to sink into her soft silk sheets and exhaustion was setting in. The loud voices of her friends faded, as did the pink glow from the magenta fairy lights that hung from the wall above her bed. There was no use fighting it and so Isla allowed herself to drift off into the peaceful world of dreams.

~~~

Soft sunlight danced on her skin, gently waking her up. Half-asleep, Isla opened her droopy eyes. Noticing her friends' presence in the room, she was quickly reminded of the events of the night before. The flashing neon lights of the party. The upbeat melody, smooth voice, and bubbly yet somewhat suggestive lyrics of the songs that had been booming from the radio on the way back home.

Her head was pounding and her stomach seemed to be churning but other than that, Isla was seemingly okay. It was to be expected when you chug three beers as well as smoke a blunt or two. Isla was well aware that it probably wasn't the best idea but at least it was a Friday night and not a school night.

Once her stomach steadied itself and her head calmed down a bit, she was able to pull herself up to a sitting position. She then reached for her phone, which by some miracle was plugged in.

9 AM. The digital clock read. "Not terrible," she whispered. She noticed she had several notifications, most likely to tell her how chaotic the party was or asking if she'd seen some wild stunt the night prior. She was about to click on the notification to reply or at least look at some of them, but the sudden rumble of her stomach and the aroma of pancakes and eggs wafting up from downstairs had other plans.

She carefully crept out of bed, trying her hardest to not wake up one or more of her friends. Just as she was about to exit the room, she heard the sound of one of her friends stirring awake. Isla hoped that she wasn't the reason her friend was waking up. But it slipped her mind the second she arrived at the top of the stairway. She was too busy thinking about how excited she was for her mother's homemade pancakes and eggs.

Unsurprisingly, Victoria was already at the island in the center of the kitchen, while their mother, Genevieve, was cooking breakfast. By the looks of it, the eggs were nearly finished and there was already a big pile of steaming pancakes on a plate next to the stove.

The noisy echoes of her footsteps thudding against the smooth hardwood filled her ears as she rushed downstairs.

Victoria's head tilted up and their eyes met. Her sister's sweet smile swiftly turned to a smirk. The message was clear: "Don't forget about last night." Isla rolled her eyes and ruffled Victoria's long, coffee-brown hair. Victoria responded by gently slapping Isla's hand away, which caused Isla to crack a smile.

The second that Isla had taken her seat, which was next to Victoria, Eva and Esme clamored down the stairs in quick succession. "Good morning, girls." Genevieve turned to greet the pair. "How did you two sleep last night?" She commented, serving the fresh eggs to her daughters. "Pretty good!" replied a tired, yet enthusiastic Esme. Eva nodded and reached for a plate. "Breakfast?" Asked Genevieve. "Yes please," they answered in unison.

Isla stared at her friends, a smile still plastered on her face. Eva and Esme were like twins, in fact, people constantly remarked that they probably were in another life. From the way they dressed to the style of their hair. Even their names were similar. They were always together, like two peas in a pod. If they weren't, some disaster had struck, keeping them apart. Isla was surprised that they hadn't moved in together yet, though that was admittedly a little bit difficult seeing as they were both still in high school.

Once the two girls had been served their breakfast and Isla was halfway through one of her pancakes, the familiar pattern of a muffled rustling, followed by the echoing of footsteps and the occasional creak of a step broke the silence as Taylor arrived downstairs. Behind her, Lara quietly made her way down the same set of stairs. However, unlike Taylor, who made a beeline towards the island, Lara opted for a less crowded environment and took a seat at the dining table, which was only about twenty to thirty feet away.

Bea was the last to make an appearance, which was usual for her. She sat on the opposite side of Isla. Once everyone else was seated and served, Genevieve was satisfied enough with her work and took a plate for herself, heading for the table to join Lara.

The meal didn't take long to finish, though it was often interrupted by mundane conversations that came and went. Esme, Eva, and Taylor continued their discussion about Anthony and his alleged crush on Kylie. Victoria did her best to drown out their ramblings and instead focused on the food in front of her. Isla paid no attention to the three of them. She was too busy wrapped up in a chat with Bea.

"I'm so excited for prom this year. Do you think Jay will ask me to be his date?" She gushed. Jay was Bea's long-time crush. Isla hated to admit it, but secretly she thought that Bea and Jay made a cuter couple than her and her boyfriend, Kiernan.

"Don't worry about it. He's clearly obsessed with you," she responded. It was true. Jay had gotten Bea some sort of gift every Valentine's Day and on her birthday for years. Why they weren't an official couple was always the first question people had for them. According to Bea, it was because they didn't want to rush things. According to Isla, it was because both were far too nervous to make a move.

"You sure?" Bea looked a little bit upset, but she also looked as though she was trying to brush it off.

"More than ever!" She proclaimed as she stood up, whisking her empty plate away and heading towards the sink. She dumped the dish into the basin and turned back to Bea. "You're stupid if you don't see it." Bea's cheeks flushed and she was beaming. "If you say so."

~~~

No more than twenty minutes later all eight girls were sat in the living room watching "Ginny & Georgia." Isla was in the middle of a minor disagreement over who Ginny should be with (Taylor and Victoria were on team Hunter while Eva, Esme, and Bea were on team Marcus) when Genevieve's cell phone began to ring.

"It's probably your father," she muttered while she retrieved it from her pocket. She answered the phone with a "Hello, this is Genevieve Grey speaking." Her eyes wandered to Isla. "Oh...uh huh." She nodded. "Of course. See you tonight, Honey," she added before hanging up.

"Isla, Vic, your father won't be home until later tonight. He says he's busy with a work project regarding that deal with the Laynes." While everyone else returned their attention to the television, Isla stood up. If her father wasn't going to be coming home anytime soon, then she'd go to him. After all, he was used to unscheduled visits from her so it shouldn't be much of a problem.

"I'm heading up to change then I'm going to visit Dad. See if he needs some help." And with that, Isla made her way up to her room to prepare for the visit.

~~~~~~