Work Text:
Promises
By Katie McCarthy
Fandom: BSB
Author's note: This story begins during the yearly years of Kylie's life, in order for the audience to get to know her and her character.
Promises:
By Katie McCarthy
Kylie sat on the seat of her vanity and looked at her reflection for a long moment, pondering if she would be able to get through another day like she had done in the past. Her short brown hair laid on her shoulders in limp curls and she wrapped a strand around her long, white finger with a pink
nail. She searched her own eyes as she looked back at the reflection.
"Kylie! Get out here!" she heard her mother's voice call from down the hall, and it was anything but kind. It was authoritative, as it always had been.
Kylie stood up from the vanity that sat in the corner of her bedroom. She reached down and brushed off her blue dress and looked down at the reflection of the light on her patent leather shoes.
At the age of ten Kylie took pride in the way she looked, especially when it came to her clothing. When Kylie saw someone for the first time she always waited for their reaction and it was obvious that their first impression came from the way Kylie spoke and presented herself. Not only did she think it, she was taught it by her father who lectured her on her mistakes every time he caught even the slightest of errors. To him, the step of any family member was to be watched with extreme caution, anything could happen.
"God damn it girl! Get your butt in here now or you will be asking for it!" her mother's voice rang out. Kylie quickly opened the door and took a left, entering the living room where her mother sat, cigarette in hand.
"Sorry." Kylie said, her voice cautious, waiting for her mother's next move.
"We have too much to do and too little time to waste. Come on, come on."
Samantha, Kylie's mother, said as she stood up from her position on the couch.
The living room was done completely in white and it gave Kylie the feeling that she was living in a hospital. The carpet was white, as were the walls and most of the furniture. The kitchen, which they walked into as they made their way to the front door, had blue linoleum floors and pale blue walls. There was an oak table sitting in the middle and ash gray counters were all around the kitchen. Samantha took her black leather purse, which matched her short black dress and shoes, in her hand, reached for her daughter with the other and walked to the front door and to the awaiting station wagon.
Kylie sat in the back, by choice, and sat up straight with her hands folded on her lap, looking forward, as they drove through the streets of Baltimore. Kylie did this everyday, almost, and it still seemed to be nerve-raking. The familiar buildings passed by as Kylie thought about what life would have been like if she lived somewhere else, had different parents or maybe if she had been a little poorer. Then, of course, there was always Mike. What if he hadn't been been in the accident? Life would have been a lot easier for all of them if he wasn't in the picture.
Samantha stopped at the wide white building that sat on the corner of a plot of land and looked in the mirror for a brief moment, brushing her red hair back and fixing the mascara that lined her green eyes. Kylie wondered if all mother's did that, or maybe it was just hers.
"Okay, he's waiting for us, we better hurry." Samantha said, neither sounding excited nor unhappy. The tone made her sound as if she didn't care at all.
"Okay." Kylie said slowly as she climbed out of the car and walked behind her mother, into the little building that had become very familiar to the entire Larson family.
"Hello Samantha." A woman smiled as she walked by. She was wearing a white uniform and Kylie gathered that she was probably a nurse.
"Hello Beth." Samantha said as she walked by the nurse and Kylie was surprised that her mother knew that woman, Kylie had never seen her before.
They walked down a long hallway and the rhythmic tapping of the heels filled the air as they walked passed the many rooms, which were all silent. It was around lunchtime and everyone was in the cafeteria. Everyone but Mike, who was laying in his bed, the same look on his face since the accident, not so long ago.
"Hello Mike." Kylie said as she walked over to her brother's bedside and brushed the brown hair out of his eyes, revealing a soft blue that matched her own. It was times like these that she wished Mike was like any other 18 year old.
Samantha sat in the corner of the pale yellow hospital room and Kylie made no motion to talk to her. Kylie knew that Samantha was probably ashamed of her son, who was now a vegetable, but there must still be a little love in her heart if she came everyday.
"Daddy has a big campaign going, soon he might even be a senator, that was always his dream..." Kylie smiled as she sat down in a chair next to the bed.
Her mother began to laugh, a laugh that sent chills up Kylie's spine, it was almost as if her mother was mocking her. "No darling... your daddy's wish isn't to be a senator. His dream is to be the president, you know that." Samantha said from her position behind Kylie, but Kylie ignored her.
Her hand rested on the yellow blanket that laid on top of her brother, taking in the the roughness on her finger, while she still watched her brother. It was warm and comforting when nothing else was.
"We have to cut it short, your father needs us to be with him today." Samantha said and Kylie saw her figure moving in the corner of her eye.
Kylie leaned over and kissed her brother on the forehead and left.
It was only moments later that Kylie was back in the car, millions of thoughts running through her mind. What had happened to Mike to make him the way he was now? No one had bothered to tell Kylie, although she wanted to know more than anyone knew. Why did her father have such a great passion for politics? It seemed to Kylie, even at that young age, that there was no point to politics. The only thing that seemed to happen between them was arguing, about everything. No one could agree on a law to pass or a person to elect, that wasn't exactly good for the country.
One other thought that Kylie always had was about her mother. Why did Samantha take so much upon herself? She wanted to be the best wife and mother, but it seemed to Kylie that she wasn't doing it for herself, she was doing it for show. If people knew about Mike and if Samantha had been the type to neglect him completely, it wouldn't have been good for Kyle's campaign. Everything was based on Kyle's campaign, one mistake, and it could ruin him.
They got out of the car and the October air was cool on Kylie's face and she would have loved to just stand there and let her cheeks grow rosy, but that wasn't why they had come. They walked up to the small brown building that served as a municipal center, where elections and meeting were held.
They stood in the back of the crowded auditorium and listened as five men came up and stated their case.
Her father, Kyle, came up last and he looked to be the most dignified of the six men. He wore a black suit and tie, his black hair was slicked back and his blue eyes seemed to meet the eyes of all the observers. He spoke eloquently as he explained in full detail what he would like to do if he obtained one of the two seats for the Senate of Maryland. He talked about reforms and how he would make life better for the people. The year was 1985 and he said that he would enjoy leading the people of Maryland into the 90's in a safe and positive manner.
There was a thunderous applause as Kyle finished his speech. Samantha and Kylie walked up the aisle of the auditorium and onto the stage, meeting Kyle and looking down at the crowd happily, as the audience cheered him on.
END PART 1
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