MACY

It was already Saturday and I had officially spent a little over a month in England. The past month was undoubtedly filled with many ups and downs. Things happened that I never expected to encounter during my stay here but I was glad to be around to help out wherever need be. Axel never made me feel out of place and neither did his father or sister. Matter of fact, they actually warmed up to me during the past week.

The house without Aggie felt quiet, the energy of it fading as the days past. Everyone fell into a routine and never spoke about it or mentioned her. They were still mourning and I gave them as much space as needed to do so. After all, it was only a week and a half since her passing. They were getting better at dealing with it though. I've heard that letting out a good cry was sometimes needed during the mourning process. I was there for Stephanie when she finally let out that burdened cry, lending her a shoulder to lean on and making sure she knew that I was there for her no matter what she needed.

Dwayne's parents visited now and again but they had to return to California for business a few days ago leaving Chase and Dwayne a rope of freedom to tug onto. They relished it and finally, I saw how loving and compassionate they could be toward one another. The stress of having Dwayne's parents unaware of his marriage clearly took a toll on them and I felt my heart ache at that.

Since Dwayne and Chase were scheduled to leave for California on Monday night, Dwayne wanted to make the best of his time here. Of course, he didn't want to take advantage of Axel and be disrespectful toward his mother's passing but he still wanted to have a little get together before they all separated once more. It took me much convincing but I finally managed to get Axel to relent and allow himself to join us.

Wasn't as if he had a choice considering Dwayne purposely decided to have the get together at Axel's home.

I gave myself a final glance in the mirror, fluffing the bouncy curls that took me nearly an hour to complete and my minimalistic make-up which took me another half an hour since I kept messing up my winged eyeliner on my left eye. The woolen, long-sleeved dress I wore stopped mid-thigh, huggling my slim figure. The soft black material was warm enough for the temperature inside the house and short enough for my thigh-high black boots to start just below where the dress ended. It had a high neckline as well leaving little of my skin to be seen.

Even though the get together was at home and I had no reason to dress up, I still managed to pull together a decent outfit and adorn it because I missed the feeling of dressing up. It was always so cold that I dressed to keep warm and not to have any sex appeal but tonight I wanted to spice it up a bit, especially after Axel's confession a few days ago.

I exited my bedroom and made my way down the hall into the kitchen. Stephanie and Axel were placed in charge of handling the snacks for the night and I helped with preparing a few things as well. The clicking sound of my heeled boots alerted them of my presence. Both of them turned around, eyes raking my body and mouths agape.

"And she wonders why I call her Barbie," Stephanie scoffed under her breath, shaking her head in disbelief.

Axel only stood there staring. His mouth closed and opened a few times but no sound emanated from it. Eventually, he settled on leaving his mouth open, jaw practically touching the floor.

Heat rushed up to my neck, probably tinting my cheeks a rosy pink. I cursed myself for not applying a thin layer of blush to my cheeks so he wouldn't notice my reaction but I soon realized that his eyes were more fixated on my body rather than anything else which irked me.

My face deserved some of that attention.

Clearing my throat, I switched my gaze to Stephanie and noticed that she wasn't dressed yet or maybe she was. With her, you could never be too sure. She could stay in her overalls all day if she wanted to and it made me wonder how she ended up that way.

"Aren't you planning to get dressed?" I asked in a polite tone, slightly formal so she wouldn't get offended by the question.

"What for?" She shrugged nonchalantly, "It's just a bunch of us at home. There's no need for me to look like someone straight out of a magazine."

"You never find the need to look that way," I pointed out, my gaze shifting to Axel for a brief second before meeting Stephanie's gaze once again. He had finally recovered from his flabbergasted state and was listening to his sister and me intently.

"I see no point in it. I dress for comfort and not to impress people," she deadpanned causing me to roll my eyes at her.

I confidently walked up to her, grabbed her wrist firmly in my grasp, and began to pull her in the direction of her room, "Every girl wants to look beautiful and feel beautiful. Let's just see how you pan out when you aren't covered up in baggy, greasy overalls. It's time to bring out the girl in you."

She groaned, murmuring something in a low voice that was far below a whisper before grunting out, "Do I really have too? I'm not a test subject for you to use as you please."

I could hear Axel snickering but he didn't dare to say a word as I said, "Yes, you have to now come on!" Once in her room, we shut the door behind and I evaluated her from up and down. After about five minutes I decided that she needed to take a shower and scrub her hair since it looked like something crawled in it and died.

I had never been to Stephanie's room before. Unlike me, she didn't have an ensuite so she had to leave the room and use the bathroom down the hall, leaving me alone to rummage through her closet. Her room wasn't like Axel's with his eccentric tastes but neither was it like mine with it's all cream appearance. She had lilac-colored walls. Along the left-hand side from the entrance was a study table. Above the table, on the wall, was a massive photo collage. A massive window lay directly opposite the entrance of the room, streaming in ample light. Indigo curtains draped the windows. In the center of the room, against the right-hand side wall, was a double bed with a multitude of stuffed animals on it. I recognized a few as Pooh Bear, Tigger, Piglet, Duckie Mo Mo, and even a few random unicorns and stuffed teddy bears. The comforter was decorated in violet butterflies, shimmering as rays of light reflected off them.

There wasn't much for me to use in her closet. She had an array of sweats, ranging from every color of the rainbow and even colors that weren't even there. Her shirts were all way too baggy, drowning out her beautiful figure. And not to mention, most of her clothes had grease stains on them making them look like a million years old.

I managed to dig up a black sweater that had a silver shine on it. Silver buttons decorated the shoulders and a slightly low neckline that would reveal very little cleavage. After some more digging, I pulled out a pair of fairly new dark blue skinny jeans. It was amongst the few items at the back of her closet that weren't grease-stained. Underneath the entire pile hidden at the back laid an orange leather jacket. The jacket fitted her boyish outlook so I decided to match it with the outfit along with a pair of black vans to tie it together.

Casual, but beautiful!

Stephanie returned and I had to practically force her into the clothes I had found for her to wear. She was pretty adamant at first about not wearing them but when I threatened to put her in a chokehold she willingly complied. I then straightened her long, light brown hair and applied some makeup; smoky eyeshadow, winged eyeliner, a little mascara, and some gloss.

"Wow, just wow!" Was all she could say when I finally allowed her to glance in the full-length mirror, "It's been a while since I did my hair or wore makeup, or even wore clothes that shaped my figure."

"You should wear these clothes more often, why do you leave them stuck at the back of your closet? Clearly, you once had a taste for fashion. What happened?"

She laughed but there wasn't an ounce of happiness. The laugh sounded dreary and sad and she let out a perplexed sigh afterward, "It's a long story."

"Oh, I'm sorry for asking," I mumbled, taking my stance next to her and draping an arm over her shoulders, "You know when I first came here I was looking forward to us not getting along. Our tiffs were meant to make my time spent here more enjoyable and then suddenly you stopped scowling at me and began speaking to me with a little respect."

"I could go back to hating you again if that's what you're hinting," Stephanie gleamed, staring at me through the mirror.

I shook my head and gave her shoulder a light squeeze, "No, it's not that. I guess I just want to know what changed."

"If my brother likes you then you must be one heck of a girl because he's never liked someone enough to bring them home. My parents haven't met even one of his past girlfriends."

"I'm not his girlfriend!"

"Keep lying to yourself, Barbie."

"Stop calling me Barbie!" I grumbled, throwing my hands in the air, "I guess we will still find something to fight about after all."

She chuckled, sending me a wink, "Of course, and now that I know how wonderful you are with fashion I guess the taunting is about to get much worse." She teased with an evil laugh at the end causing a bubble of laughter to float out of me.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Who is Mimi?"

Stephanie froze, her body becoming rigid and brows raised so high that it met her hairline. She pivoted, looking at me dead in the eyes as she uttered her next words breathlessly, "Where did you hear that name?"

I fumbled with my thumbs uncomfortably, wondering if proceeding with the topic was a good idea or not. But then again, who better to ask if not her. I was afraid that by asking Axel it might bring back sour memories which he was doing his best to avoid.

"That night, in the hospital when I went off to console Axel, he mentioned that name," my eyes searched her face for an answer as tears began to well up in her eyes. Thankfully, the make up I applied for her was waterproof.

"He did?" Her voice held astonishment. A glint of hope shining in her hazel orbs.

"Yes, but I never got the chance to ask him who he was referring to."

She placed her hand to her heart and clenched it as she whimpered. A tear rolled down her face and she sniffed as she dabbed it away with the pads of her fingers, "He hasn't used that name in a long time. I thought he never would. He always had that cold expression in his eyes whenever I brought it up, always avoiding the topic."

Taking her hands in mine, I gave them a reassuring squeeze, "I don't understand."

She sniffed and then ushered me toward her bed, urging me to sit alongside her, "You see, when Axel was younger, he couldn't pronounce my name. For the life of me, I couldn't understand why but he just couldn't get it right. One day, he got so fed up, he threw this little adorable fit at two years old. He settled on calling me, Mimi. I have no idea how he came up with the name but he never stopped referring to me as that. When we were in high school, it became a little embarrassing but he still never stopped. My brother wasn't much of a fighter but when he noticed others teasing me with the name he decided to only use it when we were alone. I knew it was quite difficult for him especially since he had never referred to me as Stephanie before then."

She paused to take a breather, waking up from her seat and pacing back and forth relentlessly, "And then I royally fucked everything up. I met a guy halfway through high school. I thought he was the best thing to happen to me, acted like he was the only guy in the world. Axel never liked him and tried to warn me that he was a no-good piece of shit but I never believed him. I just figured he was jealous since I had started spending a lot less time with him and a lot more time with Tobias. I was young and stupid and Axel was even younger but mature for his age and an excellent judge of character. He eventually realized that I was happy and decided to just go with the flow."

She stopped pacing, ran a hand through her straight as a pin hair before collapsing to her knees in a fit of body-shaking tears, "Immediately after graduating school I got married. It was the worst decision of my life and every chance Axel got he tried to warn me that I would regret it in the future. Of course, I was older and thought I knew better. That year I gave Axel an ultimatum, either he respects my decision or he doesn't attend my wedding and he can forget he has a sister. My brother being my brother, tucked his tail between his legs, and decided to attend my wedding. I never wanted a maid of honor because I never had many female friends so instead we had two best men. One from Tobias and Axel stood next to me."

Stephanie brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them close to her seeking some sort of comfort, "After my wedding, Tobias proved my baby brother right. He showed me his true colors. We moved in together a few houses down from here. I attended college which he strongly disagreed with but did so anyway. Because I was so swamped with work with my father and college I couldn't do many wifely duties. I was too tired to cook, to take care of his every need and at the end of the day, I lost my need for sex. Sounds weird since I was still a hormonal teenager but I was just too tired."

I woke up from my seat at the bed and sat down next to Stephanie, holding her in a comforting embrace. Placing her head onto my shoulders, I began to run my fingers through her silky hair that smelled a lot like a cool spring day.

"He began beating me after that," she sniffled after a while, "he was smart enough not to leave marks in places that anyone would notice. I had to constantly wear clothes with long sleeves to cover my arms. He would drink and complain that I made him feel useless, less than a man because he couldn't get into college with his grades and he never really made a true effort to find a job. He wanted me to drop everything and stay at home but when I reminded him that we could never afford to pay the bills if I did he would undo his black leather belt, force me to strip naked and then beat me all over again before using me as his little sex toy."

Another rush of tears raked through her body. I never imagined her going through something like that at such a young age. She was strong to live through it, to make it out alive. If it was me, I would have probably killed the bastard. Jail would surely be better than enduring that but I learned that not everybody would handle the situation as I would. Like Stephanie, Lacy sucked up her ex-boyfriend's torments, and just like Stephanie, she made it out alive. It surprised me the number of women that went through that on a daily basis and the number of men that held no remorse for their actions.

They were the monsters in the dark that bedtime stories warned us about! Men like Brian and Tobias must have a special place in hell dedicated to them!

"After his graduation, Axel came to visit to find out why I hadn't attended. By then I had already been married to Tobias for a little under two years. The night before he..." Her sentence trailed and she swallowed the lump in her throat, "I couldn't get out of bed.  Every part of me was in pain and all Tobias said was, 'Don't pretend like you didn't like it, babe!'. It made me sick to my stomach that I had married someone like him. When Axel saw me that day, I took out my anger on him, chased him away, and told him that I never wanted to see him again. I blamed him. In my head, whatever Axel said came true, his words brought a shit load of bad luck into my life. I knew I was just looking to pass the blame onto someone else, anyone but me."

Anger simmered in me at the thought of her chasing Axel away when all he wanted to do was help. But in a strange way, she reminded me of me. I did the very same thing to Axel when he got me fired and offered me the deal of a lifetime with no strings attached. Instead of saying anything, I continued to stroke Stephanie's hair and allowed her to continue her story.

"Axel never came back after that, he went off to business school and continued with his life. He phoned now and again but I would ignore his calls. After another year, Axel returned, told dad he didn't want to take over the shop and then signed up for culinary school. He came to visit that weekend. Although my parents lived a few houses from me I did an excellent job in avoiding them but avoiding my brother was harder. At the time, I was recovering from a broken rib, a few bruised ribs, and a fractured arm. Axel took one look at me and knew that my excuse of tripping and falling was a sham. He immediately loaded me into his car and drove me here. My parents were bewildered by my outlook. The never expected to see me in such a condition. They tended to me and pretended that there wasn't any pre-existing tension before my arrival. Being the nosey big sister, I prodded until one of them blurted out what was wrong. I obviously took dad's side when I found out that Axel left business school for culinary school. I didn't think it would get him anywhere."

"Well, he certainly proved you all wrong, didn't he?" I blurted out, my need to defend him becoming unbearable to contain.

Stephanie choked on her tears and she let out a gurgled laugh, "He most definitely did. He walked out that day. My dad never wanted to see him again and neither did I. After that day, my marriage ended and I blamed him. I never thought divorce was something I would go through. But it was because of him I did. I knew deep down that it was what had to be done. It was either that or I would have probably ended up in a body bag. Last year, when he opened the bakery here, I tried to apologize to him. I was proud of his accomplishments and wanted to tell him that but all I got was a cold glare and one-word answers to my questions. His final blow was, 'Leave Stephanie. I'm happy to see you've come to your senses but I'm not ready for this discussion.' Him calling me Stephanie put things into perspective. I lost my brother by not supporting him and by blaming him when he only wanted the best for me. He never called me Mimi after that."

"You've been through so much and you've only come out stronger!" I declared, hugging her closer.

"All thanks to my baby brother," she muttered, "And about me not finding the need to dress up. I don't find myself beautiful anymore, not with the physical scars left behind and I don't want to attract men, I'm not sure I can trust one again."

"No matter what, you'll always be beautiful. Don't let a man take that from you, especially not a douche bag woman beater!" I pulled away slightly, making sure to look her in the eyes so she could see how serious I was, "It's time to get your life back and we can start with simple changes, like your clothes and hair." Waking up from the floor, I held a hand out for her to pull her up. "Let's get you all cleaned up."

"Macy, whatever I just told you, not many people know and I'd like to keep it that way. I mean, it was nice to talk about it after so long but..."

I smiled at her reassuringly, "I understand, this stays between you and me."

So here's a little insight on Stephanie's past, if you liked it please vote!