Chaotic (Imperfect Perfection)

by Williams, C. A.

  Chaotic

  Book #1: Imperfect Perfection Series

  “Chaos is rejecting all you have learned, chaos is being yourself.”

  Emile M. Cioran

  Text Copyright 2013 C.A. Williams

  All Rights Reserved

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  All rights reserved. This edition is copy-written by C.A. Williams and any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written consent of the author, except for the brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Design: http://thebookcoverdesigner.com/

  Edited By: Adept Edits

  Please help stop illegal book piracy

  If you did not purchase this book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Kobo, then you are purchasing a pirated copy. Authors put a lot of hard work into their writing, so please don’t be disrespectful and download illegally. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 1

  “Excuse me, I think this one needs to be redone. There’s a tiny little smudge. Actually, you really should just start completely over to make it perfect.” I scrunched my nose at the woman who was painting my nails in the Charged Up Cherry, who was scowling at me. She proceeded to remove the color as I asked without a word, which was probably a good thing, since I’m sure she didn’t want to be losing any customers, and I could make that happen very quickly.

  I wasn’t trying to be a bitch, but I was definitely on edge and that tended to make me not so nice. I had basically been forced to go on this outing with Marley and Madison. And although they were fun to hang with for parties or shopping, I always felt like I had to walk on eggshells around them, like at any minute the perfect façade, that I had worked on so hard, would suddenly slip away, and they would see me for who I really was. And then they would be quick to drop me as if they had never known me.

  I gave the woman a small smile as she glared down at my nails, hoping that would soften my tone just a little bit.

  “I just love that color, Adelaide. It will look perfect with that dress you bought at Divinity for the party. Did you hear who Chris is bringing by the way?” I lost interest as one of my best friends, Marley, droned on and on about Chris Zander.

  I could care less.

  Been there, done that.

  And never going back.

  At least Madison was paying attention, hanging on Marley’s every word. Madison, with her dark chestnut hair, petite frame, and doe like brown eyes, was all in all a good looking girl by most people’s standards. But she tended to be a worshiper, and that kind of made her pathetic.

  Marley, on the other hand, had flowing bleach-blonde hair that curled into soft ringlets, stood as tall as most guys, but had a slim model-like figure with a pair of perky double d’s that even I was a little jealous of. She definitely knew that she was hot.

  The three of us had been best friends since I had moved here almost five years ago. And when I used the term best friends, I used it lightly. They basically just welcomed me with open arms because of who my step-father was.

  I guess if you wanted to, you could call me the one in charge. They both seemed to follow me anywhere and do whatever I said, but they were also quicker than anyone to turn around and stab you in the back.

  It had all started the summer in between junior high and high school, when I had a crush on Chad Stanger. Marley knew that I liked him and that just made her want him more, so she somehow managed to sink her claws into him first. I caught the two of them hiding behind a tree with Chad’s hand up her shirt. Now that I thought about it and passed him in the halls at the local community college, along with the rest of his friends that liked to dress in all black, like they were going to a funeral daily, it kind of made me gag.

  Whenever I had a guy, Marley had to have him next. Whatever. I guess she liked sloppy seconds. The only guy she hadn’t managed to score was Chris.

  Madison always tended to side with Marley whenever the three of us had a little tiff. Eventually I got over it. I had to admit, when they weren’t around to shop or go out to parties with, things did get rather lonely. So I would forgive Marley for whatever minor discretion and move past it, but that didn’t mean I always liked hanging out with them.

  I checked back into reality when I heard a click and “That’s a wrap”. I blew out a breath at those three simple words and relaxed just a little. The camera men began to pack away their equipment while the director jotted down some notes and then picked up his phone.

  During our senior year, our school had been featured on the reality show, Unrehearsed, that centered on high school life and the everyday dramas. Luckily, they switched schools after a year of recording. It had been stressful to say the least, putting on a show for all of America, that everything in my life was picture perfect. Far from it.

  They had just come back to do a follow up with some of the more popular cast members during the summer while most of us were on break from school. Soon, Marley and Madison would be gone again, off to their four-year college they were attending together. And me? Well, I hadn’t really figured that out yet.

  Somehow, I had made it through the first two years at the local community college in a blur, even though my mother had complained what an embarrassment I was for going to such a lowly place. But that was only one of the minor things she tended to complain about me. Now, I needed to figure what exactly I was going to do, and really nothing interested me.

  “Well, girls, it’s been a total blast.” I stood up, handing my credit card to the cashier and gave them a flutter of my fingers. “I’ll see you two tomorrow. Is the plan still to come over to my place before the party?”

  “Of course,” Madison gushed. “Your place is the best. I’ll bring my stuff over and ride with Marley. Daddy still hasn’t given me my keys back,” she huffed and pouted her lip out. “He’s such a pain in the ass; hopefully he gives in soon.” Hmm, I wonder why Madison. Could it be due to the fact that you were driving it shitfaced and ran into a tree before you even left the driveway of Kristy Michael’s house at the beginning of the summer? Even I wasn’t that stupid. About drinking and driving at least.

  “Meh. You have Marley to chauffer you around everywhere, no need for a car,” I replied sweetly.

  Madison giggled as she blew on her finished nails. “So right, Adelaide.” I watched as Marley stiffened next to Madison and gave her an icy stare.

  I bet Madison really did love having someone to drive her around, even though we all knew Marley had to scrape money together to get the piece of shit car she had, while Madison and I had brand new cars bought for us the second we turned sixteen. She tried to hide it from everyone, but I made sure to let it slip, by accident of course, that her father was a janitor at some factory, and her mother was totally out of the picture. She had only been able to attend
the prestigious private school like the rest of us, thanks to a scholarship.

  I guess money couldn’t buy everything though. I had always been a little jealous of Marley for the relationship she had with her father. He seemed to actually care for his daughter and not just see her as some pawn in the game of life. Or as a complete and utter failure.

  Chapter 2

  “Adelaide Elizabeth McGregor, what time did you get home last night? I thought we had come to the understanding that you are to be home every night before midnight,” I heard my mother’s high pitched voice call out through my locked door. Well maybe if she was ever here she would make sure I followed that little rule.

  I groaned, unable to peel my eyes open after the late night I had out with a group of friends I had met at Marshal County Community College or MCCC as we tended to call it, since it was such a mouthful. They tended to party almost every night and got even crazier during the summer break. I guess you could probably call them hardcore stoners, and they let me join in whenever I wanted.

  “Don’t even think about ignoring me, young lady. We need to have a talk, and this cannot wait until later.” I sighed loudly and pushed my comforter down to crawl out of bed. Might as well get this over with.

  “Yes, Mother?” I stood inside the arched entryway to my room and leaned a hip against the doorframe.

  “Oh, don’t you look wonderful, I can only guess what you were doing last night. Well, I’m waiting,” she stated while pursing her puffy collagen enhanced lips at me. I think they made her look like a fish, but apparently it was the in thing to do for women her age.

  Everyone said how much we looked alike and how we could easily pass for sisters. We both had the same dirty blonde hair, pale-blue eyes, and perfectly curved nose. The only difference was the wrinkles on her that were starting to pop through and a few gray hairs that could be seen if she didn’t make it to her stylist in time. I loved to point each one out when that happened.

  “I went to get my nails done with Marley and Madison. Yesterday was the follow up for filming, remember?” Really? How could she forget? She was, in fact, the reason why I had done the show in the first place. I had been totally against it. The opportunity came at probably the worst time of my life, but she had insisted I needed to do it. My dad wasn’t around much, so he just went along with whatever my mom said.

  Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, I had been in heaven. I had two parents that loved, and life seemed golden. We lived in a tiny two-bedroom ranch-style house and often ended up shopping at the thrift stores, but I didn’t care. We didn’t have anything we wanted, but we had everything we needed.

  Then my mother had to go and ruin it all.

  She always had an air about her, like she was better than everyone else, but she didn’t let that façade slip too often. Well, I guess she finally decided that my father wasn’t good enough for her fancy ass. One day, when he came home from work, she informed him that we were leaving, and handed him divorce papers. I think she only took me away from him to rub it in his face.

  My father and I had always been close, and it was like she was putting the final nail in the coffin that contained their marriage. I was upset, to say the least. My dad didn’t even put up a fight for me though, so after awhile, I just figured he didn’t want me either.

  Little did I know, my mother had another marriage all lined up. This one was more her style. My step-father, Gerald R. Conklin the third, was the CEO of a marketing company that had been in his family for generations in Connecticut. That was definitely a bit of a culture shock when my mother whisked me away from our humble surroundings and moved me into an extravagant mansion. It was a whole new world.

  My mother on the other hand, had always been a frigidly cold and uncaring, acting as if I was more of a nuisance than anything. She fit in perfectly.

  I started to act out once I hit high school; I think mainly to try to get her attention. I had been threatened at least three times to be thrown out of the fancy private school that Gerald shelled out a ton of money for. When bad behavior at school just seemed to make things worse in our relationship, I turned to boys and drinking.

  When Chris came along, she seemed to warm up to me just a little. One, because I had stopped acting out and two, because he was from an even richer family than ours. It was all about the social ladder with my mother. But any warm feelings from her soon cooled off again once my life was completely flipped upside down, something that I had never expected would happen to me.

  “Oh, thank god. I’m glad that is finally over,” she replied with a wave of her hand. “I don’t think you completely understand how difficult it was to cover up your little…indiscretion. I guess you have your mother to thank for that one. Just think how your reputation would have been ruined the minute anyone got air of that. So I could only assume you were sniffing the nail polish while you were there,” she added sarcastically and pointed at my eyes, which I could only guess were bloodshot.

  I pushed down the urge to roll my eyes. If she had tried to cover up my little indiscretion, as she put it, it was solely for her benefit. Whatever would her friends at the country club think if they knew what her daughter had done? People would be gossiping about it for years.

  “Anyway, what exactly did you need to talk to me about? I have some applications to fill out and then I need to get ready for the day.”

  “Oh please, don’t try and lie to me. Do you think I’m stupid? I need to hear exactly what your plans are now that you’ve finished up with that silly little community college you insisted on attending. How do you think that made me look while everyone else’s children were going off to Yale or Harvard, actually putting their private school education to good use? Embarrassing.”

  I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I knew she was just trying to push my buttons and she knew exactly how to do it. Yes, I hadn’t gone to a four-year college right away like everyone else, but I really didn’t feel like I was ready. I had all ready gone through so much, I just felt like I needed a bit of a breather.

  My mother snapped her fingers in front of my face, and I quickly looked up at that scowl focused at me. “Really, Adelaide, are you still high? Please pay attention. Don’t think I will allow you to sit around on your pampered ass and spend all of Gerald’s money. That is not going to happen. You need to figure out what you are doing, pronto.”

  Wow. And what exactly did she do? At least I actually cleaned up after myself. Most of the time. Our maid, Belinda, basically had to trail behind my mother to answer to her every whim.

  “You have got to be kidding me; you know I need a little bit of time to figure things out. I’ve been going to my therapy sessions like we agreed, and my grades weren’t that horrible, I’m sure I’ll be able to be get in somewhere eventually.”

  “Oh, I’m far from kidding, Adelaide. Yes, you have been going to those little therapy sessions, but it doesn’t seem as if they are helping in the least bit. You are still out of control, and I just cannot handle you for much longer.” I rolled my eyes and slammed the door in her face, the sound echoing through my room. Couldn’t handle me for much longer? Really, when did she ever deal with me besides when I got in really deep shit? Other than that I was basically on my own.

  I had no clue what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, and although the rest of my friends were going off to their fancy schools, I just had no motivation to join them.

  **********

  “The ladies are here, the party can begin!” My lips curved into a smile the minute the three of us stepped through the door and just like always we were greeted as if we were royalty. It felt good having everyone back around for a little while. I hadn’t really made any real friends at MCCC, so these people were the closest to friends that I had.

  My stomach fluttered just a little, knowing that after today this would all be gone again. Marley and Madison were leaving first thing tomorrow to set up the house they would be sharing near campus about four hours away. They h
ad somehow braved out the dorms for two years, and as their reward, Madison’s father had bought them a house close to campus.

  They had really started to get excited lately and were constantly talking about decorating details and all the hot parties they would be going to. It felt sort of weird to be excluded by them. I had always been on top; people flocked to be my friend and were let down if I rejected them. Now, I was the outsider.

  The three of us found a seat and were instantly handed drinks by the party’s host, Ian Jennings. Ian’s parties were always epic, his parents were almost always gone and left him with no supervision. Even my mother had never been that stupid. There was always some maid or cook around to keep somewhat of a watchful eye on me, at home at least.

  I downed the shot, letting the burning liquid wash down my throat, before handing the empty glass back to Ian. It was nice not having to worry about the cameras around anymore. Of course, the show hadn’t condoned underage drinking, they tended just to show the after effects and the drama that sometimes followed getting completely shit-faced. The producers of the show had followed different groups around at school, wanting to get a diversified feeling, but they seemed to find ours the most appealing and show worthy.

  “Nice, Adelaide. Getting started early, huh? This should be a fun night, it’s time for a celebration.” Ian smirked at me before standing up and heading back towards the kitchen, presumably to get me another drink if he knew what was good for him.

  “Uh-oh Adelaide, I think someone wants to hook up,” Marley sang out, her eyes following Ian until he disappeared through the crowd of people gathered around. I watched as her lower lip trembled and had to roll my eyes.

  She had a total thing for Ian but had never done anything about it for whatever reason. Maybe because I hadn’t ever dated him. I should leave her with a nice parting gift and pull Ian into one of the extra bedrooms. Soon enough, she would be gone though and would probably forget about Ian and me.

  As expected, Ian returned with another drink, and Marley and Madison both stood up to leave us alone. He sat down next to me, totally invading my personal space, and I quickly drained another shot, knowing I would need it for sure.