I don't own any of the characters that sound familiar!

Lex's POV

I sat on the counter, lost in thought, waiting for the oven to beep. I was thinking over the day, and the weird requests my dad had given me.

We have a guest tonight, make sure you make a nice dinner.

Wear your best tonight, and leave your hair down.

Then he had come up behind me, and put my mother's pearl necklace on me. You look beautiful, just like your mother. Make me proud.

I shook my head and chuckled. Maybe he'd gone mad. I looked the polar opposite of my mother. Okay, we shared the same features and the same blue eyes, but I'd gotten my dad's pale skin and dark hair. Well, he did spend most of his time drunk, and that explained the poor condition of the house we were living in. But what really confused me, was while I was dressed in pearls and a pencil skirt, he had his stained NASCAR shirt and bleached cargo pants on. He'd explained it was because he didn't want to freak him out. I jumped as the oven beeped, then slid on my apron and oven mitts. I opened the oven door and carefully took out the roast. Right on cue, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," I heard my dad grunt.

I set the roast down on the middle of the dining table, where earlier I had laid out my china set.

I heard the stranger and my father conversing in low voices in the doorway.

"Lex!" I heard my dad call. "Come greet our guest!"

I sighed and slid off my mitts and my apron. I surveyed our guest as I walked towards them. He had a suit on, looking really sharp. He flashed his white teeth at me in a smile. Overall, he was very handsome. His brown eyes crinkled when he smiled. He couldn't be a day over 27.

Oh crap, I thought. This had better not be one of his attempts at a blind date.

I smiled, and stuck my hand out. He shook it, and said, "Jason Lane."

"Lex Parker." I said, releasing his hands. "If you guys are ready to eat, everything is set."

"Yes, lets eat." My dad said. He lived for food.

As we walked towards the table, Jason stopped me and pulled out my chair for me. I froze, surprised. No one had ever done that for me before.

"Thank you," I said fervently, as I sat down.



"My pleasure." He said, as he pushed my chair in. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw dad sigh in relief.

I carefully sliced the roast in slices as Jason took his seat across from me. He took the knife from me, and finished slicing it himself, then served both my father and me.

Wow… I thought.

"So," he began conversationally. "How old are you, Lex?"

"I'm 17, I'll be eighteen next June." He nodded.

He started a conversation with my father, then complimented me on the food. I stood to go get the dessert, but again he stopped me.

"I'll get it. Where is it?"

"It's in the fridge on the top shelf," I said, as I sank back into my chair. It was weird for me to actually have someone helping out. In our house, I did everything. I was lucky if I got dad to put his plate in the sink.

He came back with it, and cut slices for everyone, then served us. I ate my piece in silence, as he and my father kept up a steady conversation.

"Lex, will you take our plates?" dad asked. This time Jason didn't object, he looked like he wanted to speak with my dad.

I nodded, then cleared the table. They didn't speak until they hear the water running, and I couldn't overhear.

I didn't hear someone sneaking up behind me, but it was only dad.

"Jason's outside. We have to talk." He gave me a serious gaze. I nodded. "Do you like Jason?" he asked.

"Sure, from how he's acted today, he seems like a real gentleman. He seems…nice." I complimented.

"Good, I'm glad you like him."

He hesitated.

"Dad, what do you want to tell me?" I could sense something was wrong.

"I'm glad you like him…because you're going to live with him from now on." My mouth dropped open.

"What?" I hissed.

"He's giving me money, Lex. You know how much I need this. Just for a little while, until you're eighteen. Then you can leave if you want to. But, who knows? You might want to stay." He said quickly.



"You're….selling me?" The words sounded strange in that order.

"No, Lex. I-"

"How much?" I demanded.

"Wh-what?"

"You heard me, how much?"

Dad grumbled something too low for me to hear.

"Speak up!" I shouted.

"700 dollars." He said, averting his eyes from my face.

I choked. 700. Not even 1,000.

"Why?" I asked, my voice cracking. "What did I do wrong, dad! Tell me, I'll make it right!"

"Lex." A voice said behind me.

I turned, now face-to-face with Jason.

"I'm not going anywhere." I vowed. "You can't make me! This is illegal!"

Jason rolled his eyes, and I couldn't believe I'd ever thought him handsome. It seemed ages ago that I did.

"I'm not going anywhere!" I repeated, turning to run up to my room. Jason caught me by the waist, and I struggled until we both crashed to the ground. I kicked him, and he punched me in the head. I stopped struggling, dazed. He took advantage of this and scooped me off of the ground. He walked out of the house, and I took one last look at me dad. He had his face away from me, probably not wanting to see the bruises I knew where already forming on my face. "I hate you!" I screamed.

I stopped struggling as Jason tossed me into the back seat of his black Wrangler. I broke down on the seat, soaking it in my tears.

"Get used to it, Lex." Jason spat. "This is your life now."