Thanks for stopping by! This story is entirely a work in progress and it does start off a bit slowly, so please bare with me. It picks up in a few chapters, I promise!
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Chapter One
"ROSE! WHY THE FUCK IS YOUR CAT PISSING IN MY BATHROOM? AGAIN!" I bellowed. Honestly, I didn't have a problem with cats, I'm quite fond of animals. However, that bloody cat had pissed in my bathroom a consistent 7 days in a row now. Meaning that for every day we had lived in the small town of Bon Temps, the furry bastard had tried to make MY bathroom HIS territory.
"Oh, for crying out loud Pongo! You have a litter box AND we have a cat door." Rose pleaded after entering my offensive smelling bathroom.
"This is getting beyond a joke, Rosie. I'm sure he is just trying to be as annoying as cat-ly possible."
"Cat-ly possible?" She asked, eye brows raised.
"I was going to say humanly possible, but it would've been ill-fitting," I quipped while Rose laughed before I even finished the sentence and picked up her feline friend. Pongo was a rescue cat, nothing special, but the cat had a character that rivaled that of his caregiver. Rose, with the same ringletted blonde hair as when I met her, had grown into a fire cracker. She was a health nut, and it showed. Men from far and wide appreciated her dedication and women hated it. Coming in slightly shorter than myself, she was a complete wet dream. It came as no surprise that her looks had opened doors for her, in recent years she has been approached about both modelling and acting, though she turned it all down, joking that she wasn't going to use her looks to sell shit to other people when she could use them to buy things for herself. Worth ethic of an Ox, when given the opportunity to over take the newly empty waitress position at the local diner, Rose jumped at the chance and has been doing ten hour days ever since. Ever since being five days in total now.
Perhaps her constant bathroom flurry while either getting ready for work or bed was why Pongo was targeting my bathroom, in any case the little monster and I had bonded over her absence lately and were missing her.
"Have dinner at Merlotte's tonight, Lil. It'll be good for you to meet some of the locals," She threw at me, while adding the final touches to her makeup.
"I can't, I have to feed your poor neglected kitty" I retorted.
"Don't be pathetic, Lily. You are going to have to leave the house eventually and Merlotte's is a better place than any, seeing as I will be there."
"I'll consider it."
"Come on, you've listened to all my stories about the staff, you can't tell me you aren't gagging to meet Lafayette?" She smiled smugly, sensing an easy victory. I really was dying to meet Lafayette, he sounded fabulous. Knowing she had me, I grappled my last line of defense.
"I'll need your car then," I stated.
She stopped abruptly and turned around to throw me her keys. Fuck it all.
"I start soon so you'd better drop me off now. Also, seeing as you are going to be out and about, please go look at some cars! I'm not good at sharing and sharing Helen kills me!" She winged. Helen, the name of her newly acquired and incredibly precious 2008 Honda Accord. Our foster dad, Joseph, was a real motor-head and from the moment we got our drivers permits decreed that we must, as future independent women, know the basic ins and outs of cars and in turn gave both of us a deep respect for our metal comrades.
"I'll look, but I'm not buying a car unless I genuinely like it." I told her, sulkily.
"Well you're out of the house now, if you can't find something here why don't you go have a look in Shreveport? Who knows, maybe the drive will cheer you up." She noted as I locked the front door.
"I don't need cheering up!" I protested.
"Pleeeeease, you've been moping for days now!" She was right, so I just poked my tongue at her and made myself busy starting the car. The 15 minute car ride to Merlotte's was filled in by Rose telling me all the things I should do today: find a car, go shopping, and get some groceries before hitting the diner for some food. She made mention of possibly hitting some Shreveport clubs after work, seeing as it was Saturday and she had the next two days off, but I quickly shut that down. Shopping was one thing, but I was soooo not clubbing. Not yet.
"Be careful with my baby, Lily. I will fucking kill you if you fuck her up," she warned as she got out of her car.
"Swearsies!" I promised, using the same oath we'd decided on ten years ago. Once she'd made her way into the bar I contemplated how to kill the next six or so hours.
Rose seemed to genuinely believe that some retail and a new metal friend would help me out of my funk, but I wasn't so sure. It wasn't like I was sad, or even mad. I just feel a little lost with all the changes.
Four months ago, while Rose and I were still living in Orange County, Laura and Joe invited us around for dinner. After eating, they hit us with some news that neither one was expecting: they were moving. Like, giving up foster care and moving country. Country! It was quick, and within a month of them telling us their plans to move to Australia, they were gone. A few weeks after that, on the day of my 22nd birthday my phone buzzed and I received yet another dose of information. I had a trust fund. I knew a small amount about my birth parents and remembered nothing, but according to their family lawyer my father was sitting on a healthy nest of money and the lofty amount was to be mine, should anything happen to them, on my 22nd birthday. Seeing as nothing was holding us in Orange anymore, and we now had the financial ability, Rose and I decided to move.
We argued for hours about location, she wanted somewhere North, I wanted to go South. So we did what all mature and considerate adults to. We got drunk, pinned up a map of America and each through three darts. Then, we looked at the closest culmination of darts and picked the town directly in the center. Bon Temps. What the fuck.
After my moment of self-reflection, I decided Rose was right. For once. So I turned up the radio and sped of to Shreveport. I was caught up in thought the entire drive, thinking about what I wanted and hoped was going to happen. At this point, I would settle for comfort. I was aching to ease into this new life the way Rose had. To just throw myself into it and let the chips fall where they may. As I cruised down the highway with greenery flashing either side I seriously considered my position.
In truth, I should be grateful. Thanks to the seven figures inherited from my birth parents, I had to real need to work. I was able to buy a cozy and modern-ish style home for my best friend and myself free hold, how many 22 year-olds can say that? But I never aspired to money, and routine was something that I enjoyed, so it was all but decided that as of tomorrow I would begin looking for a job. Laying down roots and foundations, that's what made a place home. That's what I needed to do.
I took Rose's advice directly to heart and once arrived, I began shopping in earnest. A whole new wardrobe. I bought jeans and dresses, tops, shorts, shoes, underwear, swimwear. I bought every damn wear I could find and I fucking loved it. With a sneaky ice cream sundae and some assistant from a mall clerk, I loaded my haul into Helen and headed for a dealership. I needed a car.
"Japanese Imports are the easiest and cheapest for repairs, in this age Ma'am." Daniel, the salesperson purred. Fucking Ma'am my ass! Sorry, am I forty? Middle-aged Daniel thought he had an easy sale coming his way with me, and believe me, I had so much fun with it.
"Oh, but mister, I was really hoping to get one of those cars like BumbleBee in Transformers!" I giggled and batted my eyelashes. Fucking wank.
"Like BumbleBee?" He choked out. Yes like BumbleBee, you prick. What kind of salesperson doesn't know what BumbleBee is?
"Yep!" I giggled. "Except I think he was a 2006, and I'd really like a 2008!"
"You want to buy a 2008 Camaro brand new, Ma'am?" Poor Daniel squeaked. Oh good, so he did know. He was just genuinely buying that I'm a ditz. Well then,
"Yes, Sir. I do, can you help me with that or should I find somewhere else?" Point blank. Threaten his commission. Guaranteed flawless service.
"No, of course I can help! Right this way. What colour were you thinking of? Interior? Automatic or Manual? Any thoughts on the engine?" He rambled. Mehehehehe good. Ohhhh lord I wanted that car, I saw it while driving past and it was like the fates aligned and heaven drew me to my new metallic bestie. That is, if I believed in heaven.
