This chapter has been re-uploaded.

If there's something a writer should NEVER forget is to ALWAYS edit the text before uploading it .

I'd like to apologize for uploading such a pathetic text and that I've corrected the obvious mistakes I've made (I typed wrong, I swear). The first chapters may contain other corrections, while the last ones may not, since those I've read before uploading. Thank you for understanding (or not).

04/20 - Re-update

Yes, I've changed some things about the story. Too bad for you, this story is not gonna go like you'd want, where Cassandra lives happily ever after and Brandi raises her three children very well for a single mom. Here, you're reading about a guy named David and how his life crosses over the lives of the ones from Pleasantview, and nothing you would expect will happen. Believe me. I was tired of the same story written over and over again: Cassandra marries Don or Darren and they live happily ever after; Brandi finds herself a man, Dustin ends up with Angela and Lilith with Dirk; the Caliente are stupid whores and nobody likes them... Well, if you were expecting to read that, find yourself another story.

Oh, and I've changed Beau's name, YES. I could live with names such as Cassandra, Lothario and Caliente, but Beau was too WTF and I thought he would be like this very cool guy, somewhat like his older brother. I decided to call him Alex, and when he goes to college he changes it to Axel.

Brandi is not pregnant of her third son, Cassandra and Don are married, there's nothing between Mortimer and Dina, Laura died and there's no mystery in that, Darren got divorced and Brandi's husband also died. If you don't like that, well, don't give me a stupid review.

Chapter One

It was just another cold morning. We were next to September, so the cold was explainable. I sat in my office in my house with a cup of coffee in my hand and the latest edition of a magazine on my lap. Through the window I could see the park, with the moms pushing their little kids on the swings, all wrapped up in heavy coats. Two men were sitting on a bench talking, a common discussion on baseball. I never really cared for it; my sport was basketball, and that I could talk about for hours.

I gazed down at the magazine and took a sip of my coffee. It wasn't a very popular magazine, but my friend who worked there was very kind and invited me to write a short article relating my last novel with, well, reality. First you need to know that in my book I tell the story of a woman that's forced to go through hell to find the medicine for her child. She does everything, from bribing a doctor to killing a man in the end, but it's too late, and her son dies in her arms while the world around her continues to live, ignoring her pain and suffer. This friend of mine said he read it and enjoyed it a lot, and it would be an honor to have me writing an article for his magazine. I agreed, and now I could check what it had turned out.

I decided to keep it down a bit not to sound like I was more criticizing than just telling a sad sorry. I did mention that it was sad how people who didn't have money were treated nowadays and how they had to struggle to live. Now reading it, I felt like I was just going around and around with one simple sentence, but I've never been a very direct person. I guess it didn't matter. Tony had his article, I had my money and nothing had to be said about it any longer.

I put my cup down and opened the magazine. I didn't really care for that magazine, but I decided to read it anyway. The book I was reading suddenly got amazingly boring and I was struggling to get to the end, so I guessed I could have a little break from it.

One hour later I was done and with nothing to do. I walked to the living room and stared at the blank screen of my plasma TV. It had more than ninety channels, but I bet none of them were exhibiting something good, so I took my jacket from the closet and stepped outside.

The wind was mild and it was nice to walk. I went around the block, stopped at the bakery to buy bread for the next day and continued to walk. It was a small city I had moved into. Pleasantview, they called it. And they were right, the view was really breath-taking. If you drive to the edge of the hill you can see the beach far down and the houses and hotels around it, but down there is a totally different city.

I decided to continue on the road. I had moved in in a very short time, so I didn't have the chance to take a look at my neighbors. Most of the houses were silent as the families who lived there should be inside, warming up with the big fireplaces, sleeping or planning their next week. I walked a little more and found another man, older than me, black, standing in front of a house, raking the leaves. I took courage and stepped up to greet him. He stopped raking the leaves and looked up at me.

"Hi" I started, a bit shy. I had trouble talking to new people. "My name is David."

"Hi, Darren Dreamer."

He pointed me his hand. I shook it with a smile then let him get back to his leaves.

"I haven't seen you around" Darren started. "Did you just move?"

"Yes, yes" I answered, feeling a lot more relaxed now. "I moved next to the park."

"Nice. And what do you do for living?"

"I'm a writer."

Darren raised his eyes to me.

"Have I read anything you've written?" he asked with a smile.

"I don't know. But if you've read David West, I think you have."

The guy's eyes widened and he stopped raking.

"You're David West?" he repeated.

"Yes."

"I'm a big fan. I have two of your books and I've read a few stories too."

"I'm glad to know."

"This is so exciting. I've never met someone famous before."

"Well, I'm not famous. My books aren't sold everywhere..."

"Well, they are sold in New York, I'm sure!"

"You've been to New York?"

And our talk went on for a few more minutes. I found out he has a kid, Dirk, around sixteen, and he's dating one of the Pleasant twins. He indicated me their house and said that every Sunday he and their father, Daniel, organized a poker game with Don Lothario. He said it would be nice to have someone else to play, then he asked me if I did. I told them I knew the rules but I sucked. He laughed and said that wasn't a problem, because Don sucked too, and it seemed impossible that anyone could get any worse than him. We both shared a laugh and I said I would be there at eight for the poker. He nodded at me and we said goodbye.

I walked another block then went back to my house. Reluctant, I sat down in front of the TV and searched for something good enough to keep me interested for the next hours. Luckily I did find something and before I knew it was already seven o'clock and the sky was starting to get darker outside.

I cooked myself dinner, nothing more special than frozen food, and waited for the time of my poker game. Around ten past eight, I left my house and walked to the house Darren had indicated me earlier.

I knocked twice and then a girl answered it. She had straight, red hair coming down her shoulders and she wore a short dress with shorts under it. She looked at me up and down, probably wondering who the hell I was.

"I came for the poker game" I said and indicated the bottle of beers I was carrying, already fearing I was knocking at the wrong house, at the wrong hour.

"Come in."

She opened the door and stepped away so I could enter.

The house was very nice and tidy. The girl showed me where the men were and I thanked her with a weak voice.

The men were sitting in a dining-room where they'd put a poker table in the middle. There were three men: a red-head, a tall guy with a mustache and Darren. He smiled at me when I walked in.

"David! You came. Sit down and let's start."

I sat in front of him and next to the red-head and the tall one. Darren was dealing.

"This is Daniel and Don."

He pointed the guys with the head, his eyes on the cards.

Don had his arms crossed and immediately picked up his cards, not once looking at me. Daniel, on the other hand, grinned.

"I brought beer" I said, lifting the bag I was carrying. "I don't know if you like it..."

I handed the bag to Daniel, who took a look at the two bottles and then said they could drink it after the game, outside. Then he took the bottles to the kitchen.

The poker went fine. I'm not very good at it, and I found out that Darren and Daniel were close to pros. Don was worse than myself, as Darren had mentioned, and was the first one to sit out. Darren was the second, since he tried to bluff Daniel but he had a flush while Darren only had a pair of Kings. It was down to me and Daniel, and of course, I lost. He shook hands with me and told me I was better than he thought.

"Too bad for you, Don" Darren commented as they stood up from the table.

"Why?" Don asked. He had lost that serious expression and was a lot more loose now, after a few beers.

"Because you're still the worst player in here."

We all had a good laugh at it and then I saw Daniel with the two beers I'd brought and four small glasses walking to the door that led to the backyard. The guys followed him and I was the last one left in the dinning-room. Before I could go outside and close the door behind me, the girl I had seen earlier came down the stairs and walked right past me, entering the kitchen. I held on for a second. No, it wasn't the same girl. This one styled her hair different, was wearing a black top and black shorts, and when she turned around I could see she also wore heavy make-up. She noticed I was staring at her, so she gave me a look and then turned around to leave with a bag of chips. Great, now I am the creepy new guy her dad's playing poker with.

After that we sat outside drinking my beer and talking. I got to know a lot about those guys. Daniel and Mary-Sue had two daughters, Lilith and Angela. Lilith was dating Darren's son, Dirk, and Angela was dating Dustin Brook, Brandi's son. They told me that Brandi was a single mom with two children to raise and no husband around, since hers had died years ago on an accident. Don was engaged to Cassandra Goth, and when they moved to that subject, things got weird. I noticed Darren had gotten a little agitated and Don a little too convinced. The subject didn't last long, and I didn't hear anything else than Don bragging about this new condo he had found for "Cassie" and him to move in. After thirty seconds, I realized I was the only one listening, while Darren had reclined on his chair and was gazing disinterested at the pool on our left and Daniel stared at some point in front of him, obviously not caring for what Don was saying. I also started to distract from his words as I wondered why those two didn't care at all for the other. They weren't just bored; Darren seemed to scorn Don and Daniel seemed to know about some sort of conflict between those two, but he preferred to stay out of it and was aware that that subject bothered Darren somehow. It had to do with the woman, Cassandra Goth, obviously.

Luckily, Daniel decided to talk about last night's basketball game, and I felt relieved that he did. That kept Don quiet and Darren from giving him those cold gazes while he wasn't looking.

After eleven o'clock I started to feel a little tired and wanted to go home. The guys were having fun and invited me for their next poker game, and the one after it. I agreed nicely and said I would be there. Then I stood up and left, leaving them outside, laughing and drinking.

I found my way to the door and had my hand on the doorknob when I heard a voice behind me. I turned around and saw that girl with the black clothes and heavy make-up standing by the stairs looking at me. I stopped too and waited for her to say something. She opened a smile and started talking.

"Are you David West?"

There's only one reason someone would call me by my full name: if they don't know me.

"Yes" I answered, waiting for a compliment on one of my books.

"I've read your..." the girl didn't complete the phrase.

"Really?" I opened her smile. "Did you like it?" I

"Yes. I loved it. Dirk gave me. My boyfriend."

I smiled.

"I thought that was his dad's book."

The girl looked a bit shocked.

"I had no idea..."

I didn't have anything else to say.

"Are you living here now?"

"Yes. Next to the park" that moment I wondered how many times would I have to repeat that.

"Cool. Can you sign my book later?"

"You mean…"

"That's not my problem anymore."

There were some many ways that last sentence could've sound, but she made it sound normal, there was no arrogance in her tone.

"Fine."

I waited for her to say something else. She just smiled, so I figured she had nothing else to say. I turned around muttering a low "bye" to her and left, closing the door behind me. It hit me that I'd have to walk home, and I grimaced to the idea, but I moved on. I was at home in less than ten minutes.

As I started to hang out with those men I started to enter the social cycle of Pleasantview. It happens that it's not a very big town and most of the things happen around here. One night I got earlier to our poker game at Daniel's house, so he proposed one game of gin before the guys got there. He said they were gonna be late because Darren had an appointment and Don was going out with Cassandra, so it was possible he wasn't even going to show up. It sounded like Don did that a lot and it was no surprise.

"Daniel, can I ask you something about Don?" I asked carefully.

"Sure" he answered normally.

"Do they don't get along? Don and Darren?"

"No" Daniel answered and then sighed. "It's something between them..."

"You don't have to tell me if it's not of my business."

"No, it's okay. I know you won't be talking about it, right?"

"Sure."

"Darren has a crush on Don's fiancée."

"Cassandra?"

"Yes. Major crush. Since his divorce and his wife moving out, Darren's been over her all the time. When Don proposed to her and they got engaged, Darren got really depressed."

"Gin."

"But that's not all" Daniel continued, dealing the cards again.

"No?" I raised an eyebrow.

"We think Don is cheating on Cassie."

I don't know why, but every time I hear someone telling me that someone's cheated on somebody, I get shocked and a bit sad. Even though I don't know them, cheating for me is something really not cool.

"Have you met the Caliente sisters yet?"

"Caliente? No."

"Those two are impossible... They are too real sluts, hunting for guys. It's a different one every week at their place."

"And you think Don is cheating on Cassandra with one of the sisters?"

"Maybe both. Don is not that different either. He has always been a player, and we were all extremely shocked when he started dating Cassandra. If you'd seen the girls he used to go out and the girl he got engaged to... you'd know what I'm talking about."

"Isn't it possible that he's grown and is looking to settle down?" I suggested kindly.

"No, no way. Don's always been a jerk, he will always be."

"Then why do you invite him for your poker game?"

"We didn't know anybody else and we were tired of playing gin. By the way, gin."

"That quick?"

"Yes."

He started dealing again as I thought of my next question, but then the doorbell rang and Daniel left the room shouting "I got it" to his daughters.

It was Darren, and as Daniel had predicted, Don never showed up. Darren went home earlier and Daniel and I were left alone again, but this time we sat outside, in the dark.

"You daughter asked me to sign her book" I said to start a subject.

"Really? Why?"

Daniel had a really confused look.

"She's my fan" I answered the obvious.

"You write?"

"Yes. David West."

He didn't have that confused look anymore, but he didn't recognize my name either.

"I didn't even know my daughter read your books. My wife should know it."

Oh yeah, his wife, Mary-Sue. We had met a few times, once when I showed up to pay what I owed to Daniel and she invited me for a cup of coffee and cake. She was a very nice woman, but she also looked sad, like she had something inside her that was making her sad. I could only wonder what that was.

"Hey, I've never shown you my house, have I?" Daniel suddenly asked, jumping off his chair.

"No."

I followed him in and he gave me a quick a tour around the house. One of his daughters was in the living room watching an episode of "30 Rock" on the television, and she gave me a little smile when I walked in. I presumed she was the other sister because she was wearing pink pants and a green sweater. Then we went upstairs, where the girls' bedrooms were. I think the girl should have heard us behind the door, because when we were about to go downstairs, her bedroom door opened and she stuck her head out. My eyes met hers and we stood there for a moment. Lucky for me, Daniel didn't notice and continued to go down the stairs. I broke our eye contact and followed him.

We talked a little more downstairs and when I was about to leave, the girl from upstairs showed up at the stairs carrying what I knew was one edition of my latest book. I grinned.

"Can you sign it?" she asked me shyly.

"Sure. Do you have a pen?"

Daniel handed me a pen and I opened the book and signed it.

"To..."

"Lilith."

I wrote down some kind words and handed the book back to Lilith. I noticed that she kept her eyes on me all the time.

"Thank you, sir" she said with a shy smile.

"Call me David."

I said goodbye to both of them and left. During the way home I blamed myself for flirting with my friend's sixteen years-old daughter. It wasn't intentional, but I sustained it, and now it kept me thinking what she thought of me. No, I'm not interested on her, I'm just wondering what she thinks of me, relating to my work. No, perhaps I shouldn't be thinking about this. She's just a girl, and I'm just a writer. And I hang out with her dad. No big deal.

After that incident (I don't think you can call that an incident), I got a little hesitant to come back to Daniel's house. I met Lilith twice there, and she just grinned and continued on her path. I didn't say a word either.

The next few weeks I got to know the Caliente sisters. I was feeling kind of lonely in my house so I took my bike and drove it downtown, looking for a club. There was one that wasn't too crowded and it seemed fairly nice. I parked my bike and got in.

There were some tables next to the right wall and I sat down. A waitress with a dress that was a lot shorter than it should be came closer and asked me if I wanted anything to drink. I refused it.

There a few people on the tables, a few on the bar and a lot on the dance floor. From where I was sitting I could get a perfect view of the dance floor and the bar, and I noticed those two women sitting there; one was blond, hair straight down to her shoulders, tanned skin, wearing a short black dress. The other one was red-haired, also tanned and she wore jeans and a blue blouse. After a few minutes giggling at the bar, they stood up and went to the dance floor. I lost them for a moment, but then I spotted the blond dancing (more of rubbing herself against a guy's leg) and the red-head next to her, dancing more shyly than her sister (or less slutty). A guy moved closer to her and started "dancing" next to her, and there they stayed for awhile. Minutes later the four of them sat down at a table and ordered drinks. They weren't too far from me, and I now could see the red-head's face very clearly. She had beautiful features, deep eyes flattered by her make-up and an incredible body. I don't know if she was that excited for being there with that man, because when you look at her sister and then look at her, you see the difference in their eyes; the red-head doesn't know how to hide her feelings.

After several minutes of sitting there, all quiet and observer, I decided to order myself a drink. My eyes were still on the red-head, and, occasionally, her sister. I didn't notice when this girl came and sat next to me. When I turned to my right, there she was, wearing a small green skirt and a shinning green blouse. She was sitting too close to me for someone I had no clue who it was.

"Hi..." I started, not hiding my discomfort.

"Hi, sweety" she whispered in my ear. "You've been too quiet tonight, haven't you?"

"Have you been watching me?"

"How could I not? These eyes have been calling me all night."

She got closer and I felt one hand on my thigh.

"Don't you think that line is a little too old?"

"It's new for me."

I rolled my eyes. Now there was one hand stroking my thigh and one on my right biceps.

"Come on let's get out of here..."

When I felt her lips on my neck, I pushed her away and I told her to get off my face. The girl obviously didn't like it, and I heard she call me something before disappearing into the dance floor. Forgetting this little pathetic episode, I came back to my observation of the two Caliente sisters. By now I had concluded they were the Caliente sisters.

Seconds later they pulled the guys to the dance floor, danced for several minutes until they "seemed" to be exhausted and then they left, all four of them. Without really knowing what I was doing, I got up and followed them outside. Their car wasn't that far, but my bike was. I hurried to it and waited to get behind them. We drove for ten minutes, then they parked in front of a small house and the four of them got in. That was when I took notice of my madness and drove the car away, only thinking to get back to my house and sleep. Yes, I really needed to sleep.