"Here we are, Domino City! Oh honey, look at that cute little boutique." Mom pointed out the passenger's window.
"Very nice," Dad responded, not even glancing.
"Lori, aren't you excited? You can start fresh here; a whole new you." I saw Mom's smile in the side mirror.
I gave her a silent response, looking out the window of my parents' small car. The surroundings were dull and the people looked annoying.
Both of my parents sighed. My mom leaned over, whispering to my dad. "Do you think she needs more counseling?" she asked him.
Did she think I was deaf? Like those know-it-all shrinks could help? They pretended to be all kind and understanding while they wrote little notes that reminded them to increase the dosage of their patients 'happy pills'. Yeah, that was exactly what I needed. Note the freakin' sarcasm.
"I'm not sure, dear," my dad whispered back.
I grabbed my headphones and placed them over my ears. Then I turned the CD player on, drowning my parents' hushed voices with the tune. I rested my head on the back of my seat and tried to lose myself in my favorite songs. I could possibly get through this move if I had my music.
After a while, the car pulled to a stop. I opened my eyes and studied the house we were parked in front of. Our new home…needed a whole lotta new of its own. The paint was chipped, the shingles were cracked, and there was more than one broken window.
I sighed and turned the music off, removing the headphones. I stuffed everything in my bag then opened the car door, getting out.
"A fixer-upper. This'll be fun." Mom smiled again as she got out of the car.
"You're going to help us bring everything in, right Lori?" mom asked.
"Maybe later," I answered, strolling into the house as the moving truck pulled up.
The inside wasn't all bad. It was a standard house with two floors, two bedrooms, a bathroom, an attic, a basement, and no interesting history.
I made my way upstairs and checked out the two bedrooms, claiming mine. I walked in and threw my bag into the corner.
"Damn," I groaned. "Gotta get my things." I said a few chose words under my breath, mainly grumbling about being in the vicinity of my parents.
"Oh Lori, can you bring in the dining room chairs?"
"That's what these guys are here for, dad," I informed, pointing at the movers.
A loud crash caught my attention as I grabbed my box and hoisted it into my arms.
"Oh no, my favorite vase! You klutz!" mom yelled.
I walked into the house, stepped over the broken glass, and started up the stairs. The man in the moving uniform, Greg according to his name tag, apologized over and over, but my mom didn't seem to hear him as she let out a sob and threw herself into dad's arms.
"Oh please," I said, rolling my eyes. "It was only a vase, mom."
"That…" she cried "was a gift from my deceased sister!"
I scoffed and continued up the stairs. "Yeah, well she was a bitch anyway," I grumbled. My weeping mother didn't seem to hear me.
Moving all my stuff and setting it up in my room took about two hours. When I had finished, stretching my back from the lifting, my dad called.
"Lori! Come on down to dinner!"
Dinner? Already?
I made my way downstairs and into the front room, but stopped short when I noticed our current company.
"Oh, no way, what's he doing here?" I asked, crossing my arms and glaring at the three of them.
"Nice to see you again, Lori. How have you been?" Fred Pitts spoke. Fred was an overweight dick with balding hair. He was placed on this earth to make my life a living hell. And, he was succeeding thanks to my clueless parents.
I scoffed. "I'm not in the mood for this. Just give my food to his fat ass. I'm sure he'll snarf it down in seconds," I whipped around and left the room, making my way back to my room. Slamming the door, I shut out the rest of the world.
The next morning I woke up, grumbling as the sun's rays blinded me. I swear I was ready to kill whoever had opened my curtains. Throwing my covers off, I urged myself out of bed and headed for the bathroom. As I undressed, my gaze landed on my scarred wrists. Running one finger along the thin scar, I envisioned the crimson blood filling my pale palm. I blinked back tears from my past and continued getting ready. After my shower, I got dressed and went downstairs feeling more awake.
"Lori dear, you can't wear that. You look like…well, a slut," mom mentioned, turning back to the sizzling bacon on the stove.
I looked down at my clothes. A simple plaid skirt nearly reaching my knees and a cute halter top. A pair of striped stockings, fingerless gloves, and black buckle up boots finished off my look. I did a little twirl, showing off my outfit to my parents.
"You're just jealous, mom," I stated, plucking a piece of bacon from the plate.
"Nonsense. Why would I be jealous of those trashy clothes?"
I smiled innocently, leaning against the counter next to her. This was her 'piss of your daughter' day. Every time Fred would pay us a little visit, the next day mom would take a new approach in dealing with me. The shrink's idea, no doubt. It used to work when I was younger. I usually found myself in a juvenile hall, gaining a lecture about respecting your elders and honoring your parents. Not anymore, though. My brother had filled me in on exactly what they were doing. They were trying to get a rise out of me, to have the perfect excuse to send me off somewhere. They managed to do it to my brother; they weren't getting me.
"I dunno," I responded, taking a small bite of my bacon. "Because you don't have the body to pull this off?" I raised an eyebrow and laughed when my father grunted, neither agreeing with me nor coming to mom's defense. Not the perfect marriage anymore, eh mom?
"Honey!" Mom rounded on dad, forgetting the rest of the bacon in the pan. "Tell her to change!"
Dad finally looked up from his newspaper and at me. "Lori, go change your clothes."
"Nah, I'm good with this." I finished off my tiny breakfast and walked out of the kitchen. Time to explore. Leaving the house, I strolled down the block, studying the area. It wasn't long before a male voice broke through the morning silence.
"Hey beautiful, where are you headed?"
I rolled my eyes and turned to the owner of the voice. His long black hair was pulled up into a ponytail and his emerald green eyes were bright.
"What's wrong? Lose your manners?" I questioned, annoyed at how he had approached me.
The guy smirked, the very sight of it disgusting me. It wasn't that he was ugly; he just gave off that 'no girl can resist me' vibe. And I hated men like that.
"Haven't seen you around. You new?" he inquired.
"Gee, Sherlock. Did you figure that out all on your own?" I was hoping he took that as a hint to get lost and started away.
He chuckled and soon caught up to me. "Sure did. Name's Duke Devlin,"
"That's just great," I replied with complete sarcasm. "My name's I don't give a damn." I was becoming very irritated and I wanted this 'ladies' man' to get the point. It wasn't my fault if I ended up lashing out at him, was it? "Look, why don't you go bother someone else? There's a group of ogling girls over there. Have at it."
"Well, I already met them," he replied, playing with his dice earring.
I smiled then, an evil idea brewing in my head. "Give me one moment then, Duke." I held up one finger, leaving him standing there as I ran over to the group of girls and their extremely feminine male friend. You know the type. "Listen up, girls. Mr. Devlin over there wanted me to tell you all about a contest he's starting." Even though they didn't recognize me, the mention of Duke brought them into the palm of my hand.
"What kind of contest?" a pretty blonde asked, her eyes brightening at the idea.
"Well..." I paused to add effect. "It's a simple one, but the first one of you to touch him after I say 'go' wins a day long date and a goodnight kiss."
There was a chorus of shocked gasps and they began to whisper excitedly to each other.
"Ready…?" I asked.
"Oh yeah!" the male of the group exclaimed.
"Go!" I stepped out of the way as they began the race to the waiting Mr. Devlin.
"What the…?" His eyes grew wide and he started off, running away from the group before they could tackle him.
I waved and smiled, continuing on my way. It was long before another voice ringed out, calling to me. Another guy…
"Hey! Wait up!"
I kept walking, rolling my eyes when the quick sound of his footsteps closed in.
"Hey…hi. I saw what you did to dice boy. Dat was some good thinkin'!"
"Thanks, now will that work on you?" I asked, not looking his way.
"Probly not," he answered. His New York accent was cute so I looked his way, hoping he fit the bill. Meh, he was kind of cute. Blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. Not to mention the silly grin on his face. He walked with his hands in his pockets, looking like a shy puppy.
"At least you're honest," I replied to his answer.
"Oh yeah. Honesty's number one in my book!" he exclaimed.
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Number one, eh?" I asked.
He chuckled nervously, one of his hands leaving his pocket to rub the back of his neck.
"Never mind." I mean, who has ever met a guy that listed honesty as number one? No worries, I let him off the hook this time.
"So, uh, what's your name?" he asked.
"Lori Bennett," I answered.
"Nice- I mean- my name's Joey Wheeler," he told me.
"So Joey, what's there to do around here?"