It was almost eight o'clock when Sam and Veronica arrived back at Max's house. All day long they talked about their family life, their interests, and what they hated about school. It turned out that they had more in common than they thought. Veronica was able to sympathize when Sam told her about how he hated being pushed into Max's family. Not only was he an overhappy nerd with a bad taste in fashion, but David was also in a gang. And he was trying his damndest to get Michael involved. In turn, Veronica told him about how her mother used to go with Robert-a "family man" that had four other kids and wanted to be like the Brady Bunch. Then there was Chris, the tattooed gun runner for the Santa Carla Badasses who almost got them killed…twice.
"Haha, I guess we both suck when it comes to getting a normal family." Sam said as he jumped up on the front steps. He pushed open the door and Veronica followed him in.
When they got into the living room Max and Lucy were sitting on the couch drinking wine. Sam noticed that Max's glass was a tad bit redder than Lucy's.
"Maybe I should stay the night?" Lucy said as she stared down into her glass. "I just don't feel comfortable leaving him there alone."
"Do whatever makes you feel better. I can take care of the kids Honey." Max replied in a sugar coated voice.
"What about getting them to school?"
"Sam can walk Laddie to his bus stop, then head on over to his. If worse comes to worse I'll call Charley and ask if they can carpool with Tommy."
"Where are you going Mom?" Sam walked in with a worried expression.
"I'm going to stay with Grandpa for the night. That old hag-er, Widow Johnson- broke his heart again and now he's threatening to stuff himself and send his body to her through the mail!"
"Geez Mom, calm down. How is Grandpa going to be able to stuff himself anyway? It's a little hard to take out your insides while you're still breathing."
"Sam, please be sensitive right now. Can't you see your mother's in a panic?" Max's corner of his mouth turned down to form a slight frown.
"I know Grandpa, he's not one for suicide. I guess I can walk Laddie to the bus stop tomorrow, though." He sighed as Lucy ran up and kissed her son good-bye. When the door closed behind them Max turned to Veronica.
"Sweetie, your Mom called me about a half hour ago. She wanted me to ask you if it would be okay if you spent the night. Apparently she and Will are getting along pretty well."
"So well that they have to spend the night in a hotel room?" Veronica said. Max's eyes opened in surprise and Sam snorted, knowing all about her story.
"Um, well…" Max slid his hand through his hair.
"It's fine, can I go home and pick up some clothes for school?"
"Sure, Michael and Star are going out for the night; I'll have them run you over there. Sam can go with you, but I have to get going. Maria always chews me out for being late to the video store."
"I thought you were the boss?" Sam raised an eyebrow to Max.
"I am, but I keep her because she keeps me on a tight work schedule." He smiled as he walked past the two and out into the darkening night.
"Wait here and I'll go find my brother," Sam headed towards the kitchen and she heard a door open and shut. She looked around the room and noticed that it was poorly decorated. No family portraits, no children's artwork, heck there wasn't even an animal head mounted above the fireplace.
"Is this her?" A male voice snapped Veronica out of her exploration.
"No, this is just some random chick that decided to walk into our house." Sam's sarcastic reply gave him a smack upside the head by his big brother. A brown haired girl in a flowing skirt followed the boys upstairs.
"Hi," she smiled sweetly at Veronica. "Laddie's still downstairs sleeping. He shouldn't wake up until you get back." She directed towards Sam.
"Alright, let's go then. Sam go get Max's car keys, he left them for us." Michael ordered.
"You mean he trusts you with his car?" Sam's mouth fell open in faux horror.
"Just get the keys moron," Michael faked a swipe at his brother's head again.
"What a way to show brotherly love." Veronica jumped at Star's voice. She didn't hear her come up behind her. "My name's Star by the way. That's Michael."
"Hi, Max told me about you," Veronica smiled back.
"Oh really? I hope he only said good thing," Michael said. He suddenly lifted his arm and caught the keys that were flying towards his head.
"Good catch loser," Sam stuck out his tongue.
He put his arms around his brother's shoulders and pretended his knees had gone weak. "I only see one good catch around here, and I'm looking at her," he said in a sappy voice looking towards Star.
Star looked at Veronica, "I have to live with these two; you only have to spend one night with them."
"Oh don't listen to her, we're perfectly normal," Michael stood up, put an arm around Star's waist, and placed a light kiss on her lips. This triggered a light giggle from Star and they headed out the door.
"Do you need a garbage can? I'll let you borrow mine when I'm done puking my guts out."
Veronica laughed, "If they're like this all the time I suggest you keep the can handy."
"There's not a day that goes by that my head's not in one." They both laughed until Michael popped his head back in the house.
"Hurry up you two love birds, it's almost beddy-bye time and we still have to find Miss V's house."
"Miss V?" Veronica scrunched up her nose a little.
"Yeah, I've renamed you." Michael gave her a gleaming toothed smile and slipped back outside.
She turned back to Sam and saw he has a serious glare on his face. "Miss V?"
He broke out of his glare and looked at her, then shrugged. "I don't know where half the stuff he says comes from. I think he's on drugs."
It didn't take them long to get to Veronica's house, mainly because Michael did at least twenty miles over the speed limit. When she stepped out of the car she was tempted to kiss the ground.
"Not to be rude, but where the heck did you learn to drive like that?" Veronica asked as she unlocked her front door.
"David," Star grumbled. Michael just laughed it off.
"Do you want something to drink or anything?" Veronica asked when they got inside and turned on the lights.
"Nah, we'll just wait here." Michael replied, looking over the blue and white trimmed living room. "Whoever's the decorator did a nice job."
"That would be my Mom. She has a "thing" for fashion. Or so she says."
"She needs to get ahold of Max then." Star jabbed Michael in the ribs for his comment.
"She did, and obviously failed miserably." Everyone stopped and stared at Veronica. Her face flushed out of embarrassment. "Did I say something stupid?" She quietly asked.
"No, you said something shocking." Michael stared at her with huge eyes.
"You guys are taking it the wrong way," Star scolded. "She clearly meant that her mom just tried to improve his style. Right Veronica?"
"N-no…I'm pretty sure they took it the right way."
"Ho ho ho!" Sam's shocked face broke into a gleeful smile. "Are you telling us that Max and your mom hooked up? Holy cow crap! How did we never hear about this before?"
"Because it was only for a few days and it was when we first moved here. I only met Max once then a few days later she was onto another guy."
"So Max is a player?" Sam smirked.
"Sam, just because he was with another girl besides your mother doesn't make him a player." Star frowned.
Sam's face fell, "Oh? Then I guess he's just a man whore."
"Sam!"
"Calm down Star, no need to have a heart attack and die…oh wait," he laughed at a joke that went over Veronica's head.
"Watch it Sam," Michael glowered.
"You guys are a bunch of dead logs, excuse the pun," his laughter turned his brother and Star's glare into a worried one. Sam let out a snort that turned his face bright pink as he glanced toward Veronica.
"Oh did the little piggy embarrass himself?" Michael cooed, going back to his playful state.
"Shut it!" Sam yelled.
"These guys are weird," Veronica whispered to herself as she back away towards the stairs. Star and Michael quickly glanced at her and bit back a smile, almost like they heard her.
Up in her room she packed her school bag and her Twilight pajamas. Picking out a black shirt decorated with red bows and another pair of black pants she headed to the bathroom to get her personal grooming things, which consisted of a black toothbrush, black hairbrush with decorative silver stars, and her Care Bear toothpaste. So she liked the cotton candy flavor the furry little bears provided, who cares? Turning off all the upstairs lights she bounced down the stairs and noticed only Sam was still inside.
"Where's Star and Michael?"
"Out in the car swapping spit," Sam retorted. When he saw Veronica's face crinkle up in disgust he laughed. "I'm just kidding; they're out there waiting for us."
"Impatient much?"
"Hey, it's night time and we're preventing them from partying." This made Veronica giggle, even though Sam's face stayed serious.
"Well then, I guess we better get going."
The car ride back wasn't as terrifying since Veronica mentioned Michael's driving skills. As soon as Sam and Veronica were out of the car, Michael and Star were on the bike ready to head off into the night.
"Don't forget that Laddie's probably going to want dinner when he wakes up." Star said.
"Yeah, he's going to have to deal with macaroni though." Sam replied.
"As long as it keeps his belly full," she smiled and waved at Veronica as Michael sped off.
"So how is Laddie related to you guys?" Veronica asked when they went inside.
"He's sort of like an adopted son to Star and an adopted little brother to Dwayne and Paul."
"You can't just through names out to me and expect me to know who you're talking about." Veronica helped him get the macaroni started.
"They're part of David's gang."
"Ah, and they like kids?"
"They're not bad guys, they just fell in with the wrong...crowd."
"Sammie?" A tired voice came up from the basement steps.
"I'm up here bud, you get mac n' cheese for dinner." A brown haired little boy came sleepily up the steps. He yawned, then took a look at Veronica and decided food was more important. He sat at the table and waited for Sam to spoon out the grub into a purple plastic bowl.
"I'll show you where my bedroom is, you can sleep in my bed." Sam headed up the stairs.
"Oh, I'm fine on the floor. I don't want to be a pest."
Sam shrugged, "Do whatever you want." He opened a door to a blue room with a twin bed. It wasn't very big, but it wasn't a shoe box either. He opened a closet door and pulled out a navy blue sleeping bag.
"The bathroom's across the hall. I'm pretty sure that one has a window."
Veronica smiled as she headed to it. When she was done she headed back to the bedroom and found Sam sprawled out on his bed.
"Oh good gosh no," Sam's face contorted in horror. "Twilight?"
"Shush, I love Twilight! Best vampire romance story yet." She looked down at her shirt.
"That's disgusting."
"Hey, I love vampires. You didn't make fun of me before when I mentioned my love of comic books."
Sam frowned, "You know, vampire aren't all they're cracked up to be. They're nasty little pests that are a pain in the ass to get rid of."
"And how do you know?" She squinted her eyes.
"Because I know everything," he closed his eyes and rolled under his covers. "Turn the lights off when you're done."
"You're just going to leave Laddie down there by himself?"
"When he's done eating he'll go back downstairs in the basement. There's nothing for him to do up here, all his toys are down there."
"Well, whatever," she sighed. Memorizing where her sleeping bag was she flipped off the lights, said her prayers, and slipped into the big fluffy bag. When she closed her eyes she heard the front door open. It sounded like Max was home and talking to Laddie.
She was just on the brink of sleep when she heard a door slam shut.
"Max!" A deep voice called out from downstairs. It wasn't a voice Veronica knew, so her curiosity bubbled up. Looking over at Sam she saw he had fallen asleep quickly. Making up a bathroom excuse just in case she got caught, she slipped out from the sleeping bag and headed towards the stairs. She turned the corner and froze. Right in front of her was a tall, menacing looking man with blonde hair and ice blue eyes.
"Who the hell is this?" He yelled down the stairs. Max came running up and shoved the man out of the way.
"Veronica, sweetie, what are you doing up?" He was out of breath and a look of panic flashed through his eyes.
"I...um," the made up lie left her mind as she continued staring at the new guy.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer," he said as he pushed Max out of the way and headed down the hallway. "Where the hell is the bastard? Michael!" He began slamming doors open and scanning them with angry orange eyes. Veronica had to do a double-take. Orange?
"He's not here David, how many times do I have to tell you."
"Then where is he?" His nose flared and his teeth seemed to be getting longer.
"Probably hiding from you! Oh sweetheart, please go back to bed." Max looked lost and ruffled up. "I don't want you to get hurt."
"Hurt? You think I would hurt a child? What the hell is wrong with everyone!" David yelled as he kicked a door off its hinges. Veronica felt a hand on her shoulder and saw that Sam was trying to pull her back into the bedroom.
"Look I'm sure whatever Michael did he didn't mean to-"
"Oh no, you're right Max," David said with an eerie calmness. "He totally accidentally fell on top of Star when they were both naked and accidentally slipped his-"
"Alright alright! There's children in here. I need you to leave right now and go calm down. Besides, that all happened a long time ago."
David gave Max a stare that made his blood go cold. "I. Just. Found. Out." David said through clenched teeth. "Are you telling me you knew about this the whole time?"
Max regained his posture. "I'll go out and find Star and Michael and figure out what's going on."
David looked away as he went over something in his mind. When he turned back his eyes had gone back to an icy blue. "Fine, but if I find out that you hid them from me I swear to the fucking devil I'll eat your heart."
"The children David!"
"Freaking devil. Find them!" He looked back over to Veronica. "Who is she anyway?"
"V-veronica," she stuttered out.
He gave a half-hearted snort, "That's a pretty name; sorry if I scared you." He walked past them and the tail of his black trench coat brushed her leg. She could smell a musky cologne and cigarette smoke from the breeze that followed him. A few seconds later, after Max had run out of breath from apologizing, she could hear a motorcycle engine roar to life. It was then, right then at that moment, that she knew God did exist. And she fell in love.
Thanks for reviewing:
lost boys luvr; Wolves in the Forest; FrogBrother'sLittleSister; Even. The. Stars. Refuse. To. Shine.
Wolves in the Forest: Aw thanks, now I feel the need to read one of your stories ;)
Even. The. Stars. Refuse. To. Shine: Thanks! If you think reading from a young pov is werid, try writing like that. I keep wondering if a 12 year old would say things like this or even know what they mean lol! Thanks for the compliments! Means a lot!