A/N: I hope you all are enjoying the story. This is going to be a slow burn romance so if you were expecting hot and heavy antics super quick you will probably be in for a bit of a disappointment. Anyway lets continue!
******** Actual Chapter One********
"Nobody can tell what I suffer! But it is always so. Those who do not complain are never pitied." - Jane Austen
"What the fuck?!" Antonia heard Kylie scream. "I'm changing in here! Haven't you ever heard of knocking, Francis?" Silence followed this outburst and then the sound of skin roughly making contact with other skin. Antonia closed her book and sprinted down the hall. Kylie and Francis had a less than friendly relationship. Antonia and Francis had one as well, but she knew how to pick her battles. Kylie was more volatile and apt to start trouble at a moment's notice. When she reached her sister's room, she found Kylie sitting on her bed wrapped up in a towel. One hand held up the fabric while the other held her recently accosted cheek. Francis was standing over her in a threatening way.
"You best talk to me with respect, girl." Francis boomed. "I'm your father and it goes against the bible to act like such a bitch."
"Actually." Antonia interrupted. "You're our step father and if you are going to openly oggle us like the pervert you are, you shouldn't be throwing around words like 'father' so liberally.." she crossed the room and pried her sister's hand away from her face. It was red where he struck her, but it looked like it wouldn't bruise.
"Oh, here comes little miss books to save the day." Francis slurred. "Why don't you go back to your room and study or whatever the hell it is you do in there." Antonia whirled around to face Francis. She stood her full height and looked him square in the eye. There was a time when she used to be afraid of him. Afraid of his temper. The blows he dealt out when he was drunk. She had become numb to his abuse the more often he inflicted it. Which wielded a power she couldn't fully explain. All she knew was that once she stopped caring the less scary he was.
"Why don't you go downstairs and pour yourself another drink?" she spoke calmly. "Or should I call my mom and tell her what you do here when she isn't around? That would sure put a damper on your freeloading bullshit wouldn't it?" The threat was clear. Easy even for someone as inebriated as him to understand. Antonia hated him from the first moment she met him. Her mother had found him while vacationing in Nashville. For some inexplicable reason she fell in love with the stupid son of a bitch and moved their whole family to Kentucky just to be with him. Luckily, it was relatively easy for her to find a job. She was a nurse and hospitals seemed to be quite busy for somewhere as rural as Harlan. Which meant that she worked strange hours and was out of the house more often than she was at home. The quiet war Antonia and Kylie waged against Francis was a futile one. No matter what they did they knew their mother would never leave him. So they were stuck putting up with him until they were old enough to leave. One year for Kylie, two for Antonia. Those two years couldn't come fast enough.
Francis said nothing in reply. Only laughed dryly before turning and leaving the room. His heavy footfalls could be heard lumbering down the stairs. Neither of the girls spoke until they were sure he wasn't coming back.
"I could have handled that myself." Kylie said, lightly pushing Antonia's hand away from her face. She got up off the bed and went to her closet. She rifled through the clothes, looking for an outfit for the night.
"I know." Antonia simply responded. She fell back onto her sister's bed and stared up at the ceiling.
"That fucking pervert is getting more bold as the days go by. One day he's going to do something and I won't be able to contain myself." Kylie continued. Ranting to herself more than Antonia. Antonia rolled her eyes. Kylie was under the impression she was tougher than she actually was. Which probably had to do with the company she kept.
"He won't." Antonia answered. She turned her head to look at her sister with a smirk. "He may be a stupid red neck, but he isn't that stupid."
"He just slapped my fucking face, Antonia." Kylie shot back. She found an extra tight dress and was pulling it on.
"I don't see your point." Antonia replied.
"Don't be dense. You know what the next steps will be if we allow him to go on this way."
"I guess we will just have to wait and see." Antonia replied. "What would you do about it? Kill him?" she laughed softly at her dark joke, but Kylie wasn't smiling. Antonia shot up to a sitting position. "Shut up." Antonia said, even though Kylie had said nothing in return. "We can't."
"You're right. We can't, but I'm sure someone would be more than willing to get rid of him for us." She pulled out her full length mirror and propped it against her closet door. She preened over her figure and smoothed out her dress. Acting every bit the teenage girl she was. Antonia got up off the bed and walked toward her sister.
"You're crazy." she stated.
"Am I?" Kylie retorted. She moved the mirror and went back into the closet. "You're coming with me to Audrey's tonight."
"Like Hell I am."
"You are." She brought out another black dress and presented it to Antonia. "And you're going to wear this." Antonia narrowed her eyes at her sister. "Don't give me that look." Kylie responded. "I'm not going to leave you in the house with Francis all night. Not after what just happened. All he will do is badger and annoy you the moment I leave."
"And you think I'm safer at Audrey's?" Antonia raised her eyebrow. She had never set foot inside Audrey's, but she knew all about it. It was a bar that served alcohol to minors. But it wasn't just that. Antonia knew that prostitution was prevalent there as well as drug use and probably countless other illegal things. She never had a desire to go there, but Kylie did have a point. All Antonia wanted to do was read her book and forget everything that had transpired tonight. At least for a little while. Her night was ruined and she could either stay at home and be harassed by a drunk middle age man or go out and be harassed by many drunk men of various ages. Both prospects weren't very enticing.
"Fine." Antonia said with a defeated sigh. She grabbed the dress out of her sister's hands and went to her room to change. She needed her own accessories to make the outfit feel like her and not just some copy of her sister. She didn't want any of those guys to get the wrong impression. Kylie could spend all day at those places leading dudes on, maybe she even gave some of them what they wanted. But Antonia wasn't about to go down that road.
Antonia looked herself over in the mirror. The eye make up was heavy, much too heavy to get a pass from Kylie. But Antonia didn't care, it was her signature look and it made her feel tougher, invincible. Ripped fishnet stockings, black combat boots, and an over sized red flannel shirt completed the look. She gave herself one more quick once over before she joined Kylie in her room.
The atmosphere at Audrey's was surprisingly mellow for a Saturday night. There weren't many people in the place and the ones that were there sat quietly in their respective areas. Originally, Antonia had been sitting with Kylie and her boyfriend at the moment, Jay, but she had become the third wheel pretty quick so Antonia went to sit at the bar. So much for Kylie's brilliant murder plan. All of her attention was exclusively on Jay. He definitely wasn't going to be the one to off Francis. He was short and so skinny Antonia was sure he was thinner than she was and she wasn't exactly what anyone would call a healthy weight. Perhaps this was for the best. Antonia wasn't sure about the whole killing a person thing and now that Kylie's attentions were firmly placed elsewhere, maybe she wouldn't have tot think about it anymore. Antonia spun back to the wooden bar, took a small breath of relief and sipped her beer. Content to put the whole mess behind her and enjoy a quiet evening.
And then they arrived.
They were tall, rowdy, and completely ruined the tone of the place. Antonia wanted to be angry, but this was the usual atmosphere of Audrey's, she shouldn't be mad at something that is the norm. Instead, she got up from her stool and made to sit out on the back patio. But not before she caught a glance of him again. The man she had seen when she first moved to Harlan. He was a stark contrast from his buddies. Quiet and introspective with intense eyes that seemed as if they could look right through you and right into your soul. She pulled her eyes away from him, but not before he caught her looking. He smiled in her general direction. Antonia felt her face grow hot, she quickly looked somewhere else. Anywhere else and made a beeline for the patio.
