Thanks to XxRepublicBlastxX, Alice Gone Madd, and Transformersgirl4538 for leaving amazing comments. You guys rock!
I do not own Transformers (unfortunately), I only own my OC and other characters you may not recognize.
" The world comes to life and everything's right… from beginning to end when you have a friend by your side… to help you to find… the beauty you are when you open your heart and believe in… the gift of a friend…" Demi Lovato; Gift of a Friend
4
An Unexpected Gift
Eddyville, Montana;
It had been a week since my run-in with the police. We were right in the middle of unpacking the last few boxes of decor stuff when suddenly there was a knock at the door. Gemma, Mom, and I all froze and looked at each other in bafflement. Who could that possibly be? Quietly Mom rose, smoothed out her khakis, and stepped over the mess of empty boxes as she headed for the door. Gemma and I both looked after her then exchanged glances. We shrugged in unison, put down what was in our hands, stood up, and headed for the door as well. We just reached the hall when Mom opened the door. There was a tall woman on the other side with long blond hair, dressed in very fashionable attire.
" Hello again," the woman greeted, flashing a friendly smile and reaching out to shake Mom's hand.
" Um… hello…" Mom greeted back with uncertainty as she reached out to take the woman's hand.
" I'm Peterson," the woman replied. " Helena Peterson. We met at the supermarket the other day.
Mom's face flashed in recognition and brightened up. " Oh!" she exclaimed. " Oh, well then, yes, hello again." She laughed and so did Helena. " Would you like to come in?"
" A few minutes wouldn't hurt, I suppose. Thank you." Helena stepped through the door and for the first time I realized just how tall she was. The woman had to be over six feet, even if she wasn't wearing Stiletto heels, and she was stunningly beautiful! Her blond hair swept down to her very trim waist, her skin was the perfect shade of tan, her eyes were sea-green, and her smile was the pearliest, whitest one I'd ever seen.
" She's pretty enough to be a supermodel," Gemma whispered to me.
I nodded in agreement.
" These are my daughters: Artemis and Gemma," Mom pointed to each of us.
My sister and I both smiled and said hello.
Helena gave us a friendly grin and returned the greeting, then she suddenly turned. " Savannah, come on in," she called.
In response, a girl, who was maybe a year or so older than me, stepped inside our humble abode. Savannah was a gorgeous as her mother. Tall, slender, and lanky, the girl looked like she had the grace of a deer. She shared her mother's sparkling sea-green eyes and blond hair, except her hair was a bit more golden than flaxen and was slightly longer. Also unlike her mother who had straight hair, Savannah's was curled in such a way that if I had tried to do it to my own black mane it would've looked like a disaster, but on her looked amazing. She wore a white halter-top that showed off the glow from her tan skin and a black, ruffled mini-skirt over a pair of fancy wedges that showed off her perfectly pedicured toes. I couldn't help but feel a little bit jealous that this girl had curves in all the right places while I, in many ways, was still waiting for normal body parts to arrive.
" Mother," the teenage beauty queen complained in a whiny voice that made me want to slap her senseless, " can't we just leave the pie and go home? I have things to do."
" In a minute, sweetheart," Helena answered in a sweet, loving voice.
" You brought a pie?" my own mother questioned.
" Yes," Helena answered with a smile. " Peach, to be precise. It's kind of a hobby of mine. Here," she pulled off the cloth that had been covering the pie, causing a mouth-watering aroma to whisk around the hall, and held the pie out to Mom, " welcome to the neighborhood."
Mom took it gratefully. " Well, thank you. I don't know what do say. Here, come with me. I'll put this in the 'fridge for right now and we can have some coffee." She turned and headed for the kitchen, Helena following right behind her, elaborating on how wonderful the idea sounded. Suddenly Mom stopped and turned. " Artemis, honey, why don't you take Savannah upstairs to see your rooms?"
Helena turned as well. " Yes, Savannah, run along upstairs. I'll call you when we're ready to go." Then she turned around to continue following Mom into the kitchen. " So what made you decide to move to Eddyville?" Helena asked.
" Well, you know, my great-grandmother actually used to live in this house so…" Mom's voice drifted off.
It was just the three of us left standing in the hallway. For the first time since she'd entered my home, Savannah took her eyes off her bejeweled smart-phone and looked both my sister and me up and down. Gemma only got a small glance while I got looked over once… twice… three times. Savannah's face twisted in utter disgust. I could almost bet that it was because of my hairstyle: a tight waterfall braid; and my clothes: fatigues, combat boots, suspenders that I allowed to hang loose, gauntlets and black choker, and a light green, single-short-sleeved belly-shirt over a dark green girl's-tank.
I gave her a return scowl, letting her know that I saw her judgement and I didn't take kindly to it. Something told me we weren't going to "buddy-buddy" or even "friendly acquaintances". I could feel Gemma's eyes flicking back and forth between Ms. Beauty Queen and me and knew that she could feel the tension in the room just as much as I could. I also knew that she wanted Savannah out of the house as soon as possible so it would go away—Gemma wasn't good with tension. And truthfully I agreed with her. The sooner this girl and her mother were off my turf the sooner I could get off defense mode and chill out. " I'm Artemis and this is my sister, Gemma," I introduced my sister and myself after a minute, my voice hardly friendly and the frown still screwing up my face.
" I'm Savannah," the girl replied back.
" So I guess I'm supposed to give you the upstairs tour of the house."
" So it would seem."
" Semper fi," I replied, still not dropping my glare. " Let's get 'er done then." And with that, I turned on my heel and marched off towards the stairway, Gemma darting in front of me and up the stairs first and Savannah bringing up the rear with her nose back to her phone. I couldn't help but feel that she was texting her "BFFs" about the incredibly fashion-senseless girl she'd just met.
" And this is my room," I said fifteen minutes later as we wrapped up the tour of the upstairs. I went to my door, opened it, and stepped inside before marching over to my bed and flopping down atop the spread. Gemma soon joined me and we sat there watching as Savannah looked around my organized (for now) quarters, inspecting everything carefully.
" Well, it's bigger than I thought it would be," she admitted after a minute. " I suspect you'll repaint the walls at some point?"
I cocked an eyebrow and looked at the walls of my room. Two were painted a forest green and the other two were jade green. After a moment I slightly smiled and shook my head. " Nope. It's gonna stay the way it is."
" Ew!" Savannah screeched in utter disgust. " You actually like it?"
That scowl regained its grip on my face and I felt something like a low, rumbling growl, vibrate in my chest and throat. My temper rose a bit. " What's it to you, bitch? It's my room not yours, so fuck off" I wanted to snap, and was about to when my sister tugged the back of my shirt, shook her head, and made a censure hum. With that little reminder I managed to hold my tongue. " Yes, I like it," I replied, trying to keep my voice as smooth and calm as possible, which was no easy feat for me. " Green's my favorite color so it made perfect sense for the room that was already painted green to be my room."
" Ew!" Savannah lamented again. " Green is your favorite color? That is so gross! Gag me with a spoon!"
" If only," I rumbled under my breath, receiving me a cautionary glance from Gemma. It was amazing really how my baby sister always ended up the mature one in these situations. I gave her a small smile, letting her know it was okay, then turned my attention back to Ms. America Junior, who was now going around the room inspecting my belongings. Every time she touched something of mine I growled to myself, feeling the desperate need to go over there and attack her for messing with my territory, but somehow managed to suppress it.
Finally after several long—and for me, agonizing—minutes, Savannah finally turned to me. " I noticed that you have an iPod charger, but no phone charger," she pointed out.
" That would be because I don't have a cell phone," I replied.
Savannah laughed. " You're kidding me right?"
I just kept staring at her, emotionless.
Eventually she stopped laughing. " You're not kidding," it was a statement, not a question.
I shrugged. " I don't really kid around much," I said by way of answer.
" But every kid has a phone," the blond remarked.
" Maybe they do. I don't."
" Me neither," Gemma added for good measure.
" Why?" Savannah asked.
" Well for one," I went on to explain, " Gemma's only nine, so she doesn't need a phone. As for me, maybe I'll get one for my fifteenth birthday here in a few weeks, but considering the way the economy is and stuff like that, probably not." I didn't want to mention the fact that with only one parent working and bringing in a very small income, we barely had just enough money to scrape by. Add that with the fact that we'd just moved and the bills from the time I'd stayed in the hospital to all the times Gemma had had to go in for her cancer—my sister had battled a rare form of leukemia until recently—we were in debt. " Besides," I added with yet another shrug, " it's not like I really need one. I have no friends or anything like that to text, so really, what's the point?"
" Um… internet?" Savannah suggested as if it was the most obvious reason to have a phone.
" Got internet and a computer downstairs," Gemma replied simply.
" You mean that dinosaur of a desktop?" the older girl queried, her face twisting in disgust again.
" It may be a dinosaur, but it still works well enough," I stated.
" Well, I have the newest version of the iPad as well as my Droid and touch-screen iPod," Savannah bragged.
" Whoop-de-frickin'-doo for you," I said not-so-subtle sarcasm in my voice. I didn't like braggers, especially when the braggers were stuck up, spoiled, prissy, little rich girls like this one seemed to be. Come to think of it, I didn't like stuck up, spoiled, prissy, little rich girls period; whether they were braggers or not.
Savannah must have noticed my tone—which, of course, is exactly what was meant to happen—and just as I predicted, she didn't like it. Once again her face twisted up into an ugly frown and she gave me an icy glower. " Well, at least I have manners when I invite people over to my house," she spat.
That's when I started to lose control of my temper, and nothing Gemma said was able to help me keep it. " All right, look here, sugar queen," I snarled, getting to my feet, cocking a hip out to the side, and crossing my arms over my chest. " First of all, I didn't invite you over to my house, you came with your mom and practically barged in. If I had my way you woulda been shown the door before you set foot on my sidewalk. Second, I have every right to be snippy with you 'cuz you insulted my home. And third, you are in my house, on my turf, and messin' with my territory. I will treat you however I damn well please, so fuck off!"
The girl glared at me, and I, of course, glared back. Gemma glanced nervously back and forth between the both of us, well aware that whatever was bound to happen now would be out of her control. I was pretty sure we were going to have a smack down right then and there, but suddenly the call came from downstairs.
" Savannah, time to go!" Helena's mellifluous voice carried up the stairs and down the hall.
" Coming, Mother!" Savannah called back. She turned back to me with one last evil look and then stormed out of the room.
I followed from a safe distance, only descending halfway down the stairs in order to say my good-byes to both mother and daughter. When they were both out of the house I hurried back upstairs to my room, ignoring Gemma, who was still seated on my bed, and ran to the window that faced the street. Pulling back the curtains I watched as Helena and Savannah made their way down the sidewalk to their car.
Before getting into the passenger seat, Savannah looked up one more time and saw me. Her face twisted into the angriest scowl I'd ever seen and gave me the finger. I flipped her off in turn and watched as they drove off down the street before sighing with relief, but even though I was happy that that encounter was over, I still had a pit in my stomach. I'd made an enemy out of Savannah Peterson; a dangerous one since I didn't know how much power she held. And, though I'd managed to survive this battle, something told me that this was just the beginning of the war.
" Looks like you made a new friend today," Gemma teased me as we carried up some more boxes into the attic later that day.
" Shut up," I snapped, but smiled at her just the same. Then I shook me head and snorted. " 'Gag me with a spoon,'" I quoted Savannah's earlier phrase when I'd told her green was my favorite color. " Wasn't that phrase from, like, the eighties? I mean seriously, even if they are a valley girl, who says that anymore?"
" Apparently she didn't get that memo," Gemma remarked with a giggle.
I laughed. Gemma was the only one who could ever make me laugh—really laugh—anymore. " Apparently," I agreed. Balancing the box I carried on my knee I reached out with a hand and pushed open the door to the attic. " Okay, here we go," I grunted as I lifted my box up and slid it off to the side on the floor before pulling myself up into the dusty, brightly lit room. " All right, hand it up," I called, reaching down to take my sister's box. When I'd sat that off to the side I reached down and helped Gemma up. " I really hope these are the last boxes of stuff Mom decides we don't need out right away, 'cuz let me tell you, if I have to bring one more box up here I'm burnin' all this extra crap. I don't care what it is."
Gemma giggled again. " She has been making us bring a lot of shit up these stairs," she agreed.
" Whoa, hey!" I snapped, wagging a scolding finger at her and giving her dirty look. " No! You don't use words like that, you understand me, Gemma Madeline? You don't talk like that ever."
" But you talk like that all the time."
" I know, and I probably shouldn't, but that's the difference between you and me: I don't care, but you should. Don't try to be me, Gemma, you're better than that. I'm nothing you wanna be, bug-a-boo, trust me on that."
" You're a good big sister," Gemma pointed out innocently. " That's something I wanna be." She smiled in the sweet way that only she knows how.
I couldn't help but smile back. " And don't be a kiss-ass," I warned her playfully, tweaking her nose. " Now come on, let's get this shit put away."
With that we stood, picked up our respective boxes, and carried them to the back corner of the attic where we'd stored the others.
As I sat down my box I accidentally knocked the pile of quilts that Mom had brought up earlier in the week to the floor. Swearing under my breath, I bent down to pick them up and re-stack them and as I did I realized that a couple of the floorboards were lose. " Hmm," I hummed in consideration. I finished re-stacking the pile then turned my attention to the boards. Working my fingernails under one of the boards I lifted it up. There was a compartment underneath and there was something inside it! " Gem!" I called over my shoulder, motioning with a hand. " Check this out!"
Gemma quickly turned to see what was up. Her eyes lit up and widened with excitement. " Cool! It's like a false bottom or something, just like in Nancy Drew," those were her favorite books to read.
I pulled both boards up and set them off to the side before reaching down in the hole and grabbing the object. " It's a book," I stated when my fingers touched leather binding and paper. I lifted it out. " An old book," I commented again once I saw the pages were slightly yellowed with age. I studied it. If any of you have ever seen the movie Princess Diaries that's what this book looked like, except instead of a red leather covering this one had a rich black leather covering and didn't have any sort of designs on it or a lock that was opened by a locket key. In fact there wasn't really any lock or clasp on it at all, just a stretchable cord that fastened around a small, silver button on the front cover. Slowly, I undid the cord and carefully opened the book. " It's a diary!" I exclaimed after seeing that the pages were blank. " And it's never been written in."
" Who do you think it belonged to?" Gemma asked.
" I'll bet this was Great-Great-Gammy Crystal's diary," I answered. I'd been named for our great-great-grandmother, a woman Mom had been very close to when she was a little girl. " Mom always said that she used to love to write."
" Just like you," Gemma concluded with a smile.
" Yeah, just like me," I agreed softly. I flipped through the pages, amazed out how crisp they were even in their old age.
Gemma turned her attention back to the hole. " Hey, look," she said after a minute. Reaching down she pulled back out an old yellow envelope and opened it. " It's a note. Here." She handed it to me.
Setting the diary off to the side, I took the paper and started to read the fine, small penmanship of our great-great-grandmother.
To whomever it may concern,
I have lived a long, full life; had many adventures. And during my time on this planet I have come to find that to those who find themselves alone there is no greater or more trustworthy friend than a diary. My own journal itself holds my deepest and darkest secrets more faithfully and knows me better than anyone ever could. In the twilight years of my life I pass this knowledge on and purchase this diary for you. Fill it with stories and tales of your dreams and adventures, that way you will always have a way to look back on the past and put your life into perspective when you reach my age.
Faithfully yours,
Crystal
P.S. Another piece of advice—it's one of my mottoes in life: Love those you trust with all your heart, because it is better to feel pain than nothing at all. Trust those you love completely and wholly, because it is truly a rare gift to find. And always keep faith and hope, because no matter they trial, they get you through.
Once I finished reading it to myself, I read it for Gemma, leaving off the P.S. part because I was almost sure that had been written specifically for me though it was almost too unbelievable to imagine.
When I was done Gemma looked at me with a grin. " Well," she chirped happily, patting me on the shoulder, " looks like you got yourself a new diary, sis." Then she stood and started back towards the stairs.
" Yeah," I replied over my shoulder. Looking back at the letter, I reread the P.S. trying to ignore the chills that ran up my spine. It just had to have been written for me! " Yeah," I repeated to myself, " looks like I do." I folded the letter, stuck it back in the envelope, and tucked it into the diary before closing it and redoing the cord. A small smile pulled up a corner of my mouth. " Thanks, Gammy. It means more than you know."