Disclaimer: See first chapter for all disclaimers.
~*~*~*~*~
Amie sat at her computer, dozing slightly. Fresh bruises stood out on her bare arms, mingled with old scars. The computer screen scrolled slowly, a search engine running on the single word that Amie had input into the search bar... 'Talon.' The screen clicked suddenly, waking her up. She opened her eyes, groaning as the familiar shout came from below.
"Maeve!"
She stood up in a sudden temper, shouting down the stairs, "I'm coming, alright? And don't call me that!" Rubbing her eyes, she ran down the stairs, closely avoiding her vindictive mother. The two had tried to avoid each other for last year, Amie withdrawing into herself more and more. Most of their communication had been conducted through Amie's brother, Richard, on the rare occasions when he was home from university. Though they had never been close, Amie had come to rely on Richard to get her through the year. Now, he had moved out of the country, living as a banker in South America.
Going to the cabinet for a drink, Amie stonily ignored her mother. She leaned against the table, flinching as her mother spoke.
"Maeve."
"My name is Amie." She muttered, through gritted teeth. "Don't call me Maeve."
"Fine!" her mother snapped, exasperated. "You have to go to Sylvie's today. I go to work."
Amie shook her head, glaring at the wall opposite. "I'm not going there. I can stay here."
"You will go to Sylvie's. She like having you."
"Yeah, but her brats don't." Amie stood up, dropping her cup into the sink. "I'm going out." Sighing, she reached for her keys. Sylvie was an old friend of her mother's, a placid Irishwoman who insisted on calling Amie by her middle name, Maeve. Amie hated Sylvie almost as much as she hated the name Maeve. The quiet woman tended to withdraw into her bedroom, leaving Amie with her three children. These taunted her already damaged spirit, occasionally adding to the cuts and bruises that lined Amie's limbs from arguments at home.
"No, you not. You going to Sylvie's, or you going nowhere."
Amie stiffened, her mind working quickly. Suddenly, her pent-up tension snapped, and she turned away, hurrying to the front door. "Fine!" she retorted, opening the door. "I'll take 'nowhere' to mean home, as well!" She left the house, tears brimming in her eyes. ~Why can't we get on? ~ she wondered, slamming the door behind her. ~Perhaps it would be easier if... ~
~*~*~*~*~*
A couple of hours later, Amie stood in an estate agents office, a small bag by her feet. As soon as her mother had left to go to work, she had sneaked back into the house, packing one or two essential belongings, before leaving it for what would, hopefully, be the last time. She brushed her hair behind her ear, trying to look older than she actually was. Being short and thin didn't help, but the make-up she had applied to hide her tear-stained cheeks did.
"How old did you say you were?" The estate agent swung his feet up on the desk, chewing his pen. The business was going badly and running out of money, but this girl was surely too young for her own home. ~ She says she's over sixteen. And this transaction doesn't have to go on the records ~ he assured himself.
"I'm seventeen." Amie did her best to convince him, and then gave up. "Look, I just want a small apartment. I don't care where, so long as it's around here, and I don't care about size. Just get me an apartment, damn it."
"Fair enough," the estate agent shrugged, pulling a few files from a drawer in his deck. "How does this sound? Cash only." He showed her a photo. It was a small apartment, with only one room and a tiny bathroom, but it was very cheap and on the other side of town from where she had lived previously.
"It's perfect." Amie dug some notes out of her pocket. She had stolen one of her mother's credit cards to withdraw money, sensing that any deal she made would be off the record. She had deliberately chosen the seediest estate agent in her city of Birmingham, knowing that any request for a home was likely to be accepted by them. Handing him a few hundred pound notes, she waited while he counted the money. He frowned, looking up.
"Not enough."
"It's all I've got." Faking nonchalance, she turned away, reaching one hand behind her for the money back. "Fair enough. I'll go somewhere else."
"Oh - alright!" Glowering at her, the estate agent threw the keys across the room. "You know where it is?"
Amie went to retrieve the keys, giving the estate agents a rewarding smile. "Sure I do. And thanks!"
~*~*~*~*~*
"I'm seventeen." Amie repeated her statement, looking up at the pub owner. After dropping off her belongings in her new home, she had searched out a small pub down the road. Nodding in satisfaction as she saw the 'Help Wanted' sign, she had entered, requesting to see the owner. "And I need a job. I'm willing to work hard."
"Yeah, you will work hard if you work for me," the pub owner nodded, wiping a glass clean. "You look way too small to be working. Can you do nights?"
"Yeah, that's great." Amie waited as the man inspected her, eyeing her slim limbs suspiciously. Finally, he nodded.
"Alright then. I guess you can work here. Eight pm to two am, every single night. You miss a night, you lose the job. Understand?"
"Of course I understand. I won't miss a single night; you just wait and see. Thank you!" Giving him a winning smile, Amie left the pub, grinning to herself. ~All this smiling might be painful, but it pays off. People are so trusting. ~ she thought, shaking her head bemusedly. ~Oh, well. ~
~*~*~*~*~*
Cautiously, Amie hit the 'on' button on her computer. It had been her main priority when moving in, and was, so far, the only thing that she had unpacked. ~Not that there's much to unpack...~ she had only brought a few essential items, recognising that the main factor in her new home was space. As the Internet loaded, she sat back and sighed, watching it dial. She watched her homepage load, the chat board flashing up on the screen. Logging in quickly, she typed, as always, the unanswered statement.
'I'm looking for Talon...'
~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Ooh, repetition! Hope you like this chapter, please R&R. If you're reading this, please understand that this is my first fanfic, and is basically an experiment. No doubt in the future a revised, much better version of this story will come out. Also, I apologise if it seems like I am rushing the story a bit. It's a bad habit of mine, but it'll probably stop when she gets unplugged. These few chapters are just back story, really. Will update again when I get more reviews!
A note to all reviewers: Thanks for all the reviews - I love y'all! Well, not technically, but you get my drift. The comments are really encouraging me to continue, so look out for more chapters soon! Again, thanks for the reviews; you're all great people (apart from Silver Lightening, who is an idiot.) Bye!
~*~*~*~*~
Amie sat at her computer, dozing slightly. Fresh bruises stood out on her bare arms, mingled with old scars. The computer screen scrolled slowly, a search engine running on the single word that Amie had input into the search bar... 'Talon.' The screen clicked suddenly, waking her up. She opened her eyes, groaning as the familiar shout came from below.
"Maeve!"
She stood up in a sudden temper, shouting down the stairs, "I'm coming, alright? And don't call me that!" Rubbing her eyes, she ran down the stairs, closely avoiding her vindictive mother. The two had tried to avoid each other for last year, Amie withdrawing into herself more and more. Most of their communication had been conducted through Amie's brother, Richard, on the rare occasions when he was home from university. Though they had never been close, Amie had come to rely on Richard to get her through the year. Now, he had moved out of the country, living as a banker in South America.
Going to the cabinet for a drink, Amie stonily ignored her mother. She leaned against the table, flinching as her mother spoke.
"Maeve."
"My name is Amie." She muttered, through gritted teeth. "Don't call me Maeve."
"Fine!" her mother snapped, exasperated. "You have to go to Sylvie's today. I go to work."
Amie shook her head, glaring at the wall opposite. "I'm not going there. I can stay here."
"You will go to Sylvie's. She like having you."
"Yeah, but her brats don't." Amie stood up, dropping her cup into the sink. "I'm going out." Sighing, she reached for her keys. Sylvie was an old friend of her mother's, a placid Irishwoman who insisted on calling Amie by her middle name, Maeve. Amie hated Sylvie almost as much as she hated the name Maeve. The quiet woman tended to withdraw into her bedroom, leaving Amie with her three children. These taunted her already damaged spirit, occasionally adding to the cuts and bruises that lined Amie's limbs from arguments at home.
"No, you not. You going to Sylvie's, or you going nowhere."
Amie stiffened, her mind working quickly. Suddenly, her pent-up tension snapped, and she turned away, hurrying to the front door. "Fine!" she retorted, opening the door. "I'll take 'nowhere' to mean home, as well!" She left the house, tears brimming in her eyes. ~Why can't we get on? ~ she wondered, slamming the door behind her. ~Perhaps it would be easier if... ~
~*~*~*~*~*
A couple of hours later, Amie stood in an estate agents office, a small bag by her feet. As soon as her mother had left to go to work, she had sneaked back into the house, packing one or two essential belongings, before leaving it for what would, hopefully, be the last time. She brushed her hair behind her ear, trying to look older than she actually was. Being short and thin didn't help, but the make-up she had applied to hide her tear-stained cheeks did.
"How old did you say you were?" The estate agent swung his feet up on the desk, chewing his pen. The business was going badly and running out of money, but this girl was surely too young for her own home. ~ She says she's over sixteen. And this transaction doesn't have to go on the records ~ he assured himself.
"I'm seventeen." Amie did her best to convince him, and then gave up. "Look, I just want a small apartment. I don't care where, so long as it's around here, and I don't care about size. Just get me an apartment, damn it."
"Fair enough," the estate agent shrugged, pulling a few files from a drawer in his deck. "How does this sound? Cash only." He showed her a photo. It was a small apartment, with only one room and a tiny bathroom, but it was very cheap and on the other side of town from where she had lived previously.
"It's perfect." Amie dug some notes out of her pocket. She had stolen one of her mother's credit cards to withdraw money, sensing that any deal she made would be off the record. She had deliberately chosen the seediest estate agent in her city of Birmingham, knowing that any request for a home was likely to be accepted by them. Handing him a few hundred pound notes, she waited while he counted the money. He frowned, looking up.
"Not enough."
"It's all I've got." Faking nonchalance, she turned away, reaching one hand behind her for the money back. "Fair enough. I'll go somewhere else."
"Oh - alright!" Glowering at her, the estate agent threw the keys across the room. "You know where it is?"
Amie went to retrieve the keys, giving the estate agents a rewarding smile. "Sure I do. And thanks!"
~*~*~*~*~*
"I'm seventeen." Amie repeated her statement, looking up at the pub owner. After dropping off her belongings in her new home, she had searched out a small pub down the road. Nodding in satisfaction as she saw the 'Help Wanted' sign, she had entered, requesting to see the owner. "And I need a job. I'm willing to work hard."
"Yeah, you will work hard if you work for me," the pub owner nodded, wiping a glass clean. "You look way too small to be working. Can you do nights?"
"Yeah, that's great." Amie waited as the man inspected her, eyeing her slim limbs suspiciously. Finally, he nodded.
"Alright then. I guess you can work here. Eight pm to two am, every single night. You miss a night, you lose the job. Understand?"
"Of course I understand. I won't miss a single night; you just wait and see. Thank you!" Giving him a winning smile, Amie left the pub, grinning to herself. ~All this smiling might be painful, but it pays off. People are so trusting. ~ she thought, shaking her head bemusedly. ~Oh, well. ~
~*~*~*~*~*
Cautiously, Amie hit the 'on' button on her computer. It had been her main priority when moving in, and was, so far, the only thing that she had unpacked. ~Not that there's much to unpack...~ she had only brought a few essential items, recognising that the main factor in her new home was space. As the Internet loaded, she sat back and sighed, watching it dial. She watched her homepage load, the chat board flashing up on the screen. Logging in quickly, she typed, as always, the unanswered statement.
'I'm looking for Talon...'
~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Ooh, repetition! Hope you like this chapter, please R&R. If you're reading this, please understand that this is my first fanfic, and is basically an experiment. No doubt in the future a revised, much better version of this story will come out. Also, I apologise if it seems like I am rushing the story a bit. It's a bad habit of mine, but it'll probably stop when she gets unplugged. These few chapters are just back story, really. Will update again when I get more reviews!
A note to all reviewers: Thanks for all the reviews - I love y'all! Well, not technically, but you get my drift. The comments are really encouraging me to continue, so look out for more chapters soon! Again, thanks for the reviews; you're all great people (apart from Silver Lightening, who is an idiot.) Bye!