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The best thing about living in Tashmore Lake is that it was quiet and peaceful. Not like New York City, where there's honking every other second, sirens blasting every half hour, and people on their cell phones every minute of their life. However, the bad thing about Tashmore Lake was that everybody knew everybody, which meant everybody knew everybody's business. People often stared at me when I went to the closest gas station and bought burritos for breakfast every other day. They wouldn't say anything, but I knew what they were thinking. Aww.. look at the poor girl. It's such a shame her mother passed... and right after she graduated. How difficult. Difficult, my ass. This was hell. My father spoiled my little sister rotten and treated me like the black sheep of the family. And it's not like sister was doing anything about all of her attention; she welcomed it and treated me the same way my father did.
So, in a way, I was glad I was leaving. I didn't have to deal with them anymore. However, it's not like my new home would be that much better. I mean, Rainey was a murderer, and the only person I knew who got away with it. Granted, I didn't know many people, but before we had moved, I had seen reruns of Law and Order, and they almost-always caught the bad guy.
I sighed and stopped for a moment. I had two options as of right now: I could either go to Rainey's house and move in with him (if he allowed it) because my house was about an hour's walk from his house, or run away. Where, exactly? I didn't know. I started walking again, and having nothing better to do, began to pick out the pros and cons of the two choices I had.
Choice One, go and work for Rainey. I guess it was good because I would actually be living away from my family and in a house, rather than a shack. However, he was a murderer and I really didn't feel comfortable risking my life working for him. Granted, it had been six months ago, but it still was creepy... and people were still talking about it...
Choice Two, running away. The good points about this option was not having to deal with my family or Rainey. However, I didn't know where I would be going and how I would eat, sleep, or drink. And, inside, I knew my father would somehow find me. I just knew it.
Sighing, I took a left, knowing that I had to work for Rainey. I began to walk at a slower pace, letting my feet drag along the dirt. The path to Rainey's house was familiar. Before my father lost his job, he would take me and my sister up to the lake. We would have to walk, but it always paid off in the end because the lake was cold and inviting while we were hot and sweaty.
I sighed, once again. Back then, Rainey didn't live by the lake. It used to be a beach house, or rather, a lake house. Back then, my dad was more caring and understanding. Back then, my sister and I were tight. Back then...
New tears began to prick my eyes as I recalled fond memories before my mother had passed. I guess we would've been the perfect family. My father was a lawyer, but still made time for his wife and children. My mother was a housewife and always had a warm batch of chocolate chip cookies ready for my sister and I, after we got home from school. I had gotten straight A's through-out my education, as did my sister. And then... it happened.
My mother had a heart attack. It just happened. Nobody knew she had a poor heart. I had just gotten home from the record store, where I worked after I graduated. My sister got home five minutes later from school. We walked in together and found my mother on the kitchen floor. My sister started to scream and a beckoned her upstairs. After hearing her door slam, I quickly checked my mother's pulse. When I received no reaction, I calmly called nine-one-one, and then I called my father. When the ambulance finally came, I finally cried. It had finally hit me. My mother's dead. She's not coming back.
It all fell apart from there. My father started losing interest in his courtroom cases and had gotten fired. My sister was failing school. I still worked, but it didn't earn us enough to pay off the monthly mortgage bill, so we had to sell the house and move into a cheap apartment at Tashmore Lake. My father got a job as a cook for a local cafe but six-months after, he got fired. He didn't try and get a new job, nor did he force my sister, Emilee, to work or go back to school. So, the girl wandered from place to place, going who-knows-where and sleeping with only God knows who.
However, my father made me work. He got me jobs whenever they came up. I would baby-sit, mow lawns, be a clerk- anything that I could get paid to do. Because of our differences, our relationship faded and we could never hold a civil conversation. Whenever I got fired, which happened a lot due to 'personal differences', he would yell at me and call me everything in the book.
At least now I don't have to come home to them, I thought, slowly walking up to Rainey's house. The walk seemed quicker than usual which didn't bother me. Quickly drying my tears, and taking my pillowcase in my other hand, I knocked on the wooden door.
A few seconds later, the door opened, revealing a very unkempt man in his thirties. Guess he only takes care of his appearance when he goes somewhere, I thought, putting a fake smile on my face. He had wild blond hair and deep chocolate eyes that were hidden behind thick-rimmed glasses. He wore long pajama pants and a heather-grey long-sleeved shirt. Over everything, however, he wore an old, tattered blue robe.
"Can I help you?" he asked politely, looking me over.
"I'm here to apply for becoming your maid, Mr. Rainey," I told him with artificial sweetness.
"Uh.. you could've used the phone," he said.
"Actually," I said, shifting my weight. "I couldn't because I have no telephone. I walked here because I have no car and I'm applying for your job because I have no money."
He gave me a small smile and I noticed amusement in his eyes. "How long did it take you to walk here?"
"Ya see," I said, shifting my weight. "This may be a problem. I live about an hour away from you, so, and please excuse my rudeness, I'd need to live with you unless you want me walking. I'm not asking for anything big, I could even sleep on a couch, or the floor even." I held up my pillowcase and quilt. "This is all of my possessions, so you don't have to worry about me crowding your space."
He smiled again and I noticed his straight, pearly white teeth. That was quick, I thought. He only had to wear braces for six months. I had to wear them for three years.
"Well," he said, shifting his weight. "Since you came all the way down here and are currently the only applicant for this position, I would be happy if you came to live with me."
He moved so that I could step through the doorway. I hesitated and glanced around, but I knew I had to do this. I finally crossed the invisible border line, letting any chance of any escape fade away, and stepped into Rainey's house.
A/N: There you go! The first chapter! Please tell me what you think. Oh, and captainrose, no, he's not psycho anymore. Or, I hope he's not psycho. It all depends on where I plan to take the story.
Jim Carrey, muse: You wanted to make a romantic, dramatic, agnsty story, proving that Rainey deserves a second chance.
A/N: Oh yeah. Yup, there you go. Jim, what would I do without you?
Jim: Probably play on the freeway.
A/N: (nods in agreement) Probably.