The place was even more amazing from the inside. It was at least three times as big as even the house I grew up in. My grandmother definitely had money. Unfortunately, money was all she had when it came to my mother, so I never really saw her much as a child. They didn't even start speaking again until was I was almost a teenager, and even then things were far from perfect.

"Do you need some help unpacking?" my mother asked me. She had been standing behind me, as she insisted on driving up with me in case anything went wrong.

"No thanks," I told her. I wanted to add, 'I don't really have much to unpack,' but then decided that wouldn't go over well with her. She would find some way to make sure it was my fault. Everything always was.

I could tell she wanted to get out and take a drive, since this was where she lived for the longest time. She probably wanted to look around.

"Go out and explore the town," I told her. "Leave the unpacking to me."

I thought she would argue, but she just nodded and then headed out. It looked like I had a lot of unpacking to do.

Once my mother left and all the unpacking was done, I was free to do whatever I wanted. It was nice that she left not only the house to me, but also the stuff that was in it. I got everything for doing nothing. Who could complain?

I came outside and rested against the fence, listening to the still night air. I never heard still night air from my old apartment. It was always blasting music, yelling, or noisy cars. This was so much more peaceful.

I jumped when I heard something behind me, and then turned around to see a man. He looked about my age, maybe a bit older. He had dark hair like myself but I could tell from the house he came out of and the clothes he was wearing he didn't just inherit a house like I did. He most definitely had some money.

"Hello," I said with a smile.

He gave me a weird look, as if I had asked him his life story and he didn't want to tell me. He finally nodded. I wondered why he was out here, because I didn't see a trash bag or something.

"I'm Taylor Lothario," I told him. "I just moved here."

He once again gave me a weird look. "I thought an older lady lived in that house." Well, at least now I knew he knew how to talk.

"Yeah, that was my grandmother. She recently passed away and gave the house to me."

"Wow, some inheritance," he said in shock. "I'm Alexander Goth. I live here with my family."

I nodded. Why did I have a feeling all the guys my age in this town would be married? Well, except for guys like my father. Not that I was looking for anything, but I at least needed someone to flirt with without feeling guilty.

"You must have a pretty nice job to afford a house like that."

He laughed. "Actually, mine was an inheritance as well. However, I work hard and make quite a bit of money to pay other bills than the house payment. And having a family isn't cheap. Plus my sister is always getting herself into some kind of trouble that I have to bail her out of." He was kind of talking to himself more than to me. I just nodded, having no idea who his sister was. "But I'm a businessman. I work a lot, so don't expect to see me around. I actually have to go. I just got an emergency call. There's always an emergency with those idiots," he added under his breath.

I nodded as I watched him leave in a car that looked just about as nice as his house. I wished I could afford something like that. I shook my head, telling myself I just got a house for doing nothing so I shouldn't complain.

I was only there for a week when I started to realize I needed to find a job. The house might have been free, but bills and food weren't. It was nice to check rent off, but rent was only a part of it.

I went to the only place I knew I could actually work without having to worry about what the job was. I stepped into the gas station, the smell of stale food and gas fumes from the outside all around. I sighed, telling myself this was all I would ever be good for. It was nearly eleven, and I assumed whatever poor soul was working this late probably didn't want to see me. But I had a feeling this wouldn't be a hard job to get in a town this small.

I came up to the front and saw a man medium height with an old shirt on reading a magazine. He looked up at me, but didn't smile. I wasn't surprised.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" he asked me, looking like he really didn't want me to be here.

"I'm wondering if you're hiring," I told him with no emotion.

He seemed to look me down, and I wondered if he was the manager. "We are," he finally said, "but it's for the graveyard shift."

"That's fine," I told him. He seemed surprised, and I bet he was happy because this meant he either didn't have to work graveyards anymore or at least got to share the burden with someone.

"Well, alright then." He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me. It was the application, and I figured I totally had this. Who else would be willing to work graveyards at a gas station?

"I'm Nick Broke by the way. When you bring the application back you can ask for me. I'm usually here." He had said it with kind of a dissatisfied tone. I guess I didn't blame him.

Instead of giving him my name I just headed out. He would figure it out soon enough, once I filled out the application.

It didn't take me long to fill it out, then I left it on my desk as I went to sleep. I wondered what type of adventures were waiting for me in this new town. I needed a new start. I wanted more than I had before.

I came the next afternoon to hand back in the application. He actually gave me a smile this time, and I was surprised. He looked over my application and then nodded. "Are you related to Don Lothario by any chance?" he asked.

"I don't know who you're talking about," I said with a completely straight face. I didn't need to go around telling people I was his daughter that he never saw. That was asking for a disaster. Besides, as far as I was concerned he wasn't my father.

"I'm just curious. I don't know the guy personally, but this is such a small town I've seen him around. Plus my dad hates the guy because he used to be in love with this girl that he was apparently engaged to. But it didn't end very well when she found out he was a total player. There's a lot of old drama in this town. Be careful."

I nodded, not needing to be told that. I knew all about the drama that surrounded this town. My mother had been a part of it, thereby producing me. But I was a little surprised to hear he knew part of the story of my mother and the girl my father used to be engaged to. Apparently it wasn't a secret. Well, that was just great.

"If I hire you right now can you come in tomorrow?" he asked.

I was a bit surprised by this. I had never gotten a job THIS fast. "But you didn't even give me an interview," I pointed out.

"We're a small gas station in a small town, looking for someone to cover the nightshift. We're kind of desperate."

I smirked and then nodded. "Very well. I'll be here tomorrow."

"Seven o'clock. I'll be training you. Don't be late. It will be a long night."

I nodded and then headed out, thankful that went so well. Now I had a job, even if it wasn't the best.

I watched some TV until work, and then I headed out. I guess I didn't need to worry about doing everything perfect if they were this desperate, but I was the type of person that didn't just cruise through life. Despite what my mother thought I wasn't like my father.

"Welcome to the graveyard shift," Nick told me with somewhat of an evil smile. "I will be your conductor this evening."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm so scared."

"Oh, you should be. The thing about the graveyard shift is it's terribly boring. I usually find something to read to pass the time. Occasionally we'll have a customer, but not very often. I don't even see why we stay open. But sadly that's not something I can control. Just beware of buglers. I've had to deal with one once and I was scared for my life. Just give them the money and then press the silent alarm. Of course that's not something we can train you on, but you get the idea."

I nodded. I hoped I never had to deal with that.

"Ever worked graveyard before?" he asked.

I nodded. "I used to be an overnight stocker at a grocery store. I've also covered fast food for as long as they stay open."

"Well, at least I know you can stay up. But there's also the issue of being bored out of your mind with a gas station, so be careful."

The next couple hours were really boring, just as he said. But on the Brightside, at least I had someone to keep me company at least for tonight. Before I always had something to do so it was much easier to stay awake.

I finally decided to make conversation. "So, how long have you lived in Pleasantview?" I asked.

"All my life," he said kind of bitterly. "I was born and raised here, and then I never left."

"Why not?" I asked.

He sighed. "Well, when everyone expects you to fail you start to give them what they want. In the end I landed myself here, while my brother lived it up and is pretty much the family trophy."

"I'm sorry," I said kind of low, not knowing what else to say. I certainly didn't have that problem, since I didn't have any siblings.

"Are you new here?" he asked.

"Yeah. I got an inheritance from my grandmother when she passed away and so I moved here to claim the house."

"Really?" he asked in shock. "Well, that's nice. I wish I got an inheritance. My family is kind of poor, hence the last name Broke."

I laughed, hoping he was trying to be funny. I would rather have a last name like that then my stupid father's last name. Then again, I could eventually change it. If I ever did get married, that might be one of the main reasons.

"So where do you live?" he asked.

"Over on Sim lane," I replied.

He gave me wide eyes. "Sim lane? Those are top of the line houses. Some inheritance."

I smiled. "Yep. I guess I got lucky."

"So do you know the Goths?" he asked casually.

"Sort of," I replied. "I met Alexander once, but he was kind of in a hurry. He works a lot. He didn't seem very interested in becoming friends with me."

"The Goth's are like a local legend in this town."

"Because their rich," I said bitterly.

"Well, I suppose. But have you heard the story of Bella?"

I shook my head. Oh, great, more drama.

"Well, rumor has it she disappeared some odd years ago. She didn't tell anyone where she was going and she left her family behind. Alexander's her son. He was only a toddler when she disappeared. Some say she left her husband and her family because she's just that way, and others say she was taken by someone or something."

He had said it like this was some kind of science-fiction movie. I shook my head, not really interested. "I'm sure she just left her family. Things like that happen, even in rich households. Maybe she didn't want to be scoffed at around town so she just disappeared."

"But she loved Mortimer. My father said he had just married my stepmother when she disappeared, and they had one of the best marriages around. He was heartbroken when she disappeared. He couldn't even remarry because his heart was too set on her."

"Well, maybe he loved her, but she didn't love him. It's the reality of life."

"No, she loved him. Even so, she was crazy about Alexander. She used to take him around town and show him off to everyone, proudly proclaiming this was her son. Then she and her daughter Cassandra were practically attached at the hip and they told each other everything. She kissed him in public all the time. They were the 'perfect family' per say. Even if she did leave him, why would she leave her children? It just seems like there's something bigger going on."

"The most perfect of families are usually the ones with the most problems," I said bitterly.

"Well, they most definitely had something, even if they had their problems. I've only heard stories from my father, but I don't think she left voluntarily."

"Well, who was the last to see her? Surely she had to have told someone her plans."

"Don Lothario," he replied rather low, as if someone were listening. I did a double take. What? "That's the rumor that goes around. She was apparently last seen on his deck. People have tried to question him about it, but he won't give answers. He just told everyone they were friends and he had no idea what happened to her. He didn't even tell everyone whether or not she actually left his house or what she was doing there in the first place. At first the police were on him, but couldn't find any evidence that he did something to her. I tell you, he's hiding something."

"Well, that settles it. She was cheating on her husband with him and that was what she did right before she left. Mystery solved."

He sighed. "It's been over twenty years, Taylor. Her husband is dead and her children are both grown adults. Don't you think she would have come back by now if that were the case?"

Well, he had a point. If it was her husband and the town she was afraid of, she had no need to be now. And it would be about time she at least told her children she was alive. They had the right to know the truth, even if it wasn't pretty. "Well, maybe she just wanted to start fresh and never look back. Maybe she's afraid."

"Maybe you're right, but you can't knock down an old town mystery stories. I mean we're a small town with nothing to do. We love our stories."

I laughed. "Very well, then. Did you ever know the Goth's children?"

"No," he replied. "They were a bit too old for me to associate with them. However, my older brother knew their daughter. They went to the same school for a bit. He never brought up her mother, and they didn't have a fling or anything, but he said she was a very nice girl completely dedicated to family. It's a shame what Don did to her. They used to be engaged, but he was a complete player and was cheating on her with more than one other woman."

I nodded. "It's a shame. He's most definitely a jerk."

He looked at me kind of strange. "Are you alright? You say that like you have a personal hatred toward the guy."

"I just don't like players, alright," I mumbled, wanting to drop the subject.

"Well, you're not married yet. Is there a reason for that? Did you fall in love with a player?"

I felt like that was kind of a personal question to ask a girl he had just met and was working with. But it was just the two of us, so I figured it wouldn't hurt anything. "No, I didn't. I have commitment issues, alright. Let's just say my father was never around."

He nodded. "I see," he mumbled, probably feeling rather embarrassed now that he thought over what he had asked.

"What about you?" I asked right back, wanting to put him on the spot just like he did to me. "Why aren't you married yet?" I think it was safe to say he looked about my age, and judging by where he worked there was a good chance he either never had been married or was divorced.

"The opportunity has just never come up," he said rather sadly. "All my brothers except one are married."

I felt kind of bad now. He seemed like a nice guy and I was kind of being a jerk. "Well, if you want to get married, perhaps you should get a change of scenery. This town can't be your life forever."

"I know," he sighed. "But I live in a run-down apartment and work at a gas station with no one but my disappointed family to talk to. A change of scenery isn't exactly an option right now."

Well, he sounded just like me before I moved here. Maybe we had more in common than I thought. "Maybe you'll get an inheritance," I suggested.

He laughed. "Fat chance. I have three older brothers in line ahead of me, my father's a struggling musician, and my mother is unemployed with no college education. My grandparents are already dead and didn't have anything to actually leave us. I'm certainly not going to count on that."

Well, now I felt kind of bad for the guy. Maybe I had more given to me in this life than I thought. I certainly had more than him.

"So you're the youngest with no sisters?" I asked.

"Sadly, yes. But being the youngest certainly has its advantages."

I smiled. "Most definitely."

"Well, do you think you can handle this on your own tomorrow night?" he asked me.

"I think I can handle it," I replied with a smile.

Alright, so I swear I didn't like him. I just thought he was a nice guy and certainly someone I could connect with. I needed someone to connect with in this town. Plus we would be working together and it was nice to know someone had my back when I worked at a gas station.