Thank you so much to all of you who have been reading and supporting this story and me! I apologize profusely for lagging on this chapter but it's finally up! There are 3 parts meant to be seperate times of the day. If you get confused I apologize once more. I love you all! Happy reading!
There was a lot yelling and the sound of thundering footsteps going on. Grabbing my pillow I attempted to silence the horde of oncoming noise but it only seemed to make it grow louder.
"Charley! Are you up?"
"Yes!"
"Hurry up kid before you miss your ride!"
Rolling over I shielded my eyes from the sun that was peeking through the blinds as I glanced over at the clock.
7:28 in the morning. You gotta be fucking kidding me.
Letting out a groan I rolled myself back into my pillow muffling my sound of displeasure. It was too damn early in the morning for my brain to be functioning. I tried to drown them out by covering my ears with my arms to block them out. A few brief minutes passed in silence and I had the mistaking feeling that all was now clear and that they had dispersed downstairs or out the door. Like I'd said that thought had been a huge mistake on my part.
Two very loud knocks pierced the comforting silence of the room, my body flinching with each passing knock. I was tempted to scream at whoever it was to go away but reconsidered quickly at the thought that it was most likely my mother.
"What?" I screamed out, annoyed.
"Kaylee, you need to get up."
Yup I'd made a good call at not screaming "Fuck off!" at the door. I didn't want to open my eyes and begin to get up and I certainly didn't want to have an early morning conversation with my mother and I mean way early.
"Why?" I whined.
"I'll tell you why when you get downstairs. Now."
Ugh why did she have to make the damn now sound so final? I waited until her footsteps descended down the stairs before I grabbed a hold of one of those stupid decorative pillows and pressed it against my face and began throwing my tantrum. I kicked out my legs causing the coverlet to fall and screamed as harshly into the pillow as I could for as long as possible.
I didn't want to go down there. I knew the minute we were alone she was going to rip me to shreds with her razor sharp mommy dearest claws. Taking the pillow away from my face I let it fall to the floor and just stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds. I let out a heavy sigh as I finally brought my legs over the edge of the bed and planted them firmly down on the carpet.
My mind was still in the fog that had been sleep; my refuge. Now here I was giggling as I watched my toes dance across the carpet like an idiot. Little by little though I was getting up the strength to walk down those steps and into the kitchen.
Once I was on my feet I sluggishly made my way to the door giving the bed backwards glances of longing before I opened the bedroom door and began to make my way down the stairs. As soon as I reached the last step the aroma of freshly made coffee filled my senses and instantly my step was filled with giddy anticipation as I rushed towards the kitchen and its smells.
I was so caught up in my sudden thirst for black coffee that I rounded the corner to the kitchen to sharply, slamming my toe into the corner of the wall. I let out a blood curdling scream as I hopped the rest of my way into the kitchen scrambling to the counter. Once I was there I ignored Charley and my mom all together as I gingerly took my throbbing foot in my hand.
"You sure do know how to make an entrance."
After I was sure that my toe wouldn't fall off I looked up at Charley and gave him the best death glare I could manage cradling my foot.
"You shut your filthy mouth, hussy!"
Mom just about choked on her damn coffee when she heard that. Charley on the other hand continued to eat his croissant; taking off a piece and to stick in his mouth with a smirk.
"Whatever you say-"
"I do say, jerk."
"Alright, alright," mom interjected. "Charley you better get going."
She placed her cup down on the center island and poured some cream into her coffee. I could feel her eyes burning holes into my leg tattoo. A wolf head with the background of the forest behind it covered the right side of my thigh. I quite liked it. Showed off my Native American history a bit. Mom did not look so enthused.
Stuffing his face with the rest of the croissant he bent down to scoop up his backpack, placing it swiftly over one shoulder. As he made his way to the door I straightened up fixing my tank top as I went.
"Woo, Kay, put on some pants would yeah?" he complained.
He tried to block my bottom half with his hand as he made his way past me.
"Oh grow up Charley they're just boy shorts," I snickered.
"They're underwear," he shot back firmly.
"Yeah, that's what boy shorts are but they also count as shorts. Hence the use of the word, shorts."
I was pretty pleased with myself on that one.
"Hence the word," he mocked.
He quickly maneuvered out of the way of my foot trying to connect with his knee. When he was almost to the door I called, "Hey, do you need a ride to school?"
I tried to keep the eagerness out of my voice but was ready to shoot up those stairs if he said yes.
"Kay mom's said I don't know how many times my ride is here."
I fought not to pout my defeat.
"Whatever then," I sulked.
Giving me a playful grin as he backed out of the kitchen to front door he spoke:
"Maybe tomorrow or something?"
And just like that the boy was gone and out the door leaving me in this awkward kitchen by myself. I didn't move from my spot until I heard the clicking of the door closing behind him, officially leaving me alone with our mother. Letting out a low sigh I turned on my heels deciding that I could do that cup of coffee. Only problem was I didn't remember where my mom kept her coffee cups.
"Second cupboard on your right."
Glancing back at her briefly I went to the cupboard she'd instructed and wouldn't you know it, there were the coffee cups.
"Thanks."
I took out a cup that was littered with a multitude of different colored daises and dragged my feet over to the coffee maker. I was being greedy with the coffee making sure that I had it almost to the brim.
"You don't gotta act like it's the worst thing in the world to be left alone with me, Kaylee."
I set the coffee pot back on its cradle and turned to give her my full undivided attention. Well, technically, the coffee was going to divide us a little as I took long, luxurious sips of black coffee.
"I never said it was."
"Well you certainly act like it."
Shrugging I took one of those divided sips.
"Let's be honest mom you aren't exactly as warm and welcoming as Charley."
That earned me a slight smirk with a look crossed between disapproval and amusement. She knew I had seen right through her just like she had me. Taking a stance at the edge of the island she placed her arms wide, palms flat, against the granite island top. Once she had herself positioned like we were about to do battle she finally gave me that look that I had been dreading: She was better than me.
This time when I went and took a drink of my coffee it wasn't a little sip. I took the biggest gulp I could of the burning liquid and felt sweet relief as it blistered all the way down.
"Yeah well…consider this me still being in shock that you came back without me finding you in a body bag."
"Jesus Christ."
Without a second thought I half slide half slammed my still very full cup of coffee down on my side of the counter, crossing my arms across my chest like a defensive barrier.
"Don't you think you're being just a little overdramatic?"
"How do you figure?" She challenged.
"Obviously because I'm standing right in front of you means I'm not dead. Also, I'm slightly offended that you think I would be dead because come on mom, I've got…talents."
"And it's those very "talents" that I wanted to talk to you about."
"Here we go," I grumbled.
"Yes Kaylee here we go!"
Squaring her shoulders she pushed away from the Island and learned back against her side of the counter. I had to give it to her; Jane Brewster never backed down to nobody. Even if she did come out of it looking like a scared rabbit.
"How long do you plan on staying?"
Fuck. Was she trying to kick me out already? I let out a huff of air as I rubbed the back of my neck. Staring up at the ceiling for a brief second I tried to collect my thoughts.
"I hadn't really thought about it."
"Well were you just coming to stop in really quick to relive your greatest hits or did you plan on actually staying for a while?"
Now she was just being vicious.
"I had planned on staying for a while."
"Alright then that wasn't so hard was it?"
"Maybe."
She gave me a short look as she ran her hands down her blouse tugging at it tightly when she reached the bottom.
"If you're going to be staying I would like to go over a few ground rules."
This should be good. I motioned with my hand for her to continue as I did my best to look confident standing in my morning attire.
"First off I would like you to go out and look for a job and if you don't want to get one then go back to school. If you want to stay in this house Kaylee you're going to have to earn it and the start is by doing either of those two options. Secondly, you can help me out around the house here and there, which also reminds me that the sink has been acting up. If you could go ahead and take a look at that for me I'd appreciate it."
"Should I be taking notes or something?" I questioned quickly before the woman could catch her breath.
She didn't seem to appreciate my humor either.
"Do you seriously need me to write it down for you?"
I waved her off as I moved off my side of the counter and walked over to get some paper towels. My coffee fit had made it spill everywhere and in honesty I just wanted a reason to do something else besides listen to her list.
"No I was just-"
"Being a smart ass I know."
Grabbing her purse off the island she dug around inside of it until she produced her keys and started towards the front door.
"You know I'm not a plumber nor have I ever been one. I don't know the first thing about pipes."
Stopping in the door way she didn't even grace me with a full turn as she replied back, "You're a smart girl. You can figure it out."
I waited for her to turn around before I rolled my eyes and went back to wiping the mess I made off of the counter.
"Oh and Kaylee-"
What the fuck now?
"I'd appreciate it if you could pick Charley up from school and can you do me a favor and not break in and steal anything from the neighbors? That would be great, thanks."
That one did it but just as I slapped down the now soaked paper towel to turn and tell her off she was already out the front door. I couldn't see how this was going to work if she repeatedly kept throwing old shit in my face.
Letting out a heavy sigh I threw away the paper towel and put my half full cup of coffee in the sink. I didn't want it anymore; I'd had all the bitter I could handle for one morning.
Clark High.
Man how I did not miss this place. High school had not been the best years of my life spent and yes, if you were wondering I was one of those people who ended up getting a classy GED because I didn't make it all four years. Okay well, technically, I could have made it I just decided I liked doing…other extracurricular activities that did not involve school.
I glanced down at my watch one last time to make sure that I wasn't five minutes fast. I wanted that damn bell to ring that very second because even though I really loved my baby, she was a bitch to sit in. Especially in the dry, humid, and utterly gross Nevada heat. Heat and I were not meant to be and even with my windows rolled down the only thing that blew in was warm air. Letting out a groan I let my head fall onto my steering wheel causing my horn to honk. I didn't care I just really wished my air conditioner wasn't broken.
At the sound of the bell ringing I shot my head up so fast from the wheel I ended up a little dizzy. A sea of kids began to pour out from the inside of the school and scattered out and around. Some of them going to their predicted rides while others stood next to what I could only assume were their own cars and chatted away with friends. I'm sure the only thing most these kids talked about on a deep level was whose house they were going to use to party at this weekend.
I continued to scan the crowd and couldn't help but laugh as Charley appeared from behind a group of guys and was holding the hand of a girl. She was tall, lean, and from afar seemed very pretty. When Charley looked at her though I could see even from here the kid was in love.
"Oh hell," I muttered to myself as I watched on.
They were talking rapidly about something that both had them smiling from ear to ear. He had her laughing at something when they stopped at the edge of the sidewalk looking at each other like they were about to eat each other's faces off. He looked so cute and relaxed with her. I almost felt like I was intruding and was about to look away when he caught sight of me. Instantly his whole demeanor changed as he pulled back from her and played with the strap of his backpack. She noticed it too as he said something quickly that caused the girl to look in my direction and back at Charley. I was sure he was informing her I was his sister and not some other woman or at least I hoped he was. Charley and I didn't really look alike and it would be incredibly awkward if she thought I was his other lady.
In a split second he gave her a tense but fast kiss on the cheek and walked briskly towards the Impala. Now my curiosity was peaked as my face scrunched up in thought.
"How long have you been sitting there?" he asked sheepishly.
The kid looked about two seconds away from having a meltdown.
"Long enough," I replied back coolly. Nudging my head toward the inside of the Impala I said, "Get in."
He didn't waste another second as he rushed around the front of the car and moved quickly to the passenger's side. The door let out a loud creak as he swung it open and we both almost cried as he slammed it shut with such a force it screamed all the way.
"Jesus Charley, be more careful with my baby would you?"
His face was such a pale white as his teeth bit along his lip. Why the hell was he acting like it was the end of the world that I had saw him with his girlfriend? I was still looking at him weird as more questions than answers filled my head as I turned the ignition and the Impala roared to life.
That got everyone's attention.
"Can you just feel these animals undressing my baby with their eyes?" I joked.
I was rewarded with a small smirk but the look of pure terror never left Charley's face. He was trying to hide it but he was always horrible at it. Even when we'd play hide and go seek, he couldn't hide for shit.
"I'm pretty sure it isn't your car they are undressing."
"You calling my baby ugly?" I rubbed my hands lovingly across the wheel and cooed, "It's okay baby he didn't mean it."
"You are so weird," he chuckled.
"Whatever you love it."
I put my foot down on the break as I got ready to put the car into drive when I noticed the two most unlikely people. The kind of joy that swept over me was indescribable.
"Holy shit!" I squealed. "Ed! Adam!" I screamed out my window.
"Oh fuck, Kaylee don't!" Charley groaned beside me.
I turned back to look at Charley as he acted like he wanted to die.
"What's your problem?" I snapped.
He just gave me a blank look as he tried to suppress what I could only guess as anger and embarrassment. Ignoring him I turned back to where I had seen the boys and hung myself partially out the window and called to them again. At first I wasn't sure they realized it was me but when they did they instantly took off towards my car.
I was so excited to see these kids. Adam and Ed to me were a part of my family. I had watched as Charley and they would come up with the most outrageous but hilarious skits and games to play when they were little. Whenever they would play Dungeons & Dragons I would totally play with them and even when they had been nine or ten, I would pretend to be the evil enchantress that they had to slay to get to the princess I kept up in my tower. These kids would always have a special place in my heart.
"Holy fuck! Kaylee! Is that you?" Ed asked first.
The boys stopped just inches away from the Impala like they weren't all too sure it wasn't a stranger. I gave them a big grin as I remembered my little nickname for them all.
"Yes my little Munsters it is me."
They both just about shit themselves when I said it to them.
"When did you get back in town?" Adam asked.
"Just last night man so I haven't been back too long."
Looking past me they both stared at Charley who to my surprise was staring straight ahead and out the window. Completely ignoring our exchange and looked like he had no interest in joining it either. Slapping his arm to get his attention he did a silent gasp as he turned to me, his hand lightly holding his arm.
"What?"
"Aren't you gonna say hello?"
He looked away from me to the boys behind me and gave them the lamest wave, smile, and hello combo I had ever been subjected too.
"Wow okay," I murmured as I turned back to face them. "You boys want a ride home?"
My reply was Adam and Ed clambering over each other to get into the backseat. I couldn't stop laughing.
"Kay, do we have time to drop them off?"
I was still doing little giggles as I turned to face Charley who had this awkward pleading look on his face. What was the boy's problem?
"What are you talking about? They live right next to us Char- Char-."
He looked defeated as he gave me a simple nod and turned to look straight back out the window. If the kid pressed his lips together any harder they were going to disappear. I felt an odd sadness creep into my heart as I realized Charley was trying to distance himself from the boys in my backseat; trying to pretend that they didn't exist. I didn't know what to say so instead I didn't say anything as I put the car in drive and pulled out from the curb.
Dusk was settling over the day as I pulled up into my mom's driveway. It was my first day officially back at the house and already it had felt like an eternity. After I had dropped the boys off I headed back into town to do the things that my mom had asked. I filled out a few applications and even went and picked up a few brochures from a few community colleges to kind of play around with. The only thing that I wasn't going to get to today was the whole sink thing. If worst came to worst I would just call an actual plumber out and pay for it and then take the credit for his work. That was the easiest way to go about that whole situation.
What I was most excited about was while I was out around town I had stopped by an auto shop and bought the parts I needed to fix the air conditioner in my baby. Talk about joy overload. If I was going to stay here I was going to have to fix my air conditioner. It was just non-negotiable.
Opening my door I quickly exited the vehicle and raced to the trunk, with parts in hand, to pop it open and take out my grease covered cover-all. I set the parts down on top of my toolbox and began to step into it wiggling and hoping it up my legs. I no doubt probably looked like a crazy person. Once I had it on I tied the arms around my waist and grabbed my toolbox and all and shut the trunk, making my way back towards the front of the Impala.
Was it wrong that I felt giddy? Ah, the things I would do for cold air.
I set the toolbox down at the front of the Impala as I lifted the hood. It was getting too dark outside for me to really see anything properly. Cursing under my breath I placed my hands on my hips as I ran my tongue over my teeth. I was hoping I could come up with some kind of plan but I had nothing.
A door slammed to my left and instantly my head followed the sound.
My mom's hot ass neighbor was unloading groceries. Well, if you call a 30 pack of Budweiser and a bag full of what appeared to be green apples, groceries. Apparently the man really liked green apples.
I couldn't stop staring as I watched his biceps flex from the strain, showing off his arms incredibly well. Today he was dressed in a pair of dark jeans and tee shirt and boy did he look good in that tee shirt. If I didn't stop staring I was pretty sure I was going to start drooling like I was some sort of lecher.
"Do you see Adam? He does not show up on the video!"
"Oh man he is so screwed!"
Walking around the side of the car I followed the voices down the driveway until I found two sets of legs peeking out from underneath my mom's wood trailer.
"What are you guys doing under there?"
I said it a little louder than I had intended causing not only the boys to jump but the neighbor to halt his progress to his house.
"Oh fuck!"
I couldn't tell which one of them said it but when they both surfaced from underneath the trailer and stood before me, they were both equally terrified. In Ed's left hand he was clutching tightly to a video camera. Now I was a little worried.
I pointed at the recorder as I took a stance.
"What were you doing with that?" I leaned in closer as I asked, "Where you recording my mom's neighbor?"
I was praying to God that they would deny it or at least jump straight into a denial like most guilty people do, but they were still so terrified that they had been caught they just stood there. I let out a heavy sigh as I crossed my arms.
"No we weren't we were just- just-"
"Making a video with hand puppets," Adam finished hurriedly.
Raising my eyebrow I bit down on my tongue to keep from laughing.
"Uh huh, hand puppets. So, where are these hand puppets?"
Adam actually pretended to look around for the supposed puppets while Ed just looked at him like he wanted to strangle him. Glancing back behind them the neighbor had stopped his decent into the house, his brows furrowed with what best I could make out was curiosity. When he caught sight of me staring he flashed me one of the most dizzyingly attractive smiles I had ever seen and finished going inside. Good thing he had too because after that damn smile I wasn't sure I was going to be able to walk.
Bringing my attention back to the boys they had started to slowly move down the driveway and I casually followed them.
"We're just gonna go back to Ed's house now."
Shrugging I replied, "Okay. Let's try not to record anybody on the way though."
They both laughed uneasily as they didn't even spare me a backwards glance as they bolted down the street. Chuckling I made my way back up the driveway and stopped short when I realized I still didn't have a light to fix my car.
"Damn."
I guess I was just going to have to wait until my mom came home to see if she had a stand up light I could use. I did a raspberry as I thought of what I could do to pass the time and looked up at Charley's window. I still hadn't talked to him about what had happened earlier today and deep down I honestly knew I didn't want to talk about it period. I had known from the beginning that something's would be different and it didn't matter if I liked it or not.
Shaking my head I tried to get rid of my train of thought before it depressed me further. Instead I reached down inside the cover-all and into the front of my jeans pocket and pulled out the lone joint I had been carrying around with me all day.
"Fuck it."
I headed towards the backyard double checking that no one was outside. I pushed open the fence and made my way into the backyard. It was really dark out here which I liked. Well it was dark until I took the last step from the gravel and onto the grass and in one smooth motion, the flood lights kicked on. Acting like my own personal spot light for what I was about to do.
Awesome.
My paranoia went up a couple notches as I double checked once again that I couldn't hear anyone outside. Taking out a lighter from the same front pocket I put the joint between my lips and began to light it, taking in a deep hit.
"That's illegal you know."
Who the fuck was that?
I turned to face the individual who owned the voice and felt my eyes widen as I caught sight of my mom's hot fucking neighbor staring blankly at me with a sexy smirk on his face. In my panic I went to blow out the smoke but instead it came burning its way out into a sputtering cough that sent me reeling. It felt like my lungs were on fire. Throwing the joint back towards the patio I covered my mouth with the back of my hand as I began to get the cough under control.
"Jesus Christ!"
He was definitely taller and ten times more attractive than I had first thought now that he was standing right in front of me.
I tried to collect myself and reclaim some ground by narrowing my shoulders and dropping my hand away from my mouth.
"What are you doing in my backyard?"
Ugh my voice sounded rough. I needed water.
"I came back to ask you about those kids that were out front earlier," he stated calmly.
He had a nice voice.
"You just can't come walking into someone's backyard like that!" I continued waving my hands around like a mad woman. "That's called trespassing, yeah know."
He cocked an eyebrow at me, clearly amused by my attempt to stay away from my own illegal crime.
"Who do you think will get in more trouble if the cops are called?"
Fuck, he totally had a point. Running a hand through my hair I faced him and began to plead.
"Look man-"
"Jerry," he interjected.
I gave him a brief annoyed look before I continued.
"Look Jerry, please don't call the cops. I will do whatever you want, I'll do chores, and I mean I don't know carpentry but if you asked me to help you with a table or cabinets I would bust out with some carpentry skills like Jesus. Just whatever you do, don't call the cops."
For what felt like forever he just stood there with that amused look on his face and just looked at me. After a few minutes of standing under his gaze I couldn't help but begin to fidget. He seemed oddly domineering. Finally he spoke:
"You know how to work on cars."
He said it more as a statement than a question. So I didn't answer it like one.
"How do you know?"
I gotta admit, for someone who wasn't in the best place to be bargaining, I sure was sounding bitchy. Clearing my throat I gave him a weak smile and hoped that smoothed it over. Ignoring me completely he pointed down. Following his fingers I realized he was pointing at my cover-all. I tried to keep my nervous, idiotic giggling to myself.
"Oh yeah," I giggled as I played with the sleeves tied around my waist.
"My truck has been acting up lately. I've been meaning to take it to a shop but with my busy schedule…"he trailed off.
"You just haven't been able too," I finished for him.
He gave me a nod followed by a teeth-baring smile that showed off a perfect set of white teeth. I had to look down just to make sure that my pants were still on. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear I replied fervently, "Yeah, yeah sure thing man."
He pointed behind him to his house and all I saw was that bicep flex.
"Would you mind coming over right now? Just a quick look."
"Yeah, no problem."
I started forward letting him know I was ready to go and with one last smile he turned and made his way back to the fence, and like a good girl, I followed him to his garage.
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