Lol XD It appears I forgot to erase some things that weren't supposed to be in this chapter. :3 oops~
"Miss Cayden, wake up! We're almost at our destination, you're going to miss the wonderful ocean view." Desmond, her dad's secretary, reached an arm behind him to poke at the bundled mass of blankets and pillows in the backseat.
"Five more minutes…" mumbled Sin.
"In another five minutes you're going to miss the beautiful scenery. Wake up~" Desmond made another attempt at waking up the sleepy head. "Ouch!"
Sin sat up wiping the taste of Desmond's finger out of her mouth. He was shaking his finger trying to get rid of the pain. In an attempt to relax her tense muscles she arched her back and started twisting her body every which way to work out the kinks.
"Doesn't the ocean look the same all along the West Coast? What's so special about this part of it?" Yawning wide enough to catch a stray fly Sin rubbed the sleep from her eyes before catching a glimpse of herself in the rearview mirror. Yikes! Thankfully the car windows' heavy tinting made it impossible for anyone to see her from the outside because she looked like a wild fur ball with her hair sticking out everywhere.
Outside the window she could see the sea, its white foam washed ashore only to be dragged back into the sea with the next wave. In the distance she could see surfers enjoying themselves riding the waves. Since it was the middle of summer, the beaches were crowded with tourists getting sunburned, half naked girls in bikinis, little kids making sand castles, and dozens of umbrellas. The longer she looked at them, the more she imagined squashing them under her thumb. Causing them to run around in little circles, possibly squishing one another, while they attempted to escape the unseen force slowly killing them off.
You do know that's kind of messed up, right?
"What's this place called?" asked Sin. She finished running her fingers through her hair causing it to turn into a static mess and turned away from the window to look at Desmond.
"Huh? Oh... Santa Carla!" answered Desmond.
"Santa Clara?"
"Car-La not Clara."
"Hmm… Bun-Bun, looks like dad moved us to a weird place again." Desmond gave her a questioning look. He knew that the young Miss had a tendency to talk to her stuff rabbit a lot but it still never ceased to creep him out. Maybe the doll was possessed, just the thought of it made his hair stand up.
Poor guy probably thinks you're crazy. Hahaha...
"Whatever." Sin muttered under her breath. She had gotten used to the occasional odd stares and whispers behind her back over the years. No one wanted to believe her that Bun-Bun really did talk to her all the time, they just wrote it off as a child's imagination.
In the last five years, Linda had been pushing her dad to seek out medical help but he ignored her requests. They had gotten into a huge fight last year, because Linda had tricked her into getting a psych evaluation. The doctor's goons had tried to take Bun-Bun away from her when she was admitted into the facility, but she refused to give him up. She screamed that he was the only gift she ever received from her birth mother. The two of them were inseparable. But the doctor had insisted she be separated from her "toy" and approved the use of sedatives.
Just the thought of it made her start rubbing her arms remembering all the sedation shots received during her hell-ish three day stay before her dad stormed into the building to get her out of there. He was furious threatening to sue them all for unauthorized imprisonment and drug usage against her. Strangely enough the facility burned down a week later and reports showed that no patients were harmed but several of the staff lost their lives that day.
A dip in the road knocked her out of her thoughts just in time to see the town's welcoming sign. Welcome to Santa Carla was above a painting of the town, the major sightseeing spots of the town were over exaggerated in size.
Curious to see what might be drawn on the back of the sign she was surprised there was something written in big red letters outlined with black, Murder Capital of the World. Just the sight of it made her laugh uncontrollably, of course her dad would want to move here. What better place to dump your unstable daughter?!
Just as they were about to enter the town, Desmond looked at her in the rearview mirror before putting on his most serious tone.
"Mr. Cayden instructed me to keep an eye on you until he arrives tomorrow night. So please no funny business, young Miss."
He already lost her attention after three words, she turned away from him to continue looking out the window at the crowded beach. Crowds were good for only two things; to lose yourself in by becoming one whole entity and riling up into a mob.
Hey, we should go to that carnival thingy over there! It looks like fun~
A red and yellow sign proudly said Santa Carla Boardwalk on it. She could only imagine how it looked at night when all the lights lit up. People were crowding around the area, some of which stood in a ridiculously long line leading into a brick building right next to it. The building had giant glass windows allowing her to catch a glimpse of an indoor carousel above the crowds' heads. And in the distance she could see a Ferris Wheel and hear the screams of the people on the roller coaster and spinning roulette machine. You're right it looks like fun.
The rest of the street was bustling with activity. The odd assortment of strangers was too much to describe; a girl kissing her pet rat, a smiling guy with a giant straw hat, and graffiti skilled artists spray painting works of art on the spot. Rolling down the window she leaned out the window waving back at some of the little kids running around. The car was instantly enveloped in the sticky sweet smell of cotton candy, greasiness of hot dogs and curly fries. Her mouth start to water as Desmond turned down a street leading away from the Boardwalk.
They turned so many times onto so many different streets it was a wonder how they ended up next to the Boardwalk again and again. After the third failed attempt to escape the Boardwalk, they stopped outside a gas station. Desmond went inside to buy a city map while she leaned against the car enjoying the ocean breeze settling on her body like a second skin. She was 74% sure it was going to be another two hours before they found the new house and she couldn't wait any longer to explore her new town.
"Desmond, can I have some of the traveling expenses?"
"Why?" He was looking at the newly bought map trying to find the new address.
"I'm hungry." It was the honest truth. As if to reaffirm her claim, her stomach began growling like crazy. She had skipped breakfast this morning because she was too tired to make anything and she didn't trust risking her life with Desmond's cooking. Then somewhere along the way here, they had stopped only once to get a puny heart attack in-between some sesame seed buns with a small bag of clogged arteries and a carton of milk for lunch.
"Ah… Here. I think there was a nice burger place around here somewhere." Desmond pulled out some money from his wallet and handed it to her. She shoved it into her back pocket of her cut off denim pants before pulling a faded grey knapsack bag with a few ironed on rock band patches out of the back seat. Yanking the oversized shirt collar back up her shoulder she patted Desmond on the back wishing him the best of luck before walking off towards all the fun.
"Thanks! I'll see you at the house. Don't worry, I already wrote down the address." Sin turned around to point to her wrist with the new house's address scribbled on it with a marker. Although she didn't have a clue where the new house might be, it was just another fun part about being in a new place. Where's the fun in life, if you don't get lost a little? Securing her bag more tightly, she ran across the street and began weaving her way through the tourists heading straight for the now lit up Boardwalk. In the distance, she could faintly hear Desmond's panicked shouts for her to come back but she was having way too much fun to turn back now.
Based on the sun's position, she had about an hour to enjoy the daytime scenery. Digging a faded black hoodie out of her knapsack she slipped it over her head before transferring the cash from her back pocket into the front pocket of the hoodie. She was given more than enough money to satisfy her grumbling stomach and go on a few rides. Rushing to the first food stand, she ordered a lemonade, cotton candy and box of curly fries. The guy working at the food stand gave her a funny look, but decided to keep his mouth shut.
"Now where should we sit?" There was only a handful of tables scattered around the food stands but they were all packed with middle-aged sunburned families of tourists wearing those dreadful generic Hawaiian flower printed t-shirts. Just the sight of it made her avoid them like the plague. That left her with two choices; sit on the beach or stand by the railing separating the beach from the walkway. She chose the latter because it insured she wouldn't be eating sand flavored curly fries. Testing the sturdiness of the wooden structure, she hopped on it balancing herself carefully before digging into her food. By the time she was done the sun had already gone down.
While she had been enjoying her dinner (and not being a complete glutton as some observers had been lead to believe) she had been watching the crowd completely changed; all the happy little families were replaced with wave after wave of metal heads, stoners, over pierced weirdos, and party goers. The Boardwalk was like a whole other world once the sun went down.
"I wonder if Desmond is still driving around in a circle."
It's very likely... the man doesn't do well with navigation. Remember the time we ended up in Canada instead of Las Vegas.
"I remember. Dad was super pissed." She couldn't help but laugh remembering the look on Desmond's face when her dad called him. She had never seen the color drain from someone's face so fast.
"Alright! Time to start going on every ride twice." Sin cheerfully shouted to herself. Now came the hard part... which ride would they go on first? Dumping her cup in the trash she turned towards the rides and slammed right into someone. The force of the unexpected collision knocked her back against the railing. Prepared to mumble an apology, she was surprised when the guy's arm blocked her path.
"Are you okay, beautiful?" inquired a rock star.
Everything about the stranger demanded her attention from his mane of wild blonde hair to deep blue mischievous eyes reflecting his smile. Even his clothes were eye catching, he was wearing an unusual jacket that looked like a cross between an old fashioned butler's tailcoats and a heavy metal biker with a small chain of shiny golden coins on his right shoulder and safety pins attached all along the sipper. His shirt was made of a black mesh allowing her to see everything, leaving nothing to the imagination.
"I'm fine. Sorry about bumping into you." She moved to the left of the guy but he moved his arm blocking her way. The jerk was playing with her. Why else would he trap her against the railing? Pissed at herself for getting trapped so easily Sin ducked under the rock star's arm and continued walking towards the rides.
"Come on, don't be that way girl." said the rock star trailing after her. "My name's Paul, what's yours?"
"None of your business."
Hahaha
The sound of laughter caught her attention making her turn towards Paul but he wasn't the source of the sound. Instead behind him was three more guys fast approaching them. The smallest of them slapped Paul on the back with tears in his eyes. The small gesture clearly meant the guys were his friends. For a split second, she envied the rock star for having so many friends but banished the thought not wanting to ruin her mood.
"The irresistible Paul is actually being rejected by a little girl... I'm shocked!" The smallest guy clutched at his chest mocking his friend. His comment upset both of them for very different reasons.
No fighting. No fighting. She repeated the words in her head like a mantra, unconsciously her hand was already wrapping around a throwing knife in her bag. No! No fighting. Releasing the cold piece of metal she put on her fakest smile before turning to face the guys.
She could feel her smile slip as she looked at the four of them. Everything about Paul and his friends from their interesting style choices to their presence that made people walk around them obviously meant these guys were either very important or very dangerous, maybe even both. They ruled the night.
"Shut it, Marko." Paul growled back at the smaller blonde giving him a slight push. Marko had on a dirty wife beater shirt and plain denim pants with cowboy chaps. His jacket had to be the most distracting thing she had ever seen, his whole jacket was covered in layers of patches that varied in color making her eyes hurt as she tried to distinguish one patch from the next.
The platinum blonde in the black trench coat layered over a light grey jacket gave her a half smile before lighting the cigarette behind his ear and taking a long drag. His icy blue eyes made her want to run as far from him as possible, but she felt frozen in place.
Don't look him directly in the eyes, Sin!
Bun-Bun's warning forced her to tear her eyes away from him and turn her attention to the last of Paul's friends. The guy was so quiet she almost forgot about him. He was like a shadow blending with the night even though he was clearly anything but a wallflower. It was obvious he was of Native American descent, with his long wild dark brown hair that mirror Paul's and darker complexion yet his eyes held a kindness the others lacked. Aside from being shirtless, the guy had on a faded leather jacket with an equally faded golden patch running down his right arm and a strange woven necklace made from a bunch of stuff that she couldn't quite distinguish.
I wonder if that's how your dad looked in his younger days. She couldn't help but crack a smile at Bun-Bun's attempt of humor.
"Well… it was nice meeting you, but I'm kind of busy right now. So bye!"
Ducking under Paul's arm once more she took three quick steps into the crowd and pulled her hoodie over her hair to blend with the crowd. In a rush to put some distance between herself and Paul, she handed three tickets to a pink haired girl before rushing straight into the swirling red and blue tunnel.