Okay, chapter two. Lilly actually get to Point Place, and we drift closer to the gang. Here we go!
"My client is Lilly's only family. The fact that this is even a case is preposterous." My biological father's lawyer was a handsome man. His suit was the fanciest thing I'd ever seen. My father was also okay looking, but he seemed not to care. He had dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes that looked like a reflection of my own.
"We're just here to make sure that Mr. Tony James is able to provide a stable environment." The judge looked bored, absentmindedly flipping through my file.
"Of course my client can provide a stable environment. He has a constant income, there's a good public school in his town, and his family doctor has nothing but good recommendations." The lawyer's chiseled jaw clenched, obviously irritated with the judge's nonchalant attitude.
"We have to look at Mr. James' history of drug abuse." The social worker standing next to me finally spoke up. She was a sweet woman, but obviously new to her job.
"Mr. James has been to treatment and has been through several sessions of therapy to prove his stability."
"I've made a decision. Lilly Clark will be placed into her biological father's home. Mr. James, you will be subjected to random home checks to make sure that Lilly is adjusting well. Case dismissed." With that the gavel hit the desk and I was lead outside. My father didn't hug me, he just led me to his car.
"We'll swing by your old house so you can pack." That was all he said to me. We drove in silence to the house I grew up in. A normal house on a normal street in a normal town in Southeast Arkansas. "I'll wait here." I nodded and walked into the house.
What do you grab when you're headed to a brand new life? I started in the living room. There wasn't too much here, so I just settled with a picture that had both me and my mom in it. Next was the kitchen. I quickly grabbed the coffee mug my mom always used. It was just a tan mug with the words 'FARM GIRL' painted in red across the side, but my mom couldn't go a morning without it. After the kitchen was my bedroom. I grabbed a suitcase and packed as many clothes as I could fit while still leaving room for a few choice items. Heading to the bathroom I added my toiletries to the bag, along with my mother's favorite perfume 'Ciara'.
Last was my mother's room. I grabbed her jewelry box and fished out my grandmother's wedding band and engagement ring. Putting those in my pocket, I dumped the rest in my bag. I loved my mother's room best out of our little house. It reflected our southern roots so perfectly that I couldn't help but smile. Wood paneled walls, plush bedding on an antique wooden bed, and dressers to match.
Before my emotions got the best of me I went back out to the car. After I loaded my one suitcase that held everything it could of my old life, the man I barely knew drove to the airport.
The whole flight had been awkward. Mr. James still hadn't said a word, and it made me extremely uncomfortable. Shouldn't a father try to get to know the daughter he just met? Tony James did not. We got off the plane and made the long drive from Madison, Wisconsin to Point Place. The first impression I got of Wisconsin was that it was cold. I fell asleep sometime during the drive, and when I woke up it was around midnight and we had arrived.
Tony's house wasn't what I expected. It was obviously in the bad part of town.
"Go inside. Don't touch anything. Go straight down the hall. The last door on the left is yours." That was all Tony said.
"Okay…" I mumbled as I yanked my suitcase out of the trunk. I glued my eyes back to the ground and went exactly where directed. The house smelled like burning plastic and acetone…
Over the next few weeks I got to learn who the real Tony James was. He sold and regularly used cocaine, marijuana, and pain pills. The pot were good days and pain pills were quiet but threatening days, he remained silent and I could maneuver through the house without too much fear. The cocaine was a different story. One those days, which were more often than any other, he would holler and throw things, most of the time making contact. I learned to stay locked in the small closet attached to my room on those days. During one of the days locked in the closet, he rooted through my stuff and took all of my mom's jewelry, most likely to pawn. The only things that were left were my grandmother's rings that always hung on a chain around my neck, my mom's coffee mug that sat on my dresser, and her perfume that I never even wore, just sprayed on my pillow so I could fall asleep and dream of her.
Finally the day had arrived when my transcripts reached Point Place High School. I had scraped together a dew dollars for cheap notebooks and a few pencils. I threw on an Aerosmith t-shirt, the cleanest pair of jeans I owned, and a pair of sneakers. I looked in the mirror to inspect my tanned skin, brush my long, deep brown hair back into a ponytail, and squint to see what color my large hazel eyes drifted towards today. Today they were more green than brown. I smiled, actually liking my appearance.
It would be awkward, going to a new school when the first semester was already in progress, but surely it wouldn't be that bad.
Again: save judgment until after the next chapter! But if you have noticed any grammatical errors, please let me know! I mainly write when my insomnia kicks in late at night, which is when I'm at my "creative peak", but I usually miss some things. So let me know! Thanks for reading!