Wanted to say thankyou if your still reading. I know it's moving slowly, but I don't want to rush through the story.
Callida pov.
I have to stop myself from ringing the doorbell a fourth time. Three's enough, unless she's deaf maybe she's in the shower? You know what maybe she's not home. Now's my chance for escape. I can go to Canada or something. I don't think the small town life is going to be a good look for me. I'll stand out like a sore thumb. I've never really got that saying. A sore thumb? How does a sore thumb stand out? The door's suddenly pulled open to reveal a flustered looking Italian woman. Her black hair pulled up in a messy bun and something yellowish flaking off her t-shirt. Ew. I figure crinkling my nose would be rude considering she's taking me in for a while.
"Oh, hi you must be Callida." My aunt guesses a wide smile breaking out on her face. You would think my aunt would know who I am. But she's never met me, she fled the life as soon as she turned eighteen and hasn't been back since. Her and Aldo still talk apparently. Either that or he has a lot of nerve, calling up his sister that he hasn't talked to in twenty years and putting her in danger. I'm gonna have to go with the ladder.
"Yeah, um thanks for taking me in." I draw up my manners from childhood giving her a smile that probably looks more like a grimace.
"Oh yeah of course." I wasn't exactly given a choice. Is what she wants to say. Nobody in their right mind would take me in. Especially not under such short notice.
"Wow, you look just like your mom." She says, yeah not really. That's just something that your required to say when you see a relative you haven't seen in years.
"I wouldn't know." That shuts down her awkward attempts at chit chat real quick.
"Let me show you to your room." She changes the subjects waiting for me to walk through the threshold of the door before gently pushing it shut. I pretend not to notice how she nervously locks about five different things. Great she's probably one of those cowardly women that are scared of their own shadows. Actually I probably can't talk after what happened in the woods.
"It's just upstairs, it's actually a loft so you'll have the whole thing to yourself." She rambles as she leads me up the creaky wooden stairs. It's a good thing I'm nineteen so I don't have to worry about her catching me sneaking out. Not that she'd care either way. The room's large and empty with peeling white paint and ugly looking stains all over it. A bare mattress sits on the oak floor in the corner next to a table lamp, sheet's and a scratchy wool blanket folded at the bottom. Oh yeah I'm definitely going to have to do something about this disaster. "Sorry this is usually the storage room. I fed a few guys dinner in exchange for cleaning it out, you can do whatever you want to it." I'd be glad too if I had any money. I changed my whole identity to come here so my unlimited bank account is off limits.
"Thanks, it's um a room." That's honestly the nicest thing I can say about it. I'm naturally a blatantly truthful person so I'm not going to bother with lies and false niceties. I don't know how long I'm going to be stuck here so I might as well get her used to me. There's only so long I can be polite.
"I'll let you get settled in. You can meet Opal later." Who's Opal?
"Opal?"
"Oh yeah, that's my daughter. I figured your dad would've warned you about her. I don't know how you are with kids, she's only two." That explains where the puke stain on her shirt came from. Oh great babies hate me. I'm great with kids when they get older because they think I'm the coolest person they've ever met. But babies and I just don't get along.
"Yeah he failed to mention that. I'm okay with kids we'll get along fine." I half lie as I kneel down to unzip my suitcase.
"Great, um. I'll tell you when dinner's ready." I look over my shoulder to see her wringing her hands together nervously and decide to take pity on her since she obviously has anxiety issues.
"Thanks, that'd be great." I flash her a smile my shoulders sag in relief when she finally leaves. I'm really not a people person. Not people that annoy me at least, and a lot of people annoy me.
I end up unpacking nothing except for a few weapons that I hide under a loose floorboard and my newly purchased lap tap which I set next to the mattress against the wall. There's no dressers so I figure my suitcase is the cleanest place to keep my clothes. I'm really going to need to make some money. That might mean getting an actual job since there's nothing shady around here. Awesome. I have literally no requirements. Oh yeah, I have really good aim, and I can make a grown man cry, so are you giving me the job? That's going to go over well. Not.
"Dinner's ready!" Elena yells timidly. I'm assuming she's not used to having anyone in the house that's not a toddler. She's really shy. If were going to be living together I'll have to fix that.
As soon as I open the door a delicious scent hits me. Mmm. At least she knows how to cook. I like her a lot more now. That's one thing I never quite got the hang of, so I usually live off of pizza and Thai in New York. A home cooked meal will probably expand my lifespan by about two years. That is if I don't get killed before I manage to live that long. Loud baby screams draw me to the baby blue kitchen and I frown at the small toddler her hair's light brown and freckles dot her nose so her father must have been white. She notices me before Elena and looks up at me with large hazel eyes. So damn cute. "Hai." She exclaims bouncing up and down in her highchair.
"Hi." I grin back at her, and for once it's not forced. I feel like this kid is going to be my downfall. I can see her putting ribbons in my hair and making me play dolls now. Oh god, I can't even picture it. I used to decapitate barbie dolls and throw their head's at innocent pedestrians. She just doesn't seem like the type.
"Who you?" She questions her almost nonexistent eyebrows furrowing together.
"I'm your cousin, Calli. What's your name?" I humor her even though I already know. For some reason kids love it when you ask their names. I don't get it, it's not like they chose them or anything.
"OPAL!" She yells slamming her hands down on the white tray.
I cringe resisting the urge to scold her. If I ever have kids, which I doubt. They better not be so damn cheerful. It's disturbing. She looks at me expectantly after her outburst. "Pretty." I try.
"Tank ya." She squeals her face lighting up even more, since that's somehow possible. Maybe she's a demon spawn.
"She like's you." Elena says as she puts down a plate of some type of casserole. "Cornbread casserole, it was your dad's favorite so I figured you might like it." Oh well now it doesn't look as appetizing. I don't particularly like the man at this moment.
It is literally the best thing I've ever tasted. It's so good that I'm able to ignore Opal as she screams and gets her food everywhere. I hate to admit that I'm in anyway like Aldo but this shit is scrumptious. Yeah, I went to school I know big words.
After my third plate I decide if I eat anymore Elena's going to have to roll me upstairs so I cut myself off. "That was so good." I moan leaning back in the homemade wooden chair and laying my hands over my bloated stomach. I could get used to this. Maybe the small town life's not going to be so bad. Well at least the food won't be, I'm still going to be eternally bored and useless. From what I've seen there's nothing exciting to do here. I'm such a partypooper even in my own head.
"I'm glad you liked it." Elena beams. I think I just found out how to break her barriers. Compliment her cooking. She suddenly seems way more outgoing. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" Not yet but I will if she's planning on making me meet people.
"Just gonna check out the town, why?"
"I'm having some of the men who help me out around the house over for dinner. They're around your age, I figured they might know what there is to do around here." I knew it! She's making me meet people, and threatening my dinner. She just met me and she already knows how to get me to bend to her will. Maybe she's not as pathetic as I thought. Either that or she's unaware of food's power over me.
"I'm not missing dinner so I'll be there." I grumble before excusing myself and heading back to my loft.
I start to message Tommy before remembering that my phone can be tracked and chucking it at the wall. It shatters into tiny pieces in front of the door. Awesome. Good going Callida. I'm off to a great start.