by Livvy Aarons
Romeo was rich, they always are.
It was until my father cleared his throat that I noticed that he and Ben were sitting in the booth with me. “Are you okay McKenna?” My father eyed me suspiciously.
Blinking slowly, my mind defogged. “Of course, why do you ask?”
“Because we’ve been talking to you since that guy got up. Has the higher altitude caused brain damage or did Richie Rich’s after shave cut off your air supply?” Ben was annoyed; he hated when people ignored him.
“Ben please leave your sister alone; I do not want any bickering today. It is perfectly normal for her to talk to guys—just not those kind of guys.”
I rolled my eyes at the pointed look my father sent me. “Don’t worry I told him to stay far away from my delinquent ways.”
Thankfully, Ben’s stomach became more important than getting on my nerves. “Does anyone work here or is it self-serve?”
The diner was vacant and Tiffany was nowhere in sight.
“Church is letting out.” I said looking out the window.
“Oh yeah it is Sunday. I guess I hadn’t noticed.” The bitterness in my father’s voice was heavy. He did not talk about religion or God with anyone. It may have been hard for him to believe but I knew there was such a thing as angels, demons and hell. I have saw things that people only see in their nightmares. The dark things that lurk in the corners of their minds and the creatures that normal people think only live in storybooks. Now who goes where is debatable. There is too much gray area on what is right or wrong for me to even try figuring that one out.
“So how did you get coffee?” My father pulled me from my daydreaming.
I nervously chuckled, “Well long story short, I kind of pissed off the waitress. She probably won’t come back as long as I am here.”
Ben blew out a heavy sigh. “Great, McKenna hasn’t been here a whole day and already she is causing problems with the locals.”
I grimaced at my brother’s assumption, thinking I was the root of the problem. “Dad, I did not do anything. It’s not my fault that she was a bit-“
“Language McKenna!” my father yelled cutting me off. “Ben is right. You promised me that you would fly straight from now on. Look, if this is over that guy then I suggest you leave him alone.” I hated to hear my father lectures. They were so perfectly packaged, too simple an answer for a nonexistent problem he thought I was having.
“So this means we will never be able to eat here because of some lame girl fight. You really suck sometimes, sis.”
“Shut up Ben.” I hissed. They were going to blame me regardless of my excuses. I knew the truth.
“I guess since we are not going to get any service we should go. We will just make us something at home,” my father said flatly. “McKenna, you do need to go to the store to pick-up any toiletries you may need. I have no clue about that stuff. Your mother…well you can handle it.”
“Yep, do you want me to use the American Express?” I asked, sliding from the booth.
“Sure, but take your brother with you. He forgot some things as well.” My father and Ben followed me out the door into the parking lot.
“Does he have to come?” I hated the thought of Ben tagging along.
“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here McKenna.”
Sighing heavily, my dad shook his head in annoyance. “Fine, we’ll all go. The cold stuff is on ice so it should be fine. The store may not let you use the card anyway since your name is not on it. Just follow behind me.”
We drove into the tiny square, where the small grocery store was and as I was looking for a parking space, I saw a large bronze statue. Once I parked, I went to have a closer look at the statue. I was a big history buff, so it would be nice to know if the town actually had a piece of history. The bronze statue was a woman, standing in proud yet angry stance. She was not wearing a dress and if the name underneath had not been “Mary Harper”, I may have thought she was a man. I read further down the plaque, which said that Mary Harper was the founder in 1893 and that this was in honor of her bravery.
“Dad sent me over here to ensure that you were not vandalizing anything or disturbing the peace” The sound of Ben’s voice made me jump. “You need to lay off the coffee McKenna.”
I just rolled my eyes, “Whatever loser. Hey did you know that this town was founded by a woman in 1893. That was unheard of in that time period.”
“Yeah I looked it up on the net; she was one of the only survivors of The Salem Witch Trials.”
“Huh, strange I thought everyone that was accused was hanged. Oh well, let’s go before Dad calls the cops for defacing government property.”
The grocery store trip was a joke; they didn’t have most of the things I was out of. Thankfully, my dad splurged on getting DSL for the house and I could order my products online. I was one of those freaks that only used organic, vegan-friendly products. I did not trust a shampoo with products that I couldn’t pronounce. For all I knew I could be pouring acid water on my head. After scouring the aisles for nearly an hour we headed home.
When we arrived home I helped unload the groceries, Ben whined the entire time about children and slave labor. My father loved a good debate so Ben was way out of his league. I tried to sneak upstairs before my father asked for my opinion. However he stopped me before I had made it half way. “McKenna, come back downstairs right now.” Uh-oh, this was not good. I crept in the kitchen nervous about what I had possibly done to piss him off now.
“Yes daddy?” I batted my eyelashes.
My father never found this cute in any fashion. “McKenna I do not appreciate you causing problems. I thought we had discussed that we were going to have a fresh start here. No one knows anything about us; all your past troubles, your brother’s fighting or what happened with mom. This move is important to me. I am going to be the plant manager; most everyone in town will look-up to me to be a leader. If they see that I can’t even control my own kids then they will have doubts about my skills to manage five hundred plus employees. I am also going to have to work a lot more at night with much longer hours. How can I trust you to take care of your brother and yourself when I am gone?” My father’s eyes were full of worry, doubt and stress.
I tried to reassure him, “Don’t worry dad; I promise that I will not cause any more problems. Ben will be taken care of.”
The strained lines on around his mouth relaxed. “Good, now come help with dinner or whatever you want to call it since it is nearly three.”
“You want me to help with cooking? That’s a joke, get Ben to help you. Remember what happened last time you allowed me near the oven.”
My father cringed remembering last Thanksgiving when he asked me to help make giblet gravy. Ben threw up for hours and that smell—yuck.
“Trust me I haven’t forgotten that she poisoned us.” Ben barked from the living room.
“I did not poison y’all. It’s not my fault that cooking isn’t my strong point. They don’t offer home economics in juvie. The state did however teach the fine art of picking up trash and the many uses of cuss words.”
My father threw up his hands in defeat. “Okay, okay, you win; no real cooking. Surely to God
you can handle buttering the rolls and putting them on the pan.”
“I don’t know dad. She could cut herself with the butter knife then bleed on the rolls; making us sick again” Ben snickered as he walked into the kitchen.
“Ben since you’re so worried about your sister making us sick, you can handle all the major stuff.” My father gave me a smile then started pulling out the pots and pans.
After we ate, my father went to the living room to watch T.V.; Ben and I went to our rooms to get our stuff ready for school tomorrow. I checked my clock, it was barely past seven and I was exhausted. For some reason my body was craving sleep more than normal. Usually I slept three or four hours but since my release a couple of months ago, my body has been demanding more. I did not feel like unpacking at the
moment so I took my medicine and crawled into bed. For once my mind did not flood with horrific creatures; instead it went to the two guys from the diner. Tristan was shockingly handsome, with his classic features and golden strands. Aidan was handsome as well, with his shaggy dark hair and piercing green eyes. Not to mention there was just something so breathtaking about his mysteriousness. Either one of them was out of my league; which rose another point what was wrong with them. I already knew that Tristan was not human and supernatural beings tend to stick together. However, I didn’t pick up on anything with Aidan. Either he was pure human or his species was I was right and Tiffany really was a witch. I could totally see it; most witches were the most insecure people who walked the earth but she did not have any of the markings on her arms or face so I ruled that one out. My mind paced back and forth between ideas. It was refreshing to not dread sleep. This would be the first time in years that my fantasies over took my nightmares, maybe Harper would have something to offer me.
Chapter 3:
Welcome to the Real World
The next morning I woke up early to get some extra time in the bathroom and since we only had one, I did not want to start a battle royal with Ben. The hot water did not last as long as I wanted but it was probably a good sign that I had been in there too long. It was ironic that just last September I was a senior thanking the heavens that I wouldn’t have to wear a horrible gray uniform only to be begging for it back six months later when it was switched to a tan jumpsuit. I would have normally put on my uniform for school or a tee shirt and jeans on weekends however neither seemed appropriate. It felt odd that I cared about what people thought about me; or at least two people in general. I was a hopeless situation, most guys liked long legs and a full chest; I lacked both. At five foot two, the hundred and twenty pounds I carried around was considered heavy for my height. To make matters worse, twenty of those pounds were junk in my trunk. I prayed that one of them was ass man.
I sighed heavily; I did not have a chance against a girl who looked like Tiffany. “I guess this is as good as it is going to get.” Since I had not been shopping in a while, I did not have much of a choice it would be my favorite jeans and a black fitted tee shirt. My hair took forever to dry and despite my efforts to blow it straight; it still had a slight wave to it. Giving up, I slapped on some mascara before heading downstairs to grab a granola bar.
Surprisingly Ben was already downstairs eating a bowl of cereal.
“Did dad leave early for work?” I asked.
“Yep, sure did.”
Ben didn’t smart off for once—strange—nor was he a morning person. “What are you so happy about? You do realize that you have to start school today right?”
He grinned, “You have to take me to school today. Dad said I didn’t have to ride the school bus.”
“Not happening, I’ll be late.” I snapped
“You may want to call dad and tell him that I’m not going to go to school today because the bus already came by the house.” The little shit had the nerve to look smug.
I pursed my lips in annoyance, “Get your stuff brat. You have exactly two minutes to be sitting in my car ready to go.” Ben ran to the living room to grab his backpack, I grab a granola bar then ran to the car. I knew that I would beat him to the car. My brother never gets in a hurry for anything. I jumped inside and tossed my bag to the back seat. Shortly, I heard the back door slam shut, followed by the sound of Ben running to the car.
I didn’t plan the next chain of events but I wish I had.
When Ben got the passenger door he yanked on it with all of his might. He kept at this, not paying attention to the obvious dent that was aiding in his failure.
“C’mon loser; we are going to be late.” It was a jab I couldn’t resist.
“What’s wrong with this thing?” He asked, still straining to open the door.
As amusing as this was, I needed to get on the road. “You can give it up Hercules; the door isn’t going to open. That dent in the seam is preventing it from opening. You’re going to have to climb through the window.”
The horror on my brother’s face was priceless. If only I had my camera.
Ben was rolling this over in his head trying to understand the exact terms. “If I have to climb in that means I have to climb out…at school…in front of people.” His face was burning bight now. “No way McKenna this isn’t fair!”
“See you should have taken that bus.” I chuckled. Ben drew in a couple of heavy breaths then climbed in through the passenger window. I had to admit that my brother was not the brightest crayon in the box but I would have thought that he could see that my door worked just fine. Being the big sister that I am, I figured it would not be very nice to call him out on his lack of common sense. He wouldn’t be thankful that I made him feel dumb, even knowing that I did it to spare him some humiliation.
After dropping Ben off, I drove to the other side of town where the small community college was, watching my windshield grow damp with to drizzle. I am sure the moisture would do wonders for my hair. The school was in sight and my stomach drew up in knots. What if I ran into the guys from the diner; what do I say? I noticed a small parking lot directly behind the school then pulled in. There were groups of people scattered throughout the sea of cars, I felt lucky to find a spot in the back. It was refreshing not to have the crappiest car on lot. The high school I attended in Savannah was filled to the brim with polished BMWs and Mercedes but of course, that was before they kicked me out.
I was half way through the parking lot when I heard someone say my name. It was Tiffany, the waitress from the diner. She was surrounded by group of girls who were deeply immersed in her tale. I’m sure she’s telling them a very tall tale too. Great, just what I need more people not to like me. I could use a few more enemies; how else I am going to achieve world domination. As I stared at the storyteller as realized just how pretty Tiffany was. She had long thick red hair, chestnut colored eyes, and long legs. Tiffany was the redheaded Barbie and I was plain old Skipper. Why in the hell is she worried about me? Aidan was not going to give her up for me. Once he found out how psychotic I was, he would run straight back to those perfectly tanned arms or hers. I pushed the thought out of my head and continued walking to the main office.
After giving my entire life on paper to the receptionist, she buzzed me into to see the dean of admissions. He was just as welcoming as everyone else had been. I suppose the fact that I was able to get my GED while serving six months in juvenile dentation wasn’t an accomplishment. The same old, “apply yourself…blah, blah, blah.” I about wept in ecstasy when they gave me the schedule of my classes that I had signed up for. Paula, my probation officer told me which ones to take and told me that I should be thankful the college would take me. Whatever, I just wanted to appease dear old daddy.
Thankfully time was speeding by without any hiccups; it was already time for my last class before a two hour break then on to psychology. Despite my enthusiasm for my impending break, I still dreaded my next class mythology. Paula had said it would be a fun class and I may find enjoyment in it.
I laughed so hard when she said that I had tears rolling down my cheeks. If she only knew the half of it perhaps I wouldn’t have went to juvie.
The classroom was almost empty and I took a seat in the back. Shortly other students began to trickle in pairs laughing and chattering away. Then I heard his voice in hallway getting louder as he entered. Sinking lower in my seat, I prayed Tristan would not see me…or remember me. Aidan was with him, they were deep in discussion about something. Neither of them noticed and took their seats on the other side of the room. Aidan appeared upset; Tristan looked like he was half-heartedly trying to comfort him.
I continued to watch the two interact for a few more minutes. Tristan was definitely something more than human, I could tell just by watching him talk to other people. Almost as if he could see through them smirking at their soul; it was creepy. Aidan on the other hand barely looked anyon
e in the eye, he was hiding something but I couldn’t tell what that something was. When Tristan started to roll up his sleeves on his button up shirt I looked away, fearing that he may feel my eyes staring at him.
A few seconds later I heard a pair of heels click into room, it was a young woman I assumed to be the teacher. She was average looking but she had short spiky blonde hair that looked a little out of the ordinary in a back water town like Harper.
“Good Morning class,” she said cheerfully then turned to write her name on the board. “My name is Mrs. Danu and this will be a very brief study of Mythology.” She finished with the board then walked over to the podium. Her hands flittered through some papers before saying, “McKenna Cole?”
I raised my hand to prevent any further comments but instead she gestured me to come up to the front of the classroom. Hesitantly I trudged towards the front of the class, feeling the eyes of everyone burning through my skull, making their verdicts as I passed. It was hard to turn around to face their judgmental faces.
Mrs. Danu could read the tension in my pledging eyes, “Everyone, McKenna is from Savannah Georgia. Her father Bill is the new plant manager. Please make her feel welcomed in our tiny town and if she looks lost just point her in the right direction.” Mrs. Danu gave me a polite nod dismissing me back to my seat.
I glanced over at Tristan whose eyes were twinkling with mischief. He raised an eyebrow, “I think McKenna should tell us something about her; a hobby perhaps.”