Chapter One:
I arrived at my childhood home with nothing but a garbage bag of clothes. I stood in front of door for what seemed like ages, staring at the Christmas wreath my mom hung up. They assumed I was just visiting for the holidays. What they didn't know was that my boyfriend just kicked me out of our apartment and I had nowhere else to go.
In all honesty my boyfriend, or I guess it would be ex-boyfriend now, caught me cheating with someone I worked with at the bar. When he arrived at our place, he caught me and another man in his bed and didn't hesitate to throw us out in nothing but our underwear. I collected my scraps of clothing he threw out the window and returned to my hometown - Bell Bank.
A suburban nightmare filled with stepford wives, white collared husbands, buff quarterbacks and skinny cheerleaders with no root blonde hair. You could say I was the black sheep of the family. Moving to the city, bouncing from relationship to relationship and job to job. I knew I brought shame to family but couldn't help twist the knife with them when they made me feel inferior. Mom was a lawyer, Step-dad owned an insurance company and my step brother who I loathed, was of course the quarterback, captain of the football team, straight-A'd golden boy and the family's clear favourite.
When I moved to the city he took my room and replaced my Metallica posters with ribbons of his achievements and a shelf full of trophies and accolades. All my stuff fit into a box in my mom's old office where they added a single bed temporarily through the holidays when they expected my visit. Little did they know I would not be leaving after the new year.
I took a deep breath and tried for the door to discover it had been locked. I didn't have a key of course; it had been five years since I lived there. I rang the doorbell and heard someone from the inside descending the stairs two at a time. Dylan opened the door and my mouth nearly fell off my face.
He had always been tall for his age but now he was massive. He stood at a staggering 6'6 at least, his shoulders nearly as wide as he was tall. If I hadn't known him to be a perfect goodie goodie, I would have assumed he took sterriods. His hair was a brilliant mop of dirty blonde that was darker than usual because of the winter months. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and I was startled by the curve of his pecks and the firm line leading down to his waist band.
"Olivia, we weren't expecting you." He said, taking notice of the garbage bag of clothes in my hand. "Taking the trash out are we?" I ignored him and pushed past him. "Oh sorry, you're taking the trash in." He said.
I whipped around. "Fuck you."
"We don't talk like that in this house." A voice from the staircase called.
I turned around to see my mother at the top of the stairs. She was beautifully poised in a silk blouse and pearls, hair coiffed perfectly. "What are you doing here? And what is that god awful thing on your nose?"
She was talking about my septum piercing of course. It was fake but I wore it on purpose to see the look on her face when I showed up. I was not disappointed. I noticed her eyes roll over my body taking in it's new form. I had gained a tiny bit of weight -- her biggest nightmare. I wasn't huge but my ass wouldn't fit it into any old jeans of mine. I could feel my cheeks burning hot under her scrutiny and lashed out.
"I see you've redecorated. So when I asked you for a loan and you said all your money was tied up in a project, you meant home renovations."
"Not just that, we're also saving for Dylan's college."
I turned around to see Dylan smiling dutifully. I could barf.
"Well I guess it's his fault then that I'll be moving back in."
My mom's face fell and she nearly clutched her pearls. "Moving back in? Here?"
"Then the streets I guess. But when I'm homeless and sucking cock for bus fare, I will make sure to tell everyone my mother is Jane Morrison."
My mom nearly fell down the stairs. I felt Dylan grab my arm from behind, not hard but firm.
"Don't speak to your mother that way."
My mom held onto the banister for support. Dylan let go of my arm and attended to her, helping her down. When she composed herself, she looked me dead in the eye.
"You are my daughter, of course you can stay. But I will not be threatened in my own home. In fact, I have conditions for you. If you so much as step a foot out of line, I will dump you at a whore house myself. Under this roof you follow our rules."