Bad Habits

prologue: young folks

13 years ago

Lilly wandered around the spacious mansion, flats clicking on the marble floors that covered the interior. Her mom had only worked for the Barnes' for a few months now and this was the first time she'd been invited inside.

She craned her neck up at the chandeliers and floor to ceiling windows. Each room Lilly passed through was almost as large as her Brooklyn apartment where she lived with her mom, Colleen. There were people milling about, attending the party that Winifred Barnes was hosting in honor of her husband, George. They didn't even spare the seven year old a glance, sipping their champagne and discussing all the topics that frequently came up at these events. Stocks, investments, last summer's trip to the Hamptons, and how Joseph Rogers left his wife and two kids for his secretary. Again.

Lilly continued to explore, running her fingers along the thick damask curtains until she reached the open doors of the courtyard. The Barnes home was one of the few on the Upper East Side to have a garden, even more rare to have one built into the interior of the home. French doors surrounded the area, full of rare flowers that were Mrs. Barnes' pride and joy. A large marble fountain took center stage, several tiers of bubbling cold water flowing into an even wider circular pool.

The young girl crept into the courtyard, dipping her head down to smell the orchids blooming at her feet. She liked that they matched the purple tint of her new dress, bought by her mom for this party days ago. The only reason Lilly's mom was here was to keep an eye on little Rebecca, as usual. She was such a handful that it was far too easy for Lilly to slip away.

As Lilly moved on to the roses and tulips, she hears a splash behind her. Then another.

She peeked around the falling water, seeing another kid dressed in a little grey suit. He had his shoes off, the legs of his pants soaked to the knee as he kicked around in the crystal clear pool.

"What are you looking at?"

His voice made Lilly jump, not realizing that the strange boy saw her. His big blue eyes were staring her down. He seemed to be her age, with dark brown hair perfectly swept to the side against his forehead.

"Um, why are you in there?"

He continued his kicking, making even more water splash over the sides onto the white tile below.

"Because it's mine and I can. You gonna tell on me?"

Lilly realized who she was speaking to.

James Barnes looked exactly like his little sister and it would appear he had the same attitude.

"No."

Lilly played with the ruffle at the hem of her dress. The faint music of the party could be heard through the open doors as Lilly wondered where her mom was.

"Do you want to get in?"

Lilly quickly looked up at James, as he waded through the fountain until he was standing before her.

"Um...I don't know if my mom would want me to."

Lilly looked over her shoulder, almost wishing she would magically appear and save her from making this decision.

James held his hand out, waiting. A lock of brown hair fell down over his forehead.

"Come on. I won't tell if you don't."

Lilly briefly thought how stupid that was, since they were going to be wet. Her mom always said she was too smart for a seven year old.

She kicked her flats off and threw her leg over the side of the fountain, James grabbing her hand and pulling her further in. Lilly went too far, falling under and completely soaking herself from head to toe.

The little girl resurfaced to James giggling hysterically. With a growl, she put both hands on his chest and pushed, causing him to end up in the same condition as Lilly.

When James came back up, his face was furious. It melted away when he saw Lilly laughing. He couldn't help but join in.

"James, my mom is gonna kill me," Lilly said with a pout.

The eight year old boy grinned, shaking his thick brown hair like a dog.

"It's Bucky. My friends call me Bucky."