Fallen Angel

Chapter One

I have finished the first chapter so far and will start on the next ones soon. I'm also finishing my first semester of college, so go me. Have fun reading! ~MeaCulpa

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I couldn't stand the noise buffeting my ears. There was honking and people yelling at each other along with the airplanes taking off. Everything was so overwhelming. A smell wafted through the air. It was the stench of garbage and smog. A coil of disgust started to wind deep in my stomach. My home was no longer how it used to be. If I knew it was going to be like this, I would have never come back. Only one thing was able to bring me back. My family. Except they weren't there to pick me up. No one was. Way to bail on your oldest son and sibling.

My sister and brother should have been standing there with a big sign with some stupid nickname written on it. Mom and Dad would stand next to them with big smiles their faces because their oldest son was finally home. No, they weren't there and I just stood with the stupidest look on my face. I knew it was because an attendant came up to me concerned. "Um. Sir. Your bags?" I pivoted to look at him. "Can I help you find your bags? You've never ridden on a plane have you?" His voice mellowed down to a sickening tone. He probably thought I was some kid from the island that didn't understand how things worked in America.

"I can get them. Can you call a cab service, though?" He seemed shocked at my perfect "American" accent. I couldn't really blame him. My hair was knotted up and I was probably covered in dirt. There wasn't much time to take a bath before Shani shipped me off. If she could've, she would have put me in a box and mailed me to my family.

"Oh. Yes of course." He scampered off while I searched the belt for my bags. The burlap sacks weren't hard to spot among the nice suitcases. After grabbing them, I made my way to the front of the airport. A lady twice my size with a large sunhat and a sunhat nearly knocked me over. I could've swore it was the same one who had bowled me over all those years ago.

"Oh dang it. I didn't give the attendant my name." That meant that there were around twenty cabs out front and about eighty people trying to grab one. I dove for the one in front of me before a worn out businessman. He tossed an expletive towards me before going to find another. I opened the door tossing my bags in. The cabbie was doing something with the meter before he looked up to meet my eyes in the mirror.

"Where to?"

"1320 Novak Avenue." At least I hoped that my family still lived there. If not, then I guessed I was just going to have to become a hobo. I already looked like one. Smelled like one, too.

"Are you sure? That's the fancy part of town. You one of those new age hippies that makes millions?"

"No. My parents make the money." I did not appreciate the new age hippie comment. Especially since I had no idea what that meant. It couldn't have been good.

He shrugged then pulled out onto the highway. Utopia had changed in so many ways, yet it also hadn't. Corporate buildings rose to the sky in place of small businesses and a farmer's market. It made me feel sick to think that the city had become worse than what it was six years ago. The sun barely peeked out between the huge buildings.

"What has this place come to," I whisper to myself. We went past the business district into one of the worst parts of town. Buildings were starting to crumble. Houses were dilapidated and packed close together. One would think that the city would create a road that went around this instead of through it.

The cabbie clicked the locks down. It seemed like he was used to going through this part of the city. Six years ago, this place was bad but nothing like this. I could almost see what looked like a drug deal. A part of me quivered on the inside. The others knew that they had seen worse.

Once we were out of the ghetto, it was like the city turned from gray to bright bursts of color. This was more of the suburban part that lead into the "rich" part of town. These houses were neat and in an array of colors with white windows. This is where you would find the white picket fences and soccer moms/dads. It made me wonder if a family I knew still lived there. With their basketball hoop in the driveway and the vegetable garden in the backyard.

Once the houses started to get farther and farther from each other, I knew we were getting close to the house. My body vibrated with an uneasiness that I couldn't pin down. They knew I was coming today. Why didn't they come? Do they not want me home? Do they not want me in the family? All of my fears had bubbled up to the surface and threatened to spill over. My eyes started prickling and I willed myself not to cry in the cab. I gnawed at my bottom lip until I tasted the metal tang of my own blood. My tongue swiped over my swollen lip.

"1320 Novak Avenue. That'll be $44.78." I had a new problem. I had no money to pay him.

"Um. So here's the thing..." He turned to look through the glass at me. I could feel the disdain from his eyes burrow into me.

"You don't have any money do you?"

I gulped before speaking,"N-no?"

"Get out," he growled between his teeth. I nodded grabbing my bags then jumped out. The door had barely been closed before he peeled away. The tire almost ran over my foot. I felt really bad after that. The guy had to drive across town to get me home and I didn't even have a dollar to give him.

The house looked the same as it did the last time I saw it. It was still a beautiful baby blue. The lawn was groomed to perfection. A swingset sat to the side of the yard along with a playcastle. The first step of the porch even made the same squeak when I stepped on it. There was one other thing that hadn't changed.

We didn't keep a spare key. And I didn't have any of my own. I was locked out of the house that I knew no one was at because there were no cars in the driveway. My head banged against the door. At least we didn't have "neighbors" that could see me whacking my head against it. There was nothing left for me to do except slide down to lay on the porch. I was going to sit, but I was just too tired to stay upright. My family didn't come pick me up and they weren't at home to meet me. Life sucked.