White Raven

Chapter Two: Family

Dedicated to YukioKen. He's a pretty cool cat. Give his works a good lookthrough!

Warning: Strong Language and Sexual References!

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Chapter Two: Family

Ary was berating herself on the entire two hour trip back to Haven, the town where she grew up. It was ridiculous to think she could trust Rave, even after handing him ten thousand dollars in cash. He could easily just take her money and skip town, and she wouldn't blame him.

Rave had abandoned the Bloodbaths for some unknown reason and she was sure some of the members were still pretty pissed at him. It would be a suicide mission for Rave to rejoin the gang, but Ary didn't have a lot of options at the moment. It was either ask Rave for help or try and infiltrate the gang herself, and that involved slutty clothing and an unlimited amount of sexual favors she was not willing to do, for any reason.

She was still lost in thought when she pulled into the long, winding driveway of her home. The perimeter of the property was lined with tall fir trees and the house wasn't even visible until about halfway up the drive, which was probably a good thing. The two story farmhouse was in desperate need of some TLC.

The once gleaming white paint was now dull and faded, and chipping off in some places. The roof was missing a few shingles and there was a large hole in the roof of the porch that someone had just stapled a tarp over. She was that someone.

Tom Harper had given his youngest daughter the responsibility of restoring the family homestead to its former glory. He figured she'd might as well do something useful with her life since she dropped out of college. It was his way of showing Ary what her future would be like if she didn't go back and finish school. He was very creative when it came to dealing out punishments.

Ary wasn't exactly Bob the Builder's wife, so the home repair had been going pretty slowly. She had to replace a broken window last week, but now the darn thing wouldn't open. Her nifty ability to hang up pictures in a perfect line on the wall had given her parents an unrealistic expectation of her handyman abilities. She'd have better luck getting a job as an astronaut.

"Oh good, Bella you're home." A pretty woman in her late forties greeted Ary as soon as she stepped into the house.

"Hey, Mom," Ary said, forcing a smile.

Juliana Harper was as beautiful as she had been in high school. Her reddish brown hair was cut short in a 1920s bob and her hazel eyes sparkled behind her librarian glasses. She was wearing a floral print blouse that was tucked into the waistband of a pair of designer jeans. Juliana still had a size 6 figure, even after having three kids, and she planned on taking full advantage of it while she still could.

"I need your help in the kitchen," Juliana said, ushering Ary into the back of the house.

"What the-Mom!" Ary gasped at the sight that greeted her when she reached the kitchen.

All the contents of the cupboards had been emptied. There were various dishes strewn out across the counters, a pyramid of cans sat in the middle of the island counter, and the kitchen table was buried beneath a mountain of pots and pans.

"I'm reorganizing the cupboards," Juliana explained, walking into the middle of her mess. "And now that you're home, you can help me," she gave Ary a brilliant smile.

Suddenly Ary wished she was back at Rave's. Having to deal with his cocky attitude and sexual harassment was a lot better than being her mother's personal slave.

"So dear, how did the job hunt go today? Did you find anything?" Juliana asked as she handed Ary dishes to put back in the cupboards. Ary was a lot taller than her mother's dinky five-three and it made her perfect to put things away on the top shelves. Her mother's words.