Guilty by Association

Chapter 1

"Alison, do you want a lift?" My dad asks sheepishly, as he leans on the door frame to my bedroom with his hands shoved into his jean pockets.

 He sure has a way of making direct questions laughable.

I roll my eyes in response, "Nope". 

This is it. This is what I have been waiting for, for what feels like forever. It's finally time to move out of the family home and get away. Things just haven't been the same since Mum left. 

The moment is bittersweet, as I know I should be sad that I'm leaving the house that I have spent all of my life in. It's been eighteen long years, but I'm excited for the next chapter of my life. University is going to be a fresh start, and being able to live with four of my friends is going to be a nice change.

We have bought a house close to the ocean, which is a huge bonus as I have always enjoyed spending time on the beach. Even if it's made of pebbles and not sand. As much as I love Brighton I do wish we had a sandy beach.

"Suit yourself", He shrugs, as he pushes himself off of the doorframe and away from my empty bedroom, "Ana, do you want to go to McDonalds?" I hear him ask my younger sister, which earns a squeal of delight from her.

I sigh as I drop my phone into my lap. There's a part of me that hates not having a good relationship with my sister, but she's too similar to Dad and he's filled her mind with his lies. I can't get through to her.

"Have you got your key?" Anastasia appears at my bedroom door, standing where Dad was only minutes ago.

"Yes" I reply as I pick my phone back up, so I don't have to look at her. She might only be eleven, but she has a fierce attitude; towards me anyway.

"Good" She scoffs, "Dad says to lock up when you go, and you may as well leave your key when you go. It's not like you'll be welcome back" She pushes her light brown hair away from her face, with a smug look plastered across her features.

"Just go" I sigh, as I scroll aimlessly through Instagram. I don't have the energy to argue with her, and I'm hoping that once she gets older she'll realise the truth.

She leaves the room, and I hear her make her way downstairs. I was a little worried that Dad would try the emotional goodbye, but it looks like he isn't hanging around to wish me well at all. I know that I shouldn't be surprised, but it still hurts.

The front door shuts and I know that I'm not going to see the two of them for a long time; not if I can help it anyway.

I put my phone down next to me on the bed and take in the appearance of my room. I've had eighteen years in this room, and it hasn't changed throughout the years. We never had the money for new furniture for me, so I've had to make do. 

It's weird to see everywhere to empty; the normal litter of clothes along the floor has been packed away and the clutter along the desk is gone too. There is one thing left to pack; my photo wall. 

I scan the wall, taking in all of the memories that each of these photos hold. I scramble to my feet to look closer at all of these photos, as I haven't taken the time to look at them properly for a while now. As much as I love these photos; I don't want to bring them all. I want a fresh start and I know these photos are going to remind me of this room. I carefully take the ones down that feature my Mum and leave the rest. 

I collect all of the photos with Mum and place them in one of my photo albums. Dad tried to throw out all of the photos with Mum, but I managed to get most of them before he did. 

"Knock Knock" A voice shouts from downstairs; I instantly recognise it to be Brent. " Al, are you ready?"

Brent has never knocked before entering which Dad hated, so of course he did it all the more. 

I put the photo album into one of my suitcases and quickly zip it back up, just as Brent enters the room.

"You know what, I never thought I'd see the day" He remarks as he looks around.

I look at him in confusion, as I'm not sure what he is eluding too.

"That I'd see this room so tidy" He teases, as knows that I'm not a tidy person.

"Just get my bags" I pick my bag up and sling it over my arm, as I leave him to get the bigger one.

"Don't get used to this Ali" He grabs the suitcase and follows me out of the room

"And there was me thinking you'd changed" I retort.

This is unusual behaviour for Brent. He's not the type of guy to help you for nothing in return. I'm sure that he'll try and use this against me in the future, so I have to do something for him, but we'll wait and see. 

"Is that everything?" Brent asks, as we make our way out of the front door.

I nod, "Yeah that's everything" It's quite sad that I can fit most of my life into one suitcase and a small bag, but we've never been that well off.

I lock the door behind me, and I decide to take the key with me. If I leave it behind then I probably won't be getting a new one, and I still want to be able to go back; especially if I realise I've forgotten something. Which knowing me, is very possible.

"New car?" I ask, as I turn around to see a brand new Range Rover parked on the drive.

"You noticed" He grins smugly, as he loads it with my belongings.

It's hard to believe that Brent is only eighteen. He's a Prescott, which means he has been born into wealth and power. He's been getting tattoo'd since he was sixteen and he's now pretty much covered. He's always bragged that he can get away with doing whatever he wants.

I get into the passenger seat and I must admit that this is a nice car. Which reminds me that I need to start having driving lessons, but I guess I need to get a job first.

"Oh and guess what" He says, as he gets into the car, "I got my sleeve finished this morning"

I wasn't going to question the bandage on his forearm, as I had a good idea that it was tattoo related. He has a habit of trying to brag about these things, but he knows that I couldn't care less. Which means I don't get the bragging as often.

"Did you" I try to sound interested, but it fails miserably.

He chuckles, as he starts the car; "I forget that you don't care"

Brent and I have a weird relationship. He's like a brother, as he's been there for me through a lot, and we know that we can say what we want to each other without there being huge consequences. 

I look at the bandage on his arm, as he concentrates on the road. There's a part of me that wonders what he'll do next; he's already got a lot of tattoo's and he has a number of piercings too, so I wonder what's next. His black t-shirt clings to his toned torso, whilst a beanie hides most of his dark brown hair.

We pull away from the house, and I glance into the wing mirror, to get a last look. This is it, this is the day I have been waiting for. 

"The other three aren't there yet" Brent breaks the silence, as he continues to focus on the road.

There will be five of us in the house all together, as it's the combination that made sense. Brent is used to big houses and even though this is a huge downsize from his family home; it's still huge to me. 

All five of us will be attending University in September, but I am the only one who is studying Creative Writing. I thought Brent was joking when he announced that he was attending, but it turns out that he got a place studying Sports.

"I'm going to pick Roxy up once I've dropped you off, as she's not ready yet" He adds, "Plus I want to show her the new car"

I raise my eyebrows, as I turn to look at him. Even though I know that I shouldn't be surprised. Showing off is typical Brent. 

"If you're nice to me, I might get you your own when you pass your test" He smirks, as he knows that it won't be happening for a while. 

"I'm not holding my breath" I roll my eyes and avert my gaze out of the window.