The Final Gathering

Chapter 2: Lola

Lola startled awake and shot straight up. She blinked up at the figure that awakened her until it formed into her father. She rubbed her eyes lazily, getting eyeliner on the side of her thumb. She looked down and noticed she was still in her clothes from yesterday and was still on the couch. She looked back up at her dad and shrugged.

"Happy birthday, old man," she said while yawning and then smirked at him.

"Thanks, love," he smiled as she got up and hugged him. She held on tight. Lola loved her father more than anything. He was the only thing stopping her from leaving her house and never looking back. She looked up at her dad and he smiled down at her. She felt safe with him. She gave him one more squeeze and jumped up to kiss him on his cheek before heading to her room to get ready.

In her room Lola stripped down to her bra and panties and stood in front of the mirror. She was tall and thin with a small number of curves in the right places. She was beautiful with her father's gray eyes. Her hair was thick and long and flowed gracefully down her back. Stars of different sizes covered the right side of her back from shoulder to hip. As soon as she turned eighteen she ran out and had a friend of a friend give her a tattoo. Luckily it was done right and looked surprisingly classy. She loved it. She knew she was pretty and she used this to her advantage. She turned to her side, poked at her stomach, and sighed. Lola wouldn't have been satisfied with herself even if she was completely perfect. She grabbed an Arctic Monkey's tank top and pulled it on. She admired it in the mirror, liking that it stopped short, showing her midriff. Lola had an odd obsession with band t-shirts. Often, she had to remind herself to switch it up and wear something else. Even if she didn't know the band that was playing she would find a way to attend the concert and convince some poor boy to buy her a t-shirt. Putting on a washed-out pair of skinny jeans and some silver flats, she decided she was as decent as she could get. She went into the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth. She replaced yesterday's makeup with new eyeliner and lip-gloss and called it a day.

As Lola walked into the kitchen her entire family stared back at her. She was always the center of attention, even when she didn't mean to be. Her first instinct was to make a snarky remark but she figured she owed her dad enough to keep quiet. So, Lola leaned against the counter and waited for someone else to talk. After a few beats Carol walked over to her and reached up to hold onto Lola's shoulders.

"Lola, you and your sisters are going to pick up your father's birthday cake from the bakery and you are not going to argue with me about this. Do you understand?" she asked with her eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, okay," Lola replied, as she tried to be civil.

"Thank you," her mother said quietly and then released her grip. Lola leaned over to grab her parent's car keys off the hook and then motioned to door.

"I think we'll walk, Lo, if that's okay with you guys," Lisa insisted. Lola sighed at the thought of physical endurance and looked over at Lilly hoping that she would refuse Lisa's proposal. This was a slim chance, however, because Lilly was a total hippy and thrived in the outdoor world, but Lola held onto a glimmer of hope.

"That sounds great to me, actually," Lilly smiled eagerly at her sisters. Lola let out an over-dramatic groan as she put the keys back on the hook and walked out the door that Lisa was holding open for her.

"Why are we walking, exactly?" she asked while staring a hole into Lisa.

"I miss the town and I wanted to walk. I understand that you still live here and you see these things everyday but Lilly and I don't and I just thought it'd be a nice day to walk so that's what we're doing," Lisa said matter-of-factually. Lola just kept quiet because she knew that Lisa usually got her way.