Chapter 1~ Whole New World
Our taxi cab pulls up in front of my Aunt Rose's House. It is a small beach house that is a block away from the ocean. It has a green lawn surrounding the outside, and its small windows are lit up bright. It has a blue exterior with a wooden shingled roof. It is only one story and has a metal chimney poking out from the roof. The surrounding houses in the tiny neighborhood all have For Sale signs. Not one other soul living in these few tiny homes. The stars shine down and make it glow. Beautiful.
"We're here!" my mom says excitedly, accidentally screeching into the driver's ear.
"Watch it lady!" he snaps in a mean tone which hunching further over his steering wheel. His body oder had been strangling me the entire ride. He must be from New York. His accent is thick.
My mom ignores the rude remark and bounces out of the car. I throw a few bills at the driver and open my door. I slam it shut with all of my might. Why? One, I wanted to let my anger out. Two, I really wanted to piss off the taxi driver.
"Here are your bags," my mom says as she closes the back of the taxi and hits the back two times. The driver got her message and sped off into the bright lights of the city.
I sling my duffel bag over my shoulder, take another bag in my hand, and roll my last suitcase behind me. I brought a lot of stuff.
We walk up to the front door and before I can even knock on the door, it bursts open and a man comes walking out. He is definitely not good looking and he seems to be in his early 50's.
He walks past us without a word and proceeds to walk down the sidewalk and into the city lights.
"Who was that?" I ask while still staring down at the man.
"I don't know," my mother says, "Probably one of Auntie's clients."
Great. Living with two stripper/ hookers for the summer, check.
"Girls!" I hear a voice shriek.
"Rosie!" my mom says in her New York-y accent. It isn't too noticable, but it is there.
"Come in, come in!" she says after giving us a big hug.
The house smells of cigarettes and alcohol, but that's what my house smells like so I can't complain. All I can see is the living room that has an archway that leads to the kitchen and the small dining room. There is a hallway to my right that leads to what I am guessing is bedrooms and bathrooms. The house is small and decorated with a beachy feel. The walls are painted peach and the floor is mostly white tile except for the white carpet in the living room. There is a small television with a three person, worn down beige couch facing it. Pictures line the walls of the ocean, sea creatures, and people she must know. One particular picture stands out to me. It is of four people around New Years Eve. All I could tell was that one of them was my mom and the other was Aunt Rosie. The other two were men and my mom looks easily 21. So, it had to be taken 10 or so years ago.
"I'm really tired Auntie. Can we talk tomorrow?" I ask, trying to sound as nice as possible.
"Of course Sweetie! Your room is the very last door on the left down the hall."
"Thanks Rosie. Goodnight," I mutter before walking down the small hallway.
When I open the door, I see a small twin bed with a single quilt on it, pink walls, tan carpet, a small wooden desk, a tiny closet, and a dresser. This room is very small and not decorated. I open up my large suitcase and change into black yoga pants and a big sweater. I wrap my hair into a messy bun before turning off the light and jumping under the quilt.
...
"Ouch," I groan as my body hits the carpet floor. I must have rolled out of bed and onto the floor. I untangle myself from the quilt I wrapped around my body last night before standing up. My neck is sore and so is my back, I must have slept on them wrong.
I check my phone to look at the time. 1:37 P.M.?! I can't believe I slept that long!
I stretch my arms out and look around my small room. My small room. I am going to be living here for the whole summer. Ugh.
I walk out of my room and into the kitchen. Aunt Rosie is sitting at the table with a Vouge magazine in hand.
"Good morning," I yawn while opening the fridge to look for food.
"Good afternoon," she chuckles while taking a sip of some nasty looking herbal tea shit.
I am a coffee girl. I'm pretty sure all New Yorkers are coffee people.
I smile at her and pull out an organic bagel with organic cream cheese and a banana.
"Do you own anything that isn't organic?" I joke around with her as I put my bagel in the toaster.
"The organic food store is only a few blocks away from my house, so it saves gas. I can walk there or ride a bike. All L.A. folk eat organic food, or at least most of them," she explains while flipping her magazine page.
"Ah, I see," I respond. I spread the cream cheese across my bagel before sitting down at the table.
"Do you want some organic tea, dear?" she laughs and over pronunciates the word 'organic'.
"Uh, I'll try it. Thanks," I say while peeling my banana.
She pours a cup and sets it in front of me before sitting down and reading her magazine again.
"Is my mom still asleep?" I ask while stirring my tea. It looks and smells disgusting.
"Yep. I didn't want to wake either of you because I know you both had a long day yesterday, and your mom stayed up late unpacking. Don't ask me why she wanted to last night," she smiles generously while sipping her tea.
"Thanks," I smile back, "We needed it."
I take my cup of herbal shit tea and take a sip.
This is the most foul thing I have ever tasted.
I nearly gag and spit it back into the cup. Aunt Rosie is laughing the entire time.
"How do you even drink that?" I laugh while biting into my banana to wash out the flavor.
"I like it. I knew you wouldn't," she says while continuing her laughing outburst.
"It tastes like something a cow would drink. Liquid grass," I chuckle and finish off my bagel.
"What are you doing today?" she asks me while setting her magazine down and dumping my cup of shit down the sink.
"Going into town to buy coffee," I joke with her.
"Well, I have an... Appointment with a customer at 2:30, so I better get going," she says. It is pretty early to call a hooker.... I hug her goodbye and she walks out the door.
I jump into the shower and wash my hair until it smells amazing. I get out if the shower and put on high waisted bleached short shorts, a flowy coral crop top, and my black vans. I really need to tan, I look like an albino compared to the other California girls.
I put on a little make-up and brush through my hair before heading out the door.
I grab my Aunt's mint green street bike and ring the bell trill. I love cruiser bikes with little baskets and bells.
I begin to ride to the beach. It smells like the ocean and the sun is warm against my skin.
...
When I arrive downtown, I lock my bike up on a bike rack and head to a small cafè next to the beach.
I buy a small iced coffee and a bag of coffee grounds before walking towards the beach.
I begin to pass a small bike trail that takes you to Venice Beach if you ride it.
"Look out!" I hear a mans voice shout as someone grabs my arm and yanks me out of the bike trail.
"Woah!" I say while yanking my arm away from him. "What the hell was that?" I ask.
"Me, saving your ass," a man responds. I look up to see a shirtless guy with a surfboard under one of his arms. He is in red swim trunks and he has a Saint Christopher's medal on. His hair is a dirty blonde color, and his eyes are blue with green and brown flecks in them.
"Uh. Um," I struggle to find words. His abs are right there. He is so muscular. Wait, now I'm staring. "Thanks," I finally speak.
"Yeah. You're welcome," he says while looking down at me. He is easily 6' 2", so he towers over my 5' 7" body.
"You're not from around here, are you?" he asks with a chuckle.
"New York actually," I respond.
"Makes sense," he smiles, showing off his pearly white teeth.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I smile back at him.
"Well, most people from L.A. aren't so," his voice trails off. "Snappy?" He questions his choice of words.
"Wow," I exhale. "Thanks. I'm gonna leave now." I say again while beginning to walk away. I'm not snappy, am I? I know most people think people from New York are rude, but am I?
"Woah," he says while grabbing my arm again.
"You really have a thing with grabbing people don't you?" I snap. Wow, I am snappy.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have called you snappy," he says while running his hand through his long, wavey hair.
"It's fine," I say and look down to the beach. "I'm gonna go, but thanks."
I start to walk away when I hear him speak.
"I didn't catch your name," he says to me as I pull my brown aviators over my eyes.
"Kristen," I say. "Yours?"
"Alex," he smiles and waves goodbye to me.
"Later," I state and turn on the heels to the beach.
...
It really is a whole new world here. The girls don't wear as much make-up, it is more casual. Everyone has real tans, not sprayed on ones. Everything is organic or herbal, nearly every person surfs, people are nicer, there are barely any horns honking, and I am surrounded by hipsters.
I stand just at the shoreline and let the water barely touch my toes. Many surfers cut through the waves, and children build sand castles.
I suddenly wish I wore a bikini under my clothes. I could swim in the water and cool down my heated skin. The sun beats down on the beach as I wade into the water. I stop when the water hits just above my knee.
After splashing around in the water a bit, I walk back to my Aunts bike and unlock it. I then ride back to my new summer home.
...
"Wake up!" I say while opening the curtains in my moms room. It is 3:37 and I can't believe she is still asleep.
My mom makes a grumbling sound and pulls a pillow over her head.
"C'mon! It is 3:37 in the afternoon," I say while pulling the pillow off her head.
"Really?!" she says sounding very surprised.
"Yes! Now get up and eat some lunch," I say and walk out the room.
I made my mom eggs, bacon and coffee for breakfast. I know it is past lunch, but my mom always has to have breakfast food when she wakes up. That is one of the few things we have in common as mother and daughter.
"When did you learn to cook?" she tries to make a joke.
"When you didn't come home for three days and I had to fend for myself," I mumble while grabbing a pan and begin to scrub it with a sponge. I try to shake the bad memories of me as a child, hungry, and wondering when my mom was coming home.
She doesn't respond. That's what I thought.
I quickly finish the dishes to avoid going any further into this already awkward conversation. My mom is still picking at her food when I walk out of the room.
I seriously have nothing else to do today. I decide to pull out my phone and FaceTime James. Luckily, my mom didn't ground me from my phone.
I video call him, but he doesn't answer. I decide to try one more time and see if it goes through.
"Hey Bae," he smiles as my phone screen changes to a view of his room. It is messy, like always. He is shirtless and I can tell from his eyes that he has been smoking.
"Hi!" I smile. I am so happy to see a familiar face.
"I miss you so freaking much," he says while staring into his webcam.
"I miss you too. It sucks over here. I hate it; this is going to be the worst summer ever," I whine while sitting onto my bed.
"It'll be fine. You'll be back before you know it!" he says, trying to stay positive.
"Are you going to come and visit me at all? I know your dad lives in San Francisco," I say. His parents are divorced and he lives with his mom. He visits his dad every now and then. "You could drive down and see me."
"I will probably have to do that," he laughs while swiveling in the chair he is sitting in.
We have made out on that chair, and that bed, and that dresser, and that beanbag, and that desk.
Yeah.
"How is everything going over there?" I ask, trying to make conversation.
"Good. Derek and a couple of other guys want to go out to the lake later," he trails off. "So, that sounds fun."
"I miss the lake," I mutter while propping myself against a pillow.
"I miss you," he smiles brightly.
"You said that already," I playfully roll my eyes and he chuckles.
"So," he says with a seductive smirk.
What is he thinking?
"Do you want to show me a little something over the webcam?" he says with a wink.
No, actually. I really don't.
"You're sick," I growl before hanging up the video chat.
Seriously? All James wants is nudes and sex.
I groan and stand up from my bed. My phone buzzes in my hand.
James: VideoChat
Decline.
My phone buzzes from a text.
'Babe! I was just kidding! Calm down! Call me back!'
I have been with him long enough to know that he wasn't kidding. He never is. I don't know why I am still with him to be honest.
No. I love him, and he loves me. That's why I stay with him.
My phone rings again, but I just let it ring.
...
Seven days. Seven days of being stuck in this hell hole town. I haven't done anything but sit at Rosie's or go to the beach. I never feel like walking or riding a bike that far though. Rosie told me to dig around in her garage because she had a Penny Board in there. She said if I found it I could keep it. I found it, and I kept it. It is hot pink and has neon green wheels. I still haven't met anyone. I can talk to people, yet I just really don't feel like it. So anti-social. Everyday I have the same routine; wake up, eat breakfast, ride my Penny Board into town, maybe get a coffee, go to the beach, go home, be bored, eat dinner, then sleep.
Right now, I am scheduled to go into town.
I put on pink push-up bikini top that has a brown bow in the middle on with brown bottoms that have pink bows on the sides. I put on my favorite denim short shorts and a plain white T-shirt. I fill a small tribal print backpack with a towel, hairbrush, gum, my phone, and sunscreen. I sling the bag over my shoulders then push my feet into a pair or flip-flops before walking out the door.
I ride my Penny Board to the beach. This time, I stop by the café and buy a pink lemonade. Thank goodness this café is so cheap.
I walk down towards the sand with my Penny Board under my arm. The beach is packed today, considering it is 105 degrees Fahrenheit. I find a small spit next to the lifeguard'a stand and set my things down. I lay my towel on the ground and put my bag on it. I decide to tan for a little before going out for a dip in the water. I lay down on the towel and begin my tanning process.
"Lovely day, isn't it?" I hear someone's voice say from near me. "Hello? Are you sleeping?" the male voice says again. Is he talking to me?
I open one eye and look up to see a familiar face peering down at me from the lifeguards stand.
"Shit," I mutter before rolling onto my stomach. I want to undo the back of my bathing suit so I don't get awkward tan lines, but Alex will obviously make some awkward joke out of it.
"Happy to see you too," he chuckles. He is the lifeguard. That's why he was wearing red swim shorts that day I saw him.
You need to make friends or else you will be lonely all Summer. My subconscious adds.
"So, you're the lifeguard here?" I ask, trying to make conversation.
"Now you want to talk?" he laughs again. Ugh.
I stay silent.
"Yeah. I am the lifeguard. Or at least one of the lifeguards," he states as I flip onto my back.
"Nice," I say as children run past me, giggling at each other as they play tag.
"So, what brings you to Los Angles?" he asks.
"Well, my Aunt lives here and my mom wanted to come and see if she could get better business here. My Aunt gets good business, so my mom wanted to drag me away from my home to come here," I say while squinting my eyes from the sun as I try to look up at him. He is peering down at me through his brown aviators. He is shirtless, as always, and he has on the same swim shorts and Saint Christopher's medal. He is so tan!
"What business is she in?" he asks.
"Do you always ask so many questions?" I say, trying to avoid answering his question.
"Sorry," he shrugs, "You are just so interesting."
"Are you really trying to flirt with me?" I laugh.
"Do you always ask so many questions?" he jokes with me.
I roll my eyes at him and he laughs before focusing on the water again.
When I have tanned long enough, I decide to go swim. I stand up and begin to head towards the water.
"Swim?" he asks.
"No," I say sarcastically and he smiles.
"Ha-ha."
I walk down to the water and slowly wade further into the water until I can barely touch the ground. I dive under and swim around before resurfacing many seconds later. The waves aren't good today, so no one is surfing. They are just softly lapping over each other.
I float on my back and let the sun warm my skin. My head suddenly bumps into something, or someone.
"Sorry!" I exclaim while standing up. A red head girl stands in front of me. She has pale green eyes and her skin isn't as fair as most red heads. You can tell she has lived here since forever. Her hair is in a messy side fishtail braid. She has a strapless black and white polka dot bikini top on. Her lips are bright red and she has a polka dot, stretchy headband in her hair to keep some strands back.
"Oh, it is totally fine. It is easy to drift off. It is so peaceful out here," she smiles and her braces shimmer in the sunlight. She seems to be about my age, so she must have gotten braces late in life.
"It is," I smile back. "You live here, don't you?" I ask her.
"Yeah! Actually, I live right there," she says and points to a large house a few blocks away from my Auntie's. It has a beachy look to it, and it is in the wealthy neighborhood.
"Wow! I live there," I say and gesture towards my new home.
"We should get together sometime! You seem nice," she says while we both walk back up to shore.
"Thanks, you too," I say as we pass two little kids building a sand castle.
We sit on the beach and talk with each other for nearly an hour. Her name is Lucinda, but she says she prefers Lucy. Her mom loved the show I Love Lucy, so she named her daughter Lucinda. Lucinda was also the name of her grandma, so it was a way to kill two birds with one stone. She is 17, but her teeth came in late so she had to get her braces on late. She said she is getting them off soon though. She was born and raised here, and she wants to be an actress. She says she has already gotten in touch with some movie and television show directors. We chat about my life also, I leave out the fact that my mom and Aunt are stripper/hookers. I tell her about by awkward video chat with James and she says, "All boys want is sex." Which I agree with. We exchange numbers, and she tells me about a bonfire happening that night at a secret cove. We say goodbye and I pick up my things before heading out to leave.
"Leaving so soon?" Alex's voice chimes in.
"I've been here for nearly two hours," I remark while folding up my towel after thoroughly shaking it.
"So you have a boyfriend?" he asks. Here we go with the questions again.
"Were you listening in on our conversation?" I complain. I really am whiny. Ugh.
"Just bits and pieces," he smirks.
"Right," I say sarcastically. He listened to the whole thing. He just laughs.
"I also caught you telling her the fact that you didn't surf," he says with an eyebrow lifted.
"Yeah," I state the obvious.
"I don't have work tomorrow, so I could meet you here and teach you. The waves are supposed to be amazing tomorrow," he smiles. Is this a date? No. He knows I have a boyfriend. He probably just wants to be friends.
"Okay," I say. "What time?"
"8:00."
"In the morning?" I ask with my mouth hanging open. Nope. I never wake up that early, unless it is for school purposes.
"Yeah, the sun is already up and no people are here."
"You're not trying to kidnap, me are you?" I smirk and he chuckles.
"No. Just come, okay? If you don't show up, I will probably just be surfing alone," he says, making me feel bad.
"Fine," I say and begin to walk away. "Goodbye."
"Later," he waves.
So, can I even surf?
~A/N~
Hey guys! So really quick, Alex looks like Alex Pettyfer when he played in Beastly!! It has to be Beastly. Alex is about 19, but Kristen doesn't know that yet.
Kristen looks like the youtuber Megan Parken. I love Megan, and I think she is gorgeous and intelligent.
This chapter was really boring because it was an information chapter, nothing that exciting happens. Well, except for her meeting Alex.
I will be updating this book regularly once I finish my other book Bad Boy Love.
Thank you for reading! :)
Vote, comment, fan, and react!
-Morgan.