Chapter 1
I had spent most of my life walking around in a complete daze, and I probably would have been perfectly content to stay that way but things never end up the way you plan. I wasn't the typical teenager, not someone that you would call "normal" but I wasn't unique or weird or anything either. In school I was thought of as the "loner", it's not that I was a social outcast or anything its just that I was never really interested in other people (which means "I like to mind my own bussiness and not get involved in all the idiotic high school drama").I didn't really stand out; I was't georgeous, I wasn't super athletic or talented, I kept to myself, did well in school, and stayed out of trouble.
I was 17 years old and I was getting ready to graduate early, the faster I graduated the faster I could move out. Oh how I was ready to move out!!!! \
There were seven kids in my house, and I was the oldest one. My mom had me during her first marriage to my dad -(he abandoned his parental rights as soon as the divorce papers were signed) and the other six were hers and my stepdad's. Although I knew that my stepdad couldn't stand me, my homelife wasn't horrible or anything, it's just that they never saw me as a member of the family, it was like I was the extra child and everyone else was on a higher priority list than me. I was just tired of it, I had been working and saving to leave ever since I was fifteen and got my job working part-time at Yolanda's new and used bookstore. It was my favorite place in the world, there weren't tons of screaming kids running around and making messes, it was quite and peaceful (aside from the occasional disgruntled anime junky who needed a defibulator when he realized that you didn't have the newest copies of Bleach), and Yolanda was the most wonderfull boss anyone could ask for - when I told her I wouldn't be able to afford to go to college she pulled some strings (don't ask me how) and managed to get me a full scholarship to El Centro, the local community college in town, she'd even promised me full-time hours as soon as I graduate so that I can afford to move out. But until I graduate in three months, I'm still stuck in an overcrowded house, being the free baby-sitter, and the unwanted offspring.
Needless to say, I spent most of my time at the bookstore, it was my getaway, and I absolutely adored the musty smell of those collosal stacks of used books (it was my real home). It was in this very place that I snapped out of my lifetime daze, I stepped into reality and it consumed me (it wasn't the reallity I was expecting, but like I said earlier, it never is). It was around four, I had just gotten to the store and had started working on sorting this enormous tower of books. The stack was taller than I was, it had to be at least six feet, I took one look at it and realized that my entertainment for the entire evening was stacked up in the middle of the fantasy isle.
I had been sorting for at least two hours and we hadn't had a single customer, it was Tuesday, that was our slow night - i consider myself lucky if I get even one customer on a Tuesday- and so you can understand why I was startled when I heard the bell on the door jingle and someone walk into the store. I hurried down the latter where I was putting away some rare books to help the customer
"I'll be right with y...", and that's when my clumsy self slipped on a step, fell about five feet, and knocked myself out............................................
"hey!!, hey!!. wake up!!!" why was someone slapping me in the face???
"I'm awake!!!!, stop hitting me!!!",all of the sudden the slapping stopped, and then
I opened my dark brown eyes............. and saw the most gorgeos emerald green eyes staring at me with a worried expression.
"Are you okay????" he said, with a voice as smooth as honey that would have made me faint if I hadn't just done that exact thing.
I started to sit up and then winced, my head was pounding "my head feels like someone just hit me with a sledge hammer, but other than that I think I'll live" I responded.
All I could do was look at him, he did'nt look like the type that would be in a bookstore, he was tall and muscular with dark brown hair and, well, just sexy!!!!!!!!! (that just does'nt happen at a used bookstore) I realized I was staring, and I felt kind of rude so I started to look away, but then it dawned on me that he was staring at me too!!!!!!!
"What are you staring at?" I said.
With a grin on his face he said, "I could ask you the same thing"
"Im looking at some guy who was just slapping me in the face" I said, in a little bit
of a defensive tone.
He laughed at that, " I'm sorry, did I hurt you?, I was just trying to make sure you hadn't gone into a coma or something."
I could hear the sincerity in his voice, "no, you did'nt hurt me. But I think I would like to get off of the floor now" I laughed and he helped me up.
Hunter POV
"I'm Hunter by the way" I said kind of nervously, I didn't want to say the wrong thing. She was so beautiful; she was tall at least 5'9", with long golden blond hair flowing down the length of her back, and her face......it was breathtaking.
"I'm Alayne, it's nice to meet you, ummmm........is there anything particular that I can help you find in the store" she asked.
I thought to myself, I've already found it, but instead I told her "Ummm... no actually, I thought you guys sold used videos and I was hoping I could find some old movies here"
She looked as if my statement had disappointed her, but she said "no, sorry we don't have stuff like that here, but I think you might have better luck at a pawn shop, theres one about two blocks away from here"
"Actually, I think I'm done searching for the day" as I said this I looked around the store and realized that there wasn't anybody else here with her so I said,
"and since your all alone here, I might as well hang around for a while and make sure your okay from your concussion"
She raised her eyebrows and gave me a surprised look, "you don't have to do that, I'll be fine, my head doesn't really even hurt anymore"
"Oh no, it's fine I don't mind at all" I told her, meaning every word.
Alayne POV
He took me by complete surprise, he stayed with me until I closed up the store that night. We just talked, while he helped me finish putting away all of those books that were stacked up. When he told me that he was looking for videos I was kind of disappointed, but I soon found out that he was just as interested in books as me, along with tons of other things we had in common. He and I both loved the color purple, our favorite band was My Chemical Romance, and we both hated syrup on our pancakes (I know that's weird).I found out the he was eighteen and a senior like me, and that he and his family had just moved in a few days ago and he was going to be going to school with me soon, so that explained why I'd never seen him before. When I closed up the shop for the night he even walked me to my car, it was so nice of him to go to all the trouble and as we neared my car I told him so.
"Thank you Hunter, for staying up here with me, it would have been really boring without you. I had fun."
Then he stopped walking and looked at me and said, " No problem, I had a lot of fun hanging out with you tonight. I was thinking that maybe you would..... ummmm............ maybe want to do this again sometime, like on a date or something???"
It kind of startled me for a moment, I'd never been asked out on a date before. Why would he want to go out with me??? He was so good looking he could have just about anyone, why me?? I decided that it didn't matter, he was really nice and I had fun with him, why shouldn't I go out with him??? So I said,
"sure, I'm off on Thursdays and Sundays if you want to do something then".
"cool, that sounds good.......ummm, can I get your phone number or something so I can call you?"
"oh, yeah, I guess that might be a good idea" I laughed.
We exchanged phone numbers, I didn't have a cell (when there are seven kids in your family there's no hope of affording cell phones, and I wasn't old enough to get my own yet) so I gave him my home number and told him to call me after ten. As I was getting into my car I turned back to him ,
"well i guess I''ll see you soon........bye "
"Yeah, you will. I start school tomorrow, drive careful!!!" he said, and I shut the car door.
As I drove off i started wondering where his car was, it was so weird because I didn't see any other cars parked in the lot. Oh, well he must've parked somewhere else, it wasn't really important .
I got home kind of late, it was almost an hour drive between the bookstore in town and my stepfather's home in the middle of nowhere ( oh how happy I will be when I don't have to make that drive five nights a week).
As I pulled up in the drive I noticed that the lights in the kitchen were still turned on, and as I walked through the front door I was immediately confronted with the sound of my mom and my stepdad screaming at each other. I tried to be quiet as I came into the house but I forgot about the creaky floorboard in the middle of the living room. I cringed as I heard the sharp noise, and then my stepfather, George storming into the living room with my mother trailing behind.
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT YOU LAZY LITTLE SLUT!!!!" he screamed as he backhanded me, slamming me back into the the front door and I felt the doornob jab me sharply in the back along with the searing pain across the left side of my face. He reeked of alcohol, and I could tell he was drunk. I was so confused, George never drank, and he may not have been able to stand to me but he had never laid a hand on me. What had I done?
"I DON'T UNDERSTAND!!! WHAT DID I DO???" I shouted
"YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID!!! NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF MY
HOUSE" landing another blow across the side of my face. I looked to my mother for some kind of help but I didn't get the response I was hoping for...........
"get your things and go sweety, it's best if you leave now". I was in awe and shock, how could my mother do this to me? what did I do that was so wrong?, but I had no intention of waiting around to get hit again so I did what she said. I hurried to my room and quickly filled two duffle bags with everything I owned and rushed out of the house, tears streaming down my face I got in my car and drove away.
I had no idea where I was going to go but I knew that I couldn't stay there, I could go to Yolanda's but she had already done so much for me over the past few months and I didn't want to take advantage of her generosity. I decided to drive into town, I had to go to school in the morning anyway so I figured that I might as well pull up in the parking lot and sleep in my car for a little while. I would worry about where I was gonna live tomorrow.