A/N: Info in advance: This book contains adult themes.
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Enjoy the first chapter :)!
🚫✋🏻 [Do not use my plot lines for your story!]
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As a little child I'd always dreamt of leaving Atlanta in the future in order to make a long road trip and to live somewhere far away from my hometown. I'd longed for the feeling of being free and independent, of being able to leave all bad memories behind. But now as I was sitting in the airplane to Nevada on my own, kilometers above the earth's surface, I wasn't so sure if that was how independence and a fresh start should feel like. I pressed my back into the uncomfortable seat and drummed my fingernails against the armrest as I was looking out of the window, observing the large sea of clouds below the plane. Travelling without Dad wasn't the same. I missed him so much. I couldn't quite fathom that I was about to live in Las Vegas with my uncle Larry from now on.
So why was this happening? I'd never intended to move to another country before graduating for sure. But fate apparently had had other plans. I would have never expected that my life could be completely turned upside down from one moment to another until my dad had had a terrible car accident. The fatal crash had been caused by a drunken driver just as my dad had been on his way home from work. The drunken driver had been hardly injured while my Dad had been in hospital, lying in coma with several broken ribs for a very long time. Standing next to my dad, just being able to observe him and knowing exactly that there was nothing I could do but wait and rely on doctors - strangers - had been one of the most terrible feelings one could imagine. Day after day I'd come to the hospital after school with my grandpa who had been living in the same street like me and Dad, hoping and anticipating that he'd wake up soon. My grandpa had been the only reference person during this period as Mom and Dad had been divorced and Mom had lived somewhere in Europe.
When Dad had died, my life had changed all of a sudden. Life had been unbearable for a very long time. In other terms, my life had fallen apart: My beloved parent had died - I hadn't had a mother or father figure in my life, I had no longer been able to stay in my Dad's house so I had had to stay at my grandpa's house. I'd been in my final year but hadn't been able to get out of bed during my constant mourning.
One day my grandpa had phoned uncle Larry and asked him to do me, his brother's daughter, and my grandpa a big favour for the sake of my future as the loss of my father had been an immense blow of fate for me. And Uncle Larry had agreed. He'd offered me to stay at his house in Las Vegas and to take care of a possibility for me to graduate there. I'd begged grandpa that I could stay with him and not to got there as I hadn't even known uncle Larry that well. The last thing I'd wanted was to spend my life with a man I barely had stayed in touch with but grandpa had assured me that it would be for my best and that I couldn't stay with here with him forever after all.
Right now on my way to my new life I shifted nervously in my seat and felt my heartbeat quickening as the plane started to descend.
"Are you okay, young lady? You look very pale" Like being snapped out of trance my head whipped towards the woman sitting next to me. She smiled at me slightly. Her thin, brown hair was touching her shoulders.
"Oh...yeah, I'm alright. I guess I'm just nervous" That wasn't even a lie. I could hardly sit still anymore. What only I would give to fly back to my grandpa...
"Your first flight?", the woman dug deeper, still smiling at me politely.
"No. It's just...I've never been in Las Vegas before"
I slightly bit my bottom lip and dug my nails into the fabric of the armrest as I looked out of the window. The outlines of the buildings and streets got clearer and clearer. There was no turning back now.
"Oh, I see. Don't worry, you'll love it here"
Doubtful.
After the airplane had connected with the runway the pilot's voice sounded over the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to McCarran International Airport. Our local time is 15:23 pm..."
The baggage claim crowd at the airport was huge. Eyes fixed on the line where several colourful suitcases of all sizes were motioning towards me except mine I impatiently took a fleeting glimpse of my phone's display. Within 10 minutes I had to meet my uncle in the main hall near the first entrance. My silver suitcase finally arrived and I hurried to the main hall but jerked to a halt as I realised how huge the area was. People were everywhere hurrying into every direction, hustling from one place to another. A baby was crying somewhere. I gulped, feeling completely lost at the unfamiliar airport. Suddenly as someone bumped into me I gasped in surprise. I spotted an annoyed man who muttered something in another language I didn't understand and scurried past me. Puzzled I watched him disappear in the next duty-free shop.
"(Y/N)?"
I spun around and to my relief spotted uncle Larry who was approaching me with a slight smile. Last time I'd seen Larry was when I was around 10 years old but he looked exactly as in my memories. Short haircut, brown hair gelled, no beard. He was wearing a dark blue jacket, jeans and a pair of casual white sneakers.
"Hey. Look at you I nearly didn't recognise you. Wow, you've grown a lot!" We shook hands. Larry's aftershave was so intense that one could probably smell it from ten miles away. Despite my attempt to compose myself I felt tensed. After all, I hardly knew my uncle and was about to live with him in the same house far away from my hometown for an indeterminate period.
"Yes, long time no see. It's been a while", I added and forced a smile which probably rather turned out as a grimace. "Thank you so much for giving me to opportunity to stay here. I'm very grateful"
"Oh, that goes without saying! I mean the past year was a very tough year for all of us. It's the least I could do, given the circumstances" Larry obviously didn't want to mention dad's accident in particular on purpose as it was a very tough topic for both of us. The loss of his own brother must have been a hard blow of destiny for him as well without doubt. Larry cleared his throat and put his hands in his jacket's pockets. "Anyway, is this your first time in Vegas?" I quickly nodded thankful for the change of the subject. "Well in that case you'll see a totally different side today of what you think to know about Las Vegas. Come on, follow me"
I followed Larry to the parking lots outside. As we were walking towards a black Ford Mustang my lips parted. "Oh wow..." Larry's lips formed to a smile as he saw how impressed I was by the car. Having stored my luggage in the car's trunk and having taking a seat on the passenger's seat Larry started the engineer and turned on the radio. We drove away from the airport and at some point we had left the city behind us. The passing landscape was rather bare and dreary, there were no houses but wide sandy areas everywhere. Though we had been driving a while, there were no landmarks, and it was impossible to say where we were going or in which direction. With my gaze to the landscape I wondered where on earth Larry was living.
"This is what tourists never see", Larry murmured and I took a fleeting glimpse of him as he turned the volume up. With his sunglasses he kinda looked like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible.
"Is this still Las Vegas?"
"Yes"
While Larry aka Tom Cruise 2.0 kept asking me about my hobbies, grades in school, social life and a lot of other personal stuff to get to know me I spotted houses in the distance. Eventually the houses began to grow larger with second stories, white fences, garages and cactus gardens. The idea that people were actually living in a desert-like area was alien concept to me.
"Do you have any pets at home?", I curiously asked.
"A dog, a white Maltese. Xandra won the furball last year"
"Who's Xandra?"
"Oh! Sorry, my bad - Of course you don't know Xandra. She's my girlfriend"
Larry had a girlfriend? The thought of living with Larry whom I barely knew had been questionable enough for me but living with my uncle and a stranger is a completely different story. A worse story. I slightly gulped.
"So...uh...is Xandra a nickname? For Alexandra?", I asked to break the silence.
"No. It's just Xandra with an X", he let out a chuckle, "Trust me she easily gets upset if you call her Alexandra, Sandra or hell even Sandy"
"Ah, I see. Thanks for the warning", I nervously giggled.
After another 5 minutes of driving we reached the end of the road and Larry parked in a driveway in front of a second stories house. It was the last house of the street. I got out of the car and immediately got hit by a wave of heat. I observed the endless desert to my right side with a growing feeling of uneasiness. I felt like I was standing in the middle of nowhere. Despite the houses in the other direction (which were all painted in the same pastel beige) the area seemed totally abandoned. I couldn't see any neighbours either.
Larry handed me my baggage. I perceived the muffled sound of barking as we were approaching the door. My heart was hammering in my chest as Larry opened the door and let me enter first. A white dog all of a sudden appeared in front of me, barked in excitement and wagged its tail. As he curiously tried to jump on me Larry's voice sounded behind me: "Down, Popper! Good boy"
Popper? What a funny name.
Finally the large, open room I was standing in caught my attention. It had high ceilings and a staircase that ran up to sort of railed mezzanine or 'first floor' on one side. The interior furnishing had a modern touch. Butterum coloured walls with some paintings, white doors, a corner with a sofa, some armchairs and a TV along with a stone corner fireplace in the rear part of the room. The smell of smoke hung in the air.
Suddenly I spotted the tanned blonde woman who was leaning against the wall with her arms folded and observing me. Her slim fingers were wrapped around a cigarette. Her posture somehow looked elegant and casual at the same time. Although the blonde woman seemed to be in her 40ies she was dressed like someone younger: white platform heels, tight fitting high waist jeans, orange crop top and a golden necklace along with golden earrings, nearly completely hidden behind her very straight caramel straw coloured hair. To my surprise her style was far away from looking cheap.
"Hi", her raspy voice sounded as she parted her glossy lips, "I'm Xandra"
Xandra released from her position and walked towards me. I still failed to get any words out. Her presence was a bit too overwhelming for me. Xandra who was way taller than me with her platform heels looked down on me and offered me her hand. That was when my brain started to work again.
"Hello. Nice to meet you", I said shyly. She didn't give me a warm smile but rather a weak one. As our hands touched for a moment and we shook hands I noticed her long acrylics. I quickly withdrew my hand.
Xandra's chocolate brown eyes highlighted by eyeliner and mascara met mine. "You must be (Y/N)" I quickly nodded and she motioned the cigarette to her plump lips without breaking my gaze. Xandra took a drag and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Welcome to Vegas" The lack of enthusiasm in her voice was evident.
"Thank you. I'm very grateful for being here", I muttered and shyly smiled while she was fixing me with the same (nearly blank) expression. I could sense that Xandra didn't really like me from the very first second I stepped into the house. Who could blame her? She had probably lived a perfect life with Larry in Las Vegas until I'd shown up and had turned her life upside down...
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