my mom met anthony when i was nine. he was nice for a little while, long enough to get the marriage papers signed, but i came to realize that it wouldn't last.
i thought the first few times he hit us were accidental and that sometimes, he just drank a little too much. but when it got worse and my mom continued to stand by him, i thought i should just get used to it.
anthony told me it was his way of showing he loved us, the same way his parents had loved him. so it never mattered how many cuts and bruises littered my face, that's what i learned love to be.
and i didn't mean to tell anyone, but i did. and then everything blew up.
~w~
"ok, willow. this is it." shannon, my case worker, spoke, turning around from the front seat to face me. i still didn't know what to say to her, even though i'd been through this routine four times now.
her face softened into some kind of pity stare, making me want to simultaneously cry and laugh. instead, i grabbed the white garbage bag with all my things in it and climbed out of the car.
the house was giant, probably three stories up with a balcony spanning the entire upper half. every corner of the road was dusted with sand and i'd been smelling the salt water air for miles. at least i'd enjoy the location for the duration of my stay.
"so, this is figure eight." sharon smiled, falling into line next to me as we walked up the grassy lawn of the large house. "i think you're really gonna like this couple. they're young and hip, like you."
i let the silence between us continue on in its ever-growing awkwardness until we got to the front door. shannon poked the doorbell, bouncing up and down on her heels in excitement, like she did every time.
i'd been excited the first time, too.
"mike! mike, they're here." a shrill voice called out from inside, before the door swung open. the lady was, in fact, rather young but looked to be the farthest thing from "hip." i'd never seen so much vineyard vines in my life.
she and sharon exchanged their greetings before she turned to me.
the first meeting was my absolute least favorite part of each new house i went to. you could never tell how things were gonna go. some couples already had kids and were burnt out, some didn't want kids but needed the check, and others wanted to play mommy and daddy.
it was also extremely clear she was nervous, which i didn't blame her for. i'd be nervous too, if i signed up for a baby and got me instead. it didn't stop her from opening her arms and pulling me into a hug. she smelled rich.
i inwardly hoped she couldn't smell the dollar store soap i'd used as i tried to weasel myself out of her grasp.
"it's so nice to meet you, willow." she squealed, finally pulling back from me and looking me over from head to toe. "mike and i are so excited you're here." she said, before whisking us inside the house, which was even nicer than the outside, if even possible.
when we got to their living room, the guy, mike, was fluffing the pillows, like i was here to judge them on their cleanliness and ability to prepare for guests.
"we, um, we set up some food in case you were hungry." the woman, who's name i'd forgotten to listen to at the door, said. she ushered me over to the couch and mike took my garbage bag.
"let me bring that upstairs for you, sweetie." he smiled.
sweetie? i'd rather them ignore me than call me sweetie.
"that's lovely, leila, thank you. there's just a couple more things to sign before i'm off." sharon said, beginning her usual routine. i knew that i needed to escape now, before sharon left, or i'd be stuck here for all the get-to-know-you activities leila and mike had planned.
"i'm gonna go explore." i called, my quiet voice cracking a little from being unused for so long.
i left no time for a response as i hopped over the back of the couch and ran out the front door i'd just come from. though i could hear the exasperation in sharon's voice and the hurt confusion in leila's as they called after me, i didn't turn around.
~w~
"that's what, a three story drop to the deck." a boy's voice rang out. "i give you a one in three chance of survival."
i stopped running and let my breath catch in my throat and my legs burn. i could never feel the pain when i was running but, man, did it hurt when i stopped. especially since i was probably a good four miles from the house at this point.
"hm, should i do it?" another boy called to the other.
curiosity and my never-ending desire to get myself into bad situations drove me closer to the house that was clearly still being built.
looks like a sturdy place to hang out.
"yeah, you should jump. i'll shoot you on the way down."
"shoot me?" the boys continued their argument as i entered the first floor.
this house might have been bigger than leila's, if that was even possible. the wood floors were shiny and new, showing me a glimpse of my reflection, a sweaty, frizzy, scrawny thing that made me inwardly cringe.
"they're gonna have japanese toilets with towel warmers." called another voice, this time belonging to a girl. "this used to be a turtle habitat, but who cares about the turtles, i guess." she trailed off.
as i reached the second floor, i stood beside the entrance to the balcony that the group was on, unsure of what my next move was. i had never been a people person and all the friendships i'd had were always initiated by the other person. i was just too awkward for this.
yet still, my converse-clad feet drove me out onto the balcony, my eyes meeting with those of a dark-skinned boy who looked around my age.
thank god, i was even worse around people older than me.
"uh, hi?" he spoke, the end of his words trailing up like a question.
don't stare, willow. say something. say literally anything.
"hi."
shoulda stayed fucking silent if that's the best you can do.
"hello, there." the voice that had been arguing earlier called. i looked up to find the boy standing on the edge of the roof, beer in hands, teetering ever so slightly from right to left.
"can you please not kill yourself?" the girl asked, coming to stand next to me. the third boy, a blonde, who was sitting off to the side ignored the girl.
"don't drop the beer, i'm not giving you another one." he lectured. "but you can have one, darling." he smirked at me.
"lay off, jj."the girl rolled her eyes. "i'm kie. what about you?" she smiled, sticking her hand out towards me, which i gladly took.
"willow." i smiled.
"that's pope, with the drill gun, and that's john b."
as kie finished her introductions, the beer slipped from john b's hands and onto the deck. i stifled a laugh as an overdramatic 'nooo' escaped his lips whole the rest of the group made their remarks.
"hey, ah, securities here. let's wrap it up." pope called. "you should probably come with us, for safety reasons." he said, pulling me by the wrist out of the house.
"gary, is that you?" jj taunted as we ran to our destination, somewhere unbeknownst to me.
"go, come on!" jj continued to yell with an excited giggle, one contagious enough to make me laugh.
even as pope tripped, the group continued to run, so i did too, only stopping for a millisecond to help pull him up.
"come on, get in." kie said, pulling my in when i stopped short in front of the van, unsure of whether i was invited with them or not.
once we were in, john b started to drive away. jj kept his head out the side door, calling out random taunts at the cop, even throwing him an empty can.
"that sort of ambition is just begging to be punished." he laughed.
i let the sea breeze run through my hair and the smile sit on my lips for the first time in a while.
"hey," said john b, looking through the rear view mirror. "welcome to outer banks, willow. paradise on earth." he chuckled.
-
ok, so first chapter is done. sorry that there wasn't much to it, but i had to get a little bit of willow's background in there. stick with me and hopefully this gets good :)