“You really shouldn’t ask questions that you don’t want to know the answers to. I would gladly tell you everything about the reason why I’m here, but it would probably leave you shaking your head in disgust. Are you sure that you really want to learn about my drama? I’m sure that you have enough drama in your life to last a lifetime.” I was eyeing him suspiciously in the rearview mirror. His expression had this sinister and almost dirty feel to it. I was worried for my safety, but I had a can of mace in case things went terribly awry. “I don’t want to be here. This is the last place that I ever want to find myself. I was perfectly content living my life on my own without the entanglement of family. Unfortunately, this is unavoidable and I’m going to have to confront my mother. Believe me, I don’t want to and I would rather be anywhere but here.” I only told him enough to whet his appetite for more. He was compelled to know the rest of the story.
My long black hair fell lazily over my shoulders and the tight jeans that I was wearing were practically painted on my body. I had to slide into them every morning, but it was worth the effort to see the look that I got from every guy and even some girls. I didn’t consider myself to be promiscuous and doing something reckless as having sex out of wedlock had never occurred to me. I had those needs like everybody else did, but I did not let the boys with overactive glands get any further than a few errant glances to satisfy their sweet tooth.
“I know how family can be quite the headache. If you don’t know anything about Italians, I can tell you that we are a rambunctious bunch. We tend to fight with tempers that flare over just about anything. It doesn’t matter if it’s trivial or serious. I’ve gotten my fair share of black eyes from some of my cousins over the years. What is it about your family that can be so overwhelming that you don’t want to see your mother? I’m sure that you have your reasons, but the one thing that we can never change is who our parents are.” What I had mistaken for a sleazy leering gaze was more concern for my well being.
I did look a little bit younger than my 18 years. I made guys ashamed for even looking at me in a less than platonic way. I kind of got a bit of a thrill playing with their minds and their bodies. I had developed quite early when I was only 14 and having breasts had become something of a curse and a blessing in disguise.
“If you really want to get into this, then I have no problem unloading for the sake of getting it off my chest.” At the mention of my chest, his eyes had moved slightly below my eye line. I didn’t mind the attention and the sports bra did very little to hide those otherwise prominent assets. “I was born out of a knee jerk reaction to get closer to a band member. My mother was a groupie. She found herself with the whole band. She doesn’t remember who the father is. It could’ve been any one of the five. I’m sure that eventually I will go looking for DNA evidence, but two of the band members have already died of self inflicted wounds. One of them is drug addled and the other is booze riddled. The only one that seems relatively sane is the lead singer. He already moved on to greener pastures and has a family of his own.” I could see that I had his undivided attention and his dark and mysterious eyes were practically glued to every word that I was saying.
“I can’t even imagine what that’s like. I’m sorry that you have to go through something like that. Being young has its own pitfalls. There are those that actually live sheltered away from this kind of dysfunction. They don’t recognize what’s going on around them and they can’t believe that somebody can have a family that is not as loving as theirs. The day that they take the blinders off is the day that they realize that their sheltered existence has been shattered.” I sat back and I breathed deeply knowing that we were getting closer to our final destination.
“My mother gave me away to my grandmother and then when I was old enough she made sure to tell me that I wasn’t wanted. I was perfectly fine with that, until this past week. I realized that my funds had dwindled down to nothing. It’s one thing to abandon me, but it’s another to leave me to fend for myself. I will not stand for that and she’s about to learn that this girl has teeth.” I got a solemn nod and then we pulled into this cul-de-sac that was a little too perfect for my liking.
He dropped me off at the curb of this house that was a wall of windows on the front. I gave him a healthy tip and then he drove off after becoming something of a sounding board for my problems. I walked up the driveway with the knees cut out of my jeans. The house was pretty much secluded at the end of the road. There was a small lake in back and I could see what appeared to be a couple of kayaks lying on the grass.