C I N: "Lynn, Lynn, the city of sin. You never come out the way you went in." (The C I N Series) (5 page)

      
“I guess I will see you tomorrow.” Michael smiled. “Millie wants me to introduce you to Donna Denning. She is going to be your dorm mate in another week.”

      
I followed Alex back to his house. He left the front door wide open for me but did not linger in the living room. “Are you going to bed?” I asked.

Alex stopped abruptly in the middle of the hallway as if he were waiting for me to speak.

I took a deep breath, “I heard someone in the woods say to me ‘hurry on home’ right before it started to rain. Do you know who that might have been?”

      
Alex slammed his bedroom door. I sat on one of the loveseats in the living room and clasped my hands together. I’d forgotten my box at Millie’s house. I didn’t see Alex lock her door. Maybe I could go grab it real quick. It had my family heirloom inside. Well, my photograph anyway. “Come on, Pig,” I whistled. He crawled out from under the sofa. “We’re going on a secret mission and you can’t tell Alex.”

      
“Can’t tell Alex what?”

      
I twirled around. Ally stood in the hall with her hand against the wooden framework. She’d tied her hair up in a pony tail. I grabbed my chest. What was it with these two? They showed up everywhere like sneaky little—

      
“Can’t tell Alex what?”
     

“I left my box next door and I-I just wanted to go get it.”

“I brought that over for you already. There was some old flimsy photo in the box so I put it in a frame on the shelf in your room. Are those two your parents?”

I thought Ally was the enemy? Why was she asking me personal questions? I nodded. “That is a picture of my mom and dad before I was conceived.”

They were in love back then.
Should I tell Ally this? Did she know what love was? Were her parents in love? Had she ever been in love?

“Well, it’s on the shelf for you.” She turned abruptly.

“Ally.”

She let out a long sigh but turned to face me. She looked irritated and antsy to get back to whatever it was she’d been doing.

“Who are those people in the handcrafted frames? Are they older relatives of yours? I mean, they look just like you and Alex.”

“Mind your own business, Lisa.” She sauntered out into the living room and took a seat on the opposite sofa. I stuffed my hands under my butt so that she couldn’t see them tremble.

“I just thought—”

“Don’t think, Lisa, stop trying to make Alex and me into some exciting mystery for you to solve. You
will
be disappointed.” She crossed her legs and picked at her fingernails. Hers were perfectly manicured. Not like her brothers or like mine. There was dirt in my nails and the nail polish I wore had chipped. I wonder if Millie would get mad if she found out about my little incident at the food mart. Would she expect me to treat Ally well, too? I took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry I made faces at you at the grocery store. I was just playing around. I saw you staring at me and thought it would be funny.” I tapped my feet against the floor boards. She did not look up.

“What did you do to my dog? He hates me now.” Ally narrowed her eyes at me the same way Alex did. “You’ve turned him against me. And also my brother; who are you, Lisa Brown?”

“Millie’s niece,” I replied. Ally sent chills down my back. I needed to try and get a long with her. I’d have to live with her at school and next door as long as I was here. Peace. I needed to find some way to bring peace; a treaty of some sort. “Ally, what can I do to make you dislike me a little less?”

“Go home.” She answered. She leaned forward with a sly smile on her face. “But that’s impossible, right?”

I wanted to slug her. Ally was down right mean. “I-I think I will go to bed now.”

“Stay, we were just getting to know each other. Besides it’s too early for bed. We didn’t even have dinner yet.”

I wiped the tears that threatened to spill. “I’m afraid I don’t want to learn anything else about you. Goodnight, Ally.”

Pig followed me into the room. When he entered, I slammed the door shut. Ally was pure evil and I
hated
her.

Six
Becoming Vegetarian

A few hours later, Aunt Millie pounded on my door. “Lisa, come out for dinner.” I swallowed. If she made chicken—

“I’ll be right out,” I shouted. “Pig, where are you?” He snorted from on the high shelf. “How do you get up there?” I shook my head. It really didn’t matter how he managed to climb so high. He was like a miniature mountain goat.

Pig jumped down and I finally spotted the new photo frame. It was carved wood with sea shells and starfish glued to its corners. The frame was beautiful and very unique. My mother and father fit well in between. But a photo frame didn’t change the vile things Ally had said. She could give me whatever she wanted but it wouldn’t make me like her. Still, it was a nice gesture.

“Lisa, are you coming?” Aunt Millie asked, tapping my door lightly.

“Yes ma’am.” I put the picture back on the shelf and hurried to the table. There were two place settings only. Ally and Alex weren’t going to join us, I was sure of it. Why would they? That would be polite and they were the epitome of rude.

“Alex and Ally eat in their rooms.” Millie placed a bowl of steamed vegetables on the table. She cut some French bread and put that down, too.

“Millie, where is my place setting?” Alex asked. I turned sideways to get a better look. Alex stood in the hallway with a pained expression on his face; almost like he was forcing himself to eat with us.

“I didn’t think you’d be joining us,” she exclaimed, nearly dropping the butter. “Sit down and I will get you a plate and utensils. You can cut the chicken.”

“I suppose I might as well be social,” Ally sighed. My eyes bulged. Not her, too. I could handle Alex and his rude remarks but Ally—

“Where is the Rat? She’s late for dinner.” Ally opened the front door.

The cat raced inside and jumped up onto Aunt Millie’s chair. She put her front paws on the table.

“She eats at the table like a human?” I laughed. “That’s interesting.”

Alex frowned.

“Does she use a fork and knife?” I tried to hide my smile but it was too funny. Aunt Millie cut up little thin strips of chicken and placed it in a dish that said “meow”.

“Here you go, Rat.” Millie placed her cat bowl on the table. Rat bit into the meat. Ally sat down across the table from me and smiled. I pretended not to notice. I focused all my attention on Rat. She certainly acted like a normal cat. I hadn’t seen her attack anyone or act crazy. Cats were independent, right?

Alex came out of the kitchen with the carved chicken and placed it in the center of the table. He chuckled when he sat down next to me. “Are you hungry?” I didn’t respond. He’d seen me throw up. How could they expect that I would want to eat something that I fed? They were almost like their pets, weren’t they?

“Aunt Millie, aren’t you going to sit down?” She stood in the kitchen wearing an apron with apples printed on its pockets. She shook her head and went outside. “Where is she going?”

Alex grabbed the plate of chicken and picked out all the dark meat. He handed it to Ally who took half a breast. “She isn’t going to eat the meat.” Alex laughed, stuffing chicken into his mouth. “She thinks I’m a murderer.”

Ally found this information amusing. She stared at me with her almond shaped eyes. “Are you one of those overly emotional types?”

“Where did Aunt Millie go?” If Alex or Ally didn’t feel the need to answer my question then I most certainly wasn’t going to answer any of theirs. “Is she okay? Should I go check on her?”

“No, leave her alone.” Alex ordered. He shoved the steamed vegetables towards me.

Rat jumped down and stretched out on the sofa furthest from the table. “The cat doesn’t seem all that bad. She just does her own thing.”

Alex’s fork dropped. He narrowed his eyes at me and took a deep breath. “For some reason the animals do not mind being near you. Be weary; they cannot be trusted; especially the cat.”

“Well, maybe they just need to be socialized properly. Animals are afraid of people if they’re not used to being around them. Maybe we could take Pig to a doggie park.”

Ally burst into laughter. “I see now why everyone tolerates you so well.” She shook her head, still laughing. “Millie is going to be humiliated when school starts and she has to introduce you as her niece.”

“That’s enough,” Alex growled.

I pushed myself away from the table.

“Where do you think you are going?” He snapped. I ignored him and hurried to the front door.

“I wouldn’t go out there if I were you,” Ally said. She covered her mouth with her hand.

Alex stood and pointed at me. “Where are you going?”

I didn’t answer.

I opened the front door and stepped outside. Within an instant, the sky rumbled and lightning flashed.
 
My cheeks burned with anger. Ally was out to get me. I could see why the kids at C I N called her a Nazi. She cared for only one person and that was herself. She looked down on me as if I were a lower life form.

“Come inside before you are struck by lightning.” Alex stood next to me. I was really getting sick of him sneaking up on me constantly. He just appeared whenever he wanted. It was frustrating.

“Would you please leave me alone? When you want to be left alone I don’t bother you, do I?”

Alex blinked. His eyes softened and he closed the front door. Pig scratched at the door and barked. I didn’t let him outside with me. He didn’t need to get wet. It was ridiculous how much it rained here in Lynn.
 
It set the mood for sure. The thunder was Alex, angry but controlled, and the lightning was Ally all the way; beautiful on the outside but if you got too close she’d burn you. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with.

Lightning bolted across the sky in zigzag patterns.

I sat down on the porch swing and pushed with my feet. I swayed, listening to the pitter patter of the rain.
 

Thunder rumbled through the sky like a locomotive derailing and tumbling into a metal wall. Lightning struck a tree just a few feet away. It was as if an ax chopped it, splitting the tree in two. Electrical lines broke and flicked in the dark sky, lighting it up like sparklers.

I jumped. My heart beat furiously. I could hardly stand. “Will you please come in the house?” Alex insisted. I nodded my head and raced back inside. I shivered from the rain and took a deep breath trying to calm myself. That could’ve been me. Imagine if the lightning had struck two feet closer? I’d be a shish-ka-bob. Ally would love that.

“Sit down.” He pulled out my chair and I sat while he pushed me in closer to the dinner table. He sat back down next to me and handed me the French bread. “We never have guests over. Please pardon our eccentricities.”

“Are you speaking to me simply because I am here invading your privacy?” I ripped the bread into tiny pieces. I was slowly becoming less and less hungry.

“I only talk when I want to. You’re a very mixed up girl. You feel one thing but say another.”

“I try to have a positive outlook. If you pretend to be happy then odds are, you will become happy.”

“Do you really believe that?” He got up and went to the fridge. “Your eyes tell a different story.” He returned with a roast beef and Swiss cheese sandwich. “I made you a sandwich. You’re going to starve to death if you refuse to eat chicken.”

I took the sandwich and tried my best not to lose control. Hunger pains invaded my stomach. I hadn’t realized just how famished I was till just then.

“To answer your question, I
want
to believe only the good but that doesn’t mean that I do not doubt or question things.”

Ally came back out and sprawled across the empty loveseat. She kicked her foot uneasily. “Alex, why is it still raining?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“I guess the lightning keeps Lisa in the house, doesn’t it? I think I’ll stay home tonight.” She yawned, stretching her arms above her head. “That means Lisa will have to share her bed.”

I gulped.

Nazi was going to sleep in my room? Why?! Where had she been so far? What room was she always sneaking off into? Was the other room her parents’ room? Where was Aunt Millie? Was she always missing at night?

“I think the bed is too small for two persons. I can’t guarantee that I will not accidentally touch you in the middle of the night while I sleep.” That ought to scare Ally a little. Didn’t this family hate touching? She’d be horrified at the thought. Ha, ha, ha, Ally, you evil witch.

“I don’t care if you touch me. It’s Alex who has a problem, not me.”

I was doomed. Would Millie let me share a room with her? Maybe I could sleep on the couch or even at Aunt Millie’s house. Millie wasn’t here so what would be the difference with me going and staying at her place? Why did I have to stay with the freaks?

“Maybe I should sleep on the couch and let you take the room. That way I don’t get in your way.”

“You’re always in my way, Lisa Brown. You’re like a big mole that isn’t going to go away. I might as well get used to you. Besides, I’ve never spoken to a person of average intellect before. Your philosophies are quite amusing. I now understand why fantasy novels are popular; for people like you.”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t put me down. It makes it very hard to respect you.” I pushed myself away from the table. “I’m going to find Aunt Millie and see if she will allow me to stay at her place. I see I am not welcome in this house.”

Alex stood up, walked across the room and barricaded the front door. “Millie will not allow you in her house at night. No one goes there after dark.”

I got goose bumps all over my arms.

Ally sighed, rolling her eyes; she took off her shoes and flung them at the cat. Rat arched her back and hissed. “Shut up, Rat. Get out of here, you are getting on my nerves, you stupid cat!”

Rat jumped down with her back still arched. She backed away from Ally slowly before racing down the hall.

Pig crawled out from under the table and sat at my feet. He growled lightly. Ally leaned forward. “Don’t worry Pig. I’m not going to throw anything at Lisa.”

“Ally,” Alex began, “Clear the table.”

“I’ll do it.” I offered. He frowned.

“Lisa, you sit and eat your stupid sandwich.” He inched away from the door and disappeared down the hall.

Ally groaned loudly. She stomped dramatically towards the dining table. She made sure to slam the dishes onto the kitchen counter and to bang anything that could possibly be banged.

I couldn’t wait until Michael came back to get me. I was going to get a chance to meet Donna, my future dorm mate. Millie said she was nice and Michael didn’t have any horror stories to tell concerning her. I’d do anything to get out of this house and away from Alex and Ally. Maybe Donna had some make-up I could borrow. I hoped she liked slumber parties and movies. Movies were my biggest vice. What about the boys at C I N? It would be nice to have a girlfriend to go to the parties with who could give me the dirty details on all the available bachelors. I really missed my friends back home. I’d never been around such cruelty before from someone. Ally wasn’t the ideal housemate. Could you imagine getting stuck with someone like her in college? Oh, man, that would be a nightmare!

“What are you thinking about?” Ally stood inches from my face. “Hello in there!” She waved her hand in front of my face.

“I was wondering what Donna Denning was like.” I answered, getting up from the table. “I was hoping she and I could be good friends.”

“What is it with people always wanting a best friend?” Ally placed her hands on her hips. “I mean, think about how few actually stay best friends; only a handful. Some people end up with a new best friend every school year. It’s pointless to share all your secrets with someone.”