Finding Me: Book 1: All I've Ever Wanted (A New Adult Romance Series) (22 page)

Chapter 12

Abigail found herself in a small plain room. The furniture had marks on it and some of the chairs had names carved into them. There were more than a few cigarette burns on the table. The whole thing smelled of hormonal stink.

She looked over to the sofa. Three teenagers sat looking at her. One slightly pimply girl with large breasts whispered something into the ear of the lanky redhead next to her. The third girl laughed. At the far end of the room was another girl who sat alone and played with her mousy blonde hair. The others seem to ignore her. Abigail walked over to a slightly torn fabric covered chair. It was across from the sofa and a bit out of the way.

'Hey bitch, who said you could sit?' Ella, the girl with pimples and large breasts started, staring at Abigail with a hardened face.

Abigail looked up to the source of the voice, met her gaze briefly and returned to staring at the floor.

'What? Cat got your tongue? Too good to talk to us? Well, maybe that weird bitch over there can show you how to use that tongue of yours!' Ella said, looking to the girl in the corner. The girl ignored the comment and continued playing with her hair.

Bella, the skinny redhead laughed. 'I wouldn't waste your breath on this one El. Look, the dumb skank has a little bunny rabbit!'

The other girl, Holly, looked over at Abigail too, 'How old is she? And still holding a stuffed animal? I bet this bitch wets her bed too.'

Abigail hugged the rabbit closer and kept her eyes towards the ground. A small disturbance from the hall betrayed Rebecca's coming and the girls on the sofa rose in unison.

'Come on, girls. Let's leave the sissy alone with the dyke. I bet they have a lot to talk about.' Ella and the three girls left the room upon Rebecca’s request, blowing Abigail a kiss before leaving with the rest of the troupe.

'See you real soon, princess.' Brenda said.

'You might want to keep more than that toy in your bed at night if you want to stay safe. If you know what I mean.' Holly added, waving at Abigail before leaving.

When the three had gone, Abigail pulled her knees up to her chest and tried to focus on her breathing. The girl in the corner kept playing with her hair and looked over at Abigail, but quickly turned her attention back to her hair and the floor. Rebecca entered the room and looked over at the two girls sitting in the room.

'There you are. Sorry, I was longer than I anticipated. I think most of the girls are out. I guess you'll meet them later. Ah, and Laura's here.’ Rebecca was always spinning things better than they were.

'Hey, Laura! Wake up, hun! Stop fiddling with your hair and say hello to Abigail here. She'll be staying with us for a bit.'

Laura Davis put her hair down for a second and walked over to Abigail. The two stared at each other.

'Come on, Laura! Remember what we discussed! Now, be nice'. Rebecca nudged her forward.

Laura's face contorted into a painful mimic of Rebecca's fake smile. 'Hi.' she said as she extended her hand to Abigail. Abi looked over at Rebecca and back at Laura —both of their smiles seemed to expose their teeth and gums. Rebecca had gingivitis.

'Hi.' Abigail finally managed to speak and shook Laura's hand.

'Now, isn't that wonderful? I bet you two will be the best of friends! Okay girls, let's go and see if we can find something to eat, shall we?'

Rebecca ushered the two girls out of the room. Her keys jangling in her hand as she walked.

'Sandwich okay? I think we have enough ham. We only have the brown bread left. I hope that is okay?'

The bread was brown and hard as cardboard. Abigail thought the bread was brown due to being left out too long.  The sandwich crunched with pieces of lettuce and a slightly sliced tomato. A few crisps were given to each girl and Rebecca even filled up two small cups with lemonade.

'Now, you both eat your sandwiches. And when you're done, Laura can show you what to do with the plates. You'll be in Linda's old room, Abigail. Everything will be laid out by the time you two are done. I have to get the rest of your paperwork ready for tomorrow.' Rebecca put the lid on the soda and placed it back into the fridge.

Laura took a bite out of her sandwich and waited for Rebecca to leave before talking to Abigail.

'So, what's your story?'

Abigail didn't respond, but continued to chew on her sandwich. After a couple of minutes, Abigail decided to break the silence. She sighed and responded quite seriously.

'There's not much to tell. I moved from home to home.  Pretty sure I won't be here too long. I'm never anywhere for too long.'

'How many homes have you been to?'

'Enough!' Abigail barked, hoping to find Laura shocked at her outburst but was surprised to see her stay totally calm.

Laura took another bite of her sandwich and washed it down with the soda.

'Why do you move around so much? Do you get in trouble?'

Abigail looked down at her plate and put her sandwich aside. She took a sip from her cup and then put her crisp into the lemonade.

'Same here' Laura answered for Abigail having figured she wasn’t ready to talk. She looked over at Abigail and smiled. This time, her smile wasn't the fake Rebecca clone, but something genuine.

'I don't like them much either. But this one's not been too bad, so I gave it a shot. I've been here for two years now. It isn't too bad. I've been in worse. Much worse. Besides, we don't have too long to stay here. Rebecca has been saying the government will shut this hole down soon. I hope that's true.'

Abigail put the soggy crisp into her mouth and sucked the soda out of it without saying a word.

Laura reached out and put her hand on Abigail's. 'You're probably the only one to understand what it's like to keep moving around like this. You aren't like the others.'

'What about the others?' Abigail was a bit taken back.  This girl seemed different. She was desperate for friendship as much as she was though she never showed hers.

'Bullies. The whole lot of them. Ella's the ring leader. Things weren't as bad before she came. Granted, Holly and Brenda can be really horrible too, but they never had the...well...they never had the ambition to be mean all the time. Ella on the other hand...' Laura's fingers clasped around Abigail's and started to squeeze.

Abigail could sense from Laura’s fidgeting that she wasn't ready to talk too much about the situation.

'And the older woman? The one with the fake smile?' Abigail asked, trying to satisfy her curiosity.

'That's Rebecca. She's all right. Her smile may be fake, but at least, she tries to be nice—fake or not. The others aren't so caring. The link workers here are hit and miss. And Fred..., don't let him near you. He'll touch you up.'

'Fred?'

'He delivers groceries and stuff. He wasn't much of a problem until Rebecca had to lay off more and more staff. Now he comes every week. He can get you anything. Well, that's what I heard Ella say to Holly. But he demands payment up front in an alternate fashion, if you know what I mean. A total creeper.'

Abigail held her rabbit closer. Laura noticed.

'What's with that though?' Laura nodded to the toy in Abigail's hand. Abigail paused, she wasn't sure how to respond.

‘Just something of mine.'

Dear Diary

I finally arrived Glencoe. Mr. Moss said I need to behave until at least my birthday. I'm so sick of these things. All of the moving in the world won't help. Nothing will help.

Nothing.

Not even you, diary. I know I am supposed to write in you every day, but I can't seem to get the energy sometimes.

I wish I were just back at home with Mamica and Pa.

I know I won't be back there again. I won't see them again. I can't even visit their grave. Not that I know where they are buried at.

I met a girl named Laura today. She seems cool.

I met a few idiots too. Maybe my dark luck will rub off on them? Finally, a group who might deserve it.

That's all for now, Diary.

Abi

Chapter 13

Both Abigail and Laura took a stroll on Glencoe grounds. It was Laura's idea to have Abigail explore the back garden with her. What struck Abigail first was the lack of greenery in the garden. It seemed to be just a collection of soil, the random cat turd, and small patches of crabgrass. In fact, the most abundant thing in the garden seemed to be patches of cigarette butts and used lager cans. Occasionally, used condoms could be seen.

Laura pulled out a cigarette and offered it to Abi, 'Want one?'

Abi shook her head, giving a silent no.

'Suit yourself.'

Laura took the cigarette and popped it into her mouth. She took out a small green Bic lighter and started to light the stick when she heard Ella's loud voice coming across the garden.

'Shit!' Laura almost squealed as she tried to hide her cigarette.

Ella and her posse walked over to Laura. She stopped right in front of Laura's face. Ella outweighed and was taller than Laura. She scrunched her nose in a way she thought made her look tough, but really just made her look like a rat.

'Give it!' Ella said.

'Give what?' Laura asked, feigning confusion.

'Give what? Do you hear what this cow just said? Like we're dumb or something. Are we dumb, Holly?'

Holly stepped next to Ella and shook her head, 'No. We’re not. I think little Miss-Too-Good is rubbing off on her.'

Brenda laughed. 'I bet she's rubbing off on her. I see they spend all their time together in their rooms. I wonder what they could be doing there, eh?'

'Probably being losers like they are every day.' Ella answered.

Abigail walked up towards Ella and stood close to her.

'Oh look, little Miss-Too-Good wants to protect her girlfriend!' Ella said.

Abi remained silent but didn't move from Laura's side.

'At least, we know what got your tongue now. It wasn't the cat, but another pussy!' Holly said.

'Here! Now leave us alone!' Laura slightly pleaded as she handed Ella the cigarette.

Ella took the cigarette and put it into her mouth. 'That's one for us, but it seems that my two friends here want one too. So hand over the rest!'

'No, don't...' Abigail exclaimed.

Ella turned and shoved Abigail to the ground. 'You picked the wrong time to talk, little Miss-Too-Good!'

'Don't hurt her! Here! Take them all! Just leave us alone!' Laura cried as she gave her pack over to Ella.

'About time you came to your senses, your cheeky cow.' Ella took the pack and handed it to Holly, then she slapped Laura hard across the cheek, 'That's for making me ask twice!'

Laura covered her face and could feel the burn of the slap. Ella's ring had cut her and a small line of blood came to meet her hand.

'Come on girls, let’s leave the lezzies to lick their wounds.' Ella took her group towards the far end of the grounds to enjoy their smokes.

'You okay?' asked Abigail as she got up and moved towards Laura, dusting herself off.

'Yeah, I'll be okay. But that was my last flipping pack!

'Ignore it, just get another! I'll lend you some money if you need.'

'No thanks. Not going through that again.' Laura said.

'Just be more careful next time, Ella won't even know...'

'Don't care about Ella. She's just a mean bitch.' Laura's eyes rolled in the fashion of someone reluctantly making an unsolicited confession. 'I mean, not going through getting them again. Can't stand his bloody hands all over. Creeps me out'

'What do you? ….Oh. Sorry.' Now Abigail understood.

'Come on, let’s get back inside. I'm not sure why I took you out to see this shithole anyway.' Laura said.

The two girls started back towards the house with Laura heading in first, nursing a reddened cheek. Abi then paused, looked over at the group of bullies and gave them the finger. When she turned to follow Laura, a rock by a clump of crabgrass wobbled and then began to spin. Within moments, it launched itself and flew through the air striking Ella on the head. It hit her hard, leaving a gash above her brow and soon began to bleed.

'Shit! Aww!' Ella exclaimed as she grabbed her head.

'Why. What happened?' Holly asked, charging forward towards Ella.

Ella looked across the garden to the door in time to see Abigail move into the house. The rock had come from her direction; Ella was sure of it.

'I'll tell you what happened! That new skank and her lezzie friend is what! Oh, they're going to get it. They are so gonna get it!

Dear Diary

It's me again. Did you miss me, Diary? I didn't miss you. I've been busy with my new friend Laura. She's really great. The only thing that keeps me in this hell-hole. The others, well they are just little mean twats.

The ring leader, Ella, is a really nasty one. I think she’s lying about her age because nobody can be that big and nasty and still be young enough to live here. Even in a dump like Glencoe, they need to have some sort of rules.

Rebecca turned out to be a useless cow too. She knows the abuse is happening but does nothing about it. She puts on that fake smile and thinks everything will be okay.

It won't be.

I know it won't be. You know it won't be. I think it started already. That bitch Ella blames me for cutting her head. Like I could throw a rock that far and hit her let alone make her get stitches like that. She had to tell Rebecca she fell off the pavement.

I wish she would have just said I threw it at her like she tells her girls. Then I'd be gone from this place. But that would mean Laura would be alone. I don't want that to happen. She's the only good thing that has ever happened in my life. I'll never leave her.

Bye Diary!

Abi