Loving Raylynn

by C. R. Marcum

  Loving Raylynn

  Mistakes Were Made Book One

  C.R. Marcum

  Copyright © 2021 C.R. Marcum

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  ISBN-13: 9781234567890

  ISBN-10: 1477123456

  Cover design by: Art Painter

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309

  Printed in the United States of America

  This book is dedicated to my loving family. Without your support this book would have been forgotten long ago. Also to my best friend and only lobster Amber, Thank you for all the phone calls and ideas. Without you I never would have taken the leap to begin with.

  “Mistakes are the growing pains of wisdom.”

  William Jordan

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  6.

  7.

  8.

  9.

  10.

  11.

  12.

  13.

  14.

  15.

  16.

  17.

  18.

  19.

  20.

  21.

  22.

  23.

  Afterword

  About The Author

  1.

  Raylynn Cooper sat quietly and stared out at the passing clouds. Her music so loud in her ears that she barely heard the captain make his announcement.

  “This is your captain speaking; we will be reaching LAX in approximately three hours and fifty-four minutes. Please sit back and enjoy your flight.”

  Raylynn was on her way to Marina Del Rey, California to live with her Aunt Katrina and her Uncle Richard. She should feel happy considering the hell hole she was leaving behind in Chicago, but all she could feel was emptiness. She reached into her carryon bag and grabbed one of the pills. She downed it dry and laid her head back on the seat and closed her eyes. Raylynn hadn’t been able to sleep without medication in years, but this was different. The nightmares were horrible, and she had no one to talk to about them. The only part of this move that gave Raylynn a glimmer of happiness was the fact that she and her cousin Paisley would finally get to see each other again.

  Raylynn and Paisley were inseparable when they were younger. Paisley spent every summer with Raylynn from the time they were eleven until they were fifteen. The last few years Paisley stayed home over break. She and Paisley still talked almost every day, but it still wasn’t the same. Raylynn felt a tingle of excitement at the thought of spending some time with her. She just wished it were under better circumstances.

  As Raylynn laid, eyes closed, with the sounds of Avenge Me playing loudly in her ears, she thought back to the moment she lost everything she knew, her home, her mom, her dad, her life. Everything changed in one single moment. All she could see was blood and chaos. Raylynn opened her eyes almost as quickly as she closed them. She couldn’t bring herself to think about that day. Instead of sleeping, Raylynn grabbed the book she was currently devouring and started reading.

  The flight went quickly and before she knew it, Raylynn was stepping off the plane and walking toward her new life. She hoped that she and Paisley could pick up where they left off, but she knew deep down that it was not going to be that easy. She had changed in the last few years. She was no longer the happy-go-lucky girl that she had been. She had been through hell and back and it showed. Her thin frame was almost a whisper, and it was made more striking by the long black hair that fell just above the small of her back. Her deep brown eyes had seen too much in her seventeen years. She was no longer innocent; she hadn’t been for a while. Her home life stole that from her.

  Raylynn walked quickly towards the baggage claim to retrieve her one and only suitcase. Everything she cherished fit in one bag. After grabbing it, Raylynn headed towards the pickup area of LAX to wait for Paisley to show up. Raylynn found a bench and sat down, headphones still blaring in her ears, and waited for her cousin.

  A few minutes passed and Raylynn’s phone rang. She looked at the screen and saw that it was Paisley. She answered immediately.

  “Hey, where are you?” she asked as she scanned the area.

  “I’m at the baggage claim, where are you?” Paisley answered in her typical bubbly voice.

  Raylynn couldn’t help but smile.

  “I’m outside by the pickup area; I’ve been waiting for like ten minutes. I thought you forgot about me.” she said.

  “Never, you know that.” Paisley teased, “I’m on my way up, and I’m parked close to there anyway.”

  “Alright, hurry, people are staring at me, and I’m not sure I like it.” Raylynn said as she gave a woman walking by a dirty look.

  Paisley giggled and hung up. Raylynn stood and grabbed her bags while scanning the people for Paisley. Not but ten seconds later, she came walking out looking like a model, her blonde hair falling in perfect waves over her shoulder. Raylynn stood silently staring at her perfect cousin. At 5’5” Paisley had perfect curves and her hazel eyes were the perfect mix of all the colors. She was so well put together that Raylynn felt a twinge of jealousy.

  “Pais, over here.” Raylynn shouted almost too loudly.

  It only took a second for Paisley to spot Raylynn and head over, but in that second Raylynn could see the shock that came over Paisley. She had changed, she now stood at 5’6” and had developed her own curves, but they looked out of place on her thin frame. Raylynn did her best to hide her body, but with curves like hers, it wasn’t easy. Her baggy black t-shirt still managed to hug her breasts, and she hated it.

  “Hey there you are Coop! I have missed you so much.” Paisley exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Raylynn.

  Raylynn smiled, Paisley was the only person to ever call her Coop.

  “I missed you too, but people are staring at us.” Raylynn said as she pulled away from Paisley. “Where did you park?” Raylynn asked.

  “Right this way, you are gonna shit when you see what Dad bought me for my birthday!” Paisley exclaimed

  They made their way through the onslaught of people towards Paisley’s brand-new white Denali.

  Seriously, what do I have to do to get something like this as a gift? Raylynn thought as she put her bags in the back of the beautiful SUV. She walked around to the passenger side and climbed in.

  “Isn’t it gorgeous? I absolutely love this car!” Paisley squealed.

  “It really is beautiful. Not gonna lie, I’m a little jealous, my car was a beat-up caviler that I had to share with my mom.” Raylynn said as she ran her hands over the leather.

  “Well, we can share my car! This is gonna be amazing, I’m so happy to have my bestie here with me. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I’ve missed having you around.” Paisley said with a smile.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re glad.” Raylynn said smiling. It felt odd to smile. She hadn’t done it in a while.

  “Of course I’m glad, we used to talk about living together all the time, now we get to, it’ll be like we’re sisters.”

  “Yeah.” Was all Raylynn could manage to say to that. The thought of having a normal life after what happened back home seemed impossible. Raylynn would not allow herself to get too comfortable here. There was always a ch
ance that once her Aunt and Uncle saw her that they would send her away. She was not the same girl she had been, and she didn’t look the part of a normal California girl. Her black hair was streaked with purple and her wardrobe consisted of black band T-shirts and jeans. She in no way looked like she belonged here.

  Raylynn and Paisley made the half hour trip, easily falling into conversation. Well, to be honest, Paisley did most of the talking while Raylynn fought the effect of the pill she took on the plane. When they pulled up in front of Paisley’s house, Raylynn had to take a moment to take it all in. The house was beautiful. The archway in the front reminded Raylynn of Italian architecture. It was the perfect image of the American Dream home.

  Paisley walked to the back of the SUV and grabbed Raylynn’s bag.

  “It’s nice huh?” Paisley asked as she walked up to where Raylynn was standing.

  “Nice isn’t the word I would use to describe this place.” Raylynn said in disbelief. She had never seen a house so beautiful.

  “Well, if you think the outside is nice, wait until you see the inside.” Paisley said as she grabbed Raylynn’s hand and pulled her up the walkway.

  “Dad, we’re home!” Paisley yelled once they cleared the doorstep.

  From the kitchen, Raylynn could hear shuffling papers and whispers. From around the corner her Aunt and Uncle appeared with smiles stretched across their faces. Her Uncle Richard’s smile looked genuine, while her Aunt Katrina looked like she’d rather stab her own eyes out than to look at Raylynn.

  “Raylynn, sweetheart, we are so glad to have you here. Our home is your home. Please, make yourself comfortable, you are completely safe here.” Aunt Katrina said almost too sweetly, as she looked up at her husband.

  “Yes, Raylynn, we want you to make this your home. You are family and you deserve to have a normal life. Please don’t hesitate to ask for anything you need.” Uncle Richard said in his stern but loving tone.

  “Thanks for letting me come here; I don’t know what would have happened had you said no.” Raylynn said stoically

  “Nonsense, you belong with family. Isn’t that right love?” Richard said turning to look at Katrina.

  “Of course, we could never have left you there to fend for yourself, you belong here. I’m just so sorry that my sister did something so horrible, it must have been so hard on you to see that.” Katrina said with a shake of her head.

  Raylynn felt that all too familiar stab of pain at the mention of that night. She pushed the images away and stared at her Aunt.

  “Yeah, it really sucked, but here I am, safe and sound.” Raylynn said with more contempt than she meant.

  “Well, dinner is in an hour, why don’t you go get settled and cleaned up, and we will catch up then.” Katrina said.

  “Yeah, sounds good.” Raylynn answered as she turned towards the staircase.

  “Come on, I’ll show you your room.” Paisley said smiling as she led the way upstairs.

  “This is your room, mine is next door, and Katrina and Dad’s room is downstairs. So we basically have this whole floor to ourselves. We can go shopping later, to get stuff for your room and for school. We already got you registered so you can start right on time.” Paisley said happily.

  Raylynn surveyed the room. There was a huge four poster bed positioned under the window. A small desk with a new Mac Book sat on the opposite wall. There was a huge TV mounted to the wall directly across from the bed right above a huge mahogany dresser. Even with all of the furniture in the room there was still more room than any one person could need. Raylynn felt a bit overwhelmed by everything she had seen, and the pill she had taken on the plane was getting harder and harder to fight.

  “Um, yeah, I almost forgot that school starts on Monday. I guess we could go shopping for some stuff tomorrow. I still have some money that I saved up.” Raylynn said a little embarrassed by the fact that she had to save up her money.

  “No silly, I’ve got you covered. I mean I would have decorated your room for you, but I figured we could do it together.”

  “Um, okay. That sounds good I guess.” Raylynn said quietly.

  “Okay, well I will let you get cleaned up and settled in. I’ll see you in a little bit.” Paisley said as she turned and left the room.

  “Yeah, this is gonna be great.” Raylynn whispered to herself as she curled up on the bed and let the pill take over.

  2.

  The next few days flew by. Paisley insisted that they go shopping for new clothes and almost had a heart attack when Raylynn pulled her into the Alternative clothes store. Raylynn left with more band tees and more black leggings than any one person needs. She was able to talk Paisley into getting a chunky bracelet that matched her own. The girls fell into a rhythm again. Raylynn was comfortable around Paisley. She didn’t have to pretend that she was okay, because around Paisley, she was. It wasn’t until she was alone at night that the memories came flooding back with the force of a tsunami.

  Monday came fast and when the alarm started buzzing at 6:45 Raylynn smacked it hard. She forced herself to get up and grab her clothes, even though she knew that today was going to suck. She trudged to the bathroom to take a quick shower. She stood in the scalding water for what seemed like forever before she washed and got out. She decided to wear her new Avenge Me t-shirt that fit a bit tighter than she expected and a pair of black skinny jeans. As she looked in the mirror and brushed out her hair she decided that at least today, she might as well throw on some makeup. She quickly applied her black eyeliner and mascara and threw on a little chap stick for good measure. Standing straight and looking closely, she could almost see the girl she had been back home. With a sigh, she adjusted her nose ring to the proper position and headed to her room to grab her Vans. By the time she had gotten dressed and headed downstairs she could hear Paisley arguing with Katrina.

  “Yes, this is what I plan to wear, why, what’s wrong with it?” Paisley asked sounding hurt.

  “Nothing, I just don’t think that you are going to come across in the right way. Not to be mean, but you’re a little too large to wear such form fitting clothing. I just don’t want you to be attacked for it, that’s all.” Katrina said.

  The sound of Katrina’s voice made Raylynn’s skin crawl. Her aunt had always been a bitch, but this was ridiculous. Paisley weighed all of a hundred pounds and was as far from large as anyone could get. Raylynn looked around the corner and saw that Paisley was wearing the most beautiful blue tank that hugged her in all the right places, and a pair of skinny jeans that made her ass look amazing. Her hair was pinned up in the most intricate braided bun with small tendrils that hung by the side of her face. Her makeup was done to perfection and all put together she looked like she was on her way to a photo shoot, not high school. Raylynn came around the corner and stepped into the kitchen.

  “I think you look amazing Pais, really.” Raylynn said as she rounded the corner to the kitchen. “I wish I looked like that.” She threw in with a wink.

  Katrina stood stock still and stared at Raylynn. The look on her face was one of hatred and contempt, not love and caring.

  “Well, excuse me for trying to be honest and look out for my step-daughter. I’ll just excuse myself; I hope you two have a good day.” Katrina said before she stormed out of the kitchen.

  “Thanks for that. I don’t know why she hates me so much.” Paisley said with a thick voice.

  “Just being honest, I mean really, have you seen yourself?”

  “Me? Look at you, Coop you are a knockout.” Paisley said while fanning herself.

  It was easy to love Paisley, even back when they first met. They became inseparable in a matter of hours, which is no small feat for two eleven year olds.

  “Yeah right, I think you may have poor vision, you should probably get that checked.” Raylynn joked as she poured herself a huge coffee to go.

  “No, seriously. You have this whole mysterious rocker chick vibe going on, it’s kinda hot.” Paisley joked back.

&nb
sp; “Yeah, okay. Anyway, are we gonna just stand here and give each other compliments, or are we gonna go get this day over with?” Raylynn asked as she shouldered her bag.

  “How’s my hair?” Paisley asked as they walked towards the front door.

  “Its fine, can we go now?”

  “Just fine?”

  “OMG, it’s perfect, can we please go now?” Raylynn asked exasperated.

  Paisley giggled and grabbed her bag and keys smiling at Raylynn as they walked out the door.

  The drive to school lasted only ten minutes and Raylynn couldn’t wait to get out of the car. Paisley had not shut up since they got in. Raylynn had heard all about the cheerleading tryouts that would be starting soon, and how hard it was to find the right eye shadow to match the top she was wearing, and about how excited she was to be in drama this semester. Raylynn was contemplating whether or not she should turn on the radio when Paisley whipped into the first free spot she came across.

  “Here we are, the first day of senior year, aren’t you excited, I mean, come on look at this place, it’s beautiful. Raylynn, you could at least pretend to be excited.” Paisley said in such a way that could only be described as word vomit.

  “YAY! There, happy now?” Raylynn said as she clapped her hands and plastered the biggest smile she could manage on her face.

  “Oh come on, it is exciting. Just think, we might meet our first loves here, oh…maybe even today!”

  “Ok, first off I’m not interested in love; secondly you realize its 7:30 in the morning, right?” Raylynn said as they started walking towards the entrance.

  “So, what does the time have to do with anything?” Paisley asked a little confused.

  “I’m just pointing out that nobody should be as happy as you are at 7:30. I haven’t even finished my coffee yet and you’re bouncing around like you downed three cups and two energy drinks.” Raylynn said before taking a big drink of said coffee.