by J. N. Pack
Chapter 1
“I can’t believe we have to move.” Harley whines shoving things in her bag.
“Whining ain’t going to make it any better. The quicker we get this crap packed, the sooner we can get on the road.” I say.
“Did he even give you gas money or money for food? Or anything?” Harley askes.
“He did. Probably not enough, but I have some money put back. We’ll be okay.” I say trying to sound confident.
Hanna pops in from the hallway at that moment, “How far is it? Will it take a long time to get there?”
I try to avoid that question because they will not be happy at all.
“Harlow?” Harley asked suspiciously, “How far?”
I drop my bag I’ve been trying to pack for the past two hours, “ I will tell you if you promise to stop whining.”
Harley and Hanna both nod looking slightly hopeful.
“Fine. It’s 528.3 miles from here to Anniston. It will take us right at eight hours to get there.” I say.
They both immediately start whining. Hanna throws herself back on Harley’s old bed and throws her hands over her face dramatically, “That’s gonna take forever!”
“This isn’t helping. When we get everything packed in the car we will sleep on pallets and leave at five am. We should be there about one pm. You guys can sleep, I have to drive so I’m not listening to you guys whine all night!” I whine.
They ignore me and instead start complaining to each other. Luckily they are still making progress packing their belongings. We don’t have much so what we do have will fit in the trunk of my Nova.
“Tell me again why he’s not here to help?” Harley askes.
Without missing a beat Hanna groans, “Because he’s an asshole!”
Harley snorts and starts giggling while my eye twitches. She’s not wrong, but I should say something about her language…. Fuck it, I’ll pick my fights.
“He’s not here because he is supposed to already be there getting us registered for school and getting the keys from the landlord.” I groan. “Do you honestly want him here anyways? He’s probably drunk. That’s never good for any of us.” They didn’t respond they knew that it wouldn’t be good, not so much for them, but definitely for me. He tends to get drunk and blame me for all his life misfortunes. I grab my bag and skateboard and walk to my car. It’s dark out and the air is cool. I pop my trunk and toss my stuff in. I don’t own anything valuable except my car so I’m not too worried about breaking anything. This whole moving thing is turning into a shit storm. I hate that Harley and Hanna have to leave their friends. I hate leaving and not knowing if Dad has fucked us again. I’d hate for them to have to sleep in my car because he didn’t follow through. I guess all we can do is wait and see and pray.
Harley pops out of the house behind me as I take the first drag off of the first cigarette I’ve had in six months. “Thought you quit?” she questions.
“Yea well, shit happens!” I tell her.
She tosses her stuff in the trunk on top of mine. “You know we could probably strike a match and burn the house down and people would think we were dead. Harlan wouldn’t give two shits.”
“Yea we probably could, but then you me nor Hanna Banana would have an education. Or anything else for that matter.” I say.
“O so you mean like now.” She smarts.
“Pretty much, but at least if I can get you two to graduate, y'all will have some sort of future. Better than this shit.” I say taking the last drag of the cigarette and tossing the butt in Mrs. Haltman’s yard.
“Better be glad we’re moving. That old hag hates when she has to pick up cigarette butts from her yard.” She says giggling.
I laugh and say, “A going away present!”
We both laugh as we go inside to shower and call it a night.
Five am the next morning comes way too fast. I felt like I had just fallen asleep. Waking Harley up was hell and Hanna was like a zombie. Harley stayed up for the first thirty minutes of the trip, but after that she crawled into the backseat and curled up beside Hanna who was knocked out. I wish I could sleep, but I will be damned if Harley is driving my baby. She drives like a maniac. No way in hell. So it’s just me, the radio and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. Well more sugar and creamer than coffee, but still lots and lots of coffee. Three hours into the trip and my eyes literally feel like they are floating. I make that my first stop and top the tank with gas and wake the girls.
“Last chance to use the bathroom for a while.” I say.
They both groan and try to fall back asleep.
“Get the fuck up!!!!” I growl.
They finally climb out of the car grumbling and make way to the restroom. I finish filling the tank and head in the store.
I grab some pop and junk food and wait for Harley and Hanna. When they walk out of the restroom, I tell them to grab some snacks. They each fill their arms with enough junk to last a month and enough pop to last at least a week. We toss it all on the counter and the cashier smiles sweetly. “Where you girls heading?” she asks.
I don’t generally speak to people I don’t know and she was the best definition of a stranger. Harley pipes up smiling brightly, “We are moving to Anniston, Alabama. Our Dad left three days ago to get us registered in school and to meet the landlord.”
She frowns at me, but smiles sweetly at Harley and Hanna, “That’s sweet. Bless yalls hearts, y'all have a long trip ahead of you.”
Hanna notices the tension I am feeling and takes my hand. I look at her and she just smiles. The lady smiles and says, “That’ll be $37.98.” I dig the money out of my pocket and hand her the money. She counts out the change and says, “You girls be careful and good luck with your move.”
Harley and Hanna smile sweetly and we turn and head back to the car. “Geeezzz Harlow, it was just an old lady. You could've smiled or said hi or something!” Harley growls.
“Whatever.” I grumble.
The rest of the trip is anything but quiet. Hanna and Harley belt out to nearly every song on the radio singing at the top of their lungs.
The last hour of the trip was pure hell. Harley started irritating the shit out of me to drive and she didn’t let up the rest of the trip.
Chapter 2
When we pull into Anniston I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. This place was trouble. Big fuckin’ trouble. Where the fuck has Dad moved us? The feeling amplifies as we pull onto the street we live on. Harley and Hanna had gotten quiet and were staring out the window.
Hanna whispers, “We’re in the fuckin’ ghetto!”
Harley giggles and says, “We sure are!”
I glance at Harley and tell her, “Do not encourage her! It’s bad enough you curse like a sailor. Hanna Grace watch your mouth!”
“What’d I say?” she says innocently.
I ignore her and look for the number to the house we are moving in.
Harley busts out laughing and says, “Two thirteen right?” I nod and she says, “It’s an even bigger piece of shit than before. Somebody left their undies on the line.”
There is a clothes line hung across the front yard and sure enough there are mens tighty whiteys and women’s lingerie hanging on the line. What the fuck? This place was shit. Quiet literally shit! The rails on the front porch looked like they were barely hanging on. The paints chipping everywhere. The backyard is fenced in with a privacy fence, but there is definitely no privacy there. It is barely standing and has holes all in the fence. It’s shit. Hopefully the inside is better than the outside. I pull in the drive and Hanna and Harley snatch the clothes line down and throw it along with the clothes in the neighbor’s
trash out front of their house. I call Dad and of course I get his voicemail. Hopefully it’s unlocked. I call the landlord and she said he had gotten the key from her earlier in the week. Sooo the jackass got the key and never even came to the house. The porch light was on so that was a plus. That meant he had gotten the electricity turned on. Now we just have to get in the damn house. I was not sleeping in the car and I wasn’t making the girls either. “Harley think you can get in?” I ask.
She laughs and says, “Piece of cake.”
She checks the doors and then squats pulling a bobby pin from her hair, using it to unlock the door.
When we walk inside its smells musky. Harley and Hanna make quick of opening windows to air it out. It was definitely out dated. It had furniture and it would be okay to use when I sprayed it down with 409 and scrubbed it clean. A couple of throws and it’d be fine. The house was okay on the inside, but it need a deep deep cleaning.
A trip to the dollar store and three hours of cleaning and it smells like bleach and lysol. We start closing the windows and turn the AC on. Of course Harley sets it at freeze your balls off and when she turns her back I adjust it knowing we can’t afford the electric bill if it stayed that low. I find the sheets and blankets in a linen closet and we set out making the beds in the rooms. There were four rooms which was a plus because none of us liked sharing. Once that was done we head out to Black Betty and start unloading our shit. Everything is dropped to the pavement driveway and Harley and I start messing around on our skateboards in the drive. Harley does an ollie and of course I had to one up her and do a kickflip. We were always trying to outdo each other.
“Hmmmm...Ollie was definitely better than your fliptrick.” someone said. My head snaps up to the two guys standing just on the other side of the fence to the right of our house.
Harley was definitely checking them out and I just wanted them to go away. I ignore them. Harley says, “Thanks.”
“You guys moving in here?” one of the guys ask and Hanna says, “Yep.”
“Kind of a piece of shit don’t you think?” The other guy asks.
Harley laughs and says, “That’s an understatement.”
They both look stare at me for a second. “She doesn't talk much does she?” One of the guys ask.
Harley smirks and says, “That's my oldest sister Harlow and she talks when she has something to say.”
They both smile at my expense. I could choke my sister for making fun of me.
“And you are?” The bulky guy askes.
Harley smiles and says, “I’m Harley and that's my little sister Hanna.”
The bulky guy says, “I’m Moose and this is Cass. I live over there and Cass and Axel live here.”
Of course Harley keeps the conversation going, “Cass like Cassinova?” she says with a smirk.
The big guy laughs and says, “No like Cassius, but that’s a good one.”
Hanna pipes up, “Who’s Axel?”
Cass smiles and says, “He’s my big brother. He’s helping my mom right now.”
Hanna seems disappointed and says, “Oooo.”
A new voice joins the conversation, “Sweet ride. Who’s car?”
Harley says, “That’s Black Betty my sisters car.”
“Sweet can I look under the hood?” his deep voice asks.
“No!” I say.
They all look at me like I had grown an extra head.
“That’s her baby! She don’t let nobody touch it.” Harley says.
Moose says, “This is Harley and Hanna. The quiet one is Harlow.”
The new guy cocks his eyebrow and says, “Mom and Dad had a thing for H’s huh?”
“Who are you?” I ask.
Harley and Hanna both look at me with their mouth hanging open.
He holds his hand out and says, “I’m Axel.” I ignore his hand and say, “Good for you! Come on girls we got shit to do.”
Harley grumbles, “Rude much, Harlow!”
Hanna giggles and says, “Bye!”
Chapter 3
“Harlow, That was rude. They are our neighbors.” Harley says as soon as we get in the house.
“And?” I say.
“They were HOT!” She whines.
Hanna giggles. “Soooo.” I say quickly.
“Geez you have the social skills of a hippo!” Harley groans.
“Look, are you going to whine all day or can we go grab some food? You did check and see if the fridge worked right?” I say changing the subject.
“Fine! And yes I did check.” she says.
“Can we have french fries?” Hanna asked.
This kid could live off of French fries and chocolate milk. “We can have french fries if you eat a burger too.” I try to compromise, fully knowing that if she doesn’t I’ll just be happy she is eating the french fries. There was one time that she would throw up anything she ate. She hasn’t done it in over a year, but I find myself worrying she will start again. She nods and says, “Okay!”
I grab my keys from the newly clean counter and we headed back to my car. She really is a beautiful car. The nerve of that dick asking to touch her. When we walk out of the house and are climbing into the car I see them sitting in the front yard in lounge chairs hitting golf balls at the road. I can feel their eyes all over us as we climb into the car. I notice a beautiful blue V8 mustang sitting in their driveway. Not sure what year it was, but it was newer. My thing was old cars. I love old cars, the older the better. It was a pretty car, but definitely not my thing.
Axel
Was this chick for real? She looked like she was ready to bolt from the moment Moose and Cass started talking to them. The other two were quiet chatty, but she barely said two words. I noticed the car before I noticed the hoard of chics that moved into the house next to ours. Well one was a kid. Maybe close to Moose’s sibling’s age. When her head snapped up and those green eyes sought mine, I was floor board by them. Then she opened her mouth and every word from her mouth was clipped.
“Stop staring holes in the new neighbors douche bag!” Moose says laughing.
Cass says, “They were hot! I mean I’m not a child molestor or anything, but the other two were hot! Especially the mouthy one.”
I wasn’t going to argue with him, but the quiet one was gorgeous. They were both trouble and I could tell from the scars on their knuckles and Harlow’s eyebrow that they got into a lot of fights. They were trouble in the worst way. “Yea they are trouble.” I groan.
“Ha you can tell that after talking to them once?” Moose says laughing.
“No I can tell that by the scarred knuckles and ready to go to blows attitude. Those girls haven’t been innocent for a long time” I say.
Cass and Moose both laugh, “If you say so.”
After hitting balls into the street for a while Cass and I leave for my race. Moose leaves to pick up Jessi and meets us there. My car hasn’t been defeated here and Moose is following behind me in second. We make bank at these races. On a really good night we can clear ten thousand dollars. I paid for my car racing.
When Cass and I pull up at the race there is already a crowd. We don’t too much stick around for the before and after. We show up, race, collect our money, and leave. When Cass and I stepped out the crowd started cheering. When Moose shows up with Jessi, Moose and I start looking over the car checking it from top to bottom. Jessi goes to stand with Cass while we get my car ready. Not that it’s not already. When Zed announces the race Moose joins Jessi and Cass on the sidelines. I pull to the starting line and a white Camaro pulls to the line. The dude was new, I’d never seen him and I generally know all the locals. So he’s definitely either new to the area or not from around here. He obviously doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into. I guess he’ll learn today. I drive a cobalt blue 2018 Mustang GT. My car has been updated with the most up to date performance parts. There are few people who can hang with me. Some blonde bimbo walks to the center between out cars wearing a button up top tied just below her
tits and a pair of low rise black barely there shorts. She had her blonde hair pulled in pigtails. The guy next to me revs his engine at her and she grins. She intentionally drops her little red handkerchief and bends to pick it up nearly showing her whole ass. I’m far from impressed. The girl honestly seems needy. She picks the flag up turning to make sure she was getting attention.
Zed yells, “Get on with it Connie. They’ve both seen your ass and tits!” She giggles turning and raising the red hankie in the air. The dude and I both rev our engines. When she drops her arms we are off. The sound of the car’s engine rumbling under my body sent waves of adrenaline surging through my body. Seventy, seventy-five, eighty, eighty-five, ninety, ninety-five, a hundred, one o five, one ten…. I was now pulling away from the guy. When I cross the finish line I let off of the gas and coast to Zed. I crack the window and he hands me a wad of cash. “Next week Hawkins. He’s got a new ride and of course he wants you. Says if he beats you he can beat anyone.” We both get a good laugh from that. “Word is there’s a new driver in town. Made a pretty good name for themselves in Ohio.”
“Yeah?” I say.
“Yea, I’m just waiting on the call. I know it’s coming. They will hear from some of their race mates from Ohio about this lot or someone will mention it to them.” he grumbles.
I laugh and says, “It’s all good, we can use some new competition.”
Zed laughs and says, “For sure.”
“See ya!” I say as I drive away.
I swing by and grab Cass. Moose and Jessi follow us to Cass’s friend Trad’s house. Trad through parties all the time. Cass and Trad have been best friends since Kindergarten. We get five feet in the door and Trad says, “Laylin’s here. She’s pretty fucked up already.”
I roll my eyes and grumble, “Tell me what’s new! If I did the shit she does I’d have to be fucked up too.” We avoid her at all cost. I don’t hate her, but I don’t love her either. Then she made some pretty fucked up decisions and I didn’t want to be a part of those decisions.
Moose and Jessi started dating on the same night I got drunk and asked Laylin out. Trust me I never would have asked if I wasn’t drunk. She’s hot and all, but aside from a solid fuck I don’t date. However that night tequila spoke for me. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings so I played the part for a while. Then she made a huge fuckin’ mistake and now I don’t want anything to do with her.
