Ch-1 ★Just Drive

[Aulaura]

Dartford, London

Time: Midnight

I was driving away from my problems again.  That’s what I did, run and hide from my troubles. These unknown roads and directions soothed my pained heart. They took me to the places I’ve never been before, brought new things to my life.  I often ended up losing myself on these twisted paths.

That’s how I met her, the girl who stole the most precious thing I’ve ever owned.

Maybe she didn’t steal it; maybe my most precious possession belonged to her all along. So that means I’m the real thief in this story…

[Two Years ago]

Outskirts of London, England

                That night I was driving away like usual. My parents were fighting that night. I couldn’t bear to see them fight. I loved both of them so much. Every time they fought, it reminded me how broken our family was. We were like shattered pieces of a mirror; every time one of us would try to fix things, we would catch our own reflection, a reflection of a distant past when we were happy.

                Things weren’t always like this. We used to be happy family. I had a loving mother and caring father. That was until my dad lost his job and completely changed. A strange craze took over him to prove himself to the world. He opened his own company, ‘The Innovation’. My father lost himself to work, completely ignoring me and my mother.

                All those years when my dad was lost in work, I felt like I had a single parent. My mother raised me up by herself, always by my side. She was the one who was present in my parent-teacher meetings, competitions, spelling bees, award ceremonies when my father was too busy with his company.

                Things changed after ‘The Innovation’ stocks skyrocketed. My dad finally got what he wanted. Money, fame, and various luxuries surrounded my small, simple family. My mother wasn’t coping with all thepublicity and media. She’d shop for hours and hours to distract herself from the building pressure of being the wife of an important industrialist. Parties, galas, and charity events took more and more of her time, the time she should have spent with me, her daughter.

              I lost my mother to money. I grew up in loneliness without a caring hand or a loving shadow. A strange repulsion to love overtook my heart. I guess that’s the reason why I avoided making friends though I’m still unsure if that was the full reason. Maybe it was because of the fear of losing the person you love like the way I lost my parents.

              Some people befriended me; they would work really hard and try to pry words out of my mouth. Those people had their own reasons why they wanted to become my friends so desperately; some wanted my money, a social status in society while others were just lured in by my mysterious silence. They saw me as challenge which had to be completed. They didn’t realize I was human and not an inanimate object.

          In the end, I was that introvert, the quiet girl in the corner of the classroom; the girl who was lost in her own world of books.  Books were my best friends, I didn’t need anyone else as long as I had my books, or so I thought.

                It was raining really hard that night. I had my wipers going on high speed. Plit-plop went the rain against the car’s windshield. The road was narrow, broken, and bumpy. Each bump sent my body jolting upwards in my seat. I was in the deserted part of the city. Towering buildings with broken windows and narrow alleys is what made up this part of town. Greys, slimy greens, and browns colored my surroundings.  

Clutching the steering wheel, I pushed the accelerator even further, zooming through the haunted, deserted land. My thoughts roared louder than storm outside as they refused my mind from resting in peace.

 The accusations from my parent’s fight echoed through my conscious.

“This is entirely your fault…”

“If you had paid attention…”

“You never cared…”

Neither of them were willing to take the responsibility of our broken family. Why would they? They were afraid of the burden, the baggage of guilt they’d have to carry for the rest of their lives.

I pressed the accelerator even further; my anger and frustration were fuelling my irrational actions. The needle crossed the 120 mark. Ah it felt so good to be traveling at such a fast speed. It was as if I was getting away from my problems at a faster rate.

In reality, I knew I was going nowhere. I could never run away from my problems. I could never abandon my parents even if I wanted to. I loved them too much.

Lightening pierced through the sky in front of me. It looked like a waterfall of silver light cascading through the dark, gloomy sky.

“Beautiful,” I murmured.

Suddenly a strange sight greeted me, a sight which caused me to press the brakes. A girl in a tattered white dress was being chased by group of men. She ran on the uneven sidewalk drenched in rain. She tripped several times whilst catching her dress between her legs.  The surrounding buildings cast an ominous glow on the helpless girl. Her blond hair matted across her forehead as several scrapes and wounds caused trails of blood to flow down her fragile arms. The girl looked terribly scared, shifting her head frantically looking for an escape.

 The girl and the men passed by my car, unaware of its presence.

 My eyes caught onto the long, thin crescent moon like scar running along right arms of most of the men. The scar revealed the fleshy layers of muscles of underneath their skin. There was a black line outlining the scars. Something about those scars reminded of something I have seen before. Where had I seen these scars before? I pressured myself to remember it. Then it clicked. I had seen these scars in the local newspaper.

These men were the ‘Underground Miners’ of London, a secret group of filthy criminals who had emptied the banks of many rich billionaires. Well they weren’t much of a secret anymore now that they have been exposed to the world.

That means those bastards were chasing after a defenseless girl. How low will these people sink? Argh, bloody cowards.  I just had to save that girl from them.

I sped the car in the other direction. As I neared the gang of criminals, their heads turned in my direction. This time they saw me, clear and crisp. Their eyes were brimming with rage. Even though I was sitting inside my car, I could feel cold shivers run down my spine. The girl had been cornered. She was panting heavily as she stood at their mercy.

I quickly angled my car in her direction and swung the passenger door open letting the rain pour inside the car, dampening the car seats.  I couldn’t take on a group of eight men even if I wanted to. I’ll just have to escape from here somehow with the girl.

“Come in, or do I have send out an invitation for you?” I yelled at the girl, who was standing still as a rock paralyzed by fear.

As if coming to her senses, she quickly jumped into the car and closed the door behind her.  Not thinking twice, I pushed the accelerator and sped away.

From my rare view, I saw the men look at us speeding away, baffled as to what had just happened. Suddenly, one of the men pulled out a gun. He shot down all my windows. Damn! I’ll have to pay a fortune to get these fixed.

The shattered glass went flying out the window, thankfully neither of us got hurt. I took a sharp turn to the right, heading for the road back home. I quickly pushed the home button on the GPS.

“Would you like to go for the toll-free road?” The GPS spoke.

“Of course not,” I glided by fingers across its screen.

I turned to look at the girl; she was so beautiful close up. No wonder those men were chasing her. She didn’t look any older than me. Long, luscious blond locks fell down her back stopping at her thin waist. She had a perfectly carved face and body with clean, mark free skin, albeit the fresh wounds. Her thin bony, fingers held onto her white dress.

I would have felt awfully envious of her if it weren’t her for her broken state. Though she was trembling terribly, she held herself with grace. She was looking at me with her sky blue eyes brimming with tears.

“Thank you,” She spoke, her voice croaky from all the crying. “Those men would have had me there.”

I smiled at her, clutching the steering wheel tightly. “No problemo, now tell me where should I drop you? Or do want to head straight to the police station to report these men?”

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, bringing her hands into her lap. “No, I can’t report them to the police,” Embarrassed, she lowered her to eyes to her lap.

She couldn’t be serious. “Don’t be afraid, I’ll help you.”

“I’m not afraid of them but if I report them to police my brother might get into trouble.” She fiddled with corners of her white dress. “What I mean is that –“

“Your brother is involved with these people,” I cut her off.

Her eyes widened as she shook her head violently. “Oh! No my brother will never join the likes of them. Actually the thing is,” she hesitated before continuing. “He ran away with the gang leader’s sister.”

“So that’s why they’re after you?” It still didn’t make sense to me. “Why would your brother run away with the leader’s sister? He could have simply asked for her hand.”

This time she smiled a bitter smile. “No brother would give his sister’s hand to an orphan, a boy with no future. My twin brother and I, we’re orphans,” She turned her face to look outside at the storm stirring in the land. “Me and Jake, my brother we were partners in survival. We grew up there in the deserted city. Often we’d beg or work for a dole of bread. It’s been just the two of us, alone in a world where no-one would claim us. It wasn’t always like this, our mother; she raised us single-handedly by working day and night at some factory. She sent us to school even though she couldn’t afford to. It was on our twelfth birthday that she died mysteriously. We don’t know how she died; her body was found on the streets.

“It’s been six years since her death; I think I’ve lost count. After her death things changed drastically, we had nothing but a roof and an empty stomach. My brother would do petty thieveries for our survival. One day the members of the underground miners caught him; this is how he met Joey. Those two fell in love and ran away from the city to another one far away from here. I stayed behind, not wanting to be a burden on his shoulder. Hunter, the leader of the underground miners, knew that I knew Jake and Joey’s whereabouts. He told his men to hunt me down and bring me to him. Fortunately you saved me before he could get hold of me.”

I stared at the girl who sat next to me, her strength surprised me. “You’ve been through a lot,”

“Tough times don’t last. Tough people do.” She laughed.

“You’re surprisingly optimistic.”

She shrugged, wound her arms around herself. I turned the heater’s knob, it wouldn’t do much help because of the broken windows but something is better than nothing.

“It might sound rude of me but, what about your father?”

She kept on staring out the window. “Our mother never told us much about him. She told us he died in a car crash.”

“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” I felt guilty for bringing up unpleasant memories.

“It’s alright. I don’t remember him anyways.” She smiled.

“So where will you go now?”  I asked her, not taking my eyes off the road. We were beginning to enter the city and the lights sparkled under the rain. It felt good to be back.

People were walking on sidewalk with colorful umbrellas. Tall, towering skyscrapers surrounded the road. The ringing of the church bells could be heard in a distance. All the chairs in front of café shops had been pushed back under the patios.

“I don’t know.” She mumbled embarrassed, tucking few strands of her damp hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry for being a burden. You can just drop me here,”

“No, I didn’t mean that.” I turned the car in the direction of Grey mansion, my home. It was built just outside the city. “Would you mind staying with me and my family? I sure my parents won’t mind having another member.”

“Oh no,” she said taken aback by my offer. “I can’t stay just like that.” I knew she wouldn’t stay at Grey Mansion for free. She didn’t seem like the free loader type.

“Well nor am I asking you to stay for free. I’m offering you a job as my personal attendant and in return you can stay at my house and finish your education,”

“Really? Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She smiled brightly at me.

“Don’t thank me,” I waved my hand “I’ve done nothing but offer you a job. I’m thinking about my own benefits if I hire you,”

She folded her hands together. “I’ll never forget this favor you’ve done upon me Madame.” 

“Call me Aulaura,” I smiled at her. “Now tell me what I should call you?”

“Samantha,” she unfolded her hands, setting them on her lap. “But you can call me Sam.”

[Present]

Sam.

 I still remember the day I met her. That memory is clear in my mind like it happened yesterday. She did so much for me, giving everything she had for my sake, the sake of a selfish girl like me.  I hate her for that, I hate for her taking care of me like her own sister. I hate her for never arguing with me. She should have fought with me for her life. She should have never let me have him. She should have told me to back off and she should have never loved me.

Useless tears of guilt slipped out of my eyes. What was the use of these tears now? They couldn’t bring back the things I’ve lost; they couldn’t undo the mistakes I’ve done. They couldn’t make up for the corruption in my heart. They couldn’t make up for the loss of innocence.

All they brought is unpleasant memories and remorse filled with regret.

These tears brought one certain memory; the memory in which the entrance of one person brought the exit of many others from my life.

The memory which signaled the beginning of the end….

[One Year ago]

Grey Mansion, London

The girl in mirror stared back at me.  She had wavy, brown hair which scattered in every direction of her head; the tips of her hair had been dyed red. She thought it would make her look more daring. A pair of eyes, blue stared back in the mirror. The girl wore a bright smile on her face though in the deep pits of her eyes conveyed nothing but sorrow, the sorrow of having a disjointed family. She carefully straightened out her yellow tank-top then she fixed her brown trousers.

That girl in the mirror was me. I was the girl who was trying to cover up things that couldn’t be fixed. I could hear Sam singing to herself outside the bathroom. She sounded as sweet as a nightingale. I often told her that she should choose singing as a profession but she would never believe me. She’s too shy to sing in front of others. I’m the only the person she’s really close to and she’s the only person I’m really close to.  She’s the one who knows my deepest fears and secrets. I’d trust her with my dear life if I had to.

I turned the golden knob the bathroom, stepping out into my room. Pale green walls stared back at me. Posters of Jay Walter covered most of the walls. I was obsessed with him. His dark brooding looks, black hair, edgy browns eyes, the ragged subtle outlining his sharp jaw, everything. The way he sang just hit the heart hard. He was our generation’s biggest sensation, the world’s biggest rock star till date. I never got to meet him person because of college, life, and other things.  I stared at one of his posters, he stood tall and proud with an electric guitar in his hands. There was ever so small, smile on his face.

 Sam sat on my bed with headphones plugged into her ears as she sang along to the song. She was wearing an electric blue dress which really complimented her eyes. Since I first met, her cheeks had gained significant amount of color. She was happy here with my family for they had welcomed her with open arms. As my attendant, I never burdened her with chores just some light laundry or arranging my stationary or closet so she wouldn’t feel the burden of staying here for free.

“Listening to Jay, are we?” I caught on to few of the words she was listening to. She instantly pulled out her headphones and greeted me with a warm smile.

“Isn’t he great?” She stood up and walked towards me. “His songs are so meaningful. He has such  a deep insight on life,” Just like me, she admired Jay Walters but just his songs. She once had said that dark, mysterious guys weren’t her type. She liked guys that were funny and cheerful.

“And sure he is one fine piece of meat.” I slipped on my toffee colored overcoat.

Sam shook her head. “It seems like that’s all my little Aulaura can think of?”

I rolled my eyes. “No, he isn’t and I’m not little.” I buttoned myself up.

“Yes, you are. Well to me you will always be my little sister.” She pinched my cheeks.

I slapped her hand away from my cheeks. “Dude I’m only four months younger than you.” I walked towards the door, motioning Sam to step out of the room. “Ready for college?”

“As I’ll ever be.” She walked out of my room. “Speaking of four months… tomorrow is your eighteenth birthday! How does that feel?” I stepped out as well clicking the door shut behind me.

I had forgotten it was my birthday tomorrow. Birthdays were never a big deal for me. It just meant that you’ve officially wasted another year of your life, yay you! What was there to celebrate? Mom and Dad would be too busy to prepare for my birthday celebration whilst completely ignoring me.

I don’t know why they would do that. They ignored me and each other and I just avoided them in general. Every time I’d come in contact with them, they’d start the conversation with great enthusiasm then towards the end, the conversation would fade into a suffocating silence.

“The same way I felt last year.” I sighed as we started walking down the corridor that led to the elevators. The corridors were minimally decorated with paintings of different landscapes.

“You only turn eighteen once. You have to be more excited than that!”

“Sam, you know me and you know how things are. Now tell me how can I get excited? My family is broken as ever, mom and dad fight more frequently. Dad expects so much out of me, he wants me to turn into a brilliant business woman as soon as I get out of college so that he can crown me as the new CEO of Innovation. I don’t even want be the CEO. I want to be a dancer but I can’t tell my dad that because I really want to see him happy and…” I stopped as something choked me, a strange lump in my throat. “I want him to proud of his daughter.” I had emptied all heart’s contents in front of Sam.

She pulled me into a hug, gently stroking my back. “Everything will be fine.”

“It’s easier said than done.” I mumbled.

She drew her arms back and gave me a stern look. “Mrs. Aulaura Grey you need to stop worrying about things so much.”

“I can’t, I just can’t.” I clenched my hands into a tight fist.

She gave me a tired look. “I really can’t convince you. I hope you find someone that can finally make you realize this.”

Little did she know that he would soon be entering my life with a big bang.

Literally.

Author’s Note:  ♡ I’m holding my breath. I’m just so tensed to how you guys will react to Mr. Rockstar is Sold. Putting that aside, I can’t believe I found this chapter. I finally wrote it, though towards the end it was blah but still I update which seems like in ages. But now that I will be updating regularly; I expect to finish this book by the end of this month. Fingers-crossed hopefully I will be able to do it if you guys support me. Please support me. (Googly eyes) Take care, Tallara