Bad Girl. by E Z (classic novels to read .TXT) 📕

The drive was quiet, with little to destract her from her thoughts. She knew she shouldn't have been feeling guilty for speaking to her brother like that, but she was.

When she entered the store, grabbing a basket, her thoughts were so muddled that she didn't notice the person in front of her until her basket rammed into his.

"Umph!" She grunted, and then gasped. "Oh my gosh I'm- Johnson?" Her apology dropped like a sack of bricks.

He ran a hand through his hair, something Libia would have found cute, if she hadn't known who the bastard really was. She hadn't even been paying attention to school drama, her outside life had been so hectic. Johnson had been avoiding her like the plague.

"Libia," He said, laughing nervously as his eyes flitted behind her...looking for something, or someone.

"Don't worry," Libia said with a snort. "Damon isn't with me."

"Oh," Johnson's shoulders relaxed visibly.

Libia moved her basket back, and menuevered it around him. "Bye," She said simply, too tired to look at his face.

But of course, he followed behind her. "Hey wait. What are you here for?"

She felt her head throb with an oncoming headache.

"A harpoon," She muttered in a dry tone.

"Oh...what for?" He asked slowly, leaning his forearms on the basket as he matched her pace beside her.

She rolled her eyes. "To stick you in the eye with."

"Ouch," Johnson chuckled, "You still don't like me, eh?"

"Hmm," Libia said in a thoughtful tone, laced with sarcasm. "I wonder why?"

She abruptly turned left, down the drink isle, causing Johnson to pull roughly to a stop in order to follow after her.

"You've changed, huh?" He commented, watching as she grabbed her mother's favorite energy drinks. 

This made her pause, the only sound being the drinks settling into the basket.

It was true. She smiled at those who smiled at her. She met their eyes with confidence, and even had conversations with some of her customers at the store, instead of just greeting them quietly and getting their groceries through as fast as possible. Plus she'd gotten a lot better at sarcasm.

"And you've gotten a tattoo," He said in surprise. "Have you always had that?"

"Nope," She answered simply, grabbing her favorite soda brand and setting it in the basket before wheeling off.

"And this is...Damon's doing?" He guessed, following along, much to Libia's irritation.

She sighed, turning to him. "What do you-" She gasped, her body freezing as she came face to face with him.

"I have to say...," He breathed, picking up a strand of her hair, "I'm jealous of the guy."

Anger began to boil in the pit of her stomach, and also disgust. "Ugh!" She bit out, raising her foot and stomping her heel hard on his toes. 

"Omph!" He squeaked, lifting his foot up to catch it in his hands as he hopped around.

"That was for being a creep. And this-," She grabbed the lapels of his shirt and pulled him back up, before raising her hand and smacking him hard across the face. "-Is for taking advantage of me at the diner! And also this-," She pushed him back and stomped on his other foot. "Is for the time in the gym!"

Smoothing out her shirt, she watched him sit down and begin massaging his feet. She let out a 'hmph' that she'd always wanted to do, like in the movies, and turned, striding off. 

"Oh!" She called back, feeling brevity  and pride wash over her like a cleansing waterfall. "I'll let Damon know that we...ran into each other. He'll be happy to hear it!"

And with that, she went on with her grocery shopping, grinning from ear to ear as she grabbed everything she needed for dinner. She felt so proud of herself that she was two seconds away from physically patting herself on the back.

After paying for her things, she hummed to herself, digging in her purse as she wheeled out the exit, not paying attention.

She felt the basket crash into another, and heard an audible "Oh!"

Looking up, she let out a frustrated noise. "I'm so sorry, that's the second time I've done that."

The woman looked up, words about to come out, but they died off, and she smiled. "Libia! How's my dear girl?" Cassie exclaimed.

"Cass? Oh, I've been great, just getting dinner supplies. How have you been?" She asked, coming around to embrace the woman in a light hug.

"I've been wonderful! Buissiness is booming and Vinny got me flowers today for no reason!" She giggled.

Libia smiled. "That's sweet of him. I'm so glad you're doing well."

"The only thing is, that darn Damon hasn't been visiting me. I oughta throttle 'im!" She rolled her eyes.

Libia winced, remembering his drunken words that night. They'd forbidden him to see her.

"I wouldn't scold him too much, Cass," Libia suggested softly, turning her eyes down.

"What? Why? What happened?" Cassie asked, suddenly worried.

"He...told me that his parents...didn't want him to see you anymore," She let out a sigh. "Apparently it was a big fight between the three of them."

Cassie's fists clenched. "I knew from the beginning that I should have taken those kids off their hands - hatred only breeds hatred!" She ranted.

"What...?" Libia trailed off, afraid to ask.

"What do I mean?" Cassie asked in my place. She sighed and looked at Libia's groceries. "Do you need help with cooking? It looks like you've got enough for a few people there."

Relief washed through Libia. "Yes, please."

They drove home in Libia's car - Libia promising to drop Cassie back off here when the time came.

When they entered the house, Cassie noticed her tattoo. "Oh! It looks like you've been taking good care of it. Did it itch very badly?" She asked as she set the bags on the counter.

"No," Libia said absently, listening for her brother. "It wasn't too bad. Only for a few days."

She didn't hear any music coming from his room, so he must have been asleep. Good, she thought, I don't want to deal with him.

They began cooking, putting a pot on the stove to boil as Libia oiled a pan and set it on medium heat.

Cassie was standing behind her at the island, grating cheese slow and steady, when she spoke.

"Damon's parents," She began, sighing softly. "Met in high school. They were both still children - wild and rambunctious. They thought they were meant to be together," She laughed softly. "Two kids who believed in fairytails. They got married as soon as they graduated - because my sister's parents were strict enough to force her to wait until adulthood." She thumped the grater a few times with her palm to get the extra cheese, before moving on to the shrimp, as she began to de-vein it with Libia. "After they married, they moved here, from a little town called Joshua in California. They bought a house, and their financial situation after that caused...anamosity between them. I visited a few times and...it was weeks filled with nothing but silence between them. I still don't know how she got pregnant," Cassie nudged Libia with a laugh, "With so much fridgid air in that place, there seemed to be no room for...romance. But apparently they had their good days, because nine months later, I had a nephew.

"After that, however," Cassie sighed, and her eyes saddened. "Their relationship deteriorated. Rich landed a great job, giving them plenty of money to provide for Jack, but...it was long hours, and there was no time for each other. Every time they saw each other, it was a screaming match. Two years later, they seemed to rekindle their relationship, and Damon was born. A year later, their sister Carol as well. But after that...Rich and Lisbon's relationship went downhill. They tolerated each other, but their pent up hatred for each other began to direct to their children. Once Damon called me, a little seven year old boy, to tell me that Lisbon and Rich had locked him in his room without lunch or dinner for spilling milk on the carpet. After that I moved down here to keep an eye on the three. Every time they got too severely punished, I would take them into my home and threaten to take them away forever if Rich and Lisbon didn't clean up their act." She let out a sigh. "They mellowed out after that, but they refused to let me visit for more than a few hours every few weeks. Even when I met Vinny after my tattoo business took off, and we married, they only stayed at our wedding for the ceremony."

She looked at Libia with wythering eyes. "They treat their children like boot-camp delinquents. I don't think those kids have ever heard a word of encouragement from either parent. That's where I come in." A smile replaced her frown, as Libia poured the shrimp into the pan. "Their parents go on trips every once in a while - enough time for me to visit for an extended period of time and encourage the crap out of 'em."

Libia laughed, smiling warmly over her shoulder at the kind woman. "Damon speaks so highly of you. He regards you as the mother he should have had."

Sighing, Cassie poured the creamy white sauce in with the shrimp. "I wish Lisbon would see just how wonderful they are. They're like jobs to her - raise them and get them out of the house, is how she see's it. She doesn't...see them. You understand?" She looked at me.

Libia nodded. "Yes. She sees them as hurdles to jump."

"Exactly," She confirmed, as she turned and began opening the boxes of Penne.

"That makes me sad," Libia murmured.

"Me too, sweetheart. Me too."

They stood in thoughtful silence, as Libia poured in the pasta, and Cassie stirred the sauce. The only sounds were the soft boiling of the water, and the quiet scrape of the spoon in the pan.

"Who's this?" The voice came from the hallway, tired and worn.

Turning their gazes from dinner, they came to rest on Ben, who's hair was a mess, and who's eyes were bleary. 

"Oh gosh. The virus?" Cassie asked, laughing softly.

"Yes. He just got sent home," Libia murmured. "How'd you know?"

"Vinny had it. He looked just like that when he came home from the hospital."

Laughing, Libia gestured to Cassie. "Ben, this is Damon's Aunt, Cassie. Cass, this is my brother, Ben."

"Well hi there!" Cassie exclaimed, grinning. "It's nice to meet the big brother of this fine young lady!"

Libia was giggling as she explained, "We ran into each other at the store and she offered to help with dinner."

"Damon's Aunt?" He asked, turning his eyes to her.

It occurred to her that he may have been a little upset with her still.

"Yeah," She said, clearing her throat. "I uh...hope that's alright?"

Sighing, he nodded. "Yeah, it's fine. I don't think I'll be having dinner though. I still feel a bit...iffy, you know?"

Grimacing, Libia nodded back. "I get it."

After a moment of silence, he looked behind her at Cassie. "It was nice meeting you."

She looked between the two, detecting some bad blood that she wasn't party to.

"You too," She said, reading the tense atmosphere.

He filled a cup with water, before retreating back to his room.

"Something happen?" She asked me, as I returned to stirring the pasta.

I sighed, "He's tired, and I'm tired, and we're both fed up with each other."

"Whoa, what happened?" Cass asked as she turned off the heat under the pan.

"He hadn't...known that I got a tattoo. And he doesn't...exactly approve of them. Now he thinks I'm some delinquent and that...," She trailed off, casting a quick glance at Cassie.

"And that Damon is the one who turned you?" Cassie guessed.

"Kind of...."

Rolling her eyes, she smiled. "He's just being protective. Believe me, Damon may act it, but he's no delinquent. Your brother'll come around."

Libia hoped so - but the way her brother acted just then signified that it would be a while before that happened. 

***

"By the way, where is Vinny right now?" Libia asked, they'd finished eating, and Libia was taking Cassie back to her car.

"He's visiting friends in the city. He's supposedly staying the night," She snorted