Curls and Stolen Pearls

I'm going to be posting my story here. Probably in parts so it's not all at once. I'm on chapter three right now.

So, going to start posting now. This is the beginning of Chapter 1.

I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and glanced at it in the mirror. It curved down to my mid back. I hadn’t realized how long it had gotten. There was no time to think about my hair though, I needed to focus now. My work wasn’t done. I pulled the bathroom door open and he started his half shouting, half talking again.

“You said you weren’t mad, but now you say you’re leaving!” he said.

This man just didn’t get it. I looked at Alex, wearing his usual cargo pants and a t-shirt that probably cost more money than my cell phone. He brushed his red hair back, showing how completely angry he was. He always did that, I had learned to watch for it to see when I was pushing him too far. This time however, I needed to push him as far as I could, or he might come looking for me. I walked into the bedroom and started to zip the suitcase. He rested his hand over mine.

“Megan, please,” he begged. “What about that convention coming up? Remember, I bought you that nice dress. You said you couldn’t wait to wear it.”

“Oh, thanks for reminding me.” I said, walking to the closet.

I pulled the dress down from the hook on the door. Wrapping it around my arm I took one more glance at the huge closet. That would be the thing I’d miss the most, but at least I had packed a few things to take with me. By the time I got back to the suitcase he had it open. He picked up some of the money and threw it back.

“What is this?!” he asked.

“Great,” I said under my breath.

I grabbed the suitcase zipping it quickly, and then picked it up in my free hand.

“Remember that shared bank account we made together, Alex dear. Yeah, well I took half of the money out of it.” I answered him, and turned to leave.

He got to the door before I could and pushed it shut as I tried to open it.

“So that’s it, you’re taking my money? You didn’t put a dime in that account. How much did you take?” He continued pushing against the door, obviously wanting an answer.

“Just sixty thousand dollars, I only took half of what you put into it. I figured that was fair. I take half and you keep half.” I pulled on the door again and he still pushed against it letting it only open a crack.

“You put nothing in that account. All that money is mine.” He cried.

“It’s a shared account. Do you know how to share?” Just as I finished what I was saying I heard a car horn outside.

Alex let go of the door to look out the window.

“Who the heck is that?” he asked, peering out.

“That’s my ride.” I said, pulling the door open.

I hurried out, off the porch, down the two steps leading to the sidewalk. As I started to walk I felt him catch my arm. He pulled it with the rage of someone who knew they were losing something they were not ready to lose. I just wasn’t sure if he was more upset about losing me, or his money. As I turned towards him, he quickly let go.

“Babe, please. I told you I’m sorry. I’ll never see her again. I mean it. It’ll just be you and me from here on out.” He was actually starting to cry, genuine tears.

“Please stop calling me babe. Guys like you never change. Now don’t try stopping me again, you left a bruise on my arm, and I’m really not afraid to call the police.” I lifted my arm up to show the hand print bruise starting to show through my pale skin.

He really had solved all my problems for me. He didn’t try to stop me again. I jumped over the door into the open passenger seat of the convertible. I was met by a pair of sunglasses staring at me and laughing.

“Are you done playing now? I’d really like to get out of here.” She asked, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.

“Yeah, we’re good.” I answered, buckling my seat belt.

We drove off, and were soon on the interstate. The wind was blowing everything around, so I held tight to the dress, which would be important in a few months.

“So, how much money did you get this time?” my sister asked.

“Really, Whitney, you haven’t seen me for eight months, and the first thing you ask is how much money I got? Not even if I’m ok, or how things went.” I teasingly said to her.

“Hey, those were my next questions. Seriously though, what did we get?” she implored.

“Sixty thousand,” I answered.

I patted the suitcase by my feet. Then I reached up to turn the radio on.

“Oh no,” she said pushing my hand away from the knob. “You said there was one hundred twenty thousand in that bank account. Why are we leaving with sixty? Did you fall in love with him? Please, tell me you didn’t, YOU of all people.”

“No, I didn’t fall in love with him. Listen, if he goes to the police and says that I stole money from him out of a shared bank account, they’ll ask how much. When he says half, they’re going to write him off and think he’s crazy. Taking the whole thing looks more suspicious.” I looked to make sure it made sense to her. She shook her head and looked at me.

“I thought you said he was dumb enough that he’d never know what happened?” she asked, taking her sunglasses off.

“He is, but I leave nothing to chance.” She nodded again, and I turned the radio on.

The music blared. I couldn’t wait to get back to California. To be back in my hometown, where people knew me, as me, where no one suspected things, and I could actually be friends with the neighbors. Where I could wear sweatpants, and lounge around without a care in the world. Maybe I could even get a tan back on my skin. It felt like forever since I had been allowed to be myself. The game of cat and mouse had an effect on the cat, too.

Whitney pulled off the interstate and into a small little diner.

“You sure know me, food, first thing on the agenda.” I said smiling, as I pulled open my door and climbed out.

“Well, I figured driving back to California right away wasn’t the best idea. I have a few plans up my sleeve.” Whitney said, flashing me one of her bright white smiles.

Whitney was big about her teeth. While some women used other assets to their advantage, she felt a smile was what attracted men. She’d tell me over and over how it pulls them in, it makes them listen to you, and it makes them trust you. I usually just let a low cut shirt do the talking for me, but Whitney seemed to think that smiling took less work. Well, at least I hadn’t run out on any of my men until the program was completely over.

You see, Whitney and I had been raised by an only mother, and a lowlife father who never cared about what became of us. So as far as we were concerned we were better off without him. Once we got older however, my mother passed away, and we were left to find our own way in the world. That’s when we had come up with an idea of this “program” so to speak. Basically, we find a liar, or cheater, or whatever low life male we can, and we get involved. Earn his trust. Try to change him. If we can’t, we take him for all he’s worth.

There are rules to this though; we do not go around just causing mayhem. Rule number uno, the guys we go after have to be liars, cheaters, or backstabbers. You know, the scum of the Earth. Rule number two, you can only steal from them if you can’t make them change their ways. If they change their ways, you can get out and hope he can find a good girl to get with. I mean, this hasn’t happened yet, so I guess when it does we’ll see how it plays out. Then finally rule number three, just added recently after some of Whitney’s blow up moments, you cannot walk out of the program until it’s over, unless your safety is in jeopardy.

It wasn’t so much that she blew up, as, the guy would say something mean to her; she’d break down crying, and call me. My baby sister wasn’t really used to the whole, acting side of things. Now that I was done though, it would be her turn next, and I was pretty excited. I’d get some time home, while she took care of business. The downside was hoping and praying that she’d actually make it through this time.

As we sat in the diner I tried to let all thoughts about our work escape me. I ordered the largest glass of sweet iced tea I’d ever seen and a hamburger with everything on it. I gulfed it down before Whitney had even taken her first bite. She stared at me and shook her head.

“Maybe you should breathe in-between bites,” she mumbled under her breath.

Whitney had always been slightly angry with me about my weight. I could eat most things and not gain a pound. While she had to be careful what she ate. As she ate her salad a crossed the table from me, I nibbled on some bread the waitress had originally brought as an appetizer. We didn’t talk much, which was slightly out of character for us. I wondered what was on her mind. It had to be something important. My usually outspoken sister was clamming up. Her gregarious personality was one of my favorite things about her, yet, it made her hyper sensitive. She always took things to heart when people said them; it was hard to watch her hurting. I wondered if someone had said something to her recently. Maybe mean old Mr. Lin from down the road.

I watched her face, and she seemed to notice me staring. She blushed, causing me to quickly look away. Something was going on; I just couldn’t put my finger on it. In true sister form, I decided to just blurt it out.

“What’s up with you? You’re never this quiet,” I reasoned.