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  "What the fuck are you doing here?"

  29

  Matt looks up at Parker with a grin and asks, "How ya been, Parker?"

  "I want you out of here… now!"

  "Sure thing…" Taking Emma by the arm, Matt says,

  "Let's get going… there are better places to be."

  Emma glares at her sister as she is lead away by Matt towards the gate on side of the house. Knowing that her words will fall on deaf ears, Kelly can only shake her head in disappointment. She has no clue who this guy is, but she knows that she does not like him. There is something about him that is off putting, her instincts tell her that there is something wrong with him.

  Parker watches them leave through the back gate as he exhales a deep breath, "That guy is a piece of shit."

  Kelly asks, "Who is he?"

  Shaking his head, Parker replies, "He's one of those people, who doesn't work yet he always has money and he's always on the prowl for really young girls. I don't like the motherfucker; there is something off with him."

  "How old is he?"

  Donnie answers, "I think he's 26, but I don't know for a fact. You should probably tell your sister that the guy is missing some screws. A girl I used to know told me that he thinks he's a vampire."

  Giving Donnie a strange look, Kelly inquires, "What the hell are you talkin' about?"

  Taking a swig from his beer, Donnie replies, "She said he tried to bite her neck with these metal fuckin' teeth when they were makin' out."

  Parker adds, "Shit, there's so many weird things floating around about Matt you never know what to fuckin' believe."

  "I believed her when she told me."

  Rolling his eyes, Parker remarks, "Yeah and you’re such a gullible bastard, you'd believe anything some poo-bah squirts from her air hole."

  Donnie shakes his head, "Whatever man…"

  30

  Kelly sips her beer, hoping that her sister hasn't fallen for the charms of a psychopath. She knows that her sister has a weakness for supposed men and the problems that these boys have caused her. Trusting them far too easily and giving them way too much control—Emma always finds herself with a broken heart. They abuse her kindness and exploit her weakness to get their way—leaving her in the cold when they are done. Casting her inhibitions to fate, Emma plays the role of the victim all too well. Far too often, Kelly is left to question Emma and wonder if she secretly likes the pain.

  31

  CHAPTER 5

  The head lights from Matt's car cut through the darkness as he exits Parker's neighborhood. He grips the steering wheel tight while quiet waves of anger wash over him. Emma looks at him nervously, working up the courage to ask him why they were asked to leave. She sees the burning look in his eyes and she is afraid that he will take it out on her. Keeping her peace, she desperately wants to break the awkward silence. As the seconds count down, they feel more like minutes and Emma cannot hold her peace any longer.

  "Why did we have to leave?" She asks cautiously.

  "Because they're judgmental cocksuckers…"

  "What do you mean?"

  Matt takes a deep breath and sighs, "They don't like people who don't fit into their neat little boxes. I’m something 32

  more than they can ever be, and they know it. They are just jealous of who I am."

  Confusion mounts in Emma's mind and she tries to subtlety probe further, "I'm not really understanding what you're going on about. I mean, I’m just clueless right now."

  "Yeah, it happens."

  "What do you mean by that? If you weren't being so goddamn vague, I'd probably get where the fuck you’re comin’ from."

  Shaking his head, Matt answers, "Look, I am not going to sit here and spill myself out to you… we haven't even fucked yet."

  Angered by Matt's comment, Emma tries to hide her offense and her urge to go off on him. Taking a deep breath, she closes her eyes for a moment of thought before she responds. Try as she might, she can only fire back, "So, basically, I won't understand you until I am sucking your dick?! Is that what you’re sayin’?!"

  Matt casually replies, "No what I mean is, we just met…

  don't think that I am going to be your open book so fucking quickly. I'm not like you, I keep certain things too myself and I do it for a reason."

  Looking out the window as she hides her hurt, Emma looks up at the crescent moon and asks, "Can you just take me home now?"

  "Whatever you want to do…"

  Other than Emma giving directions on how to get to her house, the rest of the car ride is quiet between the two. The once awkward silence is replaced by a heavy cloud of mutual hostility and emotional repression. Emma keeps her eyes focused outside of her window, torn between keeping her anger in place and patching things up. She does not want to repeat her mistakes from the past by just jumping in bed with Matt, but something tells her that this might be different. A little voice cuts through her fears and tells her, "Let go of the past and live for now".

  33

  Pulling up to the front of her house, Matt slides the car into park, "Here you are..."

  Emma runs her fingers through her hair. Looking away from him as she blushes, she asks, "You want to come inside?"

  Reading her body language, Matt knows what this can lead too. Judging her subtle twitches and how she is playing with her hair, he answers, "I'm not sure if that's a good idea tonight."

  "Why? Are you mad at me?"

  "No… you've been drinking and we both know what's going to happen if I go inside."

  "So, what's wrong with that?"

  Matt shakes his head, "Look, just call me tomorrow, okay?"

  Baring a look of disappointment, Emma hangs her head in confused rejection. Matt leans into her and kisses her on the cheek, "Trust me, alright?"

  Emma gives him a smile as she opens her door, "Sure, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

  He nods with a grin as she steps out and closes the door behind her. Matt watches as she walks up the driveway to her house. Once she walks inside he slowly drives away and goes on to make other plans. Taking his cell phone from the middle console, he looks through his numbers and dials a girl named Amber. After a few rings, she answers his call.

  "Hey, are you workin' tonight? Cool, I'll be there soon to see ya."

  Pressing his foot on the gas, the car accelerates out of Emma's neighborhood. Matt did not go inside because some higher voice of morality that told him otherwise; he knew that he could get a quick fix from someone else. Someone who could care less if he was there for just one thing. No questions, no strings attached, and no emotional swamps to wade through; something cheap and easy. Turning on to US-1 the 34

  wheels of Matt’s muscle car burn towards a sleazy strip club in Fort Pierce, the next town over.

  The city of Vero Beach has always stood against having strip clubs in their area; the city views them as indecent. Vero Beach caters to money, mostly old money, and they have no use for anything that would make the elders uneasy. With the old money, they also call themselves a family friendly area, even though the homeless rate is forever climbing. These strict measures do not keep trash from settling in the area and it does nothing from keeping drug rings from expanding.

  Anyone who wants erotic entertainment only needs to drive twenty minutes south to Fort Pierce or thirty minutes north to Melbourne. All Vero Beach is missing out on is valuable tax dollars while their town’s folk travel to spend their money in other areas.

  Emma looks down the hall to her mother's room, listening to the sound of classic rock softly drizzling from the thin walls. Without a second thought, she continues towards the sanctity of her bedroom. Tossing her purse onto the bed, she turns on her stereo and skips to her Coil cd in the player.

  She kicks off her shoes and digs through her purse for her recently acquired books. Laying her tired body across the bed; she flips to chapter one of her latest vampire romance to become lost again. As hard as she tries to fight it, Matt dances on her brain, taking over he
r every thought.

  Meanwhile, Ophelia is locked inside of her room. Sitting on the edge of her bed in her underwear, she holds her flip-top's flame under a spoon, boiling the opiate powder into a liquid. She tries to keep a steady hand as she looks forward to her high, soaking the fluid into a cotton ball. Carefully she uses her trusty syringe to drain the drug from the saturated softness. Once the shot is where she wants it, she makes herself comfortable and ties her left arm off; forcing a battered vein to protrude from her worn flesh. Lying back, 35

  she sticks the needle into her vein and slowly presses down, main lining her thirst into her worn shell.

  As Ophelia's eyes roll back in relaxation, she hears the front door open. She bats her eyes for a split second, but the drug consumes her reasons to be concerned. Kelly walks into the house, heavily intoxicated from the party. After Emma left, Kelly drank six beers on top of four Jagermister and energy drink shots; putting her over her limits.

  Hearing the music coming from Emma's room, Kelly stomps through the house and storms through her bedroom door. When the door flings open, Emma is suddenly forced out of her comfort zone. Looking at her sister in shock, she yells, “Don’t you fuckin’ knock anymore?!”

  "What the fuck is goin’ on with you and this Matt guy?!"

  Kelly asks in a slurred tone.

  Emma looks at her in disgust, "Holy fuck, you're drunk!"

  Sliding off her bed, Emma puts her cd on pause and answers,

  "He's someone I met earlier today and he's a really cool person to hang out with."

  "Well… where'd ya meet him, huh?"

  "…at the Italian Garden. Why?"

  Kelly rolls her eyes, "Well, I don't think he's good for you!"

  "Isn't that just fucking spectacular of you to make that judgment call for me?!"

  Just as Kelly is starting to explain herself, Emma cuts her off and says, "You don't know him and just because your asshole friends don't like him, doesn't mean I shouldn't, okay?!"

  "Emma, the things I've heard about him are pretty fucked up! I'm your sister and I don't want you to find yourself in another situation where you end up gettin’ hurt!"

  Emma rolls her eyes and shoots back, "Oh please! You close yourself off so much that you don't even fuck anyone or run the risk of anything emotionally. All you do is get drunk and bitch about the government!"

  36

  Taken back, Kelly slurs, "Uh, excuse me?!"

  "Don't act like you don't know what I am talking about.

  You're an emotional recluse, fighting in that never ending fight because it gives you something to fuckin’ do, something to fill your empty soul!"

  Drunk and angered by Emma's view of her, Kelly is left speechless as she stands awkwardly in the doorway. Like siblings tend to do, the two have had their bouts in the past but Kelly cannot help but feel that there is something different going on now. Despite her jaded mental state, she is aware enough to know that her sister is falling for this stranger. As much as she would like to make her see, she knows that her efforts are useless.

  Emma sees the rattled expression on Kelly's face and wants to apologize, but she cannot stifle her anger enough to actually do so. She cannot understand why her sister is always trying to change her and fight off any happiness that she might find in the arms of another. The way Emma sees her sister's protection is that of a prison, constant surveillance and visitors never seem to be truly welcome. Though she tries, escape is unsuccessful and she always finds herself in a soulful revolt.

  With a sigh of defeat, Kelly says, "Whatever…" and walks away, closing the door behind her.

  Standing in the remains of what she sees as sibling rivalry, Emma exhales a breath of angst. Telling herself that Kelly doesn't know what she is talking about, she attempts to shrug off the argument. She takes a seat on her bed and sighs heavily, wondering why everyone was so hard on Matt earlier. Questions begin to mount in her moment of being alone, she knows that there is something that he is not telling her, but what could it be? What could be the reason behind these people's collective objection towards him? Hitting the play button on her stereo, she lies back on her bed and stares at the ceiling as confusion swarms her thoughts.

  37

  While Emma wonders about her new found friend, he is in Fort Pierce, sitting front row and center watching Amber grind upon a gold pole on the stage. Drinking cheap draft beers with whiskey chasers, Matt lusts over Amber as she does her nightly dance to White Zombie's Black Sunshine.

  With a twisted grin, he shoots her slanted looks of deviance while she smiles back, blowing kisses just for him. This is the place where Matt goes to get away from Vero Beach and its tight regulations, Dirty Talk.

  Amber is one of the more attractive girls who work there, the owner always schedules her for the nights they are busy the most. Standing at 5'10 she has the perfect figure in the eyes of most men, 34D-25-34. She has long red hair that tickles her lower back, dangling beside the soft, pale cheeks upon the face of an angel. Her thrill is cocaine, alcohol, and making men drool over her every move. Exotic dancing is what she does by choice because of the easy money, the drinks the men supply her with, and the free blow saps feed up her nose.

  Her set comes to a close and Matt slams his shot as he waits for her to join him at his table. Fog machines exhale over the laser lights that beam from wall to wall in the dark club. Amber makes her way to Matt in a skimpy gown, shooting him a never ending smile. Matt casually takes sips from his beer, watching her step her way to him. Once she reaches him, she kisses him on the cheek and takes a seat next to him.

  "Hey, stranger… where've you been?"

  "Around… what are ya drinkin'?"

  "Rum and soda…"

  Matt summons a scantily clad waitress and orders his dancer a drink. Amber lights a cigarette and asks, "So, what brings you her tonight?"

  With a sigh Matt leans into her and whispers, "I got some blow and a dick… gonna keep askin' me questions or do you wanna party when you're done teasin' these assholes?"

  38

  Amber laughs, "Always to the point, huh?"

  With a shrug, Matt replies, "Bullshit is a waste of time."

  Taking a puff from her smoke, Amber replies, "Sure, my place when I get off."

  Pulling the cigarette from Amber's fingers, Matt takes a drag and exhales, "I want something special from you tonight."

  "Oh, yeah… and what's that?"

  Looking her deep in the eyes, Matt whispers, "You'll find out later."

  Placing the cigarette in her lips, Amber takes a pull as she stares at Matt's disturbing grin. A subtle worry is spawned by his glare, but it is quickly clamed because she knows Matt and she has been with him a few of times. She reminds herself that even though he can be a little kinky, she has always walked away unscathed. Out of all of the men she has found herself with, Matt is one of the few that she would return to without question. Her trust in him is uneasy, then again, a smart working girl never fully trusts any of their clients.

  Gazing into his wide smile, Amber takes another drag from her smoke and replies with a sensual smirk, "Whatever you want, baby."

  39

  CHAPTER 6

  As the sun burns in the mid morning sky, Emma tries to call Matt, but the result is a single ring that goes straight to his voicemail. She fries herself some eggs as her sister staggers into the living room, obviously suffering from the night before. Dragging her feet to the couch, she plops down as Emma looks at her with a grin.

  "Want some eggs?"

  "Ugh, Christ no… I don't even want to think about food right now."

  Emma chuckles, "Yeah, you were pretty tore up last night."

  "Yeah, about last night, I…"

  "Don't worry about it. We both said some things that we didn't mean."

  Kelly sits back and keeps the peace as her head pounds with the vengeance of poor choices. Even though she was 40

  intoxicated, she remembers what she said and meant every word of it. She knows
it's better to keep things quiet for today, holding on to the hope that she is wrong about her sister's new beau. Emma watches her egg fry as she tries not to get into another battle with her hung over sister. Her thoughts are split between maintaining civility and wondering if she will hear from Matt. Flipping her egg, she tries not to let the negatives flood into her mind.

  Emma's toast pops up from the toaster as Ophelia's bedroom door cracks open. The two sisters take a gander at the clock and then suddenly look at one another. They shrug as Ophelia sluggishly makes her way down the hall and out to her daughters. Looking as if hell had ran through her the night before, she asks Emma, "Did you make any coffee?"

  "Not yet,” Emma says as she turns off the stove.

  Ophelia sighs, "I'll make some, don’t worry about it."

  Walking into the kitchen, Ophelia opens the cupboard to find a very small amount of coffee grounds left. Shaking her head, she says, "We gotta go shopping today, Kelly."

  Kelly replies with a tinge of aggravation in her voice,

  "Yeah, we have needed too for a while now."

  "We'll go as soon as I have a cup of coffee..."

  Looking over at Kelly, she quips, "Looks like you need a cup, too… long night?"

  With a sarcastic sigh, Kelly breathes, "Probably not as long as yours."

  Shooting her daughter a nasty glare, Ophelia retorts,

  "Excuse me?"

  "Nothing… never mind."

  Ophelia changes the subject to keep herself from flying off of the handle, "So, Emma, how did your interview go yesterday?"

  Caught off guard, Emma stutters, "It um, it went, uh pretty good, I think."

  "When are they supposed to call you?"

  41

  "Uh, they were still interviewing people after me, so uh, I guess in a couple of days I'll hear something… I hope."

  Ophelia can tell that her daughter is hiding something, but she knows what would happen if she said anything. The end result will be fits of screaming and slamming doors. She does not have that kind of fight in her anymore—the men who have come and gone in her life have drained her. Even before the move to Vero Beach, Ophelia has had little care for anything other than herself. She carries herself as if she is burned out with the exhaustion of concern written upon her strained face.