I walked behind Roxie around the backside of the bar, snow crunching under the soles of my worn out converse. The thin canvas material wasn't doing anything to help keep out the winter chill. I pushed my hands deeper into the pockets of my sweatshirt, "Are we allowed to go in there?"
I watched as she approached a blue metal door that was rusted in a corner. She rapped her knuckles against it in a specialized pattern, glancing back over her shoulder at me. Her breath came out in a cloud of white frost between our huddled forms, "Don't worry I know the people that work here. They are cool. Well, mostly anyway." That was the best answer I was going to get out of her. She danced back and forth on her toes, bringing her hands up to her face to blow on them.
She knocked again after a moment of impatience, "Sometime this year. I'm freezing my ass off out here!" She called out. The door creaked as it opened a crack, a face popping out through the opening. A stern looking man with a blue bandana tied around his head surveyed the two of us.
"What did I tell you about staying in school, kid?" He stared her down with a hard glare not looking like he was willing to let us in.
She danced back and forth on her toes, trying her best to keep warm in her poor choice of clothing, "Come on, Auggie. Don't be a dick! We're freezing out here." She whined.
He pushed the door open wide enough for us to slip through the crack and into the warmth of the small clutter kitchen, "Your aunt will have my hide if she finds out I let you skip out again."
Roxie twisted around with an apologetic looking smile, "I wanted to give my new friend here the grand tour of Twin Peaks. Aunt Jun will never know. Plus, it's really Uncle Cal that you should be worried about." She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and pulled me in close. I gritted my teeth. I wasn't a fan of being touched. I had a thing about my personal space and I didn't like it when people invaded it.
He glanced toward me with a furrowed brow, eyes raking from the top of my head to the tips of my sneakers, "You wouldn't happen to be related to Lucinda by any chance, would you?"
His question took me by surprise for a moment. I was curious as to how he would have met my sister, she wasn't the type to come into a place like this. At least I hadn't believed her to be the type but what did I know. We hadn't really spoken to each other in a couple years.
"Half related." I responded dryly.
Roxie pushed away from me, "Which half?" I turned to find her smirking and I narrowed my eyes in annoyance. She clearly enjoyed being a smart ass to everyone not just the people she disliked.
"The half that had the y-gene." I remarked.
"Does she know you're here?" He asked like a concerned parent, crossing his arms over his chest. I noted the beautiful artwork twisting around his forearm, the symbol of on his hand drew all of my attention. It was the same one that I'd seen on my father. He'd told me it was something stupid he had gotten when he was in college but what were the odds that someone would have the same tattoo. It was unique enough that it didn't seem like a high probability. Perhaps they had gone to the same college or gone to the same artist.
"Nice artwork." I commented ignoring his question. I made a mental note to google image search the symbol when I got the chance.
He frowned, "I got to head back to the shop. I didn't see either of you here." he gave Roxie a pointed look before turning away, "There are leftovers in the fridge."
"Thanks Auggie! You're the best!" Roxie called after him as he disappeared through the swinging door that lead out into the bar. She wasted no time head over to the large industrial sized fridge.
She began pulling out containers of leftovers, "So where were you living before you guys came here to this shit-hole?" I watched as Roxie lifted the lid of a tupperware container, smelling what was inside before putting it back into the fridge with a frown.
I leaned back against the stainless counter with a sigh, "A big city far far away from here." It didn't matter if I spent the time to tell her where I had come from or what my old friends had been like or what I liked to do for fun. That person had been burned and scattered alongside her parents.
Roxie peered at me as she found something that looked good enough for her to eat, "A city girl, eh? I could see that. You've got that softness to you." I rolled my eyes at her comment. She didn't know anything about me. Sure, I hadn't lived in the wilderness but they didn't call cities concrete jungles for no reason.
"I'd love to go to the city sometime. Get away from this one exit town for a bit. I bet the mundanes are way more interesting in the cities." She wiggled her eyebrows as she shoveled what looked like slightly undercooked steak into her mouth. I shifted forward to double check--there was no way that was sanitary but she moved it just out of my view as she twisted around to scavange for more.
I snorted at her, "I don't think they any more or less interesting to be honest. They just live more glamorous lifestyles."
Roxie nodded her head in agreement, "That's what my Uncle Cal said too. He lived in a city for a bit. Sent me a couple of postcards I still have framed up on my bedroom wall." This girl hadn't been kidding when she told me she liked to listen to the sound of her own voice. She was talking to me like we had been best friends for years. Instead of a stranger she had only met a couple of hours ago.
"So what is the deal with you and Avery's little clique?" I pushed wanting to shift the conversation away from me.
Roxie paused for a moment before spinning around and jumping up onto the counter so she was seated. Her long legs swung back and forth as she pressed her palms into the cool metal, "You really want to know?" She questioned back as she tilted her head in my direction. She had a dramatic tone to her voice that I was certain was only there to gain more of my attention.
"I asked didn't I?" I lifted my brow as I shoved my hands deeper into the pockets of my sweater. Roxie both intrigued and annoyed me, as if there was two sides to her that warred to be on the center stage.
She cast her eyes to the ceiling, "We all used to be friends. We played together as kids and partied together as we got older. I mean there isn't much to do around here but get into trouble." she smiled to herself, legs swinging back and forth, "But when Maggie died everything turned sour between us. Avery tried to convince everyone that my Uncle Cal was responsible because that's what her daddy dearest was believed."
"Was he?" I found myself questioning.
She turned her face back in my direction, eyes catching the florcent light overhead for a moment. Long enough that I saw the golden glow like when we had been in the cafeteria, "Was he what?"
I leaned forward, hunching my shoulders inward, "Was your Uncle responsible?"
She looked at me like I had lost my mind, "My Uncle is the kindest man I know. He might be a little rough around the edges but he would never do anything so terrible as murder anyone. Especially not Maggie Redford. She was as mundane as they came."
It was weird to me the way that Roxie referred to most people as mundane. I wondered what she saw when she looked at me, if I was mundane or something more interesting to her. She pushed herself off the counter, landing lightly onto her feet, "Anyway after that we all went our separate ways. I went mine and they went there's." She said as if it meant nothing to her.
"How did Maggie die?" Call it morbid curiosity but I wanted to know about the mystery girl in question. My father had often told me that my curiosity would get me into trouble.
Roxie reached up and tucked some of her cotton candy hair behind her ear, "She was attacked. Ripped apart by a wild animal. It took them a couple weeks to find all the pieces of her. They were scattered throughout the woods." I felt a chill rush up my spine.
"Did they find the animal that did it?" I asked, licking my lips nervously.
She cast her eyes away from me to her fingernails as if they were more interesting than the conversation we were having, "Who knows. The mayor said that he dispatched someone to handle the situation but I mean how can you ever really be sure when it comes to things like this."
I still felt confused by the story, "If everyone knows it was a wild animal that killed her, why would they say it was your Uncle?"
Roxie slowly turned her gaze in my direction, "Beats me."
I didn't believe her. There was definitely something else that was being left out of the story. A crucial element that would have helped me to see what was truly going on between Roxie and Avery. I had a feeling it went much deeper than the death of Maggie, a poor girl who may or may not have been caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Well I guess somethings in life with always be a mystery." I replied, shrugging my shoulders as if I hadn't ever cared about any of it anyway.
Roxie pushed away from the counter and moved towards me, "Says the girl who might be the biggest mystery yet." She smiled playfully.
"I'm not that mysterious. I'm pretty sure I'm as simple and straightforward as they come." I replied without much emotion.
My words seemed to amuse her quite a bit as she came in close, ignoring my personal boundries, "I think it's possible that there is more to you than even you know, Beth. Which makes you all the more interesting to me." I stared at her in confusion for several silent moments before she pulled back, giving me more breathing room, "Come on, I'll introduce you to some more people that are actually worth your time and we can forget all about Avery Vanderville and her idiot posse." She turned away without any more explanations.
The thing was there was a part of me that kept thinking about Alec and his blue eyes. A part of me that I planned to thoroughly ignore but a part of me all the same.
------------------
The small group of people were hanging out around an old van behind the back of a rundown looking dollar theater, smoking and drinking with one another as we approached. They didn't seem to be bothered by the chill in the air.Roxie lifted her fingers to her lips and whistled loudly. I shot her a dirty look as the high pitch had my ears ringing. She gave me a sheepish grin before turning her attention back to the small group that was now looking towards us.
A girl with long dark hair raced over with a big smile, "Rox!" She leapt into Roxie's arms, clinging to her like a child who hadn't seen there parent in a long time.
Roxie patted her on the head with an awkward laugh, "Maegan."
Maegan looked in my direction, eyes narrowing into suspicious slits. I half expected her to start hissing at me from the expression on her cherub like face, "Who are you?" She questioned as she pushed away from Roxie.
"This our new friend, Beth. Be nice." Roxie said in a voice that held authority as if she was afraid the girl would be something other than nice. I looked over Maegan more carefully. She was pretty small but from the dirty look she had given me I imagined she wasn't to be under estimated.
"You'll have to ignore Mae most of the time. She is a little overprotective when it comes to me." Roxie tossed in my direction with a shrug of her shoulders. A tall and lanky guy approached us, grabbing Maegan up in his arms as if it were the most natural thing in the world to him.
He nodded his head toward Roxie, but said nothing. He turned his gaze in my direction and I felt anxiety start creeping up. He was so much taller than me and the look in his eyes was sharp like a predator. I found myself shuffling a step closer to Roxie, which made her chuckle a bit, "This is Zach. Mae's..." She looked like she was searching for the right word.
"Boyfriend?" I supplied.
She snapped her fingers, "Yes. This Zach, Mae's boyfriend. He doesn't talk all that much. He's like you in that way, Beth." I found myself glaring into the side of her face at the comment. She only laughed again at my expense before looping her arm through mine and dragging me towards the van.
She lifted her hand and pointed toward the two guys leaned against the paint chipped vechile, "The one on the right is Archer." My eyes focused on the boy to the right. He was stocky and built like he spent everyday in the gym trying to get bigger, "The one on the right is Tommy. He's a huge player so watch out for him." She said that last part loud on purpose.
The player in questioned lifted his face in our direction as he puffed on a joint, "Don't believe a single word that comes out of that lying bitches mouth. If anyone is the player around here it's her."
I peered up at Roxie to find her looking down at me with a toothy grin, "Hey I can't help that people love me." She broke away from me and greeted Archer with a big hug and Tommy with a solid punch to his shoulder.
"Damn that hurts, Roxie!" Tommy glared at her as he rubbed the sore spot.
She gave him pointed look, while she tried to keep from smiling, "That will teach you to never call me a bitch again."
Zach stood beside me as Maegan pulled free from his hold and charged at Tommy like an angry puppy, "You called our Roxie a bitch?" She seemed appalled by the thought as she swung her small fist at him over and over. He beat them off with ease as everyone else seemed to watch on with amusement. Tommy looked over at Roxie in exasperation, "Call of your little guard dog."
Roxie smiled bigger before looking to Zach, who seemed to understand exactly what she wanted him to do without speaking. He moved forward and snatched Maegan up, pulling her away from Tommy. She continued to glare at him but relaxed in her boyfriend grip. I took in the group of them and realized that I had been brought into the group of outcasts.
If Avery was the leader of the royal court than Roxie stood as her polar opposite leader of the street rats. She waved me over to the group and I hesitated for a moment before I moved forward, shoving my hands deeper into my pockets.
"Everyone, this is Beth. She is our new friend, isn't that right?" She questioned of me.
I hunched my shoulders forward a bit, feeling uncomfortable under their eyes. It was like standing in a cage surrounded by lions, "Sure, whatever. As long as I don't have to take like a blood oath or sell my soul to a demon we're cool." I hadn't been looking to get myself friends but it seemed as though I wasn't really getting a choice in that matter.
Roxie burst out laughing, "This girl...she's hilarious." She came forward and patted me on the shoulder as she walked away, leaving me with the strange group of people she had deemed "cool". Maegan followed quickly after her shooting a skeptical look in my direction as she passed me. I turned around to see Roxie examining a Shopping cart, Maegan talking to her excitedly as she pointed around.
"Welcome, new girl." Archer gave my shoulder a rough squeeze as he moved towards the two girls. I reached up and rubbed at the spot, not sure how to feel about the fact that they had pulled me into their little group.
Roxie was sandwiched between Maegan and Archer, as they tried to help her into the shopping cart they had clearly found laying around. The three of them were laughing like idiots as they started running towards the horribly made ramp of cardboard boxes and other things they'd found in the dumpster.
"She is one of kind." Tommy commented as he passed his joint to Zach. I knew he was talking about Roxie.
"You could definitely say that." I replied.It seemed they all really loved her in a way that seemed both natural and unnatural.
Tommy brushed his arm against mine, "But if she brought you here, than she must think you're one of a kind too." I turned to him with furrowed brows. He only gave me a playful wink before pushing away from the van and moving toward the others.