My Dark Prince

Chapter Two

Sure, it was two hours in the middle of nowhere. Two hours away from civilization. But mom and daddy like it that way. They had told Jason and I that there was too much noise and pollution in the city. They said people in the city were too concerned with themselves and not concerned enough about the surrounding environment. Which they had a point. It seemed like a new building was being built every day. The sky here always seemed covered with clouds of dark smog and the sounds of construction workers running equipment always seemed to be there.

So, I don’t really blame them, considering how beautiful the countryside is. The air was always so fresh and clean. Visiting home always seemed to relax me. Maybe I should take advantage of and soak up some nature, while I recapture my roots.

A mischievous grin spread across my face at the thought of Lucie’s dumbfounded voice, while she asks if I’ve lost my mind. The only stop between the city to their house is a little town. If you could really call it a town. A single gas station, a mom-and-pop grocery store and a little white church.

Population 652.

Yes, I believe Lucie would make me sound like a lunatic. But mom and daddy live about thirty minutes from the gas station and never seemed to complain. So, it should at least be tolerable. And quiet. Some good peace and quiet. Sounds like just what I need to get the inspiration flowing.

I reach down to scratch behind Siree's ear and glance up at the clock on the wall. At almost six o’clock, I need to get dressed before seven and be out by seven thirty. I want to leave early so I don’t have my backstabbing roomie and dead-beat ex-boyfriend directly in my face. Also, I want to get there before my parents, so they don’t say I’m always late. If I get there first, then they can’t say I’ll be late for my own wedding. Not like they had to worry about that, not for a long while. Especially now that I have scorned the longest relationship I’ve ever had with a boy. But they’ll get over it.

I get up from my small desk I bought from walmart.com and made my way to the bathroom down the hall, but not before I save my unfinished chapter and close out my laptop. I like my small simple desk, and for thirty bucks with free shipping, you couldn’t beat it. It wasn’t much but it was mine. Siree followed me every step of the way. I knew she wanted to lay on the bathroom rug while I showered. And she knows I’ll let her. Being naked in front of my dog doesn’t really bother me, but when she wants to lick my leg after I get out of the shower is another story.

The bathroom was pretty much a closet with a tub and toilet. But it had a three foot by four-foot mirror that hung over the vanity, which was the absolute best to do make-up in front of. I turn on the light and step inside. Before closing the door, I let Siree come in. Locking the door, I turn to the tub. Siree is already laying down, directly in my way. I maneuver to step over her and turn the water on then step back to look at myself in the mirror.

Wide blue eyes, auburn brown lashes and curls tied up in a messy bun. Freckles cover my slightly tinted skin. Not tan like Jason and daddy, but not as pale as mom is. But instead, I’m somewhere in between. With auburn hair, I doubt that I’ll ever tan, no matter how much I lay out.

As I strip out of my t-shirt, I can barely see the bouquet of peonies tattooed on my shoulder. I really liked how it turned out. The girl that did it took a picture and sent it to me after she finished. It was beautiful with geometric shapes and abstract watercolor ink in the background overlapping into the image itself. I loved it. Even though it was awesome, it didn’t compare to the star on my right ankle.

It was a tribal star outline with other little swirls and symbols along the inside. It is my favorite tattoo ever. Two weeks before my eighteenth birthday, mom had decided I could get a tattoo. She said as long as we got matching tattoos, and that was the outcome. I know it could have been something cuter, but it had sentimental value to it. It was my first tattoo, and my mom has its matching twin on her opposite ankle. I thought that was pretty cool. Daddy didn’t think so, until mom told him it was a birthday present. After that he didn’t say anything more about it. Daddy always seemed to let mom have her way. Kind of like that saying, ‘If mama isn’t happy, no one is happy.’.

In a way, it seemed he lived by that motto. He always went out of his way to make her happy. Even when that meant moving an hour away from his childhood home. Mom said when they were younger, they lived with granny and papa for a couple of years. Then mom wanted a place to call their own when she found out she was pregnant with me. She said that they had enough money saved up for the property they lived on now, but back then it was all wooded.

Daddy confirmed the story, also adding that he had to borrow papa’s tractor and accessories to clear a spot for the house they built from the ground up. I loved the house. A brick two-story house mom had designed herself. It was modeled after an old plantation house my mom had once visited as a child, I believe. But more modern on the inside. With its own library for her to work in, a dining room separated from the kitchen, and two extra rooms in case daddy’s family decided to visit, it was massive. It had more space than they ever needed.

Maybe the house felt empty without Jason and me there. Maybe moving back home wouldn’t just be good for me but for them as well. I know mom wouldn’t complain and daddy probably wouldn’t either.

With steam filling the small bathroom, I pulled off the remainder of my clothes. Stepping over Siree, I climbed into the shower and let the hot water flow down my tense body. I have been stressing too much. Stressing over my ex, over my ex-best friend, and most importantly stressing over my deadline. Stressing over everything isn’t good for my condition. The scolding hot showers I like to take don’t help my blood pressure either. Ever since high school, I have suffered from high blood pressure. Mom thought I had made myself have it for overthinking all the time. But I just think it runs in the family. I knew some members of daddy’s family had it, but because mom was an orphan there was no way to tell if her side of the family had it as well.

The hot water feels amazing. And invigorating. But I can’t take an hour-long shower to pamper myself tonight. Tonight, Jason and Natalie had some news they wanted to share, and they wanted us all there. I had a hunch about what it could be, but with Jason there’s no telling. It could be that he had gotten a new vehicle and wanted to celebrate. When mom and I had blown up the group chat that Natalie started, they gave no hints or clues about what the news could be. Smiling to myself, I poured a sizable amount of conditioner in my palm.

As I rake the conditioner into my hair with my fingers, I try my best to remove all the knots and tangles from my curls. Curls that I have had pulled up into a bun for a day or two. Don’t get me wrong, I love my curls, but the southern summer heat does not. The second they hit the humidity, they frizz. It looks like an alpaca that hasn’t been groomed in years. It is an awful mess.

I had made the mistake once of cutting it above my shoulders. It wasn’t pretty. I had to deal with Jason calling me ‘him’ all summer that year. It had taken three years of barely trimming the split ends off, to replace the amount I had cut. Finally, my hair was midway down my back. Unless I straightened it, of course. But straightening my hair for two hours only to have it curl back up in thirty minutes, was so over-rated.

I grab my multicolored loofa and squirt some of my strawberry mint body wash over the top. The fresh aroma of mint and the sweet indulgence of strawberries filled the shower. The steam rolled over the top of the shower curtain and floated in the bathroom atmosphere. I’ve been in long enough to start feeling lightheaded from the heat. Washing the conditioner out of my hair and soap off my body, I make a mental note to take my medication before I leave for Jason’s house.

I turn the water off and pull the curtain open. The sudden movement startled Siree, enough for her to stand up and look at me. The look she was giving me said what she couldn’t. The ‘what the hell is your problem’ look.

A half-hearted laugh escapes my lips as I look down at her.

“Sorry girl,” I tell her in a baby-toned voice. “It’s okay. You had to move eventually.”

Hearing my voice, she starts wagging her brown, white-tipped tail. Averting her eyes as if she was in trouble.

“What girl?” I asked her. “Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Rrrff” She barks with excitement.

“Oh yeah?” I ask, as if I’m actually having a conversation with her. “What?”

“Rrrff. Arooroo.” She vocalized, something between a bark and a howl.

I’m pretty sure she was ready to exit the humid bathroom. I don’t blame her, it’s stifling. I wrap an oversized towel around me and start brushing my hair over the tub. Pressing her nose into my knee, she had made me buck to grab my attention. Wrapping my hair in a small beach towel to absorb excess moisture from my dripping wet hair, I turn to see her nose at the door. Yep, definitely ready to get out of here. She started to paw at the bottom of the door.

Impatient much?

“Okay, okay,” I tell her. Opening the door. “I’m done. Let’s go.”

That was all she needed to bolt through the bathroom door, down the hallway and into my room. More than likely, she had jumped on my bed and plopped herself down on my pillows. Turning the corner of the doorway into my room, I see her, exactly where I thought she would be.

“You're so spoiled.” I tell her with a smile across my face.

The only response I got from her was a heavy sigh. A sign she was listening but didn’t care. Shaking my head, I sit on the side of the bed and check my phone. One new text message.

We are fixing to come into the city. See y’all soon.

It was mom. A smile spread across my face as I texted her back. She thought I would be late, like always.

Not if I see y’all first. LOL.

Putting my phone back down on the dresser, I set my mind on getting dressed as decently as quickly as possible. Tonight, I won’t be late.