The Angel Series Collection - Books 1-3

Seriously

We rolled into Tangi right before dawn. Judging by the old buildings

that lined the street, I knew this place was nothing more than a whistleblower. The morning air was sultry, and the mosquitoes were swarming in clusters. I already hated the place. I began ticking off all the diseases those bloodsuckers carried, such as Zika, Malaria, and the West Nile virus. A scowl tainted my face. I suspected that the pests outnumbered the locals.

Listening to Sara’s constant babble the whole way here made me want to barf. The way she told it, it was as if we were moving to the land of OZ. I think she meant the land of bugs. The first hotel we found, Sara pulled into its parking lot. We were nearly out of gas, and nothing was open. It was either this or sleeping in the car. Sara cleared her throat. “We can stay here tonight. It ain’t that bad.” She made a weak attempt at a smile.

I scowled in my side-view window, hiding my sullen face. “Whatever,” I mumbled darkly.

I couldn’t say much about the place other than it was rundown and on the outskirts of town. The neon light shined brightly above our heads, barely hanging on its hinges. One blub sizzled, blinking off and on, as another had shattered, glass pooled around the post.

The sign read, “Welcome to Claude’s Inn.” Though the place wasn’t much to look at, anything with a bed sounded good to me. After riding scrunched up in an old 1975 Volkswagen all night, I would’ve slept on rocks.

Sara climbed out of the car and darted inside the manager’s office and paid for a room. I noticed iron bars divided the entrance. Alarm crept down my spine. “Crap! This must be where all the druggies hung out,” I choked out a bitter laugh. “Just perfect!” I slid down in my seat, arms folded across my chest.

Soon Sara returned with a key dangling from her hand. We pulled up to our room, number ninety-three. Sara killed the engine, and we piled out of the car. I paused, stretching my stiff limbs, and yawned. It felt good to stand erect. Stopping for a quick piss was a luxury with Sara. The last time we braked was in Waskom, Texas.

Like always, Sara ordered me to bring in our items, and like a good little slave, I obeyed. After dragging in the last suitcase, I’d no sooner dropped it on the floor than I collapsed on the bed. Though the bed was slightly lumpy, it didn’t matter. Eh! I’d slept on worse.

My mind started to drift. I thought about back home in Texas, Beck, Laurie, and even Logan. I swilled the aching brick in my throat. I missed home something fierce, the rumble of tumbleweeds, the flat plains, and horny toads. I blew out a sharp breath. Though missing my birthday felt like sharp teeth sinking into my skin, it was no comparison to leaving my friends behind. For the first time… I belonged.

I belongedSara didn’t understand. I reckoned she had her own idealism, her own vision. The woman never worried about how others saw her. A free spirit, doing as she pleased, not a care in the world. I was different. Fitting in meant everything to me. A roof over my head and a stable home were important to me. Staying in one place for more than a few weeks would be a dream come true.

Texas was lost to me forever. I had to put it behind me and move on. Just like I’d left my birthday back in Texas, in the same sense, I abandoned my friends back there too. I decided no more friends and no more crying over the birthdays of yesteryear. I just wanted to stop thinking. Soon, sleep devoured my thoughts, and all forgotten.

* * *

Sunlight warmed my face as I opened my eyes. Sara’s perfume drifted in the room as I jolted to a start as my memory came rushing in like a tsunami. A frown seized my face. Remembering that Texas had long passed my rear-view mirror gave me no inspiration to get out of bed. I flopped on my back with an ireful huff and spotted Sara’s empty bed.

A couple of wet towels were in a heap on the floor in the corner. Sara’s suitcase looked as if a thief had pilfered through it. Clothes scattered about on the bed and the floor, and Sara was nowhere in sight. I reckoned she might be job hunting.

Kicking out from under the covers, I hauled myself out of bed and padded to the door, swinging it wide open. “Geez!” I jumped back, squinting from the bright sunlight. I whistled. “Damn!” I checked the clock. “Only eight in the morning, and it was already sweltering hot,” I grumbled as I wiped my sweat-beaded nose with the back of my hand. I stood there, taking in the surroundings. The only creatures stirring were the annoying bobwhites chirping in the brush of trees. A pungent smell wafted in the air. “Yuck!” I scrunched up my nose. “I hate fish!”

I stretched my eyes as far as I could see. I drew in a disparaging breath. I instantly disliked it here—such a contrast to Sweetwater. Here, I saw nothing but junkyards of rusted cars, an old fish-bait gas station at the corner of the parking lot.

What did Sara see in this Podunk town? No point in asking. She wouldn’t tell the truth. Might as well accept my fate. We never stayed anywhere for long was the one consistency in my life. Another dirty town on the horizon, merely a tap of the heels away.

I stared outside at the long stretch of moss-green hills and towering pines swaying to a light breeze. My stomach lurched. Soon summer would be over, and my last year of school would be at hand. I dreaded it. Only a couple of weeks away from the main event, a new school, new faces, new fights, and the vicious cycle of fitting in once again. Fitting in was like the flip of a coin. In some schools, I managed to stay under the radar, and in others, I fought. Sweetwater High was badass! I’d made a place for myself there with Laurie and Becky, the best friends ever! It had been a nice change to have the camaraderie of friends rather than being the target of everyone’s cruel jokes.

I exhaled a weary sigh and shut the door harder than intended. I preferred shoving my foot through it. Sara denying me a birthday party was one thing but moving me to the freaking sticks had me furious. I padded back to my bed and slipped under the covers, burrowing myself. I wanted to hide for the rest of my life under this stupid blanket.

* * *

The sky had grayed by the time Sara burst through the door. Her flushed face beamed with liquored-up mirth. The second she shut the door, I could smell the cheer on her breath. She stumbled over to my bed and pounced on the edge. I was playing possum. I’d seen headlights pulling up and her getting out of the car.

Sara leaned over my bunched-up body, shaking my shoulder and pulling my cover off my head. “Guess what?” She announced, too perky. Slowly my eyes drifted open as her soused grin came into focus.

“What?” I was still in a snit. “You found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?” My sarcasm felt liberating, even if it might spark a hard slap across the face.

“Why not show some support here?”

I faked a smile. “Yes, Mother Dear, I am quite happy we moved to the faraway land of bugs-gone-wild.” I snatched the blanket from her grasp and covered my head, putting my back to Sara and stewing in icy silence.

Not getting the hint, she yanked the cover back down. “I got a job,” she giggled into my ear. “I’m working at the Mudbug Café just around the corner, downtown. It doesn’t pay much, but I’ll make it up in tips.” I sensed Sara’s euphoria aiming at my back. She was trying to appease me, which made this whole move worse. I felt I’d earned the privilege to have at least one day to lie in bed and brood without Sara rubbing her bliss in my face.

I tossed the blanket to the side and rolled over facing her. I propped myself up on my elbow. “That’s gonna be hard, getting to your job.”

“Why do you say that?” Sara fiddled with a broken nail.

“The tires are low. If they go flat, you’ll have to walk. Did you stop and have someone take a look?”

Sara smirked, “Nope! I didn’t have to.”

“Why?” Oh lord, did she wreak the car?

“The tires are ripped to shreds.” She spoke with a devil-may-care tone as she tugged off her red bottom heels. “I drove the car anyway.”

My eyes nearly went cross-eyed, gawking at her feet. Suddenly my concern switched to shock as I bolted to a sitting position. “Where did you get those shoes?” I gaped. “Those are no Wal-Mart shoes! Especially since, oh, I don’t know since we’re penniless.”

Sara snatched the shoes up and tucked them in her suitcase. “Don’t worry about it. We have other things to trouble ourselves over.” It was crystal clear that Sara was lying. Apart from her southern accent kicking up, a twitch in her left eyebrow gave her away.

“Trouble ourselves,” I scoffed. “You’re ruining the only set of wheels we have.” I eyeballed her with little patience. “You do know driving the car will damage the wheels?”

“How much more damage can the tires possibly take? The tires are already ruined.”

“Mom, I’m not referring to the rubber. The wheel is the metal barrel that receives the tire.”

“Oh!” She acted as if I’d spoken a foreign language. “Then you can walk. I have a ride.” She swatted her hand in the air, dismissing the problem like every other hiccup we’d ever encountered. “Oh, all right. If you must, take the car to the gas station up at the corner. See if they can patch up the tires.” With that said, Sara disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. A minute later, I heard the shower. I turned my back to the bathroom door, fuming. I wondered where Sara expected me to get the coins. The tires were beyond repair. We needed new tires.

Moving past the car troubles, I suspected Sara had a date tonight. The tight dress laid out flat on her bed with the killer heels gave it away. I had to give her credit. We hadn’t been here twenty-four hours, and she’d already snagged a man. That had to be a record even for Sara. Of course, she never had a problem in that department. Finding a boyfriend was like plucking an apple from a tree. There was always an orchard of apple trees where Sara was concerned.

I stayed out of my mother’s affairs. Keeping in mind all of her short-lived romances, any person of the male persuasion should take out a life insurance policy before hooking up with her. Boyfriends of Sara’s either disappeared or turned up dead. Creepy, if you asked me.