Two

After I got home, I shut and locked the front door.  My parents were already up in bed, Jason was probably sleeping at a friend's house, and I would be sleeping in my room soon enough, too.  I turned off all of the downstairs lights and made my way up to the bathroom.  I grabbed a towel from the rack outside the door and started up a nice, hot shower.  I stripped off my work clothes and threw them in the hamper and jumped in to the shower.  The hot water made me tense up for a few seconds, then I sighed and let my body relax.  I got my hair wet then applied my shampoo.  I let it sit for a small time as I washed my body, then I washed the soap off and shampoo out and applied conditioner.  I massaged it into my scalp and brought it down my long brown hair and washed it out.  I stood in the shower for several minutes longer.  I just stood there and contemplated the conversation I had before leaving with Cal.

I never would have imagined that Clark Jays was part of a gang.  I didn't know him very well(I only met him a few times,) but he really seemed like a good kid.  He's only a year older than Cal, but he was always behaved and never used his age to his advantage.  He must have been really desperate for something if he went and joined Axton Parker's gang.

Axton Parker.  It's a name that I just can't get over.  I remember feeling so relieved the day I heard he was arrested.  It was a big relief on so many people, actually.  Many more than just me, and it wasn't only people in Pennsylvania that were relieved about this.

While Axton was caught in Pennsylvania, he committed so many murders all over the United States, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation is sure he committed many more in other countries around the world.  Of course, murders weren't the only things he did wrong.  He was also a dealer--not just of drugs, but of many things.  He didn't do drugs, that was for sure though.

But the list of all the things he was wanted for--homicide, kidnapping, theft, assault, arson, extortion, fraud, forgery, identity theft, manslaughter, vandalism, solicitation... I think you get it.  He's done more than enough to become the most wanted man in America, and who knows what else he's done in other countries?

I got very bad chills as I thought about the possibilities of him coming back into town.  I never knew that he was here until they did the raid on his house.  That was very scary to me.  I never thought somebody like Axton Parker would--could-- live in the same town as me.  I mean, I've accepted the facts that drug dealers and --separately--murderers do, but I couldn't accept the fact that somebody who did so much more could be anywhere near me or my family.

I started to think back to the conversation we were having even before, talking about why I didn't want a relationship.  So many teenage boys are into drugs or drinking alcohol or smoking.  My parents don't smoke or drink alcohol--okay, my mom drinks one glass of red wine every day.  But that's as far as it goes in my family.  I can't stand the smell of smoke and I loathe the thought of dating somebody who gets drunk or high or does basically anything like that to ruin their body.  I don't want that stuff around my children, either.  If I have to wait forever to have children, or raise them by myself or whatever, I'll do it like that, I've already decided.  I will not have drugs and alcohol around my children (unless I decide to follow in my mother's footsteps with one glass of red wine a day because it's healthy.)

I ended my thoughts with a sigh, and only then did I notice how cold the water was!  I couldn't shut the water off fast enough.  I wrung out my hair as best as I could and quickly grabbed at my towel to sweep it around my body.  I stood in the tub, shivering for a few seconds, before I finally was warm enough again to step out and dry off my body, then put my hair up in the towel to dry for the time being.

I changed into a white and black striped tank top and short black shorts.  I walked out of the bathroom, shutting the light off, and went into my room, closing the door behind me.  I walked to my bed, sat down on the soft comforter and started to manually dry my hair.

Clark.  He was a sweet boy, from what I remember about him.  I still just couldn't believe that he would...

I really have to stop thinking about this.  I have stuff to do tomorrow and I can't let this plague my mind and keep me up any longer.

When I looked at my alarm clock, it read seven minutes past midnight.  I didn't know what time I got home, but it couldn't have been much before eleven-thirty.

I quickly tried to finish my hair-drying process, but my hair was still damp when I started to lay down so I sighed and had to go get my blow dryer.

My alarm woke me up at five in the morning.  Five.  On a Saturday.

I never turned my alarm off!  I groaned as I slammed on the 'off' button and attempted to get back to sleep although I found that I couldn't.

I'm so tired!  I have to go back to sleep... C'mon, Kaylee!  You can do it, I told myself.  But in the end, I just couldn't.  I groggily sat up in my bed and rubbed at my eyes while my lips parted for a yawn.

What am I supposed to do for another four hours?  I couldn't even begin to figure out.  I guess the first step is changing my clothes.

If I'd shut my alarm off and woken up around nine like I usually did naturally on the weekends, I would have no problem functioning right now.

I got off of my bed very slowly and walked to my dresser.

I threw on a black short-sleeved Iron Fist 'How Soon is Now? ' shirt, jeans that were faded neon-green and I kicked Converse out of the closet that were close to the same color for later when I had to go outside.

On my way back, I heard a little bit of commotion outside so I stepped up to the window.  There was a red van parked in front of the house next door.  It was old and abandoned, but at the front of the house there was a man standing there with two other guys.  He was helping them unload small pieces of furniture, and I got chills over my neck and back.

Two of the guys looked familiar, but I couldn't place them right away. 

Out of the two that looked eerily familiar, the one who was more built had short black hair that was kept neat and styled.  He was in a black tank top and jean shorts.  He looked pale but it was the kind of pale that you could fall for-- if you were up for dating, anyways.

The second guy was much smaller than the first and his hair was significantly longer than the first guy's.  It was shoulder length and blonde and it looked like he could do a rockstar's flip or head-bang with it perfectly.  He wore a short-sleeved, plain grey short and jeans.

The third guy who I couldn't place at all was built between the two of them.  He had the muscles to do heavy lifting, and it looked like he was doing more of the work when it came to moving a sofa inside since he was lifting with the scrawny boy.  He had a military haircut with only a soft fuzz on brown hair on his head.  He was wearing a white sleeveless shirt that looked like the sleeves were torn off and typical shorts.

I kept looking between the two of the boys and I couldn't seem to place them.  They probably just look like somebody I knew a while ago.

I walked away from my window and sat down on my bed.  I didn't remember to put my phone on to charge that night, so it was at about thirty-two percent.  I grabbed my charger and plugged it in, then leaned back against the wall my bed was pushed up against and loaded up my horoscope.

I was born on August 21, which makes me a Leo.  And yes, I believe in my horoscope, too.

Leo's Horoscope - June 10, 2014

Today you may get an uneasy feeling about somebody or a group of people around you, Leo. You may think that they can't be trusted- and this is probably a gut feeling you have.  As king (or queen) of the jungle, you know to trust your gut instinct and to never let your guard down for a second.  You know when danger is lurking around the corner and today it is good that you do.  Trust your intuition today and you won't regret it tomorrow.  Really think about the choices you make today, Leo.  And just remember- although your gut is something good and something your should follow, you may not always be right.

I always loved reading my horoscopes, but I absolutely hated when it startedsaying one thing and ends on a completely different note.

I sighed and shook my head, then proceeding to bring up the news on my phone.  On the first page was an updated story about yesterday's post, but I didn't completely look at it.  I only glanced at the image that was on it of Axton Parker.

He had short black hair that was kept neat and styled and he looked really built and these bright hazel eyes, close to my own.

I didn't see the man outside from the front.

But it can't be too hard to figure out my thoughts, right?

Oh my God... is Axton Parker right outside my house?  I felt my heart starting to beat quickly and then I realized- Clark!  The other boy must be Clark!  My heart was absolutely pounding in my chest and my stomach was turning into sickly twisted knots.

I fumbled for my phone and scrolled through my contacts until I came to one Puffy Panda, my contact name for Callie because she has a black and white cat at her house that she named exactly that.

I couldn't dial her number fast enough.  Unfortunately, her phone was one that just kept on ringing and ringing.  It didn't go to voicemail for a long time.  On the eighth ring, she denied the call.  She's up!  I groaned and called her back.

This time she denied me on the second ring.

So I called back one more time and she picked up.

"Who the hell is this?" she yelled.

"Callie," I said lowly.  "It's Kaylee.  I'm sorry- I know what time it is but-"

"Kay?" she sounded groggy and it was obvious she was tired and I'd woken her up.  "What the hell are you calling me for this early?  Is everything alright?"

"Uh... yes and no," I told her.  "I have some news that you're not going to like and I don't know what to do."

You could hear some movement in the background as though she were sitting up.

"Okay," she said.  "What's up?"  She sounded only slightly less tired.  "Why are you up this early?"

"I forgot to turn my alarm off... but that's not at all what I called you about.  Cal, you'll never guess who's moving in next door."

"What?" she asked.  "Kay, you called me to talk about new neighbors?  What, is there some really hot guy that you fell in love with at first sight?"  Her voice was set in a teasing and humorous tone.  Did she really think I would call her about something like that after what I said yesterday about relationships?

"Callie!" I groaned.  "This isn't time for joking!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" she said.  "Calm down, Kay!  I'm just kidding.  Who's so important that your panties are in a bunch?" she joked.

"You're still making cracks!  Come on, Cal.  I really need you to take this seriously."

She gave a sigh.  "Okay.  Okay.  I've made enough jokes.  Who's moving in next door, Kaylee?"

Even though I called her and was going to blurt it out, I found that now I was having trouble saying it.

"Cal... well... you see... A-... Axton Parker," I whispered the name.

For the longest minute, there wasn't a reply.  She was quiet on the other end, and I became worried that something happened or she was freaking out and put me on mute.

Then she said, "What?  I-I'm sorry, I must not have heard you right.  Can you repeat that?"

I know you heard me, I told myself.  So I simply added, "And Clark is with him."

Author's Note

If there are any grammar problems, please point them out.