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Tess woke up from bed, dragging her feet because she didn’t want to go to high school where she was in her third year, she’d rather shoot herself, she felt like this every morning and it was only March. She put on a pair of brown baggy pants and a black tank top. She raked her long -black and fire red hair- back with her hand and walked out of her room.

She walked down the stairs of the five bedroom house where she lived with her parents and her little brother and sister who were five year old twins. The little kids were running around the house while her mother and stepfather were drinking coffee in the kitchen.

“ I see I didn’t have to drag you out of bed today.” Her mother Robin Grant said as she stood from her seat at the square table.

“ Nope I’m up.” Tess flatly said with a sigh.

“ I need you to pick up the twins from school today.” Robin said as she loaded the dishwasher.

“ What--Why?” Tess asked, she keep herself from yelling because it didn’t get her anywhere.

“ I have to be at work and James is leaving town for a gathering with the firm, remember? I need your help around here.” Robin explained.

“ Ok, fine, I’ll do it.” Tess said before she left out the backdoor. She had her own car. She saved enough money when she was fifteen and got her own car, now not needing her mother or James for a ride.

She turned the engine and left the driveway as fast as she could without drawing attention. “ Don’t get mad. It’s pointless, they don’t care anyway. All they want is what you can do for them. You tell your mother something important and she brushes it away and James, that prick. Damn little twins, they’re my half brother and sister why the hell do I have to do everything with them. I didn’t push them out! The twins this and the twins that.” she said out loud in the car, screaming at herself because no one heard, no one ever heard.

She parked in front of the school and turned off the old model Ford Taurus and sat there for a couple of minutes. Tess Reed was an outsider to her family and she came to terms with that years ago but it still bothered her. Her name was different, everyone’s last name was Grant, she had her father’s last name, Reed. He died when Tess was nine and when she was eleven her mother married James a month later she was pregnant with the twins.

Tess had two friends she expressed her self to and to a certain point, Monica and Elise. They’ve know each other since they were seven.

Tess finally left her car and slammed the door shut behind her.

“ If you keep doing that you won’t have a car door left.” She turned and saw who was talking to her, she had no idea who he was and she didn’t say anything but gave him a nasty look and walked away.

She walked through the hall way of the school, people were still entering, lots were just standing and talking.

“ Hey watch it freak!” This coming from Brandy Hunter.

Tess stopped and faced the blond in the pink top. “ I am really getting sick of your bullshit. One of these days I might just go over the edge and that won’t be good for you.” she said in a chilling low voice.

“ You try anything and my father will be all over you.” Brandy hissed. Her father; the district attorney.

“ Yeah I heard your father liked them young. Isn’t the chick he’s cheating on your mom with what? 19?” Tess asked as she crossed her arms over her chest as her shoulder bag slid down to her elbow.

“ You bitch!” Brandy yelled, causing the whole school to look their way.

“ I’d rather be a bitch then the school slut. Who’s dick are you sucking today?” Tess asked in her same low tone as Brandy’s eyes just got bigger and bigger till she just stormed off. “ Bye!” Tess called out to her.

Monica and Elise joined Tess.

“ What did you do now?” Elise had asked as they made their way down the hall way, headed to the bathroom.

“ Nothing more then the normal.” Tess said as she pushed the door to the bathroom.

“ That’s scary.” Monica said because the normal was what others called extreme. The bathroom was empty, Tess sat on the counter.

“ That bitch had it coming. One of these days I’m going to do something to her, I just don’t want jail time.” Tess said.

“ Let’s ditch.” Monica said, with her hands on her hips. “ I can’t handle this fucking school today.”

“ I can’t.” Tess said.

“ Oh come let’s do it.” Elise jumped in. “ You’re a straight A student, you can take one day off.” she pointed out. Elise was short tiny girl at 4’3 tall and she was rail thin. Tess was the tallest at 5’9 and Monica was 5’4 and more on the fuller side.

“ If my mom finds out she’ll flip.” Tess pointed out as she thought Monica’s suggestion over.

“ All of our moms will flip, so? Let’s just go.” Monica said as she opened the bathroom door.

The three of them left the bathroom and were halfway down the hallway when Monica said. “ Shit I forgot my bag.”

“ I’ll go with you to get it.” Elise said.

“ I’ll be outside when you guys are ready.” Tess aid as she kept walking. The walls ways were empty now and everyone was in class. She walked outside and stood on the side of the building so if anyone was in the halls they wouldn’t see her. Five minutes passed and Tess realized Monica and Elise were busted.

“ Just great.” she sighed as she walked down to her car. She wasn’t going back in once she was out even though her mother would most likely find out and make everything worse.

She drove past a little coffee shop she passed everyday but she never stopped because Brandy and her type of friends were always there, why start a fight for some coffee? She decided to go in now. She parked behind a dark blue pick up and got out.

The coffee shop was empty and slash a bookstore she realized, something you couldn’t tell from the outside.

“ Well if it isn’t car slamming chick.”

“ What are you? My stalker?” Tess asked as she saw the familiar face from this morning. Dirty blond hair with streaks of light and dark. Dark blue eyes that from afar looked brown, like this morning but now were clearly blue.

“ Sorry to bust your bubble but I work here.” He explained.

“ So what were you doing at the high school?” Tess asked.

“ Dropping off my sister, she just started.” He explained. “ Shouldn’t you be at school?” he asked as he looked her over, bag on her shoulder, school bag.

“ Should but not.” Tess said as she walked over to the counter and sat down.

He walked behind the counter. “ What can I get you?”

“ Coffee, black.” Tess said.

“ How old are you?” He asked as he poured the coffee into a large ceramic mug.

“ You ask a lot of questions.”

“ Just curious.”

“ You first. How old are you?”

“ Twenty.”

“ Seventeen.” Tess said as he placed the coffee in front of her. “ What’s your name?”

“ Tristen. And yours?” he asked as he leaned against the counter. There wasn’t anyone else around except an older woman nursing a sandwich and coffee with the morning paper.

“ Tess.” she answered. “ You said your sister just started. Does that mean you’re new in town?”

“ Yeah. Moved a month ago, it took this long for my sister’s papers to get in order.” Tristen explained.

“ Yeah and you? Finished high school and said screw college and now you work crappy jobs?” Tess asked as she stirred her coffee.

Tristen laughed. “ Is that the impression I give out?” he asked.

Tess looked at the chain looped through his belt and hung along his leg. His hair wasn’t short but not really long either. He had some what of a goatee going. About ten silver chains around his wrist and on the other, a black band. She guessed the leather jacket hanging near the door was his. A pair of baggy jeans and a gray t-shirt.

“ Yeah, that’s the impression I get.”

“ Well its not nice to judge by appearance. I’m in college, night classes and I work during the day to pay for it. Me and my family just moved here, new opportunities.” Tristen explained as he looked into her brown eyes for a second before she looked away.

“ Ok, I admit I was wrong.” Tess said as she drank the end of her coffee. “ I should go.” she said, standing from her seat.

“ Go where? You’re ditching school.” Tristen pointed out.

“ And what do you propose I do?” Tess asked.

“ Stay here.” Tristen suggested and Tess sat back down.

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Isabelle