We live in a beautiful world
Coldplay - Don't Panic
There were two things that Gabby Tucker wanted to achieve before the day of her death. The first was world domination. A rather bold idea, she was practical enough to realize that the chances of accomplishing that task were about as high as Jessica Simpson being appreciated for her brains alone. She never did stop dreaming about it, though.
The second thing that she wished for was to become rich and move away from the old, decrepit hovel that she called home. It wasn't that her living arrangements were less than sub par; it was just that she lived in a two bedroom apartment that she shared with her mother among a debacle of overused, second-hand items.
But that wasn't the only reason she wanted to leave.
Since the walls of the complex were particularly thin, Gabby would be woken up in the midst of night to the sound of Barry White coupled with the soft grunting of a female voice and the yodeling of a male voice. Now, Gabby was not a person who judged anyone's nocturnal habits. She had to sleep with a nightlight and a stuffed animal, two things that she never outgrew, after all. However, hearing the same thing every night for seventeen years was just too much.
When she was younger and more innocent of mind, she had believed that her neighbors were merely watching a loud program on television. When she was exposed to the truth, thanks to the antique (her PE teacher had called it "classic") films in her sex education classes, she had prayed for it to be some sort of television show but knew it wasn't so.
That was when insomnia hit Gabby over the head. She would crawl as far away from her room as possible and study for school in the kitchen, just so she could keep her mind away from that scene.
Gabby was just about to grab her textbooks when she heard another disturbing sound. This time it was coming from the direction of her mother's room. There seemed to be a rhythmic banging.
Gabby grabbed her ears and tried to blink away the tears. No one, she hoped, could be suffering as much as she was at that moment. Being bombarded by both sides of her wall by the sounds of sexual activities—
She tried to block her mind from going in that direction. If she didn't achieve that, she would be flung into the abyss of a mental breakdown, something she wanted desperately to avoid.
She whispered to herself, "Just breathe, and get the hell out of here."
Grabbing her books, Gabby flung open her door and stormed down the hallway. She took no more than three steps before she tripped on something silky. She managed to regain her balance and look down. Immediately, she regretted her folly. On the tip of her toe was a silky piece of cloth; her mother's panties.
She bit her lip to avoid screaming. Kicking off the underwear, she made it to the end of the hall without another mishap…or so she believed.
She looked at the living room and saw several articles of clothes strewn about. Her mother was not a clean woman, but to leave her clothes about before engaging in—
Gabby ran into a mental wall that she quickly threw up. It was just too disturbing to think of her mom in that situation.
She sighed. As long as she was far away from the action though, she figured that she would be okay.
She walked through the living room, avoiding any eye contact with the garments and pushed open the door of the kitchen, failing to notice that the lights were already on.
There was someone standing there, his head poking into the nearly empty refrigerator, apparently in search of food.
Geeze, Mom, at least be polite and feed your guests before sleeping with them.
She shook her head. Crap…I think I've just stepped into the realms of insanity…
Before Gabby could shut the door and sneak away without being noticed, he had turned around and smiled casually.
He was…a boy no older than her. He was tall with the body of a swimmer. He had dark hair that looked messed up, as if he had run his long fingers through it several times in great agitation. Piercing gray eyes that appeared cold under the dim phosphorescent lights, were studying her with curiosity and ill humor.
Is this Mom's lover? He's just a boy! Is Mom a cradle robber?
But…Gabby's thoughts careened to a halt. She recalled a sound coming from her mother's room. That would mean…by herself…Mom was pleasuring her own…
…Gabby's thoughts careened to a halt. She recalled a sound coming from her mother's room. ……The boy seemed to realize Gabby's distress. He shut the refrigerator door and extended a hand toward her. "Hello, Gabriella," he said in a clear and eloquent voice. "My name's Clayton Akuji. I'm your new brother."
End Chapter