Here's one of the scenes. It's from chapter two. Dan and Clara, two important characters for the book, have such a strong presence. I love writing them! (Dan is Mae's love interest ;)) Keep in mind that this is part of the rough draft!!
Clara looks rough by the time I pull into the parking lot of the apartment where she has been staying—what she told me at the time—a day after she called me. It was a long ass drive, nearly ten hours. I didn’t want to give her roommate the money for her bail, but Grandma nearly chewed my head off when I told her my plan to make her wait until I got to Kentucky. Instead, I’m giving her friend back the money she paid to bail Clara out.
It wasn’t easy to explain what happened to our grandmother. She wanted to come and be the one to pay Clara’s friend back, but her health isn’t exactly one-hundred percent.
Clara stares at me from the steps when I get out of my truck. She hugs her knees and her mascara has a big black streak down to the middle of her cheek. I wonder how long she’s been sitting there, crying, waiting for me to get here today. She must have been wiping her face a lot. She has the good sense to look completely embarrassed when I sigh and get out of my vehicle.
I sigh. “Hey, sis.”
“I hate you for not just wiring the money,” Clara says. I sit next to her and put my arms around her. “I would have been out of there a day sooner if you would have just wired the money. Instead, I had to spend an extra day with an intimidating older lady with zero teeth, who kept calling me ‘Rich Blonde Bitch’. I thought she would shank me in my sleep.”
I see the friend who bailed her out peaking though the window. Her eyes widen when she notices me make eye contact with her before she darts behind the blue curtains with the letters “UK” on them. Well, I’d think the people in this area would support Louisville. I’m sure she wants her money, but she can wait until I finish speaking with my sister.
“That’s the love I get for driving all the way up here to make sure you’re okay?”
Clara sounds like she wants to cry when I’m sure she’s already been crying. I want to fucking break this pussy’s nose for getting her so upset. It’s hard to remind myself that I can’t keep busting a motherfucker’s head every time my little sister gets hurt. I almost got put in juvie for that in high school. At least Clara is okay. She rests her head against my shoulder now. I guess she is relieved I’m here even though she will never admit it.
“He’s not worth it,” I say instead of scolding her like I spent the entire drive up here preparing myself to do.
“No shit.”
This girl isn’t my sister. She looks like her, but I’m not sure if she has had her personality completely washed or what. Clara would never let her mascara run or sound defeated. Her hair looks like it hasn’t been brushed in a few days. Her tone has a small bite to it, but it isn’t laced with a strong sarcastic tone like it used to be. My sister can be a mean ass. She isn’t acting like one right now.
“What the fuck happened, Clara?”
She huffs and pulls away from me, raking her hands through her hair.
“You’re not living in the dorms like you said you would,” I state matter of factly when she doesn’t answer me.
“I’m not. I dropped out of school.”
“What the fuck?”
I stand because I’m in shock. She’s been lying the whole time? This definitely isn’t my sister.
I’m swearing in front of her. I usually try to watch my mouth in the presence of women. Fuck that. Clara is old enough to hear me when I’m truly pissed, and the alternative would be to beat her boyfriend’s ass.
“Clara, what the hell…”
“Let me talk, okay, Dan? If you keep interrupting me every five minutes, I don’t think I’ll be able to get everything out.”
I clench my jaw shut because I want to understand what is going on before I act rashly and end up in jail with this Jason asshole threatening to press charges against me too.
“Last few weeks… they’ve been rough. I’ve been feeling like I’m not very smart, so that’s why I dropped out of school. I got mostly D’s because I hate studying. Jason said he would get me a job working at a bar for his friend in Louisville and that I wouldn’t need to worry about proving my age. Jason was right, I guess. The guy didn’t ask many questions, like how old I am, during the interview. About a month after that Jason started pressuring me to move in with him, and I nearly did… only things at the strip club started going downhill and after I got fired last week for smashing a glass into a customer’s crotch—“
“Clara, hold the fuck up. You worked in a strip club?”
She bites her lower lip and turns bright red. “Um…”
“Please tell me my sister didn’t drop out of college to fucking strip in front of men for money.”
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “I didn’t, Dan. I just served drinks and then volunteered for a humane society on the side—”
“I can’t fucking believe this!”
I really, truly can’t believe it, and I need to get away before I do something fucking stupid. I rake my hand through my hair and pull out my wallet. I don’t know this town, but I’m about to figure it out, but I need to do what I came here to do first.
“Here,” I say, tossing two fifties at her.
“Whoa, Dan… that’s way more money than—”
“You look like shit. You don’t have to work in a strip club to get money. All you have to do is come to me.”
She’s crying now. She knows she fucked up, and she knows I’m about to leave so that I can get my head on straight.
“I’m going to find a grocery store,” I say. “And then I’m going to make us all dinner.”
She launches herself off the steps and into my arms, and I catch her because I would be an ass if I let my sister fall onto the ground face first even though I’m very angry at her.
“Can you make a pizza? Ohh, with breadsticks and everything?”
Jesus. She wants me to cook for hours. But, this is my little sister.
“Yeah,” I say. “Of course I will.”
