Hell in Hampton by Megan Nettles (best affordable ebook reader .txt) đ
- Author: Megan Nettles
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âAll life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.â
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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*****
I look around at this mess Iâve made and I wonder how it couldâve gotten this bad. A tornado couldnât make this disaster. But my momâs always told me in situations like this⊠next time, check the bag on the vacuum cleaner.
College. Every single child in America gets the same stupid speech: âGo to college if you want to amount to anything.â So, after hearing this speech for what? 18 years? Itâs finally my time to actually try that out. The only problem is, for the next two weeks I still live at home. So itâs understandable why Iâm blowing up vacuum cleaners. Chores galore. âLetâs get as much out of them as we can,â must be my parents thinking. If only my twin brother, Bobby, would actually help.
âBobby! If youâre done with that, I could use some help, please!â I look at him, sitting outside in the fallen tree house (if you can even call it that anymore). While I continue to clean, he continues to hit his bong.
âIn a minute, Becca! As you can see, Iâm a bit preoccupied.â He breaks off in the middle of his sentence in a fit of coughing.
âIf you donât finish soon, Mom will be home, and I KNOW you remember last time!â I always remind him of the time Mom and Dad walked to the back yard late one night after their âdateâ and caught Bobby with a blunt. They were completely wasted and half undressed, so it was a bit awkward for both my parents and Bobby. No one ever mentions it. Except me. I think my parents are in denial about Bobbyâs little âhabitâ because they pretend as if he never steps out of line.
âOkay, okay.â He walks into the living room and replaces the vacuum bag for me. Then he cleans up the mess I made.
âMikeâs coming over in an hour so make sure you spray the stink away from yourself. I hate when you try to peer pressure him.â
*****
Tonightâs the night. Just tell her what you want. Sheâll understand. She always does. Quit being a big baby. Just. Tell. Her. She probably-
âOh! Hey Mike. Why are you standing outside?â Mrs. Thompson is always courteous. âOh, no matter. Come on in. Beccaâs just getting out of the shower. You can go wait in her room.â
*****
âThank you Mrs. Thompson. You look lovely today, by the way.â
âI tell you every day it seems: Call me Gabby.â
âSorry, Gabby. I always forget.â I wink at her and head down the hallway.
All the times that Iâve walked to Beccaâs room, Bobbyâs door has never been open. Heâs always inside his room. Come to think of it, I donât think Iâve ever even seen Bobby other than Beccaâs birthday dinner last year. How can I have dated a girl for 15 months and only seen her brother one time?
I get to Beccaâs room and knock. She opens the door in her towel.
âOh! Sorry Beck!â And I try to turn around. But she just laughes and pulls me in with her.
âIâm covered, Mr. Pastorâs Son,â She said with a mocking tone. âBut I can change that very quickly⊠if you want,â She whispered the last three words softly into my ear.
âBecca,â I say with my serious tone. âYou know how I feel about premarital sex.â
âWe donât have to do that Mikey! We can just fool around. You can even leave your clothes on!â I back up so that she sees that Iâm serious.
âNo Rebecca. I donât want to,â I had to tell her. The look on her face is killing me. âI donât want to, because I think we should take a break.â
âWhat are you talking about? Because I want to have sex, you want to break up?â She looked at me with those big blue eyes. I had to keep going. I had to tell her everything.
âNo Becca, sweetie. I just donât really know how things will work once I start going to Hampton-Sydney.â I look away from her. Finally done explaining. Now she realizes what I mean. Sheâs going to Virginia Tech and I wonât be there with her like I said I would be. Iâve been lying to her all summer. With only a week left for me, and two for her, I had to end things. And now I should probably leave.
âWhy? Why did you change schools? We had everything set! We wouldnât need to âtake a breakâ if you were going to Virginia Tech with me! Why are you so stupid!â Becca was turning hysterical. I patted the bed for her to come sit down.
âHampton-Sydney is my dadâs Alma Mater. I promised him a long time ago that Iâd at least consider applying there.â I looked down again. âVirginia Tech wouldnât take me anyway.â She just sat there. She wouldnât look at me and she wasnât saying anything. âIâm really sorry Beck. I hope we can still work things out. Itâs not like we wonât be seeing each other again.â She continued to sit there in silence so I just got up and walked out.
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A week later
âCome off it, Becca. Youâve been in this sloth-hole for days! You look like shit, you smell like shit, youâre basically a walking cow patty!â
âYeah, if you minus the walking part, Lex.â Shay and Alexis, my best friends, attempt to make me feel better. Is it any surprise that they make me feel like shit?
âGuys, I just donât really want to do anything.â They look at me as if Iâm a rather disgusting piece of gum stuck to their shoes.
âObviously, Shay, sheâs in dire need of some star bucks.â
âWise assessment, Lex. But firstâŠ..â
*****
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After what Shay and Alexis called âBreak Up- Make Up,â (which was actually just a really long shower followed by buckets of foundation and tubs of mousse) we headed to the star bucks around the corner.
âCan we leave now?â I ask after I inhale my frappe. â You guys KNOW that Michealâs house is right there.â
âResorted back to Micheal already?â Alexis says with a smirk.
âActually Becca, Alexis didnât want to tell you right away -â
âWeâre taking you to Mikeâs.â
âShut up.â Is this a joke?
âWell, we figured you should at least tell him bye,â Shay looked at me hopefully. âMaybe he wants to get back together but he feels so stupid that he hasnât said anything.â
âI donât know,â Suddenly I was hopeful too. âOkay. Letâs go.â
âWhatever hoes.â Alexis doesnât seem to want to go, now that I want to.
*****
Iâve only been to Mikeyâs house about 10 times. His parentâs kinda freak me out. I mean, Preacher and Wife is not exactly what I was expecting for in-laws.
Ding dong
âOh, hello Rebecca. Come on in. I was just putting on some coffee.â Pastor OâNeill ushered my friends and I inside and gestured for us to sit on the sofa. The little sitting room was right outside the kitchen, so I could hear the coffee brewing. Pictures adorned the walls and two hard-looking chairs sat across from the flat sofa. A small tea table sat in between with random magazines had been thrown on top to make the room seem casual. A faint ticking could be heard and with a glance to the right wall I noticed about a dozen cukoo-clocks. It was 5:06. Thankfully we shouldnât be here long enough to hear all of the cukoos come out.
âAre all pastors this creepy?â I dug my elbow into Alexisâs ribs. âOuch. I was just asking.â
âPastor OâNeill, Whereâs Mike? Isnât he leaving for Hampton-Sydney today?â The Pastor walked out of the kitchen with a look of understanding.
âYes, he did. Not my first choice. But a fine enough school. I will say I was wondering what all you girls were doing here! Not to come see the Pastor, but to come see Mike. Well, at least that makes more sense.â He came and sat in one of the uncomfortable looking chairs. âMikeyâs already left, darling. Hasnât he said bye to you, Becca?â
âNo. He hasnât. But we arenât together anymore so I guess I understand. He ended things a week ago.â He opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted him. âWait, what do you mean not your first choice? Didnât you go to Hampton?â The Pastor looked at me then as if he was looking through my soul.
âHmm. Iâm not calling anyone a liar, dear, but Mikey has been out almost every night this week and heâs said he was with you each time. And I of course went to Liberty University.â He said this last sentence matter-of-factly.
Shay sat there silently, but Alexis had no problem speaking up.
âTrust me, P.O., if you went in her room, youâd know no one has been in or out of it in days. Except something dying that may have crawled in there. And your son is obviously a lying sack of- â This time Shay elbowed her for me.
âOkay, okay. I believe you, of course. I just donât understand why Mike would lie to me.â
âLie about what honey?â Just then, Mikeâs mother Patricia walked in.
âWell, Patty, Mike hasnât been with Becca this week. Seems they broke up last week.â
âMicheal would never lie to me, Richard. Weâre very close, you know.â
I could feel the beginning of a marriage âdiscussionâ so I figured I should take my leave.
âMr. and Mrs. OâNeill, thank you for the coffee. It has been a pleasure seeing you again, but my friends and I have a.. um⊠My momâs making dinner so.. Weâd better go.â
âYes, yes, bye. Come anytime. Now Patty, I tell you -â
We dipped out as quickly as possible.
*****
âSo what the hell, Beck?â Alexis looks at me like Iâm keeping some big secret. âWhatâs going on?â
âMaybe you didnât notice Lex, but I just heard the same thing you did. I know just as much as you do. Iâm the one who should be asking what the hell is going on!â
âLetâs just go to your house, Lex. We can do facials and forget we even went to Mikeâs house.â Even though Shay is half black, sheâs usually the sugar to Alexisâs salty sass. Alexis is the shortest of our group at 5 feet even, but her attitude makes her the biggest. Sheâs definitely the most noticeable one as well, because she has waist length hair and huge brown eyes. Iâm practically Shayâs foil. I have straight, shoulder length, blonde hair; where she has curly mocha-latte hair. Weâre both 5â5 and we both love to roll our eyes at Alexis. Which, incidentally, is what Alexis is doing to us right now.
âFacials? When this kind of drama is going on? Are you two crazy?â Major eye-rolling now. âWe have to go!â
âGo where? To the asylum, where you obviously left your sanity?â
âNo, stupid. To get your boyfriend back! Weâre going to Hampton-Sydney.â
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Publication Date: 09-01-2013
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