New Beginnings

Thirteen Years Later

Alice stood on the project apartment balcony, slowly smoking her cigarette as she glared out over the slums of Boston.

Her ice blue orbs stared down in worry at the crumpled eviction notice she had in hand, mentally kicking herself at the fact that she had allowed things to get to this point.

Her and her girls, along with her 5 month old grandson were about to be homeless, on Christmas of all times, and there was just no getting out of this one. Not by batting her lashes or flashing her assets or laying on her back the way she had always done when it came to getting what she wanted or finding a way out of sticky situations.

Engaging in those activities had brought on so many problems for her and her family, and she promised herself those days were done and she was never going back. She had to do right by Betty and Polly and go straight, but over the years the bills and rent just kept piling up until they were barely able to keep their heads above water.

She never had any help in raising them. Their father's were deadbeats and she had no family of her own. She fell pregnant with Polly when she was 17 and her mother kicked her out, leading to her to take to the streets. It was a miracle she survived as long as she did, sleeping at youth shelters and group homes and robbing innocent bystanders and working street corners to get by, until she fortunately found her own place.

Who'd have thought that after a couple of years on the game, she'd actually find somebody, a handsome yet reckless drug dealer. A bad boy if you will, who she fell hard for, more so for the thrills and the way their chaotic energy brought out each other's adrenaline levels. He was good with Polly, weirdly didn't have a problem with her work, had a place of his own and they had a decent amount of money in their pockets, in her eyes, it was domestic bliss. So what if their money was dirty, so what if their apartment was small and cramped and possibly suffering from a pest problem, she was happy.

And her domestic bliss just so happened to get that much better when Betty came along. She was admittedly scared about having another kid, she could barely take care of the one she already had, but the thought of Polly having a little sibling and her achieving her idealistic family goal with a partner and multiple kids made it seem all worth it.

So she had her two girls, her man, nothing could ruin it, except for a grand theft auto charge. He was sentenced to 3 years, and from then on began the cycle and slow downward spiral of her life.

She angrily flicked her finished cigarette off the balcony and walked back into her living room to find her cellphone had 3 missed calls, missed due to the fact it was on silent.

She didn't recognise the number but called back anyway, out of curiosity.

"Who the hell is this?" She asked rudely as she leaned against her beaten and slightly torn up 10 year old couch.

"Stealing?.......No way you've got the wrong kid!.......Fine, I'll come down there now!" She yelled into the phone before slamming it onto the coffee table. This was all she needed right now. She grabbed her coat and boots from near the armchair and began to put them on.

Whilst her mother was distracted, Polly used this as the perfect opportunity to sneak past her wearing her heels, but Alice caught her reflection on the TV as she did.

"And where do you think you're going?" She asked her 17 year old, noticing the low cut crop top she was wearing along with the large silver hoop earrings, short denim skirt and faux fur hooded jacket, her hair tied in a bun to tie the outfit all together.

The teen sighed deeply, she knew what was coming and dreaded this conversation with her mother. "Simone Lahey's, she's having a party."

"That girls having another party?" Alice wondered in genuine confusion. "Even after somebody got stabbed at her last one?"