Lola

6

A/N; I finally changed the cover to the book! The one above is the old cover :) (poor quality bc I'm writing/uploading on my cellphone)

IMPORTANT NOTE: I changed the town name to Bronwick.

ALSO 70 VOTES :0 THANK YOU!

Chapter 6

"Did they handle everything alright? Sounds like there was some fighting." August asked Lola as she passed by his room to get to hers. The air smelled like alcohol. Did he honestly think she was an idiot?

"Um, yes. Everything was handled." She smiled crookedly.  August took her lie as mere discomfort and moved to sit up.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Your sudden 'sobriety' and interest in my life or the fact that once again you couldn't save me?" Lola bitterly said, she turned away before he could say anything. Not that she expected a rebuttal from him in the first place.

Time only shows that people never change. Lola gave it a month before their new life turned to shit. It already was shit.

-

She wasn't one for retail therapy but given the circumstances she decided it was needed. Just fuck the 50 bucks in my bank account right?

Lola scanned an online makeup store for concealer.

Not my shade. Not my shade. Not my shade. But who shops for makeup only anyways? I should just go in person.

She shut her laptop and sighed into the air mattress. Now that her forest escapades where at a halt she needed to find something to do with her life. And maybe some friends.

She stared at the stained beige walls. "A healthy fresh coat of paint." Lola laughed. I hate the universes irony, to home depot it is! 

She turned off her lamp at her bedside and lay in silence. New home, same habits. She thought as she looked at the tree line in the backyard, they weren't as enticing because they didn't hold all the answers. Suddenly hope blossomed in Lola's chest, her dad had to return the U-Haul sometime. And he had to bring back the rest of their furniture AND their old car.

Which means she could create a plan to trap the Gardener once and for all. She typed 'Bronwick, home depot' into her GPS.

"What the fuck?"

Lola sat up. She typed in 'Bronwick, Virginia' into her GPS.

Your destination is 53 minutes away.

She went to the Google maps images, only to find that Bronwick wasn't in the middle of nowhere, it was a popular city with tons of hipster restaurants and museums.

Where the hell am I then?

-

"DAD!" Lola threw the door open. "How am I not fucking surprised! You pathetic shit!"

August had been nursing a bottle of whiskey while curled up in bed before his daughter stormed in. His eyes were red and puffy. Just one more sip. He thought as his eyes blinked slowly.

"It's not as bad as it, as y-you," he paused to hiccup, "th-think."

"Were you sober at all this month? Or are you just a pathetic liar?" Lola cried out. All questions about Bronwick evaporated as Lola backed out of the room.

Lola didn't even think when she grabbed the keys of the kitchen table and ran to the U-Haul. Disappointment and anger filled her mind as she dully noted her dads shadow from his bedroom window.

He was always too afraid to chase after her.

"I was willing to make this work!" She yelled at his figure. "I WAS WILLING TO PUT HER ASIDE FOR YOU BUT YOU'VE NEVER EVEN BEEN THERE FOR ME." She screamed. He probably couldn't even hear me, Lola thought but she didn't care as she slipped into the driver’s seat.

She tearfully drove away and aimlessly perused around town. The warm glow of her grandmother's sign surprised her. She really kept the shop open until 10 tonight?

Lola parked the truck before slowly approaching the bakery. It's probably night shift and not her. Lola groaned and spun back around to book it to the U-Haul.

Regardless of whether her grandma was there or not, she wasn't wearing makeup. Whoever was in there was going to see her ruined flesh.

"Lola?" A familiar voice called out. "You shouldn't be out here," one second the voice seemed too distant, but then she heard a scamper of feet and a hand on her shoulder.

"Gah! O-officer Payne!" Lola held her chest in surprise. "You shouldn't be out here Lola." Payne wasted no time grabbing her wrist and dragging her to the bakery entrance.

Lola covered her cheek with one hand and tried to tug her other away. "I can do whatever I want Officer!" Lola seethed.

"Get your hands off me!"

"Lola we needed to talk and this is the safest place to do so." Vivian easily yanked Lola through the bakery door. Lola flailed about like a child. "No!" Lola stubbornly tried to leave her grandmothers establishment.

"Lola don't fight her!" Lola heard her grandmothers warm voice. She winced, what would Jody think when she say Lola's face without the creams?

"I'll talk tomorrow! Coming here was a thoughtless mistake." Lola huffed and Vivian roughly sat her down on a bar stool. Lola stood up only for Vivian to roughly push her down again. "Hey!" Lola cried.

"Ok you have 5 minutes, and only because I'm letting you." Lola rushed the last part. She watched as Vivian briskly closed all the blinds.

"Anyone wanna tell me why the real Bronwick is an hour away?"