THIN VEINS

Chapter 1

"There's a new guy in town. Maybe you can try your luck with him."

Sara chirps as we sit nursing our drinks. It's like, now that Brand has proposed, she thinks everybody wants the same. We are here to celebrate their engagement. It's just us. Meaning she's already well into the I'm-ready-to-puke-anytime-now zone while I only have a slight buzz. I let out a short sigh and twirl the straw in my margarita. 

"So?" I shrug. 

I do that a lot. It's my go-to response when I'm uninterested and when you live in a town as small as Carravar is, you start being uninterested a lot. Don't get me wrong, I love Carravar. It's quiet. It's pretty. And the people are always nice. After everything that had happened, the quiet life in a small town like this us exactly what I wanted. I came to Carravar at fifteen. My aunt, Delilah took me in after the incident. I never left. At first, it was because of safety concerns. Delilah feared that people would recognize me if I ventured outside of this little haven and it'd reach the wrong people. Once I turned eighteen, she told me I could leave if I wanted. That everybody would have already forgotten who I was. I had changed a lot. With my blonde hair instead of my original Mahogany red and brown contacts over my azure eyes, along with the changes in my body thanks to my self defence classes and regular 5 mile runs, she was sure no one would recognize me for the fifteen year old who starred in national television for the better part of a year. But by that time, I had already settled into a life in Carravar and didn't want to leave. To be honest, I was and still am afraid to set foot beyond the town. Carravar means safety and acceptance. And I needed those two the most. Now I teach English at Carravar High. Sara is my best friend. I met her in class when I first came here and we somehow clicked. She's a genius and teaches AP Math. She's also annoying. 

"I hear he is H-O-T." She giggles and I refrain myself from rolling my eyes. Instead I give her a shrug. She knows what it means. 

"Damn it Lydia. Can you be any more indifferent?" I start for a moment. Confused as to whom she's talking to. Even after ten years, the name sounds strange. Lydia. Lydia Palmer. That's me. Natalia Frey does not exist anymore. I remind myself. I chose the name because I could go by Lee which is what everyone used to call me back in my previous life. It helped lessen the confusion when I was a kid. Will I ever stop getting startled when someone calls me Lydia? The moments are few and far between. But they are there, just like what happened right now. All of these thoughts go through my head in that second and I quickly shake them off and blink a few times. When I look at her I can see that she's ready to get into an argument about my lack of interest.  So I give her a grin "I can try".

"You're hopeless. Do you hear me? I give up. I Sara Eleanor Martin, hereby give up on ever trying to bring my best friend to the world of hot boys and hotter sex." She wasn't being quiet. Pretty sure the whole pub heard that. I control the urge to push her off her stool in retaliation. "Shush. Most of these people here are the same as those with whom we have parent teacher meetings."

"Oh, you shush!! We're adults. And none of us are saints."

"Looks like you need another. And this one's had a bit too much to drink, huh?" Thea Lennon asks throwing a glance at Sara as she passes me another drink.  I give her an embarrassed smile. "She's celebrating."

"I think she screamed that loud enough that people in next block heard her. I'm glad they are tying the knot. It's time." She smiles. "Anyhow,  I'd love to listen to more of Sara's drunk rambling but Jamie's here." 

She throws a wistful glance towards the far corner. I give her a genuine smile. Jamie and Thea have a we are just casual but we don't want anybody else thing going on between them. I've never seen a couple so head over heels for each other while being so oblivious to that little fact. Everyone else knows.