Disastrous Lust in London

Chapter 1- Laine

      Flighting halfway across the world to meet a man you've never met before would be frightening for most, but all I can think about is my moms last words. She told me "Lainie baby you are a blessing to this world. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Accomplished every dream that comes to mind, because that's all I ever wanted for you in life. I love you Lainie." I try to think of something positive but epically fail.
    Sitting aboard the Boeing 737 commercial aircraft ,or also known as Jack the whiteshoe hair by the overly large flight attendant, I wonder what my dad will be like. The last time I saw him was when I was only 3 months old. The only memories I have of the mystery man is what my mother told me and that he abandoned us. It's hard growing up without a father figure, especially after mom was diagnosed. The only constant male figure I've had in my life was my mom's cancer doctor, Freddy. But even Freddy had to leave.
    Knowing I'll be landing soon in a new country surrounded by a bunch of people I don't know is really giving me the jitters.
"Excuse me ladies and gentlemen we will be landing in 10 minutes if you could please put your trays back in it's up right position. Thank you for flying on Jack the Whiteshoe hair and we hope to see you again on Frontier Airlines in the future."
    Great, only 10 minutes to figure out what the hell I'm going to say to my absent father.Hey Dad good to see you, It's only been 17 years. How's it been? Although my style is the let's you say the better.
    After the airplane landed it was kind of a haze, until I spotted him.
"Hey Dad..."
"Hey Laine How was your flight? Comfortable I hope?"
"Just peachy."
"Good, glad to hear. Come along then. I have a flat in the city we will be living in. I hope that's ok considering you live in the middle of nowhere." He said with a chuckle.
" Yep... By the way i happen to love living in the middle of nowhere."
    The 49 minute drive felt more like hours.My dad weirdly looked younger than I'd imagined. But all the less still handsome just like my mother had described to me. He was tall and lean like he had just come from the gym. He had Dark hair unlike mine which was bleached out by the sun. Our eyes were one in the same ,bright green just like a Jade gemstone.
    As we pulled up to the apartment I realized this was no normal apartment. This was One of the biggest apartments I've ever seen. From the outside it looked elegant and old. The architecture was marzuolus and it looked as if it had been there for 100 years.
"Do you like it? It's probably one of the most expensive and safe neighborhoods in london."
"its...Wow. Just wow."
"I'm glad you like it. Your school is also just down the street from here. You'll be taking a tour tomorrow morning if that's ok?"
"Yeah. That works. Thanks"
    Upon entering the apartment It was just as beautiful as the exterior. It was as if modern and 1800s architecture blended together.The floors were a rustic dark hardwood and there was a fireplace in just about every room. The apartment turned out to have 6 bedrooms! Not only this but it was 3 floors.
"Wow this is really some place you have here."
"Yeah... it's just a little something i guess. I also have a cottage in Guildford, it's about an hour away. I'll have to take you there sometime. You'd really like it."
"You have another place? How do you afford all of this?"
"My line of work is one where we fortunately don't have to worry about finances."
As I laugh a little bit I jokingly ask " What are you like as a drug dealer or something?"
He just smiled, shook his head and walked the other way.Part of me actually believed he could be a drug dealer. I followed him up stairs to a floor that looked as if it had come straight out of the 1800s.
" Your room is on the end of the hallway. If you need anything let me know. After your tour tomorrow you can go to the store and pick out whatever you like to make it feel a little more like home. I'll leave you my credit card."
"Okay... Wow thanks. I really appreciate all of this, but don't feel like you have to actually take care of me. I know you probably dont want me here considering you were the one that left mom."
"I get it lanie I messed up. We all make mistakes sometimes. It was honestly for the best though lainie. I just hope you see in time i really do care and want to be here for you"
    With that he walked away and I was left in the room that was now mine. It had a fancy bed with a white curtain hanging above it.Right across from the bed was a fireplace with white marble framing it. The room even had its own private balcony that overlooked Hyde Park. The walls were an ugly baby pink and definitely were going to need to be painted. I was determined to make the vacant room a more homey feeling. Starting with a picture of my mom and I at Yellowstone park when I was 15 years old. This was right before she was diagnosed. She looked so happy and healthy. Toward the end of her life she was almost unrecognizable. She was so skin and frail, she looked like a skeleton. By the time she passed on it was almost for the better because it was so hard to see her suffer.
Right before she passed away she told me to be strong. She knew it would be hard for me to move to London with my Dad ,but she had faith in me because she knows I'm resilient . Mom didn't usually like to talk about my father because it brought up to many hard feelings , but she told me he was a good man despite him ditching us. She could have just been telling this to ease my nerves about living with him, but so far he seems okay.
After I got settled in I went down stairs to see what my dad was up to. Without luck, he was no where to be found. I walked into the kitchen and was startled by a woman cooking.
"Oh...umm who are you?"
"Hello, You must be Laine. I'm Ellena, the housekeeper."
"Hey...Where's my dad at?"
"He went out for a bit. He should be back later. Dinner will be done in about an hour."
"Okay thanks. Hey I think I'm going to go out for a bit."
When I stepped out of the apartment I had absolutely no idea where I was going. Some how I found myself at a little vinyl shop called Phonica Records. It was a cute little store, they had all kinds of albums from old ,new, and stuff I've never even heard of. I picked up an album called "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye.
My mom used to play this one on her record player all the time. I remember when I was little she would play What's Going On on repeat. We would sit on the hammock in our garden room, she would hum to the tune while braiding my hair. Those memories are the ones I cherish of my mother the most. She was a very soulful woman who could brighten anyone's day.
I put the vinyl on the turntable in the middle of the store and popped on the overly large headphones. I picked up the needle and placed it on the vinyl, then pressed play. In an instant the nostalgia of the song took me back to sitting on the hammock with my mom.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked at who was interrupting the nostalgic moment. A boy about my age with dark brown hair almost black. He was tall, probably like 6'1. He had a hint of freckles on his sharp jaw-lined face. His eyes were a dark blue like the ocean.
"Sorry to disturb you, but I was wondering if this was yours? I found it on the ground over there"
   The mysterious boy was holding a £10 note.
"No sorry..."
"That's a good one."
"What?"
"The album. It's good. Marvin Gaye is a classic"
"Yeah. It was my mom's favorite."
   I think he could tell I was a little uncomfortable talking about my mom so he changed the subject.
"Are you just visiting?"
"No I actually just moved here today."
"Oh.I can't tell by your accent ,your from America. What are you doing living here?"
"I came to live with my dad."
"Oh I see."
"Yeah this is definitely a different atmosphere than where I grew up."
"I'm sure. Hey I have to get back to work but before I go, what is your name?"
"Laine."
"Well it was nice meeting you Laine. See you later"
And with that he started to walk away
"Wait! What is your name?"
   But he was already gone by the time I asked. On my way home all I could think about was the boy I talked to in the vinyl store. What was his name? He had to have been about my age. Maybe he goes to my school.
   When I got back to the apartment dinner was on the table without Ellena or my dad in sight. I opted to just go to bed because I was major jet lagged. While laying there in bed i thought about how weird it was that yesterday I was in the US and today I'm laying in bed in London. I'm not sure what this place has to offer for me, I feel so out of place. Hopefully in time I will adjust and feel more wanted.